This time of year, it seems that not a day goes by that we don’t open our mailboxes to find elegant invitations or “Save the Date” cards notifying us of some fabulous upcoming event. The price tags for attending these soirees generally range from $75 to $300 per person (for the really swanky ones). And in many cases, the events really are swell. But with so many crowding our calendars, they also can get a little monotonous. Many of us are developing what I call “event fatigue.”

So, please have mercy and consider these suggestions as you plan your next charity extravaganza:

1. Be unique. Most of us really, really, really don’t need to go to another single event in some ballroom that goes like this: silent auction, dinner, live auction, dance band. We have been to dozens and dozens of those. Instead, play up something that makes your event or your cause unusual. Ijams Nature Center has its fundraiser outside at the nature center. That’s unique. Dinner at the zoo? Unique. Knox Heritage is having an auction in the historic L&N train station. Again, different. The Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum is having its fall fundraiser in the garden, of course, which is perfect. Are you raising money for a performing arts organization? Then, for goodness sake, have that performing arts organization perform at the event! We don’t need to go to Cherokee Country Club or a hotel ballroom one more time for a silent auction, dinner, live auction, and dancing to a band from Atlanta or Nashville or somewhere like that. Please.

2. Keep it short on week nights and short-ish on weekends. At Moxley Carmichael, we consider 9 p.m. to be the absolute latest to end an event on a week night. Eight or 8:30 is even better. Here’s something to think about. If your guests are sitting under a tent surrounded by a bunch of wild animals in east Knoxville and they are still being served their dinners at 10 p.m., you need to rethink the flow of the event. We attended that particular party and left during the live auction and before the band had struck the first chord. That’s not good for fund-raising.

3. Jazz up the silent auctions. It takes a little creativity, but you can do it! For instance, it is not much fun to bid on a restaurant gift certificate when you know the cash value of the certificate. It’s just boring. Instead of dinner for two at a particular restaurant, make it dinner for two with someone interesting at that same restaurant. Politicians, sports figures, newscasters, performers. All make good additions to a nice gift certificate. Same goes for golf. Instead of a foursome at one of the local courses, offer golf for three with someone interesting. Tons of notable people play golf and would be happy to help out a good cause. You can get so much more money for an item when the value truly is unknown or, even, priceless.

4. Check the calendar to see if you will be competing with another event on a particular night. It’s OK to compete if the two organizations have different target audiences. But, for instance, Center Stage benefiting East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, and Oysterfest, benefiting Childhelp Tennessee, are on the same night every year. I think one of them should change because the same folks would likely attend both events if they could. Because Knoxville has gotten so lively, it’s impossible to avoid all conflicts, but at least pay attention and try to avoid going head-to-head with a similar event.

OK. That’s all for now. Get back to your event planning. Oh, one other thing. Our client, the Knoxville Convention Center, is a lovely facility. Prettier than the hotel ballrooms and bigger than Cherokee Country Club or Club LeConte. It can accommodate a large dinner crowd and still have room for the biggest performing arts groups in our community. Even one with the initials KSO. Just saying.

Update: Got good news today from Children’s Hospital friends that Center Stage in 2011 will be April 9 and Oysterfest is set for April 16. So glad Alan and I will be able to go to both next year! Great job, folks!

Sweet P's owner Chris Ford picks the pigs Saturday.

Smokin’ Day Fest is an annual benefit for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Basically, it is an all-you-can eat party featuring smoked pork sandwiches, potato salad, macaroni and cheese and cole slaw. Beer at Smokin’ Day Fest was sponsored by Knoxville’s Cherokee Distributing Company, meaning Sweet P’s most popular brands were available: Miller Lite, Pabst Blue Ribbon, and Miller High Life. I think I even saw a Coor’s Light or two.

Other highlights of the afternoon and evening were the music, the Corn Holin’ beanbag tossing contest and the much ballyhooed banana pudding eating contest. This is an event where you could truly do good while feeling good. We highly recommend you check it out next year. Admission this year was $20 in advance and $25 on the day of the Fest. The music alone was worth that.

The Smokin’ Day festivities started at 4. That’s about the time the Three Uncles took to the patio with hard core country music. The Three Uncles are a portion of the better-known group called The Drunk Uncles.

The Three Uncles on the patio. Note the guy on the far left. His name is Gordy. You will see him later in this post. Ha.

Because it was so incredibly hot, many of us chose to stay inside.

Inside fun.

Mary Ellen and Dr. Steven Brewington displaying probably the most popular libation of the day. Mary Ellen is with Cherokee Distributing.

For those not in the mood for beer, these elegant wine buckets were provided!

Alan happily digs in to the victuals of the day.

When the Three Uncles finished, Kevin Buchmeier took the inside stage. Among other songs, he played "I'll Risk It for Her Biscuits," a ditty he wrote for this summer's International Biscuit Festival.

Finally, our friend Rosa arrived. We had told her to bring a folding chair. But she did us one better and also brought a pillow! Rosa, how long were you planning to stay at Smokin’ Day?

Rosa Mar, left, arrives with all her gear. Dawn Ford, the mother of Sweet P's proprietor, greets her.

When it started to cool down, we ventured outside to see what was going on. It was largely more of the same sort of fun!

Outside fun.

The Naughty Knots took the outside stage.

The Naughty Knots play bluegrass and more.

