Eddie Pless Named Assistant Director

Eddie Pless, principal of Elizabethton High School, has been named assistant director of the Tennessee Technology Center at Elizabethton, effective Jan. 1, 2010, Dean Blevins, director, announced today.

Blevins said a faculty/staff search committee at TTC-Elizabethton recommended Pless from a list of candidates who expressed an interest in the position. Pless succeeds Roberta Bowers who retired from the position in October.

With more than 25 years experience in education, Pless has been a classroom teacher, athletic coach, assistant principal and principal, the latter since 2007. He holds a Bachelor's of Arts Degree from Carson Newman College, Master's of Arts Degree from East Tennessee State University and completed postgraduate work at Lincoln Memorial University.

"We are fortunate to have Pless join the team, especially at this point in time in the 46-year history of TTC-Elizabethton, as we implement plans to offer additional training programs to meet the needs of students and employers in the region. The immediate priority at TTC-Elizabethton is to secure additional facilities to house classroom and shop areas to accommodate the current list of students on the waiting list to enter the training programs, which take 12 to 20 months to complete," Blevins said.

According to Blevins, Pless will also assist TTC-Elizabethton in continuing to develop closer working relationships with high school principals and counselors in Northeast Tennessee "to ensure high school graduates receive the training they need for employment. It is our goal to ensure that all students, on an individual case basis, receive the highest quality level of training, based on the student's unique interests and capabilities," Blevins said.

Pless said he was impressed with the vision of TTC-Elizabethton and its value in the Tri-Cities region. "I look forward to meeting the challenges ahead to help the faculty, staff and administration take the Tennessee Technology Center at Elizabethton to the next higher level in meeting the training needs of students and employers," Pless said.