A Good Foundation - The Newsletter of CFMT - Winter 2018 by Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee

A GOOD FOUNDATION THE NEWSLETTER OF THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE

WINTER • 201 8

CFMT SCHOLARSHIPS PAY OFF FOR ONE-TIME REFUGEE WITH A PASSION FOR PUBLIC HEALTH A college education seemed far, far away.

Muna never once needed to take out a student loan.

“Apart from my childhood struggles, even in the United States I still had to survive the cultural belief that girls should only get married and not pursue higher education,” Muna recalled. “I was very fortunate and blessed to have parents who valued and encouraged me to get an education.”

“Receiving the scholarships from The Community Foundation meant so much for my education, my career goals, and most importantly, my personal life,” Muna said, “because it made me realize that my hard work paid off. … I am humbly grateful.”

After her sophomore year at East Nashville’s Stratford STEM Magnet High School, she was selected from more than 4,000 applicants to represent Tennessee at the Bank of America Student Leaders summit in Washington, D.C. She subsequently was placed as a paid summer intern serving other youth at Nashville’s nonprofit Oasis Center. It is hard to imagine a Somali refugee, born into utter poverty and without a country to call home, one day finding herself in a classroom at prestigious Vanderbilt University, studying for a master’s degree in public health.

“After that summer,” Muna said, “I was enlightened.”

But then, you may not know Muna Muday.

Muna’s experiences led her to Stratford’s innovative Top Floor Program which now boasts a 99 percent graduation rate and average ACT scores more than five times higher than the district average. “I received a lot of support and love,” Muna recalled, “which made my college process very easy.”

Born in a refugee camp in Kenya after her family fled the civil war in the 1990s, Muna, 23, and her family arrived in the United States as did more than 600 Somali refugees who resettled in Tennessee from 2003-2005.

Except, of course, for paying for it. That’s where The Community Foundation, and four years of scholarship funding, came in as she attended Tennessee State University for her undergraduate degree in Health Sciences.

CFMT awarded 353 scholarships to 332 individual students pursuing secondary education at accredited schools throughout the United States for the 2018-19 school year. Students received a combined total of $644,000 in financial assistance from 96 scholarship funds within The Community Foundation.

Muna is now a graduate student at Vanderbilt University in its Master of Public Health Program. Since 1996, the program has been training future research scientists and public health professionals to be leaders and innovators dedicated to improving public health. Muna explained: “I realized my true passion was linked to my personal calling, having lived in a refugee camp exposed to so many public health problems that were very simply preventable and curable, yet many mothers and children were dying every day.” She plans one day to work with mothers and children in both underdeveloped and developed populations in the world. “Starting,” Muna said, “in Nashville."

INSIDE THIS ISSUE CFMT Scholarships: Muna Muday Mr. Temple & The Tigerbelles

“The Community Foundation has helped thousands access educational opportunities they might otherwise have been unable to afford by connecting them with the generosity of others,” said Ellen Lehman, president of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. “This year we are honored to help hundreds more improve their futures, and the futures of their families, through the transformation offered by an education.”

A Town Built on Champions

CFMT scholarships, established by individuals, companies and civic groups, assist students with tuition and other school-related expenses. Each year, The Community Foundation scholarship committee reviews applications on behalf of donors who entrust The Foundation with administering the annual awards.

World Traveler Leaves Impact

Buzz from the Hive Fentress County: A Part of the Team Staff Spotlight

Board Spotlight Tools for Giving

A full list of scholarship recipients can be found at www.CFMT.org.

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HONORING A LEGENDARY COACH, MR. TEMPLE AND THE TIGERBELLES’ DOCUMENTARY DEBUTS

Coach Ed Temple was a legend, the embodiment of perseverance, determination, and success both in Nashville and across our country. As women’s track coach at Tennessee State University for 44 years and head coach of the U.S. Women’s Olympic track team in 1960 and 1964, Temple ranks among the most impressive leaders in the history of sports both nationally and internationally. He is recognized for the impact he made, not just on the lives of his Tigerbelles and the world of track, but on our society. The success his program achieved operating in the Deep South during the days of Jim Crow is as much a testament to his strength and determination, and that of his Tigerbelles, as any records they set on the track. Temple first began his TSU coaching career in 1950 and had to fight and scrap for funds to support his team for his entire career, long after the Olympic triumphs. As important as his contributions on the track were, the legacy he created off it was significantly more lasting. Coach Temple was a gentle and humble man but a feared and respected disciplinarian and father figure to his young charges. He was justifiably proud that every single one of his 40 Olympians earned her college diploma; just as he was of his 23 Olympic medalists — 16 of them earning gold medals. Tigerbelles acted like ladies. They had class. They went to class. And they all graduated from college, many with master’s and doctorate degrees.

