Rich Dansereau

With all the music history, from Memphis on the western border, Nashville in the north central part, and the Appalachian Mountains forming the eastern border of the state of Tennessee, Knoxville is fortunate to have "The Official State Theatre of Tennessee." The Tennessee Theatre opened October 1, 1928 with almost 2,000 seats. From the Czechoslovakian crystals in the French-style chandeliers to the overall Spanish-Moorish style, the Chicago architects, Graven & Mayger, incorporated a hodgepodge of design elements from all parts of the world. The overall effect is visually stunning and provides an intimate setting in which to see some of the most acclaimed performers from around the world. The theatre underwent a complete renovation lasting from June 2003 until its grand reopening on January 14, 2005. The renovations cost about $25.5 million and was funded through both public and private donations. Included in the renovation was the Wurlitzer which originally cost $50,000 and was part of the theatre when it originally opened. This magnificent pipe organ, termed "The Princess Elenoir, the Jewel of the Great Smoky Mountains" has its very pipes embedded in the theater's walls!

These places, like The Tennessee Theatre which is now a part of the National Register of Historic Places, are more than just old buildings that receive passing glances. These places hold history in the very plaster of their walls. The necessity to preserve historically significant places is an imperative. In this time which sees many of our nation's cultural and historical cathedrals succumb to the brute force of the wrecking ball or explosives, it has never been more important for grassroots efforts to say no! No to the wrecking balls! We live in an enormous country with lots of space. There is no need to demolish these living witnesses to history. If you need a new theatre or ball field, why not renovate those that are already there? The cost to renovate and modernize might be high, but so is the cost of history relegated only to fading photos and memories. While I have always been an advocate of progress, progress does not have to be built on the ruins of history. Progress can be a natural outgrowth of the history's foundation. I do not believe that progress and history are antithetical. I hope you enjoy the picture below that are thanks to The Historic Tennessee Theatre. While you look at the photos, think of the historic places in your town, with the faded murals and stained glass windows that spurred your imagination as a child.

About the Author

If you are in the market to purchase a home or even refinance an existing loan and you want a loan officer that will walk with you every step of the way, then contact Danny or Rich of the Thornton Team at Home America Mortgage today. We can have you pre-approval in as little as 4 hours. You can visit our website or send an email to thorntonteam@homeamericamortgage.com or call us @ 865-951-0522.

Being so close to Nashville, the unchallenged capital of country music, we feel the music. At the state's western border is Memphis, the home of "the King" Elvis Presley, Sun Studios, and the birthplace of both Rock & Roll and the Blues, which inspires us because they are distinct American creations. And closer to home, the mountains of Appalachia sing from our experience, our heart, and our spirit. Tennessee may not be the first place that pops into your mind when you think of music, but it should rank right up there with Detroit, New York City, Austin, Miami, and Los Angeles.

With these diverse musical influences, artists of all sorts are drawn to every corner of our state. Whether it is Maryville's Foothills Fall Festival coming in October or the Volunteer Jam that happens at Smokies Park in Sevierville tomorrow, we are often the willing hosts to some legendary and novice performers. The Volunteer Jam is an annual event for Knoxville and the surrounding area. The tickets are very affordable at $39 and $49 dollars with children under 3 years of age being FREE! The facility even allows personal photography of the performers from your seat! Gates open at 6:00 PM with the show starting at 7:30 PM. Now who are those performers???

The Legendary musician, Charlie Daniels!

Iconic 80's band 38 Special!

The Wolf, Shooter Jennings!

About the Author

If you are in the market to purchase a home or even refinance an existing loan and you want a loan officer that will walk with you every step of the way, then contact Danny or Rich of the Thornton Team at Home America Mortgage today. We can have you pre-approval in as little as 4 hours. You can visit our website or send an email to thorntonteam@homeamericamortgage.com or call us @ 865-951-0522.

Back on May 22, 2008 I wrote a post called The Garden Is In! where I detailed my newly planted garden. Well today is just three days shy of one month since that post and I figured I would post an update. The landscape fabric has been a great tool in controlling grass and weed growth. Very rarely do I pull any weeds. Watering is also kept to a minimum because we luckily are not in a drought. In fact there is morning dew on the plants when I go out to check them each morning while having coffee! The plants are setting fruit and veggies (take your pick as to what you prefer to call the bounty)! So without further ado...the pictures...

The Wildflower Garden is about to burst with color!

The view across the garden towards the chicken pen!