The Corn Holin' contest was in full swing in the parking lot.

The lemonade stand was popular.

Hayden Hammond, left, and Presley Ford staffed the lemonade stand.

A word about Presley Ford. She’s the “Sweet P” of “Sweet P’s!” The daughter of Chris and Kari Ford, she was named after Elvis Presley. The restaurant features plenty of Elvis memorabilia.

Presley poses with the pig that decorates the lemonade stand.

Presley and her maternal grandmother, Diana Chappell

Guess what time is was getting to be! Time for the banana pudding eating contest! Yay! Five contestants claimed seats at the table.

Gordy, of the Three Uncles, unbottoned his shirt in preparation for the start of the contest. Notice he had his beer handy to wash it down!

It became clear almost immediately that there were only two real contenders in this race to eat the most banana pudding in one minute.

Evan Broadhead was giving Gordy a run for his money from the get-go.

But Gordy ultimately won! The prize? A $25 Sweet P's gift certificate and t-shirt.

Said Evan after the contest, “Gordy and I just want everyone to know that the rest of our families were born normal.”

Peggy Hambright of Magpies bakery enjoyed the outdoors and even played a little fiddle.

John Lyon and Kari Ford chat under the tent.

Robert Coakley, left, and Bob McClellan enjoyed watching the pudding contest.

From left, Rosa Mar, Dawn Ford, Richard Ford, Stephanie Schell, Alan Carmichael, and Jason Schell

As night fell, the fantastic R&B group Aftah Party took over the outside stage and folks took to the parking lot dance floor.

Aftah Party

Woo-hoo!

Thanks to Sweet P’s and Cherokee Distributing for a great Saturday night and to our friends, the Ford family, for the invite!

From left, Richard, Chris and Dawn Ford

The top of the hard-working smoker!

Sonja Kulseng-Hansen, the bartender at Sapphire, offers customers a very unique Bloody Mary.

Saturday in Knoxville dawned overcast and drizzly, but our spirits were not dampened. We knew we were about to embark on the “Bloody Mary March,” our own name for the monthly Market Square Mixer, which is a contest among downtown restaurants to see who can make the best cocktail.

The type of drink for the contest changes monthly — as do the participating restaurants. Last month, the S&W Grand on Gay Street won when the key ingredient was cucumbers. The idea for the contest is to feature products from the Market Square Farmers’ Market. The Market provides each restaurant with a quantity of the featured ingredient but the rest is up to them.

This event is an incredible deal. Customers pay $15 and usually five restaurants participate. This week, however, eight restaurants took part! They are supposed to serve smallish drinks, but some just go ahead and give you a big one! My advice: pace yourself. You don’t have to finish every drink!

Here’s how our day went.

Alan and I arranged to meet our friend Richard Ford (his wife, Dawn, was sick and couldn’t make it) at Oodles Uncorked on Market Square at noon, when the contest officially started.

Our waiter explained that the Oodles team created a special Bloody Mary for the contest based roughly on the bruschetta featured on the restaurant’s brunch menu. What a great idea, we thought. We loved the pickled asparagus that garnished the drink. But, for our taste, the Bloody itself was a little too sweet, too oniony and too pulpy. (Richard, however, managed to finish his!)

Here's Richard at Oodles, our first stop. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, as they say.

Then it was on to Latitude 35, where we ran into a puzzlement. Although they had asked to be added to the contest, they didn’t make a special Bloody Mary. At least not while we were there. “I’m not going to lie,” the bartender told us. “This is our regular mix.” They used Zing Zang mix, which happens to be our favorite, so we drank the Bloody Mary anyway. We loved it, as usual, but didn’t consider them a contender when it came time to vote for the winner. What did they do with the tomatoes from the Farmers’ Market, I wondered. “They put them on the hamburgers,” Richard quipped.

Richard and Alan Carmichael raise their glasses at Latitude 35. We drank their Bloody, but disqualified them from our ballot.

Alrighty then, onward and upward. The best thing about Market Square on Saturday is that you always see folks you know. In this case, we ran smack-dab into three of our favorite Knox County commissioners. “We ’sunshined’ this,” they said in unison, referring to the state’s so-called “Sunshine Law,” which requires that public notice be given whenever public officials meet. We explained that we didn’t care because we were on our way to drinking eight Bloody Marys!

Alan, left, greets commissioners, from left, Dave Wright, Dr. Richard Briggs, and Ed Shouse on Market Square.

When we got to Gay Street, things really started getting interesting. At the S&W Grand, bartender Kris Greeson explained that his team smoked half the tomatoes and some peppers from the Farmers’ Market and combined them with “about 60 or 70 other ingredients” to make the interesting concoction for the contest. They called their Bloody the “SKS’ standing for Shane, Kris and Shane, the team that created it. It was smoky and delicious. “I find it amusing,” Richard deadpanned, as if he were a wine taster.

The Bloody Mary at the S&W Grand was garnished with a fried green bean which was, in itself, delicious.

We thought the sunflowers on the bar were a nice touch, even if the vase appears to be a pickle jar!

At Sapphire, our next stop, the first thing the bartender asked us was if we were vegetarians. That’s because the vodka they used for the special drink had been infused with bacon! Wow! We loved the result — and the garnish! The bartender, Sonja Kulseng-Hansen, said her team was inspired by the television show “Three Sheets” to really come up with something unique.

