2019 Issue 5 Sep/Oct - Focus Mid-Tenn Magazine
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Serving the <strong>Mid</strong>dle <strong>Tenn</strong>essee LGBT +<br />
Community+its Allies | SEP+OCT <strong>2019</strong><br />
successISSUE<br />
BORO PRIDE’S<br />
FOURTH YEAR<br />
START A NEW BEGINNING<br />
WITH TASH WEDDLE<br />
LEVI KREIS CONQUERS<br />
BAD HABITS WITH<br />
NEW ALBUM<br />
TRUE YOU TN<br />
WILL PROVIDE SOLUTIONS<br />
FOR LGBT+ YOUTH<br />
QUEEN IONA<br />
IS THE ’BORO’S<br />
ULTIMATE ADVOCATE<br />
MEET<br />
AMNA<br />
OSMAN<br />
NASHVILLE CARES’<br />
CEO TALKS ABOUT<br />
NASHVILLE AND<br />
HER PLANS TO HELP<br />
THE COMMUNITY
<strong>Sep</strong>tember 7, <strong>2019</strong> • 5:30PM – 10:00PM<br />
Murfreesboro, TN • town square<br />
WALK BEGINS AT 6PM!<br />
®<br />
FACEBOOK.COM/BOROPRIDETN
theme<br />
ISSUE<br />
“Let your joy be<br />
in your journey —<br />
not some distant goal.”<br />
— Tim Cook, CEO of Apple<br />
SUCCESS / SEP+OCT <strong>2019</strong> / focusmidtenn.com / Page 3
PUBLISHER’S NOTE<br />
Fall is upon us! It’s one of my favorite times<br />
of the year. There’s always so much going<br />
on. Be sure to check out our calendar for<br />
the many events taking<br />
place throughout <strong>Mid</strong>dle<br />
<strong>Tenn</strong>essee. If you have<br />
an event you would like<br />
published, send it to<br />
info@focusmidtenn.com<br />
and we’ll see what we<br />
can do.<br />
For this issue, we<br />
wanted to highlight a few<br />
local folks who are making success waves. Of<br />
course, we couldn’t possibly cover everyone,<br />
but know, we recognize you. We see you.<br />
One of the great things about doing this<br />
job is that I get to meet so many people who<br />
are so inspiring and it just pushes me more.<br />
Being successful comes with<br />
responsibilities. Being successful also means<br />
you’re not afraid to fail. This issue provides<br />
our readers with success stories that are and<br />
will be. Start-ups like, True You TN, that seeks<br />
to be the first and only LGBT+ youth home in<br />
<strong>Tenn</strong>essee.<br />
There are successful men and women<br />
throughout this issue making their way in life<br />
being role models for all of us. Many have<br />
the ideology that success is simply helping<br />
others. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve<br />
seen businesses and organizations grow<br />
because of the innate character of their<br />
leaders who, without fail, put the common<br />
good before themselves. That kind of<br />
success breeds success.<br />
We hope you enjoy this issue. Our next<br />
issue is going to bring you lots of good food<br />
and beverages as well as a Holiday Guide<br />
so you will know where you can spend your<br />
money and it goes to the greater good.<br />
I wish you all much success in your<br />
endeavors.<br />
Stay focused,<br />
OUR NEXT ISSUE<br />
CHOW<br />
NOV+DEC <strong>2019</strong><br />
Submit story ideas:<br />
editor@focusmidtenn.com<br />
Editorial submission deadline:<br />
<strong>Sep</strong>t. 30<br />
Advertising inquiries:<br />
sales@focusmidtenn.com<br />
Ad space reservation due: <strong>Sep</strong>t. 30<br />
MANAGING<br />
EDITOR<br />
Joey Amato<br />
Joey Amato<br />
Sunny Eaton<br />
GK Gurley<br />
Margo Hall<br />
PUBLISHER<br />
Ray Rico<br />
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER<br />
Selena Haynes<br />
ADVERTISING<br />
Selena Haynes<br />
Joey Amato<br />
David Wyley Long<br />
DESIGNERS<br />
Brian Goins<br />
Daphne Butler<br />
contributors<br />
Selena Haynes<br />
Christopher Kingsley<br />
Lauren Means<br />
Erica Rains<br />
SOCIAL MEDIA<br />
Lauren Means<br />
Sarah Rutledge<br />
Mike Smith<br />
Laura Valentine<br />
Rocky Vy<br />
<strong>Focus</strong> ® <strong>Mid</strong>dle <strong>Tenn</strong>essee is all about LGBT+ people and their allies…their work, play, families,<br />
creativity, style, health and wealth, bodies and souls. Our focus is on you.<br />
<strong>Focus</strong> ® <strong>Mid</strong>dle <strong>Tenn</strong>essee is published bi-monthly and distributed free throughout the greater<br />
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Page 4 / focusmidtenn.com / SEP+OCT <strong>2019</strong> / SUCCESS
16<br />
SEP+OCT <strong>2019</strong><br />
CONTENTS<br />
3 THEME: SUCCESS<br />
6 BUSINESS<br />
Joe Woolley takes Nashville LGBT<br />
Chamber to new heights<br />
8 DEAR ALLIE<br />
Honoring LGBT+ heroes who came<br />
before us<br />
9 TRANS FOCUS<br />
Damien Domenack talks about his<br />
transition and religion<br />
10 FOOD+DRINK<br />
<strong>Tenn</strong>essee native returns to create<br />
café with New York twist<br />
12 FAITH+SPIRITUALITY<br />
Tony Woodall: Questions, doubts<br />
are a part of any faith<br />
14 COMMUNITY<br />
Boro Pride celebrates 4th year<br />
16 COVER STORY/ LGBT ALLY<br />
Meet Amna Osman,<br />
Nashville CARES new CEO<br />
22<br />
20 PET FOCUS<br />
Fall safety tips for<br />
your four-legged friends<br />
22 LGBT HEALTH<br />
Get to know Tash Weddle, founder<br />
of New Beginnings, a nonprofit<br />
aimed at empowering women<br />
24<br />
10<br />
23 LGBT SENIORS<br />
Does our age impact<br />
the value of pride?<br />
24 MUSIC<br />
Levi Kreis talks about new<br />
album and his many creative<br />
accomplishments<br />
26 LGBT YOUTH<br />
True You TN will provide<br />
solutions for LGBT+ youth<br />
28 LGBT ADVOCATE<br />
IONA: George Manus is a pillar for<br />
Murfreesboro’s LGBT+ community<br />
28<br />
30 SEP+OCT EVENTS<br />
Page 5 / focusmidtenn.com / SEP+OCT <strong>2019</strong> / SUCCESS<br />
SUCCESS / SEP+OCT <strong>2019</strong> / focusmidtenn.com / Page 5
usiness<br />
JOE WOOLLEY TAKES NASHVILLE LGBT<br />
CHAMBER TO NEW HEIGHTS<br />
by Joey Amato | photo courtesy of Nashville LGBT Chamber<br />
When Lisa Howe<br />
announced she would<br />
be stepping down as<br />
Executive Director of the<br />
Nashville LGBT Chamber<br />
of Commerce, the Board,<br />
as well as its members,<br />
scrambled to find a<br />
replacement. Joe Woolley<br />
had served as President of<br />
the Chamber for two years<br />
prior to Howe’s resignation<br />
and decided to throw his<br />
name in the hat of potential<br />
applicants to succeed Howe,<br />
who had done an incredible<br />
job growing the Chamber.<br />
Woolley originally<br />
joined the board of the<br />
Nashville LGBT Chamber<br />
of Commerce in 2013 and<br />
quickly moved up the ranks.<br />
He pushed to make sure<br />
the Chamber focused on<br />
advocacy for its members<br />
and community. He also<br />
implemented governance<br />
policy and strategic plans<br />
to move the Chamber to<br />
the next level. During this<br />
time, the Chamber saw<br />
huge growth because<br />
of <strong>Tenn</strong>essee Thrives, a<br />
business coalition against<br />
discriminatory legislation.<br />
He was named CEO of the<br />
Nashville LGBT Chamber in<br />
August of 2018. We had the<br />
opportunity to sit down with<br />
Woolley to talk about some<br />
of his accomplishments<br />
as CEO, challenges he has<br />
faced and vision for the<br />
Chamber in 2020.<br />
What are your proudest<br />
moments as President<br />
of the Board and then as<br />
Executive Director?<br />
My proudest moment<br />
as President was standing<br />
with Lisa Howe on stage<br />
accepting the 2016 Rising<br />
Star Chamber of the Year<br />
Award at the National<br />
LGBT Conference. It was<br />
early recognition of how<br />
the Chamber was changing<br />
and accomplishing so many<br />
new things. It was the first<br />
recognition that we were<br />
moving up and the hard<br />
work of restructuring and<br />
focused work on a strategic<br />
plan was paying off.<br />
My proudest moments<br />
as CEO have been many.<br />
Standing with the Mayor<br />
when we announced LGBT<br />
certified businesses would<br />
be recognized by Metro<br />
was a highlight. Having<br />
session wrap with no anti-<br />
LGBT legislation passing<br />
was also big. Our most<br />
recent Business Awards<br />
and Taste both selling out<br />
was great. But getting to<br />
announce an NFL Draft<br />
pick was also awesome.<br />
What are the most<br />
challenging aspects of the<br />
role?<br />
Trying to keep up with all<br />
the work. Success breeds<br />
success, but success also<br />
brings more work and<br />
more interest in your<br />
MORE INFO<br />
To learn more<br />
about Woolley<br />
and Nashville<br />
LGBT Chamber,<br />
visit nashvillelgbt<br />
chamber.org.<br />
organization. The areas of<br />
work never diminish and<br />
the work never stops. So,<br />
trying to stay up with all the<br />
different things we do and<br />
keep the thing going at the<br />
breakneck speed we are<br />
moving gets tough.<br />
You are also always “on”.<br />
It was different as President,<br />
where you were always<br />
representing and talking<br />
Chamber, but you could<br />
also step back and it was<br />
not central to what you do.<br />
You had another career that<br />
you focused on. It has now<br />
become my life and you are<br />
always on and representing<br />
the city, the community, and<br />
most of all your members.<br />
Tell us a little about<br />
the process you took<br />
to get Metro to issue<br />
an Executive Order to<br />
include LGBT businesses<br />
in procurement.<br />
It was a long time<br />
coming. We started the<br />
conversation seven years<br />
ago with then-Mayor Dean<br />
and his administration.<br />
Lisa Howe was finding<br />
out the details of what<br />
had to happen to get it<br />
done. She knew the whole<br />
process and had worked<br />
with multiple people and<br />
departments on education.<br />
When I came in, we had a<br />
unique opportunity to move<br />
the needle. I got placed<br />
on the Mayors Minority<br />
Business Council in relation<br />
to the disparity study the<br />
city was entering in to. Our<br />
goal was to try and get the<br />
LGBT population counted<br />
so we could be tracked.<br />
When we had pushback<br />
to that, I met with the<br />
Mayor and told him the<br />
frustrations and hurdles we<br />
were facing. He asked what<br />
the end goal was and I told<br />
him it was to have Metro<br />
recognize certification. We<br />
told him and he got it done.<br />
What are some of the<br />
reasons why the Chamber<br />
has grown so quickly in<br />
the past two to three<br />
years?<br />
A clear strategic plan<br />
and a goal to reach a<br />
certain member number<br />
were key. With that came<br />
better internal operations<br />
and procedures. All of that<br />
success kept building upon<br />
itself and the Chamber just<br />
kept expanding. The growth<br />
of Nashville overall is a<br />
factor as well. The Chamber<br />
