Local Celebrities Sheryl Crow and Rodney Atkins portray historic characters
A group of recent Leadership Franklin graduates will host a launch party Monday, May 5 at Circa Grill for their driving tour app created as a community project as part of their experience in the program. The app, “Voices of the Battle: A Driving Tour from The Carter House to Carnton Plantation,” is available on iTunes.
“Nearly 150 years have passed since the Battle of Franklin was held on Nov. 30, 1864 and we knew the city would be in the spotlight this year,” said group member, Kelly Gilfillan. “With this being the year of the Sesquicentennial, when tasked with creating a project to better the city of Franklin, our group quickly decided to commemorate this battle in some way.”
The tour highlights firsthand accounts of 15 people deeply affected by or significant to this battle.
“For the recordings, we invited local citizens and celebrities to represent the part of the real life players,” said Corn. “We are thrilled to have celebrities such as Grammy-Award winning music artist Sheryl Crow portraying Carrie McGavock of Carnton Plantation and country music artist Rodney Atkins portraying Spencer Talley, a Confederate soldier.”
The tour will move along Columbia Pike and Lewisburg Pike with stops at historical sites including the Carter House, Lotz House, Carter cotton gin, Collins Farm, Carnton Plantation and Toussaint L’Overture Cemetery. Local citizens included in the portrayals besides Crow and Atkins include Joel Tomlin, Jay Sheridan, Jimmy Gentry, Caroline Cross, Milissa Reierson, Robert Blair and Shanna Jackson. Local authors Robert Hicks, Eric A. Jacobson and Lisa Patton, local radio personality Tom Lawrence, and local actor Chris Bosen also were recorded.
The group worked with app developer, NeoTreks, a development company that partnered with the Civil War Trust on their battlefield apps.
Leadership Franklin is a non-profit leadership organization that develops projects aimed at serving the Franklin community.
Each year, a new member class is selected from applicants that represent Franklin in diversity of industry, ethnicity, and age. Class members are executives and senior community leaders selected to represent a cross-section of Franklin and Williamson County. Participants work through an eight-month program that develops knowledge of Franklin, understanding of issues and organizations in Williamson County, and vision for local improvements.
Leadership Franklin class members work together and with local leaders to develop initiatives that benefit Franklin and Williamson County across areas that include government, business, law enforcement, education, media, and quality of life.
# # #