Tennessee State University’s renowned Aristocrat of Bands made Grammy history Sunday night, winning for best roots gospel album for the project “The Urban Hymnal.”

Like a lot of great projects, the idea for the album was first sketched out on a paper restaurant napkin.

Gospel songwriter and producer Sir the Baptist had come to Nashville in October 2021 to hear the AOB perform during homecoming at the invitation of assistant band director Larry Jenkins.

Baptist “fell in love with the band” at the historically Black university. Later that night, over tacos and pollo enquesado, the two preachers’ kids bonded as they discussed a collaboration.

“I was fighting for gospel, and he was fighting for marching band. Right?” Baptist recalled in an interview. “And what all HBCUs have in common is this connection to their roots, which is gospel, right?

“We said, ‘OK. You know what? This is an essential for our culture. Let’s do it.’”

The record’s nomination marked the first time a college marching band had been nominated in that category.

Lee names new supreme court, appeals judges

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has announced the appointment of Dwight E. Tarwater to the Tennessee Supreme Court and Matthew Wilson to the Court of Criminal Appeals, Western Section.

Tarwater, a partner at Paine, Tarwater, Bickers, LLP, brings more than 40 years of legal background to the Tennessee Supreme Court, including decades of trial and appellate experience and service as Chief Legal Counsel to Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam.

Tarwater earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Tennessee and J.D. at the University of Tennessee College of Law. Tarwater will fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Sharon Lee, effective Aug. 31.

Wilson is an Assistant United States Attorney in the Western District of Tennessee. Wilson brings significant criminal law experience to the Court of Criminal Appeals, including nearly 20 years of legal service at both the state and federal levels. Wilson earned his bachelor’s degree at Auburn University and J.D. at Florida State University College of Law. Wilson will fill a vacancy created by the death of Judge John Everett Williams.

Each of these judicial appointments is subject to confirmation by the General Assembly.

TDOE, TERA release educator survey results

The Tennessee Department of Education and Tennessee Education Research Alliance has released key findings and responses from the 2022 Tennessee Educator Survey from more than 39,000 educators, totaling more than half of the state’s educator population.

The survey collected data to understand educator experiences to provide direct feedback that will inform decision-making on all key issues facing our schools and classrooms.

In addition to questions exploring the instructional challenges due to COVID-related disruptions as in last year, this year’s survey included additional questions for educators to provide their perception related to tutoring and career and technical education (CTE).

Key findings from the 2022 survey include:

• Overall, teachers’ responses indicate support for key academic initiatives the state has launched to recover learning and accelerate student achievement.

• Eight out of 10 teachers said the tutoring their students had received is associated with improved academic performance in their classroom.

• Of teachers who indicated that they teach CTE, nine out of 10 reported that students are interested in their programs of study as well as that their programs of study include course offerings that reflect local labor market needs.

• Nine out of 10 high school teachers and eight out of 10 middle school teachers indicated they explicitly connect course content to college and career opportunities for their students, as well as being familiar with students’ postsecondary and career goals.

• Teachers continue to need more support to help meet the nonacademic needs of students and families, with more than one in five teachers reporting not having access to training or resources to support students with mental health challenges or students experiencing trauma.

• Teachers highlight key opportunities to boost satisfaction and retention.

• Eight out of 10 teachers reported being generally satisfied with being a teacher in their school. Seven out of 10 teachers also reported planning to continue teaching in their current school next year.

• Teachers indicated assessments are effective teaching tools that help monitor and predict student achievement.

Nashville home avails up 303% over Jan. ’22

The U.S. housing market offered homebuyers greater bargaining power in January, as mortgage rates fell to their lowest level in months, inventory rose, and the growth in the typical asking price continued to slow, the Realtor.com Monthly Housing Trends Report released Monday reports.

Nashville led the nation’s top 50 largest metros with a 303.5% rise year-over-year in available inventory in January, followed by Austin, Texas (+260.4%) and Raleigh, North Carolina (+254.8%). The only metro to see inventory decline on a year-over-year basis was Hartford, Connecticut. (-8.0%).