The Bloody Mary at Sapphire -- garnished with bacon!

Richard says he's not feeling a buzz at all. Hmmm.

At the Downown Grill and Brewery, bartender Megan Croft created the contest entry. The secret ingredient: some of the pub’s own beer, State Street Stout. Not a big stout fan, I was iffy on the result. But I’d give them an A for effort.

The Bloody was made with beer (and vodka!) at the Downtown Grill and Brewery.

At our next stop, Regas, we ran into a convivial group, pictured below. They had come up with their own method of ranking the Bloody Marys — they called it “The Baldwin Rankings.” Alec for first place, Stephen for second, Billy for third, Daniel for fourth and Adam for fifth place. “We put Adam in the lowest spot because when we Googled him, we found out he’s not a real Baldwin brother,” one of the guys explained. “He’s not related to them in any way!”

At The Gathering Place, the bar at Regas, from left: Sarah McLemore, Jon Gill, John Riccio, Brian Gray and Mary Shaffer Speight.

The Bloody Mary at Regas was spectacular. Richard said he’d give it five points for the garnish alone: a jumbo shrimp, a slice of bacon, an big olive and a celery stick. It was nothing crazy, just great ingredients and a fabulous presentation. “I’d give it a yum!” Richard opined.

The special contest Bloody Mary recipe at Regas was created by manager Roy Frazier.

The happy duo at Regas

With only two stops left, we headed to Preservation Pub, where we were informed they had run out of the special Bloody Marys. They offered us one made from mix which we, of course, accepted. But we crossed them off the list as contenders.

Richard at Preservation Pub. He's hanging in there!

Wow! The last stop was definitely worth the wait. The folks at La Costa on Market Square infused their vodka with habanero and jalapeno peppers. It had a kick, which we needed on Bloody number eight! Its flavor definitely was brightened by the peppers.

Here's the vodka La Costa used in the Bloody Marys Saturday.

We dropped our score cards in the jar at La Costa as we headed to the condo for naps. The process took five hours, but what a fun afternoon. Here’s our assessment: Regas first, La Costa second, Sapphire and S&W tied for third, nice efforts by Downtown Grill and Oodles, and Latitude 35 and Preservation Pub disqualified.

We look forward to hearing who the official winner is and will post it here when we find out, so check back. (The ballots are still being collected and counted.) Do you have any Bloody Mary secret ingredients? If so, please post in the comments section. Cheers!

Jeannie Dulaney, left, has been on The Blue Streak nine times, Bill Lyons 21 times, and Susan Brown 23 times!

OK. Here was the thought. The Blue Streak is only successful because of the great folks who let us take their pictures and attend their events.

We decided to throw a cocktail party to thank them. We invited to the party the people who have been on The Blue Streak the most, according to the little search box at the top of the blog. Wow. What interesting information that process turned up:

• Who’s been on it the absolute most? You probably can figure out the answer to that: Alan Carmichael, my husband. From the beginning of  the Blue Streak in April, 2009 to the end of July, 2010, Alan had been on it 53 times.
• Number two? Gay Lyons, who appeared 25 times, followed by Susan Brown at 23.
• Man, other than Alan, who appeared the most? Bill Lyons at 21.

Gay Lyons has been our "victim" 25 times! Thanks, Gay!

Anyway, you get the idea. We reserved the bar called The Gathering Place at Regas restaurant downtown, sent out e-mailed invitations and were thrilled with the turnout at the event earlier this week. Everyone’s name tag had a number on it representing the number of times they had been on the blog, which turned out to be a great conversation starter.

Only problem? I violated my own rule, which I wrote about very early in this blog, about how to put together a guest list. I had way too many “sparklies,” which accounted for the noise level! To review those rules, click here. And please say yes when The Blue Streak approaches you! We’ll do this party again!

Thanks, everybody.

P.S. The Blue Streak has been nominated by the readers of the News Sentinel as best blog. We were thrilled to win that honor last year. If you enjoy The Blue Streak, please vote for us. Deadline is midnight, Friday, Aug. 20. Click here for the ballot. Then click the category called “Local Blogger.”  You also can vote for Cynthia for “Local Tweeter.” Thanks!

From left, Judith Foltz has been on the blog six times, Rachel Ford eight times, and Mary Bogert six times.

Janet Testerman, right, has been on it 17 times and her mother, Janet Crossley, has been on it nine times.

David Martin has been on The Blue Streak seven times, Marilyn Roddy, center, six times, and Sharon Pryse seven.

From left: Grady Regas, Lindsay Duncan, Bill Regas (who has been on eight times), and John Duncan III (who also has been on eight times)

Deanene Catani (six times) and David Dewhirst (10 times)

Jennifer Holder, right, goes to a lot of the same places I do. She's been on The Blue Streak 13 times. Here she poses with Moxley Carmichael CFO Shaun Fulco, who's getting to be a pretty frequent Streak subject herself!

WBIR General Manager Jeff Lee has been on the blog six times. He arrived with is wife, left, Christy, and WBIR's Erin Donovan, who's been our target seven times.

From left: Tim Williams (19 times), Melinda Meador (seven times), David Martin (seven), and Finbarr Saunders (seven)

Amy Williams, who has been "Streaked" nine times, with family friend Eric Botts.

John Duncan III, left, and Mike Arms both have appeared eight times.

