Among the guests expected are last year's BMI Songwriter/Artist of the Year Toby Keith, Kix Brooks & Ronnie Dunn, Martina McBride, keith urban, Kenny Chesney, Marty Roe and Jimmy Olander of Diamond Rio, Vince Gill & Amy Grant, Aaron Tippin, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Steve Wariner, Bill Anderson, Jeffrey Steele, Randy Owen of Alabama, Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis, Andy Griggs, Trick Pony and Steve Holy.

Among the distinguished talents who have previously been crowned BMI Country Songwriter of the Year are Harlan Howard, Don Gibson, Bill Anderson, Roger Miller, John D. Loudermilk, Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard, Dennis Morgan, Paul Overstreet, Vince Gill, Shania Twain, Tom Shapiro, Dixie Chick Martie Maguire, Ronnie Dunn, Bobby Braddock and eight-time victor Billy Sherrill. In addition to Keith, other top winners from the 2001 BMI Country Awards were Songwriters Marv Green and Aimee Mayo, and Tia Sillers, writer of Song of the Year "I Hope You Dance."

Check back here at 10 pm CT/11 pm ET November 5 for a complete list of 2002 BMI Country Award winners. High-resolution photos will also be available for downloading at press.bmi.com.

Pictured are "Blessed" writers Hillary Lindsey, Troy Verges and Brett James, BMI's David Preston, Martina McBride, and Songs of Universal's Pat Higdon.

Martina McBride, Troy Verges, Carolyn Dawn Johnson

Dwight Verges, Gay Verges, Martina McBride, Troy Verges

RCA's Joe Galante, Troy Verges, BMI's David Preston, Martina McBride, Pat Higdon, Paul Worley

photos by Kay Williams

"I was like, I can do this!" says the thirty-something former college basketball all-star. "I was totally ignorant to what it took to be a songwriter. A lot of times, if you're not told you can't do it, and there's no stumbling block in front of you, then you just proceed. And that's what I did. I started writing. I didn't know how to play an instrument, but I went to the library and the bookstore and got books on writing, and for some reason, it all clicked, it all made sense."

Smith went ahead to grad school and got another part-time radio job, but soon realized that music was where the joy was, so in 1993 she packed up and moved to Nashville. Once there, Smith set about continuing her songwriting education and taught herself to play guitar. Nearly two years to the day of her arrival in Nashville, a song she co-wrote with Mark Alan Springer was recorded by Collin Raye, and "One Boy, One Girl" became both her first cut and her first number one.

Since then, Smith has co-written five more number ones, including "That's Why I'm Here" for Kenny Chesney, "Single White Female" for Chely Wright, and "There Is No Arizona," a debut number one for Jamie O'Neal, all of which have earned her BMI Country Awards. She's also scored number ones in Sweden with "I Should Be Sleeping" and in Canada, with Carolyn Dawn Johnson's "Complicated" (Canadian Country Music Association Song of the Year), also a top five U.S. hit.

Among the guests expected are Toby Keith, Brooks & Dunn, Travis Tritt, Kenny Chesney, Diamond Rio, Lari White, Aaron Tippin, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Rascal Flatts, Andy Griggs, Blake Shelton, Chad Brock, The Warren Brothers, Trick Pony, Tim Rushlow, Bill Anderson, Gary Chapman, BlackHawk, Brenda Lee, Lee Greenwood, Billy Dean and Mindy McCready. Attendance is by invitation only and limited to those being honored.

High-resolution photos will be available for downloading immediately after the awards ceremony at press.bmi.com.

CAA's Clay Myers, BMI songwriters Tommy Lee James and Shaye Smith, NIFF's Brian Gordon and BMI's Harry Warner

A special event for NIFF participants was a reception on June 7 hosted by Creative Artists Agency at BMI Nashville featuring entertainment by CAA stars: Arista's Carolyn Dawn Johnson and Phil Vassar, Capitol's Cyndi Thomson, Reunion's Michael W. Smith, Mercury's Jamie O'Neal and Sony's Little Big Town.

(kneeling) CAA's Clay Myers and John Huie; (standing) CAA's Jeff Hill, Little Big Town's Phillip Sweet and Jimi Westbrook, Jamie O'Neal, Cyndi Thomson, Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild, CAA's Ron Baird, Little Big Town's Kimberly Roads, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Phil Vassar, BMI's Harry Warner, Michael W. Smith and CAA's Rod Essig.

NIFF was formed in 1969 as the Sinking Creek Film Celebration. One of the country’s oldest film festivals, NIFF annually screens 150 feature length, documentary, experimental, animated and short films from around the world, including premieres of award-winning films. NIFF also maintains the Sinking Creek Film Library, which contains over 500 films and videos, and provides ongoing youth education in the Nashville Community.

Jimi Westbrook, Kimberly Roads, Karen Fairchild and Phillip Sweet of new Sony act Little Big Town opened the show and introduced the rest of the performers; the group's first single is planned for this fall

Mike Robertson, BMI's David Preston, Sherrie Austin, Wrensong's Ree Guyer Buchanan

photos by Beth Gwinn