BRISTOL, Tenn./Va. -- The Bristol Tennessee/Virginia Chamber of Commerce highlighted the accomplishments of 2007 at the Chamber's 98th Annual Awards Celebration, on Jan. 16 at the Holiday Inn and Suites, in Bristol, Va.
The Bristol Chamber's annual Lifetime Achievement Award went to Sullivan Countian Doyle Lawson. "With dozens of music CDs, music videos, and DVDs ranging from bluegrass to gospel, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver have achieved great success. Doyle has been called 'One of the prime architects of modern bluegrass,' while his group's golden harmonies can be heard on more gospel albums than bluegrass," said a spokesman. The IBMA has awarded Doyle and the band the Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year award four of the last five years.
The Convention and Visitor's Bureau 2007 Service Award was presented to Leah Ross. During the past year, Ross has given tremendous amounts of time to the Bristol CVB in working to promote the Twin-Cities to potential visitors. She has served as a CVB Board member, assisted in hosting bus tours, national travel writer tours, media tours, and is an avid proponent of downtown Bristol. Ross is a supporter of various types of music and live music venues -- old time, country, bluegrass, and Americana; she is a passionate tourism leader working to preserve and promote Bristol's rich music heritage. Rhythm & Roots, held the third weekend in September each year, is an event known world-wide, synonymous.