We call them the "Seersucker Brothers!" Peter Acly, left, has been on The Blue Streak nine times, and Richard Ford, 12.

Scott Bird of Moxley Carmichael, left, and Kevin Wright.

Alan Carmichael, left, has been on the blog 53 times. Jim Nichols, 11.

Kim Trent has appeared eight times. She's here with Jesse Mayshark.

Ellen Robinson, left, of Moxley Carmichael, has been on The Blue Streak 12 times. Deanene Catani, six.

From left, Richard Ford (12), Susan Brown (23), Sheena McCall (seven), and Dawn Ford (16)

Charley Sexton, left, and Gavin Baker, both of Moxley Carmichael.

Tami Hartmann, center, has been on eight times. She's flanked by Sharon Pryse to the left, seven, and Shaun Fulco.

Georgiana Vines, left, has been on The Blue Streak six times. Her special friend, Gideon Fryer, came to the party with her.

Some people are SO competitive! We spotted a few altered name tags! (Don't try to fool The Blue Streak!)

Cute pic! Mary Bogert, left, and Lindsay Duncan. (Here's a secret: if you want to be photographed a lot, get to events early. I'm nervous that I won't get enough photos, so I shoot a bunch of the first people!)

From left: Bill Regas, Janet Crossley, Alan Carmichael.

This was a great venue for a party this size. Intimate, but with plenty of mingling room.

But also comfortable places to sit.

Our party went long and Regas had rented out the dance floor to the Knoxville Argentine Tango Society, which we enjoyed watching!

These women were our servers and they are saints! Diane Ryan, left, and Joanna Dickenson have worked together 13 years.

When we left, the Wienermobile was parked right outside Regas! How perfect! I love that thing!

Snowcones were popular at sunny Shoes for School event Saturday.

In the morning last Saturday, I witnessed scores of volunteers of all races come together in a huge event to help the less fortunate — also of all races.

In the afternoon, I stood on Market Square and watched hate mongers shout “White Power!” while surrounded by police and counter-protesters.

The contrast could not have been more stark. I’m grateful I had the morning experience to help me keep the afternoon one in perspective.

The morning event was “Shoes for School,” an annual activity sponsored by the Knoxville Area Urban League and Enterprise Rent-A-Car to provide new athletic shoes to underprivileged children in time for the start of school. It involved 38 companies and organizations, 28 community service groups and 240 volunteers. More than 1,100 children got shoes and school supplies.

The afternoon event was, of course, the march of a hate group, the National Socialist Movement, from Market Square to the courthouse. The organizers of that event were not from Knoxville. But the counter-protesters were. (I was on Market Square because I had unwittingly scheduled a nail appointment at Salon Visage at the same time as the march.)

The police in a show of force in downtown Knoxville Saturday.

The morning event was bright and cheerful with music and ice cream and huge inflatables. The afternoon event was creepy with a noisy police helicopter circling overhead and police SWAT team members hanging onto an armored vehicle in the center of the square. Appropriately, the sky darkened as a storm gathered to the west.

While some on Facebook and Twitter suggested that Knoxville should be embarrassed by the hate march, I was actually proud of Knoxville on Saturday. We provided the resources to do some good for people who needed it. And we met the modern-day Nazis with an even larger demonstration than they had brought showing our disagreement with their position. Our law enforcement officials made it abundantly clear that law-breakers would not be tolerated — and they weren’t.

A normal Saturday turned into a very thought-provoking day. Here are photos from both events. I think they pretty much tell the story.

It was a beautiful Saturday morning when organizers set up Shoes for School in East Knoxville's Caswell Park.

The folks from Enterprise Rent-A-Car handed the shoes out from a big Enterprise truck. From left: Sally Brown, Will Hill and Latessa Wheeler.

Taylor Carter, left, and Megan Elizabeth Romero helped hand out the shoes.

Tim Romero, of Enterprise, also is on the board of the Knoxville Area Urban League.

Gwen Brown, of BPR, handed out school supplies. She also is an Urban League board member.

Peyton Hairston, the chairman of the Urban League board, assists his colleagues from TVA with their banner.

TVA brought one of the most in-demand items!

As the temperature rose, this inflatable waterslide got more and more popular.

Games such as this one at the Mercy Health booth entertained the students as they waited their turn to pick up shoes.

What's a game without a selection of prizes?

The folks from Pellissippi State Community College staffed this big inflatable that they provided. From left: Cynthia Dirl, Patti Rogers, Benita Turner and Rosalyn Tillman, who also is an Urban League board member.

Stocking up on brand new school supplies.

The folks from Schwan passed out ice cream.

These fellows liked it!

Becca Boyd of Sysco passes out Rice Krispie Treats -- they don't melt! Her boss said of this event, "We'll never NOT do it."

Charlotte Spurr of Scripps Networks passed out school supplies in her company's booth.

Adorable.

Knoxville Area Urban League CEO Phyllis Nichols, center, poses with Tammy Strader, left, and Becky Lane of Denark Construction. Denark contributes logistical help in setting up the site.

The Urban League booth was staffed by Qiana Hardy, standing, in white t-shirt, a member of the Urban League Young Professionals, Aaron Kyle and Brenda Roper, both Urban League staff members.

Tierney Bates, left, past president of the Urban League Young Professionals, chats with Jeremy Cook of SunTrust Bank.

U.S. Cellular folks gather at their booth.

