AD TRAFFIC MARCIA BANASIK, SARAH MILLER, PATRICIA MOISAN, RAVEN PETTY
CHAIRMAN GREG THURMAN
PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER BOB SCHWARTZMAN
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT RAY LANGEN
SR. V.P./CLIENT DEVELOPMENT JEFF HEEFNER
SR. V.P./SALES CARLA H. THURMAN
SR. V.P./OPERATIONS CASEY E. HESTER
V.P./SALES HERB HARPER
V.P./SALES TODD POTTER
V.P./VISUAL CONTENT MARK FORESTER
V.P./TRAVEL PUBLISHING SYBIL STEWART
V.P./EDITORIAL DIRECTOR TEREE CARUTHERS
MANAGING EDITORS/BUSINESS
MAURICE FLIESS, BILL McMEEKIN
MANAGING EDITOR/COMMUNITY KIM MADLOM
MANAGING EDITOR/TRAVEL SUSAN CHAPPELL
PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR JEFFREY S. OTTO
CONTROLLER CHRIS DUDLEY
ACCOUNTING MORIAH DOMBY, RICHIE FITZPATRICK, DIANA GUZMAN, MARIA McFARLAND, LISA OWENS
RECRUITING/TRAINING DIRECTOR SUZY WALDRIP
COMMUNITY PROMOTION DIRECTOR CINDY COMPERRY
DISTRIBUTION DIRECTOR GARY SMITH
IT SYSTEMS DIRECTOR MATT LOCKE IT SERVICE TECHNICIAN RYAN SWEENEY
HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER PEGGY BLAKE
SALES/MARKETING COORDINATOR RACHEL MATHEIS
SALES COORDINATOR JENNIFER ALEXANDER
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY/SALES SUPPORT KRISTY DUNCAN OFFICE MANAGER SHELLY GRISSOM RECEPTIONIST LINDA BISHOP
CUSTOM MAGAZINE MEDIA
Images of Nashville is published annually by Journal Communications Inc. and is distributed through the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and its member businesses. For advertising information or to direct questions or comments about the magazine, contact Journal Communications Inc. at (615) 771-0080 or by e-mail at info@jnlcom.com.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce 211 Commerce St., Suite 100 • Nashville, TN 37201 Phone: (615) 743-3000 • Fax: (615) 256-3074 www.nashvillechamber.com
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A GARDENER’S PARADISE
Tennessee is a great place to garden. We have long growing seasons, abundant rainfall, a mild climate, and most of us are blessed with fertile soils. Find out more at imagesnashville.com
BARBECUE: A SIMPLE SOUTHERN PLEASURE
One of the simple pleasures of Southern dining is the down-home barbecue experience. Barbecue in the South almost always means pork, with a few exceptions. Get a taste of regional cuisine at imagesnashville.com
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This Place Is All Wet
Twin cyclones are a welcome sight at Nashville Shores.
The large waterpark is located along a sandy beachfront on J. Percy Priest Lake and features a variety of summer fun activities. There is a Big Splash pool area for both young and old, and a Wacky Pond Kiddie Pool to keep toddlers entertained all day.
Nashville Shores offers nine water slides with names such as Big Scream, Twin Cyclones and The Hippo, and pontoon rides or personal watercrafts are also available – including relaxing rides aboard a shoreline cruiser.
One for the Books
It’s not just a library – it’s a work of art.
The Nashville Public Library is obviously a repository for books, but the main branch is also a sight to behold. For example, the nonfiction area on the third floor stretches as long as a football field.
Meanwhile, architectural amenities include bronze front doors that showcase native plants and animals of Tennessee, while a 20-foot sculpture called La Storia della Terra depicts a tower of stone books. The exterior of the modernclassical building on Church Street features Alabama limestone and ionic columns, while the interior floors are Georgia marble.
A Park for All Seasons
Shade trees are inviting at Centennial Park, but the relaxation destination is so much more.
It is home to theater festivals and is anchored by a replica of the Parthenon that houses a city art museum.
The 132-acre urban park situated across from Vanderbilt University also features several monuments and memorials.
The park was a state fairground. In 1897, it officially took the name Centennial Park when it hosted the 100th anniversary – celebrated a year late – of Tennessee becoming a state.
Titans With a Heart
Look Up, Way Up
And the star of the show is … the stars in the sky.
Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory is tucked atop one of the tallest peaks near Nashville, about a half-mile north of the Old Hickory Blvd./ Granny White Pike intersection in Brentwood. Each year, it hosts thousands of visitors through school tours and observation nights.
One of the observatory’s primary missions is to get students interested in science and engineering by allowing them to see close-up views of the sun, moon, stars and planets. It has also installed a videoconferencing center where students can chat in a classroom setting with astronomy experts and former astronauts.
Forbes included Nashville on its 2007 list of the Best Places to Do Business or Start a Career.
The Nashville Predators NHL hockey team and the Tennessee Titans NFL football team have both achieved a good deal of success during their many seasons in Nashville.
The Hermitage Hotel in Nashville was designated in 2007 as a Mobil Five-Star property, which is one of the hospitality industry’s most prestigious ratings.
Nashville is home to 15 publicly traded health-care companies, the largest health-care cluster in the nation.
Quarterback Vince Young was there, and so were safety Chris Hope and linebacker David Thornton.
The Governors Club in Brentwood hosted a golf tournament in May 2008 to benefit children battling leukemia/lymphoma. In 2006, Elise Reinfeldt, daughter of Tennessee Titans General Manager Mike Reinfeldt, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a blood cancer that is the most common type of cancer in children under age 15.
Elise underwent two rounds of chemotherapy and blood transfusions with no success, but a bone marrow transplant ultimately saved her life in November 2006. Today, she is cancer-free, and is now involved in fundraisers, blood donation drives and other community events to help others with the disease.
Many products are made in the Nashville area, including GooGoo Clusters, Martha White Flour, Gibson Guitars, Nissan automobiles and Bridgestone tires.
SEE MORE ONLINE | For more Fast Facts about Nashville, visit imagesnashville.com.
Honoring
‘Old Glory’
William Driver is a figure in Nashville and American history, but barely anyone knows who he is.
Driver was a New England sea captain who gave the nickname “Old Glory” to the flag that flew over his ship. He moved to Nashville in 1837 and during Union occupation of Nashville in the Civil War, Driver asked soldiers to raise “Old Glory” over the State Capitol, where it flew for approximately one month.
Today, the flag is in the Smithsonian Museum of American History. Driver is buried in the Old Nashville City Cemetery, and his grave and that of Francis Scott Key are the only two sites in the United States where the American flag is allowed to fly 24 hours a day.
Go, Mayor, Go!
Making a run for office took on a different meaning in early 2008 for Nashville Mayor Karl Dean (pictured in navy blue and red jacket above). He participated in a number of jogging and walking activities as part of his “Let’s Get Moving Challenge” for Nashville residents. He began the program April 7-13 as part of National Public Health Week.
During that week, the mayor jogged along the trails of Richland Creek Greenway, taught a physical education class at an elementary school, kept pace with avid walkers at the East Community Center, and climbed the stairs to his office each day.
Dean also has helped to launch a yearlong Healthy Nashville initiative that advocates residents partaking in 30 minutes of activity every day. Those activities can include a brisk walk or a bike ride.
Nashville | At A Glance
POPULATION (2007 ESTIMATE)
Nashville/Davidson County: 619,626
Nashville MSA: 1,521,437
LOCATION
Nashville is situated on the Cumberland River in Middle Tennessee. It is the state’s capital city and a major hub for the music, health care, publishing, advanced manufacturing, finance, insurance and tourism industries.
BEGINNINGS
James Robertson and a party of Wataugan American Indians founded Nashville in 1779. It was originally called Fort Nashborough, named after Revolutionary War hero Francis Nash.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
211 Commerce St., Suite 100
Nashville, TN 37201
Phone: (615) 743-3000
Fax: (615) 256-3074 www.nashvillechamber.com
Nashville
SEE VIDEO ONLINE | Take a virtual tour of Nashville at imagesnashville.com, courtesy of our award-winning photographers.