growth mirrors the growth<br />
of the city. There are new<br />
corporations that are<br />
coming with Diversity and<br />
Inclusion being the name of<br />
the game in the corporate<br />
world. They want to attract<br />
and retain the best talent<br />
out there and working with<br />
us they can do that. Us<br />
becoming more political and<br />
advocating for our members<br />
have been huge as well.<br />
Page 6 / focusmidtenn.com / SEP+OCT <strong>2019</strong> / SUCCESS
What about corporate<br />
involvement? How do<br />
the larger corporations<br />
play an important role<br />
in the Chamber and its<br />
advocacy roles?<br />
The most important work<br />
we do is advocating for our<br />
members and the LGBT<br />
community. Corporate<br />
support is key to advocacy.<br />
Without our corporate<br />
members putting their<br />
political capital behind our<br />
advocacy efforts to stop anti-<br />
LGBT bills, <strong>Tenn</strong>essee would<br />
look like a very different place<br />
than it does now. Getting<br />
corporations comfortable to<br />
advocate on this issue has<br />
been a slow process. The<br />
new corporate members<br />
that have come from more<br />
progressive areas have really<br />
fueled the change and made<br />
those that were hesitant<br />
more likely to step out. The<br />
business community is the<br />
strongest tool that the LGBT<br />
community has for it in the<br />
fight for equality, that is why I<br />
love the work that I get to do<br />
because we truly are pushing<br />
back against discrimination<br />
and making a change.<br />
There is a report out that<br />
talks about <strong>Tenn</strong>essee being<br />
at the bottom of states for<br />
LGBT quality-of-life issues.<br />
But <strong>Tenn</strong>essee is at the top of<br />
a list for business. Businesses<br />
are choosing <strong>Tenn</strong>essee to<br />
move to, but they are also<br />
bringing their values with<br />
them when they come here. I<br />
think these corporations are<br />
going to change <strong>Tenn</strong>essee<br />
not the other way around.<br />
You mentioned earlier that<br />
you are always ‘on’. How do<br />
you maintain a work/life<br />
balance?<br />
It has surprisingly become<br />
one of the hardest parts<br />
of the job. There is always<br />
something happening,<br />
and the work never stops.<br />
Since getting this job I<br />
have been much less active<br />
on social media.<br />
I really try and disconnect<br />
when I have a chance<br />
and not look at anything.<br />
I just really enjoy the<br />
moment that I am in and<br />
focus on that. When I am<br />
working, trying to schedule<br />
dedicated work time and<br />
then the tons of meetings<br />
that come is key. I also try<br />
to schedule in personal<br />
time. My partner and I love<br />
to travel and it’s a great way<br />
to disconnect and achieve<br />
balance. But even when I<br />
am traveling, I see things<br />
that we could do or offer<br />
as a Chamber that would<br />
benefit our members.<br />
What are your<br />
goals for 2020?<br />
We will easily reach 500+<br />
members. Making sure we<br />
keep them engaged and<br />
that they feel like their<br />
membership is worth it is<br />
the top priority. Connecting<br />
all the members and groups<br />
that we can with opportunity<br />
is always a goal.<br />
The big goal will be set by<br />
the Board of Directors. They<br />
are looking at becoming<br />
a statewide chamber and<br />
having chapters in the<br />
cities that would handle<br />
educational and networking<br />
opportunities. I really hope<br />
they move that route. I think<br />
the political and advocacy<br />
power we could have as a<br />
statewide Chamber would<br />
be incredible and impactful.<br />
There is a lot of interest<br />
from corporations and<br />
LGBT community members<br />
from across the state. I hope<br />
we go down that path and<br />
the goal will be making that<br />
happen.<br />
SUCCESS / SEP+OCT <strong>2019</strong> / focusmidtenn.com / Page 7
Page 8 / focusmidtenn.com / SEP+OCT <strong>2019</strong> / SUCCESS
LGBT+ AND MINISTRY IN TENNESSEE<br />
By Margo Hall<br />
photo courtesy of<br />
Vanderbilt Divinity School<br />
Damien Domenack is<br />
an admission fellow and<br />
part of the admission team<br />
for the Vanderbilt School<br />
of Divinity. He recently<br />
graduated with a master’s<br />
degree in theology and is<br />
currently pursuing a Ph.D.<br />
He helps people find their<br />
calling in ministry and helps<br />
them determine if studying<br />
theology is right for them.<br />
Damien was drawn<br />
to ministry because his<br />
mom was a minister. He<br />
found some of the same<br />
tenants of Christianity in<br />
community organizing.<br />
When Damien was<br />
younger, he was not<br />
accepted by his church and<br />
filled that part of his life<br />
creating community spaces.<br />
He found those same tenants<br />
in the LGBT+ community,<br />
as well as the immigrant<br />
and people of color (POC)<br />
communities, that he<br />
discovered when moving to<br />
New York City to persue his<br />
undergraduate degree.<br />
During his time in New<br />
York, he was a part of the<br />
Audre Lorde Project and a<br />
founding member of Trans<br />
Justice. As a member of<br />
Trans Justice, he helped<br />
start the first-ever trans and<br />
gender non-conforming<br />
march for social and<br />
economic justice.<br />
Interconnections<br />
One of the things he<br />
loves about community<br />
organizing and working<br />
with people is giving people<br />
spaces to feel safe and to<br />
have conversations. This<br />
was a part of his work at the<br />
Vanderbilt LGBT+ center<br />
on campus. His academic<br />
work also includes working<br />
with prisons and individuals<br />
who are incarcerated. For<br />
Domenack, understanding<br />
our interconnectedness and<br />
roles with our communities<br />
is essential, especially for<br />
trans people. “Allowing for<br />
trans folks to exist outside<br />
just the trans bubble, is<br />
the reality of our lives,” he<br />
states. “The way we push<br />
forward in that reality is into<br />
that interconnectedness.”<br />
When asked about his<br />
path to understanding his<br />
relationship with God, he<br />
explains he was “made<br />
in the image of God,<br />
whichever form he chooses<br />
to believe in.”<br />
In recounting his religious<br />
trauma, Damien talks about<br />
how he learned his conflict<br />
was not his own. He said it<br />
comes from “negative ways<br />
of speaking about God” that<br />
feeds personal agendas,<br />
and that “it is a construct for<br />
hate, and that is not God,<br />
and that is not Christianity.”<br />
This hate impacts the<br />
LGBT+ and other minority<br />
communities around the<br />
world which means his<br />
trauma is a part of an<br />
oppressive system. So<br />
rather than reconciling<br />
what he feels does not<br />
belong to him, he focuses<br />
on that which is his own.<br />
A ministry based on<br />
community<br />
In finding happiness in his<br />
life and as a trans person,<br />
Damien says, “It didn’t<br />
trans focus<br />
“It didn’t come<br />
without challenge<br />
and learning about<br />
how my body,<br />
mind and soul<br />
all work together.<br />
Was that through<br />
Christianity? No.<br />
It was through part<br />
queer culture, yoga<br />
[and] Afrodiasporic<br />
religion. It is part of<br />
[my] ancestry and<br />
getting to know<br />
[myself] and [my]<br />
people and [my]<br />
trans identity.”<br />
— Damien Domenack<br />
come without challenge<br />
and learning about how my<br />
body, mind and soul all work<br />
together. Was that through<br />
Christianity? No. It was<br />
through part queer culture,<br />
yoga [and] Afrodiasporic<br />
religion.” He goes on to say,<br />
“It is a part of [my] ancestry<br />
and getting to know<br />
[myself] and [my] people<br />
and [my] trans identity.”<br />
Those are the things, he<br />
feels, Christian supremacy<br />
does not want you to know.<br />
Through this selfdiscovery,<br />
Domenack made<br />
the core of his work to be<br />
with transgender, nonbinary<br />
individuals who<br />
have religious trauma. That<br />
was the work he did at the<br />
LGBT+ center on campus<br />
and will be his continued<br />
work during divinity school.<br />
The community work he<br />
has dedicated his life to is<br />
his ministry.<br />
SUCCESS / SEP+OCT <strong>2019</strong> / focusmidtenn.com / Page 9
food+drink<br />
SOUTHERN DECADENCE<br />
WITH A NEW YORK STATE OF MIND<br />
How one <strong>Tenn</strong>essee native left for bigger dreams and then came back to start a movement<br />
by Rocky Vy<br />
photo courtesy of<br />
D’Andrews Bakery<br />
Almost 30% of new<br />
businesses close up shop<br />
within their first year,<br />
according to the Small<br />
Business Administration. For<br />
new restaurants, the failure<br />
rate can be even higher.<br />
For D’Andrews Bakery<br />
and Cafe – located in<br />
bustling downtown<br />
Nashville near the public<br />
library – the hard part<br />
may be over. As of August<br />
<strong>2019</strong>, the charming bakery<br />
had been open for over<br />
one year, and they are still<br />
experiencing growth of<br />
sales and clientele.<br />
A welcomed edition<br />
downtown<br />
Its owner, Nashville native<br />
David Andrews, attributes<br />
his success to many things,<br />
although one reason, in<br />
particular, is quite clear: the<br />
location.<br />
“There’s nothing like us<br />
here in downtown,” he<br />
reflects, as we sit inside the<br />
clean and crisp decor of<br />
the bakery, which – as I am<br />
noticing now at this point<br />
– offers a stark contrast to<br />
the hard and muted palette<br />
right outside their windows.<br />
The bakery and cafe<br />
serve unique confections,<br />
sandwiches, salads and<br />
coffee, along with other<br />
seasonal items like pizza<br />
and soup. But their really<br />
notable products? Custom<br />
cakes, catering and<br />
decorated macarons.<br />
On top of all that,<br />
Andrews and his team<br />
continually promote the<br />
fact that all their food<br />
items are made inhouse,<br />
something you<br />
don’t necessarily find in<br />
downtown Nashville.<br />
“I wanted to update the<br />
classic bakery here in this<br />
city and offer something<br />
that you might find in New<br />
York…something fresh and<br />
delicious.”<br />
Andrews often<br />
references New York in our<br />
conversation because that’s<br />
where his culinary training<br />
and education happened.<br />
He attended the Institute<br />
of Culinary Education<br />
(the sweeter ICE, I joked),<br />
and worked for various<br />
restaurants, including<br />
Michelin-starred Gotham<br />