A little later, in the heart of downtown Knoxville, another group was getting organized. The mood wasn’t quite so cheerful.

Bicycle cops clustered outside the Market Square Garage prior to the 3 p.m. start of the National Socialist Movement march.

A police helicopter hovered over downtown.

The white things the policemen have are newfangled handcuffs.

Here's the start of the march on Market Square. They shouted "Sieg Heil!" and "White power!"

The middle of the march.

An armored vehicle trailed behind the marchers and drove down the middle of Market Square.

The crowd of counter-protesters was much larger than the group of marchers. The counter-protesters waited on Main Street.

This was still on the sidewalk the next day.

Photo credit: My friend Andie Ray took five of these photos: the police show of force, the bike cops, the chopper, the handcuffs and the counter-protest.  Thanks, Andie, for letting me use them.

Shaun Fulco, our CFO, packs up our liquor for the move. (She has all the important jobs around here.)

Today is the last day for us in the glass tower that has been our home for the past 15 years. It’s moving day and we are taking our toys and moving from First Tennessee Plaza, the tallest building in downtown, to the Miller’s Building, about four blocks north on Gay Street.

I will explain the reasons for our move in a later post. But right now, we are consumed with the actual ACT of moving. You know how it is! We are using this move as an incentive to “shed and shred,” as my friend Phyllis Nichols likes to say. We are looking into nooks and crannies that haven’t been looked in for years in an attempt not to move things we won’t be needing. I thought you’d like to see some of the things we have run across!

Scott M. Cutlip was a pioneer in the field of public relations education and he wrote the quintessential textbook on PR. He also was the dean of the University of Georgia College of Journalism and Mass Communications when I graduated from there in 1978. Although I was a journalism major, they made us take a PR course — and I still have Dean Cutlip’s book.

"Effective Public Relations," a classic textbook, tells how PR ought to be done. Our design director, Charley Sexton, had it in a small library in his office.

This is how PR is actually done! Just kidding. Ashley Hubbard found our Magic Eight Ball in the design department.

Gavin Baker, director of digital media, our newest employee, found this beach ball somewhere in our office.

It was a souvenir from a welcome reception we threw for new UT Head Men's Basketball Coach Buzz Peterson in 2001! I don't think we'll be needing that.

Many years ago, we helped promote a campaign for KUB called, "Can the Grease." Think we can toss this now? (Reminder: Don't pour grease down your sink!)

Christine Bieniek models a hard hat from the Turkey Creek opening.

Hmmm. When did we work on the Turkey Creek project? Mid-90s? Toss!

Every good PR shop needs a witch's broom! Rachel Dellinger holds ours, leftover from a special Clarence Brown Theatre 8-minute performance of "The Wizard of Oz" in our lobby several years ago.

You never know when you will need a tiny KUB bucket truck! Julie Bernal, shows off ours.

This is left over from the Lane Kiffin welcome reception. We really don't need to discuss that.

A couple of years ago, our annual February client party fell on Ground Hog Day. These guys were part of the decor. I think they are making the move.

One year, our client party was on Washington's birthday. Thus, this clever stand-up made by our creative department.

When "The Apprentice" was really new, that was the theme for our client party. Unfortunately, the actor we hired to play Donald Trump got a little "over-served" during the party and started getting a little too friendly with the interns. We had to fire him in the middle of the party! (Precious memories.)

AP Stylebook from 2005. They update this thing every year. Think we can toss?

Lauren Christ handles the U.S. Cellular account for us. She has these "vintage" cell phones in her office. Hmmm.

I guess this is a vintage message holder that Ellen Robinson found.

She's become strangely attached to it.

Charley likes Pez dispensers and Elvis. Ellen gave him this.

I knew you wanted to see a close-up.

I have no idea!

We used these directional signs based on images by News Sentinel editorial cartoonist Charlie Daniel when the News Sentinel's new building opened in 2002.

Tami Hartmann packs up a memento made for her by the graphics staff.

Alan Carmichael changes his mind about something he threw away. Let it go, Alan!

This is Blackie, a bit of company lore. A story for another time. He moves with us.

We probably don't need to keep this sign we designed for Bill Haslam's first mayoral campaign. He's running for governor now.

Young people like Amy Foster don't remember when we needed large staplers like this. Heck, I can hardly remember myself. Are we taking this? (Graphics says yes.)

Scott Bird has a reputation as a (humorous) complainer. (At least I think he's joking.) Ellen gave him this special bracelet.

It says, "A Complaint Free World.org." He keeps it in his desk, but I've never seen him wear it. Except today.

Kelly Leiter, dean emeritus of the UT College of Communications, sent me this photo of a truck he saw on the highway. It says, "With MOX all things are possible." How sweet is that?

I've always loved "Newsie," the News Sentinel's old mascot. This little "Newsie" sits on top of my computer. You know who LOATHES "Newsie?" Michael Silence. Just ask him. I'm taking "Newsie" to the new digs.

I'm taking Dilbert and Dogbert, too.

OK, time to go! Bob Wilson packs up our clock. See you all at the Miller's Building!

Photo credit: Charley Sexton took the photos of Rachel holding the Bill Haslam sign and the purple bracelet. Thanks, Charley!

Joan Cronan on Tuesday

She was really looking forward to signing up to play Little League baseball so, when tryouts were scheduled, she hurried over to the ball field. “I knew I was better than the boys because I’d already been beating them in the backyard,” she said.