(Entrepreneurial)
Catch the SPIRIT
STORY BY SHARON H. FITZGERALD PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF ADKINS
Fantastically gorgeous.”
That’s the way Grammynominated Nashville songwriter Kerry Kurt Phillips describes guitars handcrafted by Manuel Delgado, who plies his trade among the city’s most talented music makers. Delgado moved from Los Angeles in 2004 and joined a well-regarded and selective club – that of successful Nashville entrepreneurs. And that club’s numbers are swelling as business-savvy individuals recognize the benefits of a Nashville-area location. In a cinderblock workshop behind his
AN ASTOUNDING ARRAY OF ENTREPRENEURS CALLS NASHVILLE HOME
A RRAY N EURS E HOM E
u l hat as og nize behind his
Manuel Delgado and his wife, Julie, play guitars that Manuel made by hand in Nashville. Below: Manuel Delgado makes his own unique custom inlays for his handmade guitars and other stringed instruments.
home, Delgado lovingly fashions 12 to 20 stringed instruments a year. While he has made more than 40 different types of instruments, he typically crafts concert-classical and steel-string guitars. For Phillips, who suffers from a condition that limits his range of motion, a mass-produced guitar just wasn’t an option.
“I was looking for something very specific, very unique and very customized for my own personal needs,” says Phillips, known for country smash hits such as “Pickup Man” and “Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox.”
Delgado responded with a one-of-akind instrument with 10 frets rather than the customary 12 that “fretted extremely easy because of the limitation of my hands,” Phillips explains. The guitar is also a work of art, he adds. “All along the way, at each step in the process, we talked about what my choices were and what I preferred,” Phillips recalls.
That’s the way Delgado works.
“The artistic part for me is being able to transfer the character of the player onto the instrument,” Delgado says. “Of course, the most important thing for the instrument is that it intonates properly and that it sounds great. But aside from that, for me, I have a lot of respect for the sacrifice and the effort that my father, grandfather and great-uncle laid on the path before me, to preserve this craft of being a luthier.”
Some people consider bread-baking a craft. If that’s the case, then Cordia Harrington is an artist indeed. Affectionately known as The Bun Lady, Harrington launched Tennessee Bun Co. in 1997 in Dickson, where buns for
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Small Wonders
CHAMBER PROGRAMS
NURTURE BUSINESSES
WhenMiddle Tennessee entrepreneurs and small-business owners look for help, they look to the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, which has a host of programs tailored to meet the needs of some of the community’s most individualistic and risktaking executives.
“Our mission with all our small-business programs is to really be a resource, to get our small-business owners engaged in the Chamber’s events and programs and to create opportunities for them to get out there and lead in the community,” says Marissa Benchea, who is director of the Chamber’s small-business programs.
McDonald’s, KFC and many other restaurant chains cook to a golden brown at the rate of 1,000 per minute.
Nashville Bun Co. opened two years later with four production lines. Also in 1999, the trucks of Bun Lady Transport hit the highways, delivering bakery goods to more than 40 states. The latest company, Cold Storage of Nashville, boasts a two-acre freezer facility. Collectively, the companies today employ about 300 people.
Harrington says “the engaging spirit with which the community embraces a new entrepreneur” is one reason for her success. Another is “that warm, Southern hospitality, which makes you realize that you can do anything when you have support like that.”
Harrington had the opportunity to extend that touted hospitality in July 2007 when President George W. Bush visited the operation and saluted her thriving enterprise.
Debbie Gordon, chief executive officer of Snappy Auctions, is another Nashville woman with an entrepreneurial heart.
In 2003, she was peddling items on eBay as a hobby “when people started asking me if I would help sell their stuff for them. I realized that there was a huge market, … that most people who use eBay are buyers and very few people are sellers,” Gordon recalls.
That was the impetus for Snappy Auctions, headquartered in Nashville with 35 franchises in the United States and two in Japan. The company’s new, booming enterprise is S3 Consulting, which sells on eBay the capital equipment and retired assets of businesses. In fact, S3 Consulting has carved a niche in the university and health-care markets. Gordon notes that there’s a positive “green” impact to S3’s endeavor.
“We’re able to still find value in this equipment, sell it and give it a new home. Also, we’re able to sell things that may be depreciated on the books but still have actual value for resale, putting money back on a business’ bottom line,” she says.
Now that’s thinking like a successful entrepreneur.
Chief among those programs is the Small Business Council, which Benchea calls “the voice for small business within the city.”
“The council is there to provide educational resources for entrepreneurs and small businesses and foster business development through relationships and networking to learn best practices,” she explains, noting that 90 percent of the Chamber’s members have fewer than 100 employees. All small-business Chamber members are eligible to join the council at no additional charge.
Recognizing the small businesses that are changing the community is another Chamber initiative. The Future 50 Awards annually celebrate the 50 fastest-growing privately held companies in the area. The 2007 list included Nashville Bun Co. and Snappy Auctions, both featured in this section.
– Sharon H. Fitzgerald
Warm buns move toward the packaging line at the Nashville Bun Co. The plant makes English muffins and buns for restaurants such as McDonald’s.
Tasty Options
NASHVILLE BOASTS DELICIOUS RANGE OF DINING OPTIONS
For wine enthusiasts, a “flight” isn’t an airplane ride or a group of stairs. It’s a tasting of a few wines, grouped perhaps by their vintage, variety or vineyard. This rite inspired the name of one of Nashville’s newer and more eclectic restaurants, Flyte World Dining and Wine.
Yet Flyte’s flights don’t stop at wine. “We always do a soup and a salad flight. We occasionally run some dessert flights, and sometimes entrée flights depending on availability of product,” says Scott Atkinson, a founder and co-owner.
Beer flights are on the menu, too.
Armed with this distinctive concept, Flyte was launched (pun intended) in October 2006, located in a renovated art-supply store at the corner of Division Street and Eighth Avenue South.
“We actually went into the black very quickly,” Atkinson says, referring to the restaurant’s success.
Flyte’s success illustrates Nashville emerging status as
the home of thriving restaurateurs, who bank on the city’s lively economy and diverse population. Making a name for themselves in the city are chefs such as Flyte’s Bobby Benjamin, cited in Nashville Arts Magazine for his masterful food presentation.
Nashville is home to a stunning variety of restaurants, including Hot Diggity Dogs, dedicated to serving the city’s best Chicago-style hot dogs. Of course, there’s a Nashville version, with Southern slaw, mustard and onions.
Loosen your belt if you’re heading to Monell’s. With locations in Nashville and Franklin, the eatery features downhome cooking served family-style. The Standard at the Smith House is fine dining in Nashville’s only remaining grand townhouse from the 1840s.
Park Café offers a bistro atmosphere that complements Chef Guillermo “Willy” Thomas’ simple yet creative food philosophy. Nero’s Grill opened in 2007 on the Green Hills site of the original Nero’s Cactus Canyon, an icon of the
Left: A fresh watermelon martini is served at Past Perfect restaurant. Above: The Thai short rib appetizer is served with toasted coconut, marshmallow, banana, cocoa nib jus and peanut sauce at Flyte World Dining and Wine.
STORY BY SHARON H. FITZGERALD | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF ADKINS
Money. Smell the Flowers.
Looking for ways to save money on gas and help the environment? The EPA wants to share some smart driving tips that could give you more miles per gallon of gas and reduce air pollution. Tips like making sure your tires are properly inflated and replacing your air filter regularly. And where possible, accelerate and brake slowly. Be aware of your speed ... did you know that for every 5 miles you go over 65 mph, you’re spending about 20 cents more per gallon of gas? If you’re shopping for a new car, choose the cleanest, most efficient vehicle that meets your needs. If we each adopt just one of these tips, we’d get more miles for our money and it would be a little easier to smell the flowers. For more tips and to compare cleaner, more efficient vehicles, visit www.epa.gov/greenvehicles.
neighborhood in the 1960s and ’70s. The new rendition is fast becoming the local hangout again, thanks to its wood-grilled steaks, wild game and rich comfort foods.
