Old Timers Festival Thank You

Old Timers Festival Thank You
By Mayor Senna Mosley

It is a pleasure to extend my thanks to the community of LaVergne for their support of the 2011 Old Timers’ Festival, held September 16-18 at Veterans Memorial Park.  This was our first year expanding it to a full-blown festival event and the overwhelming feedback we have received from our citizens has been very positive.  If you’d like to see photos, scroll to the bottom of this post and we have a slide show!

While this list is long, please take time to read it so you can personally thank any of these wonderful people should you run into them in person.

On behalf of Parks & Recreation Advisory Board ChairmanTom Broekerand Festival Director Kathy Tyson, I want to first acknowledge our amazing city employees who patiently provided support services (including police support, planning, maintenance, logistics, human resources, and so much more). From parking to set-up, from staffing information booths to providing for public safety (and everything in-between), I thank each of you from the bottom of my heart. 

Thanks to the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board members who first recommended expanding to a three-day festival.  Under the leadership of AldermanTom Broeker, others who supported this endeavor are Leann Crawley, Bruce Eichbauer, and Michael Wilson. Special thanks to Laura Davidson, Deborah Edwards and Bob Simon who also dedicated many volunteer hours on-site to make everything work.

I am pleased to offer special thanks to our sponsors, our 17 local food vendors, the artists and crafters who participated, our schools and churches that provided the wonderful entertainment on Saturday and Sunday, and to the people of LaVergne who took advantage of the beautiful weather and came to enjoy the festival. 

Additionally, my sincere thanks to the following people and organizations that went above and beyond in helping us:  Ayanna Blake, Helen Blankenship, Mike and Cathy Catanese, Cheyanne and Deborah Balthrop, Melissa Cooper, Neil Davis, William Haley, Roxanna Haynes, Julia Hill and Box 100, Ivy Hogan, Erica King, Kroger, LaVergne Middle School, LaVergne Rescue Squad, Craig Mayer, Keith Miller and the Heart of Tennessee Amateur Radio Emergency Service team, Margie Murphy, Sarah Nelson, Mark O’Neal and the Town of Smyrna, Albury Perry, Captain Bradley Pray and the Delta Troop, Mr. & Mrs. J.R. Sanford, Melissa Stover, Stephanie Tellez, Linda Tomlin, and reserve officer Travis Wilson.

Our stage performers were fabulous this year!  Thanks to Tonya Knell who helped coordinate our entertainment on Sunday and to Alderman Broeker who helped immensely with the Saturday lineup.  Also to our volunteer entertainers: LHS Choraliers, Debbie’s Dance Studio, Roy Waldron School,Jane Ascher& the Zumba Flash Mob, Lakeside Dance Team, Pastor Randy Berg, Miracle Baptist Boys, The Good News, Mastin Brothers and Knell Sisters, and James and Janet Keeton.

It does take the generous spirit and strong work ethic of a village to make a city shine!

Warm congratulations to our parade float winners: Pope’s Mulch and Dirt (1^st), LaVergne Middle School Cheerleaders (2^nd), and Days Journey Respite Care (3^rd). All the floats in the parade were beautiful.  Thank you again to our Grand Marshal Larry Flowers, the LaVergne High School Band, the LHS ROTC Color Guard, Tinkham Automotive, and Alexander Ford.

Congratulations also to our first pageant winners:  Miss LaVergne Ashleigh Alford, Junior Miss LaVergne Jessica Pickle, Young Miss Maddie Smith, Young Mister Sammy Puleo, and Little Miss Natalia Jobe.

Finally, it is a pleasure to thank our sponsors whose generous donations funded the majority of the event:

Platinum Sponsors:  Griggs & Maloney Inc. and Clear.

Diamond Sponsors:  American Development Corporation, B&B Family Fireworks, SevernTrentServices, and TDS Telecom.

Ruby Sponsors:  EcoWater Systems, Good Samaritan Health andRehab Center, Heart of Tennessee ARES, Hot Spot Tanning, Ingram, Jump Jump Bounce,LaVergneFirstUnitedMethodistChurch, Michael’s Homes, Motorola, and Sally Kent Photography.

Gold Sponsors:  Air Conditioning Service, Inc., CTI Engineers, Inc., and Tire World of LaVergne, Inc.