But guess what. The coach told her girls weren’t allowed to try out. She was shocked. And motivated. “I knew right then that I would be in the business of teaching women to compete,” she said.

Today, Cronan is in her 27th year as UT women’s athletic director. She told the Powell Business and Professional Association how she views her job. “Athletics is the front porch of the university,” she said. “It’s not the most important part of the house, but it’s the first thing you see. Our job is to get people to come into the house. My job is to keep the front porch strong and appealing and clean.”

Cronan said her position actually requires her to be in three distinct lines of business. “The first is the business of education,” she said. “We have 240 female athletes who need to get their degrees and also learn from participating in sports.”

The second line of business, she said, is actually running a business. “Athletics is a $100 million business at UT,” she noted. “I have to be sure the business of women’s athletics is sound.”

The third line of business is entertainment. “We want you to watch us,” she said. “We want you to have fun and buy our concessions and t-shirts.”

Here are some other highlights of Cronan’s talk:

• UT leads the country in attendance at women’s basketball games with an average crowd of 15,000 per game. The next in the average size of crowd in the Southeastern Conference is Vanderbilt, with an average attendance of 5,000. If you count attendance at all men’s and women’s basketball games — pros and college levels — the Lady Vols are in seventh place. (Wow!)
• Candace Parker is the best player ever to have played the game, Cronan said unequivocably.
• When the heavily recruited Parker came to UT in 2004, she told Cronan and Coach Pat Summitt she selected UT because, “Where else in America would they be scalping tickets to a women’s basketball game?”
• Title IX, which requires that women and men have equal opportunity in college sports, has been a success she said. “I don’t need a study to show me that,” Cronan said. “All I have to do is get on an airplane.” She said when she tells the person — usually a man — in the seat beside her what her job is, he invariably starts telling her how good his daughter or granddaughter is in a certain sport. “Ladies and gentlemen, Title Nine is working when moms and dads and grandmothers and granddads want the same thing for their daughters and granddaughters that they want for their sons and grandsons.”
• Pat Summitt is the finest coach in America, she said. Not just in women’s basketball, but across the board.
• In response to a question, Cronan poo-pooed the idea of UT combining its women’s and men’s athletic departments. UT is one of only two programs in America that separate the two departments. Cronan and Men’s Athletic Director Mike Hamilton both report to the chancellor. She doesn’t want that to change. “As long as it’s this way, the Lady Vols will never lose their identity or their power,” she said. By “power,” she said she meant “voice” or ability to be heard.
• At UT, football and men’s and women’s basketball are the only sports that make money. UT is one of only 12 schools in America where athletics make money.

Great progam.

Joan Cronan poses with Kim Sepesi, a newly elected school board member who works for Rural/Metro Corp.

State Rep. Bill Dunn chats with Clare Crawford after the meeting.

I wonder what Knox County Commissioner R. Larry Smith, left, is discussing with state Rep. Bill Dunn.

Dianna Glandon of Above the Rest, a balloon and events company, meets Joan Cronan.

Noell Lewis, left, is president of the Powell Business and Professional Association.

"Johnny's angels!" That's how John Mills described this pose with his wife, Charlotte, left, and Kim Sepesi. Ha!

Geico had a display in the vendor area of the National Urban League convention. Of course they brought their famous gecko!

Poor Alan. Because I learned in journalism school that photos with people in them are generally more interesting than photos of things alone, I always try to put someone in the pictures I take of interesting things I run across.

Of course, who am I most often with when I run across interesting things? My sweet husband, Alan Carmichael. He has been the ultimate good sport in this regard.

But I think I may have pushed him to his limit — or beyond — a couple of weeks ago when we went to Washington, D.C., for the Urban League’s national convention. So, after this post, I’m going to give Alan a break and make some other people pose with various sights I happen upon. This is fair warning to my friends!

We loved these whimsical sculptures of a mastodon and a donkey at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

Alan poses with Elvis at the entrance to a special exhibit about "The King" at the Newseum.

This sculpture of a man trying to wrangle a huge horse is outside the Federal Trade Commission Building across Pennsylvania Avenue from the Newseum. Titled "Man Controlling Trade," it was made for the FTC in 1942 by New York sculptor Michael Lantz.

Alan at Nationals Park for a Nationals vs. Braves game.

I think Alan was trying to make a point when he picked up this t-shirt at the Newseum! It says: "Not a photo opportunity." Hahaha.

Bill Haslam delivers an animated acceptance speech.

I don’t know why I was worried, but I was. I guess it’s because I’ve seen the electorate do so many wrong-headed things (as they did in at least one case in Knox County last night — but that’s not my story here).

A group of us braved literally blinding rain storms and — after stops at several Pilots on I-40 – made it from Knoxville to downtown Nashville in time for a great dinner and an even greater evening celebrating Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam’s victory in the Republican primary for Tennessee governor.

It was fun. But the battle is not over. Even as I write this on Friday morning, Haslam and his campaign team are meeting to discuss strategy for winning the general election in November.

But I don’t want to think about that now. Here are scenes from last night.

The setting was the downtown Hilton on Second Avenue. After check-in, we gathered in Mickey Mallonee’s room to fortify ourselves for the evening ahead.

