After 60 years, these folks still like to party together!

Posted on June 9, 2025 by Cynthia Moxley

I learned something about my husband during the trivia contest. He played “Tarzan” in a skit during a graduation talent show! It was, he assures me, a joke!

I had a great time at a high school reunion this past weekend — and it wasn’t even my high school!

Members of the Fulton High School Class of 1965 — of which my husband, Alan Carmichael, was a member — shared memories and caught up with each other at their 60th reunion at Beaver Brook Golf & Country Club in North Knoxville on Saturday night.

Including spouses and other family members, more than 60 people attended. A total of 434 classmates graduated in 1965. Grads Betty Sue Ward Sparks and Judy Mynatt Pyne treated their fellow Falcon classmates to a lively program of school trivia with fun prizes and lots of memories.

In order to be called on to answer the trivia questions, contestants were required to raise their hands and shout, “Mr. Newman!” That’s a reference to James Newman, who was principal of Fulton for 13 years, including 1965, and would go on to be superintendent of Knoxville City schools. Continue reading →

Filed under: Events, Knoxville | 9 Comments

New York trip enchants Clarence Brown fans

Posted on May 30, 2025 by Cynthia Moxley

Knoxvillians Julie Howard, left, and Jane Creed in The Stinger Cocktail Bar and Kitchen in the InterContinental Hotel Times Square, where our gang gathered every evening to discuss the day’s fun events!

If you enjoy going to New York City to see Broadway plays as much as my husband and I do, you have just GOT to get in on this great deal offered by the University of Tennessee’s Clarence Brown Theatre. 

Every year, usually the first weekend in May, CBT organizes a trip to the Big Apple for its supporters to travel with faculty, staff, and students to see a few Broadway productions, meet with some UT theater alumni living in New York, and generally enjoy the town. You stay in the middle of the Theater District and also have plenty of free time to dine and explore on your own.

One of the best perks of having the Theatre Department arrange things, is that they select three plays for the group to see. (Most of us added another show on our own, as well.) And every year, when the Tony Awards nominations are announced, it never fails that the shows the UT experts select are among the nominees. This year, as usual, every one we saw garnered at least five nominations — with one show piling up 10 nominations!

So, read on to see some of the highlights of this year’s fun, fun trip. Continue reading →

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Lovely garden welcomes clients — and spring!

Posted on May 15, 2025 by Cynthia Moxley

Blue Frog was co-host of the Pryses’ annual garden party! Sharon Pryse is vice chair of the non-profit Garden Conservancy, founded by renowned gardener Frank Cabot. Often, she said, conservancy members honor Cabot by displaying frogs!

I’m not saying you should place your investments in the hands of The Trust Company of Tennessee just because you will be invited to their annual garden party! I’m just saying we sure are glad we did!

Our experience with The Trust Company has been phenomenal. Alan and I are word people. And, although I always scored well on the math portions of assessment tests, I never did really like the numbers thing. I have a habit of every-so-often sending my financial advisors an envelope labeled “Scary Things that Came in the Mail” containing a bunch of puzzling financial information we’ve received.

Ever since we’ve had Sheryl Linck of The Trust Company assigned to our investment accounts there, we’ve slept a lot better at night. She has a knack for explaining things in terms that we immediately understand. She was a valuable consultant to us when we sold our company three years ago to our top four employees. I’m sure we could have somehow figured everything out with help from other advisors, but Sheryl made things clear and understandable. And easy. We will forever be grateful to her for all she did — and is doing — for us. Especially in these turbulent financial times. Plus, she and her husband, Garry Conklin, have become valued friends.

All this to say that The Trust Company is great at taking care of our investments. But the icing on the cake is the terrific annual party that company founder and CEO Sharon Pryse and her husband, Joe, host each spring for clients and associates. The one held just the other day was a prime example. Continue reading →

Filed under: Business, Events, Knoxville | 2 Comments

Zoofari: Flora, fauna, food, and fun!

Posted on May 6, 2025 by Cynthia Moxley

Michell and Jim Clayton were at the table beside us.

