Purge Your Closet of the Past, Forge a College Student’s Future
K
NOXVILLE-BASED organization professionals Chris McKenry, President of Closets by McKenry, and Carrie McConkey, owner of Carrie M. Image & Fashion Consulting, both believe success begins in the closet. That’s why they’re helping their clients and other Knoxvillians pass along gently used career clothing to deserving students at their mutual alma mater, Carson-Newman University (C-N). In March 2017, C-N’s Student Success Center staff realized that students were struggling to obtain professional clothing suitable for career fairs, job interviews, and class presentations. The idea for a combined career wardrobe closet and food pantry was born, and less than two years later, THE STORE was launched thanks to an outpouring of support from the school and community. Today THE STORE Career Closet, located in a renovated classroom on C-N’s campus, houses men’s and women’s business professional and business casual clothing, shoes, and accessories in a retail store-like setting. THE STORE Food Pantry is located in an adjacent classroom fitted with custom shelves overflowing with food staples. All items are available free of charge to students in need of professional style or
nutritional sustenance. After visiting THE STORE Career Closet, McConkey excitedly contacted McKenry. “I knew through our similar services we could partner to help support the effort,” said McConkey, who is often hired to help sort through closets bursting with clothing. “When working with clients to design their new closet – even if they will have their dream closet, larger than before – ‘editing’ is what is almost always mentioned,” said McKenry. “By purging what is no longer wanted, in style, or used makes room to see what is really loved and often overlooked in our wardrobe.” The two quickly identified a convenient clothing donation location: McKenry’s new Closets by McKenry showroom, located
at 201 Center Park Drive, Suite 1070 in Knoxville. Professional apparel can be dropped off anytime during business hours, which are Monday through Friday from 9 am to 4:30 pm. “As a business graduate of CarsonNewman University, I am excited to share in this program,” said McKenry. “Many students can take advantage of business attire in great condition as they start out on interviews and join the work force.” “Yesterday can get in the way of today,” said McKenry on the value of passing on clothing that no longer fits our lives (or figures). And through THE STORE Career Closet, a student can receive a brighter tomorrow.
Closets by McKenry
201 Center Park Drive, #1070 Knoxville, TN 37922 865.249.6382 2019 Closets Designer of the Year – Interior Design Society
Leading Jazz Artists to Perform in Benefit for Knoxville’s Joy of Music School INTERNATIONALLY TREASURED
saxophonist, Gregory Tardy, and touring jazz pianist/recording artist, Taber Gable, will headline a special evening of music and food on Tuesday, March 10, at the Pavilion at Hunter Valley Farm in West Knoxville. The event, known as Dining for Joy, begins at 6 pm. Tickets are $45 and are available online at www.joyofmusicschool.org or by calling 865-525-6806. All proceeds benefit the Joy of Music School, a Knoxville nonprofit that provides instruments and lessons for children would not otherwise be able to afford them. Food trucks parked right outside the pavilion will have delicious delicacies for sale, and there will be a cash bar. Dining for Joy attendees can expect to hear jazz standards, as well as seminal works by the likes of Thelonious Monk, Billy Strayhorn, and Duke Ellington, plus some original compositions. Saxophonist, multi-reedist, and composer, Gregory Tardy, is one of the most versatile jazz musicians of his generation, equally 8
EVERYTHING KNOXVILLE March 2020
comfortable in a variety of musical and improvisational situations. As an associate professor at the University of Tennessee, he makes Knoxville his home. But his performance schedule has taken him all across the world, playing at all of the major jazz festivals and on some of the biggest stages in jazz. Tardy has been featured on several Downbeat Albums of the Year and also several Grammy-nominated recordings, including a Grammy-winning CD with Brian Lynch in 2006. He also has recorded 14 CDs under his own name featuring his unique compositions, blending his love of traditional jazz with a more modern-seeking style. His latest release, “Chasing After the Wind,” appeared in the fall of 2016. Pianist Taber Gable, a former student at the Joy of Music School, earned a bachelor’s in Jazz Studies from the University of Hartford and recently graduated from the Juilliard School with a master’s in Jazz Performance. He has studied under Kenny Barron, Wynton Marsalis, Kenny Washington, and many other notable teachers.
Gable is a highly sought-after musician in the New York jazz scene and is internationally known for his cross-genre abilities and captivating live performance style. He has been called on to play and tour alongside numerous great musicians such as Marcus Strickland, EJ Strickland, Freddie Hendrix, Terrace Martin, Joe Farnsworth, Myron Walden, Braxton Cook, Nat Reeves, Nubya Garcia, Javon Jackson, Steve Davis, Nat Reeves, Abraham Burton, Carolyn Leonhart, Jeremy Pelt, Jimmy Greene, Eric McPherson, and others. Tardy and Gable will be joined by Robert Linton on bass and Griffin Photoglou on drums. For more information about Dining for Joy, call 865-525-6806 or visit joyofmusicschool.org. The Joy of Music School provides free music lessons and instruments at no cost to hundreds of disadvantaged, at-risk children in the Knoxville area. All 100-plus individual teachers are volunteers. There are dozens of children on the waiting list. The need for teachers has never been greater. Join in, won’t you?