ATA subcontractor CEO receives Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award

  • Published
  • By Patrick Ary
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  Mark Isom, the founder, president and CEO of Knoxville-based Premiere Building Maintenance Corp., was honored this year at the 22nd annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Commission's Leadership Awards Banquet in Knoxville Jan. 13.

One of the commission's goals is to work with community partners to provide education and leadership training for adults and youth. Isom, one of three honorees at this year's banquet, received the commission's Business Award.

Premiere Building Maintenance provides full-service janitorial and facilities maintenance services and has more than 400 employees in seven states. The company is an Aerospace Testing Alliance (ATA) subcontractor with 38 employees responsible for janitorial services and refuse collection at Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC).

Mark Isom's brother, Alan, is the project manager for Premiere's contract at AEDC.

"I am very proud of my brother, Mark Isom, for being awarded the MLK Commission's Business Award as well as his many accomplishments," Alan Isom said. "He is straightforward, hard-working and very dedicated. Mark gives his all to whatever he does and he will be the first to tell you that his company, Premiere, would not be what it is today without his great employees and customers. That is just one example of the kind of guy he is."

Mark Isom, a former Carson-Newman College football standout, began his career at Southeast Service Corporation in Louisville, Ky., in 1985. He worked his way up to become a group manager nine years later.

In 1993, he became vice president of operations for Burns Janitor Services. In 1996, he founded Premiere. Last year, the company had more than $13 million in sales. He has received several business and personal awards, including being named Distinguished Alumnus of the Year last year by Carson-Newman.

Premiere also routinely sponsors organizations throughout the state of Tennessee. Isom is a middle school basketball and football coach in the Jefferson City area and for the past six years has awarded college scholarships to at-risk students.