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Skip to content Home About Cynthia Moxley, CEO, Moxley Carmichael Blue Streak Home | Get the RSS Feed or Get updates by email Home Get Email Updates Read more EventCheck Knox In Any Event Search for: Next Page → Nestful of Knoxvillians help The Swag open 40th season Posted on April 20, 2021 by Cynthia Moxley Bartender Tyler Marsh “smoking” some cocktails in The Swag’s new bar. The Swag over near Waynesville, North Carolina, opened for its 40th season last weekend with a lot of familiar faces — including ours! Owned by Knoxville residents Annie and David Colquitt, the mountain resort which consistently ranks in Conde Nast Traveler’s “Top Resorts in the South” listings, has a lot of new features — starting with a liquor license! Now you can have a full range of creative cocktails — as well as beer and wine — without having the forethought to bring them with you. Also new is a separate bar and spa. (Alan was massage client No. 1!) And there are many new room updates and comfy new furnishings. Also new this season: You drop your car off at a welcome station near the top of the 5,000-foot peak and are valeted to The Swag House and property where you will spend your stay. Moving the parking lot has allowed for a massive expansion of the garden, still being planted. Continue reading → Filed under: Food , Music , Travel | Tagged Alan Carmichael , Annette Brun , Annie Colquitt , Craig Shelton , Doug Peters , Jake Schmidt , John Wiinemiller , Kelly Lenz , Mark Rayson , Mary Ellen Brewington , R.J. Hinde , Scott Brun , Steve Brewington , Steve Frampton , Susan Brown , The Swag , Tyler Marsh | -- 29 Comments Event planners had year to forget but remain thankful Posted on November 24, 2020 by Cynthia Moxley Nobody likes events more than The Blue Streak! That’s why we are thankful for the wonderful event planners in our community. Moxley Carmichael’s writer/editor Maria Cornelius handles the EventCheck Knox calendar for us and writes a blog there called “ In Any Event .” We thought Blue Streak readers would enjoy her latest blog entry, re-posted here. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody! — Cynthia The year 2020 can’t end fast enough for event planners, but they adapted to a pandemic, salvaged some fundraisers and emerged thankful for everyone’s support. The last large-scale, in-person event of 2020 was L’Amour du Vin in March. After that, events steadily got postponed and then canceled or converted to virtual gatherings. Planners had to get creative to stay connected to donors, change events on a dime – and protect themselves from COVID-19. We asked event planners for their biggest challenge in 2020 and what were they most thankful for this Thanksgiving. The answers ranged from being appreciative for Zoom, to people actually being home to answer the phone, to how the Knoxville community rallied to help. Continue reading → Filed under: Events | Tagged Adina Chumley , Amber Mullins , Anna Moseley , Becky Hancock , Carla May Pare , Chuck Kocal , Dana Hart , Eddie Smith , Jessica Langer , Joan Cronan , Judith Foltz , Kathryn Hemphill , Kelly Absher , Kelly Harper , Kim Henry , Kristen Sanders , Lila Honaker , Linda Billman , Maria Cornelius , Mary Sue Greiner , Max Taylor , Michael Foltz , Nicole Taylor , Patrick Birmingham , Patrick Hollis | -- 2 Comments Dr. Frank Gray: surgeon, music lover, friend Posted on June 4, 2020 by Cynthia Moxley Dr. Frank and Anna Gray at their residence last year where they hosted an afternoon of music and champagne as a fundraiser for the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. I just can’t believe that Dr. Frank Gray is gone. The retired orthopedic surgeon, music lover and fixture on Knoxville’s social scene has been a regular on the Blue Streak since its inception. That’s because he was passionate about so many things. Dr. Gray, who passed away last Friday after a battle with a rare cancer, was among Jim and Natalie Haslam’s best friends. Jim Haslam spoke on behalf of the couple this week when he said, “It was a blessing for us to know and interact closely with Frank. He was a real Renaissance man. He was at home in the operating room, at the piano, in the kitchen or in his garden. He will be missed by many.” I knew Frank best due to our mutual membership on the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s board of directors. He was president of the board for two terms and even filled in as executive director when that post was between occupants. He taught me by example how to be a better board member, and he was my mentor and my cheerleader when I became president of the KSO board several years ago. Continue reading → Filed under: Events , Knoxville , Music | Tagged Anna Gray , Barbara Arant , Bill Arant , Caraline Demirjian , Emi Kagawa , Frank Gray , Jeremy Whaley , Jim Haslam , John Ross , Lois Ross , Natalie Haslam , Rick Johnson | -- 6 Comments Debating the staff of life: free bread with dinner? Posted on May 16, 2020 by Cynthia Moxley Joseph Lenn, chef-owner of J.C. Holdway, brings a skillet of cornbread to the table. My husband is a bread lover. Raised in North Knoxville, Alan Carmichael says his family had bread at every meal: biscuits, cornbread, dinner rolls — or just sliced store-bought white bread stacked on a plate in the center of the table. We have enjoyed traveling quite a bit around the United States, Canada and Europe and we’ve noticed that at many of our favorite out-of-town restaurants, customers are greeted with baskets or plates of the most amazing breads. Free of charge. With excellent butters or other toppings. Alan is always in heaven when this happens! Not long ago, we asked ourselves, “Why don’t the restaurants in Knoxville have wonderful complimentary bread on the table?” So, we consulted with some of our favorite hometown chefs and proprietors and here’s what we found out: it’s complicated. Randy Burleson has some of the best restaurant brands in East Tennessee. We are regulars at his upscale Bistro By the Tracks in Bearden, the Sunspot on campus and all the Aubrey’s locations. He told me recently that deciding whether to have complimentary bread service is problematic. Continue reading → Filed under: Business , Food , Knoxville | Tagged Alan Carmichael , Blake Sallie , Gary Bentley , Gay Lyons , Joseph Lenn , Martha Boggs , Matt Gallaher , Randy Burleson | -- 22 Comments Expert has advice for local non-profits: Carefully reschedule events and consider joining forces Posted on May 8, 2020 by Cynthia Moxley Jerry Askew, president of the Alliance for Better Nonprofits, says organizations should recognize that the current pandemic has forced everyone to try to cram a year’s worth of events into the last half of this year. This will put stress on the donor community. In an interview with the blog, “ In Any Event ,” Askew offers some suggestions. That blog post, written by Moxley Carmichael’s Maria Cornelius, is re-posted here. -Cynthia Jerry Askew “This, too, shall pass.” Those encouraging words come from Jerry Askew, the president of the Alliance for Better Nonprofits (ABN), which helps organizations in East Tennessee stay strong and sustainable. Nonprofits have been battered by COVID-19 because of the postponement or cancellation of primary fundraisers, many of which occur in the spring months. A survey of 400 nonprofits in the region by ABN and the United Way of Greater Knoxville asked about revenue loss and received 203 responses. The results revealed an eye-popping $12 million loss among those 203 nonprofits. Askew also has some advice: “Get your event on EventCheck Knox now.” EventCheck Knox , which was started by Moxley Carmichael in 2014, reminds event planners to “Look Before You Book.” The calendar focuses on galas, dinners, luncheons and other fundraisers for nonprofits. Read the About information and then Submit Your Event . Continue reading → Filed under: Events , Knoxville | Tagged Charles Thomas , Eddie Mannis , Jerry Askew , Maria Cornelius | -- 2 Comments Warm memories of last dinner at Blackberry Farm Posted on April 30...