A number of Belmont students participated Saturday in Hands On Nashville Day, a volunteer event organized annually by Hands On Nashville that pairs community volunteers with Metro Schools for improvement projects. More than 1,000 volunteers spend a morning painting, landscaping and improving 60+ public schools. This year’s Belmont team, organized by student Jeffrey Ibarra, worked at Bellevue Middle School on a number of different projects, including painting a fence.
Hands On Nashville is the recognized leader of programs, partnerships and services that maximize volunteer impact in the greater Nashville community. They offer a variety of programs and resources that empower people to make volunteering a regular part of their lives.
Students Participate in Hands On Nashville
Turner Invited to Join Grand Ole Opry
According to a press release from his label, MCA Nashville recording artist and Belmont alumnus Josh Turner was invited to become the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry this past weekend. Turner, a 2001 graduate of the School of Music, will be formally inducted into the Opry family by Vince Gill on Sat., Oct. 27.
In an interview with The Tennessean, Opry chief Pete Fisher said, “He has just blended in so well with the cast and really represents what the Opry stands for, and that is a respect for tradition but certainly relevancy for today. Josh has built his music and his career on tradition, but he comes out and does it in a real new fresh way and with a fresh attitude.”
Turner’s Dec. 21, 2001 Opry debut is one of the most memorable in recent history. Though he hadn’t yet had a song released to country radio at the time, the singer earned a standing ovation for the song that would become his breakthrough hit, “Long Black Train,” during the performance of the song and a second standing ovation following an encore.
First Class Graduates from Scarlett Leadership Institute
After investing more than 150 hours over 14 months, the first class of the Scarlett Leadership Institute at Belmont University received their graduation certificates Friday in a ceremony held at Maggiano’s on West End.
Andy Gilbert, president of Genesco Licensed Brands and a Scarlett student, said, “The Scarlett Leadership Institute brings leadership development to a new level by applying not only current leadership training to ‘real world’ business situations but teaches the principles of moral purpose and ethical leadership which are vital to success. As a result of our participation in the program, the Scarlett Leadership Institute has created residual value for the company, the shareholders and, most of all, the individual.”
Joe Scarlett, the chairman and former CEO of Tractor Supply Co., funded and facilitated the start of the Scarlett Leadership Institute on Belmont’s campus last year. Custom built around the leadership development concerns of 35 prominent Nashville CEOs, the goal of the Institute is to take good leaders and make them better.
The Scarlett vision, which is “to build first class executive educational programs with primary focus on leadership and ethics,” focuses particular attention on effective communication and measurable behavior change. The class is structured to meet for a total of 18 days over a 14-month period, with a maximum class size of 16 students.
The Institute’s inaugural class began meeting last fall and graduated following a speech by special guest Nelson Andrews, co-founder of Leadership Nashville. Companies represented in this first graduating class include Cracker Barrel, SunTrust, Ingram Barge, Bellsouth, Bridgestone/Firestone, LP Building Products and Cat Financial, among others. Two other classes have since been started that will graduate next year with a fourth class set to begin soon.
Belmont Launches Online Parent Community
Continuing the momentum started with the Parent and Family Weekend held Sept. 28-29, the Student Affairs office recently launched an online site designed for Belmont parents. The Belmont Parents Online Community is an interactive community intended to connect parents regionally, socially and professionally. With groups for every state and most major cities, parents will have the opportunity to interact through group specific event postings, message boards and emails. Furthermore, the online community provides resources to post upcoming university events, Belmont news, athletic events and other pertinent communications. The online community will serve as the foundation for the new Belmont Parent Association to be launched June 1, 2008. For additional information or to sign-up, visit www.belmont.edu/parents or e-mail BUParent@mail.belmont.edu.
Curb College Announces 2007 Christian Showcase Winner
Freshman commercial voice major Jordan Kyle won Sunday night’s 2007 Christian Showcase, “Resonate.” The show, which was produced by music business majors Luke McElroy and Brittany Parks, featured four talented acts in an evening of praise and worship.
Kyle, a St. Louis native, began playing violin in the third grade and was concertmaster of the symphonic orchestra in high school. After fracturing his wrist while playing football in high school, Kyle began teaching himself to play guitar. His set for the showcase included “Solid Rock,” “Just Till Noon” and “Astounded.” Other Belmont talent featured at Resonate included artist/performers Katie Redding, Joshua Eric Wright and Hana Wishy.
The Christian Showcase was the first in a series of six concerts presented during the academic year by students within the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business. Produced and managed by university students, the series has become a living laboratory for concert production and promotion, artist management and sound reinforcement skill development.
The Urban/Pop Showcase, the next production in the series, will take place on Sat., Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. in the Curb Event Center.
Smith Designated Certified Mail Manager
Veronica Smith, Belmont’s mail services supervisor, was recently awarded the highest honor of professional achievement available for in-house mail managers from the In-Plant Printing and Mailing Association, according to IPMA Administrative Director Carma Goin. Smith has been designated as a Certified Mail Manager (CMM) for completing a minimum of five years mail management experience (at least one year of which was in-house), being of high moral character and professional attitude, and successfully completing a five-and-a-half hour written exam.
