
Every now and then there is someone you meet that sparks enthusiasm, creativity, drive, and innovation…that person takes you or your project to the next level. Alex Oliver has been that guy for Knoxify and now, he needs a boost from our fan base to take home the Young & Free Tennessee Spokesperson gig.

Happy Birthday to us! Happy Birthday to us! Happy two year birthday dear Knoxify!
It’s hard to believe that we’ve been churning away at this site for nearly two years now. Time flies when you’re having fun interacting with the many people that call Knoxville home. We want to take this pixel space to display a few stats, look back on our top stories from 2009, and also give you a glimpse at what’s on the horizon for the site.
Stats
Unique visitors: 36,586
Pageviews: 130,326
Total # of photos in flickr pool: 2,210

Each year the Metro Pulse tosses their inhibitions to the wind and turn their Best of Knoxville voting ballots over to us crazy Knoxvillians. This year, ballots must be submitted by midnight, April 2, so that they can print their 2009 edition of the who/what/where that makes Knoxville great.
If you’re old school, make sure and pick up the dead-wood version at a location near you. For those of you that are hooked up to the interwebs the online ballot is located here.
Around here we believe in asking THAT you vote, not in asking FOR your vote. With that said, cast those ballots!

This may be old news to some of you but the crew here at Knoxify just stumbled across a large database of UT faculty and staff salaries.
The database, powered by Tennessean.com, contains 1,326 e-pages of “faculty and other employees at schools that are part of the University of Tennessee system.” We’re not sure what use you’ll get out of it but we thought we’d share. Happy data-crunching!
Photo by Darren Hester

Look no farther than the middle column of our site to find the inside scoop on our neighbors, Chattanooga and Nashville.
We have partnered with Chattarati, a Chattanooga blog with a touch of narcissism, and the Nashvillest, a Music City blog, to bring you the latest news and opinions from Middle and Southeast Tennessee.
Just like Knoxify, both the ‘Ratis and the ‘Villests are showing their readers what makes their cities great. Don’t be shy, make a new friend or two today.
Photography by elvissa

Photograph by 503 Photography
I have been friends with Valerie Weissinger for quite sometime. Valerie is a Knoxville Native/Farragut High School grad/University of Tennessee alumni — living in Nashville, TN/owner of Val’s Boutique. I am proud of her, and think she deserves to be Knoxified, below is why:
Scott Maentz dropped us a line about an upcoming breakfast for geek’s. The first Knoxville Geek Breakfast is slated for Thursday January 8 from 7:30am — 8:30am at the IHOP on Lovell Rd. It’s good to see this kind of thing popping up in Knoxville.

As many of you know, two of my favorite things are pizza and beer. In fact, Knoxify was the first Knoxville blog to post about Fat Tire coming to Ktown.
All this goodness comes together at the Pizza Kitchen on December 4, as New Belgium comes to town for a taste test offering free pint glasses with the purchase of the golden stuff. The Pizza Kitchen really hits a wide variety of patrons; not only does it have an outstanding beer culture, but the gourmet pizza is to die for and sometimes they even show movies for the kids, feature live entertainment and have a stellar patio setup.

Jeannie Dulaney announced that she was stepping down from Leadership Knoxville’s CEO position on Friday. This news hits Casey and I personally as Jeannie has been an inspirational mentor, strong supporter, and dear friend to us both. Due to her hard work, love, and vision for this community Leadership Knoxville has become the leading organization in Knoxville. Jeannie, we support your decision, and wish you the best of luck as you continue your journey through life to serve, unite, and inspire.
“Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson
Josh Flory of Property Scope reported that a tour of Knoxville Underground is set for tonight. “Knox Heritage and Dewhirst Properties are hosting a tour of Underground Gay Street tonight from 5 to 8.” In typical non-profit fashion, Knox Heritage has made this a “members-only” event. Tell ‘em Knoxify sent you, maybe they’ll let you in.