The City of Chattanooga & State of the City 2024
A pivotal civic event becomes a platform for progress—and a timely re-election springboard.
The situation
As Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly prepared to seek his second term, his 2024 State of the City (SOTC) address was seen as a critical moment for this administration to reflect on their achievements and define where the city was headed under his leadership. Against a backdrop of new public investments, new housing initiatives, new community and academic partnerships, new violence reduction and workforce development initiatives, the speech would necessarily contain more than polished talking points, it had to deliver a bold but believable blueprint for Chattanooga’s next era.
With the stakes high and expectations higher, Mayor Kelly turned to Coeo Strategies to help ensure that the event itself was expertly produced so that his message could be communicated with clarity and credibility.
The solution
SOTC was held at Chattanooga’s historic Walker Theatre on September 12, 2024 before an audience of several hundred residents, grassroots leaders, elected officials, and other community partners. Over the course of the preceding ten weeks, Coeo operated as an embedded partner, providing both high-level strategic guidance and full-service, tactical event management.
Coeo’s scope of work included:
Project & timeline management, coordinating internal city teams, vendors, and volunteers across planning meetings and production milestones.
Strategic messaging alignment, ensuring the event narrative, run of show, and supporting materials reinforced the administration’s key priorities and previewed the next phase of the Mayor’s agenda.
Logistical & vendor oversight, managing venue setup at Walker Theater, coordinating security with the Chattanooga Police Department on security measures, and serving as the primary contact for all event participants, volunteers, and venue staff.
On-site execution, delivering seamless event production to ensure that every aspect of the event matched the energy of the occasion.
The impact
The 2024 State of the City became one of the most widely covered and well-received addresses in recent Chattanooga memory. The 2024 State of the City address didn’t just recap a mayoral term, it was a call to action. WUTC broadcasted the full 44-minute address, elevating it from local policy update to civic milestone. The Pulse branded it a bold economic blueprint, spotlighting the One Westside development as “the mother of all public-private partnerships.” A front-page feature, the Chattanooga Times Free Press called it an emotional and urgent appeal for justice, jobs, and research investment marked by bracing honesty and policy precision.
Kelly’s plan to overhaul Chattanooga’s complicated downtown parking situation - involving tech upgrades, free-hour zones, and other innovations - grabbed headlines for its customer-friendly approach. Meanwhile, a bold call for R1 research capacity sparked a high-profile debate about university partnerships, culminating in new momentum around quantum science, doctoral programs, and regional economic development.
Together, this coverage reset the public narrative around Chattanooga’s challenges and achievements - offering a confident, future-forward tone that now defines Mayor Kelly’s second-term messaging. What began as a mayor’s address became a citywide declaration: the work is working, and Chattanooga is betting big on itself.
