Franklin Tomorrow to Host FrankTalks, Breakfast With Mayors & Volunteer Awards to Finish Out 2022

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Franklin Tomorrow, which celebrated the 22nd anniversary of its founding as a community visioning and engagement organization earlier this year, has several events set over the next few months to finish out the year.

FrankTalks, Oct. 17
Franklin Tomorrow’s Oct. 17 FrankTalks lecture will focus on programs the Williamson County Public Library and Parks and Recreation Department offer at the facilities on the Columbia Avenue campus.

Franklin Tomorrow will host its monthly FrankTalks lecture on Monday, Oct. 17, at 9:30 a.m. at the Williamson County Enrichment Center located on 110 Everbright Avenue in Franklin. This coffee social with The Good Food Group, McDonald’s will begin at 9 a.m.
Those invited to be panelists include newly appointed Williamson County Public Library Director Jessica Jeffers and Adult Services Supervisor Jeffie Nicholson. From Parks and Recreation, Advertising & Promotions Coordinator for the Williamson County Performing Arts Center Jessie Eppelheimer, will present on the WCPAC and their upcoming programs, as well as Traci Hamby, Senior Therapeutics Superintendent, and Krystal Turner, Senior Sports Coordinator, from the Enrichment Center.

FrankTalks is presented monthly in partnership with Renasant Bank and Franklin Tomorrow’s sustaining partner, Williamson Medical Center.
To RSVP, go to https://oct17franktalks.eventbrite.com.

Breakfast With the Mayors, Oct. 25
Williamson County Mayor Rogers Anderson will lead a conversation on broadband access and expansion in Williamson County during the Oct. 25, 2022, Franklin Tomorrow Breakfast With the Mayors, presented by Pinnacle Financial Partners.

The event will be held at Rolling Hills Community Church, 1810 Columbia Ave., Franklin, with a networking breakfast beginning at 7 a.m., with the program starting at 7:45 a.m.
Joining Anderson will be William Bradford, CEO and President of United Communications, and Chris Jones, President of Middle Tennessee Electric.

In 2021, United Communications was honored for its role in bringing internet access to Middle Tennesseans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the pandemic took hold, United found innovative ways to accelerate fiber installation throughout the area. Through its initiative, Project UNITE, United leveraged community partnerships, federal and state funding, and its own investments to ensure its mission of connecting Middle Tennessee moved as quickly as possible.

By the end of 2021, United had provided high-speed connectivity to over 11,000 unserved locations in Middle Tennessee.

Joining Pinnacle Financial Partners in presenting Breakfast With the Mayors are Gresham Smith, Williamson County Association of Realtors, Hazen and Sawyer, Patterson Hardee Ballentine CPAs. The program will begin at 7:45 a.m. and will also be broadcast live on Franklin Tomorrow’s website and Facebook pages.

Breakfast With the Mayors is held quarterly and is free to the public thanks to the generous partnership of partners including Pinnacle Financial Partners, as well as Williamson Medical Center, Williamson Memorial Funeral Home & Cremation Services. Additional support this year comes from Puckett’s Grocery & Restaurant and other partners, including The Good Food Group.

To RSVP for this event, go to https://Oct25BreakfastWMayors.eventbrite.com.

Exemplary Community Volunteer Awards, Nov. 15
The nominations packet for the 16th annual Franklin Tomorrow Exemplary Community Volunteer Awards has been released and the public, as well as local nonprofit organizations and businesses are asked to consider nominating one or more volunteers for the 16th annual awards process.

The awards will be presented Nov. 15 during an event at Rolling Hills Community Church, thanks to the generosity of Williamson Memorial Funeral Home and a host of other partners. Through these awards, Franklin Tomorrow hopes to show what can happen when volunteers come together to make an impact on our community.

In 2007, Franklin Tomorrow established the Exemplary Community Volunteer Awards to honor the decades of service and tremendous impact of Anne T. Rutherford, a founding member of Franklin Tomorrow and an active volunteer for many community organizations. The award recognizes the collective effort of an individual’s work and the impact on the agencies themselves and the community at large. One award is given annually.

The Volunteer Spirit and the Youth Initiative Awards were created to allow more people to be honored for selflessly supporting local non-profit organizations or agencies. Other award categories include awards for emerging leaders in the community, awards for corporate partners that show the value of giving back, and for those who have shown extreme generosity to its neighbors and community.

A $500 grant to the winner’s non-profit of choice accompanies the Anne T. Rutherford Award, while a $250 grant accompanies the other awards.

A complete nomination form, with rules and additional information, can be found at https://franklintomorrow.org/event/16th-annual-volunteer-awards/. A one-page statement describing the service of the nominees MUST ACCOMPANY the form, along with a digital photo of the nominee. Completed nominations should be submitted to Emily Grayson at [email protected] by Thursday, October 20, 2022.