Zoofari, the signature annual fundraiser for Zoo Knoxville, always has a featured animal to set its theme. This year, the spectacular party featured the zoo’s four beloved — but endangered — red pandas. Zoo Knoxville is the leading zoo globally for the breeding of this adorable species. More than 110 red panda cubs have been born at our zoo over the past 15 years. This is important because fewer than 10,000 remain in the wild.

Guests also got to meet a cute porcupine, a stunning blue macaw, some adolescent ostriches that just arrived, some friendly goats, a couple of unusual lizards, and Einstein, the talking parrot.

Because red pandas’ natural habitat is from northern Myanmar (Burma) to the west Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces of China and some of India, Nepal, and Tibet, the cuisine and decor at this year’s Zoofari featured an Asian flair that added an exotic appeal to the evening.  Continue reading →

Filed under: Events, Knoxville | 4 Comments

UT Gardens Gala: Not letting a little rain stop the fun!

Posted on May 2, 2025 by Cynthia Moxley

Natalie Haslam, left, and Margie Nichols Gill at the UT Gardens Gala last Friday night.

OK. It wasn’t a little rain. It was a torrential downpour — twice! And we weren’t in buildings — we were under tents! Without floors.

But the folks who support the University of Tennessee Gardens are a hardy bunch. And, despite a literal river of mud running through the premises — and over some once pristine shoes — we partied on! And made the event another fundraising success for the UT Gardens.

Lisa Stearns Hammitt, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture‘s vice chancellor for marketing and communications, said the evening ended up raising more than $100,000 with about 325 folks in attendance.

There was a lot to pack in at this always beautiful and opportunity-filled event held at the Knoxville garden just off Neyland Drive. A silent auction, a live auction, a big reception with live music, and a fabulous meal featuring sustainable beef produced at UT’s Northeast Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center. Continue reading →

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It’s spring! Bring on the hats!

Posted on April 28, 2025 by Cynthia Moxley

Steven and Anita Hollmann Matijcio sit down for lunch at Hats in Bloom. Steven, the executive director of the Knoxville Museum of Art, was one of the few men in attendance. Anita gets the award for having the biggest hat! She borrowed it from our mutual friend, Gay Lyons.

Lord knows I’m not a hat person. But I love this party!

“Hats in Bloom” is an annual spring ritual around here and it is a major fundraiser for the 44-acre Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum, located just five minutes from downtown Knoxville where I live.

The event, celebrating its 12th year this past Friday, was packed with (mostly) women already wearing hats and shopping for even more hats by renowned milliner Patricia Frankum, who provides all the head toppings.

Flowers for the soiree were donated by Sevier Blumen, which you may know as a mainstay at the Market Square Farmers’ Market. The market is set to open this weekend and will run on Saturdays and Wednesdays through November. But, enough talk! Let’s look at those hats!

Continue reading →

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Phyllis Nichols named “Woman of Year” by Beck Center

Posted on April 25, 2025 by Cynthia Moxley

“Woman of the Year” Phyllis Nichols, left, poses with her friend Tammi Campbell, during the luncheon.

Scores of happy women dressed mostly in yellow gathered recently to celebrate Beck Cultural Exchange Center naming Phyllis Y. Nichols the “Woman of the Year” during its annual Ethel Beck Society Awards Luncheon.

Nichols is the recently retired president and CEO of the Knoxville Area Urban League, a position she held for more than 20 years.

Beck’s president, Rev. Renee Kesler, said Nichols was chosen because “as chief executive since 2000, she expanded the Urban League’s impact to serve over 11,000 individuals and families annually through programs to provide a skilled and diverse workforce; to increase and retain home ownership; to support economic and small business development, and to advocate for equity and excellence in education for students of color.”

Nichols and Kesler also worked together over the past four years to ensure that Blacks and other minorities received opportunities during the construction and operation of Covenant Health Park, the new East Knoxville home to the Knoxville Smokies minor league baseball team. Continue reading →

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“Diamond-level” venue attracts dignitaries — and smiles!

