ORCHIDS AT CHEEKWOOD
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CURBSIDE RECYCLING
JANUARY 26, 2023 | VOLUME 35 | NUMBER 4
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Belle Meade hires new city manager
Longtime City Manager Beth Reardon to retire BY MATT MASTERS
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CITY OF BELLE MEADE
PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS
Tenn. Gov. Bill Lee and First Lady Maria Lee are introduced at Lee’s second inauguration on Nashville’s Legislative Plaza.
Bill Lee sworn in for second term as Tennessee’s 50th Governor BY MATT MASTERS
Gov. Bill Lee took the oath of office on Saturday, marking the beginning of his second term as governor of Tennessee following his reelection in Nov. 2022. Several hundred Tennesseans, including dozens of current and former elected officials, attended the 11 a.m. ceremony on Legislative Plaza, among them former Govs. Bill Haslam, Phil Bredsen, Lamar Alexander and Bryant Dunn. Lee spoke of some of the hardships of his first term, leaning heavily on his faith in Christ and contemporary conservative values throughout the ceremony, including acknowledging First Lady Maria Lee’s ongoing cancer diagnosis. The ceremony included musical performances by the Tennessee National
Guard band, a performance of the “Star Spangled Banner by Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Dakota Jordan, and the administering of the oath of office by Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Page. A national guard flyover of three Blackhawk helicopters passed over the capitol as a 19-gun salute from three M116 Howitzer cannons cast a haze of gray smoke across the capitol grounds. “The last four years have brought unexpected challenges to many of us in this state – floods, wildfires, a pandemic, tornadoes, even a bombing on Christmas morning – in addition to personal challenges you could be facing right now that your fellow Tennesseans don’t even know about,”
Lee told the crowd. “It doesn’t take away the tragedy, difficulty or fear, but in times of struggle, we can find great hope.” Lee spoke as he did throughout his 2022 campaign about “Leading the nation,” touting his first-term successes including Ford Motor Company’s new high-tech plant which is currently under-construction in West Tennessee. Lee acknowledged critics of his administration and the state’s Republican majority, some of whom were present on the platform stage, including activistturned-lawmaker Justin Jones, who came to prominence during the 2020 People’s Plaza protests and now represents House District 52. Jones attended the ceremony with a copy of the book “The 1619 Project: >> PAGE 2
Beth Reardon The City of Belle Meade has announced the hiring of a new city manager, Jennifer Moody, who will replace current City Manager Beth Reardon at the end of February. The announcement was made during the Jan. 18 Board of Commissioners meeting, and will mark the retirement of Reardon from the position which she has served in for the past 28 years. Reardon was originally hired in 1990 as the city’s finance director and continued in that role until 2016 while serving in both administrative positions. Moody currently serves as the City Administrator for Tullahoma, and previously worked in city administration leadership roles in Murfreesboro and Columbia, bringing with her more than 15 years of what Belle Meade Mayor Rusty Moore called “tremendous experience.” Moody is a Nashville native who earned a master’s degree in Public Administration from Indiana University and >> PAGE 3
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