From left, Gay Lyons, Mickey Mallonee and Bill Lyons

Although the hotel furnished perfectly lovely wine glasses, we chose to drink from paper cups left over from Bill Haslam’s first run for mayor of Knoxville. We figured they worked last time we used them, so they might work again!

Not only are the cups lucky, they are a Moxley Carmichael design!

Well, they needed a little update.

New design courtesy of Gay Lyons!

Dinner was at Margot, a cute little 80-seat restaurant in East Nashville. Our young friend Hannah Parker selected it and we unanimously recommend it.

From left, the manager of the restaurant, Gay Lyons, Hannah Parker, Alan Carmichael, Mickey Mallonee, and Bill Lyons

We were just finishing dinner when our mobile devices told us the early voting returns were coming in. We rushed back to the Hilton and into the McKissick Room, which had been reserved for a reception for members of Haslam’s finance committee as well as people who had “maxed out” on their campaign contribution limit.

Noted Republican fundraiser Ted Welch, right, poses with Fred Marcum of Sen. Howard Baker's office, and Colleen Welch

We were happy to see former Knoxvillians Leigh Hendry and Bo Roberts at the event for maxed out donors!

Eddie Mannis, left, Rhonda and Bill Rice

From left, Bob Talbott, Culver and Linda Schmid, and Rob Talbott

John Turley, left, and Mike Edwards at the reception

We barely had gotten our first free — except for the campaign contribution! — drink when Jim Haslam, the candidate’s father, announced to the assemblage that the Associated Press had called the race for Bill Haslam! Yay!

Jim Haslam delivers the great news!

Then it was on to the hotel ballroom.

An awesome band, whose name I'll post here when I find it, kept everyone entertained by playing rock-and-roll hits from the '70s while we waited for the candidate.

Two folks broke out into dance in front of the stage. I called it a Haslam mosh pit. My friend Gay had a better description: “Republicans gone wild!”

Republicans gone wild!

We knew the time was near when Bill Haslam’s brother, Jimmy, arrived.

Jimmy Haslam, president and CEO of Pilot Flying J

Adorable Hannah Parker

Finally! Bill Haslam and his family take the stage.

Crissy Haslam. This woman is a saint!

Haslam says his opponents graciously conceded in phone calls. Hmm.

And, before we knew it, it was time for the after party! We mingled in the lobby before heading down to the hotel bar, The Sportsgrille.

From left, Alan Carmichael, Tony Thompson (a fun guy!) and Bill Lyons

Tom and Cindy Ingram

Mark Cate, left, and Raja Jubran

Bill and Amy Nolan. Bill, a former state representative who is now a lobbyist, said this was the first Republican primary he's ever voted in!

Knoxville City Councilman Nick Pavlis poses with Carlyn Grieve, the daughter of City Councilman Duane Grieve and a Moxley Carmichael intern (until last Friday).

Carlyn with her boyfriend, Conner Ingram

Happy trio: from left, Gay Lyons, Cathy Chesney and Mickey Mallonee

Bill Haslam aide Janet McGaha, right, and her daughter, Morgan

Cocke County Mayor Iliff McMahan and his wife, Marcie. McMahan said he was thrilled that Haslam took every precinct in Cocke County!

Whew!

And we marveled about how lucky we were to be having this experience.

Here are just a few highlights of last week’s National Urban League convention in Washington D.C. It  marked the 100-year anniversary of the civil rights organization.

But first, you gotta see this brief video clip taken by Jim Nichols of his wife, Knoxville Area Urban League President and CEO Phyllis Nichols, meeting President Obama. (Phyllis is the one with Beyonce-colored hair. I’m the blond in the black jacket to her right.)

Awesome, isn’t it?

Here are some of my favorite convention moments.

Although we had been in Washington for two days, the “official” kick-off of the convention was Wednesday night at the huge First Baptist Church of Glenarden, in Maryland.

Phyllis and Jim Nichols at First Baptist Church of Glenarden

Tears flowed througout the massive sanctuary when fragile 82-year-old poet Maya Angelou, joined by a rapper named Common, recited a poem about slavery and other painful aspects of black history. “You have been paid for,” Angelou said by way of introduction. “All of you have been paid for.” She was speaking of the debt owed to blacks who have come before. “By living on the edge of death, they kept my dreams alive,” she intoned. We all agreed that seeing and hearing Angelou was, in itself, worth the trip.

Maya Angelou shown on a big screen as she recites her poem written especially for the Urban League occasion.

National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial speaks at the church.

The main event was Thursday morning. By hustling, our little group (the Nichols; Peyton Hairston, who is chairman of the Knoxville Area Urban League Board; my husband, Alan Carmichael, and myself) got seats on the ninth row for President Obama’s speech.

Sign announcing the upcoming speech

View from our seats

The President on the big screen

The President’s speech was mostly about education reform, including much discussion of the Race to the Top initiative, in which Tennessee was one of two winning states.

“Countries that out-educate us today will out-compete us tomorrow,” he said, adding that in one generation, America has fallen from the number one spot to number 12 in college completion rates. “The status quo is morally inexcusable and economically indefensible,” he said to applause.

The key to getting to shake the president’s hand — or that of any celebrity, really — is to move quickly toward the front as soon as the speech is over. That’s what Phyllis and I did, followed closely by Peyton Hairston, who also got a presidential handshake.

President Obama works the rope line.

