The board of commissioners to the Water and Wastewater Treatment Authority unanimously voted on Wednesday, Oct. 19, to appoint Mark C. Harrison as its permanent executive director.
This decision comes on the heels of the Search Committee’s Oct. 12 recommendation that the
full Board appoint Mr. Harrison as the permanent executive eirector.
Peter Avisto, chair of the search committee, stated that members of the search committee discussed Mr. Harrison’s qualifications and the high level of confidence the board had with his performance as interim executive director.
WWTA Chairman Mike Moon said, “Mark has done an excellent job in very difficult and diverse
conditions.
His experience and institutional knowledge makes him the obvious choice.”
Mr. Harrison stated, “I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the County in this capacity. I have a
great deal of respect for the board members and appreciate the example of service demonstrated by this group. I returned to the WWTA to work with the staff, who I value. I will challenge myself, daily, to live up to the high standard of integrity set by my friend, Cleveland Grimes.”
Prior to being appointed interim executive director on April 20, Mr. Harrison served as the
WWTA’s chief engineer for six years before leaving to serve as client service manager for Lamar
Dunn & Associates in July 2014. Mr. Harrison was employed at LDA Engineering for two years before returning as the chief engineer with the WWTA in January of this year. Mr. Harrison
also operates Mountain Creek Engineering, Inc. in Chattanooga since 2008. He’s also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga since 2012.
Mr. Harrison graduated from Texas A&M University-Kingsville in 1995 with a bachelor of science in geology, and The University of Tennessee in 1999 with a bachelor of science in civil engineering. He went on to earn a master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of Tennessee in 2001.
Mr. Harrison is a member of multiple industry organizations, including the American Society of Civil Engineers.
The WWTA board appointed Mr. Harrison as the interim executive eirector following the sudden
death of Cleveland Grimes earlier this year. Mr. Grimes served as executive director for nearly 35 years.