It was during this process Neff realized there were no original interviews of the Tigerbelles themselves, no one had talked to them at all. So Neff and co-producer Shelley Hay began the process of capturing original footage; because to a great extent, the film was about the women. “We took an innovative approach and filmed [the Tigerbelles], along with Coach Temple, at Swett’s restaurant. Although the footage seems improvised, it was actually a highly planned setup, with each Tigerbelle who ‘extemporaneously stood up’ and spoke, we lit and adjusted for camera and sound,” said Neff. “So the footage was very successful, and was both high-quality and yet had that feeling of being somewhat off the cuff.” The 40-minute film debuted on cable’s CBS Sports Network last winter, was shown at the HollyShorts film festival in Los Angeles last summer, and had public screenings this fall at downtown’s Nashville Public Library and at Vanderbilt University.

not only broke the color barrier of the Olympics but created a legacy of pride, courage, and accomplishment. The women of the Tigerbelles share a genuine bond that stretches far beyond graduation, their track careers, and the death of their beloved coach. “Semper fi — always faithful. To be a Tigerbelle can only be compared to being a Marine” said Neff. “The regimen was equally strenuous, the accomplishments equally spectacular, and the bond equally strong.”

“Once a Tigerbelle, always a Tigerbelle.” - Dr. Nicole Williams-Parks

The most renowned Tigerbelle of them all, Clarksville native Wilma Rudolph, shocked the world at the 1960 Rome Olympics, becoming the first American to win three gold medals in one Olympiad: the 100- and 200-meter dashes, and the all-TSU 4x100-meter relay. Temple died in September 2016 at age 89. His memorial service packed Kean Hall Gymnasium on the TSU campus, with a host of Tigerbelles returning to give testimonials, share laughs and shed tears. Their legacy lives on thanks to “Mr. Temple and the Tigerbelles,” a documentary from award-winning Nashville documentary filmmaker and producer Tom Neff.

“The Tigerbelles would not have achieved what they did without the coach, but without their work and struggle, he could not have achieved his goals, either,” said Neff. “Coach Temple and the Tigerbelles were yin and yang. They were symbiotic. Both could not have existed without the other."

Despite limited funding during filming, Neff was able to pull interviews from The New Hope Academy and Tennessee State archives to round out Coach Temple’s story.

On August 28, 2015, a little over a year before his passing, a statue to memorialize Coach Temple was unveiled outside First Tennessee Park. In the face of the segregated south, Ed Temple and his Tigerbelles

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To read the full interview with Tom Neff, visit www.cfmt.org/stories. A DVD of “Mr. Temple and the Tigerbelles” can be purchased by going to http://tigerbellesmovie.com/purchase-a-dvd/. Or, just send a check for $13.00 to: Tigerbelle DVD, 1512 E. Main St., Murfreesboro, TN 37130 Include with the check: Your Name, Address, City, State, Zip, Email for confirmation. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Ed and Charlie B. Temple Scholarship Fund and the Coach Edward S. Temple Fund for New Hope Academy, both administered by The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

A TOWN BUILT ON GENERATIONS OF CHAMPIONS

Driving through the Town of White Bluff, your eyes are easily attracted to the Salt & Pepper Grill in the downtown strip. On it: a replica of DCXV Industry’s “I Believe in Nashville” mural, but with lettering that reads, “I Believe in White Bluff.”

Hazel Clark Bibb, Richard’s mother, was a founding member of the White Bluff Garden Club and arranged the flowers for the White Bluff Church of Christ’s weekly services, while his grandfather, Zollie H. Bibb, was a community leader as well.

And the folks living in the Town of White Bluff certainly do. So much so, it has become one of the fastest-growing communities in Middle Tennessee, seeing nearly a 50 percent increase since the 2000 census.

With this lineage, it should come as no surprise that Richard has carried on the tradition of aiding in the town’s growth.

