Serving the Tri-Cities for over 60 years, Blackburn, Childers & Steagall, PLC is one of the oldest, most respected firms in Upper East Tennessee. The firm was founded in 1961 by Carl Childers, Jr. (deceased) and Joe A. Blackburn, Jr. (deceased), when they consolidated their individual Johnson City practices into the partnership of Blackburn and Childers. Charles Steagall began working with them in 1966 while attending East Tennessee State University (ETSU). When Charles became a partner in 1970, the firm’s name became Blackburn, Childers & Steagall.

Jeff Blackburn started working at BCS in 1977 and has been a partner since 1979. Jeff is a Johnson City native and graduate of ETSU. Karen McMurray joined the firm in 1980. Also a graduate of ETSU, Karen became a partner in 1992 and retired from the firm at the end of 2022. Tommy Greer joined the firm in 1994 and became managing partner of the firm in 1995. Our most recent partners include Melissa Steagall-Jones (2002), Wade Farmer (2003), Chad Kisner (2009), Kevin Peters (2009), Andy Hatfield (2012), Mike Eddy (2015), Kenny Benson (2019), Sarah Presnell (2022), Tara Fenner (2023), and Andy Clark (2024).

Since 1961, our firm has grown both in employees and location geographically. Now located in Johnson City, Kingsport and Greeneville, we have a staff of over 90 with experts in accounting, taxes and consulting to cover areas such as auditing; personal financial planning; medical practice consulting; litigation support; business valuations and entrepreneurial ventures; estate services; employee benefits; and other specialized services. Along with the growth in staff and locations, BCS has become synonymous with excellence in the area of professional services. The goal of the firm has always been to provide quality professional and business services that meet and exceed their clients’ expectations, without compromising sound professional or personal ethics.