The “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” house is built, the Watson family is moved in, and the folks who worked on it are back to their normal lives, perhaps a little bit changed by the experience.
All this is good. But one thing I hated to see go was the VIP tent! It turned out to [...]

Filed under: Business, Events, Food, Knoxville | 2 Comments »

When my friend Gina Changas and I heard that entertainers were needed to play the VIP tent for fundraisers during the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” build, we both had the same idea: Con Hunley!
And what a good idea it was. Hunley and his band sold out the $125-per-ticket event. And when it was over, folks [...]

Filed under: Events, Knoxville, Music | 6 Comments »

Last week, the Robinson Road build site of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” was a muddy, cold mess. Heavy machines were slipping and sliding. People were falling down in slippery muck. There really was nowhere to go to get your feet on solid ground — until it froze!
But, starting late Thursday, a little oasis sprang up. [...]

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For the past 11 years, we have been celebrating News Year’s Eve with two other couples: Richard and Dawn Ford and Jackie and Ray Fisher. Sometimes we go out to eat, sometimes we go to a party, and sometimes we watch the ball drop at Market Square.
This year we did all three. And we saw [...]

Filed under: Downtown, Events, Food, Historic preservation, Knoxville, Media, Politics, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

As the new year approaches, our friend and colleague, Ellen Robinson, has accepted a new challenge. She is leaving her post as vice president at Moxley Carmichael to head up the marketing efforts of Lewis, King, Krieg and Waldrop, the largest law firm in Knoxville (if you rank by number of attorneys).
Since we often do [...]

Filed under: Downtown, Events, Food, Knoxville, Public Relations | 17 Comments »

I hope you have heard by now that the Emmy-winning ABC television show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” is coming to Knoxville to build a home for a deserving family next month. This is the show that enlists tons of community volunteers and donated materials and — while the selected family is whisked away for a [...]

Filed under: Art, Business, Events, Food, Knoxville, Media, Public Relations | 6 Comments »

I apologize for being such a poor blogger the past few weeks. Work has been just crazy busy. Besides, I still get a bunch of hits just by leaving the photo of Allison Burchett in that dress on the blog’s first page! Ha!
But Christmas season has been rushing by like the water out of a [...]

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“An Evening in Paris” was the theme last Saturday for the Symphony Ball, an annual gala produced by the Knoxville Symphony League to benefit the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. But as Alan and I drove west on Lyons View Pike toward Cherokee Country Club where the event was being held, the venue could not have looked [...]

Filed under: Events, Food, Knoxville, Music, Uncategorized | 7 Comments »

As a former newspaper reporter, I am something of a skeptic. That’s probably why I became a reporter in the first place. So it’s perhaps understandable that, 18 years ago, when I was selected to be in that year’s Leadership Knoxville class, I had low expectations. I mostly had covered business and government and politics [...]

Filed under: Business, Knoxville | 14 Comments »

OK. Put away that turkey and dressing. Get the dishes in the dishwasher. Maybe take a nap. But then, at some point this weekend, pry the folks away from the football games on TV and get yourself over to the Knoxville Convention Center for the Fantasy of Trees. It’s time to get in the Christmas [...]

Filed under: Downtown, Events, Knoxville | 4 Comments »