Also striving for that friendly pub setting is Past Perfect, on Third Avenue South near the Schermerhorn Symphony Center and the Sommet Center, home of the National Hockey League Nashville Predators.
“We have die-hard Predators fans who come in every game. Also, we’re close to Titans stadium with the pedestrian bridge,” notes Shawn Courtney, one of the three owners who all moved from Chicago to establish their eatery.
Past Perfect opened in March 2006 in a renovated twostory space decorated in a Victorian style.
“I always say that I would love for this to be a bar that Jules Verne would love to hang out in,” Courtney quips.
Nashville also boasts its share of top-ranked national franchises, including Ruth’s Chris Steak House, which has been at its location adjacent to Lowe’s Vanderbilt Plaza on West End Avenue since 1986. The restaurant is noted for searing its signature steaks in a 1,800-degree broiler, then topping them with fresh butter.
Derek Deichelbor, general manager of the Nashville Ruth’s Chris, says the secret is “good service and ambiance. And it’s just the best beef money can buy.”
Of the restaurant’s 80 employees, many have been there a decade or more.
“I have a bartender who’s been here for 16 years and a server for 15,” he says.
Mmm, Mmm, Good
THE NASHVILLE FARMERS’ MARKET IS A FRESH FOOD MENAGERIE
Whetheryou’re looking for just-off-the-vine
heirloom tomatoes, free-range eggs, fruit trees, bedding plants, lunch or a coconut cake
“that’s just to die for,” you’ll want to check out the Nashville Farmers’ Market.
That’s according to Marne Duke, marketing manager for the one-of-a-kind bazaar located on Eighth Avenue North and open every day except
Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Year’s. A downtown Nashville tradition for two centuries, the market moved to its current site in the mid-1950s and was renovated in 1995 as part of the Bicentennial State Park Mall development. During 2007 and 2008, a new round of renovations resulted in vast improvements to the 35,000-square-foot Market House, where restaurants and specialty retailers locate.
The Shreeji International Market, with everything from bulk spices to Asian teas, complements restaurants specializing in Mexican, Cajun, Caribbean, Chinese, Greek and Middle Eastern fare. For those with Southern tastes, a barbecue restaurant and a “meat ’n’ three” round out the roster.
Of course, the customary attraction for any farmers’ market is fresh produce, sold by the folks who grow it. That’s what happens under the Nashville market’s open-air sheds. Other purveyors sell plants and trees, fresh-cut flowers and specialty items such as jams and baked goods.
“As the palate of Nashville expands, every year the farmers may try some new things,” Duke adds. “Often they’ll grow the same type of vegetable, but find an obscure variety.”
– Sharon H. Fitzgerald
Communal tables await guests at Monell’s Dining and Catering at the historic Germantown location in Nashville.
Having ItAll at Your Doorstep
MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENTS FIT TODAY’S LIFESTYLES
CINDY SANDERS PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF ADKINS
The old real estate axiom, “location, location, location,” remains an undeniable selling point. But today’s developers are much less likely to let geography dictate use.
There was a time when most people lived in the suburbs and worked downtown. Now, “home” could be a towering skyscraper in the city center, and the “office” might easily be perched on what was once a plot of farmland.
The new real estate mantra is “convenience, convenience, convenience,” and it has given rise to the urban village. The increasingly popular concept of “having it all at your doorstep” has led developers to really think about the way people live.
Leading the charge is MarketStreet Enterprises, majority landowner in The Gulch and the area’s designated master redeveloper. A decade ago, The Gulch was known as a rather run-down section on the fringes of downtown Nashville. Today, the name instantly evokes images of trendy restaurants, chic living quarters and a thriving nightlife.
“We wanted to create an urban neighborhood where people can work, live and play,” explains Jay Turner, managing director of MarketStreet. “When we started this project, I had a lot of people question my sanity,” he recalls with a laugh. “Now it is a hip, urban neighborhood.”
Residents have lived in sleek apartments in The Gulch since 2003. Homeowners began moving into the luxury condominiums at the ICON this summer, and more will follow as the metropolitan Terrazzo and ultra modern Velocity near completion. Residential options join a thriving dining and nightlife scene that includes Watermark, Radius 10, RuSan’s, Sambuca and The Station Inn.
“With the announcement [of the arrival] of Urban Outfitters, that really takes us into a whole new area of retail,” says Turner. “The grand vision is the urban neighborhood. The actual implementation is up-to-the-street retail on the ground level with parking, for the most part, hidden behind the buildings to create a comfortable, urban walking environment.”
Where MarketStreet has turned a business district into a neighborhood, other developers are bringing the concept of the city center out to traditional suburban residential areas. In nearby Williamson County, Cool Springs was the choice of upscale developer Southern Land Company for
Trendy businesses stand out against the dusk sky in the new Hill Center Development in Nashville.
STORY BY
McEwen – a mixed-use development featuring Class A office space, restaurants, shopping, entertainment, residential options and hotels on a 93-acre plot of land.
H.G. Hill Realty Company has made a huge success of turning a former grocery store and strip mall into Hill Center, located in the heart of Nashville’s Green Hills neighborhood.
“Hill Center opened in ’07,” says Jimmy Granbery, CEO of H.G. Hill Realty. “It’s 10 acres, 220,000 square feet of gross, leaseable area – 160,000 retail and 60,000 office.”
The “lifestyle center” quickly attracted popular shopping and dining options including Anthropologie, California Pizza Kitchen, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, west elm and Swoozie’s.
“Nashville has long been on the radar screen for some of these retailers. It’s just there was nothing available,” Granbery says with regard to viable lease space. “In 2005, we created a product that was in the right location and met their expectations.”
With a built-in sense of community and convenience, the rise of the urban village is meeting – and exceeding –everyone’s expectations.
The newly constructed ICON condominiums dominate the skyline in The Gulch neighborhood. Bottom left: Cindy Kalmenson and her daughter, Sara Kalmenson-Sharp, 2, shop at the Snap Kid’s Gear and Gifts store located in the new Hill Center. Bottom right: Restaurants in The Gulch offer great views of the city’s skyline.
A Sense of History
Can a proliferation of urban development peacefully coexist with historic neighborhoods? In Nashville, the answer has been a resounding, “Yes!”
Don Klein, chief executive officer of the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, says buyer options range from the ultramodern to the historic charmer.
He says a number of historic neighborhoods are located near the central business district, giving buyers the best of both worlds. Belmont, Edgefield, Richland and Sylvan Park – popular neighborhoods filled with historic homes – are within minutes of downtown.
And Germantown, on the outer north edge of the city center, is a great example of retaining a neighborhood’s character while meeting the needs of today’s buyers.
In every direction from downtown, older neighborhoods are resurfacing as popular choices.
“There’s all this excitement and energy going on with what is happening. It’s refreshing, and it’s encouraging,” Klein says.
He is quick to point out that historic charm can be found further out, as well.
“There are these great historic homes in downtown Franklin … and in Mt. Juliet and Springfield and other areas,” he says. “There is a lot of variety that is now available. We’re becoming a multi-choice, cosmopolitan city.”
– Cindy Sanders
A historic home in the Sylvan Park neighborhood STAFF PHOTO
Musical MELTING POT
INDUSTRY ORGANIZATIONS FEEL
RIGHT AT HOME IN NASHVILLE
STORY BY RENEE ELDER
Dreams of making it big in Music City have captivated singers, songwriters and musicians for more than 75 years.
Their success, in turn, has attracted an increasingly diverse collection of music industry professionals who are happy to call Nashville home.
“The music business is largely centered on Nashville now,” says Jody Williams, a vice president at Broadcast Music Inc. “People are moving here from New York, from the West Coast.… Not only is it less expensive to operate in Nashville, the area is centrally located, the quality of life is excellent and the songwriting community is incredibly supportive.”
