Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/61759
PHOTOGRAPHY BY AL POWERS (WEINER) FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF I attended the Nevada Ballet Theatre Black & White Ball at Aria Resort & Casino with Vegas assistant editor Emma Trotter. At the February issue party for "The List" inside Lily Bar & Lounge, I posed with Kidville's Melissa Weiner. Stubbornly, I resisted country music for years Follow me on Twitter at @abbytegnelia and on vegasmagazine.com. after I moved to the Southwest, having grown up on the East Coast. It took living in Texas for one year in my mid 20s to change that forever. At the time, I was a full-time entertainment reporter, and one of my assignments sent me to rural Checotah, Oklahoma. That sleepy town was on fire, since one of its own had just won American Idol. Carrie Underwood was a charming, small-town girl with a powerful voice who seemed destined for bigger things than she was exposed to as a still-chubby sorority ABOVE: Toasting with Vegas's "So Many Dinners" writer John Curtas at Prime inside Bellagio. LEFT: With Fox 5's Jason Feinberg after my on-air appearance promoting February's issue. sister in preppy clothes. She would go on to have one of the most successful country music careers of all time, and be part of the elite group of crossover stars who brought that music to the masses. No one could be happier than I to have Carrie on our April/May cover. As Las Vegas once again welcomes the Academy of Country Music Awards to the MGM Grand Garden Arena, you'll love reading about one of its brightest stars in this issue of Vegas. While I do know that I'll be at the ACMs cheering on my favorite coun- try music stars, as of press time I have yet to make plans for Earth Day on April 22. Las Vegas has made enormous strides in its environmental pro- tection programs in the years that I've lived here. In this issue of Vegas, we honor Chris Brophy from MGM Resorts International's sustainability division, as well as the new crop of A-list chefs who are cooking "green." Happy Earth Day! ABBY TEGNELIA 26 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM