Donald Bailey, 76, of Chattanooga, died on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019. 

Candy's Creek Cherokee Elementary School, E.L. Ross Elementary and McAlister’s Deli for BEST partnerships The Chamber’s newest BEST partnerships are a relationship between McAlister’s Deli and two local schools, Candy’s Creek Elementary and E.L. Ross Elementary. “ Being involved in your community is something I have always believed,” expressed Mark Walkup, managing partner at McAlister’s Deli - Cleveland. “Our future depends on the education of children. Being able to work in a place where our motto is ‘Have fun, no regrets’, I want to make sure my business is doing whatever it can to make teachers happy, students happy and allowing the school to offer incentives from us to grow my business and the schools resources.” BEST, the acronym for Business & Education Serving Together, is a program of the Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce that unites the efforts of a business and a selected school for the betterment of both. “It’s so important for schools and community businesses and organizations to form partnerships. Everyone wins when we all work together to help our students be successful,” shared Stephanie Stone, Principal for E. L. Ross Elementary “Mark Walkup has supported E. L. Ross for many years, and we couldn’t be happier with this new BEST partnership with McAlister’s Deli. We are so blessed with community members who care about our students and staff!” “Candy's Creek Cherokee is honored to team up with McAlister's to make a difference in students' lives. Mark Walkup has a long history of supporting Cleveland City Schools, and we're excited that we will continue that relationship with him and McAlister's,” stated Lisa Earby, principal for the Candy's Creek Cherokee Elementary School. “The BEST partnerships facilitated by the Chamber of Commerce benefit our schools, businesses, and the entire community. We're grateful to be part of that process.” Sherry Crye, the Chamber’s Director of Workforce Development, also added. “The ultimate goal is to help prepare students for the labor force. The intermediate goal is to forge affiliations between a business and a school for the benefit of both.” Each public school in the Bradley County and Cleveland City School Systems has one or more local business partners. For information about the BEST partnership program, call Sherry Crye at 423-472-6587.