BMI is one of three member-based organizations that keep track of songwriters’ performance royalties in the United States. The company moved its home office from New York about a decade ago and now employs about 600 at the Nashville headquarters.
Williams says the music industry in Nashville remains stronger than ever, pointing to BMI’s record-breaking revenues for the fiscal year ending in June 2007 that totaled $839 million and resulted in $732 million worth of payouts to its songwriter members.
“Country music is still huge here, but it’s also the center of bluegrass music and Christian music and lots of other styles,” Williams says. “I think the industry today is more diverse than it has ever been.”
Jed Hilly would have to agree. Hilly is director of the Americana Music Association, established in 1998.
“We are a Nashville organization with members as far away as Australia, Japan and the United Kingdom,” says Hilly, who defines Americana as “contemporary music that honors and is derived from American roots music.”
The Americana play list includes such Nashville icons as Marty Stuart and Emmylou Harris, along with a wide range of others, from California native John Fogarty to Texas troubadour Lyle Lovett. “Americana artists, as much if not more than other artists, are taking from tradition and making it new,” Hilly adds.
The association’s membership now stands at 1,200, and more than 2,000 turn out for the AMA’s annual conference, which features daily seminars by industry experts and a slate of live performances each night.
Other Nashville-based trade organizations include the 2,700-member International Bluegrass Music Association, which relocated from Owensboro, Ky., in 2003, and the 4,500-member Gospel Music Association, which was founded here in 1964. The GMA may be best known for its annual televised Dove Awards that honor all genres of Christian music.
“The Doves not only bring people to town, but radio stations from all over the country broadcast it live to virtually every market in America,” says John Styll, president and chief executive officer of the GMA. “They help spread the word about Nashville.”
Styll says 90 percent of all gospel music is written or recorded in Nashville, which he calls “the undisputed nexus” of the genre that covers any music with a faith-based message.
“We have a lot more economic impact than most people are aware of,” he says.
While Nashville’s solid music business reputation appeals to broad-based multinational agencies such as BMI, it also speaks to organizations with a more narrow musical focus.
“What drew us to Nashville was the diversity of music here and the opportunities that present themselves,” says Michelle Nikolai, public relations manager for the Barbershop Harmony Society, which moved its offices here in 2007 from Kenosha, Wis.
The society’s summer 2008 convention was a huge success, drawing nearly 10,000 fans who came to see the groups compete in four-part harmony singing.
“They love the camaraderie and the fellowship and the fact that they are preserving an American art form,” Nikolai says.
But even such purists recognize the value-added benefits of a diverse musical heritage.
“Gospel is part of the barbershop tradition, as are African American styles. It’s all one big melting pot,” Nikolai says.
Left: As vice president of BMI, Jody Williams is wellversed in the local music scene. PHOTOS BY JEFF ADKINS
Bluebird Stage Is Songwriter Heaven
The American music scene wouldn’t be the same without a small, tucked-away Nashville nightspot known as the Bluebird Café.
If you’re in doubt, just ask Faith Hill or Garth Brooks. They – along with many other artists –got their first big breaks while performing on the Bluebird’s stage.
“The Bluebird is songwriter heaven,” affirms Bart Herbison, executive director of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI). “Something happens within the walls of the Bluebird that simply doesn’t happen anywhere else. It’s magic.”
When the Bluebird opened in a Green Hills strip mall in 1982, owner Amy Kurland envisioned a casual gourmet restaurant that served up a little live music on the side. In short order, customers were filing into the Bluebird as often for the performances as for a good meal.
“I didn’t start out to create what the Bluebird is today, but I ended up with a place that I feel is special and an important part of the whole music business,” Kurland says.
In 2007, she announced her decision to pass along the care and feeding of the Bluebird to NSAI.
“One thing I took into consideration was the continuation of the mission,” Kurland says. “I knew if I sold to a private entity or to big business, the owners would have to do something I never had to do – chase the money. I didn’t want to see it turned into a sports bar or a place for karaoke.”
Under the new ownership agreement, the Bluebird continues many of the traditions established by Kurland, such as Open Mic sessions and Sunday Writers Nights, where fledgling songwriters have the chance to introduce their work to appreciative audiences.
“By donating the Bluebird to NSAI, Amy is helping fund the important advocacy work we do on behalf of songwriters,” Herbison says. – Renee Elder
The Bluebird Café is a Nashville tradition.
BRIAN
Working Locally at Thinking Globally
NASHVILLE BUILDS ON REPUTATION AS AN INTERNATIONAL CITY
With its strong business climate and growing diversity, it’s no surprise that Nashville is becoming “a much more overtly international city,” says John Butler, vice president of international business for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.
Butler traces the city’s global thinking to advice given by former President Jimmy Carter to Lamar Alexander, while the U.S. Senator was serving as governor of Tennessee in the early 1980s. Butler recalls Carter urging Alexander to go to Japan and begin building relationships.
“Now Japan is the state’s largest foreign investor with approximately 140,000 jobs for Tennesseans provided by Japanese firms,” says Butler, adding that the majority of foreign investment in Middle Tennessee’s 10-county economic development partnership region comes from Japan, Korea, Canada, Germany, France and the UK, with China targeted as an emerging market.
With the growth in international investment comes a more diverse population.
As the residential center of America’s largest Kurdish community, Nashville was one of only five U.S. voting sites for expatriates in the historic 2005 Iraqi elections. The city is also home to a thriving Hispanic population and growing Middle Eastern and Asian presence.
Pakistan native Jack Sayed and his wife, American-born Melanie Kytola, met while both were working in Japan. Sayed, who has spent many years in the automotive industry, was asked by Nissan to oversee corporate planning in the United States and relocate to Nashville with his wife.
“My thought was after 10 years in Japan, I was missing American culture and some of the American luxuries,” recalls Kytola. “We were living in a 400 square-foot apartment with a one-hour commute into Tokyo for work. We were really looking for a change in lifestyle.”
Sayed says they certainly found that in Nashville.
“Nissan has a great program,” he says. “We were given 10 days to look around and get a feel for the city. We fell in love with it. Everything was beautifully green.”
Sayed and Kytola both liked the convenience of services to neighborhoods, short commute times, affordability of housing and the friendliness of Nashvillians.
“If you were living in London or Tokyo or Melbourne or Sydney, you would not be able to have all the things we have here in one package,” Sayed says of their new home.
Another newcomer to the area is the Consular Office of Japan. On January 1, 2008, the office officially opened its doors in Nashville after closing its New Orleans location.
“The process leading to that action was quite lengthy and included a review of many factors,” explains Koichi Funayama, chief of mission and consul for the Consular Office of Japan in Nashville. “In the end, I would say the tremendous concentration of Japanese residents and firms in this region was among the greatest motivations behind the change.”
Funayama says that although every company has its own set of priorities and requirements, the area’s strategic location, friendliness and outstanding labor pool are all important to those considering a corporate relocation.
“I think Nashville, and Tennessee as a whole, both have great potential for attracting more international players.”
Left: Jack Sayed of Nissan and his wife, Melanie Kytola, recently moved from Japan to Brentwood. Above: Traditional Japanese decorations welcome visitors to the Consular Office of Japan in Nashville, which opened in January 2008.
STORY BY CINDY SANDERS | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF ADKINS
Baseball, Books & Family Fun
HOMETOWN TEAM WORKS WITH LOCAL SCHOOLS TO PROMOTE LITERACY AND MORE
There’s always plenty of fun, food and fireworks at a Nashville Sounds baseball game. But the team works hard to be a serious player in the community as well as a surefire source of family fun.
One way the team makes a difference is the Nashville Sounds Reading Club program, which ties the team into area schools to promote literacy through a series of goals and challenges. The more books a child reads, the more prizes he or she is eligible to earn – including everything from game tickets to books and other treats.
“We work with more than 400 schools throughout Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky,” says Amy Alder Smith, community relations coordinator. “We sponsor the prizes to get children to read, and so when they sign up in January we send out the prizes so the kids know what they can compete for. When they read enough books to get to a certain base, they get the prize. And of course, the goal is to reach home plate.”
