Pictured (L-R): Belmont University President Greg Jones, Rev. Susan Pendleton Jones, Brad Paisley, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Brad Paisley Scholarship recipient Jeanette Porcello. Photo: Courtesy of Sam Simpkins/Belmont University.
Belmont University is honoring alumnus Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams-Paisley by naming the ballroom in the campus’ new Fisher Center for the Performing Arts after the couple.
The announcement was made during “A Night of Stories and Songs” at the new performing arts center, celebrating the university’s new president Greg Jones‘ inauguration on Thursday, Nov. 4.
“Brad and Kim together represent so much of what is wonderful about Belmont,” said Jones. “To paraphrase a song that Brad has sung, ‘When we all get where we are going’ we’ll all be grateful and for the better because we’ve been associated with Kimberly Williams-Paisley and with Brad Paisley. This remarkable facility will long be associated with the legacy of both of their contributions to Belmont.”
The dedication is attributed to the Paisleys work they’re doing with The Store—a nonprofit they founded in 2019 that helps supplies grocers to those in need—and to express Belmont’s gratitude for the endowed scholarship fund the couple created and the strong example Paisley sets for students following in his footsteps.
Since opening at the beginning of the pandemic in Spring 2020, The Store has served more than 1.5 million meals.
The Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams-Paisley ballroom unveiling. Photo: Courtesy of Sam Simpkins/Belmont University
“I look around now at what Belmont is doing, and it’s incredible,” said Brad Paisley. “When I was going here, I just wanted to find my place in the Nashville music business, but now you can almost do anything you want in the world once you get a degree here. That impacts our charity in a way we never envisioned when we first pitched this idea—It can be so much more than a grocery store. I just want to use us as a school and as a charity to do good things in the world.”
The Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams-Paisley Ballroom can be utilized for acoustic and amplified performances, as well as a rehearsal space for performances on the main stage of the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, a stunning new Nashville venue which was officially dedicated in September.
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