But with growth comes challenge. Jeff Martin, the Town of White Bluff ’s project director and eighth-generation public servant, gathered a committee of locals to identify these needs more than a decade ago. He encouraged community members to create an ultimate wish list for expanding the town’s offerings to their residents. The list was long and seemed somewhat out of reach. Dreams for a new library, community center, auditorium, amphitheater, walking trail, senior center, and educational classrooms were documented. The committee set out to work on how to tackle the list. Through the use of good communication and sharing the process of development with town residents, one by one these dreams are becoming a reality – in large part due to the Bibb Family.

While the Bibbs supported the establishment of the Dickson County Health-White Bluff Clinic, refurbished a 1960s-era community center, and converted the old town hall into its first library, additional gifts of land and funds from the family have made it possible for Jeff Martin and his committee, including Mayor Linda Hayes, to move forward on building a state-of-the-art community and education facility. “Our community has a long tradition of stepping up, responding to the needs of and providing opportunities for its people,” says Hayes. “This is another wonderful example of an individual coming forward to provide a gift so that others may benefit.” A recent visit included a tour of the Bibb-White Bluff Civic Center, which has now checked many

of the town’s “wish list” boxes. The facility is busy on a daily basis – Austin Peay State University partners with Dickson County Senior High and Creekwood Senior High to offer a dual-enrollment program. It helps high school students graduate with an associate’s degree and provides them with the chance to receive a bachelor’s degree in just two years following high school. The Civic Center also hosts monthly Bluff House concerts, nonprofit programming, weddings, and senior activities. The building boasts the brand-new Jennie Woodward Library, equipped with computers from funding provided by The Community Foundation, and the Van F. Mills, M.D. Amphitheater, which overlooks the Bibb farm. The center also has recently been awarded a grant from the state Local Parks and Recreation Fund to complete the walking trail, pavilions and outdoor bathrooms. Opportunities like these might not exist if it not for generations of families like the Bibbs believing in the place they’ve called home for so long. “We are in a community that wants to grow, and I feel lucky that we live in a place that people want to be in,” says Martin. “The Bibb Family has been a tremendous asset to the Town of White Bluff.”

“My family has called White Bluff home for many generations,” explains Richard Bibb, founding member for The Community Foundation of Dickson County, an affiliate of CFMT. “White Bluff has been good to the Bibb family and we have tried to serve our community the best we could.” And community champions they have been. Richard’s great-grandfather, Richard Baxter Bibb, built the family’s homeplace and farm many years ago. They have been serving the public ever since. His father, Zollie H. Bibb, Jr., established the White Bluff Volunteer Fire Department and was its first fire chief. He brought public water to town, served as magistrate, and helped organize the White Bluff Industrial Board … all on a volunteer basis.

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BEN JONES CLAY SHOOT CHECK PRESENTATION Tennessee Titans center Ben Jones and his wife, Alex, present checks to area nonprofits dedicated to enriching the lives of at-risk youth. The money was raised during The Ben Jones Celebrity Clay Shoot — a 50-bird course clay shooting tournament hosted at the Nashville Gun Club to benefit The Jones Mission Fund. Among the recipients were: Alive Hospice staff members Ben Love (left), Anna-Gene O’Neal, Judy Orr, Alex and Ben Jones; (From left) Endure Athletics founder Joel Bigelow, Alex and Ben Jones; (From left) Executive Director of Backfield in Motion Todd E. Campbell, Alex and Ben Jones.

GATLINBURG HOME DEDICATION The Appalachian Service Project — a Christian ministry that repairs and replaces homes in Central Appalachia through volunteer work — held a home dedication in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, revealing one of 25 homes (center photo) they plan to build with support from CFMT's Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge & Sevierville Emergency Response Fund as part of their disaster recovery efforts in Sevier County after the 2016 wildfires. Among the attendees were: (photo left) a youth group of Appalachian Service Project volunteers; (photo right) Appalachian Service Project Walter B. Crouch (left) shakes hands with Daryl Brady from the office of Congressman Phil Roe.

RAELYNN’S RIDE ON THE ROW Country breakout star RaeLynn conducts her second annual spin class: RaeLynn’s Ride on the Row. All proceeds from the event benefited The RaeLynn Diabetes Fund here at The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

DELEK GOLF TOURNAMENT The Delek Tournament for Hope is three days of fun and golf benefiting the Delek Fund for Hope, a component fund of The Community Foundation supporting charities within the communities of Delek employees. Participating company teams play for the opportunity to award a grant in their name to one of Delek’s benefiting charities. Among those participating were Apache Industrial (left), which took first place during both flights during the tournament.

