Fun, Festive “Heart & Soul” Benefit to Heighten Awareness of Women and Heart Disease
Event to feature headliner performance by nationally acclaimed, GMA Dove Award-nominated jazz trumpeter Rod McGaha
It’s one of Nashville’s hottest, most fun, most anticipated winter parties. But behind the fun and festivities of the “Heart & Soul” benefit, there’s a very worthy cause—eliminating heart disease. This year’s focus will be on preventing heart disease in women—particularly those aged 30-55—the fastest-growing group likely to succumb to the disease. Yasmine Ali, MD, one of Nashville’s rare preventive cardiologists, is helping get the word out in The Tennessean with a column entitled, “A Matter of the Heart: What Women MUST Know.”
Sponsored by the Nashville Jazz Workshop, Gary Force Acura, Lightning 100/Team Green, the Nashville Scene, and other leading Nashville organizations, the 8th annual “Heart & Soul” benefit for the American Heart Association will be held on Saturday, February 18, 2012 at The Lofts at Werthan Mills, located at 1400 Rosa L. Parks Boulevard in Germantown (Nashville), beginning at 7 p.m.
Tickets are $50 in advance, available at NashvilleHeartandSoul.com. Guests also have the option of enjoying a V.I.P experience— for a minimum $100 donation in advance and limited to 100 people—sponsored by the Nashville Jazz Workshop. This exclusive experience allows access to three designer lofts, in which attendees will enjoy some of the finest of Nashville jazz, including a live headliner performance by nationally acclaimed, GMA Dove Award-nominated jazz trumpeter Rod McGaha. (See RodMcGaha.com.) Mr. McGaha will be accompanied on piano by Lori Mechem, along with her husband, Roger Spenser, both of the Nashville Jazz Workshop (NashvilleJazz.org). Also performing in the V.I.P. lofts will be opener Zac Forbes. Each of the V.I.P lofts will feature a unique, distinctive culinary experience.
The V.I.P lofts will be open from 7 to 10 p.m. Dinners in these lofts will be catered by
Giandi’s, wines provided by Grace’s Plaza Wine, champagne provided by Maryland Farms Wine & Spirits, and dessert provided by Dulce Desserts.
All attendees of this year’s event—both the V.I.P and Classic Red Heart general admission participants—will enjoy self-guided tours of the historic Lofts at Werthan Mills building—a Nashville treasure originally constructed in 1871—whose unique lofts feature 20-foot-high ceilings, restored original maple and oak hardwood floors, and exposed brick interior walls.
All attendees also will enjoy a delectable variety of wine coordinated by Grace’s Plaza Wine & Spirits of Green Hills, and feast on fantastic hors d’oeuvres supplied by Alexander Catering . The lofts will feature live music from some of Nashville’s finest musicians, and will be accented with one-of-a-kind floral arrangements donated by OSHI. As a keepsake, all participants will receive a 2012 Heart & Soul souvenir wine glass (red for general attendees, silver for V.I.P).
Art will become part of the Heart & Soul Benefit this year, with exceptional contributions from Emily Little and Taylor Hardaway. Another tremendous addition will be art showcased by Alfred Miller Design. (alfredwilliams.com/products/mfct_hermanmiller.html).
Last year’s “Heart & Soul” benefit was one of the largest, most successful fundraising events for the American Heart Association in Middle Tennessee.
The event has grown from modest beginnings. ”Heart & Soul started eight years ago in the least extraordinary of ways,” says Kate Hegge, Organizational Effectiveness Consultant at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and founder of Heart & Soul. “It began in 2004 with about 20 people sharing a low-key evening of wine and home-cooked food at one of my friend’s houses, and now—amazingly—has evolved into nearly 500 life-loving Nashvillians sampling wines, live music, and fantastic Lofts at Werthan Mills. Cardiovascular disease has become a very personal issue for me, and has touched my family and friends in dramatic ways, taking us through open-heart surgery, stent placement, and stroke. That’s why, eight years ago, I started this annual benefit and why we continue to present it each year. We want to help the American Heart Association battle something so preventable and so treatable—a disease that has no right to be the #1 killer of Nashvillians and Americans.”
About The American Heart Association
Since 1949, the American Heart Association has invested more than $3.3 billion in heart disease and stroke research. It is second only to the federal government as a source of non-industry funding for cardiovascular and stroke research. The American Heart Association has funded major breakthroughs such as the first artificial heart valve, techniques and standards for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), implantable pacemakers, treatment for infant respiratory distress syndrome, cholesterol inhibitors, and microsurgery and drug-coated stents. Association-funded research has resulted in Nobel Prizes for seven researchers, most recently in 2011. To learn more, please visit www.heart.org. To find your own heart health score and ways to improve it, visit www.mylifecheck.org.
