October 28, 2004

News, Country, International

Patsy Bradley, Jo Walker-Meador Among Pioneers Honored at SOURCE Foundation Awards

The second annual SOURCE Foundation Awards Ceremony and Dinner, held October 14 at the Chapel at St. Bernard's Convent in Nashville, paid tribute to 10 pioneering women in the country music industry.

Loudilla Johnson, Loretta Johnson, Kay Johnson, Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell, Marie Ratliff, Patsy Bradley, Janet Butler, Jo Walker-Meador, and Jean Stromatt

The honorees were BMI Assistant Vice President Patsy Bradley; WSM Radio and Billboard's Emily Bradshaw Weiland; publishing/record label executive Janet Butler; International Fan Club Organization (IFCO) founders Kay, Loretta & Loudilla Johnson; radio and magazine executive Marie Ratliff; longtime Kitty Wells & Johnny Wright Show staffer Jean Stromatt; and, posthumously, Cedarwood Music Publishing's Dollie Dearman Denny and Mary Claire Rhodes.

Patsy Bradley	Brenda Lee welcomes Patsy Bradley

Former CMA Executive Director Jo Walker-Meador was given SOURCE's first Lifetime Achievement Award, to be named in her honor in future years. Country music legend Eddy Arnold, winner of the CMA's first Entertainer of the Year award, made the presentation of an engraved Baccarat vase.

Mayor Bill Purcell, CMA's Tammy Genovese, Jo Walker-Meador, Eddy Arnold

Devon O'Day, Brenda Lee and Charlie Monk hosted the awards ceremony, which also featured a presentation by Robert K. Oermann on the history of women on Music Row.

Devon O'Day, Charlie Monk, Robert K. Oermann

SOURCE, a non-profit organization of female executives, created the Foundation Awards in 2003 to honor women in the country music industry who received little recognition during their careers for their contributions to the growth of country music. The awards dinner was created by Kay Smith, Vice President/A&R Administration, Sony Music Nashville.

Patsy Bradley, Charlie Lamb, Katherine Bradley

Photos by Alan Mayor

In this story: Eddy Arnold, Jean, Johnny Wright

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