Bar & Grill and the Kimberly<br />
Hotel located in <strong>Mid</strong>town.<br />
It’s in the DNA<br />
But despite the glory<br />
and excitement the New<br />
York food scene may have<br />
given him, Andrews was still<br />
itching to head home for his<br />
next chapter.<br />
Maybe being an<br />
entrepreneur was always in<br />
his blood. Before his culinary<br />
goals were realized, Andrews<br />
was working for his family, in<br />
a clothing retail business that<br />
is now no longer in business.<br />
In fact, it was a women’s<br />
swimwear buying trip in Los<br />
Angeles where the sweet<br />
spark first hit him.<br />
In 2001, Andrews and<br />
his family ate at Spago in<br />
Beverly Hills, the celebrated<br />
chef Wolfgang Puck’s<br />
first restaurant venture.<br />
There, he had a dessert<br />
that delighted his senses<br />
— a medley of tiny sweets<br />
that were all cooked and<br />
presented differently.<br />
That moment stuck with<br />
him, as the family business<br />
shut down and Andrews<br />
then decided to head to<br />
New York for culinary<br />
school. He figured he’d get<br />
his training and expertise<br />
within the food capital of the<br />
world, and then head home<br />
to restart a new business<br />
venture. Along the way, he<br />
met his now-husband and<br />
business partner, Matt Paco.<br />
“Matt, fortunately,<br />
supported my goal of moving<br />
back to my hometown ever<br />
since the beginning. I don’t<br />
think I’d be where I am now<br />
without his help.”<br />
Paco — who was working<br />
in media production at<br />
places like MTV — and<br />
Andrews are a kind of<br />
personification of “opposites<br />
attract.” Even in business,<br />
the common piece of advice<br />
is to find a business partner<br />
who complements your<br />
talents and personality.<br />
Andrews is a self-attributed<br />
introvert, and though he<br />
makes his local media<br />
appearances on shows like<br />
News Channel 5, most of the<br />
outward marketing efforts<br />
are helmed by Paco.<br />
Page 10 / focusmidtenn.com / SEP+OCT <strong>2019</strong> / SUCCESS
A New York<br />
state of mind<br />
Paco also helps to run<br />
the front of the house,<br />
which couldn’t be a<br />
better fit seeing how<br />
he’s extroverted and<br />
relationship-centric. He<br />
knows almost every<br />
customer that frequents their bakery, and<br />
they know him, too. His “New York state of mind” helps<br />
drive a lot of his infectious energy, which is a welcome<br />
feature in downtown Nashville. The area seems to now be<br />
waking up to the flurry of new businesses and residents.<br />
It is Paco’s adventurous spirit that helped him<br />
transition to Nashville. It was a new journey, a new<br />
challenge, a new opportunity.<br />
“Because I’m such a New Yorker,” says Paco, “people<br />
were surprised when I agreed to leave New York City for<br />
Nashville, but I love it when people go after their dreams.<br />
It’s David’s dream to open his own bakery in his hometown,<br />
and I didn’t want to be an obstacle to him achieving that.”<br />
He continues, “Now, it’s wonderful to see his dream<br />
come true.”<br />
Moving to Nashville may not have been the most<br />
tumultuous part of this new business journey however<br />
– it’s the startup. Andrews knew the business climate<br />
was not in his favor, but he also knew that big risks can<br />
come with big rewards.<br />
Flourishing in a Food Renaissance<br />
Timing, however, may have also played a big role in<br />
the bakery’s initial success. Nashville is in the middle of<br />
a food renaissance, though a lot of the movement may<br />
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be helmed by big restaurant groups with a lot of capital.<br />
Residents are more willing to try out newer, smaller<br />
places and, dare I say, something with more Instagram<br />
appeal. D’Andrews Bakery & Cafe has a lot of that, even<br />
if Andrews never intended for that in the first place.<br />
There are other factors at play, too, that have<br />
supported Andrews’ vision for his bakery. He notes the<br />
city’s leadership in helping to bring in big businesses<br />
that not only looks to employ local residents, but also<br />
provide more walk-in traffic for downtown businesses.<br />
Andrews also credits a lot of his success to his family,<br />
who have been integral parts of building and operating<br />
the bakery. He also mentions that many local government<br />
officials come by for a drink or pastry, too. In fact, U.S.<br />
Representative Jim Cooper’s office is just a block away.<br />
Andrews and Paco are also members of the Nashville<br />
LGBT Chamber of Commerce and mentions that<br />
some of the members are frequent customers to the<br />
business, and have offered great referrals to the bakery.<br />
But, even with support, the truth remains that you<br />
have to be tethered to your fledgling business. “This is<br />
a 24/7 job,” he says to me. “But the rewards are great,<br />
and the work is worth it. I would recommend to anyone<br />
to wants to start a business to just do it.”<br />
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faith+spirituality<br />
DECONSTRUCTION:<br />
CHANGE OF HEART, CHANGE OF MIND<br />
by Selena Haynes | photos courtesy of Tony Woodall<br />
Tony Woodall grew up like many in the South, attending<br />
church on Sundays with a very conservative, far-right view of<br />
life in a very fear-based type of religious setting. You know<br />
the type where every move you make outside of the staunch will of<br />
the church will send you to hell? Yeah, that type of fear.<br />
He carried these views,<br />
somewhat, and led others<br />
who believed the same for<br />
20 years. The first 10 years<br />
of his ministry were in the<br />
Church of Christ and the<br />
next 10 years shifted to nondenominational<br />
churches.<br />
But Tony, even in<br />
childhood, always had a<br />
hard time believing that God<br />
would ever reject a child.<br />
He said it would break his<br />
heart when he would hear<br />
the preacher talk about God<br />
sending anyone to hell.<br />
“Of course, someone<br />
would say God is not<br />
sending them. People are<br />
choosing to go themselves<br />
by their sinful behavior. But<br />
I couldn’t buy that either<br />
because they would also<br />
say that you stand before<br />
God and He will judge you<br />
innocent or guilty,” said Tony.<br />
Regardless of these<br />
questions, Tony went into<br />
the ministry with these<br />
teachings ingrained. But<br />
after 20 years of pastoring,<br />
he left the ministry.<br />
Deconstructing<br />
a lifetime of beliefs<br />
“Since the first 20 years<br />
ended, I kinda started going<br />
through my own personal<br />
deconstruction from what<br />
my life beliefs were. I found<br />
extremely kind and loving<br />
people where they weren’t<br />
supposed to be and living<br />
lives they weren’t supposed<br />
to be living. I didn’t know<br />
what to do with that. It<br />
was very conflicting. I had<br />
this system I had grown up<br />
[with] in which I was told<br />
what God was like [but]<br />
then I had these people I<br />
was meeting who looked<br />
more like Jesus so I couldn’t<br />
figure out why God and<br />
Jesus didn’t look the same.<br />
Jesus was supposed to be<br />
the very essence of God<br />
so that started a journey of<br />
deconstructing my beliefs,”<br />
said Tony.<br />
Page 12 / focusmidtenn.com / SEP+OCT <strong>2019</strong> / SUCCESS
He began studying the<br />
Bible even more with a<br />
new, awakened mind. “You<br />
thought it was in there [the<br />
Bible], but it turned out<br />
not to be in there or it’s<br />
not at all what it said. Or<br />
the translations from Latin,<br />
Greek or Hebrew to English<br />
were a little messed up. So<br />
I was deconstructing for a<br />
long time. Then I started<br />
settling in to what I did<br />
believe,” said Tony.<br />
As Tony’s beliefs began<br />
to change, he knew that<br />
if he was to ever be in<br />
the ministry again that<br />
he couldn’t be a part of<br />
something that is not<br />
accepting of everyone.<br />
“I had spent 40 years<br />
constructing – 15 years<br />
deconstructing. I fought a lot<br />
of the stuff, the new things<br />
I was seeing. Plus, I had a<br />
lot of fear of letting down<br />
all these people I had led<br />
all these years. What would<br />
they say? What would they<br />
think? Will I confuse a lot of<br />
them? At some point, I just<br />
had to decide to have more<br />
faith in humanity, have more<br />
faith in the presence of God<br />
inside all of humanity. There<br />
may be one or two folks<br />
who lose their trust in you,<br />
but if their trust was in you,<br />
it was in the wrong spot to<br />
start with,” said Tony.<br />
While Tony had<br />
uncertainties about<br />
preaching again, it wasn’t<br />
meant for him to sit on<br />
the sidelines. He began<br />
attending Stones River<br />
Church of Christ (SRCOC).<br />
Shortly after, the existing<br />
pastor left to do mission<br />
work. Five months after<br />
beginning to attend SRCOC,<br />
Tony took the pastoral<br />
position.<br />
Parables and the<br />
#UnderGet<br />
During his tenure at<br />
SRCOC, he was invited to<br />
hear a speaker in Shelbyville.<br />
Tony considers this to be<br />
his true ‘aha’ moment. The<br />
speaker spoke of the three<br />
parables out of Luke 15.<br />
One of the parables was<br />
about a shepherd with 100<br />
sheep and one wandered<br />
off. He went to find it. The<br />
speaker asked, ‘why did<br />
he leave the 99 to find the<br />
one? Was there ever a time<br />
in the life of that sheep<br />
that it didn’t belong to that<br />
shepherd?’<br />
Another parable spoke of<br />
a woman who lost a coin.<br />
She lit a lamp to search for<br />
it. Why? Not only was it her<br />
coin, but it never lost its<br />
value to her.<br />
“All my life I was taught<br />
that being lost and found<br />
are opposites and cannot<br />
exist at the same time. You<br />
can be lost but you do not<br />
lose your belong,” said<br />
Tony in reference to the<br />
parable of the sheep.<br />
Tony last pastored four<br />
years ago at SRCOC. He<br />
and his wife, Kara, now<br />
host a Facebook Live<br />
event every Wednesday<br />
night called #theunderget.<br />
The name reflects that<br />
to get to the good stuff,<br />
you will have to get under<br />
your skin. The good<br />
stuff is on the inside. The<br />
purpose of #underget is to<br />
encourage people to think<br />
for themselves and look<br />
deeper.<br />
When asked if he would<br />
ever pastor again, Tony<br />
said, “My life now is simply<br />
about helping people<br />
become aware of who they<br />
already are.”