Silver Sponsors:  Betterliving Sunrooms, Buy Furniture Direct, Brindley Insurance, Dixie Homecrafters, Grace Church, Huddleston-Steele Engineers, Jackson Square Family Healthcare, Kroger 566, Norchip Drums, Signature Medical Weightloss & Wellness, and Southern Trophy House.

We are looking forward already to another wonderful event in 2012 and hope you mark your calendars now for next September.

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Pageant Winners Named

La Vergne High School Junior Ashleigh Alford was named Miss La Vergne on Saturday, in the first city-sponsored pageant held the weekend before the Old Timers’ Festival.

Alford, daughter of Dale Alford and Judie Singer, was selected the winner on September 10th by a panel of four judges not affiliated with or residents of the city.

“It was a blessing to win Miss La Vergne,” said Alford. “I’m just glad to represent the city of LaVergne. I want to be a role model for the kids in our town, to have them look up to me knowing that if you work hard enough for something, you can achieve it.”

The city hosted several pageants on Saturday at La Vergne Middle School. Other winners include:

• Junior Miss LaVergne Jessica Pickle, daughter of Laura Davidson and Mike Pickle
• Young Miss La Vergne Maddie Smith, daughter of Ralph and Tammy Smith
• Young Mister La Vergne Sammy Puleo, son of Sammy Puleo and Kelly Coats
• Little Miss La Vergne Natalia Jobe, daughter of Emilsen Jobe

“We are most of all very proud of all the participants who had the courage to walk on the stage as contestants. They were all amazing,” said Mayor Senna Mosley. “We hope this will be the start of a new tradition for the city as a way to celebrate our youngest citizens in a way that makes the whole community proud.”

Mosley sees the Miss La Vergne pageant eventually leading contestants to the Miss Tennessee Pageant and to scholarship competition.

Pageant winners will be featured in the Old Timers’ Festival Parade this Saturday at 10:00 a.m. They will also be ambassadors during the festival itself, scheduled September 16-18th in La Vergne.

Photos of pageant contestants can be found at this link.

Pageants This Weekend

Congratulations to the young men and women of LaVergne who entered our annual pageants! There have been some scheduling changes, so please note them here if you are planning to attend.

Rehearsal is TONIGHT at 6:00 p.m. for the Little Miss, Young Miss, and Young Mister.  The Junior Miss and Miss LaVergne rehearsals are at 7:30 p.m.  All rehearsals will be held at LaVergne Middle School off of Stones River Road.

Pageants are ALL Saturday, September 10th.  Times follow:

1:00 pm
Little Miss (one entry)
Young Mister (two entries)
Young Miss (eight entries)

6:00 pm
Junior Miss LaVergne (three entries)

7:00 pm
Miss LaVergne (six entries)

We will have a “People’s Choice Award” at all of the pageants.  You can vote for your favorite youth as many times as you want for $1 p/vote.  The winners in each category will keep half the  money in a 50:50 split, with the other proceeds going toward pageant costs.

FREE Pageant Gowns

Through the generous donation of two of our La Vergne residents, we have 11 pageant gowns available for the young ladies who would like to enter but have no dress for the event.

The pageant entry deadline has been extended to September 6th and the entry fee is now $25.  Sponsors are allowed, so Grandma, your neighbor, a business owner, a teacher, etc. would be able to fund the entry fee on behalf of the contestants – both boys and girls.

Dresses after the jump…

Pageant Entry Fees Reduced!

La Vergne is seeking royalty! 

We have extended the appliation deadline for all of our pageants to Friday, September 2nd.  In addition, the entry fee is now $25 to help make it more affordable for the youth in our community.

Winners will be featured in the Old Timers Festival parade on Saturday, September 17th.  The parade line-up is at 9:00 a.m. and will begin at 10:00 a.m.

For more information, contact Pageant Directors Tammy Sullivan or Senna Mosley at 793-6295.

Pageant Emcees Announced

We are pleased to announce the masters of ceremony for our upcoming pageants. Please give a warm welcome to the following:

Little Miss & Mr. and Young Miss & Mr.

Mike and Cathy Catanese

Mike and Cathy Catanese are very active in the LaVergne Baseball and Softball Association. Mike is the Commissioner and Cathy serves as a member of the Board of Directors. Mike moved to the Middle Tennessee area in 1996 and Cathy came in 2009, after they married.

