Kitty Moon Emery, Ken Levitan, Steve Moore Honored
Nashville, Tennessee – Nashville Arts & Entertainment Magazine is proud to recognize Kitty Moon Emery, Ken Levitan and Steve Moore, three remarkable Nashvillians whose lives and work in either music, the visual and performing arts, business, songwriting and philanthropy have positively impacted Music City. To acknowledge the tremendous spirit of giving and encouragement these honorees embody, Glover Group Entertainment, publisher of Nashville Arts & Entertainment Magazine, is pleased to make a donation of $1,000 to an affiliated charity of each honoree.
Nashville native Kitty Moon Emery started her career here in public television and moved to Washington, DC in the early ’70s, becoming one of only two female senatorial press secretaries at the time. She moved to New York to work on Ronald Reagan’s first presidential campaign then returned to Nashville in 1974 to co-found Scene Three Productions. The film and television production company quickly developed a reputation for churning out top-notch music videos for Reba McEntire, Chet Atkins and George Strait and producing TV specials and ads for corporate giants like Toyota, South Central Bell and Bridgestone.
In 1990, Scene Three produced a music video for newcomer Garth Brooks’ fourth single called “The Dance” from his self-titled debut album. The video featured images of John Wayne, Martin Luther King Jr. and the crew of the space shuttle Challenger and went on to win the Academy of Country Music Award for “Video of the Year.” The song and video helped cement the then-unknown superstar’s career and helped launch Kitty Moon Emery’s growing influence and presence in the world of music.
When it came to Nashville, Emery never missed the dance. From music to business to sports and philanthropic endeavors, her presence in Nashville is everywhere, and much of the face of today’s Nashville is her reflection. Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. president Butch Spyridon called her “…a trailblazing female who was ahead of her time” for helping bring the music industry and tourism together.
Emery served on the Nashville Sports Authority from 1998 to 2008, helping secure the Tennessee Titans football franchise in 1998. Former Nashville Predators owner Craig Leipold credits an Emery-co-produced promotion film, NHL Comes to Nashville, with persuading the National Hockey League to grant the Predators franchise to Nashville.
She was inducted in the YWCA’s Academy for Women of Achievement, was named Nashvillian of the Year and earned two Country Music Association’s President’s Awards during her 21 years on the CMA board. As president and chairperson, she also helped create the nonprofit CMA Foundation, chairing that organization as well.
Kitty Moon Emery passed away in February of 2017 after a battle with cancer. In her honor, Nashville Arts & Entertainment Magazineis donating $1,000 to the T.J. Martell Foundation.
The 2017-2018 issue of Nashville Arts & Entertainment Magazineis packed with informative features such as “Up and Coming: New Nashville,” highlighting who’s new in music; “Nashville’s Most Interesting People, Places & Things,” monthly calendars listing upcoming events, shopping and more celebrating the best Nashville has to offer. Copies are currently available on newsstands and at www.