Amid the Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer’s preparations toward making its new, innovative downtown headquarters fully operational, the foundation has tabbed Jonathan Myren to head its Industrial Arts Program within the automotive-themed Education Advance Center (EAC) which is scheduled to open in the spring.
Mr. Myren, from Chattanooga, brings a wealth of automotive and industrial arts-related experience to the position. Mr. Myren comes off a five-and-a-half-year stint at an iconic Chattanooga business – Coker Tire’s Honest Charley Garage where he was Wheelwright/Body Shop Manager, working extensively on high-end automobile restoration projects.
Previously, Mr. Myren worked and was president of his family-owned business Homeworks Kitchen & Bath Center, Arkansas and served as a building inspector and flood plain administrator in Ash Flat, Arkansas. He has been a member of the Army Reserves since 1988, He currently holds the rank of Sergeant First Class, serving as 1st Platoon Sergeant of the 212th Transportation Company in Chattanooga. He served a combat tour in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom (2004).
“This ‘hometown hire’ is a true ‘hometown hero’ due to his military service but he’s also, at his core, a real ‘car guy,’’’ said Austin Hatcher Foundation Chairman Dr. Jim Osborn. “We are extremely proud to have someone from Chattanooga join our organization. We have so many plans on expanding our programs and services in our new facility and Jonathan is just the type of individual to get our new industrial arts initiative up to speed.”
The EAC will be focused on diagnosing and treating educational and functional deficits associated with pediatric cancer and its life-saving treatments. In addition to the Industrial Arts Program, the EAC also will house Tutorial, Neuro-Cognitive Testing, Remediation and other specialty programs designed to optimize recovery from cancer by both patients and their families.
The Austin Hatcher Foundation’s new headquarters, a 6,000-square-foot facility at 232 E. 11th St. in Chattanooga, was unveiled in a recent ribbon-cutting ceremony. Securing the new site was facilitated by an immediate, donor response to the foundation’s “Five for Ten” fundraising campaign that is seeking 10-year donor commitments of $5,000 annually.