T.J. Martell Gala Raises $400,000 For Cancer Research

Distinguished honorees and a host of dignitaries, guests and artists gathered at Nashville’s Loew’s Vanderbilt Plaza hotel on Wednesday (3/25), for the TJ Martell Foundation’s inaugural Honors Gala. The event raised over $400,000 to benefit cancer, leukemia and AIDS research. Honorees for the evening included The Honorable Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States; Orrin Ingram, President and CEO of Ingram Industries; Frances Preston, former President and CEO of BMI; and Dr. Harold L. Moses, MD, Director Emeritus of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center and director of the Frances Williams Preston Laboratories. Among the presenters were Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen and Nashville Mayor Karl Dean. The evening also included performances and appearances by multiple award-winning artists Lee Ann Womack, Michael Bolton, Boyz II Men, Caitlin and Will, and Academy Award-winning actor Tommy Lee Jones.

“The Honors Gala gave the Martell Foundation in Nashville the opportunity to reach out to new people and deliver our message of the important cancer research that we fund at the Frances Williams Preston Labs at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center,” said Tony Conway, President and CEO of Buddy Lee Attractions and President of the T.J. Martell Foundation – Nashville Division Board of Directors. “We are proud to have launched such a wonderful event by honoring four incredible individuals who have played such significant roles in our community and helped raise major funds for TJ Martell Foundation that will be directly used for cancer research.”

Front Row Left to right: Peter C. Quinn (CEO of the T.J. Martell Foundation), C. Wright Pinson (Associate Vice Chancellor of Clinical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer of the Vanderbilt Medical Center and Co-Chairman of the Honors Gala), The Honorable Al Gore (Former Vice President of the United States), Frances Williams Preston (Former President and CEO of BMI and national President of the T.J. Martell Foundation), Michael Bolton (Entertainer), Dr. Harold L. Moses (Director Emeritus of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center and Director of the Frances Williams Preston Laboratories at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center) and Tony Martell (Chairman and Founder of the T.J. Martell Foundation)

Second Row Left to Right
Orrin H. Ingram (President and CEO of Ingram Industries Inc. and Chairman of Ingram Barge Company) and Brian Philips (President of CMT and Co-Chairman of the Honors Gala)

Photo Credit:  Alan Mayor