Huntsville, Ala – The Huntsville Museum of Art, Voices of Our Times series sponsors PNC, Davidson Technologies and Colonial Printing, and Honorary Chairs Mayor Tommy Battle and John Stallworth will welcome to Huntsville Abraham D. Madkour and Michael Smith, two leading experts on the business of college football, Thursday, November 12, at 7 p.m. Their presentation will kick off the museum’s 2015-16 Voices of Our Times three-part series, now in its fourth year.
With more than 40 years of combined experience, Editor-in-Chief Abraham Madkour and Senior Writer Michael Smith, both of Sports Business Journal, will share their insights into the major challenges facing conference commissioners, school presidents, athletic directors, and coaches. They’ll also discuss the second year of the College Football Playoff, the impact of ESPN on the SEC, and the SEC leadership transition.
“After living in the South and specifically in Huntsville for the past four years, I have witnessed each fall the football mania that sweeps the nation, but particularly this part of the country,” said Christopher J. Madkour, Museum Executive Director. “I’m delighted to bring my brother Abraham Madkour and Michael Smith to share their expertise and inside stories on the people, personalities, and trends behind one of the South’s and America’s most popular sports.”
Tickets to the event are $25 for Museum members, $40 for non-members, and $25 for students. Museum board member Virginia Rice will host a reception following the presentation in the Museum’s Loretta Spencer Hall. Voices kicks off with “The Big Business of College Football.”
On Saturday, January 23, 2016, at 7 p.m. the Museum will welcome back New York Times National Security Correspondent and bestselling author David E. Sanger. Sanger spoke to a large Museum crowd in January 2015. Sanger will discuss the country’s standing in the world as the election year opens. He’ll also explore the philosophies of the candidates still in the presidential race and the successes and failures of the Obama/Kerry foreign policy during his presentation American Power and the American Election. A reception will follow. A 30-year veteran of The New York Times and a regular guest on CBS’ Face the Nation, Sanger has written front-page analyses from both the White House and around the globe, exposing and explaining the complex events of our time. He has been a member of two Pulitzer Prize-winning teams and has been awarded numerous honors for national security and foreign policy coverage.
Ticket prices for Sanger’s talk, which will also be held in Loretta Spencer Hall, are $30 for Museum members and $50 for non-members. Advance tickets for all Voices events may be purchased by calling 256-535-4350 ext. 208 or online at www.hsvmuseum.org.
Committee Chair Leslie Crosby and her committee members will welcome the final presenter in the series on Thursday, June 9, at 11:30 a.m. — interior designer Bunny Williams. “Bunny Williams is one of the leading interior designers working today,” Madkour said. “She has a modern vision, a sense of history, and the confidence to take the unexpected path. Attendees at her presentation will appreciate her classic, but never predictable, style and expertise.”
Bunny Williams Inc., the interior design arm of her companies, was formed in 1988. Her growing home furnishings collection was founded in 2008. For 25 years, with her husband, antiques dealer John Rosselli, Williams ran and owned Treillage Ltd., a unique decorative home and garden shop. Her most recent book, On Garden Style, offers Williams’ inspiring tips on garden design. Williams was born in Charlottesville, Virginia. Following her program in Loretta Spencer Hall, she will sign her books. Tickets for the luncheon, talk, and book signing are $100 for Museum members and $125 for non-members. Museum members may take advantage of advance ticket sales beginning March 1. Tickets will go on sale April 1 to the public.
Local sponsors for Madkour and Smith include Jana and Dane Block and Family, Charlie and Wayne Bonner, The Burlison Family – In Memory of Pat E. Burlison, Donny’s Diamond Gallery (Donny Maleknia and Fatemeh Nazarieh), Carole and Buddy Jones, Shelbie King, Betsy and Peter Lowe, Moss Lumber Industries, Melanie and Rhett Murray, Renasant Bank, Dr. and Mrs. Bradley S. Rice, SEA Wire and Cable, Inc., and Jerry Ann and John Wynn. Sanger sponsors include Kathleen and Philip Dotts, the Guild Lecture Endowment, the Parker Griffith Family Foundation, Yolanda and Scott McLain, and Loretta Spencer. Sponsors for Williams are MM Interiors, Inc. – Mary Margaret Johnson, ASID, Leslie Crosby (event committee chair), Xan Curran, Sarah Gessler, Patsy Haws, Shelbie King, Betsy Lowe, and Anne Pollard.
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