Monday, Jan 22, 2007
As president of the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance, I would like to congratulate our executive director, Bill Hartley, for recognition given to him by the Bristol Chamber of Commerce. At the Chamber's 97th annual awards luncheon, he was honored with the Convention & Visitors Bureau Service Award.
It pleases me to see the business leadership within our community reward him for his vision and willingness to work with others to create positive impact for our region.
Since joining the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance in 2002, Bill has worked tirelessly to seek partnerships with others to promote our region's unique qualities. He has a great appreciation and understanding of our history, our presence and the significance of our future.
It is also important to acknowledge the Bristol Chamber of Commerce for its good business judgment in understanding what our region's rich cultural heritage provides economically. Our cultural heritage is a quality-of-life issue and we live it every day. It also offers an experience to others to understand part of the American musical history, and the people and culture that continue to make it happen.
As a community, please join us as we continue our campaign to create and develop the Birthplace of Country Music Cultural Heritage Center in downtown Bristol.
The Birthplace of Country Music Alliance is a non-profit organization dedicated to telling the story of the living musical heritage of the Appalachian Mountains and the cultural traditions that sustain it. The BCMA is funded in part by grants from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the Tennessee Arts Commission. For more information, call (276) 645-0111 or visit online at www.birthplaceofcountrymusic.org
Fred McClellan
Abingdon, Va.
