Click to see a gallery from the 2012 T.J. Martell Foundation Honors Gala. In this photo, Honorees Tom Cigarran, Dr. C. Wright Pinson, Kris Kristofferson, Joe Galante, Colin V. Reed on the red carpet at the T.J. Martell Foundation Honors Gala March 26, 2012 in Nashville, Tenn. (Dipti Vaidya/The Tennessean)
Industry and community leaders and country music stars traded turns in the spotlight Monday evening during the fourth annual T.J. Martell Foundation Honors Gala, held at the Hutton Hotel in Nashville.
The foundation saluted five local figures ? country legend Kris Kristofferson; veteran music industry leader Joe Galante; Gaylord Entertainment Company Chairman and CEO Colin Reed; Nashville Predators Chairman/co-owner and Healthways co-founder Tom Cigarran; and Dr. C. Wright Pinson, deputy vice chancellor for Health Affairs and CEO of Vanderbilt Health System ? during the event, which raises money and awareness for cancer research.
The five honorees exchanged hugs and handshakes and posed for photos before the event, as attendees bid on music memorabilia, getaways and other items in a silent and live auction held outside the hotel?s Vista Ballroom.
?I?m not used to being on this side of it,? said Galante, former chairman of Sony Music Nashville. ?I?m normally giving somebody the plaque or the award, so it?s a very humbling experience, and it?ll be kind of emotional to look back over 40 years.?
Cigarran and Reed said they shared their honors with those working in their organizations.
?So many of our people give their personal time to charities, causes, all the way through this community,? Reed said. ?So as the CEO of Gaylord, I get honored, but it?s our people that have caused it and made it happen.?
Helping salute the 2012 honorees was a crew of big music names: Dolly Parton and Kenny Chesney were on hand to present the Tony Martell Lifetime Entertainment Achievement Award to Galante, and performers included Charlie Daniels, Ronnie Dunn, Emmylou Harris, Bruce Hornsby, Martina McBride, K.T. Oslin and Vince Gill, who also served as host of the event. Gill joked to the audience that he was the best host available on short notice, but he spoke sincerely of his involvement with the organization and their ?passion to try to make things better for somebody else? before the event.
?I like being on that boat,? he said.
Daniels said he was honored to be performing and presenting the award to Pinson, adding that he?s counted organization founder Tony Martell as a personal friend for more than 30 years.
?I?ve seen the results of the money raised and the lives that have been changed, and I?m very, very much into this.?
Pinson said receiving his award was ?a really wonderful thing,? but jokingly expressed some concern about the ?Lifetime? in ?Lifetime Achievement.?
?That does have an implication that maybe you?re about through, and I am not about through. I?ve got a lot of things that I want to accomplish before I throw in the towel.?
Items up for bid at the auctions included Daniels? handwritten lyrics of his classic ?The Devil Went Down to Georgia,? signed guitars from Gill, Darius Rucker and Rodney Atkins and trips to the 2012 U.S. Open and Kentucky Derby and other getaways. The country music stars participated in the bidding end, as well ? Dunn had the winning $12,000 bid on a signed Kristofferson guitar and photo, which was followed by Kristofferson putting a private acoustic performance up for bid, fetching $25,000.
About the honorees
Tom Cigarran
Spirit of Nashville Award
Healthways co-founder and Nashville Predators chairman and co-owner, recognized as community builder and advocate for health care, business enterprise and education, also involved with community outreach efforts, including The Healthways Foundation
Joe Galante
Tony Martell Lifetime Entertainment Achievement Award
Music industry veteran and former chairman of Sony Music Nashville, who helped launch the careers of Kenny Chesney, The Judds, Martina McBride, Carrie Underwood and many other country music stars. Previously served as president of RCA Records New York
Kris Kristofferson
Frances Williams Preston Lifetime Music Industry Award
Trailblazing singer-songwriter and Country Music Hall of Famer whose classic songs include ?Me and Bobby McGee,? ?Sunday Morning Coming Down? and ?Help Me Make It Through the Night?
Dr. C. Wright Pinson
Lifetime Medical Achievement Award
Deputy vice chancellor for Health Affairs and CEO of Vanderbilt Health System, co-founder of the master?s in management in health care program and professor at the Owen Graduate School of Business
Colin Reed
Lifetime Humanitarian Award
Chairman and CEO of Gaylord Entertainment, recognized for leadership after the Nashville flood and rebuilding of Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center and the Grand Ole Opry House, as well as the Gaylord Foundation?s support of organizations including Hands On Nashville, Second Harvest Food Bank and more.
jessica capshaw seattle times seattle times walker recall censor pipa and sopa sopa pipa
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.