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WHIP CRACKIN’ RODEO Partnering with The Community Foundation of Wilson County, an affiliate of CFMT, the ninth annual Whip Crackin’ Rodeo returned to the James E. Ward Agriculture Center earlier this year for two nights of events, including bull riding, bronc riding, barrel racing and more. The event has raised nearly $450,000 for more than 70 local nonprofit organizations in its history. Among the evening’s performers were: 10-year old trick rider Oralee Madison and her horse, Sparkle.

THANKS TO NEW UNIFORMS, FENTRESS COUNTY GIRLS FEEL BETTER ABOUT BEING PART OF A TEAM

In sports, wearing a proper uniform means being a proud member of a team. Going without one means you might as well be a random collection of individuals. That was the dilemma faced by Kevin Fields, coach of the South Fentress Elementary School Lady Buffaloes girls basketball team, as a new season awaited last fall with uniforms nearly as old as the players themselves. "We had two options,” recalled Fields. "One was to wear the most recent uniforms, half of which lost the numbers from the jersey. The other option was to wear uniforms from nearly 10 years ago that showed their age, for sure.” So the coach applied for, and received, a grant from The Sports Fund of CFMT, which made new game uniforms and warm-ups for the 14-member team of sixth-through-eighth graders possible. And so much more. Understand that Fentress County is one of the poorest counties in the state, notes Fields, who had previously spent almost $1,000 of his own money to purchase shoes for some of his most needy student-athletes. He said nearly 90 percent of students at the school, located in tiny Grimsley, Tennessee, qualify for government assistance for lunch and breakfast.

The team is made up of a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds, the coach said, "with a few fortunate enough to live in households with both parents and good jobs. … I also have several players moving back and forth from one parent to another, and who cannot afford a good pair of shoes, much less a few hundred dollars for basketball gear. "Our locker room doubles as a ‘house' for one family that uses the shower and bathroom a few times a week, as they don't have access to one,” Fields continued. "It is quite humbling each day when speaking to the team, and you realize this locker room provides more than a place to strategize about a sport." With part of the grant money, he said, "We repainted the locker room and purchased towels and rugs to make it feel more ‘homey' and less like a school basketball room." And when the new uniforms arrived … “The girls were excited beyond words,” Fields recalled. “They had been ‘fitted' for them, but deep down I don't think they believed [the uniforms] would actually get ordered, so it was somewhat surreal to them when I unveiled them. "They could hardly wait for the first game when they would get to wear them,” he continued. "When I first told the parents my goal of buying

Nike uniforms for the girls, and the costs involved, several laughed, and some were even upset. "It came back to me that some in the community thought I was ridiculous to think that could happen for these girls. I believe the quote was something like, 'He'll never raise that much money.’ "OK, challenge accepted. “I cannot thank The Community Foundation enough for making all this possible,” Fields said. "I know it's just clothing you put on ... But to see the pride these girls had when they put them on, and watching them walk with their head held high in the community and at other schools because they were proud of how they looked, made the simple pieces of stitching very important.” The Lady Buffaloes started fall practice the first of October, had their first game on October 22, and wind up their 2018-2019 season next February. They continue to wear those uniforms, nearly new, with pride.

Learn more at TheSportsFund.org.

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Staff Spotlight

MICHAEL McDANIEL Michael McDaniel joined the staff of The Community Foundation in March 2000. As Senior Nonprof it and Endowment Liaison, he represents The Foundation in the 43 counties of Middle Tennessee and Kentucky it serves. He assists nonprof it organizations in their philanthropic and charitable goals including their infrastructure and endowment building. Prior to The Foundation, he served as Community Arts Development Director for the Tennessee Arts Commission, where he developed and sustained partnerships with other state agencies and nonprof it organizations.

