Photo Contributed by Scenic City Women’s Network / Louise MandrellThe first time Louise Mandrell ever booked a speaking engagement was for the opening of the East Brainerd chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home Crematory and Florist 20 years ago.
“I got there and found out I was speaking to an audience of ministers, and I was so nervous,” she said in a phone interview. But that wasn’t her only unexpected moment.
“Back then, it was new to have a dove release, and they asked me to participate in a dove release at the end. I was holding a dove and looked up and saw a hawk circling, so I wouldn’t release the dove,” she recalled with a laugh.
“We did finally convince her to release the dove, and it made it back home safely,” said Stephen Pike with a chuckle, vice president of Chattanooga Funeral Home.
Mandrell returns to Chattanooga on Thursday, April 7, to speak at the Praise! breakfast hosted by Scenic City Women’s Network, an organization designed to encourage and equip working Christian women. There won’t be any doves released, but spirits may soar as Mandrell gives her testimony, sings and plays her fiddle.