Host Eddie Mannis with his friends Sherry Jenkins, left, and Renee Repka on the lawn of his Kingston Pike home.
The Summer Swing party held this past Saturday on the front lawn at Eddie Mannis’ house certainly was aptly named. At least the “summer” part. The temperature at the event was HOT! But that didn’t stop attendees from at least attempting to “swing.” And judge a cocktail contest. And make use of a cigar bar. And participate in a live auction. Whew!
The event was a benefit for Positively Living, an organization dedicated to assisting those in our community dealing with HIV/AIDS.
Several hundred folks attended. Music was by one of my favorite bands, The Old City Buskers. A beautiful buffet was provided by Nancy Kendrick’s Creative Catering of Knoxville. Gay Lyons, Positively Living’s director of development, was in charge (as much as anyone could be!).
The party was moved from Eddie’s terraced back-yard garden to the front yard so tents could be set up due to the threat of rain. But we all agreed we liked this arrangement better because the flat surface allowed for more mingling. That’s volunteer Karyn Holbrook in the orange dress. Fortunately, the rain held off until the party was just ending.
Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett was there with his wife, Kelly.
Tony and Sharon Spezia. He’s CEO emeritus of Covenant Health.
Gay and Bill Lyons.
Kent and Kim Lauth.
Chris Sneed, left, and Will Smith.
From left, Chris McKenry, Ricky Kennedy and Jim Harness.
Valerie Coleman and Municipal Judge John Rosson.
Megan Venable, left, and Helen Harb.
Lee Ann Rogers and David Butler, executive director of the Knoxville Museum of Art.
City Councilman Finbarr Saunders and Nora Robinson.
Here’s Janet Testerman, one of the contestants in the creative cocktail contest, offering her entry, Blueberry Basilito. It was delicious!
From left, Chris Davis, Rene Yanes and Alan Carmichael.
Perhaps because of the humidity, all of our name tags kept falling off our clothes. So Frank Munger came up with a clever solution.
Dino Cartwright of WVLT-TV, Channel 8, was one of the emcees. He’s with Shaun Fulco of Moxley Carmichael.
Bedford Waters and Laura Mansfield.
Amber and Dean Littleton. He’s general manager of WATE-TV, Channel 6.
Erin Donovan, another cocktail contest entrant, offers her creation: Peachy Darin Erin. Yum!
Summertime and the mingling is easy!
Julia and Gary Bentley with Mickey Mallonee, at right.
Angie Wilson, left, with Shanna Browning.
Lauren Davis, left, of WVLT-TV, Channel 8, was an emcee. She’s with Sam Maynard and Janice Mitchell.
Mariane Whittemore, left, and Holly Hambright.
Dusty Brock, a cocktail contestant, had the best name for his drink, in my opinion: I Got 99 Problems but a Peach Ain’t One of Them!
Positively Living’s board chair, Mary Thom Adams, announces that Bedford Waters has made a significant donation to the organization. Yay!
From left, Ben Prijatel, Bill Mynatt and Jesse Volpe.
Sisters Ellen, left, and Nora Robinson.
Two of my favorite husbands: Alan Carmichael, left, who is mine, and Joey Creswell, who is married to my friend Janet Testerman.
Brian Pittman with Lori Campbell, left, and Michelle Smith.
The Cigar Bar, set up by Park City Cigar.
Bill Pittman partaking.
Becky Wade and Jake Hudson.
Rene Yanes was the winner of the cocktail contest with his drink called The Nicholas, named after the historic building where he lives. Congrats! I have to say that all four of the contest cocktails, created with ingredients from Sugarlands Shine, were great!
Dan and Pamela Chips.
Jim Landreth, left, and Bart Weaver.
Troy Lowrie, left, with Steve Walling.
The buffet was a hit. Here’s Will Smith making his selections. (Photo by Judson Hall Photography)
The Old City Buskers played on. (Photo by Judson Hall Photography)
The stifling heat did not stifle the dancing instincts of Lee Ann Rogers and Steve Drevik. (Photo by Judson Hall Photography)
Then it was auction time as Dino Cartwright and Lauren Davis took to the microphones.
Gay helped out by holding up the offerings. In this case, an original Brian Pittman drawing of a cathedral.
As everyone headed to their cars, it started to rain. As I said, “Whew!”
Here’s a little Old City Buskers music:
Always been a beer/wine person. But I want that blueberry drink that Janet Testerman made!
It was a very fun night with great folks. What a great event. Kudos to Gay Lyons!
Marvelous party — a good time was had by all!
Maria: That drink was great. Of course, truth be told, all four were delish!
Shaun: So glad you could come.
Ellen: So true.
Thanks for coming, Cynthia! I love your photos. The tents (& flat ground!) were so popular we’re going to go that route going forward. Guests can still visit Eddie’s beautiful back garden. In fact, they can no doubt see it better when there aren’t 200+ people in it. This is one of the “hottest” parties in Knoxville–literally–but everyone’s pretty good natured about it. Grab a cool drink & a funeral home fan & join the fun. Thanks to all who came & supported Positively Living.
PS: Love the alliteration….
What a wonderful article. As a P.L board member I appreciate you coming and having some hot fun with us. I will see my revenge for my winning title at a later date.
Erin: I look forward to the rematch!
Such a fun party and so good to see you! The heat didn’t seem to lessen the enthusiasm of the crowd. Already looking forward to next year!
People always ALWAYS rise to the occasion! Wonderful photos and best of all great story of taking a chance on good change. Sometimes having an umbrella as a keepsake from the giftie bag shares that news that an organization does great things. In this case, you have smiles, laughs and pictures! Perfect in every way. Here’s to the cure! Someday!
It was hot, but it was a fun evening. Loved talking with Chris and Rene, Chris and Will, Tony and Sharon, Sam “holding down the fort” Maynard, Ellen and Peter, Bill and Gay, Kim and Kent, celeb bartenders Janet and Erin, and many other friends.
Karyn: So great to see you again!
John: Wish you could have been there. I think you would have loved it.
Alan: You are right. There were so many fun folks.
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