You’re a St. Louis native. Describe how you got to Nashville and how you wound up at The Community Foundation. After spending a good number of years in food services for health care institutions, I had my sights set for Florida, sunny skies, and a warmer environment. I stopped in Nashville to see a few friends, and after 31 years I am still here. What are the most common challenges to nonprofits in the region? It’s keeping up with the revolving doors that nonprofits go through with staff shifting and the changing of the guard. Also challenging is the duplication of programs and services in Nashville and outlying counties. People wanting to start new nonprofits struggle with the need to garner strong donor and financial support and usually come to understand that they are duplicating the efforts of other nonprofits. There is not ever going to be enough money to support the needs of our community which is why we strongly encourage people wanting to start something to use The Foundation’s longtime initiative GivingMatters.com to understand how many others are working on the same issue before they waste precious time and money. I just wish many of those who are wanting to establish a new nonprofit would do more homework and research of what the nonprofit landscape looks like before applying for their 501c3 status. What are the specific challenges of the smaller nonprofits in the outlying counties? In our great outlying counties lie many challenges for nonprofits, such as lack of local resources, technology, and finding money to support their mission. Many are volunteered based — thank goodness for our volunteers — but they need training and resources. Supplying more training and more resources are part of our ongoing work here at The Foundation. Your long friendship with John Mayfield, an Ashland City philanthropist with many funds at The Community Foundation, continues even after his passing in 2017. Could you briefly summarize what you’ve been doing on his behalf ? John Mayfield was one of the donors I met in 2000. We began a good working friendship, and John would come and stay for hours in our offices just to visit. We spent many of those hours together talking about his childhood history and personal life struggles, interspersed with his jokes and talking about life in general. We created a trust in one another. I worked closely with John on defining his legacy and how he wanted his estate to carry out his intentions after he was gone. His plans were thoughtfully and intentionally documented. Unfortunately, while we had many good years with John, we didn’t foresee his passing so soon. I am proud of John’s philanthropic legacy and of the many good things that will come to Cheatham County and many other nonprofits he named in his bequests. God rest this wonderful individual soul and his legacy.

LOCAL WORLD TRAVELER LEAVES IMPACT ON HER COMMUNITY Lillian Ashley lived the life of an adventurer. An intrepid traveler with an insatiable curiosity for life, she toured the world – often solo – for 30 years, visiting Europe, Asia, and Africa. Among her many experiences, she attended an Academy Awards dinner, struck up a friendship with Bing Crosby in Kenya, and forged a long-term friendship with African conservationists and authors George and Joy Adamson of “Born Free” fame. But wherever she roamed, she always returned to her beloved hometown of Manchester, Tennessee. The Lillian Ashley Fund, established in 2002 and administered through The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, continues Lillian’s legacy of worldwide curiosity and learning by giving back to the community that she loved. Grants from this Fund began in 2005 and have now reached more than $1 million in supporting animal welfare, children, the arts, and the environment in Coffee County. Past grant recipients have included the Coffee County Children’s Advocacy Center, the Hands-On Science Center, and Manchester Parks and Recreation, among many others. “It is the bedrock for us,” said Hazel Fannin, co-president of the Coffee County Humane Society, which also benefits from the Fund. Lillian was a lifelong animal lover and often was seen with a bevy of stray cats on her doorstep. The Fund directly benefits the cats she loved by providing nearly half the budget for the Coffee County Humane Society’s low-cost spay and neuter program. In an area where pet overpopulation is a big problem and the public shelter does not admit cats, the 600 spay and neuter operations per year are critical for animal welfare, Fannin said.

You’ve been enmeshed in the visual and fine arts scene since you arrived in Nashville. How has your interest evolved through the years? The arts have always been a passion of mine, starting in St. Louis with all its wonderful galleries and museums as well as its performing arts. But here in Nashville, I had more of an opportunity to work and know many local artists when I got involved with an outdoor festival known as Summer Lights. The festival was the local showcase of Arts, Music, and Dance. It grew over the years to become one of the nation’s top festivals, attracting festival-goers nationally and internationally. I don’t remember many galleries back in the mid-‘80s but became more familiar with many local galleries when Nashville CARES produced the annual Artrageous benefit event. It successfully ran for 25 years and in essence started the first Art Crawl to showcase many of the locally owned art galleries. I don’t think I would have ever known we had that many at the time if not for Artrageous.

Lillian Ashley was born in 1907 and grew up in Manchester, where her family had deep ancestral roots. During her teenage years, she wrote a novella for a class at Coffee County Central High School about an imaginary train trip with two school friends to see the American West.

What’s the favorite part of your job? Loaded question! My favorite part, since being here in the early years of The Foundation, is seeing the growth based on the need in the 40-plus counties we serve. I am humbled that my way into The Foundation was through [Senior Grants Manager] Laundrea Lewis, who told me about an opening at The Foundation in early 2000. I had known about The Foundation through my early work with the Tennessee Arts Commission. I love working with the many segments that make up the nonprofit world. These nonprofits work so hard and shed an unbelievable amount of blood, sweat, and tears to serve their communities well. I feel that here at The Community Foundation, we are able to offer them guidance, growth, and grant opportunities.

