May 11, 2005

BMI Hosts MCTI Kickoff Party

BMI Nashville hosted the kick-off party for Mercedes-Benz of Nashville presents the 32nd annual Music City Tennis Invitational (MCTI), providing sponsors and participants a chance to mingle before focusing on the weekend's fund-raising matches and other activities.

MCTI co-chair tennis instructor Bill Riddle, Pat Hutchinson, BMI artists/writers Billy Ray Cyrus and James Slater, BMI's Patsy Bradley and Travis Television's Greg Travis

The MCTI, the oldest music-supported tennis tournament in the nation, was held April 23 & 24 to benefit the Child Development Center (CDC) at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville. The Child Development Center is a significant resource for families of children with a wide variety of disorders, such as learning difficulties, autism, mental retardation and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders. Community involvement in the annual tournament provides support for the CDC, which is solely funded by the MCTI.

BMI's Mary Templeton, Coburn Music's Jill Napier, BMI's Patsy Bradley

Other MCTI sponsors include RCA Label Group, Lone Wolf Management Company, Academy of Country Music, American Airlines, Iron Mountain, Nashville Scene, Tennis Unlimited Promotions, USTA and WebMD.

BMI's Patsy Bradley, BMI writer Bobby Etoll, WSIX-FM's Richard Falklen, BMI's Patsy Wells

2005 MCTI Sportsmanship Award winner Kathleen Parker and BMI's Mary Templeton

photos by Beth Gwinn

BMI represents more than 500,000 songwriters, composers, and publishers with more than 7.5 million works.