Posted on April 21, 2025 by Cynthia Moxley

(Author’s note: Hey, everybody! Sorry it’s been so long since the Blue Streak has had a new post. But I have a good excuse! In real life, I’m a public relations specialist and one of my main clients is Boyd Sports. You may have heard a little something about a minor league baseball stadium that opened last week near downtown Knoxville! That’s what I’ve been working on. Now that the stadium is open, I can get back to updating the Blue Streak a lot more regularly. I thought I’d start with a report on a fun little party held at the new stadium, Covenant Health Park, the day before the Knoxville Smokies played their first game there. I hope you enjoy it! Cynthia Moxley.)

Knoxville Smokies owner Randy Boyd, center, poses with, from left, Knoxville City Council member Gwen McKenzie, Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon, Knox County Commissioner Damon Rawls, and Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs. McKenzie and Rawls represent the district where Covenant Health Park is located.

Knoxville loves a party. And a new venue. And the chance to be among the first to experience something.  

So it’s no wonder that the VIP “thank you” reception held last week to give key supporters an early look at the new Club Level at Covenant Health Park was so crowded. The lovely room, which last week overlooked the Knoxville Smokies’ baseball diamond, has a capacity of about 300, depending on how it’s set up. It is expected to be the future site of scores of local gatherings and parties, so it was great to see it in action.

On some occasions, the Club Level view will be of a soccer field or concert venue. Continue reading →

Filed under: Downtown, Events, Knoxville | 4 Comments

History Center hits home run with new baseball exhibit

Posted on March 20, 2025 by Cynthia Moxley

“Put me in, Coach!” Kim Henry, left, and Deborah Franklin enjoyed the part of the exhibit that focused on women in baseball.

Coinciding with the scheduled return of the Smokies baseball team to downtown Knoxville next month, the East Tennessee History Center this Saturday will open a fun and fact-filled exhibit on the history of the sport in Tennessee.

Local supporters celebrated with a sneak preview and a reception at the Gay Street center last night. The exhibit is chock-full of fascinating details ranging from the origin of famous quotes and sayings to historical photos and artifacts dating back to the first baseball game in Knoxville.

Held in 1867, just two years after the end of the Civil War, the game featured two local teams — the Knoxvilles and the Holstons — and was played not far from the location of the Smokies’ new stadium, Covenant Health Park.

“Baseball brings people together,” an enthusiastic Randy Boyd, owner of the Knoxville Smokies, the Chicago Cubs’ Double-A minor league affiliate, said during brief remarks. “When you watch some sports, people are looking straight ahead, glued to the game action. But in baseball, they are looking at each other, talking and socializing. Young and old; rich and poor; people from all parts of the community.” Continue reading →

Filed under: Downtown, Events | 3 Comments

Next Symphony season: Beethoven’s 9th and Midori!

Posted on March 13, 2025 by Cynthia Moxley

Melony Dodson and KSO Music Director Aram Demirjian announced the latest KSO season at a smal reception recently. Dodson is morning concert host and producer at WUOT-FM.

World-famous violinist Midori will return to East Tennessee next season to perform with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra at the historic Tennessee Theatre.

In a series of programs celebrating the KSO’s 90th year and the 10th anniversary of Music Director Aram Demirjian‘s tenure here, the KSO also has commissioned nine world premieres to be spread throughout the season. That’s more world premieres than the KSO ever has performed in a single season.

“It’s definitely a milestone,” Demirjian said during an interview. “It’s about our recent history and about thinking to the future of our organization and the art form.”

The young conductor, who I believe is a master at program scheduling, said he aimed in making his selections to keep the offerings “fresh and vibrant” and to “demonstrate the breadth of what’s possible for a regional orchestra in a smaller city like Knoxville.” He praised the Symphony’s audiences for their open-mindedness. “Our audience seems to understand and be excited about new discoveries,” he said. “New music is met at least with a sense of curiosity and receptiveness.” Continue reading →

Filed under: Events, Music | 2 Comments