Unknown to her at the time, Lillian would eventually have the pleasure of going West, and much, much farther.

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In the tale, they visit the docks of New Orleans, the Alamo in San Antonio, Douglas Fairbanks filming the 1922 movie “Robin Hood” on-location in Hollywood, and the geysers of Yellowstone National Park. The young women find friendship and romance along the way. “It has been my desire for many years to take the trip that I have tried to write about,” Lillian wrote in careful cursive script in the novella’s prologue, “and someday I hope I have the pleasure of doing so.”

First came graduation from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville with a degree in elementary education, earning a teaching certificate. She never taught a day of school. Instead, she promptly moved to Southern California. It was the 1930s, and she had a front-row seat to the Golden Age of Hollywood, even attending an Academy Awards dinner. Star-struck, she had a lifelong love of the performing arts.

When she returned years later to Manchester, she began working as an administrative staffer at a newly opened U.S. Air Force flight simulation test site, Arnold Engineering Development Center. She remained unmarried and worked there until retirement. Meanwhile, Lillian Ashley took at least two vacation trips a year for 30 consecutive years. “She was not the least bit intimidated to take off on these trips by herself and said, ‘I’m going to Scotland,’ and off she went,” said Mack Majors, a younger cousin of Lillian’s. “She was very independent. Independent women weren’t the norm in her time.” During her travels, a friend introduced her to conservationists George and Joy Adamson in Kenya. The couple was famous for chronicling the successful adoption and release into the wild of lion cub Elsa in the book “Born Free,” later a popular 1966 movie and Academy Award-winning song of the same name. Lillian visited the preserve in Africa several times, supported the couple’s efforts, and had a close friendship with Joy Adamson in particular.

At home, Lillian cherished her routines and the bonds formed in small-town life. She walked each day to the First National Bank in downtown Manchester to read The Wall Street Journal, then cut through a flower shop parking lot to chat with the florists. Mack Majors remembers riding horses with Lillian by a river near her farm outside of Manchester, during which she knowledgeably explained the history of the area and the Native Americans who once lived there. Chip Hickerson, another young cousin of Lillian’s, said she was a strong support person for him and his sister after the death of their father. Dispensing good advice without judgment, she was that relative he could turn to in a bind. And as he grew older and became a financial advisor, he remained impressed with her business acumen. “She always had that spark,” said Nancy Gilliam, whose parents were friends with Lillian. “She enjoyed her life. I’m sure of that.” Much of that enjoyment came from her travels. “She said it never satisfied her curiosity,” said Majors of his cousin’s travels. “She had to take one more trip to satisfy her curiosity.” Lillian Ashley passed away on July 21, 2001. She was 94 years old. “I think there is nothing as educational to a boy or girl as traveling. A person can see the works of God and Man, and meet up with a lot of experiences.” - “The Dreamer’s Journey,” Lillian Ashley’s high school novella.

SET UP A CHARITABLE FUND Make a Difference Establishing a fund with The Community Foundation is a simple, personalized process, and supports the broadest range of charitable needs. So whatever your goal, let us help you achieve it. To learn how you can address the causes closest to your heart by creating a fund, please visit CFMT.org/giving-and-investing or call us at 615-321-4939.

Board Spotlight

SUSAN SIMONS Susan Simons is an artist and has been an active volunteer for numerous Nashville-area nonprofits for many years. She has been on The Community Foundation’s Board of Directors since 2005 and later the Board of Trustees. She took over as Chair of the board in August 2018. A graduate of Wellesley College with a degree in economics, she served under Gov. Lamar Alexander as Commissioner of the State of Tennessee’s Department of General Services from 1983-86.

Tell us how you first became involved with The Community Foundation. I became involved when I was chairing the Alive Hospice board. Alive needed to start an endowment, so I contacted Ellen [Lehman]. That was when The Foundation was in its early days. Later on, Betty Brown and Bob Zelle talked with me about going on the board of CFMT. I have been on the board or serving as a trustee ever since. You have served on a number of nonprofit boards through the years. Your father was noted for his philanthropy as well as for heading what became Genesco, Inc. in Nashville. What did you learn about philanthropy from him? My father, Ben Willingham, was a CEO at Genesco who thought that it was important to be involved in the community. He was on the board of United Way and chaired the annual campaign. I also remember him being involved at West End United Methodist Church. There is a small plaque there thanking him for his fundraising efforts on behalf of the church. I was happy to join the board of United Way when I was asked. That's where I became involved with what was to become the Center for Nonprofit Management. Since graduating from college and marrying Luke, I have always been involved with nonprofit projects, from the League of Women Voters, Junior League, the Action Auction for WNPT, the Swan Ball for Cheekwood, Alive Hospice, and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, among others. Then there was Lamar Alexander. I have worked for him in various capacities since 1977. Clearly, I think it's important to be involved in your community. You and your husband, Luke, were integral to the planning, funding and launch of NowPlayingNashville.com at The Foundation 11 years ago. How do you remember that experience? Luke and I were part of a group that was asked to figure out how to help the performing arts organizations get more people attending their shows: affectionately known as "more butts in seats." We considered raising a marketing fund, but Denise Alper had been doing research on best practices elsewhere and discovered the prototype for NowPlayingNashville.com in California. We adopted it with some changes. We worked with Judy and Joe Barker and Kitty Moon Emery and, of course, Ellen. It was fun and has accomplished what we set out to do: that is, tell people what to do and where to go. You’re an accomplished artist but took up painting only later in life. Describe how that came about. I took up painting after realizing that the many photos I took while traveling did not help me remember the trips. First, I began sketching and drawing. I took classes from Charles Brindley, who encouraged me to paint and taught me a lot about the process. Luke gave me lessons with an artist whose work we had begun to collect, and I traveled to study with her. She was a very good teacher, and we had fun together. What do you and Luke like to do in your leisure time? Luke and I have traveled to many countries and continents. Luke is a member of the Society of International Business Fellows. We have traveled with this group extensively. Closer to home, whenever we get a chance we go to Monteagle to our house at Clifftops, that's where our family likes to gather. What do you hope to accomplish during your two-year term as Chair? As board Chair, I want to engage our extraordinary board members to use their collective insight and wisdom to determine the most pressing problems our community faces and figure out the best way for The Community Foundation to act as a catalyst to help solve these issues. I am excited about working with the board and the staff for the next couple of years.

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A GOOD FOUNDATION THE NEWSLETTER OF THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE

Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Nashville, TN Permit No. 2065

The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee 3833 Cleghorn Avenue | Nashville, Tennessee 37215 615-321-4939 | 888-540-5200 | cfmt.org

OFFICERS Susan W. Simons, Chairman Jana J. Davis, Secretary Decosta E. Jenkins, Treasurer Ellen E. Lehman, President BOARD OF DIRECTORS Will Alexander Lyle Beasley Jamie Cheek Waverly D. Crenshaw, Jr. Beth DeBauche Shari Dennis Mark Emkes Rod Essig Ben G. Freeland Julie Frist Herb Fritch Max Goldberg Jose D. Gonzalez Ray Guzman Mark Gwyn Robert S. Lipman Will Morrow Larry Papel Wayne Smith Paul Stumb Steve Underwood Stephaine H. Walker Jay Williams Alan Young

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Judy Liff Barker Jack O. Bovender, Jr. Charles W. Cook, Jr. Ronald L. Corbin Richard J. Eskind Farzin Ferdowsi John D. Ferguson Stephen F. Flatt Thomas F. Frist, Jr. Alberto R. Gonzales Joel C. Gordon Kerry Graham James S. Gulmi Carl T. Haley Aubrey B. Harwell, Jr. Carol O. Hudler Catherine Jackson William C. Koch, Jr. Kevin P. Lavender Ralph W. Mosley Donna D. Nicely Ben R. Rechter Deborah Taylor Tate Charles A. Trost Deborah F. Turner Jack B. Turner Betsy Walkup David Williams, II Jerry B. Williams

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Call Jim to find out how American Funds IRA distributions work now that I'm 70

(don't forget to ask about the options o.) for giving to chairty ment ioned on radi

Take Jim's recommendation to call and talk CFMTto them about what I could do with my IRA $ since we don't need it just yet. Fill in and sign the IRA paperwork to make distrubution to CFMT for fund. Don't forget to include tax info!!!

Visit The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee online at www.CFMT.org.