I recently took photos for “Jazzin’ for Respite”. It’s an annual fund raising event for Tennessee Respite Coalition. This year it was held atop The Rythmn condos in Nashville. Hundreds of supporter and Jazz lovers were on hand to participate in  silent and live auctions and live Jazz. The proceeds from the auction went to The Tennessee Respite Coalition. It was great seeing my former Managing Editor Gregg Parker. He lives and works in San Diego now. I also talked to Tod Fetherling, he is the President of the Nashville Technology Council. I have photographed him many times over the years…f0r articles in the NBJ about numerous companies he has started and sold. The Rythmn was the perfect venue for the event. It was a warm Spring night with the best view of downtown Nashville’s evening skyline.

photos © 2009 Todd Stringer

I recently attended… Nashville Business Journal’s 40 under 40 event held at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel, downtown. It was an event that honors NBJ’s top picks for Middle Tennessee’s bright young business professionals.

Honorees normally are announced one by one and they come to the stage as an interesting bio is read about them. They make their way across stage to meet the publisher Kate Herman, receive a keepsake and have their photo taken (that was always my part).

This year was different. Groups were called to the stage and as they sat in their “hot seats” random bios were read and the crowd tried to guess which 40 under 40 recipient was being described. I liked it, it was kind of like a game show. I have to hand it to my old crew at NBJ for coming up with something else interesting fresh.

I had great conversations at my table during lunch. I sat with a couple guys from Avenue Bank. David Dahlroos, Assitant VP and Relationship Manager and Andy Moats, Senior VP Credit Underwriting Manager. I had taken their photos before when I was with NBJ. It was nice to catch up with them. All in all it was a great event.

Marcela and Esteban Gomez © 2009 Todd Stringer

This is my dear fiend Marcela Gomez, owner of Hispanic Marketing Group with her son. Saturday May 23rd was Esteban’s birthday and the weekend before that he graduated high school. He will be attending NYU film school in the fall. Marcela has raised a fine young man. Also in attendance at the festivities was former co-worker Brian Forrester, of the Shopping Center Group and Tatia Cummings of Reliant Bank.

© 2009 Todd Stringer

I was privileged to attend and photograph Community Nashville’s 38th Annual Human Relations Awards Dinner. It was held recently at the Loews Vanderbilt Plaza Hotel in Nashville’s midtown. The purpose of the dinner was to honor Inez Crutchfield, J.D. Elliot and Michael Schmerling for their lifetime of service to Nashville and its surrounding communities. I was lucky enough to run into a few people I have photographed over the years like; Ellen Lehman of The Community Foundation, Art Rebrovick of NMG Advisers and Frederick Strobel of The Burgundy Group. To find out more about Community Nashville, Click the photo above to go to their website.

© 2009 Todd Stringer

I recently photographed the festivities at the Tennessee Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Cinco De Mayo celebration. It was held at the Bound’ry in Nashville’s Midtown. Reliant Bank sponsored the event. Nearly 250 members and guests enjoyed  speed networking sessions and hispanic trivia. I was fortunate to catch up with few great people…Marion Ingram, Tatia Cummings and DeVan Ard of Reliant Bank, Marcela Gomez, of Hispanic Marketing Group and Tera Vasquez of Guy Brown Products. Look for THCC’c next big event in September this year.

Click any of the photos above to check out the Chambers website.

On Friday April 24, 2009 I attended the Nashville Business Journal’s “Best in Business Award luncheon at the Double Tree Hotel in downtown Nashville. It was the first time being an event goer at an NBJ event. For the last ten years of my career I have been workin’ them .

During the networking portion of the event…I networked! as an independent business person. I shook hands, passed out business cards. I did that as an NBJ staffer mind you, but this time it felt different. I talked to some of my favorite people; Sarae Janes Hitchcock of Pinnacle Financial Partners, Big George Armistead, Susan Sizemore of Bridgestone Americas and Jerry Bostelman of VACO, among others.

It’s a weird feeling to describe, watching the event from an assigned table on the floor and not roaming the room looking for photo ops. All in all, I had a nice, productive time. It was a great event.  I met some new people and caught up with most of my former co-workers. I would encourage anyone to attended a Business Journal event. It’s a great way to get out and promote your business and to meet some very smart businesspeople.

© 2009 Todd Stringer

On a trip to The Hunters Custom Automotive expo, I had hoped to see at least one of my favorite cars…The Chevrolet Bel Air. Not only was the typical two-towned baby blue and white Bel Air there, but a black one, Midnight blue, candy apple red, a yellow one… there had to be at least 10 mint condition of my fave chevys on display. Here is a sampling of what I saw.

© 2007 Todd Stringer

It was a pleasure to photograph Anastasia and Janet. I had taken their photo before, individually, I mean. I had a great time. The two women were true friends, it was a lot of fun to be in their space, to watch them, witness their friendship. The shoot was for about an hour at the home of Tony and Anastasia Brown. After a few hundred images I was off to another shoot. It had seemed like I was in the company of these two great ladies for only seconds…

©2009 Todd Stringer, Junior League members, Kathryn Mahoney, Amy Kodali and Christine Ward.

click on the image to learn more about Junior League of Nashville

Recently I had the privilege of shooting an event for the Junior League of Tennessee. It was a reception at the offices of Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, a Nashville law firm. The reception honored  Tennessee’s political leaders, thanking them for hosting the members of the Junior League of Tennessee for one day on Capital Hill in Nashville.

 The event was organized by  The Junior Leagues of Tennessee Advocacy and Public Awareness Committee. T.A.P.A. is a state level coalition formed and owned by the Junior Leagues of Tennessee to facilitate networking, coordinate information and research, promote awareness, and advocate on issues of shared interest .

Over 6,000 women across the state are committed to promoting voluntarism, developing women’s potential, and improving their communities through effective action and leadership of trained volunteers.  We provide volunteers and tens of millions of dollars in assistance and resources to our communities.

© 2006 Todd Stringer

After 21 years as a professional photojournalist, I have semi-retired. I recently left the Nashville Business Journal, I was their staff photographer for more than 10 years. My new career path is Entrepreneur and stay-at-home dad. I will be focusing on raising my son Jackson who was born december 18, 2008, along with strengthening my freelance photography business. Please feel free to contact me if I can be of service to you or just to reconnect. I’ll buy you a cup of coffee! I hope to talk to you soon.

Todd