community<br />
BORO PRIDE CELEBRATES 4TH YEAR<br />
by Christopher Kingsley | photos courtesy of Dr. William Langston<br />
Pride is everywhere in the summer. From June to August, Pride events worldwide<br />
have been bringing together LGBTQ brethren and their supporters and advocates by<br />
the thousands. Here, closer to home, Pride events stretch across the volunteer state<br />
from Memphis, Nashville to Rocky Top <strong>Tenn</strong>essee in Knoxville. But even closer to home, in<br />
Murfreesboro, Boro Pride, which is celebrating its fourth year, has proven to be a success<br />
story bathed in rainbow colors.<br />
I asked Dr. William<br />
Langston, who is the<br />
volunteer coordinator for<br />
the festival, about Boro<br />
Pride. “We’ve enjoyed<br />
amazing community<br />
support and have sold<br />
all exhibitor spaces<br />
each year,” he states.<br />
“People coming to pride<br />
go to local businesses<br />
to eat and shop while<br />
they’re on the square. I<br />
think we’ve had nothing<br />
but positive feedback.<br />
A lot of Murfreesboro<br />
businesses also support<br />
through sponsorships and<br />
giveaways.”<br />
Brendan Holloway had<br />
the original idea of a Pride<br />
event in Murfreesboro<br />
back in June 2016. “I was<br />
serving as the Chair of the<br />
<strong>Tenn</strong>essee Equality Project<br />
(TEP) Rutherford County<br />
Committee. At one of our<br />
committee meetings, an<br />
attendee mentioned how<br />
they wished we could have<br />
a pride event closer to<br />
Murfreesboro, so people<br />
wouldn’t have to drive to<br />
Nashville. I heard them<br />
say this and immediately<br />
thought, why can’t we<br />
have a pride event in<br />
Murfreesboro?”, said<br />
Holloway.<br />
He continues, “I quickly<br />
reached out to Chris<br />
Sanders, Executive<br />
Director of TEP, and<br />
pitched the idea of having<br />
a pride event later that<br />
year. He encouraged the<br />
idea, so we formed a<br />
sub-committee within the<br />
TEP Rutherford County<br />
Committee to work on<br />
creating the event. We had<br />
a meeting the last week of<br />
June and decided that we<br />
wanted to move forward<br />
with the event.”The team<br />
met on a weekly basis<br />
and had the first ever<br />
Boro Pride on August 27,<br />
2016. More than 1,000<br />
people attended the event<br />
with over 50 vendors<br />
exhibiting. Since then,<br />
the event has grown<br />
substantially. Holloway<br />
reflects back on the first<br />
Boro Pride which was<br />
organized in surprisingly<br />
short order, “I have no<br />
idea how we pulled it off<br />
in such a short amount<br />
of time, but we did it.<br />
We really did it.” While<br />
Holloway is no longer on<br />
the planning committee,<br />
he still actively supports<br />
Boro Pride in whatever<br />
way he can and currently<br />
sits on the Board of<br />
Directors of the <strong>Tenn</strong>essee<br />
Equality Project.<br />
Be sure to mark your<br />
calendar, Boro Pride starts<br />
at 5:00pm on <strong>Sep</strong>tember<br />
7, <strong>2019</strong>. The Pride Walk<br />
will begin at 5:30pm and<br />
entertainment will include:<br />
Flummox, The Dead<br />
Deads, The Hardin Draw,<br />
Sisters Mann and of course<br />
the fabulous drag show<br />
hosted by IONA to close<br />
the event.<br />
Page 14 / focusmidtenn.com / SEP+OCT SEPT+OCT <strong>2019</strong> // SUCCESS
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cover story<br />
Page 16 / focusmidtenn.com / SEP+OCT <strong>2019</strong> / SUCCESS
NASHVILLE CARES<br />
building a<br />
community<br />
AMNA OSMAN TAKES THE REINS OF NASHVILLE CARES<br />
by Laura Valentine | photos by <strong>Tenn</strong>esseePhotographs.com<br />
“Sticks in a bundle are unbreakable,” is a Kenyan proverb that speaks to<br />
the wisdom of making one stronger by surrounding it with many. When<br />
one looks at the life and career of Amna Osman, the newly hired CEO of<br />
Nashville CARES, you will clearly see this proverb come to life.<br />
Wisely, Osman<br />
recognizes that as she<br />
steps into this new and<br />
exciting leadership role,<br />
she inherits the legacy of<br />
and vision for the future of<br />
Nashville CARES, to “end<br />
the HIV/AIDS epidemic in<br />
our community.” Add to<br />
this the dizzying effects of<br />
being new to the South,<br />
new to Nashville, and<br />
new to Nashville CARES.<br />
To ground herself and<br />
create good work and<br />
personal life balance,<br />
she is actively seeking to<br />
meet, engage, and develop<br />
community with peers<br />
and kindred spirits alike.<br />
Osman already recognizes<br />
the depth of commitment<br />
the LGBTQ community has<br />
demonstrated over the last<br />
34 years to CARES and<br />
wants to get to know us<br />
better.<br />
To that end, she extends<br />
an arms-open-wide<br />
invitation to “…help support<br />
me in my leadership role to<br />
advance Nashville CARES,<br />
by reaching out to me. I<br />
want to know you. I want<br />
to engage with you. I want<br />
to build a relationship with<br />
you because I’m new to the<br />
community. Help me find<br />
spaces and places I need<br />
to be…to get to know folks<br />
to support me and the<br />
organization.”<br />
She may be new to<br />
Nashville CARES, but<br />
in no way is she new to<br />
the important work of<br />
caring and advocating<br />
for those whose lives are<br />
impacted by HIV/AIDS.<br />
Working toward a degree<br />
in psychology, Osman<br />
SUCCESS / SEP+OCT <strong>2019</strong> / focusmidtenn.com / Page 17
spent her senior year at the<br />
United States International<br />
University in Kenya, where<br />
she held an internship at<br />
an HIV/AIDS orphanage.<br />
There she witnessed babies<br />
born HIV positive being<br />
“dropped off” by their<br />
parents. Here, the seeds<br />
of service were planted,<br />
which she would carry, as<br />
a recent college graduate<br />
and newlywed, to Flint,<br />
Michigan.<br />
Her tenure with<br />
Wellness AIDS Services,<br />
Inc. included positions<br />
in Case Management,<br />
HIV Prevention, Interim<br />
Executive Director, and<br />
Executive Director. Osman<br />
was tapped by the Board<br />
to serve as the Interim for<br />
6 months to either “turn<br />
the organization around<br />
or transition its clients to<br />
another service provider.”<br />
She accepted the challenge<br />
and was able to orchestrate<br />
a successful turn-around of<br />
the organization, which still<br />
flourishes today.<br />
“Even though I was only<br />
24 years old and had no<br />
prior executive leadership<br />
experience, I felt a deep<br />
obligation to the clients<br />
not to shut down,” Osman<br />
stated emphatically.<br />
Building on success<br />
As she experienced<br />
success in her professional<br />
life, success was mirrored<br />
in her personal life too. A<br />
wife and now mother of<br />
two young sons, Amna<br />
earned a Master of Public<br />
Administration from the<br />
University of Michigan. With<br />
greater knowledge, new<br />
skillsets, and a growing<br />
support network, Amna<br />
served as the Director<br />
of the Division of Health,<br />
Wellness, and Disease<br />
Control for Michigan<br />
Department of Community<br />
Health, and was responsible<br />
for operational oversight of<br />
the division which consists<br />
of Health Disparities<br />
Reductions/Minority Health;<br />
Sexually Transmitted<br />
Diseases; and HIV/AIDS<br />
Prevention Education, Care<br />
and Treatment; AIDS Drug<br />
Assistance Program and<br />
the HIV/AIDS Oral Health<br />
Program.<br />
With success came<br />
accolades, appointments,<br />
and additional<br />
opportunities to make<br />
an impact on vulnerable<br />
communities.<br />
Osman credits her<br />
professional success with<br />
not only putting in the<br />
hard work but to “coaches<br />
and mentors that really<br />
“<br />
“WE NEED VOICES<br />
HEARD AT ALL<br />
LEVELS AND NEED<br />
THE COMMUNITY<br />
TO CONTINUE<br />
TO PROVIDE<br />
FEEDBACK AND<br />
RECOMMENDATIONS<br />
FOR CARE TO THE<br />
LGBT+ COMMUNITY.”<br />
supported me.” In these<br />
days of growing awareness<br />
around privilege and<br />
workplace inequities,<br />
Osman shares an important<br />
personal insight, “I just want<br />
to acknowledge that as<br />
women we work extra hard<br />
to be in seats of leadership<br />
Page 18 / focusmidtenn.com / SEP+OCT <strong>2019</strong> / SUCCESS
ut it’s because of the<br />
support of so many people<br />
that believed in us that it<br />
really happens; as women<br />
and especially women of<br />
color, you’ve worked really<br />
hard and proved yourself<br />
to get to where you are<br />
at, more so than your<br />
counterpart<br />
colleagues<br />
to whom the<br />
system has<br />
really been<br />
supportive and<br />
beneficial.”<br />
Building on<br />
community<br />
Now that she’s relocated<br />
to Nashville and serves in<br />
the pinnacle position at<br />
Nashville CARES, I asked<br />
Osman what success would<br />
look like one year from<br />
now, her response and<br />
vision was clear. Osman<br />
would like to diversify the<br />
funding portfolio so that<br />
CARES can thrive in a way<br />
that is fiscally healthy as<br />
well as recruit and retain<br />
good talent. “I would also<br />
like to position CARES as<br />
a diverse, inclusive and<br />
equitable organization so<br />
it has the best talent to<br />
serve the most vulnerable<br />
and furthermore, engage<br />
the community in a bidirectional<br />
exchange where<br />
