I have written about a few of the applicants for Knoxville City Council First District. Last week I attended the Ribbon Cutting and Official opening of the Shoney’s on Chapman Highway. While there I met Janice Tocher, another applicant for the position that Stephanie Welch is vacating.
Janice Tocher and I at the newly renovated Shoney’s on Chapman Highway.
Tocher says, There will be new opportunities (and challenges) as the new zoning ordinances go into effect this year and the upcoming process of revisiting the South Waterfront Code. My experience on Planning Commission and having been actively involved in the public process that resulted in the South Waterfront Code will allow me to contribute to these items.
Tocher has been actively involved in South Knoxville throughout the years her husband and she have lived here. From co-founding several community-centric organizations, to participating in the public process for 1st District projects and Knoxville | Knox County Planning community meetings, Tocher feels she has a good understanding of the needs of the 1st District.
Tocher says that she bringS experience and thoughtful decision-making to the position of city council as well as a strong desire to engage the community as the 1st District and the City of Knoxville continue to evolve.
Some of her stated qualifications include:
- 32+ year resident of South Knoxville
- 7+ year member of the Planning Commission (recently re-elected as Chair for a second term)
- Actively involved with Recode Knoxville through her position on the Planning Commission and as an engaged citizen
- Co-founder of the South Knoxville Alliance of Businesses and Professionals
- Co-founder of the South Knoxville Neighborhood and Business Coalition
- Co-founder of South Woodlawn Neighborhood Association
- Co-founder of Knoxville SOUP – a micro-funding event that supports community projects
- Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee (CAC) Leadership graduate – class of 2011
- Engaged participant of the original South Waterfront visioning process
- Engaged participant in all of the Chapman Highway Improvement public meetings – including the 2006 Chapman Highway Corridor Study
- Participant in Nine Counties One Vision and Plan East Tennessee – both processes that have provided invaluable data on which to make decisions that affect Knoxville and the surrounding areas
- 2017 Nominee for the Office of Neighborhoods Good Neighbor of the Year Award
- Owner of her own business, Averra Media, a boutique computer programming firm since 1999.
