ARNOLD AFB, Tenn. – TEDxTullahoma, an informational event that is open to the local community, is scheduled for Oct. 24 at the University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI). National Aerospace Solutions, LLC (NAS) is one of the event sponsors.
Starting at 8:30 a.m. at UTSI, there is a full day planned with seven speakers, one being NAS’s very own Technical Director, Chris Crumbly. The theme of the event is “Change.”
Crumbly stated he is looking forward to speaking at the TEDxTullahoma event.
“This will be my third TEDx speaking engagement, and each one has been a learning experience,” he said. “The outstanding speakers, organizers, and engaged community always energizes me. I am excited to be a part of this great Tullahoma community event.”
Prior to joining the NAS team, Crumbly served as Senior Director for Space and Defense Programs at UTSI and remains in this role via an arrangement between NAS and UTSI. He has also served as Executive Director of the technical non-profit Von Braun Center for Science and Innovation.
After a 25-year career at NASA, Crumbly retired and entered the business community as the Vice President for Business Development, Civil and Commercial Space at Teledyne Brown Engineering. While at NASA, he managed the Space Launch System Program’s Spacecraft/Payload Integration and Evolution Office, located at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. He holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from Auburn University and is a graduate of the Program for Management Development at the Harvard Business School.
When not working, Crumbly serves on several professional and civic boards including the Huntsville Space Club, the American Astronautical Society, and the Greater Huntsville Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), where he serves as the Region II Deputy Director for Public Policy. He is an Associate Fellow of AIAA.
The other TEDxTullahoma speakers also have their own interesting stories to tell. They include an artist, a community organizer, music industry executive and a puppeteer, among others. For more information on the speakers, view the TEDx website here: https://www.ted.com/tedx/events/36232.
If interested in attending, TEDx attendee tickets are $30 per person, which grants access to the entire day of events at UTSI. Coffee service and lunch is included, and a vegetarian option is available for lunch.
A TEDx Watch Party ticket is also available for $15. This ticket grants access to the live stream from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the D.W. Wilson Center. Coffee service and lunch are included.
”As one of the event sponsors, we certainly encourage in-person or virtual attendance,” said Mike Belzil, NAS Deputy General Manager.
Pandemic social distancing protocols will be followed at the event.
Organized with the help of Robin Dunn, Tullahoma Alderman, and Tisha Fritz, Membership Director of the Tullahoma Chamber of Commerce, TEDxTullahoma is a not-for-profit event. Ticket sales go toward covering the cost of the event, as well as developing a long-term TEDx presence in Tullahoma.
ABOUT TEDx
TEDx is a grassroots initiative, created in the spirit of TED’s overall mission to research and discover “ideas worth spreading.” TEDx brings the spirit of TED to local communities around the globe via “rules and tools.” TEDx events are organized by passionate individuals who seek to uncover new ideas and the latest research in their local areas and spark conversations in their communities.
The events include live speakers and recorded TED Talks, and are organized independently under a free license granted by TED. These events are not controlled by TED, but event organizers agree to abide by the format, and are offered guidelines for curation, speaker coaching, event organizing and more. More than 3,000 events are now held annually. This will be Coffee County’s first-ever TEDx event.