Yummy crooked neck squash beginning to develop!

Roma Tomatoes! One of 9 varieties that I planted!

Strawberries that are still green but will soon be bright red!

View from the Chicken Pen towards the house!

Then of course there are the 11 Buff Orpington chicks. I am happy to say they all survived the baby chick phase when they are most vulnerable. They are growing quite rapidly. Despite their growth, I still can't determine gender. They will not begin to lay eggs until October/November.

About the Author

If you are in the market to purchase a home or even refinance an existing loan and you want a loan officer that will walk with you every step of the way, then contact Danny or Rich of the Thornton Team at Home America Mortgage today. We can have you pre-approval in as little as 4 hours. You can visit our website or send an email to thorntonteam@homeamericamortgage.com or call us @ 865-951-0522.

Lenoir City is a small community (population about 7,800) located about 30-35 minutes southwest of Knoxville. One of the main attractions to this area is the beautiful Ft. Loudon State Park (pictured above). This beautiful park encompasses 1,200 acres and was one of the earliest sites of the British fortifications on the western frontier. The natural beauty of the park entices thousands of visitors to enjoy boating, fishing, hiking, and picnicking.

On the first full weekend in June since 1962, the banks of Ft. Loudon Lake have been the home to the Lenoir City Arts & Crafts Festival! This festival is graciously organized and hosted by the Suburbia Women's Club. The Suburbia Women's Club is a part of the larger General Federation of Women's Clubs (GWFC) formed in the 19th century as a service oriented organization. This wonderful festival generally has over 200 booths that highlight artisans from all over the southeast. The proceeds raised from the $2 per person admission is used by the GWFC Suburbia Women's Club to fund local outreach projects for support of children and families, education, literacy, the arts, the elderly, the disabled and public affairs.

If you are in the Lenoir City, Vonore, or most places in east Tennessee or Western North Carolina, why not take a day (or overnight) trip to this great festival! Treat yourself to some of the best regional artists, scrumptios southern cooking, and one of the most beautiful parks anywhere! Getting to the festival is easy (click HERE for directions). You can even pull up on your boat to enjoy this event!

Here is the schedule:

10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Saturday

10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sunday

A donation of $2.00 is requested at the entrance

An Outdoor Event on the Peninsula Lenoir City Park

Lenoir City, Tennessee

About the Author

If you are in the market to purchase a home or even refinance an existing loan and you want a loan officer that will walk with you every step of the way, then contact Danny or Rich of the Thornton Team at Home America Mortgage today. We can have you pre-approval in as little as 4 hours. You can visit our website or send an email to thorntonteam@homeamericamortgage.com or call us @ 865-951-0522.

Knoxville, Tennessee is home to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. This 32,000 square foot facility was opened in June of 1999 and is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's basketball. The theme of this magnificent facility is Honor the Past, Celebrate the Present, and Promote the Future. Each of the three entrances to the Hall of Fame has a bronze statue representing one of the three aspects of this overall theme. This wonderful facility highlights the history of women's basketball from its adaptation by Senda Berenson in 1892 to the modern game today.

On June 14, 2008 the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame will hold its 10th induction ceremony of honorees. This year's induction ceremony will honor six of the game's best. These women not only represent the best aspects of basketball, but the best aspects of sports in general. Through their perserverance and strength of character these spectacular athletes provide inspiration and positive role models for young girls everywhere. This year's inductees are (INFO PROVIDED BY WOMEN"S BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME):

PATTY BRODERICK

• Basketball official since 1972, currently the coordinator of Women’s Basketball Officiating Consortium, which includes eight different conferences
• Has officiated seven Final Fours, six WNBA Championships, two ABL Finals, three ABL All-Star games
• Became the second female to ever officiate an Olympics when she worked the 1988 Olympics in Seoul
• First woman to officiate the Pan American Games in 1987
• Inaugural winner of the Naismith Female Basketball Official of the Year Award in 1988
• On Nov. 30, 1995 was commissioned as a Distinguished Hoosier by the Office of then Governor Evan Bayh from the State of Indiana
• Director of Officials for the WNBA from 2002-2004
• Currently on the Board of Directors for the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO, 2004-2007), earned the 1989 CYO Volunteer Coaching Award and the 1990 St. John Bosco Award, which is the highest award for contributions to CYO

