NASHVILLE — MTSU
professor Beverly Keel, chair of the university’s Department of Recording
Industry, and former MTSU student Hillary Scott of Grammy-winning music group
Lady Antebellum were among honorees Monday night at The Nashville Business
Journal’s inaugural Women in Music City Awards.
Scott, who attended MTSU as a recording industry student before
launching a successful music career, was honored as Artist of the Year and was
keynote speaker at the red carpet event, held at the Omni Nashville Hotel. Keel
was among the 26 other women recognized for their contributions to Nashville’s
thriving music industry.
“I’m just so thrilled to be a part of this,” Keel said. “It’s an
amazing list of women, and what’s so great is that they’ve all chosen different
paths.”
Also honored at the event was MTSU alumna Jill Napier (’99),
director of copyright management at Music Services Inc. in Brentwood, Tennessee.
Napier currently serves on MTSU National Alumni Association Board of Directors.
The Business Journal solicited nominations of women working in the
music business “who are making a creative and economic impact on the industry.”
A judging committee of women music professionals from Los Angeles and New York
City reviewed and scored the nominees, and an NBJ committee chose the winners.
Formerly an award-winning music journalist and recording industry
executive, Keel became recording industry department chair a year ago. Among
projects the MTSU alumna has worked on since include efforts to establish a
scholarship fund at MTSU in memory of country music legend George Jones; and
creation of the Chair’s Lecture Series to bring industry leaders such as Gary
Overton, Sarah Trahern, Joe Galante and others to speak to students.
Scott, a Nashville native, is lead singer of the musical trio Lady
Antebellum, whose fifth album, “747,” is scheduled to be released Sept. 30. The
other members of the group, which has already captured seven Grammy Awards, are
Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley.
In her keynote remarks, Scott, who’s married and has a 1-year-old
daughter, recalled fondly her time at MTSU and thanked Keel for being so
welcoming during her time on campus. She applauded Nashville’s music industry
for its support of women in the industry.
“Nashville’s emphasis on nurturing families has never been more,”
Scott said. “Being in a business that’s very hectic and demands so much of your
time, I’ve still never felt like I had to make a choice between having a career
and being a mom.”
Nashville Mayor Karl Dean said Scott “is a perfect example of what
makes Nashville such a special place.”
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