Officials’ holiday cards send greetings, seek awareness

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. — Holiday cards from Tennessee’s public officials are taking on several themes this year, including standard Christmas greetings, fundraising efforts, campaign promotions or simple thanks for a year’s worth of support.

Gov. Phil Bredesen kept up with his annual tradition — begun when he was mayor of Nashville — of sending an image he paints specifically for the occasion.

This year’s painting features an iris, the state flower, against a starry night sky. In the card sent out to more 10,000 people, Bredesen and his wife, Andrea Conte, wish “the warmth and joy of the this Christmas season be with you and your loved ones throughout the coming year.”

Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield took a more activist tack. His card asks for donations to the Animal Care Trust, which is raising money to build a $5.6 million animal shelter.

“We’re not ashamed to send out cards asking people to participate, because the city is putting up considerable resources,” Littlefield said.

The card shows a picture of the mayor and his wife, Lanis, surrounded by dogs in Santa and elf hats.

Candidates for political office also made sure their cards reached a wide audience.

Former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker, a Republican running for the U.S. Senate next year, sent about 4,000 cards to supporters. U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr., D-Tenn., who is running for the same seat, also sent out cards, but a spokesman declined to say how many.

U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., sent out a card with a University of Tennessee football theme. The card depicts the Wamp family in the end zone at Neyland Stadium — even though Knoxville is not in the congressman’s district.

“My son now goes to college there, so we thought it was very appropriate since we have a child in college for the first time that we would have our picture made there,” Wamp said. “We did get some funny notes back from Vandy fans. One sent us a scoreboard with the UT-Vanderbilt score.”

Vanderbilt beat Tennessee 28-24 this season.

University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Chancellor Roger Brown used his card to show off what he said is the most important aspect of the school: the students.

The card is a way to thank supporters, said Bob Lyon, vice chancellor for university advancement.

“It’s one of the several ways we use to thank people for their support and leadership throughout the year,” he said.

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Information from: Chattanooga Times Free Press, http://www.timesfreepress.com