Longest day helps Knoxville garden grow

Posted on July 7, 2025 by Cynthia Moxley

Guest Judith Foltz with Sean Claire, a violinist with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra who performed throughout the evening.

If you are looking for summer vibes, you aren’t going to beat the annual Summer Solstice Dinner held at the Knoxville Botanical Gardens and Arboretum each year on — you guessed it — the summer solstice! This year, that happened a few weeks ago on June 20.

Folks were encouraged to wear white and adorn with flowers. The white actually was helpful as temperatures soared to the low 90s with a “feels like” approaching 100. I do believe some of us (OK, one was me!) ambled into the Dogwood Center a little before the end of the outdoor cocktail time in order to cool off. 

But the relaxed atmosphere and mellow pace of the evening just evoked the calm of a Southern summer night. And that alone was worth the $200 ticket price, all of which went to benefit the Knoxville Botanical Gardens. Continue reading →

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Great vittles in a perfect setting at Tremont event

Posted on July 1, 2025 by Cynthia Moxley

Chelly Clayton sits down to dinner at the sneak peek of Tremont’s second campus near Townsend.

About 30 nature lovers — and one confirmed city girl — recently were wowed by the possibilities presented at an al fresco dinner on the site of the future second campus of the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont. 

The non-profit in 2019 acquired the land — 194 acres near Townsend abutting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Plans call for it to be used to provide extended education and experiential programs for youth and adults alike.  

“We have been connecting people and nature for over 50 years,” said Catey McClary, the organization’s president and CEO. The new campus will allow Tremont to expand its programs and reach new audiences, she said. The News-Sentinel wrote this comprehensive story about Tremont’s plans in 2023. It tells you everything you need to know about Tremont and the new campus.

But here’s something you need to know about this wonderful dinner: it was prepared by Chef Tyler Brown, the senior vice president of agriculture and hospitality at Southall Farm & Inn in Franklin, TN. He is the former long-time executive chef at Nashville’s famous now closed Capitol Grille at the Hermitage Hotel. It was fantastic.

Continue reading →

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Historic “Coffee Club” celebrates 95 years

Posted on June 23, 2025 by Cynthia Moxley

George Wilson, left, the treasurer of the Coffee Club, accepts the best attendance award from David Martin, the club’s president who tied with him for the honor.

A group of Knoxville business and retired business people has been meeting for lunch for 95 years now. OK, it’s not the same individuals that first met in 1930 when the group was founded! But it is a continuation of the same group. And the current members are just as dedicated to keeping the organization going.

It’s the venerable Coffee Club, a some 20-member group that meets for lunch every Friday to discuss politics and other issues of the day. The club recently had its annual dinner meeting at Cherokee Country Club. The dinner meeting has one order of business: to give an award to the member with the best attendance.

This year, it was a tie for that honor between the club president, David Martin, and club treasurer, George Wilson, whose father was a long-time member of the Coffee Club. Martin said he flipped a coin to determine the winner and he awarded the trophy to Wilson.

Retired First Horizon market President Pam Fansler had won the attendance award so regularly in the past that Martin almost automatically had her name inscribed on the plaque. But Fansler has been traveling often this year and missed coming in for a three-person tie by one meeting! (She took the news well.) Continue reading →

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Lakeshore Picnic: Loved the “Cosmopolitan” ending!

Posted on June 19, 2025 by Cynthia Moxley

From left, Jacque Hawks, Janet Testerman, and Dino Cartwright set up the picnic table. That’s Joey Creswell crouching down in the rear taking more goodies out of the cooler.

Due to the crazy weather — and constantly changing forecasts — the annual fundraiser that is the Lakeshore Park Picnic drew a smaller than usual crowd this year. But it still exceeded its $70,000 fundraising goal and the park’s executive director, Julieanne Foy, said it was a success.

And, guess what. It didn’t rain at all! “The weather couldn’t have been better!” Foy said.

Plans were in flux until last Saturday, the day of the event, with the Lakeshore Conservancy sending out notices that said it might be canceled. Picnickers were given the opportunity to pick up and take home the boxed dinners they had ordered from a variety of local eateries. 

But, in the end, the live music was moved under cover — into Marble Hall from its usually beautiful outdoor spot at the HGTV Overlook — and attendees crowded around the venue instead of spreading out onto the larger lawn. Continue reading →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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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