we hear and know the<br />
community stories and<br />
the community knows and<br />
hears ours.”<br />
Personally, Osman would<br />
like to complete the work<br />
in earning her Ph.D. in<br />
Leadership and Change<br />
and create a community<br />
of professional peers and<br />
friends to enrich her life.<br />
Osman feels as if she’s off<br />
to a good start in achieving<br />
these goals stating, “I’ve<br />
been really impressed with<br />
the Board of Nashville<br />
CARES. I’ve appreciated<br />
NASHVILLE<br />
CARES<br />
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the support they’ve given<br />
me and their desire to<br />
elevate the organization,<br />
thinking about the<br />
community as a whole and<br />
wanting to do the best for<br />
this community.”<br />
When asked how the<br />
LGBTQ community can<br />
be of support<br />
to her and<br />
Nashville<br />
CARES, she<br />
was again<br />
very clear: “I<br />
encourage you<br />
to continue<br />
to support<br />
CARES, not<br />
just financially, but with<br />
time, expertise, talent, and<br />
knowledge in a way that<br />
can support and advance<br />
the organization and even<br />
elevate it in the next year<br />
if we truly are going to<br />
eliminate HIV in Nashville.”<br />
She also encourages the<br />
community to provide<br />
ideas around ways to come<br />
together and tell our stories<br />
and reduce stigma as well<br />
as engage in advocacy.<br />
“We need voices heard<br />
at all levels and need the<br />
community to continue<br />
to provide feedback and<br />
recommendations for care<br />
to the LGBT+ community<br />
(both healthcare and<br />
mental health).”<br />
“I have felt so welcomed<br />
in the South, in Nashville,<br />
and at Nashville CARES,”<br />
said Osman. “Every<br />
stakeholder and ambassador<br />
that’s affiliated with this<br />
organization has been<br />
amazing and wonderful and<br />
dedicated to the mission and<br />
to the people we serve, and I<br />
just want to say thank you.”<br />
If you’d like to be a part of<br />
the “unbreakable bundle,”<br />
reach out today to Amna<br />
Osman by phone or email at<br />
615-921-0215 or aosman@<br />
nashvillecares.org.<br />
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pet focus<br />
AUTUMN<br />
SAFETY<br />
FOR YOUR FOUR-LEGGED FRIENDS<br />
As we begin to<br />
venture out on hikes and<br />
adventures with our pets,<br />
here are two things to<br />
avoid to make those trips<br />
safe for everyone.<br />
Mushrooms<br />
Fall is one of the<br />
blooming seasons for<br />
mushrooms. While,<br />
according to the ASPCA,<br />
99% of mushrooms have<br />
little or no toxicity, the 1%<br />
that are highly toxic can<br />
cause life-threatening<br />
problems in pets. From<br />
upset stomachs to<br />
kidney failure, to death,<br />
the consequences<br />
of consuming a toxic<br />
mushroom are widereaching.<br />
The easiest way to<br />
by Lauren Means<br />
prevent this is to do your<br />
best to avoid your pet<br />
ingesting any mushrooms.<br />
If you witness your<br />
pet eating something<br />
poisonous or suspect they<br />
have, contact your vet<br />
immediately or the ASPCA<br />
Animal Poison Control<br />
Center at (888) 426-4435.<br />
Snakes<br />
Whether you love them,<br />
hate them, or tolerate their<br />
existence for the greater<br />
good, as the weather is<br />
cooling down snakes are<br />
preparing for hibernation.<br />
Be mindful of where you<br />
are walking and study up<br />
on snakes native to your<br />
area. There are many<br />
snakes that call <strong>Tenn</strong>essee<br />
home, but only four that<br />
FALL EVENTS PERFECT FOR PETS!<br />
Nashville Humane Association’s Dog Day <strong>2019</strong><br />
Centennial Park, Nashville<br />
<strong>Sep</strong>tember 14 from 10am - 4pm<br />
Nashville’s longest-running dog festival is a celebration<br />
of everything pup and all proceeds go to benefit the<br />
Nashville Humane Association.<br />
Rockin’ 4 Rescues<br />
Copper Ridge Event Venue, Murfreesboro<br />
<strong>Sep</strong>tember 26 starting at 6pm<br />
This year’s fundraising event will benefit six area rescues:<br />
Operation Education, Rutherford County Cat Rescue,<br />
Rags to Riches, Halo’s Second Chance, Rural Animal<br />
Rescue Effort and <strong>Mid</strong>dle <strong>Tenn</strong>essee Treasures.<br />
Pawpalooza Pet Festival<br />
Gallatin Parks & Recreation, Gallatin<br />
<strong>Sep</strong>tember 28 from 10am - 2pm<br />
Sumner County’s only festival dedicated to pets and their<br />
human friends. Again we will celebrate the furry friends<br />
with food, vendors, contests and live music FREE!<br />
A DOGgone Good OLD Time<br />
Charlie Daniels Park, Mt. Juliet<br />
<strong>Oct</strong>ober 19 from 10am - 3pm<br />
Hosted by Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary. A day in<br />
the Park with Crafts, Music, and Dogs.<br />
Halloween Pooch Parade<br />
Cheekwood, Nashville<br />
<strong>Oct</strong>ober 26 from 9am - 4pm<br />
Costumed canines and their owners are invited to parade<br />
around the gardens for a fun morning stroll, costume<br />
contest, and even a popsicle eating contest for a cool<br />
treat for all the pups out there.<br />
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are poisonous: northern copperhead, western<br />
cottonmouth (aka water moccasin), timber<br />
rattlesnake, and western pigmy rattlesnake. You<br />
can distinguish the venomous from the nonvenomous<br />
species by their triangular heads and<br />
vertical pupils.<br />
Best practices to reduce the likelihood of<br />
a snake bite include using a shorter leash on<br />
walks, not allowing your dog to explore areas<br />
where you cannot see everything clearly, stay<br />
on open paths where snakes would be visible,<br />
and keep nighttime walks to a minimum. If<br />
your dog does end up with a bite, call your vet<br />
immediately.<br />
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Pumpkin Oatmeal Dog Treats<br />
1 cup pumpkin puree<br />
1/4 cup peanut butter<br />
2 1/2 cups rolled oats<br />
1/4 cup water<br />
Add pumpkin, peanut butter, oats, and water to a<br />
large bowl and stir to combine.<br />
Form mixture into 1-inch balls and roll each ball<br />
through additional oats.<br />
Place treats onto a baking sheet and refrigerate<br />
until firm, about an hour.<br />
Pumpkin Cat Treats<br />
5 ounce can tuna in water<br />
2 tbsp pumpkin puree, canned pure<br />
1/4 cup flour<br />
1 teaspoon dried catnip (if desired)<br />
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. In a bowl, mix all the<br />
ingredients until a dough forms. Pinch off bitesize<br />
pieces of dough and place on lightly greased<br />
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Refrigerate in an airtight container<br />
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lgbt health<br />
Tash Weddle is<br />
ALL HEART<br />
by Sunny Eaton | photos courtesy of Ashley Hylbert<br />
Natasha “Tash” Weddle<br />
is making magic happen.<br />
She is doing all the right<br />
things for all the right<br />
reasons. An essential<br />
presence in the Nashville<br />
business community, Tash<br />
owns TNB Fitness and<br />
New Beginnings, where<br />
she is using her talents<br />
to empower women to<br />
change their mindset,<br />
habits and bodies.<br />
“The goal is to empower<br />
women to take control and<br />
live their best lives,” says<br />
Tash, who founded the<br />
nonprofit organization, New<br />
Beginnings, in 2011. The<br />
aim of New Beginnings is<br />
to give low-income women<br />
an opportunity to become<br />
part of a fitness community<br />
that may otherwise have<br />
been out of reach.<br />
Tash recognized that<br />
fitness, nutrition and health<br />
education can be expensive<br />
and for women prioritizing<br />
basic necessities such as<br />
feeding children, paying rent<br />
and maintaining full-time<br />
jobs, it often falls low in their<br />
hierarchy of priority. “There<br />
is a gaping divide between<br />
access to fitness for these<br />
women and the clear need<br />
shown by fitness and health<br />
statistics for the state of<br />
<strong>Tenn</strong>essee,” she mentions.<br />
Closing the gap<br />
With New Beginnings<br />
serving more than 200<br />
women per year, Tash is<br />
taking steps to shorten that<br />
divide. She hosts several<br />
fundraisers a year and a<br />
portion of the profits from<br />
her TNB Fitness gym and<br />
personal training program<br />
go to support New<br />
Beginnings scholarships.<br />
These scholarships enable<br />
Tash to get deep into the<br />
lives and habits of her<br />
participants.<br />
“We go beyond just<br />
exercise and break through<br />
to the patterns of thinking,<br />
daily habits and personal<br />
visions that truly<br />
shape health.” New<br />
Beginnings is a<br />
year-long program<br />
in multiple phases.<br />
For the first<br />
phase, women are<br />
required to commit<br />
to at least eighty<br />
percent attendance.<br />
“That commitment is<br />
the first step in putting<br />
self-care into the daily<br />
to-do list and the realizing<br />
that health and movement<br />
don’t have to be a chore or<br />
something to suffer through<br />
for cosmetic gains, but<br />
instead are a hard-earned<br />
gift and endlessly rewarding<br />
journey. A journey they<br />
won’t be taking alone.”<br />
Unsurprisingly, Tash is an<br />
extraordinary athlete. An<br />
all-star basketball player in<br />
high school, Tash went on to<br />
play collegiate basketball for<br />
both North Carolina State<br />