LIN L. LAURSEN

• Head coach of Central Arizona College, where she has tallied an overall record of 971-145 (.870) in 34 seasons
• Has won three NJCAA National Championships (1989, 1998 and 2005) and appeared in eleven Final Fours
• Holds record for NJCAA win
• Has seen 138 of her players go on to major universities, including Bridget Pettis and Amanda Lassiter, who both went on to play in the WNBA
• Named Converse Coach of the Year in 1982-83, Russell Athletic WBCA Coach of the Year in 2004-05, and NJCAA National Coach of the Year in 1988-89, 1997-98 and 2004-05
• Has led Central Arizona to 28 ACCAC Titles, including 21 consecutive and tallied 185 consecutive conference wins over a nine-year span
• Was inducted into NJCAA Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in April 2008
  

DEBBIE RYAN

• Head coach of the Virginia women’s basketball program for 31 years, where she has tallied an overall record of 675-288
• 22 NCAA Tournament appearances and three consecutive Final Four berths (1990-92)
• Tallied her 600th career win against James Madison in 2004, becoming just the seventh coach in NCAA Women’s Basketball history to reach the 600-win milestone at the same school
• Naismith Coach of the Year in 1991
• Seven-time ACC Coach of the Year, which is a conference record
• Led the USA Basketball team to the gold medal in the World University Games in 2001, and was named USA Basketball Developmental Coach of the Year that same year
• Cached the USA basketball team to a silver medal at the Pan American Games in 2003
• Played college basketball at Ursinus College
• Has written three books: Virginia Defense, Virginia Summer Development Program and Women’s Basketball Drills – Conditioning
  

JILL RANKIN SCHNEIDER

• One of the few ever to be named as one of the nations top 10 players at two different universities: Kodak All-American at Wayland Baptist College (1978-79) and at the University of Tennessee (1979-80)
• Scored 1000 points in a single season at Wayland (1978-79)
• Co-captain of the 1980 Olympic Team; gold medallist in Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Bulgaria
• Currently a girls’ basketball coach at Monterey High in Lubbock Texas
• Served as student assistant at Tennessee for one year; worked as assistant coach at Texas for five years (including the 1986 undefeated season); coached 12 years at Borger High School in Texas
• Named MVP of Wayland in 1979, Tennessee in 1980 and voted MVP of the Southeastern Conference Tournament in 1980
• 1980 CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year
• Named an SEC Women’s Basketball “Former Great” honoree in 2004
• Was inducted into the Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Texas High School Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002

SUZIE McCONNELL-SERIO

• Recently named the best 5-4 basketball player, male or female, of all time by Sports Illustrated
• The first First-Team All-American in Penn State Women’s Basketball history
• Set NCAA records for career assists (1,307), assists in a season (355) and season assist average (11.8)
  
• Four-time All-Atlantic 10 Conference player at Penn State
• Won two Olympic medals, gold in 1988 and bronze in 1992
• Played three seasons in the WNBA with the Cleveland Rockers, named WNBA Newcomer of the Year and All-WNBA First Team in 1998
• Started her coaching career by leading Oakland Catholic (Pittsburgh) to three state titles and four district championships in 13 seasons
• Coached the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx to back-to-back playoff appearances and was named WNBA Coach of the Year honors in 2004
• Just recently completed her first season at Duquesne

MICHELE TIMMS

• Three-time Olympian
• Played 14 years for the Australian National Team; led the Australian National Team to its first Olympic medal (bronze) in 1996; named Australian Player of the Year in 1996; captain of the Australian team that won the silver medal in 2000
• First Australian woman to play professionally overseas
• Inducted into the Australian Sports Hall of Fame in 2003
• Named the Women’s International Player of the Year in 1994 and 1996
• A member of the Phoenix Mercury from 1997-2001, WNBA All-Star starter in 1999, had her number 7 jersey retired, becoming the first Mercury player and just second WNBA player to have a jersey retired
  
• Currently a development coach for the NBL Club team, South Dragons, becoming just the second woman to be part of an NBL club’s coaching staff.

You can get ticket info by clicking HERE!

Autograph session with new inductees at 1:00 pm at the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame

Gala Reception and silent auction at 6:00 pm at the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame

Induction Ceremony at 8:00 pm at the Bijou Theater

About the Author

If you are in the market to purchase a home or even refinance an existing loan and you want a loan officer that will walk with you every step of the way, then contact Danny or Rich of the Thornton Team at Home America Mortgage today. We can have you pre-approval in as little as 4 hours. You can visit our website or send an email to thorntonteam@homeamericamortgage.com or call us @ 865-951-0522.