Veteran Nashville photojournalist Larry Flowers to give keynote speech at Journeys' Annual Celebration

Apr 21, 2016 at 04:01 pm by bryan


Veteran Nashville television reporter Larry Flowers will be the keynote speaker at an April 28 event in Murfreesboro aimed at raising money for a local nonprofit that supports people with disabilities.

Flowers, currently a photojournalist for WKRN News Channel 2 in Nashville, will speak on the volunteer spirit he's witnessed during his years covering Rutherford County at Journeys in Community Living's 2016 Annual Celebration & Silent Auction. The event is scheduled to be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel on Old Fort Parkway. Tickets are $35 each and available at www.journeystn.org or at the door on the evening of the event.

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Journeys in Community Living currently serves about 110 people with disabilities. Its programs aid individuals with disabilities as they obtain jobs; rent, own and maintain their own homes; volunteer in the community; participate in community activities; and take care of their health through regular medical care.

Flowers said he is honored and humbled to be included in this year's event.

"Any time I have the opportunity to give my time to a worthy organization like Journeys in Community Living, I am happy to do it," Flowers said. "Volunteering is such a rewarding thing. Everyone can do it and all it costs is a little time."

Flowers will not be the only personality on stage this year, however, as Kelli Beam with the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce has once again agreed to Emcee Journeys' big event. Beam, who has a daughter with a disability, has emceed the event every year since its inception.

"We are grateful to have Kelli emceeing our event again this year," said Mark Bell, development coordinator for Journeys. "Her personal connection to our cause makes her involvement all the more special."

Rutherford County Mayor Ernest Burgess will also be present to hand out Journeys' 2016 Robert Rose Community Service Award, which is earned each year by a community volunteer who has gone above and beyond to support the work of Journeys in Community Living and the community at large.

Other awards of the night include an individual achievement award, which is earned by a person served by Journeys who has made considerable progress towards their own independence over the past year; as well as staff achievement awards; a health care leadership award, given to a local medical professional who has gone above and beyond to support the health of individuals served by Journeys; and a business leadership award, which honors a local business that has gone the extra mile to help people with disabilities.

Journeys will host a silent auction in the lobby and Veteran's Room of the DoubleTree Hotel prior to the start of the awards ceremony and dinner at 7 p.m. Bell said more than 60 business and individuals have donated items with a total combined retail value of almost $10,000 to this year's event. The event is being sponsored by National Healthcare Corporation, Tire World, First Vision Bank, Middle Tennessee Reprographics, State Farm Insurance Agent Andy Womack, Gordon Images, WKRN News Channel 2 and The Daily News Journal, along with several private sponsors.

All proceeds from the night's events will be used to aid the organization's mission of supporting adults with intellectual disabilities in choosing and realizing their visions of where and how they want to live, work and socialize.

If you have any questions about the event or Journeys in Community Living, call Bell at 615-890-4389, ext. 45. More information about the organization can be obtained online at www.journeystn.org. Journeys' maintains a Giving Matters profile online at http://givingmatters.guidestar.org/profile/1937/journeys-community-living.aspx that contains a full accounting of the organization's finances, governance and programs.

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