University and the University<br />
of Evansville. Her talent<br />
eventually met its match<br />
with a recurrent knee injury<br />
that forced Tash to endure<br />
five surgeries. “My athletic<br />
career transitioned into a<br />
notable 17 years as a strength<br />
and conditioning coach for<br />
several major universities<br />
including the University of<br />
<strong>Tenn</strong>essee and Vanderbilt.”<br />
More than athletics<br />
Although she loved this<br />
work and had earned a<br />
reputation for excellence<br />
and measured success,<br />
Tash knew there had to be<br />
something more in store<br />
for her life, that there was<br />
more she could contribute<br />
to the lives of other people.<br />
In answering that question,<br />
TNB Fitness and New<br />
Beginnings were born.<br />
Walking into the<br />
enormous, well-equipped<br />
TNB Fitness gym and the<br />
New Beginnings meeting<br />
room, filled with inspirational<br />
quotes and vision boards<br />
is like having a gauntlet of<br />
self-growth and betterment<br />
laid at your feet. When you<br />
are in Tash’s office,<br />
looking at her<br />
bookshelves full of<br />
training materials<br />
and new concepts,<br />
you know she is capable<br />
and that she does more<br />
than talk about excellence<br />
and growth, she lives those<br />
ideas. “I want people to ask<br />
themselves, ‘what more can I<br />
be doing – for myself and for<br />
my community.”<br />
Tash isn’t all exercise and<br />
empowerment, she is also<br />
kind, interesting and makes<br />
you feel welcome in her<br />
presence. She spends her<br />
free time traveling, reading<br />
and with friends. Soon, she<br />
and her wife are headed<br />
to central Mexico for some<br />
much-needed rest and to<br />
scope out some retirementlocation<br />
possibilities.<br />
Don’t worry, Nashville –<br />
Tash is invested in the city<br />
and isn’t going anywhere<br />
for a very long time.<br />
FOR MORE INFO<br />
To learn more,<br />
visit www.tnb-fitness.com.<br />
Page 22 / focusmidtenn.com / SEP+OCT <strong>2019</strong> / SUCCESS
lgbt seniors<br />
DOES OUR AGE IMPACT<br />
THE VALUE OF PRIDE?<br />
story by Mike Smith<br />
Certainly, arguments have been made that the older we are,<br />
the more importance we place on the value of Pride and its<br />
hard-fought celebrations. Then again, many younger gays will<br />
suggest that there is no way one could enjoy non-stop pride events<br />
more than themselves.<br />
They are prideful and<br />
wear their pride pridefully,<br />
damnit. And, of course,<br />
to most they are both<br />
right; one is hard pressed<br />
to find someone in the<br />
LGBT+ community who<br />
doesn’t value the work that<br />
has been done since the<br />
Stonewall riots to allow us<br />
the freedoms to celebrate<br />
who we are openly and<br />
yes, pridefully. So, does<br />
our age impact how we<br />
feel about pride and more<br />
importantly, its value?<br />
I know of two brothers<br />
in their 40s/50s who are<br />
both openly gay. Only six<br />
years apart in age, their<br />
experiences are quite<br />
different. Both from rural<br />
America, the eldest of the<br />
two — not having LGBT+<br />
community role models<br />
as a child — had to find his<br />
own path and went off to<br />
college and did just that and<br />
connected with his tribe<br />
and began to connect with<br />
others to celebrate Pride.<br />
Still somewhat careful<br />
with when and where to<br />
display his pridefulness and<br />
only when he and his friends<br />
could retreat out of town<br />
would they truly celebrate<br />
— attend the events, the<br />
parade, wear their prideful<br />
attire, etc. Pride celebrations<br />
provided a certain<br />
“coverage” and safety that<br />
the older brother hadn’t<br />
experienced until his 20s.<br />
By the time the younger<br />
of the brothers rose to an<br />
age that he was beginning<br />
to become comfortable in<br />
his gayness, he had his older<br />
brother who introduced him<br />
to Pride, but also a queer<br />
community which provided<br />
sanctuary as he continued to<br />
explore his sexuality.<br />
While Pride celebrations<br />
were certainly fun and still<br />
somewhat taboo to his<br />
straight friends or work<br />
community, he had been<br />
introduced to the gay<br />
lifestyle by his brother,<br />
therefore not feeling as<br />
though festivities were his<br />
only place to connect — he<br />
had found a community<br />
before he experienced his<br />
first pride events.<br />
Their experiences clearly<br />
different, but more valuable<br />
to one than the other?<br />
Perhaps this isn’t about Pride<br />
— the festivities — at all, but<br />
simply about our time in the<br />
march to equality with Pride<br />
as a marking point annually<br />
in one’s life.<br />
Older generations had<br />
to secretly engage with<br />
their community, while<br />
nowadays, every brand out<br />
there slaps the rainbow<br />
on their product, and we<br />
can’t hide from it. We<br />
are all prideful—even our<br />
toilet paper and shoes are<br />
prideful it seems.<br />
Pride’s value is derived<br />
from each of our own<br />
personal experiences. From<br />
the black trans woman<br />
who threw the first brick<br />
at Stonewall 50 years ago<br />
to the straight teenage<br />
allies, to the six-year-old<br />
who walked in this year’s<br />
first Pride Parade right<br />
here in Nashville – the Pride<br />
experience is personal and<br />
you bet, has immeasurable<br />
value, no matter our age.<br />
SUCCESS / SEP+OCT <strong>2019</strong> / focusmidtenn.com / Page 23
music<br />
breaking<br />
the habit<br />
LEVI KREIS CONQUERS HIS BAD HABIT ON NEW ALBUM<br />
by Joey Amato | photos courtesy of Rachel Love Photography<br />
Although LGBT musician Levi Kreis<br />
is young, he’s had a career most<br />
musicians and actors can only dream<br />
of. The Tony Award-winning actor/singer and<br />
Belmont University graduate has performed<br />
in multiple Broadway shows and his music<br />
has appeared on numerous film and television<br />
shows including The Vampire Diaries, Sons of<br />
Anarchy and So You Think You Can Dance.<br />
Kreis blends numerous<br />
genres to create a truly<br />
unique sound that has<br />
garnered him fans across the<br />
country. The East <strong>Tenn</strong>essee<br />
native spent his youth<br />
mimicking the piano style<br />
of southern gospel music<br />
and idolizing men like Ray<br />
Charles who brought that<br />
sound to the mainstream.<br />
But Kreis confesses that<br />
everything he knows, he<br />
learned from one of Ray’s<br />
younger peers, Little Miss<br />
Dynamite, Brenda Lee.<br />
A family friend, Lee gave<br />
Kreis the opportunity to<br />
tour with her after she<br />
discovered his talent.<br />
“She allowed me to tour<br />
with her for a couple of<br />
summers,” recalls Kreis.<br />
“I got to spend time with<br />
her on her bus and on<br />
stage. She was so classy<br />
and whether she was on<br />
stage or off, she was always<br />
thoughtful of people and<br />
conscious of other people’s<br />
experiences around her.”<br />
Kreis will always be<br />
grateful to Lee and credits<br />
her for giving him the best<br />
piece of career advice he’s<br />
ever received. “Be kind to<br />
everyone you meet, because<br />
you meet the same people<br />
on the way up as you do on<br />
the way down.”<br />
Traveling on her tour bus<br />
and studying her genius<br />
on stage and off, Kreis<br />
adopted Lee’s strong work<br />
ethic and classy reputation:<br />
“Anyone who works their<br />
ass off, can find success.”<br />
To this day Lee confesses,<br />
“I taught him everything he<br />
knows!”<br />
Page 24 / focusmidtenn.com / SEP+OCT <strong>2019</strong> / SUCCESS
Pioneering ‘out’ music<br />
Kreis’ music career began<br />
in 2005 and he mentions<br />
only a handful of LGBT+<br />
musicians were singing and<br />
writing about same-sex<br />
relationships.<br />
“I got my start there.<br />
Nobody else was writing<br />
about those topics. Some<br />
people have told me I was<br />
one of the pioneers of<br />
the out music movement.<br />
Gratefully publications like<br />
The Advocate and Instinct<br />
were talking about us.”<br />
Kreis notes that other<br />
pioneers performing music<br />
with LGBT-centric messages<br />
included Ari Gold, Erik<br />
Hyman and Rachael Sage.<br />
While launching his music<br />
career, Kreis auditioned for<br />
a role in a new theatrical<br />
show called Million Dollar<br />
Quartet. He landed the role,<br />
but it wasn’t until 2010 that<br />
the show actually made its<br />
Broadway debut. His role<br />
in the musical earned him a<br />
Tony Award. “It was a huge<br />
undertaking. I’ve always had<br />
a passion for new works.”<br />
In addition to Million Dollar<br />
Quartet, Kreis was also<br />
a cast member of Tonynominated<br />
revival Violet,<br />
the national tour of Rent,<br />
Smokey Joe’s Café, Pump<br />
Boys & Dinettes, and the<br />
films Frailty, Don’t Let Go,<br />
Slip Tumble and Slide, A<br />
Very Sordid Wedding, and<br />
The Divide.<br />
During that time, he also<br />
recorded seven albums,<br />
some of which achieved<br />
top 10 positions on various<br />
charts, No. 1 music videos<br />
and national tours. He made<br />
several TV appearances on<br />
The View, David Letterman<br />
and The Tonight Show with<br />
Jimmy Fallon.<br />
Reconnecting to his roots<br />
Despite his success,<br />
Kreis felt like acting took<br />
MORE ABOUT<br />
LEE KREIS<br />
To learn more about<br />
Levi Kreis, visit<br />