Mike works at Charter Communications as a photo producer and Cathy is finishing a PhD in Mechanical Engineering. Mike attended Niagara County Community College and Niagara University and has a degree in communications and media arts.

Originally from Niagara Falls, New York, Mike owned his own newspaper during his youth through high school called the Catanese Gazette. He hosted a cable show called Video Niagara, producing and editing stories about interesting people and activities in the Niagara Falls area.

Cathy has a passion for the fields of math and science. Her curiosity about how things work propelled her into studying in the often complex engineering field. After graduation, Cathy hopes to work for a software company or with a research group.

In their spare time, Mike and Cathy devote a lot of time to the youth softball and baseball organizations. While Mike makes announcements, Cathy is his right hand man in helping to run the league.

Junior Miss La Vergne and Miss La Vergne

Roxanna Haynes

Roxanna is an award winning journalist whose work has taken her across the country. She’s now thrilled to be living in Music City! Before coming to Nashville, TN to work at WKRN News 2 Roxanna reported for WGHP in her hometown (Winston-Salem/Greensboro) North Carolina. There, she won an Associated Press Award for her story about homeless people living in the woods.

Prior to that, Roxanna reported for KCCI in Des Moines, Iowa, during the state’s 2008 caucuses. While in the Midwest, she had the opportunity to interview the 2008 presidential candidates including current President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.

Roxanna graduated cum laude from the University of Florida. Roxanna is also studying to be a meteorologist and earning her degree from Mississippi State University.

When she’s not working, Roxanna enjoys dancing, art, volunteering, traveling, and going to see live music around town.

Community Volunteers Needed

Now that we’ve done a lot of the heavy lifting to get this year’s festival off the ground – we have rearranged the set-up of the park to accommodate carnival rides, craft fair, and a food court for people to enjoy and rest – we are looking for volunteers!

We need volunteers both on the DAYS OF the festival and for specific committees. Volunteers are needed for the following committees:

Entertainment Committee
This committee will coordinate both the musicians on the main stage and our local performers on the community stage.

Pageant Committee
We are actually holding EIGHT pageants this year: Little Miss, Little Mister, Young Miss, Young Mister, Junior Miss LaVergne, Miss LaVergne, and Mr. Old Timer and Ms. Old Timer. We will need help herding the kids in the younger pageants, decorating the stage, ushers, ticket-takers, and more.

Craft Committee
Our crafters this year will be juried – or they will go through a selection process – to ensure quality products, affordable prices, and that the items are hand-made. We need volunteers to help select the crafters who will exhibit and sell items, as well as people on-hand the day of the event to unload, load, or answer any questions.

Food Court Committee
These special people will add a taste of variety to the Old Timers Festival. Volunteers whose palates have an appreciation for variety will be used to select the food vendors in the food court, as well as to set up the eating area and help keep it clean and welcoming.

Kid Zone Committee
This should be a fun committee on which to serve! Our volunteers will help staff the library table, do facepainting, and make the children in this Fun Zone feel welcome and safe!

Sponsorship Committee
Put your money where your mouth is. Our deepest appreciation will go to the sponsors whose funding will make this one of the most memorable, enjoyable events ever. We’ll need folks to help proofread our print materials to be sure credit is given where credit is due, help sponsors find their exhibit areas, and coordinate any extra warm fuzzies needed to show our gratitude.

Logistics Committee
Volunteers for this committee are truly our nose to the grindstone worker bees.  Logistics Committee will coordinate parking, make sure the generators are functioning properly for vendors who need power, get items from point A to point B, and more. The fun? You might get your own golf cart to drive!

If you are interested in working on any of these committees or in volunteering in any capacity for a two-hour shift, please contact Kathy Tyson at (615) 287-8690 or email ktyson@lavergentn.gov.

Pageant Venue Selected

Pageant directors toured two schools today as possible venues for La Vergne’s first annual pageants.

La Vergne Lake Principal Jeff McCann, as well as La Vergne Middle School Principal Cary Holman and Vice Principal Martin warmly welcomed the committee searching for a place to call home. After looking over the stages in both schools, and considering acoustics, pre-setup of seating, lighting and sound, La Vergne Middle School was chosen as host of the pageants.

WARM THANKS to Mr. McCann and La Vergne Lake Elementary School for their offer.  And HOORAY to the administration at La Vergne Middle School for opening their arms to the city for the pageant!

We appreciate our schools!!

Pageants on September 9th and 10th!