That's Phyllis' hand at left holding a cell phone camera as the President approaches!

(My photo wasn’t as good this year as it was last year when I shot Phyllis and Vice President Joe Biden. Click here to see that. Of course, there wasn’t quite as much pressure last year!)

Other highlights of speeches throughout the convention:

• Andrew Young, a former Atlanta mayor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, was quick to answer when he was asked what advice he would give young black people today. “Quit going to law school!” he snapped. “Study mathematics and economics. We need to understand the system. We don’t have enough economists. We don’t have enough people in the field of mathematics.”
• Vernon Jordan, lawyer, adviser to former President Bill Clinton, and National Urban League president from1971 to 1981, said, “The world is a better place because the National Urban League has been here for 100 years. If the Urban League had not been created, we would have to create it to deal with the issues that face us.” Jordan warned that many challenges remain. “Today, there are more black men in jail than in college,” he said, which was a shock to me. “There can be no time-outs in the fight for freedom and equality,” he said. ”We must fight American racism in its new, more sophisticated form. There are no more white robes with hoods. There are now three-piece suits with vests.”
• John Jacob, who was National Urban League president from 1982 to 1994, said of President Obama: “We delivered for him. Now we are asking him to deliver for us.” Referring to the Obama administration’s bailouts of big American corporations, Jacob said, “If General Motors and Chrysler are too big to fail and if AIG and Bank of America are too big to fail, then certainly our communities are too big to fail and they are certainly too valuable to fail.”
• Hilda Solis, the U.S. Secretary of Labor, spoke to the “Women of Power” luncheon. She told of how, as one of seven children born of immigrants from Nicaragua and Mexico, she was told by her high school guidance counselor in California that she was “not college material.” The counselor suggested to her that she go into “secretarial” work.  But she ignored him and got degrees from college and law school, was elected to the California State Assembly and then the state Senate, followed by a stint in Congress before being named Secretary of Labor by President Obama. “So that secretary title?” she laughed to loud audience applause. “It did eventually come into play!”
• John Hofmeister, the chairman of the board of the National Urban League and the former president of Shell, had a sobering message about America’s energy future. “The United States has the oldest, most tired, worn-out, least invested-in infrastructure of any modern nation,” he said. “It’s getting old — and in urban America, it’s getting really old.” He warned that we must invest in improving the energy infrastructure and urged local Urban League affiliates to get involved in training people to help in this effort. “We are taking our energy for granted and we can’t afford to do that,” he said. “We are getting closer and closer to brown-outs and black-outs. Utilities are getting closer and closer to having to shut down the system in order to protect the system. When that happens, banks will have to close and grocery stores will be giving away frozen food because they won’t have electricity to run their freezers.” Wowza! Another shocker.

Those were just a few of the inspiring and thought-provoking speeches. We also had a lot of fun. Alan and I rode an elevator with actress Alfre Woodard, but I was too embarrassed to pull out the camera and take her picture at such close range!

Jim Nichols was one of ten people to win an iPad at a lunch we attended. A General Foods spokesman said from the podium that, as a sponsor of the event, they had placed a General Foods sticker under 10 saucers among the more than 1,500 place settings. Jim had one of the winning saucers!

Jim and his winning saucer!

Jim and his iPad

At the same luncheon where Jim won his iPad, we spotted comedian Dick Gregory in the audience.

Dick Gregory

Also at that lunch, actress Angela Bassett received an award.

Angela Bassett accepts an award.

You couldn’t go to Washington, D.C., and not expect to see a protest! These folks were picketing outside the Walter E. Washington Convention Center prior to President Obama’s speech. Their intentions weren’t entirely clear except that they said they were protesting “loan sharks.” OK, then.

Anti-loan shark protest

The number of cameras following Congressman Charles Rangel into one of the lunch programs was very disruptive, to say the least. Not only did they surround him as he was coming in and while he was delivering a speech, but they parked themselves around the lunch table and shot him continually while he was eating, really creating a scene and disturbing other nearby diners. I’m a former journalist myself, so I support them being able to shoot some photos. But how many pictures do you really need of the same guy eating lunch?

Unlike the other photographers, I only took one picture of Charles Rangel eating lunch. Promise.

There’s always a large vendor area at these conventions. One vendor, Wells Fargo had set up a game where you use a water gun to shoot a target that makes lights representing race horses run around a track. Four people do this at one time and the winner gets a prize package. Of course, Alan and Peyton gave it a shot and Peyton won a satchel full of swag. He gave it to a little girl he had defeated. Nice guy.

Alan and Peyton hunker down over their water guns.

In addition to the folks I’ve already mentioned, eight members of the Knoxville Area Urban League Young Professionals group attended the convention and participated in sessions designed just for the younger crowd. All I can tell you about their activities is that their parties ran a lot later than ours did! Representing Knoxville were Johnny Taylor, Landon Dukes, Tori Griffin, Chris Jones, Y’londa Byrd, Quiana Hardy, Colber Prosper and Tierney Bates.

Phyllis Nichols poses in the Capitol with Landon Dukes, left, and Chris Jones. Both of them work for KUB.

One last note: We heard the so-called “Negro National Anthem” played many times during the conference. It is a beautiful song that I’ve heard often. But, combined with this video, which was played on big screens on at least two occasions, it truly gives you goose bumps. It tells the story of African Americans from slavery until today. It’s well worth a watch.

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