www.levikreis.com.<br />
him away from music<br />
for a while. “I wanted to<br />
reconnect to my roots,”<br />
mentions Kreis. “I dove into<br />
creating new music and<br />
it took me a while to find<br />
myself musically.”<br />
His new album Bad<br />
Habit will be released<br />
on <strong>Sep</strong>tember 20 and<br />
took Kreis three years to<br />
complete. “I wanted to have<br />
fun with this record,” he<br />
states. “I spent some much<br />
time dissecting religion and<br />
spirituality. I needed to fall<br />
in love with music again.”<br />
Kreis mentions the<br />
title came from years of<br />
struggling with addiction.<br />
“I have a history of being<br />
a pretty bad boy. My story<br />
reflects a lot of personal<br />
victories that a lot of people<br />
can relate to. I had a drug,<br />
cigarette and alcohol habit.<br />
For me, I sympathize with<br />
those people who are trying<br />
to find their own victory over<br />
something people look down<br />
on. People like to judge<br />
them. I wanted to connect<br />
with my community.”<br />
Thankfully, Kreis has been<br />
sober for 10 years now.<br />
The first single off the<br />
album, Three Words is a<br />
flirty vibe reminiscent of<br />
Raquael Saadiq’s Let’s Take<br />
A Walk and Duffy’s Mercy.<br />
“I began to think of what<br />
aspects of attraction mean<br />
the most. I love the dance;<br />
where you know there’s a<br />
spark, but nobody wants to<br />
admit it. But you can’t fake<br />
the chemistry.”<br />
As an openly gay<br />
musician, Kreis is used to<br />
rejection, starting his career<br />
at a time when being an<br />
LGBT+ artist was a risk for<br />
any major recording label.<br />
“I have gone through<br />
eight major labels and<br />
when the label heard I was<br />
gay, they didn’t know what<br />
to do with me. All outlets<br />
supporting diversity now<br />
is a new thing. It wasn’t<br />
always like that. We always<br />
heard ‘no’. Gratefully things<br />
have changed a lot.”<br />
SUCCESS / SEP+OCT <strong>2019</strong> / focusmidtenn.com / Page 25
lgbt youth<br />
KICKED OUT AFTER<br />
COMING OUT<br />
True You TN provides<br />
solutions for LGBT+ youth<br />
by Erica Rains | photo courtesy of Tristan Lowe<br />
Kids are becoming more comfortable with<br />
who they are and coming out at younger<br />
ages, which is a wonderful step forward.<br />
Unfortunately, not all of these teens are being<br />
accepted and, in an alarming number of cases,<br />
are actually being kicked out. True You <strong>Tenn</strong>essee,<br />
a new outreach program in its beginning stages,<br />
will provide resources, care packages and a safe,<br />
nurturing home environment where youth can<br />
heal themselves…while being themselves.<br />
Stephanie Lowe, founder<br />
of this new nonprofit, says<br />
that the organization will<br />
also help reduce the number<br />
of suicides in the LGBTQ<br />
community and help youth<br />
as they age out of the<br />
system to transition into<br />
adulthood. LGBTQ youth<br />
make up as much as 10%<br />
of that population segment<br />
but account for 40% of the<br />
homeless youth community.<br />
“The numbers are insanely<br />
disproportionate,” says Lowe.<br />
“Once a teen lands on<br />
the streets, statistically, we<br />
have 72 hours before they<br />
are willing to participate<br />
in “survival sex” to meet<br />
basic needs such as food or<br />
housing. In fact, 20% of all<br />
homeless youth interviewed<br />
were victims of human<br />
trafficking,” she adds.<br />
Lowe says stats aren’t<br />
much better in foster homes.<br />
Seventy-eight percent report<br />
further abuse in those foster<br />
homes that are supposed to<br />
be their safe havens. “Foster<br />
parents get roughly $30 a<br />
day per child they take. If they<br />
are taking kids for the wrong<br />
reason, i.e. money, there is<br />
nothing to prevent them from<br />
abusing those kids.”<br />
Working with the<br />
community<br />
This is where True You<br />
TN comes in. Lowe and<br />
her board of directors are<br />
working on the paperwork<br />
and looking for a home,<br />
preferably in Rutherford<br />
County. She said it would<br />
help to be available in more<br />
rural areas where there is<br />
even less help.<br />
They are actively pursuing<br />
relationships with church<br />
communities, counselors,<br />
safe advocates and others<br />
passionate about helping<br />
this youth demographic to<br />
be safer, off the streets, and<br />
have access to resources<br />
and support systems that<br />
allow them to be “True You”.<br />
Another hurdle for Lowe<br />
lies in recent state legislation<br />
called the Family First<br />
Prevention Services Act,<br />
in which funding is being<br />
cut for new homes like the<br />
one she plans to open. The<br />
idea is that keeping kids<br />
with families<br />
is better, but<br />
sadly, in the<br />
case of young<br />
people coming<br />
out, those<br />
families don’t<br />
always allow<br />
them to stay.<br />
The good<br />
news is that the state does<br />
recognize that this specific<br />
youth segment needs help<br />
and according to Lowe,<br />
is “super supportive.” She<br />
has had conversations with<br />
the state and she will be<br />
licensed through them.<br />
When all is said and done,<br />
the state will have the<br />
option and ability to move<br />
kids to the True You TN<br />
home. “We are going on an<br />
‘if we build it, they will come’<br />
theory,” says Lowe.<br />
But the help won’t stop<br />
there. The non-profit<br />
has future plans to add a<br />
transitional house for kids that<br />
have aged out<br />
of the system.<br />
Those young<br />
adults still<br />
have an uphill<br />
battle, with<br />
20% of them<br />
becoming<br />
homeless<br />
almost<br />
immediately. “When you are<br />
22 years old, you still need a<br />
family. We can be that family.”<br />
More than just housing<br />
They won’t limit the help to<br />
youth already experiencing<br />
homelessness. They will<br />
also be a resource for youth<br />
Page 26 / focusmidtenn.com / SEP+OCT <strong>2019</strong> / SUCCESS
considering coming out<br />
or those who have already<br />
come out and are having<br />
issues at home. She hopes<br />
that they will be able to work<br />
hand in hand with other<br />
organizations like PFLAG and<br />
GSAs (gay-straight alliances)<br />
in local schools to provide<br />
resources and options. In<br />
addition to their current board<br />
of established community<br />
members, they also plan to<br />
develop a junior board in<br />
Rutherford and surrounding<br />
counties.<br />
Lowe and her<br />
wife learned<br />
of the need<br />
for such an<br />
organization<br />
when they<br />
attempted to<br />
adopt a child.<br />
“The state<br />
needed foster homes and<br />
adopters like us, because<br />
they had so many LGBTQ<br />
children in the system and<br />
that they were having a hard<br />
time finding foster homes<br />
for those children because<br />
so many of the homes in<br />
this area refused LGBTQ<br />
children. I was shocked.”<br />
MORE ABOUT<br />
TRUE YOU TN<br />
For more<br />
information,<br />
email stephanie@<br />
trueyoutn.org or<br />
follow @TrueyouTN<br />
on social media.<br />
Personal experience<br />
sparks the movement<br />
Although Lowe was not a<br />
child when her own family<br />
turned their back on her, she<br />
knows the trauma of feeling<br />
alone at such a crucial time.<br />
“My family stopped speaking<br />
to me the day that it<br />
happened. That was January<br />
14. It was a cold Friday night.<br />
I sat in my car begging<br />
my mother to keep loving<br />
me. It was one of the most<br />
traumatic days of my life.”<br />
She said she could<br />
not even imagine what a<br />
young person must feel,<br />
depending on their homes<br />
for basic needs and survival.<br />
She wondered, “How<br />
does a 13-year-old handle<br />
being disowned? How do<br />
they survive this pain?”<br />
That’s when she stepped<br />
up to open what will be<br />
the first only group home<br />
specifically for LGBTQ youth<br />
in the Southeast.<br />
With one in three LGBTQ<br />
homeless youth admitting<br />
that they have ‘seriously<br />
considered suicide’, the<br />
need is dire, and True You<br />
TN will be looking for help in<br />
different arenas. Lowe said<br />
land donations, contractor<br />
services and<br />
many other<br />
needs will be<br />
sought after,<br />
as they will be<br />
self-funded.<br />
Fundraising<br />
events and<br />
efforts will<br />
begin soon to<br />
create the capital necessary<br />
to complete the project.<br />
If you or anyone you know<br />
may be interested in helping<br />
in any way, email her directly<br />
at stephanie@trueyoutn.org<br />
or message them on Twitter<br />
and Instagram @TrueyouTN.<br />
On Facebook, they can be<br />
found at TrueYou<strong>Tenn</strong>essee.<br />
Youth interested in being<br />
part of the junior board<br />
should also send a message.<br />
While the existence<br />
of this problem is<br />
heartbreaking, True You<br />
TN will address the basic<br />
human right to be yourself,<br />
be happy and be healthy.<br />
Lowe adds, “What if we<br />
empower young people<br />
to be true to themselves?<br />
What if we allow them to be<br />
honest? What if we show<br />
them love, no matter what?<br />
Think of the years we can<br />
save, years of them being<br />
productive, passionate,<br />
healthy people in a society<br />
instead of the broken people<br />
they come to us as. Think of<br />
all we can do for them if we<br />
