‘Job Well Done’ party honors Mayor Rogero

Host LeRoy Thompson with former mayor Madeline Rogero at the “Job Well Done” party in her honor last Friday.

There sure have been a lot of fun holiday parties this year. But one of the best ones had nothing to do with the holidays at all. It was the “Job Well Done” party that Nikitia and LeRoy Thompson threw in honor of Mayor Madeline Rogero.

Held at their lovely North Knoxville home, the party was last Friday — on Rogero’s last full day as mayor. The following morning, she would turn the office keys over to the newly elected mayor, Indya Kincannon, at the inaugural festivities at the Bijou Theatre.

Appropriately, Mayor Rogero was in a relaxed and celebratory mood on Friday night. “I just have to hope nothing disastrous happens in the next 12 hours or so!” she joked. And, fortunately, it did not.

The band, “Jazzy Lynn and the Guys,” was fantastic and had the dance floor (actually the living room) hopping from the get-go. LeRoy, who has a beautiful singing voice, was both emcee and vocalist. The food — barbecued meat of all kinds — came straight off the grill to be served with greens and pasta on a buffet.

The Thompsons’ grown children — Dezmond and Tionna — were big helps with the party, their parents said. Dezmond was our technical advisor as Moxley Carmichael provided a loop of photographs of Mayor Rogero through the years to be shown on the big screen TV. She appeared on the Blue Streak more than 110 times during her two terms in office, and John McCulley and Charley Sexton, with help from our great interns, culled those photos for the project. The Thompsons gave a thumb drive with all the photos to Mayor Rogero as a souvenir.

As for her immediate plans, Mayor Rogero said she will leave shortly on a long trip. She deserves it for what truly was a job well done.

It was a family effort! From left, Dezmond, LeRoy, Nikitia and Tionna Thompson. Great job, everybody!

Jazzy Lynn and the Guys played their hearts out!

Chef Stan delivered the goods! Here are the ribs.

And the skewers.

Chicken, anyone?

The pasta drew raves. It’s Nikitia’s recipe.

And, while the grill was working, there were lighter nibbles available.

State Rep. Rick Staples was on hand. Note the interesting Christmas tree behind him.

A word about the decor. Nikitia and  her friend, Cassandra Denton, tied the decorations to the theme, “Year of the Woman,” a nod to the fact that, for the second time in a row, Knoxville’s mayor will be a woman. As will the vice mayor (Gwen McKenzie) and the majority of City  Council members.

Nikitia Thompson, left, and Cassandra Denton.

Centerpiece on the bar. Cute!

Tyvi and Tammi Small, left, with Wendy Rainy.

Tammi Campbell and Charles E. Brown.

Sheryl and Horace Andrews.

Renee Kelly and Richard Davis, who is Nikitia Thompson’s father.

Phyllis and Jim Nichols.

Mayor Madeline Rogero and her husband, Gene Monaco.

LeRoy making introductions and opening remarks.

It was a fun group.

Gary Reid and Tatia Harris.

Ellen Bebb, left, and Cathy Brown.

Vice Mayor Finbarr Saunders with the guest of honor. It was his last full day as Knoxville’s vice mayor.

Former Mayor Daniel Brown with Avice Reid, the city’s senior director of community relations under Rogero.

From left, Christi Branscom, Jerry Askew and Alan Carmichael.

Chuck Brown and Adrienne Simpson-Brown. She’s the newly appointed chief of the U.S. Probation Office for East Tennessee.

Becky Wade, the city’s director of community development, enjoying the buffet.

Christi Branscom got a little choked up — and got us a little choked up — when she made brief remarks and saluted Mayor Rogero for showing her the importance of public service. She was chief operating officer and deputy to Rogero before joining Gov. Bill Lee’s administration as commissioner of the Department of General Services.

Branscom and Rogero.

Nikitia and her son, Dezmond. (Thanks for the assistance, sir!)

And now, the real evidence of how much fun everyone had: