| Mrs. Murfreesboro: ‘An Elegant Evening’ lives up to its title in all respects |
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By: JEANNE BRAGG, Post Columnist
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Posted: Sunday, November 9, 2008 8:10 am
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We were fortunate enough to attend An Elegant Evening, the inaugural celebration at the new Convention Center in the Embassy Suites Hotel.
Actually, the event was honoring the mayors’ wives of Rutherford County as well as John Hood, longtime State Representative who is retiring. So I was there as a humble honoree.
The event was sponsored by Books from Birth and chaired by Stephanie Brackman and Jack Stevens. Many members of their hard-working crew were board members of the Books from Birth committee. Many, many hours were spent by each committee member to host the party and get the word for Books from Birth out there. And did it all pay off! The event was, in two words, very elegant.
A 4-foot-tall ice sculpture serving as a flower vase greeted partygoers as they entered the conference center. Two other elegant sculptures graced the doors that opened into the huge banquet room.
The banquet room, a kind of cayenne color, was dimly lit and sparkled with candlelight. Ordinary chairs were covered in white spandex, (which looked like taffeta), giving the ballroom a very dressed up look. The centerpieces were books that were given to Books from Birth recipients.
More than 500 guests were treated to music during dinner from the Tennessee Valley Winds and long gowns and handsome tuxedos were the dress code for the night.
John Q. Hammond, owner of the conference center and the man who made it all happen was not in attendance due to health issues, but was represented by Bill Mead who read interesting letters written by Hammond to his staff dated two years ago. The letters provided very interesting foresight on Hammond’s part.
The memos read were to employees forecasting a serious recession in the next few years. He recommended stopping work on many of his projects. But because he believed so much in the future of Murfreesboro, he proceeded with plans for the Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center in spite of that. He predicted that the recession would last a while and be very real; but also wrote of confidence that the American economy would bounce back and recover.
Mr. Hammond didn’t let a little thing like a recession keep him for investing in the future of our city. Good news, indeed, for all of us.
The Embassy Suites Hotel itself is beautiful. One friend said if it had gaming tables she would have felt like she was in a casino. The guest rooms – all rooms – are beautifully appointed and the staff is at full attention at all times.
I wondered beforehand about the logistics of serving food to more than 500 people at one time; the menu was very ambitious: lobster bisque en croute crowned with puff pastry; Autumn Fire organic salad wrapped with cucumber ribbons; gorgonzola crusted filet mignon served with pinor noir sauce accompanied by baby Brussels sprouts and asparagus bundles and a Belgian dark chocolate mousse garnished with fresh raspberry coulis.
I can truthfully report that the food was delicious. The bisque was served piping hot, and everyone I spoke to said that they had at least three to five big pieces of lobster meat in the bottom of their bowls.
The dressings for the salad were wonderful, the steak cooked perfectly and the reduction sauce “just right.” And the desserts – oh, my! In addition to the “to die for” mousse, a huge platter of assorted pastries and candies was presented. Each one looked (and tasted!) better than the last.
The presentations of the mayors’ wives and John Hood were simulcast on huge screens and I noticed there was a TelePrompTer for the speakers. The sound system worked flawlessly, and if there were any glitches, they weren’t noticed by this partygoer.
Dinner was followed by dancing to the Music of The 14K Gold Band, and I truly think a good time was had by all.
Hats off to Becky Vealey and her competent crew of the Embassy Suites, to the event committee for the Elegant Evening and to those who sponsored this elegant event and everyone to anyone else who had a hand in it.
If you have a chance to visit the Embassy Suites or attend a function there, I hope you’re as thrilled with your experience as we were. And as my husband Tommy says: “We’re not in Kansas any more.”
‘Til next week.
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