Hellofilters Visits Strawberry Festival

Local air filter innovator Hellofilters spent some time meeting friends and family at the Portland Strawberry Festival.

Here's more from their time in Portland.

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Local Company Seeks to Shake Up Air Filter Market

Goodlettsville-based Hellofilters recently announced its launch. Here's the press release:

Hellofilters, a new subscriber-based service delivering high-quality indoor air filters to the doors of its members, today announces its successful launch out of public beta testing and plans to expand new product and partner program offerings.

Launched in August 2016, Hellofilters.com has sold memberships in 39 states and attained average month-over-month membership growth of 61%, while maintaining an 94.5% retention rate among members who started receiving air filters in the mail.   

“We’ve created a quick, affordable and fun buying experience that takes the remembering, hassle and cost out of replacing air filters for your home,” said Harry Hoover, co-founder and CEO of Hellofilters. “We deliver amazing air filters to your door, as often as you’d like, for less than the big-box stores – and shipping is free.”

Hellofilters’ business model is disarmingly simple. To join, subscribers go to Hellofilters.com and select how many air filters are in their home, the size of each, how often they prefer to replace them – every 1, 2, or 3 month intervals – and the level of filter quality they desire. There is no minimum order, members can order as few as one air filter and shipping is always free. Members can modify their filter plan, pause, or cancel anytime – and best of all – the company’s Hello360 Guarantee: If you don’t love your first filter delivery, they’re free.  

In addition to delivering high-quality air filters, in each shipment to members, Hellofilters inserts a fun Member Gift, a helpful Filter Basics Handbook, and a laid-back  “Hello Again” notecard signed by Harry. The company describes these small touches, as Member Delights. In March 2017, members received a Mini MoonPie® treat and a recommended MoonPie® desert recipe. “We want our members to get excited when their filter delivery arrives and surprised when they un-pack their box,” said Harry.  

Hellofilters products include private branded air filters in 41 sizes and three levels of filtration quality: The Better-Basic™ (Better Residential, MERV 8 rated air filter), The Micro-Allergen (Superior Residential, MERV 11 rated air filter), and The Ultra-Allergen (Elite Residential, MERV 13 rated air filter) at prices ranging from $10.49-$16.49 per filter.

Hellofilters’ branded air filters are handmade in the United States with materials made in the United States, and meet the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE®) performance MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Valve) ratings, and by required MERV rating of 10 or higher, meet the American Lung Association® Health House® filtration guidelines for indoor air quality. 

About Hellofilters

Launched in 2016, Goodlettsville, TN-based Hellofilters offers people a subscription-based HVAC air filter fulfillment service using a proprietary web-based platform to provide a convenient solution to a common problem – remembering when to change an HVAC filter. Hellofilters delivers air filters when it’s time for them to be changed, at a cost that is less than in retail stores. Hellofilters’ subscription model guarantees that correct size HVAC air filters are conveniently delivered to a home’s doorstep so they may be changed on a regular basis, which can reduce monthly heating and cooling expenses by 5% to 15%. 

Isbell Wins Primary, Faces Ethics Complaints

John Isbell won the Republican primary for Property Assessor on Tuesday evening, but not without controversy.

A publication/organization with which Isbell is affiliated is under investigation by the District Attorney and the state's Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance.

According to the Gallatin News Examiner:

John Isbell is the registered owner of the Sumner Sentinel website and it is the Sentinel's publication mailed just before Election Day that is the subject of both a DA's investigation and an ethics review.

Isbell has denied any wrongdoing at this point.

MORE on this story>

For more on news impacting Hendersonville and Sumner County, follow @HvilleNews

Cox Announces House Bid

Sumner County School Board Chair Beth Cox announced yesterday she will challenge 45th district state Representative Courtney Rogers.

The Hendersonville Star News reported:

She will campaign on three major issues: education; business and the economy; and life and marriage issues, she said.
“I think you’ve all seen from my eight years on the school board that I am someone who takes my passion and puts it to action,” she said.

For more on issues impacting Hendersonville and Sumner County, follow @HvilleNews

Five Consecutive Years of Delayed Billing

Unfortunately, it's what Sumner County residents have come to expect from Tax Assessor John Isbell.  Delays in tax bills, tax bills sent and then re-sent due to errors. Fees and interest paid by local governments due to late preparation of tax bills.

Tennessee's Office of the Comptroller of the Treasury weighed-in recently and noted:


“We know of no other counties that have had this magnitude of a problem as it relates to the tax freeze and tax billing,” Mumpower (of the Comproller's Office) said. “And certainly not a reoccurring problem as you have seen here, which have included five consecutive years of delayed tax billing.”

Inaccuracies Delay Billing:

“The assessor’s tax roll was not prepared accurately because it did not include the accurate amounts to be paid by those residents who qualified for the Property Tax Freeze program,” Comptroller’s Spokesman John Dunn said.

Enacted in 2007, the tax freeze allows counties to give qualifying senior citizens tax incentives. Sumner seniors age 65 or older with an income of $36,220 or less in 2015 will pay the tax rate from their qualifying year  for their primary residence, Dunn said.

Five years of delayed bills. Errors in tax freeze calculation. A 2014 assessment that was done twice due to the number of errors.

That's John Isbell's record.

For more on news impacting Hendersonville and Sumner County, follow @HvilleNews

Strong Schools to Host Education Forum

Grassroots advocacy group Strong Schools will host a forum on Thursday, January 7th from 6PM to 8PM at the Hendersonville Public Library with State Senator Ferrell Haile and State Representative William Lamberth. Both represent Hendersonville in the Tennessee General Assembly.

The forum will focus on key education issues coming up in this year's legislative session. Those issues include vouchers, school funding, testing, and teacher evaluation.

The event is billed as a roundtable with time for public input and direct questions to the legislators.

For more on news impacting Hendersonville, follow @HvilleNews

What's Going on at the Election Commission?

Or, better yet: What's NOT going on at the Sumner County Election Commission?

In recent months, the Election Commission has voted NOT to have satellite early voting in the Presidential Preference Primary in March -- which is also the primary for the Tax Assessor position. Then, the reaffirmed that vote, in spite of resolutions from the cities of Hendersonville, Portland, and Goodlettsville asking for the voting. And most recently, the voted against allowing a public comment period before meetings.

Josh Nelson at the Hendersonville Standard has the most recent story.

While the story notes the Commission Chair's correct statement that satellite early voting hasn't been an option in previous presidential primaries, it's worth noting that this year's primary is in March -- just one month after the Iowa Caucuses (which take place on February 1st). That means it is very likely there will be viable candidates in the race at the time Tennessee votes, especially on the Republican side.

Should the Election Commission be making it easier for citizens to vote in such an important election? And, does satellite early voting increase participation.

The answer to both questions is YES. The Election Commission should be working to make it easier for qualified voters to cast ballots. And YES: When there has been satellite early voting in other elections, voter turnout (as a percentage) has increased.

So far, there's been no turning back from the decision not to have satellite early voting. And, the Election Commission isn't going out of its way to get public feedback on this issue.

For more on news impacting Hendersonville and Sumner County, follow @HvilleNews