The Sounds have nine reading-club games to recognize participants throughout the season, mixed in among other special evenings. One of the most successful promotions is “faith night,” which features discounted membership for church and other groups, a pre-game Christian music concert and the occasional biblical bobblehead.
“We have about eight [faith nights] a year, and they really bring a lot of people out,” Smith says. “We have a package where each person gets a ticket, a hot dog and a soda, and we’ve had well-known bands like Jars of Clay play at the pre-game concert.”
Other charities get their chance to shine in the infield as well, when Purity Dairies’ “Charity Night” program allows local organizations to promote themselves to fans in attendance.
“We’ve had everyone from the American Heart Association to the Cumberland Crisis Pregnancy Center come for those nights,” Smith says. “It’s been very successful.”
Nashville Sounds players take their places on the field during a game.
JEFF
Celebrating Steeplechase
Nashville’s horse lovers and high society come together every second Saturday in May for the annual Iroquois Steeplechase, but the big winner is the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
Since 1970, the hospital has been pioneering new treatments and improving the lives of children from around the country and world. Along the way it has gotten significant help from the steeplechase, which has contributed more than $8 million over the last 27 years of its 67-year history to the facility.
The steeplechase is more than just a fundraiser, though. It’s a celebration of Nashville’s history as a horsebreeding and racing center, which it was known as long before that upstart neighbor Kentucky began snagging all the headlines. The Iroquois is one of the more successful steeplechases nationwide, with its $415,000 purse the second highest in the country.
The Iroquois continues to add new features every year. In 2008 more than 200 tailgating slots were added to meet increasing demand, along with a new triple-spire Iroquois Society Pavilion, which can shelter up to 500 spectators. Both additions will increase the race’s annual contribution to the hospital, which is welcome news according to Race Director Brenda Black.
“We added 200 new tailgating spots this year, and they sold out in record time,” Black says. “People were definitely very happy to have them, and eager to have the opportunity to purchase a spot.”
As for the pavilion, the permanent structure not only gives a new look to the event, but also offers a great racetrack view.
There were plenty of horses, hounds and hats at the 67th running of the Iroquois Steeplechase.
Not Up for Debate
All eyes political will turn to Belmont University this October. The school has been chosen as the host campus for the Town Hall Presidential Debate on Oct. 7, 2008. Belmont competed with 16 other sites nationwide for one of the three presidential debates or the one vice-presidential debate.
Once the selection excitement wore off, Belmont officials quickly got down to business in terms of organizing a mammoth influx of journalists and other campaign watchers. Given the worldwide attention the presidential debate will bring, it’s a chance not only for Belmont, but all of Nashville, to shine, says Dr. Robert Fisher, president of Belmont University.
“We’re going to have 3,000 journalists as our guests, and we’re going to make sure they get treated in a firstclass manner,” Fisher says. “This is the Super Bowl of journalism, and it’s not just a chance for Belmont to tell its story. Everyone’s going to step up and let people see what the ‘Athens of the
South’ is all about.”
The debate will cost somewhere northward of $1 million to stage, but community sponsorships have been pouring into the campus – another indication that while Belmont may be hosting the big show, the city’s got its back.
“There are so many people who’ve seen the vision of what this can do for our community,” Fisher says. “They’ve stepped up and made very significant commitments to help us with this, and it’s going to be very successful because of that.”
In tandem with the debate, Belmont began a series of programs during spring 2008 and running through the November election. Mock debates, a mock election week and what Fisher billed as “the most intensive voter registration drive ever held on campus” are just some activities. A robust speaker series also is on tap, featuring everyone from documentary filmmaker Ken Burns to noted historians.
Rewarding Employees & Customers
I
f you want to satisfy your sweet tooth while helping out some very deserving workers, contact Cookie Works at the Rochelle Center.
The program is one of the center’s self-determination industries, in that center staff can control the work experience for the developmentally challenged workers, making sure they get the proper training and experience to translate what they learn at Cookie Works into regular employment.
“It’s so difficult for them to get a job out in the community, because quite often it’s hard for our people to be given a chance,” says Debbie Chadwick, vice president of the Rochelle Center.
The center launched Cookie Works in November 2007 and by Christmas had received orders for several thousand – all baked on site, placed in tins and prepared for shipping and delivery. Several Nashville-area companies are using Cookie Works for corporate events, as well as gifts for clients. More importantly, it’s given the business
community a chance to see some of the Rochelle Center’s people in action.
“It’s very important for them to be able to show what they can do,” Chadwick says. “They are wonderful workers, they pay incredible attention to detail, they are very proud of their work.”
Plans are in the works for a satellite location that would only house Cookie Works.
“Our product is not the cookies, it’s the individuals who make them,” Chadwick says. “We’re trying to prepare individuals to work gainfully in the community, and this program has been just wonderful so far for doing that.”
Cookie Works provides sweet treats while helping out some very deserving workers.
The evening sun casts a warm glow on the campus of Belmont University.
PHOTO BY JEFF ADKINS
STAFF PHOTO
Vanderbilt Wins With Vigilance
Patients at Vanderbilt University Medical Center are used to top-notch care from their physicians. What may not be as obvious is the quality of software used to monitor them during surgery, track their medical records and more.
The Microsoft Healthcare Users Group knows, though, and that’s why it tapped the Vanderbilt Department of Anesthesiology for its Healthcare Innovation Award. Specifically, the department won in the “Best Use of Clinical Records – Inpatient” category.
The international award recognizes two different components of the department’s overall system – Vigilance, a wireless network application for remote monitoring of patients in the operating room, allowing for the integration of information from various monitoring devices, and VPIMS, or Vanderbilt Perioperative Information Management System, which supports medical documentation and operating-room tracking. VPIMS has multiple uses, not the least of which is real-time evaluations of all operating-room activity, as well as efficiency analyses.
Coming from a field of such highend medical professionals, the award means a lot to the anesthesiology department, says Dr. Michael Higgins, who joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 1994 and has spearheaded its clinical informatics efforts since.
“We had been working on a variety of different efforts and had been working with Microsoft on a new software application in another area,” Higgins says. “They had the opportunity to get an in-depth look at VPIMS during that due diligence, and were so impressed that we were asked to enter it into the award competition.
“Our goal is to be the safest hospital in America.” – Stories by Joe Morris
Dr. James M. Berry, professor of anesthesiology, wears goggles that serve as the viewer for the computer that is attached to his waist.
STORY BY JOE MORRIS
It’s plain – from trains to automobiles – that corporations both new and old are finding success in Middle Tennessee.
Nashville has long been the base of operations for such major players as HCA and Ingram Industries, and continues to draw new business residents in a wide variety of fields. Add to that the number of start-up companies that choose to remain here, and you’ve got the nucleus of continued business retention and growth, says Janet Miller, chief economic development officer for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.
“There are two categories that are the primary drivers for why we’ve been growing our headquarters base so much,” Miller says. “In the last five to 10 years we’ve really developed as a choice location because we’ve been able to build a good case in terms of our location advantage. Secondly, because this is a city that you can recruit talent to – if you’re hiring a new CFO, it’s not hard to convince someone to pick up and move here.”
It’s also not hard to find skilled employees in the area, whether it’s a few dozen specialized workers or that certain someone for a corner office.
“There’s an excellent talent pool here – an educated, motivated workforce,” says Jack O. Bovender Jr., chairman and CEO of HCA. “It’s also a great community to raise a family in and a great business environment. I think the success that the city is having is building on itself. More companies are
Left: Nissan’s new headquarters is located near Nashville in Franklin.
Right: Cumberland Pharmaceuticals, with headquarters on West End Avenue, continues to thrive.
looking at moving corporate or regional headquarters here, and then they make recommendations to others.”
That intra-corporate word of mouth certainly helped Nissan North America decide to relocate from Southern California to Middle Tennessee. The company’s 25-year presence in Smyrna was a major factor, but many other issues came into play as Nissan officials began pondering their relocation options, says Fred Standish, director of corporate communications.
