Liz Teales, a public relations professional and former executive of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, died Sunday (March 19) after a long illness. Teales was 78 years old.
Thiels was born in 1944 in Alexandria, Louisiana. She attended Louisiana Southwest University in Lafayette, Louisiana and Baton She attended Louisiana State University in Rouge, where she majored in advertising design. She later worked as a reporter for a Louisiana daily newspaper, serving as press secretary for U.S. Congressman Speedy O. Long.
Thiels moved to Nashville in the late 1960s and worked as an account executive for Holder, Kennedy & Co. Public Relations. In the 1970s, Tiels became a partner of Nashville’s Exit/In music venue, helping showcase artists such as John Hiatt, Billy Joel, Steve Martin and Linda Ronstadt. In 1974, Teales was appointed director of public relations for Sound He Seventy He Corporation, where Charlie He expanded Daniels’ career and organized the annual Volunteer His Jam his concerts. In 1979, Thiels co-founded Network Ink. Network Ink is Nashville’s first public relations firm dedicated to the city’s music industry. She became the sole owner of her company in 1985 and has represented artists such as Clint Her Black, Dolly Parton, Reba Her McEntire, Kathy Mattea, Brooks & Dunn, Guy Her Clark.
In 1981, Teales also began public relations for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and was heavily involved in a capital campaign to raise funds to move the museum to its current location in downtown Nashville. In 2001, she closed her Network Ink and joined the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum as Vice President of Public Relations. She retired as a key member of the executive team in 2015. Along the way, she helped raise the profile of the Country Music Hall of Fame and spearheaded numerous museum events, including the annual medallion ceremony held to induct new members of the country music scene. hall of fame.
In November 2008, Thiels was honored at the museum’s annual Louise Scruggs Memorial Forum, which honors music industry leaders who represent the legacy of music business manager Louise Scruggs. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum honors Teals’ love of gardening, including Liz’s Hillbilly Garden, her garden of fresh herbs that feeds the museum’s restaurants.
Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, said, “Liz Teals has made country music known and enhanced in countless ways.” (Nashville’s first dedicated to music) and professionally directed public relations for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, first as a PR consultant and then on staff, for a total of more than 30 years. A key figure in the successful relocation of the museum to downtown, she was instrumental in formulating a strategy for our growth, making the museum a major fixture in Nashville’s music community and an institution of national status. I can’t imagine where the museum would be without her years of sage advice.”
