Pat Summitt salutes women of achievement : govolsxtra.com

The Girl Scouts of the Tanasi Council recently honored three former Girl Scouts as "Women of Achievement." The 2009 honorees were Avice Reid, executive director of the Knoxville Police Advisory and Review Committee; Holly Warlick, associate head coach of the University of Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team; and Andrea White, president of The Stokely Co.

More than 500 guests enjoyed a wine reception and silent auction at the Knoxville Convention Center followed by dinner and a live auction. The keynote speaker was Pat Summitt, the head coach for the University of Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team, who was presented a Girl Scout sash with patches symbolizing her accomplishments.

Guests included Dr. Joe Johnson, president emeritus of the University of Tennessee, master of ceremonies, who attended with his wife Pat; John Duncan III and his wife Lindsay Duncan, director of development for Tanasi Council; Lynn Duncan; Kay Clayton; Heidi Kouns; Cynthia Moxley and Alan Carmichael; Sam and Mary Ann Beall; Maribel Koella; Georgiana Vines; Dale Keasling; Joan Cronan; Dave and Nancy Jonson; Michael and Lisa Carroll; Joy Brandon; and Susanne Strudwick.

n The second annual Raising of the Water Festival, to benefit the Fort Loudoun Lake Association, began with sponsored cocktail and appetizer cruises on 14 yachts followed by a party at Fort Loudoun Yacht Club featuring entertainment and live and silent auctions. Captains and First Mates included Don and Nancy Bowman, Mike and Jane Barbrow, Bob and Janet Prince, Dick and Docia Powell, Bill and Elizabeth Camp, David and Valerie Wooley, Wahid<0x00A0>and Samia Hanna, Mitch and Alicia Jones, Bill Smith and Nyda Brook, Barney and Nanci Travis, Tim and Lisa Carroll, and Jack and Jackie Hartgrove.

A representative from the Cherokee Indian Tribe conducted the annual "Raising of the Water" ceremony. Since 2007 the Fort Loudoun Lake Association has either removed or prevented the entry of more than 4,976 bags of trash and 20,319 logs from Fort Loudoun Lake.

n The Dogwood Diva Luncheon - with the theme "We've Got a Shoe Attitude" - had guests "kicking up their heels." Local women of distinction shopped, lunched, and enjoyed a wearable art fashion show. Four "men in skirts" from the pages of Skirt magazine briefly shared the stage with Skirt editor Janet Testerman, who confessed to the faux pas of not wearing a skirt to the event.

Among those attending were Dogwood Arts Festival co-chair Maureen Bosch and her mother June Scanlon, Claudia Loy, Debbie Boles, Michelle Gibbs, Pat Murphy, Nancy Wolfe, Dorothy Smith, Martha Arnold-Charnay, Marty Hancock, Diana Morgan, Judi Pedas, Tammy White, Lorie Huff, Juanita Cannon, Lucinda Denton, Eleanor Sergent, Dawn Ford, and Diana Condon.

n More than 100 fans were present at Candoro Marble Works for "A Blue Shirt in Paris," a performance to help Knoxville musician R.B. Morris raise funds for an upcoming trip to Paris. Morris has been invited to participate in a symposium celebrating the 50th anniversary of the release of Beat author William S. Burroughs' novel "Naked Lunch."

In addition to songs and readings by Morris, the gathering featured a slide show about Beat Generation artists put together by singer-songwriter Maggie Longmire. Local artist Eric Sublett installed original artwork from the 1950s, mostly from artists known as the "Knoxville Seven," throughout the venue. Morris was joined on stage by wife Karly Stribling, Hector Qirko and Jim Williams.

Among those present were Julia Tucker, Tom Weiss, Randall De Ford, Becky Wade and Jake Hudson, Emily Jones, Eric Vreeland, Tracy Kramer, Kim Trent, Peter Acly, Melinda Meador and Milton McNally, and Beauvais Lyons.

n "That Evening Sun," starring Hal Holbrook, based on a story by William Gay, produced by locally based Dogwood Entertainment, had a special one-night-only preview in Knoxville in between appearances at film festivals nationwide. The preview was followed by a reception in the lobby of the Holston Building. Guests included Lynne Fugate, Tim and Amy Williams, Nanci Solomon, John Craig and Patricia Robledo, Melanie and Patrick Hunt, Don and Maureen Bosch, and David and Tracy Dewhirst.

Gay Lyons may be reached at 865-693-3653 or ghlyons@yahoo.com. She is a freelance contributor to the News Sentinel.