“We have a long history in Smyrna, but there were a lot of other things
Local Flavor
that we looked at,” Standish says. “Tennessee is a very business-friendly state, and we have been able to find a lot of synergies here, things that are panning out very well.”
Nissan began relocating staff to Nashville in June 2006 and fully moved into its new Cool Springs headquarters in August 2008. The entire process has gone as scheduled, something Standish credits to both his company and local officials.
“There was a lot of good planning up front, but we’ve had great cooperation from the cities, counties and state,” he
AIRPORT RENOVATIONS INCLUDE NATIONAL, HOMETOWN FAVORITES
What could be more Nashville than a country band playing at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge? Not much, but if you’re closer to Donelson Pike than Lower Broadway, no worries: The legendary nightclub now has an outpost at the Nashville International Airport.
The airport is in the midst of a comprehensive overhaul, including 16 new skylights, new flight information panels throughout the terminal, and restroom renovations, as well as a new central security checkpoint that will feature 12 lanes. The renovation is the facility’s first major interior work in 21 years. And while many of the traffic-flow and other changes are long overdue, the new shopping, dining and entertainment options are, understandably, drawing most of the attention.
“We’re going to have things here that are distinctly Nashville,” says Emily Richard, corporate communications manager for the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority. “But also a lot of trustworthy national names. What we’re doing is twofold for the patrons – it’s the best of both worlds.”
As more locally based shops and restaurants open their doors within its concourses, the airport is fast becoming a comprehensive sampler of Nashville cuisine and wares. Nationally known vendors also are flocking to the venue, giving travelers a surprising range of shopping options as they await flights or passengers.
Locals certainly will recognize some of the names, which include Gibson Guitar, Provence Breads & Cafe, Bongo Java, Swett’s, Whitt’s Barbecue and Noshville. But major national players such as Starbucks, CNN and Hudson News & Booksellers will be familiar to
says. “From the beginning, everybody has felt very comfortable here.”
On a smaller but equally telling scale, Cumberland Pharmaceuticals and Cumberland Emerging Technologies also are making the city home. Actually, keeping it home is more appropriate, since the ventures began here. But CEO A.J. Kazimi says that what made Nashville a good place to start is why it’s a good place to stay – and grow.
“We’ve enjoyed building our company in Nashville, and we’re excited about the opportunity to help lay the foundation for an even broader health-
just about anyone traveling through.
“We had a major concessions plan initiated several years ago, and the outcome of that drove a lot of the renovations that we’re doing now,” Richard says.
“Passengers and visitors want recognizable national brands, but they also want some local flavor. They want to be able to see Starbucks and Wendy’s, but they also want to experience something that’s uniquely Nashville.” – Joe Morris
The Nashville International Airport has embarked on a comprehensive terminal renovation.
care sector that includes pharmaceutical and life sciences enterprises,” Kazimi says. “The proximity to Vanderbilt University and other academic research centers makes it an ideal location for companies like ours, which provide a nice complement to Nashville’s healthcare services industry.”
Accolades are all well and good, but at the end of the day it’s performance that counts. Given the area’s successful business climate, that’s another key component of the story being told, adds the Chamber’s Miller.
“The best sales tool we have is the companies that have come here,” she says. “These guys have become zealots for Nashville, and they are very generous with their time to help us land the next corporation. I think that’s the asset we’ve leveraged the most and is one of the reasons we have such a high success rate with landing headquarters.”
A.J. Kazimi is the founder and CEO of Cumberland Pharmaceuticals and Cumberland Emerging Technologies.
Jack’s Bar-B-Que has been a local favorite since 1976.
A SMOKY STANDARD
A staple of Nashville dining since 1976 and a Broadway icon, Jack’s Bar-BQue is hard to beat for an authentic Music City experience. The famous neon flying pigs at 416 Broadway attract tourists and natives alike for Tennessee pork shoulder, Texas beef brisket, chicken, turkey, sausage and St. Louisstyle ribs. A variety of fresh vegetables are available to round out the meal.
“The core is hickory smoke,” owner Jack Cawthon says. “We use hickory wood – nothing artificial, no short cuts – slow cooking in an enclosed pit, so our meat gets that smoke ring that is the signature of real barbecue.”
All the recipes are Cawthon’s own, and he won three gold medals at the 2008 National BBQ Expo.
Jack’s Bar-B-Que offers a second location on Trinity Lane, and Cawthon’s line of sauces is available at www. jacksbarbque.com for those unable to dine at the restaurant as often as they would like.
MODEL CORPORATE CITIZEN
Consumers may not be familiar with the name Genesco, but most people recognize the brands represented by this leading specialty retailer of shoes and headwear.
The Nashville-based company operates more than 2,000 stores in North America including the popular Journeys, Journeys Kidz, Shi by Journeys, Underground Station, Johnston & Murphy, Hatworld, Lids, Lids Kids, Hat Shack, Hat Zone, Cap Connection and Head Quarters. The company also is a wholesaler of footwear under its own Johnston & Murphy brand and the licensed Dockers brand.
Genesco is active in the community, taking leadership roles in organizations such as the United Way of Middle Tennessee, Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee and the PENCIL Foundation.
“It is important to us to give back to the community where we work and live,” says Claire McCall, Genesco corporate media contact. “We’ve been part of the Nashville community since 1924, and we believe in giving back. It’s an important part of who Genesco is.”
GIVE ’EM A GOO GOO
Anyone who has experienced the pleasure of a Goo Goo Cluster knows the candy is more than a treat for the taste buds – it’s a bit of nostalgia, too.
The peanut, marshmallow and caramel concoction was born in a copper kettle at Standard Candy Company in 1912 and has been made in Nashville ever since.
Standard Candy also develops new treats to complement the time-tested Goo Goo Cluster. The company now offers pecan clusters and pecan rolls featuring Makara cinnamon under a licensing agreement with Cinnabon.
“The consumer response to these products has been phenomenal,” Marketing Director Joanne Barthel says. “I’ve gotten e-mails, phone calls and letters from people who love them.”
For businesses looking for a uniquely Nashville product to attract customers, Standard Candy offers its products at a discounted cost for giveaways.
“We love to get calls from people who want to give out Goo Goo Clusters at conventions and trade shows,” Barthel says.
ART FOR ALL
Take 121 Arts has something for everyone, from the collector looking for fine art investments to the art lover with limited funds.
“We are proud of our offerings, and
excel at time and budget crunches,” owner Chad Hollingsworth says. “I hear many people say, ‘I enjoy looking but can’t afford great art,’ and that’s just not true. Art can be affordable and fun, and we strive to offer reasonable outsider options, to fine collections of work by Dali, Calder, Chagall, Neiman and other estate collections.”
The gallery offers the work of more than 250 artists, local and international, in a wide variety of genres and pricing. Custom framing, commercial accounts and design services are also available.
“Our staff is well seasoned in solving design problems and providing quality solutions at a reasonable price. Take 121 offers free in-home/office consultations on concepts and design,” Hollingsworth says.
Take 121 is located next to Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville’s popular SoBro district.
ATTRACTING SERVICESOURCE
San Francisco-based ServiceSource considered 11 cities before deciding to locate its 30,000-square-foot service center in Davidson County in January of 2008.
“Our primary concern was being able to find educated, reliable labor,” says Dave Dunlop, senior vice president of operations. “We were attracted to Nashville because of the education systems and the number of students that pour out of the universities. We have been very successful in hiring to our profile since opening there.”
ServiceSource focuses exclusively on helping high-tech and health-care clients secure and grow service and maintenance contracts. Clients include companies such as Adobe, AT&T, GE Healthcare and Microsoft. The company created the service performance management industry and remains its leader.
ServiceSource has customers in more than 100 countries and employs native speakers of more than 20 languages. The Nashville facility employs 125 people, primarily in sales and client care. – Denise Mitchell
Take 121 Arts features the work of more than 250 artists.