Elmore Kicks Off Belmont and Beyond Series
Dr. Tim Elmore, founder and president of growingleaders.com, was the guest speaker for the Belmont and Beyond Kickoff Event on Wed., Sept.12, in the Neely Dining Room. Elmore is passionate about helping students uncover their mission in life and has taught leadership seminars in 36 countries. He has also authored 21 books, including the best selling Habitudes, Images that form Leadership, Habits and Attitudes and Mentoring: How to Invest Your Life In Others.
Dr. Elmore also presented “Habits and Attitudes of Today’s Students” at the Teaching Center Luncheon. The Career Services team sponsored the program and partnered with the Office of Spiritual Development, the Teaching Center and Student Activities.
Fall 2007 Belmont and Beyond Schedule
Oct. 3: Mastering the Graduate School Process, 10 – 10:50 a.m., Multimedia Hall
Oct. 5: Graduate School Prep Tests, 2 – 5 p.m., MBC 100
Oct. 8: Graduation Forum 10 – 10:50 a.m., Massey Concert Hall
Oct. 17: Going Global, 10 – 10:50 a.m., Multimedia Hall
Oct. 24: Social Smarts: How to Impress Others, 10 – 10:50 a.m., Multimedia Hall
Oct. 31: Resume Tips to Get the Job, 10 – 10:50 a.m., Multimedia Hall
Nov. 7: Power Interviewing, 10 – 10:50 a.m., Multimedia Hall
Nov. 14: The Ultimate Money Skills, 10 – 10:50 a.m., Multimedia Hall
Nov. 28: Investing In Your Future, 10 – 10:50 a.m., Multimedia Hall
Alumna Certified as Nuclear Medicine Technologist
Within a month of achieving her B.S. from Belmont in August, alumna Beth Baggett (’07) also received a certification as a nuclear medicine technologist from Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Upon graduation from the year-long program, she was presented with the M.D. Ingram Award for Technical Excellence for outstanding performance during clinicals at Vanderbilt Medical Center, Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital and the Veterans Administration Medical Center. Baggett graduated from Belmont with a B.S. in medical imaging and is currently employed by the Hendersonville Medical Center.
Former Bruin Selected in CBA Draft
Former men’s basketball player Andrew Preston (Winchester, Ky.) was selected by the expansion East Kentucky Miners of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) in its college draft Tuesday night. Preston, a three-year starter and integral cog on Bruin NCAA Tournament teams in 2006 and 2007, developed into one of the most dependable post players of Belmont’s NCAA era. Named to the 2007 Atlantic Sun All-Tournament team behind his 18 point-10 rebound performance in the championship game victory at ETSU, Preston is the program’s NCAA era career leader in blocked shots (123) and ranks fourth in career field goal percentage (.534). Preston earned Academic All-Conference honors in 2006 and graduated this past May with a degree in accounting. “All of us are excited for Andrew’s opportunity in the CBA draft,” Belmont head coach Rick Byrd said. “Andrew’s dedication, work ethic and unselfish nature should make him a favorite of his coaching staff and teammates. I would expect Andrew to have an impact this rookie season and his Belmont family will be pulling for him.”
Billionaire Dennis Bakke Speaks on ‘Joy at Work’
Billionaire Dennis Bakke, co-founder and former president/CEO of the AES Corporation, spoke at Belmont this week, detailing the ideas behind his New York Times best-selling book, Joy at Work: A Revolutionary Approach to Fun on the Job. Bakke founded AES in 1981, helping to build the international energy corporation into a multi-billion dollar company with 40,000 employees in 31 countries. Co-sponsored by the Belmont Center for Business Ethics and the Office of Spiritual Development, Bakke led a networking reception and lecture Tuesday night for local business leaders and spoke again at a convocation in Neely on Wednesday.
“Making money is absolutely essential to running a business,” Bakke said. “But it’s not the purpose for the business. It’s not the reason the business exists. Our purpose should be to do something useful for society, to serve.”
Bakke concluded his talk on Wednesday by discussing the qualities necessary to be a great leader: humility and love. “Be the best in the world as a manager but don’t confuse it with leadership. Management is about control while leadership is about freedom, freeing people to make decisions.”
Dr. Harry N. Hollis, the James M. Medlin Chair of Business Ethics, is co-founder and current director of the Center for Business Ethics at Belmont, where he has taught since 1991. Dr. Hollis said, “Dennis Bakke is a business leader who understands that ‘Joy at Work’ depends on people who are ethical in all their relationships. His company was founded on the values of integrity, fairness, fun and social responsibility—which is certainly a winning combination for workplace success.”
In 2003, Bakke and his wife Eileen founded Imagine Schools, an organization that operates independent and nonprofit public charter schools. Imagine Schools now serve more than 20,000 students on 51 campuses in 11 states and the District of Columbia.
