Some of us (including me!) shook President Obama’s hand.
We cried when national treasure, poet Maya Angelou, recited a poem about slavery and black history with rapper Common.
We were astounded to see the media crush around Congressman Charles Rangel, who sat at a table next to us at lunch the day before a House ethics committee announced 13 charges against him.
We [...]

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Wow! I love our nation’s capital!
Alan and I spent last week in Washington, D.C., with our friends Phyllis and Jim Nichols and Peyton Hairston. The purpose of the trip was to attend a National Urban League convention (which I’ll write about in the next blog post), but during the course of a week in such [...]

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There was so much material this year that the annual Front Page Follies show was bound to be funny! Held Saturday at the Knoxville Convention Center, it did not disappoint.
The Follies show is the annual performance by area journalists and PR folks to raise funds for communications scholarships and poke fun at area newsmakers in the [...]

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When this turn-of-the-century church at 800 Luttrell Street was actually used as a church, I bet they never served iced tea like was served there Saturday night. The tea at this very special of Knox Heritage’s “Summer Suppers” series was laced with vodka to make a signature cocktail called an ice pick. Boy did they go down smoothly! (And [...]

Filed under: Events, Historic preservation, Knoxville, Media, Music | 18 Comments »

If you stay flexible, sometimes great opportunities come along.
I was reminded of this last week when I picked up a voice message Wednesday evening from my friend Gay Lyons. “Call me as soon as you can,” the message said. “I want to invite you to a really interesting party at my house on Friday.”
I thought, “Oh, no. I won’t [...]

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Last night was the second annual “Peeling, Eating and Politicking” event sponsored by the Knoxville Chamber. Things worked out much better this year.

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How does a workaholic artist relax? By making more art, of course!
Julie Bernal, 27, works 40-hour weeks at Moxley Carmichael as a graphic designer. Her clients include Pilot, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Young-Williams Animal Center, Premier Surgical Associates and many other members of our great, high-profile client list. Julie designs

Filed under: Art, Downtown, Media | 7 Comments »

Who doesn’t love a trivia quiz? Especially when there are prizes involved!
Last week, as part of the 30th anniversary celebration of the Executive Women’s Association, members Dawn Ford and Jeannie Dulaney challenged us to a trivia quiz about the history of women in Knoxville. Prizes? Susan B. Anthony dollars: one for each correct answer and [...]

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In 1985, I was assigned to write a series of articles for The Knoxville Journal about women in power in Knoxville. The conclusion of the series, which was called “Silent Majority: A Woman’s Voice in Knoxville,” was that women were not at all powerful in Knoxville.
There had never been a woman mayor, UT President or [...]

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We were just filing into The Foundry for the 7th annual Diva Luncheon, a fashion show of wearable art that is part of the Dogwood Arts Festival. The facility’s banquet manager, Jason Grahl, looking worried, rushed up to Mickey Mallonee, the chair of the event.
“I need to ask you something,” he said, his brow furrowed. [...]

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