PHOTOS
BY JEFF ADKINS
Making the Grade
UNIVERSITIES CONTINUE TO BUILD ON SOLID REPUTATION
Nashville may be the only city in the world with a full-scale replica of the Parthenon, but that isn’t why the city is known as the “Athens of the South.”
Since before the Civil War, Nashville has been a center of higher education and today is home to more than 20 colleges and universities. Cumberland University, a private college in Lebanon with a 166-year history, has begun a fundraising campaign to raise $50 million over five years to finance construction of a new nursing and science building, an expansion of the college’s fine arts center and an on-campus café.
Although the school is small, with undergraduate enrollment reaching 1,000 students for the first time in fall 2008, President Harvill Eaton is confident in the university’s ability to raise the necessary funds.
In fact, Eaton sees the university’s size as one of its key strengths.
“We aim to remain small so that every student and every student’s future counts, but large enough to accommodate each student’s career path,” Eaton says. “The modernization of our facilities will serve our students, who are well informed and have a hightech orientation.”
Lipscomb University’s Institute for Sustainable Practice, which began offering Tennessee’s first bachelor’s program and first MBA with a sustainability concentration in 2008, prepares students for opportunities in developing green products and creating sustainable business practices.
“Due to the infancy of the sustainability movement, Lipscomb sees this program as an investment in faith for a better life and an investment in justice for the world,” Executive Director Dodd Galbreath says.
Since 2004, Belmont University’s Center for Entrepreneurship has given students the opportunity to become the innovators of the future.
“While the classroom experience is critical, the co-curricular opportunities for meaningful engagement are unpar-
alleled. Belmont’s program equips students with the knowledge, skills and experience to be successful entrepreneurs,” says José D. González, instructor of management and entrepreneurship.
In 2008, Vanderbilt University developed The Commons for incoming freshmen.
“We believe it will transform the
first-year experience,” says Beth Fortune, associate vice chancellor for public affairs. “We have literally built a campus within a campus, where all first-year students will reside starting this fall. Select faculty will reside on campus there, too, and there will be a variety of cultural and intellectual offerings and programming.” – Denise Mitchell
Lipscomb University is earning a reputation for its Institute for Sustainable Practice. Students can earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the program.
JEFF ADKINS
Making New Friends at School ORGANIZATION
SEEKS TO ENSURE SCHOOLS ARE SUFFICIENTLY FUNDED
Citizens with a heart for affecting positive change in Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools have a new ally in helping ensure schools will be a budget priority. Friends of Metro Schools – a collaboration between the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, Stand for Children and the Interdenominational Ministerial Fellowship – facilitates its members’ impact on the school budgeting process by providing information about contacting state and local elected officials, attending public hearings, and writing letters to the editor.
Launched in March 2008 at Dan Mills Elementary, the organization is unique in focusing exclusively on securing funding rather than on policy issues. Membership is open to any individual or organization interested in speaking out for MNPS.
“We work to reach out to partnering organizations and individuals willing to advocate for an adequate schools budget,” says Francie Hunt, Tennessee director of Stand for Children. “While Nashville searches for a qualified director of schools and elects school board candidates to make Metro Nashville Schools high quality for every student, we know that, ultimately, it is up to the community at large to make education a top priority.”
Marc Hill, chief education officer of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, agrees.
“The success of our public schools affects every aspect of our community – economic growth, property values, workforce quality, crime rate, and the ability to attract and retain families,” Hill says. “At a time when strong schools are more important than ever to
our community’s health and prosperity, Nashville’s local school budget is becoming more difficult to fund. Our local, state and federal elected officials need to hear from everyday citizens about the importance of education.”
According to Hunt, Friends of Metro Schools already had more than 100 individual members and
16 partnering businesses and organizations in its first two months of operation.
“Friends of Metro Schools will provide its members with the latest breaking news during the budget process,” he adds.
“Members make a difference for schools by contacting their elected officials to make sure our schools come first.” – Denise Mitchell
Arts Scene Hits a High Note
NEW AND NEWLY ENHANCED FACILITIES OFFER A WEALTH OF ENTERTAINMENT
Anchored by its reputation as “Music City,” Nashville’s arts scene has expanded in recent years to include a number of new and improved venues.
Since its first season in September 2006, the $123.5 million Schermerhorn Symphony Center – named for the GrammyAward-winning Nashville Symphony’s late music director/ conductor Kenneth Schermerhorn – is truly a world-class concert hall, according to president/CEO Alan D. Valentine.
“Every artist who comes through here says the same thing,” he says. “It’s one of the tops in the world – acoustically and otherwise.”
The Schermerhorn’s intimate concert hall features 1,844 seats, a custom-built concert organ and a convertible seating system that can transform orchestra-level seating to a 5,700-square-foot hardwood ballroom floor.
And the Frist Center for the Visual Arts is just as impressive. With more than 181,000 visitors in 2007, the center presents art representing all cultures, time periods and media, says Executive Director Susan Edwards.
“We’re pleased that the momentum for art appreciation in Nashville is on the ascendancy,” Edwards says.
Housed in the former main post office of Nashville, the
Frist Center opened in 2001 through a public and private partnership with Metro Nashville. Every month, the Frist Center hosts an artist forum where local artists can show and discuss their work. They also offer a variety of tours, Kids Club on Saturdays, a summer art camp, art enrichment programs, films, lectures and more. The hands-on Martin ArtQuest area features interactive art stations.
The newly expanded and improved Nashville Children’s Theatre made its grand debut in December 2007. The critically acclaimed professional company has been ranked by Time magazine as one of the top five children’s theaters in the country.
Built in 1960, the building was gutted and completely redesigned, according to Producing Director Scot Copeland.
The theater offers 550 seats, four classrooms, a rehearsal hall and an expanded lobby. The renovations allowed the company to conduct a summer repertory season this year, along with its popular children’s camps.
“We have a commitment to the community – and putting the community first should be done with the highest levels of artistry,” Copeland says.
– Caryn L. Stumpfl
The Schermerhorn Symphony Center is named in honor of Kenneth Schermerhorn, who was the music director and conductor of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra from 1983 until his death in 2005.
JEFF ADKINS
Lights, Camera, Action …
NASHVILLE FILM FESTIVAL ROLLS ON TO 40TH ANNIVERSARY IN 2009
The Nashville Film Festival has long entertained local residents and enthusiastic film lovers throughout the region. In fact, NaFF is one of the longestrunning competitive film festivals in the United States – and the longest running in the Southeast.
“Coming off a successful film festival with attendance up 10 percent, we are already in the planning stages of the upcoming celebration of Nashville Film Festival’s 40th year,” says Executive Director Sallie Mayne.
Named one of the “20 film festivals worth the entry fee” by MovieMaker Magazine, NaFF presents some of the most intriguing and entertaining films out there today by renowned filmmakers, up-and-comers and first-time directors.
Hosted by Regal Green Hills Cinemas each April, the annual festival draws more than 20,000 attendees – including notable guests such as William H. Macy and Vincent D’Onofrio. Films cross all genres from comedy, drama, family,
documentary, world cinema and experimental.
Award-winning films from the 2008 festival included Two Embraces (director Enrique Begne) for the NaFF/Regal Cinemas Dreammaker Award and Shake the Devil Off (director Peter Entell) for best documentary feature. The Reel Current Award, presented by
former Vice President Al Gore for the best social issue documentary, went to Mountain Top Removal (director Michael O’Connell).
“We are proud of our arts and business partnerships – over 60 in 2008 – which celebrate our community diversity and truly make this a community event,” says Mayne. – Caryn L. Stumpfl
Actor William H. Macy talks with reporters on the red carpet.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SHELLY JUSTISS/NAFF
Building on Success
INNOVATIVE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL TO EXPAND
Like a child who has outgrown his shoes, the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt has been feeling the pinch of high occupancy rates mixed with the need to remain on the cutting edge of clinical research.
Children’s Hospital received approval of the certificate of need for expansion earlier this year by the Tennessee Health Services and Development Agency to construct an eight-story, 340,000-squarefoot addition to its current facility on the Vanderbilt University campus at 2200 Children’s Way.
