NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Feb. 16, 2024 – The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum promoted five staff members to either associate director or director roles within the museum’s events, Haley Gallery and museum services teams. Details below. 

Events

Grace Cavanaugh has been promoted to director of event services and catering. She oversees the event services team, which manages more than 1,400 private and internal events annually at the museum. Cavanaugh’s responsibilities include event planning for up to 3,000 guests, menu creation, décor and design, as well as leading a team of service and catering managers. She also oversees the guest hospitality experience for the museum’s offsite fundraising events, as well the premier events hosted by the museum, including exhibition opening receptions and the museum’s annual Medallion Ceremony, which inducts new Country Music Hall of Fame members. Since joining the museum in 2015, she has served many positions, most recently as associate director of event services and catering manager. With more than 15 years of experience in the event industry, Cavanaugh previously worked with Sodexo. She holds a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management from Widener University in Pennsylvania.

Kelsey Reiner has been named associate director of event sales. She helps oversee the team responsible for booking more than 400 private events at the museum annually, which directly support the museum’s nonprofit mission. Reiner contributes to the growth of the events and catering annual gross revenue, while also ensuring the highest level of customer service and client satisfaction. She also works closely with city organizations to continually promote the museum as a premier events facility in the Nashville community to ensure future business. Prior to joining the museum, Reiner held the position of event sales manager at the Loveless Cafe/Loveless Events for five years where she was responsible for booking and servicing events. She holds a bachelor’s degree in sports, entertainment and event management from Johnson & Wales University.

Haley Gallery

Daniel Lonow has been promoted to Haley Gallery director. In this role, he manages the gallery and curates a variety of exhibitions in the museum’s commercial art gallery each year that feature nationally recognized visual artists. A portion of proceeds from artwork purchased in the gallery supports the nonprofit museum’s educational mission, while fostering creative growth within the local arts community and beyond. He has been with the museum for nine years. Prior to joining the museum’s Haley Gallery, Lonow worked with TAG Art Gallery and the Ruby Green Contemporary Arts Center.

Museum Services

Elek Horvath has been promoted to associate director of collection access. In this role he oversees a team that is responsible for the administration and management of artifacts moving to and from the museum, artifact processing and data management, internal and external communications and logistics with respect to artifacts and exhibits, collection inventory and environmental monitoring and control of archive and exhibit spaces. He joined the museum in 2000 to work on the Journal of Country Music. He co-authored the book “Hatch Show Print: The History of a Great American Poster Shop,” published in 2001. In 2003, he became Special Projects Production Coordinator and helped license music used in the Grammy-winning CMF Records compilation, Night Train to Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues. In 2004, he was appointed Collections Registrar, a position he held until 2019, when he was appointed Senior Registrar. He is curator of the museum’s recently opened exhibit An American Masterwork: Thomas Hart Benton’s “Sources of Country Music” at 50. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Maryland. Before that, he served in the United States Marine Corps.

Michael McCall has been promoted to associate director of editorial. In this role he will assist in managing the development of written content for the museum’s exhibitions, books, public programs, website, social media and educational materials. A 17-year museum veteran, McCall previously served as senior museum writer-editor and has curated more than 20 museum exhibitions and hosted many programs including interviews with Kenny Chesney, Los Lobos, Blake Shelton, Country Music Hall of Fame members Brooks & Dunn, Patty Loveless, Reba McEntire and Hank Williams Jr. He has co-edited the second edition of “The Encyclopedia of Country Music,” and has written museum catalogs on Loretta Lynn, Reba McEntire and the archival collection of the museum. Prior to joining the museum, he spent four decades as a music journalist writing and editing for publications including the Associated Press, Country Music magazine, Los Angeles Times, Nashville Banner, Nashville Scene, USA Today and others. In 2007, McCall received the Charlie Lamb Award for Excellence in Country Music Journalism from Belmont University.