A lot of people like to think they’re the life of the party, but at innumerable top-dollar galas, events, and corporate functions around the country, native Nashvillian Pat Patrick actually is. A consummate professional musician since the age of 15, Pat’s been composing, recording, and working the party circuit (look for him at this month’s Ballet Ball) for some 45 years. We caught up with the inveterate bandleader just as the Nashville social season is starting to kick into gear, and asked him, among other things, why there’s always at least one person at every wedding who thinks they can do a better job on the mic.

When 11-year-old Pat Patrick saw Elvis on TV, he knew he wanted to play music. Before long, he’d enlisted friends

Harmony Award recipients Rascal Flatts set a magical tone for the evening, and Pat Patrick and his fabulous orchestra kicked it up a notch. People were there to dance. Just ask John Seigenthaler who said he “wasn’t looking for a waltz or slow dance”-he wanted to hit that floor hard!

Elizabeth Kirkman Reed, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Reed Jr. of Tupelo, married Phillip Tate Forrester, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Forrester of Amarillo, Texas, on December 30, 2006.

Break out the Dom Perignon. The Heart Gala adopted a new venue for their classic event-the Schermerhorn-and though change can be scary, this one was well-received. Guests sipped on bubbly amid the splendor of lush red roses, foreshadowing the upcoming day of romance: Valentine’s.

To build future leaders you must look to the past-and look back they did at the Star Gala, an event created by the Brentwood/Cool Springs Chamber of Commerce to raise funds for school grants and scholarships for Brentwood-area youth.