The $200 million-plus expansion
plan includes the addition of 90 criticalcare patient beds and up to 10 new operating rooms as well as the relocation of obstetrics services from the main hospital (including 36 obstetrical beds, 36 NICU beds and 16 labor and delivery rooms). The teaching hospital provides high-tech, high-acuity care for newborns to young adults.
“When we built this facility, we thought we’d be here for 10 or 20 years before we needed to expand,” says CEO Dr. Kevin B. Churchwell. “Due to the population growth in the area and the expertise we provide, we’ve been at 85 percent to 90 percent occupancy.
Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt recently embarked on a $200 million-plus expansion.
Our goal is to expand our number of beds to meet the region’s need and for clinical reasons.”
The groundbreaking is expected in summer 2009 with a completion date in 2012.
Located one block from Vanderbilt Medical Center (one of the city’s largest employers), Children’s Hospital currently offers 222 patient beds, 36 critical care beds, 62 neonatal beds, an emergency room with 24 beds, 16 operating rooms and even a Pizza Hut and Taco Bell in its food court. The 11-story Doctor’s Office Tower sits adjacent to the pediatric facility, housing a variety of clinics and doctors’ offices.
Integrating a robust obstetrics practice into Children’s Hospital is also part of Dr. Churchwell’s plans.
“It’s undeniably better,” he says. “If a child is born in distress, our experts can be right here without the need to transport to another facility that could take critical time. This could make a huge difference in the outcome for that child.”
Known in Middle Tennessee for treating various chronic diseases, such as pediatric cancer, congenital heart problems, juvenile diabetes, cystic fibrosis and more, Children’s Hospital also is a leader in clinical research.
“We will be increasing our clinical research capabilities with the new expansion to develop new treatments and therapies,” Dr. Churchwell says, noting that the not-for-profit Children’s Hospital will be launching a fundraising campaign in the community over the next year to finance the new, multimillion-dollar construction.
In addition to the Children’s Hospital expansion, the university medical center is expanding its facility at 100 Oaks Mall into a state-of-the-art health care facility. Nineteen clinical programs will move to Vanderbilt Health 100 Oaks, offering a variety of outpatient services in one convenient location.
“We currently have a pediatric rehabilitation program there and will add several pediatric clinics,” says Dr. Churchwell. “100 Oaks is very important to us from that standpoint.”
– Caryn L. Stumpfl
BRIAN
Reaching the Top
DYNAMIC CEO LEADS CHS TO NEW HEIGHTS
Following its acquisition of Triad Hospitals in 2007, Community Health Systems is now the largest publicly traded hospital company in the nation with combined annual revenues of $11 billion.
With President/CEO Wayne Smith at the helm since 1996, CHS has become a leading operator of general acute-care hospitals in rural and non-urban midsize markets in the United States. Based in nearby Franklin, CHS owns, operates or leases approximately 116 hospitals in 28 states (with an aggregate of 17,000 licensed beds). The closest CHS-owned hospital to Nashville is Gateway Medical Center in Clarksville. CHS hospitals offer quality, cost-effective health care with a broad range of inpatient and outpatient services.
“We have been very fortunate to assemble a team of talented, dedicated
professionals who truly enjoy what they do,” Smith says. “I am proud of what we have accomplished together and of the impact our hospitals have in the communities we serve.”
Smith, who also became chairman of the board at CHS in 2001, has received numerous awards and accolades. He received the 2008 Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” award for Alabama/Georgia/Tennessee.
Smith also served as chairman of the board for the Nashville Health Care Council from 2006-08. The Nashville Health Care Council is an industry association supporting the local healthcare community. Nashville is home to more than 300 health-care companies operating on a national or international basis, with combined revenues of more than $80 billion.
– Caryn L. Stumpfl
Wayne T. Smith
COST OF LIVING
U.S. average, 100
New York, 220.3
San Francisco, 170.9
Boston, 134.8
Seattle, 123.4
Chicago, 110.5
Orlando, 99.3
Atlanta, 96.1
Cleveland, 95.7
Austin, 95.5
Nashville, 91.8
Source: American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association Cost of Living Index, second quarter 2008
CLIMATE
Average annual temperature, 58.8 F
Average January high, 46.9 F
Average January low, 28.4 F
Average June high, 86.4 F
Average June low, 65.1 F
Record high, 107 F (July 1952)
Record low, -17 F (January 1985)
Average annual precipitation, 59.5 inches
Average annual snowfall, 9.9 inches
Average relative humidity, 70 percent
Source: National Climatic Data Center
NASHVILLE
Nashville is known as Music City, the Athens of the South and the birthplace of investor-owned health care. It is the capital of Tennessee and a vital transportation, business and tourism center. The Nashville economic market, in the state’s center, comprises 10 counties for a total population of just under 1.6 million.
SUPERLATIVES
Top 100 Places to Live
Nashville is ranked among the top 100 places in live in America based on education, employment, economy, crime, parks, recreation and housing.
Relocate-America, June 2008
Top 25 Art Destinations
Nashville ranked 22nd in the Big Cities category (populations greater than 500,000) in AmericanStyle magazine’s annual Top 25 Arts Destinations reader poll.
AmericanStyle Magazine, 2008
America’s Friendliest Cities
Nashville is one of America’s five friendliest cities.
“Today” show, May 2008
2007 Competitiveness Award
Tennessee is the most competitive state in terms of attracting economic development, according to an annual ranking made by Site Selection magazine,
which rates states on their actual success in bringing new jobs and industry.
Site Selection magazine, May 2008
100 Best Places to Live and Launch
Nashville is ranked among the top 100 best places to live and launch based on business friendliness and lifestyle offerings.
CNNMoney.com, April 2008
Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity
Tennessee is ranked No. 4 based on entrepreneurial startups over the past decade.
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, April 2008
Best Places for Business and Careers
Nashville ranks as the No. 15 best city for business and careers based on job and income growth, as well as migration trends.
Forbes, February 2008
NASHVILLE AREA OCCUPATION MIX
Visit Our Advertisers
Aquinas College www.aquinascollege.edu
Ascend Federal Credit Union www.ascendfcu.org
Better Business Equipment Company Inc. www.bbesolutions.com
Nashville ranks nationally as the No. 3 best city in terms of cultural amenities behind New York City and San Francisco.
bizjournals.com, January 2008
Best Cities for Jobs
Nashville ranks as the No. 14 best city for jobs in 2008.
Forbes, January 2008
RELOCATION RESOURCES
Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
A private, nonprofit organization founded in 1847, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce is one of Middle Tennessee’s largest business federations, representing some 2,500 member companies. The Nashville Area Chamber provides its members business development programs, resources, marketing opportunities and business advocacy at all levels. Its economic development initiative serves as the lead business recruitment and expansion team for the 10-county Nashville region. Together with its affiliate partners, the Nashville Health Care Council and the Nashville Technology Council, the Nashville Area Chamber works to strengthen the region’s business climate and enhance Nashville’s position as a desirable place to live, work, play and visit.
Access Ride (615) 880-3970
Elderly and disabled transportation service
Davidson County Clerk (615) 862-6050
Information on automobile tags and registration, business licenses and marriage licenses
Greater Nashville Black Chamber of Commerce (615) 876-9634
Metro Nashville Public Schools (615) 259-4636
www.mnps.org
Metro Transit Authority (615) 862-5950
Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (615) 216-5737
Offers information for the Hispanic community; information provided by a bilingual staff
Tennessee Department of Education, (615) 741-2731, www.state.tn.us/education
Education information, including private schools
Tennessee Department of Higher Education (615) 741-3605
www.state.tn.us/thec
Information on junior colleges, colleges, universities and vocational schools
Tennessee Department of Revenue, (615) 741-3580, www.state.tn.us/revenue
Information on taxes
Tennessee Department of Safety, (615) 741-3954, www.state.tn.us/safety
Driver license information
Tennessee Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (615) 293-5007 www.hispanictn.com
Newcomer assistance information for the Hispanic community provided by a bilingual staff.
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