Pete Claussen, named East Tennessean of the Year, surprises with announcement of his own

Posted on November 19, 2025 by Cynthia Moxley

Pete Claussen with his daughter, Karen Claussen, center, and sister, Ann Olstra. They were celebrating his upcoming (Nov. 27) 85th birthday — as well as his new honor!

A packed ballroom of friends and supporters celebrated Knoxville businessman and philanthropist Pete Claussen being named “East Tennessean of the Year” last week. But Claussen had an announcement of his own. He donated 90 acres of land to the Seven Islands State Birding Park, located in Knox County, 19 miles east of Knoxville.

The Claussen property includes 9,000 feet of shoreline, three houses, an island, and a nesting bald eagle — with a second nest under construction.

Additionally, Legacy Parks Foundation is donating three recently purchased islands bordering the park, completing the protection of the important natural resource.

State officials were on hand at the event to announce a $7.7 million grant from the Tennessee Heritage Conservation Trust Fund that will allow for a new connection at Seven Islands. The grant will fund construction of a 400-foot pedestrian bridge spanning the French Broad River, fulfilling a 40-year vision to provide access to the birding park from both sides of the river.

The annual East Tennessean of the Year Award is a fundraiser for East Tennessee Historical Society and it was not only a financial success, but a ton of fun as guests crammed into the River Room of Cherokee Country Club for pre-dinner cocktails and then into the ballroom for dinner. The unassuming Claussen took it all in stride. Congrats — and thanks — to him! Continue reading →

Filed under: Events, Historic preservation | 8 Comments

Theater people sure know how to party!

Posted on November 14, 2025 by Cynthia Moxley

The Warman Trio consists of, from left, the father, Rick; the elder daughter, Presley Jewell, on bass (literally!); and younger daughter, Jessica Faith, on drums.

The props, the music, and the setting were perfect this past Saturday night for a terrifically over-the-top party. Of course they were. The fun folks from the Theatre Department at the University of Tennessee were the hosts!

The location? The brand new Jenny Boyd Theatre where the partygoers took over first the outdoor plaza and then the stage itself for their festivities. And, boy, was it fun!

The $250-per-plate event called “Dinner with Friends” featured a 1950s theme, which was a nod to the founding in 1951 of the Carousel Theatre, the predecessor to the Jenny Boyd Theatre. The evening started with appetizers and drinks under a tent between the Clarence Brown Theatre and the Jenny Boyd Theatre. Servers dressed as carhops distributed ’50s-era treats like sausage balls, Pigs in the Blanket, and deviled eggs. 

Inside, we had burgers and fries in plastic baskets like at the drive-in in the good ole days. Dessert was a sundae ice cream bar.

But the best thing of all — other than seeing everyone having fun — was the music. A father-daughter band called The Warman Trio from Sevier County played 1950s tunes and encouraged everyone to get on the dance floor. (Not that it took that much encouragement with this crowd!)

Anyway, it was a real good time. Continue reading →

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New Jenny Boyd Theatre: flexible, “cutting edge”

Posted on November 7, 2025 by Cynthia Moxley

Clarence Brown Theatre Past Advisory Board Chair Margie Nichols Gill and Department Head Ken Martin pose in the Melanie Wood “Piazza” outside the Jenny Boyd Theatre earlier this week. (It’s actually still up in the air whether the lovely space will be called a piazza or a plaza!)

This is a big week for the Jenny Boyd Theatre over on the University of Tennessee’s Knoxville campus. At the former location of the beloved but grossly outdated Carousel Theatre, the replacement building is closing in on completion of its $26 million rebuild.

It’s a fantastic, and much improved, space. Its ribbon-cutting and dedication will be Friday afternoon by University of Tennessee-Knoxville Chancellor Donde Plowman and College of Arts and Sciences Executive Dean Robert Hinde. And Saturday will bring a $250-per-plate 50’s-themed dinner and sock-hop inside the theater. Yep. Get out your poodle skirt and leather jacket!

The theater is named for Knoxville businesswoman Jenny Boyd. She and her husband, UT President Randy Boyd, are generous philanthropists to our community.

Our friends at the theater, Department Head Ken Martin and Margie Nichols Gill, past chair of the Clarence Brown Theatre Advisory Board, gave my husband, Alan Carmichael, and me a sneak peek earlier this week. Come along! (Pardon the remaining messiness as everyone scrambled to get ready for this weekend’s festive activities!) Continue reading →

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Bewitching evening benefits Jazz Orchestra

Posted on October 24, 2025 by Cynthia Moxley

“Evening Under the Stars” lived up to its name this year!

The Knoxville Jazz Orchestra’s signature fundraiser each year is called “Evening Under the Stars.” What made this year’s event different was that it actually was under the stars! They got rid of the big tent that usually is pitched on supporter Sherri Lee’s garage apron to accommodate the scores of attendees.

This year, the Jazz Orchestra played and people danced and dined al fresco and it was delightful! Rain plan was to move the whole shebang to Bistro by the Tracks in Bearden. Glad that wasn’t necessary because the night truly was magical. Continue reading →

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Design Center finds perfect party spot at Garden

Posted on October 21, 2025 by Cynthia Moxley

Duane Grieve, executive director of the East Tennessee Community Design Center, and Sharon Moore, executive director of the Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum, welcome guests to the sprawling “Celebration of Design 2025” event at the Garden.

Some non-profit organizations stick to the same routine every year for their signature fundraisers. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” as the saying goes.

The Evergreen Ball benefiting Friends of the Smokies is always at Cherokee Country Club. Knox Heritage habitually holds its Preservation Awards event at the Mill & Mine. And the Volunteer Ministry Center‘s “Wine and Shine” party is consistently at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown Knoxville. You get the idea.

