Celebrity Judges, Sponsors, & The BCF

CELEBRITY JUDGES

Brenda Haywood Born in Nashville, Haywood is a retired teacher and administrator of the Metro Nashville School System, now serving as our Deputy Mayor of Community Engagement. She is a wellness consultant and talk show personality with 760 AM's gospel radio programming. Haywood is the founder and CEO of the Royal Heirs Youth Academy, a nonprofit that aims to "empower our youth through awareness, education, information, mentorship and community resources. In addition, the organization is designed to effectively satisfy classes and community service hours assigned to 'at-risk' juveniles through the Juvenile Court System.

Pete Weber is the play-by-play voice of the NHL's Nashville Predators, a position he has held with the organization since the team's first season. Weber spent time following the Nashville Sounds minor league baseball team, and served as host of a weekly video on demand show about the team available on Comcast in the Nashville metropolitan area. Weber also called the 2003 and 2004 Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl for WWTN radio. He served as co-host of "SportsNight" on WWTN & WNFN radio from July 2003 to August 2005.

Bradley D. Hopkins played left tackle for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), all of them with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans organization. In 2000 and 2003, Hopkins earned a trip to the Pro Bowl. He was part of an offensive line that allowed the third-lowest number of sacks in the NFL. During is tenure, The Titans were propelled by a high-powered offense with Steve McNair and Eddie George, which scored 30 points in six consecutive games – a franchise record. He announced his retirement from football on June 14, 2006. Along with Steve McNair, he was the last player left from the Houston Oilers. He currently works as an analyst for SiruisXM's ESPNU, B1G, ACC, SEC, Mad Dog Radio and NFL Radio.

Nikki-Dee Ray is a local favorite meteorologist that can be seen weekdays on Middle Tennessee’s number one morning show, News Channel 5 This Morning. The Tennessee Valley native attended Auburn University and Mississippi State University where she graduated with a B.S. in Atmospheric Sciences. While she has always been passionate about weather, even working as a “Kid Caster” at WHNT in Huntsville as a child, what she is most passionate about is serving her community, educating children on weather and fostering excitement about STEM, and advocating for those with special abilities.

Randy Rayburn From 1999 to 2009, he served on the Board and as Chairman of the Nashville Convention Center and Co-Chair of the Mayor’s Task Force that led to our new Music City Center. In 2011, the Nashville State Community College and its faculty unanimously voted to name the NSCC Culinary Program, the Randy Rayburn School of Culinary Arts, which he started in 1998. He now serves on the Board of the Music City Center Authority, Chair of the local restaurant industry government relations group Kitchen Table and Chair of the Greater Nashville Hospitality Association PAC.

Emcee

Henry Rothenberg A native Tennessean, Emmy Award winning meteorologist Henry Rothenberg loves being able to call Nashville and NewsChannel 5 home, and work alongside the talented members of the Storm 5 Weather Team. Henry attended the University of Missouri where he was a member of the Mizzou Storm Chase Team, chasing storms all across the plain states. Henry's desire to chase storms when most are trying to avoid them is fueled by his passion for weather, and desire to keep people safe in dangerous weather. Henry's on-air career begin while just a junior at Missouri when he was hired by KMIZ-TV. He went on to work for KPLR-TV in St. Louis, MO, WPTY-TV (now WATN-TV) in Memphis, TN, and WACH-TV in Columbia, SC before making his way to Nashville.

BELLEVUE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

In 1990, when a widow faced foreclosure on her home, the Bellevue community stepped up to help a neighbor in trouble. Almost $30,000 was raised in a matter of months. A Charitable Trust was established, and the home was bought by the community.

Upon her death in 2005, the home was sold in a sealed-bid auction and the funds deposited until a plan on how to administer the proceeds was established.

In 2007, the Bellevue Community Fund was established in association with the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee with a goal to grow the fund and create a pool of charitable dollars to support programs serving the Bellevue Community.

Every year, under the direction of the Board of Trustees, funds are disbursed to qualified Bellevue organizations.

Over the years, the Trustees expanded their work to include beautification, clean up, emergency preparedness, food drives and an annual fundraising event. The name evolved to become the Bellevue Community Foundation, an organization committed to working in collaboration with like-minded civic organizations in Bellevue.