Murfreesboro arts leader, Andrea Loughry will serve as the Tennessee Arts Commission Vice-Chair. The appointment began July 1, 2018 and will continue for a year. The Commission members unanimously approved new leadership during the quarterly meeting held in Nashville on May 30, 2018. Steve Bailey of Knoxville who will serve as chair and Hank Dye of Townsend who will serve as secretary join Loughry in office.

Anne B. Pope, Tennessee Arts Commission Executive Director commented, "We are excited to welcome Mrs. Loughry as our incoming vice-chair. She is a committed community and arts leaders in Murfreesboro and Rutherford County, and has been a strong voice at the Commission for the past several years. We will benefit from her experience as long-time arts advocate and champion."

Loughry was appointed for a five-year term to the Tennessee Arts Commission in 2014.

"I was honored to be appointed by Governor Haslam to serve my community and state in this capacity. For the past year, I have been working with our three art laureates to establish a cultural collaborative supporting Rutherford County's creative community in broad partnership with local institutions and non-profits. Now, I hope that I can contribute even more in helping to forward the collective impact of the arts in Tennessee's schools and communities" said Loughry.

Loughry is a member of the Jones Foundation and the MTSU Foundation. She serves as chair of the Council of Stewards for the First United Methodist Church in Murfreesboro. A retired business owner, Andrea is President Emeritus of Miller-Loughry-Beach, one of the largest insurance agencies in Middle Tennessee, an affiliate of Pinnacle National Financial Partners.

A graduate of the University of Tennessee, she taught for ten years at MTSU and then opened an independent insurance agency. She later became the founding chair of the Mind2Marketplace, an organization dedicated to bringing the best and brightest ideas in Middle Tennessee to reality. Loughry is also former Vice-Chair of the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees and former Chair of the UT Foundation. She served as the first female chair of the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce and has been selected as one of their Business Legends.

The Tennessee Arts Commission is a state arts agency whose mission is to cultivate the arts for the benefit of all Tennesseans and their communities. A 15-member board that is appointed by the Governor for a five-year term governs the Tennessee Arts Commission. The Commission meetings occur quarterly and are open to the public. More information about the Tennessee Arts Commission can be found at the website, tnartscommission.org.