Bobby Maze 3^rd Annual Celebrity Weekend featuring Adrian Peterson, Candace Parker, Allen Iverson & Chamique Holdsclaw and more!

If you're a sports fan or just dig hanging around celebrities, this is THE weekend to hang in Knoxville! Bobby Maze, former professional basketball player and point-guard for the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons is making his way back to good ‘ole Rocky Top to host the 3^rd Annual Celebrity Weekend benefiting the Emerald Youth Foundation. Kickball and basketball game tickets are available for purchase online. Kickball tickets are $5, and basketball tickets range from $25 to $75.

Did we mention that Bobby’s bringing some of famous friends and lots of former VOLS along for the ride? Purchase a ticket and get up close and personal with celebs like Adrian Peterson, Candace Parker, Allen Iverson and Chamique Holdsclaw, while watching them play kickball and shoot hoops to benefit Knoxville’s youth.

The weekend festivities kick off at the new Emerald Youth Samson Sports Complex on Friday, June 19, with a kickball game starring professional athletes playing against members of the Knoxville Police Department and the Emerald Youth Foundation.

Things really heat up on Saturday, June 20 at Hardin Valley Academy with two AAU basketball games and a star-studded celebrity basketball match-up to follow.

It’s going to be one Big Orange Party with after-hours happenings at NV Nightclub and The International. You can even don your white duds Kanye style and hip-hop the night away.

Maze, who is passionate about mentoring today’s youth, wants to provide children and teenagers with encouragement and opportunities to help them stay active and become leaders in their communities. He is proud that the Celebrity Weekend will benefit Knoxville’s urban youth.

Kudos, Bobby Maze. You truly put the ROCK in Rocky Top.

We live in a modern world where the every-man has a chance to taste the proverbial piece of pie. With shows like Shark Tank or America’s Next Top Model, people bare all in front of the nation to prove they have what it takes to be the next big thing. Now, Jewelry Television (JTV) is offering an opportunity for jewelry designers to land their big break.

Who doesn’t love a good First Friday event? Join us downtown this Friday, March 6 to help raise funds for “Team Mandy” as Mandy Bradshaw participates in Star 102.1’s Dancing with the Knoxville Stars East Tennessee Children’s Hospital fundraiser.

Social media is everywhere. There’s no escaping it. You fall down the stairs in the library, and in five minutes the video is posted on Facebook (and tagged, of course). You meet your favorite musician and forget how to spell your name (or maybe that’s just me), and the whole 140-character tale enters the Twitter-sphere within seconds. Your date night outfit is on FLEEK, and naturally the selfie is prepped and primed for Instagram perfection.

I love how the advancement of technology and social media has allowed the quick wit of some brands to shine. From Oreo’s dastardly quick tweet post-football blackout to the #BendGate debacle, brands are showing their comedic chops.

And many of these brands aren’t even phone brands. It makes sense that Samsung and HTC would make jabs about Apple’s unintentional phone design flaw in comparison to their phones’ intentional design. But who would have thought Dockers or even Heineken would get in on the conversation?

Dockers showed their Apple support by donning “Dockers ON-THE-GO” with a hidden security pocket just for the iPhone 6. There’s no sitting on or bending phones with these khakis.

Avoid #bendgate with our hidden security side pocket. Smart phone, meet the #SmartestKhakis ever made. pic.twitter.com/Eb2bvg6fcS

— Dockers (@Dockers) September 24, 2014

Utilizing the trending hashtag “BendGate”, Heineken showed a little sarcastic sympathy for the brand by stating it happens to them all the time.

Dear Apple… #BendGate pic.twitter.com/XJ8zVEUog9

— Heineken NL (@Heineken_NL) September 25, 2014

One of the funniest responses I’ve seen came from Slim Jim. Take a look.

Safe in your pocket, safe in your mouth. #BendGate #6Plus pic.twitter.com/0hZbOpGEqW

— Slim Jim (@SlimJim) September 24, 2014

For more brand trolls, head on over to this Mashable article or check out #BendGate on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. What are some of your favorite #BendGate brand responses?

As a millennial, I have a myriad of opinions and insights on what makes this demographic tick. I’m surrounded by friends and colleagues who are millennials, and I study this demo as a PR professional. The American Marketing Association claims that this 18 to 34-year-old segment is a marketing “sweet spot.”

The importance of relationships in media has increased. It’s becoming more and more about who you know as opposed to what you know. For bloggers, this can be difficult, considering you work in a predominantly digital sphere. One way to add a face to the blog is to attend press previews and events. Industry only press previews provide a great opportunity to develop these media relationships and get your name and face out there.

Although I’m new to the game, I’ve learned a thing or two about public relations. One thing – you must always, ALWAYS have another set of eyes on something. I can get into this stream-of-consciousness flow when writing where all my words don’t make it to paper. So having someone insert “the”s, “and”s and “but”s where they need to be helps me read as a coherent writer.