But the East Tennessee Community Design Center takes another approach. They choose a different location each year for the “Celebration of Design” event. Alan and I have been to it at locations as diverse as Ijams Nature Center, the Knoxville Museum of Art, and the Tennessee Amphitheater at World’s Fair Park. That last one, held a few years ago, was memorable because we literally had to run out of the venue near the end as a severe lightning storm unexpectedly blew in. It prompted the bars and the silent auction to immediately close as an announcement ordered everyone to leave at once! 

This year, the signature event was held last week at Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum. And, let me tell you, they took advantage of nearly every type of space the Garden has to offer. And, to our relief, the weather was great. We didn’t have to run for our lives! Continue reading →

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Girl Scouts rally to recover from ruinous year

Posted on October 16, 2025 by Cynthia Moxley

Lynne Fugate, CEO of the Girl Scouts Council of the Southern Appalachians, delivered sobering — but yet hopeful — news.

The local council of the Girl Scouts has experienced its toughest year in the organization’s history due to Hurricane Helene which devastated communities in our area last fall. But if an enthusiastic (and festive) gathering of supporters earlier this week is any indication, the beloved non-profit should be on the mend soon.

 “Hurricane Helene devastated communities in our Council footprint,” Lynne Fugate, CEO of Girl Scouts Council of the Southern Appalachians, told supporters at Wednesday’s luncheon at the Press Room event center.

“Families lost belongings, homes, pets, and loved ones. Entire neighborhoods were swept away. And Girl Scouts was a part of that story. Troops were displaced. Supplies stored in church basements were washed out in the floods.”

In addition, she said that recruitment season — “normally the lifeblood of our fall” — was interrupted as families understandably focused on survival, not troop meetings. Continue reading →

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Knoxville Symphony League pulls off small miracle; Diner au Blanc et Noir succeeds despite windy storm

Posted on September 30, 2025 by Cynthia Moxley

Kim Cunningham, left, is the president of the Knoxville Symphony League and was in charge of rallying the troops to make a great success out of a set of challenging circumstances. Other League members, from left: Saundra Daniels, Linda Royston, and Cathy Briscoe.

Those of us involved with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra know that the (mostly) women of the Knoxville Symphony League are capable of producing a wide variety of events under sometimes challenging circumstances.

But a little over a week ago, I really thought the talented and determined group may have met its match. A scant couple of hours before the long-planned outdoor dinner party called “Diner au Blanc et Noir” was to start in the yard of a historic home on Black Oak Ridge in north Knoxville, a violent storm tore through the area. Continue reading →

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Knox Heritage picks top preservationists at fun soiree

Posted on September 25, 2025 by Cynthia Moxley

Doug and Jane McCarty. He’s chairman emeritus of McCarty Holsaple McCarty.

McCarty Holsaple McCarty (MHM) took the “Preservationists of the Year” award recently at the Scruffy City Soiree, a rollicking party in Knoxville’s Old City hosted by the area’s leading preservation organization, Knox Heritage. 

“From the restoration of the Tennessee Theatre to the adaptive reuse of St. Mary’s Hospital as the City of Knoxville’s Public Safety Complex, MHM’s work reflects a deep respect for the past paired with a vision for the future,” Knox Heritage said in explaining the architectural company’s selection.

The firm currently is leading multiple restorations, including that of the Sanitary Laundry Building on Broadway, which will become MHM’s new office  when it is completed. “With a portfolio spanning 60 years, MHM continues to shape the region through thoughtful preservation, adaptive reuse, and design excellence,” Knox Heritage said.

The “Soiree,” held at the Mill & Mine, itself a historic property, provided a cocktail hour, a delicious dinner, the awards program, and dancing to one of my favorite bands, The Tennessee Sheiks. Continue reading →

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Tremont raises spirits — and $310K — at Marblegate

Posted on September 16, 2025 by Cynthia Moxley

It’s always great to see Jim and Michell Clayton. I’ve known Jim more than 40 years. I covered him as a reporter and he was my first client when I started Moxley Communications, the precursor of Moxley Carmichael and now MoxCar Marketing + Communications.

Another successful “Tremont Celebration at Marblegate Farm” last month raised more than $310,000 to continue the non-profit’s mission of providing experiential environmental education. The fundraising dinner and auction at the beautiful Friendsville, Tenn,, farm of Bill and Donna Cobble was a sellout, as usual.

This relaxed and convivial evening with its long cocktail hour and relaxed outdoor vibe always provides an opportunity to catch up with our Blount and Sevier County friends as well as our Knoxville buddies. Since Alan is on the board of the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, we bought a table of 10 and hired a driver in a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter to take us safely there and back. As usual, the ride was almost as much fun as the event!

A big announcement at this year’s soiree was that Tremont has achieved its goal to raise enough money to fund a $5 million endowment. That endowment will provide scholarships that will allow hundreds of students to personally experience and learn about the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Continue reading →

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“An Enchanted Evening” lives up to its billing!

Posted on August 28, 2025 by Cynthia Moxley

The group started with cocktails and a tour of the garden where Adrian and Larsen Jay grow vegetables and flowers. Larsen said tending the garden is his “therapy.”

I have to say the description of the auction item that a group of Knoxville Symphony supporters went in together to bid on was very apt. “An Enchanted Evening,” the program at the Symphony Ball said.

It truly did turn out to be magical this past Sunday night when 20 of us gathered to redeem the item. It entailed dinner provided by Joseph Lenn, Knoxville’s only James Beard Award-winning chef, and his great staff at J.C. Holdway at the beautiful Bearden-area home of Symphony Board member Adrian Jay, her husband Larsen, and two sons, Alexander and Henry. Bonus was a short pre-dinner recital by KSO Conductor Aram Demirjian, Concertmaster Will Shaub, and pianist Andrew Duncan. Continue reading →

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