say it’s ok to be True You.”<br />
Advertise with us!<br />
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Call Selena at 615.603.6169.<br />
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SUCCESS / SEP+OCT <strong>2019</strong> / focusmidtenn.com / Page 27
lgbt advocate<br />
getting to know<br />
IONA<br />
by GK Gurley x photos courtesy of Chris Walburn Photography<br />
Murfreesboro is hosting its fourth<br />
annual Boro Pride event on<br />
<strong>Sep</strong>tember 7. George Manus, better<br />
known as the drag queen IONA, has been<br />
their emcee each year. She has been a<br />
resident of <strong>Tenn</strong>essee and a strong advocate<br />
for the LGBTQ+ community from the get-go.<br />
Manus identifies as nonbinary<br />
(using she or he<br />
pronouns) and discovered<br />
a love for drag during<br />
the ‘90s. She started by<br />
performing in fundraisers<br />
for AIDS awareness. After<br />
losing countless friends<br />
and performing in such an<br />
environment, drag became<br />
a way to be an advocate<br />
and build a chosen family.<br />
“It became important for<br />
me to be a part of the<br />
community and have a<br />
platform,” said IONA. “Drag<br />
was the best way I knew<br />
how, especially with a<br />
theater background.”<br />
Drag was and continues<br />
to be how IONA builds her<br />
chosen family and gives to<br />
the queer community. She<br />
took a break to get sober,<br />
which she has been for<br />
19 years, and came back<br />
to drag around 9 years<br />
ago both to perform and<br />
host. In <strong>Mid</strong>dle <strong>Tenn</strong>essee,<br />
especially in smaller<br />
towns, IONA talks about<br />
the necessity for queer<br />
people to make spaces<br />
and opportunities for<br />
themselves. “This is why<br />
I started an open stage<br />
night. We need places for<br />
people to have a shot and<br />
get some stage time. Open<br />
stage is my favorite thing I<br />
do here.”<br />
Murfreesboro has always<br />
had a tight-knit queer<br />
community. IONA, in<br />
describing her experience<br />
being a life-long resident<br />
of <strong>Mid</strong>dle <strong>Tenn</strong>essee, said,<br />
“There’s always been a<br />
pretty big gay population<br />
at MTSU, but they haven’t<br />
really had an outlet to<br />
be themselves, so all the<br />
things we’ve started like<br />
Pride and general drag<br />
shows are opening up<br />
opportunities for people<br />
“... All the things we’ve started like Pride<br />
and general drag shows are opening up<br />
opportunities for people to have a place to go<br />
and be comfortable and open about who they<br />
are around other people like them.”<br />
— IONA, aka George Manus<br />
Page 28 / focusmidtenn.com / SEP+OCT <strong>2019</strong> / SUCCESS
to have a place to go and be comfortable<br />
and open about who they are around other<br />
people like them.”<br />
She started a queer centered performance<br />
space but had to close it after five years<br />
after a family tragedy. She hopes to see a<br />
queer bar open in Murfreesboro in the near<br />
future because there is a definite need for a<br />
queer-specific space.<br />
IONA is not only the emcee for Boro Pride,<br />
but she also hosts monthly and bi-monthly<br />
drag shows and does Murfreesboro Drag<br />
Queen Story Hour. Being non-binary as<br />
well as having a partner who is trans, she is<br />
very thoughtful about how she structures<br />
and books her shows. Boro Pride has<br />
different performers each year, and as she<br />
casts performers, she intentionally casts<br />
more than just cis male drag queens. Her<br />
thoughtfulness for creating open and safe<br />
queer spaces for everyone exudes through<br />
all of her work.<br />
Throughout her life and career, IONA has<br />
prioritized her family and advocating for<br />
her queer community. “My life is all about<br />
giving to other people. I love hanging out<br />
with people I work and perform with. I get<br />
that joy in return for sure, there’s so much<br />
validation and joy in what I do. We’re a<br />
chosen family out here, we have a beautiful<br />
camaraderie and enjoy what we do. We’re<br />
grateful for these opportunities in <strong>Mid</strong>dle<br />
<strong>Tenn</strong>essee, even when we have to make<br />
them ourselves.”<br />
IONA hosts a show at Boro Bar and Grill<br />
the first Saturday of every month. Her open<br />
stage night is the last Wednesday of the<br />
month, also at Boro Bar and Grill. She also<br />
hosts shows at Spinelli’s Pizza the second<br />
and fourth Friday’s of the month. Drag<br />
Queen Story Hour’s schedule is dependent<br />
on Technology Engagement Center and<br />
happens once a month. Come see her at<br />
Boro Pride and her regular shows!<br />
IONA has been a strong leader and<br />
community organizer for decades in <strong>Mid</strong>dle<br />
<strong>Tenn</strong>essee, and she deserves that same love<br />
shown to her. Her house recently burned<br />
down, and many people in her community<br />
started a Facebook fundraiser to help her<br />
get off her feet again. Please consider<br />
contributing! https://bit.ly/2YZubd9<br />
MORE INFORMATION<br />
Boro Pride is 5 to 10 p.m. <strong>Sep</strong>t. 7 on the square<br />
in downtown Murfreesboro. Find IONA online<br />
at facebook.com/ionatheonlyone.<br />
Be<br />
PrEPared.<br />
Learn more about<br />
HIV prevention at<br />
Planned Parenthood.<br />
866.711.1717<br />
PlannedParenthood.org/<strong>Tenn</strong>essee<br />
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SUCCESS / SEP+OCT <strong>2019</strong> / focusmidtenn.com / Page 29
calendar<br />
UPCOMING EVENTS<br />
HAVE AN EVENT TO LIST? DO IT ONLINE AT FOCUSMIDTENN.COM<br />
SEP 7<br />
BORO PRIDE<br />
5 to 10 p.m. <strong>Sep</strong>t. 7 on<br />
the square in downtown<br />
Murfreesboro. Free admission.<br />
SEP 13<br />
ANTONI IN THE<br />
KITCHEN<br />
Join Queer Eye’s Antoni<br />
Porowski for an evening of<br />
conversation celebrating his first<br />
cookbook, Antoni in the Kitchen.<br />
7:30 p.m. <strong>Sep</strong>t. 13 in James<br />
K. Polk Theater at <strong>Tenn</strong>essee<br />
Performing Arts Center, 505<br />
Deaderick St., Nashville. Tickets:<br />
$45. Visit tpac.org.<br />
SEP 14<br />
OUTLOUD MUSIC<br />
FESTIVAL<br />
Featuring Greyson Chance,<br />
Kim Petras and more. 4 to 11<br />
p.m. in midtown, Church Street,<br />
Nashville. Tickets: $25-75. Visit<br />
outloudmusicfestival.com.<br />
SEPT 22<br />
LEANN RIMES<br />
With special guests Cedric<br />
Sesley and Out for Souls. 7:30<br />
p.m. <strong>Sep</strong>t. 22 at The Ryman, 116<br />
5th Ave. N., Nashville. Tickets:<br />
$35- $60. Visit ryman.com.<br />
CHAKA KAHN<br />
With Macy Gray. 7:30 p.m.<br />
<strong>Sep</strong>t. 22 at The Ryman, 116<br />
5th Ave. N., Nashville. Tickets:<br />
$34- $100. Visit ryman.com.<br />
SEP 26<br />
ROCKIN’ 4 RESCUES<br />
Games, wine pull, scavenger<br />
hunt, free taco bar from<br />
Chuy’s. Donations accepted. 6<br />
p.m. <strong>Sep</strong>t. 26 at Copper Ridge<br />
Event Venue, 3597 Betty Ford<br />
Rd., Murfreesboro.<br />
OCT 5<br />
NASHVILLE CARES<br />
AIDS WALK<br />
9 a.m. <strong>Oct</strong>. 5 at Public<br />
Photo courtesy of Chaka Kahn publicity<br />
Square Park, Nashville.<br />
For more information, visit<br />
nashvillecares.org.<br />
BRUNCH<br />
FOR CARES<br />
Benefitting Nashville CARES,<br />
immediately following AIDS<br />
Walk, presented by Tito’s<br />
Handmade Vodka. 10 a.m.<br />
<strong>Oct</strong>. 5 at Public Square Park,<br />
Nashville. For tickets, visit<br />
nashvillecares.org.<br />
OCT 8<br />
PRE-BLACK PRIDE<br />
SPECIAL SCREENING:<br />
‘KIKI’ PLUS POST-<br />
SCREENING Q&A<br />
Post-screening Q&A with<br />
screenplay co-writer Twiggy<br />
Pucci Garçon. Location and<br />
time to be announced. Visit<br />
nashvilleblackpride.org.<br />
OCT 11-13<br />
NASHVILLE BLACK<br />
PRIDE<br />
Various events <strong>Oct</strong>. 11-<br />
13 at various venues. For<br />
up-to-date information,<br />
visit nashvilleblackpride.<br />
org or facebook.com/<br />
nashvilleblackpride<br />
OCT 11<br />
RUPAUL’S DRAG<br />
RACE WERQ THE<br />
WORLD <strong>2019</strong><br />
Featuring Aquaria, Detox,<br />
Monet Exchange, Naomi<br />
Smalls, Yvie Oddly and more.<br />
8 p.m. <strong>Oct</strong>. 11 in James K.<br />
Polk Theater at <strong>Tenn</strong>essee<br />
Performing Arts Center, 505<br />
Deaderick St., Nashville.<br />
Tickets: $54. Visit tpac.org.<br />
NASHVILLE BLACK<br />
PRIDE AWARDS &<br />
SCHOLARSHIP DINNER<br />
7 p.m. <strong>Oct</strong>. 11 at Fantasy Hall,<br />
2332 Antioch Pike, Antioch.<br />
Tickets: $20 for individuals.<br />
Table seating available at $250<br />
per table.<br />
OCT 13<br />
TWO PAGEANTS,<br />
ONE NIGHT: MISTER<br />
ESQUIRE MALE<br />
ILLUSIONIST,<br />
MISS TENNESSEE<br />
DIAMOND DIVA<br />
A part of Nashville Black Pride.<br />
<strong>Oct</strong> 13 at PLAY Dance Bar, 1519<br />
Church St., Nashville. For more<br />
information, visit facebook.<br />
com/MAC-Productions.<br />
BLACK PRIDE SPECIAL<br />
SCREENING AND POST-<br />
SCREENING Q&A<br />
‘A Different Direction,’<br />
featuring comedian and<br />
writer Sampson and actor<br />
Darryl Stephens. Location and<br />
time to be announced. Vist<br />
nashvilleblackpride.org.<br />
OCT 20<br />
BIANCA DEL RIO<br />
Winner of RuPaul’s Drag<br />
Race season 6. 8 p.m. <strong>Oct</strong>.<br />
20 at Marathon Music Works,<br />
1402 Clinton St., Nashville.<br />
Tickets: $42.50. Visit<br />
ticketfly.com.<br />
Page 30 / focusmidtenn.com / SEP+OCT SEPT+OCT <strong>2019</strong> // SUCCESS