Meanwhile, the annual decline in new listings also moderated to single digits in January; new listings remain an important indicator of home selling interest, and a sustained improvement would suggest more sellers are returning to the market in the coming months.

Nominations open for Strobel Volunteer Awards

Hands On Nashville is inviting the community to nominate outstanding volunteers for the 37th Annual Mary Catherine Strobel Volunteer Awards sponsored by Jackson National Life Insurance Company.

The 2023 Strobel Awards honor outstanding individuals and groups from 2022, which saw tremendous community need driven by inflation, labor shortages and limited resources. Award recipients will be announced at a May 12 celebration event.

Award recipients will each receive $1,000 that can be donated to the charity of their choice. The remaining finalists will receive $250 to donate to their desired charity, and the first 25 people who submit nominations will receive a $50 gift card to Hattie B’s.

Submit nominations

The Strobel Awards honor volunteers of all ages and backgrounds for significant community service achievements. Middle Tennesseans are encouraged to nominate volunteers within any of the following categories of service:

• Direct Service Volunteer

• Capacity-building Volunteer

• Group Volunteer Service

• Social Justice Impact

• Disaster Preparedness and Response

Worldwide Stages opens in former Saturn complex

Worldwide Stages LLC has unveiled its massive entertainment complex located in Spring Hill.

WWS has already provided state-of-the-art facilities to multiple facets of the entertainment industry including tour rehearsal facilities for musical stars, production facilities for diverse content creators to produce livestreaming events, music videos, commercials, episodic television series and feature films.

WWS acquired the former world headquarters of Saturn and invested millions of dollars into a complete renovation. The result is a beautiful, unique entertainment production complex with production services and amenities customized to provide a high-end experience for each client.

WWS is already planning expansion, adding additional soundstages on-site in Spring Hill in response to industry demand while investigating expansion to other entertainment-centric cities in need of the luxury-branded facilities curated by WWS.

Lipscomb Univ. launches Health Sciences Center

Lipscomb University is launching the Lipscomb University Health Sciences Center, which will serve as a hub for academic programs, research initiatives and community engagements and partnerships.

Health sciences education is a major component of Lipscomb’s academic program. Through Lipscomb’s College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, more than 650 students are majoring in 14 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs as they prepare for health sciences professions.

The center will include a reorganization of the existing College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences and its colleges and departments into two stand-alone entities — its existing College of Pharmacy and a newly formed College of Health Sciences, allowing for more focused programming and resources, with each college having its own dean, who will report to the provost. With the establishment of the LUHSC comes a restructuring of our current academic organization.

Next round of community safety grants announced

The Mayor’s Office of Community Safety has launched the South Nashville Community Safety Partnership Fund Grants for nonprofit organizations working to promote community safety in South Nashville.

The available pool of funding for this round is $400,000, with at least eight projects expected to be awarded funds up to $48,000.

The grant seeks proposals that provide evidence of effective and innovative programs that address community safety in the Antioch-Glencliff area. Successful applications will demonstrate how the applicant prioritizes collaboration with multiple organizations, and works with proven methods that reduce violence and establish a clear path for maintaining progress.

These grants are part of the office’s larger initiative “The Village,” a network of more than 500 grassroots community organizations across Nashville focused on violence interruption. Helping community-based organizations flourish is a proven model that can reduce crime in high violence areas by as much as 30%.

Applications for the fund close at midnight Feb. 28.

For organizations that may need assistance with grant writing or document preparation, they may be eligible to receive grant writing assistance from the Center for Nonprofit Management free-of-cost. Visit nashvillevillage.org for more details.

Shamrock Companies acquires Nashville’s IBP

The Shamrock Companies, a Northeast Ohio-based integrated marketing, technology and project management solutions provider, has acquired Nashville’s Innovative Business Products.

With 50 years of collective experience, IBP is a resource for print marketing, promotional products and apparel, direct mail and statement processing solutions for customers nationwide. As IBP joins Shamrock, the Company expands its capabilities to include a comprehensive suite of creative and digital marketing services, including leading data analytics and company e-store technology solutions.

Shamrock has had a presence in Tennessee for 15-plus years. With this acquisition, the company expands its footprint in the region.

Shamrock was founded in 1982 as a print distribution company.