A Tennessee Waltz

A Tennessee Waltz is an elegant gala evening, created by the Tennessee State Museum Foundation, and hosted by Governor Bill Haslam and First Lady Crissy Haslam. Now in its 20th year, the Waltz, set for Saturday, April 21, at 7 p.m. in the State Capitol, will celebrate its silver anniversary. Each spring since 1993, approximately 300 guests from across the state have attended this formal dinner dance in Tennessee’s historic State Capitol (completed in 1859), which is considered to be the masterpiece of renowned architect William Strickland’s career. The attendees at the Waltz comprise a diverse group of history and arts patrons, legislators, statewide cultural activists, community leaders, corporate executives and non-profit social volunteers.

The highlight of the Gala is always the performance of the country standard “Tennessee Waltz” by a legendary entertainer. This year the gala is honored to have Country Music Hall of Fame member and multi-CMA and Grammy winner Vince Gill perform. In past years, such musical luminaries as Alison Krauss & the Union Station Band, Emmylou Harris, Steve Winwood, Brooks and Dunn, Patti Page, Lyle Lovett, Donna Summer, Olivia Newton-John, Deanna Carter, John Hiatt and the Fairfield Four have sung the PeeWee King – Redd Stewart-penned classic.
The Museum Foundation is pleased to announce that for the first time ever a team comprised of a wife and husband and daughter will serve as chairs of its premiere fundraising gala, A Tennessee Waltz. Nashvillians Pam and Mike Koban, along with their daughter, Katie, are the 2012 gala chairs, along with honorary hosts, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and First Lady Crissy Haslam. The gala provides the primary source of revenue for the annual operation of the museum Foundation.
The Kobans have deep roots in Middle Tennessee as Mike has held a number of high-level positions at several area health care concerns. With more than 30 years of experience in the health care field, he currently serves as president and CEO of Iroquois Capital Group, a Nashville-based merchant banking company. He was a co-founder and CEO of NetCare Health Systems, a senior vice president-finance and board member of Health Trust and served as treasurer of Hospital Corporation of America. He is the former chairman of the boards of Nashville Public Radio and the Community Aids Partnership.
Pam worked in the Tennessee higher education system for 10 years, both in the University of Tennessee system as well as in the state Board of Regents system, prior to retiring to raise their three children. An active community volunteer, Pam, who is currently a member of the Board of Trustees at Montgomery Bell Academy, is a former state president of the American Lung Association of Tennessee and former board chair of the Martha O’Bryan Center. She and Mike are both elders at Westminster Presbyterian Church.
Daughter Katie, a graduate of the University of Colorado-Boulder, received her law degree from the Nashville School of Law. She is employed as a vice president of compliance at Iroquois Capital Group. Like her parents, Katie has been active in the community having volunteered with the Eating Disorders Coalition of TN, the Martha O’Bryan Center, Generation Tennessee and All About Women. She is a member of the State Museum’s Young Professionals Council (YPC), the Nashville Junior League, the Harpeth Hall Young Alumni Council, and the Kappa Alpha Theta Alumni Chapter Special Events Committee. Along with the help of her fellow YPC members Joe Burchfield and YPC President Sara Jo Houghland, Katie will oversee the inaugural Waltz Late Party for young professionals, which will begin immediately following dinner (at approximately 10:30 p.m.) in the Capitol.
A Tennessee Waltz 2012 Ladies’ & Gentlemen’s Committees Co-Chairs

Noted Middle Tennessee interior designer Shirley Horowitz, who was integrally involved in the recently completed renovation of the state’s Executive Residence, and her husband, Nashville dermatologist David H. Horowitz, have been named Co-Chairs of the 2012 A Tennessee Waltz Ladies’ & Gentlemen’s Committees. They have graciously agreed to host a pre-Waltz reception for the committees at their Brook Hollow Road home on Saturday, March 31 from 7 to 9 p.m. The $200 per person, casually festive evening, features cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and a spectacular silent auction.
Mrs. Horowitz, a Nashville native, is the President of Davishire Interiors. She has also been a volunteer and contributor to Abe’s Garden, seeking to build a premiere Alzheimer’s facility at Park Manor, an independent, not-for-profit, living facility on Woodmont Boulevard. Dr. Horowitz, a St. Petersburg, Florida native, has served as a volunteer professor at Vanderbilt, Meharry and Trevecca universities.
For an invitation to the event or for more information, please contact Museum Director of External Affairs Leigh Hendry at lhendry@bellsouth.net or by calling (615) 253-0130.