The Franklin Wine Festival, presented by Cool Springs Wines & Spirits and supported by Nissan to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters is proud to announce the 2018 Royal Court for the King and Queen of the Vines philanthropic competition. Candidates pledge to raise funds for mentoring in Middle Tennessee once their nomination is knighted, and each dollar raised in their fundraising period will count as one “vote.” This is the eighth year that a group of philanthropic men and women have gotten together to compete against each other for a glittery crown! To date, this fun effort has raised just under $130,000 for the children of Big Brothers Big Sisters – that’s a lot of grapes!
This year’s court includes King of the Vines nominees include Jordan Allender, Tim Milejczak, and Jason Wike. Queen of the Vines nominees are Barbara Ann Jeter, Casey Prins, and Christina Terrell.
Allender is a mortgage professional with First Community Mortgage who has lived in Nashville for more than 26 years; Milejczak is a sales professional with Ace Machine and Metal Fabrication in Nashville; and Wike is a professional pilot with Southwest Airlines.
Jeter is a Realtor with Parks Realty and Partners in Building; Prins is a medical professional with CareRite Centers and lives in the Germantown area of Nashville; and Terrell is an attorney with Merritt, Webb, Wilson & Caruso, PLLC and lives in Franklin.
“Locally, The Big Brothers Big Sisters program has proven to positively impact children in Middle Tennessee and empower them to succeed through support and mentorship. The monies raised by the King and Queen of the Vines have a direct impact in the lives of children in our own community. It takes $1,500 to match a child with a mentor, and it takes just one mentor to change a child’s life,” commented Wendy Dyes, 2018 King and Queen of the Vines Committee Chair for the Franklin Wine Festival.
Each respective King and Queen will be crowned during a live ceremony at the Franklin Wine Festival on Friday,October 12, 2018, at the Factory at Franklin.
“Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee is honored to partner with young professionals who are actively fundraising and advocating for our program through our King and Queen of the Vines effort,” commented Melissa Hudson-Gant, CEO for Big Brothers Big Sisters. “In addition to these outstanding individuals, more than 250 volunteers help execute a beautiful evening of food, wine, and great memories that support our collective efforts to build strong young people.”
The Franklin Wine Festival “Grand Tasting” features more than 300 wines, sampling from 30 restaurants, a silent auction, and live entertainment on multiple stages. The event is celebrating its fourteenth anniversary this year having provided more than $1.9 million for Big Brothers Big Sisters in its legacy. Tickets for the October 12 Grand Tasting which will include the crowning of the new King and Queen of the Vines are available now at www.FranklinWineFestival.com.
The funds raised by the Franklin Wine Festival events will be used to serve more children with a mentor across Middle Tennessee through Big Brothers Big Sisters programs. Children with a mentor make better, safer choices in life which in turn reduces crime, improves graduation rates, and lays the groundwork for an overall economic benefit to the Middle Tennessee community.
For more information about the 2018 King and Queen of the Vines Royal Court, visit www.franklinwinefestival.com.
For more information about Big Brothers Big Sisters, visit www.mentorakid.org or call (615) 329-9191.
About the Franklin Wine Festival
Celebrating its fourteenth year, the Franklin Wine Festival is presented by Cool Springs Wines & Spirits and supported by Nissan to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters is an all-encompassing evening for attendees, yet most of the efforts are done by volunteers, and businesses provide significant in-kind support, resulting in only 14% of revenues being spent on event expenses.
In addition to the Grand Tasting, the event has Vintner’s Dinners held approximately two weeks prior to the Grand Tasting.
For more information, visit www.FranklinWineFestival.com or call (615) 522-5665.
About Big Brothers Big Sisters
Big Brothers Big Sisters provides children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one relationships that change their lives for the better, forever.
Partnering with parents, guardians, schools, corporations and others, Big Brothers Big Sisters carefully pairs children with screened volunteer mentors, and then monitors and supports these one-to-one mentoring matches in building safe, enduring relationships.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee serves children all across Middle Tennessee in Metro Nashville/Davidson county as well as Williamson, Rutherford, Cheatham, Dickson, Robertson, Sumner, and Wilson counties. The primary offices are located at 1704 Charlotte Avenue, Suite 130 in Nashville with additional satellite offices in Murfreesboro and Springfield.
For more information, visit www.mentorakid.org or call (615) 329-9191.
