SUSAN PIERCE: I have to agree, her arrogance was a turn-off. But as the old saying goes, “It ain’t bragging if it’s fact,” and she backed up her boasts with a win.

Company coming?

Chattanoogans Grayson Golden, Vijay Patel, Hitesh Vashi, Marko Bajic, Jin Cheng, and Sean Dunn have been awarded Grote Scholarships at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Upcoming events on area college campuses. BERRY * Tuesday: Berry College Oak Hill Symphony Orchestra holiday concert, 7:30 p.m., Ford Auditorium, free and open to the public. BRYAN College * Monday: Thanksgiving praise chapel, Rudd Auditorium, 11 a.m. *

Chattanooga State Community College will host two presentations on Monday by Dr. Rand Carpenter, an epidemiologist and the assistant public health veterinarian at the Tennessee Department of Health.

A senior at Chattanooga Center for Creative Arts wowed judges with an arrangement of "Steal Away" by UTC professor Roland Carter to win the prestigious Schmidt Youth Vocal Competition.

Did you know that two decades ago a typical restaurant cheeseburger had about 330 calories, but thanks to supersizing that's now doubled?

When the temperature drops outside, where's a kid going to burn off steam?

The first collaboration between the Chattanooga Music Club and Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra has produced an exciting program of music for the third annual Harvest Hymn Festival. The free, community hymn fest will be held Sunday afternoon in Memorial Auditorium.

In one of my sessions at Jenny Craig, counselor Suzie pointed out a list of words that are restaurant-menu code for hidden, high-fat ingredients.

Holiday Wrapping Paper Art Contest kicks off today

Last year, 3,978 volunteers placed by the United Way Volunteer Center logged 67,859 hours helping others, a donation of manpower valued at $1.37 million.

In only its second marching season, the Heritage High School Legion of Generals Band received an invitation to the 2010 Fiesta Bowl, quite a feather in its shako.

County Mayor Claude Ramsey will be the featured speaker at Thursday's Launch session at the Jewish Cultural Center, 5461 North Terrace, at noon.

The Chattanooga Music Teachers Association is bringing a hometown piano prodigy back to town to serve as guest clinician in its two-day workshop.

Upcoming events at area college campuses. BRYAN * Monday: Preregistration for spring semester continues through Friday. * Monday-Wednesday: Dr. Robert Brabenec, professor emeritus of mathematics at Wheaton College and founder of the Association of Christi

Air Force Maj. Robert A. Groves has been named Outstanding Air Force Medical Service Educator 2009-Officer Category.

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga students are combining three American operas into one performance directed by Ronald Ulen, which will be presented tonight and repeated Sunday afternoon in UTC Fine Arts Center.

Kids, your artwork could decorate packages under hundreds of Christmas trees next month.

Friends of the Festival won nine awards for the 2009 Riverbend Festival at the International Festival and Events Association's annual convention in Indianapolis.

In June, the Chattanooga Community Kitchen served a record 16,000 meals to the homeless. September's numbers were almost as high: 15,000 meals that month.

During an interview with Dr. Andrew Lunn last week, the dentist talked about the importance of not keeping Halloween candy around for more than two days.

SUSAN PIERCE: For the fourth consecutive week, Christopher Straub was in "Project Runway's" bottom two and evaded being "aufed," even though he deserved to be cut loose far more than Nicolas Putvinski, who got the judges' boot.

Candy is dandy, but kids could get cash for those treats.

Three longtime Chattanooga philanthropists and a business fairly new to town will be honored by the Association of Fundraising Professionals for their exemplary practices at the National Philanthropy Day Awards on Nov. 4.

The Tennessee Art Therapy Association is holding the 2009 Connections Through Art Therapy conference today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Chattanooga State Community College. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m.

I did something I've never before done on vacation: I lost weight.

Moms looking for good bargains on children's clothing and toys can start their Christmas shopping early when the highly anticipated Just Between Friends consignment sale opens today at Camp Jordan Arena.

Upcoming events on area campuses. Berry College * Monday: The Music Department launches a new concert series to coincide with the 100th anniversary of music education on Berry's campus. The Alabama String Quartet will inaugurate the series at 7:30 p.m. in

Nancy Olson, a New Jersey mom who began a national network of shelters for homeless families, will speak this morning at the opening of the local affiliate's new day center.

The Tennessee Environmental Education Association presented its 2009 Distinguished Service Award to George Bartnik, the Tennessee Aquarium's education programs manager.

KZ106 will bring a rare collection of original art, handwritten song lyrics, concert posters and gold records to Hamilton Place when the "KZ106 Classic Rock Art Show" opens Friday. The free show will be on view through Sunday during regular mall hours. All works are available to purchase.

I've been on Jenny Craig one month and have lost 13 pounds.

I've always found there was nothing that a Little Debbie Swiss Cake Roll and a tall, cold glass of Mayfield milk couldn't make better when I was stressed out. I rationalized those Swiss Cake calories with the knowledge that the milk was healthy for me.

An hour before kickoff at home football games, The Tribe starts gathering at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School to paint up.

When statistics show that one of every two first marriages ends in divorce, according to First Things First, two couples have soundly beat those odds.

Memorial Health Care System Foundation was the recipient of the Judges Choice Award by the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy Southeast Regional Cabinet at its inaugural AHP Southeast Best Practices Awards program. Pink!, the foundation's black-tie fundraiser, received the AHP recognition.

Constitutional attorney Ann Coulter will speak at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on Monday, Oct. 5, at noon in the University Center Auditorium. Her talk will be "Evaluating the Change in American Government."

Wow! I was astounded at the response my first column received last Sunday. Obviously, my story struck a chord with many of you who have the same weight issues.

SUSAN PIERCE: The latest challenge on "Project Runway" was to create a dress made of newspaper, paying homage to the iconic paper dress first designed in 1968.

Shortly after Vilma Fields, who was director of the Chattanooga African-American Museum for 20 years, met Rose Martin almost 10 years ago, Mrs. Fields told the younger woman that she was going to follow her as that museum's director.

Upcoming events on area college campuses. CHATTANOOGA STATE * Tuesday: Lauren Pelon concert, Humanities Theater, 7:30 p.m., free. 697-3383. * Wednesday: DJ and Caricaturists, Amphitheater, 10 a.m. -- 2 p.m. * Friday: Music by Tim Cofield, Noah Collins and

Friends of Moccasin Bend National Park launches its fall lecture series on Monday at 7 p.m. at the Tennessee Aquarium auditorium. Dr. Nicholas Honerkamp, archaeologist and UTC Foundation Professor, will give an overview of the archaeological evidence link

The audience will become the classroom when Girls Inc. of Chattanooga launches a clever new fundraiser, "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth-Grade Girl," as the theme of its fifth annual Blast Off.

Woo-hoo! I had my first weigh-in Tuesday night since starting Jenny Craig and I’d lost 4.2 pounds.

This weekend's dozen festivals offer a wide variety of appealing venues, ranging from county fairs and city parks to a Victorian mansion and Cherokee festival grounds.

A trade "secret" slipped out Monday while two Rockettes were in Chattanooga.

Leah Hofmann and Alina Williams, two members of the Rockettes’ precision dance team performing in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular in Nashville, visited Chattanooga Center for Creative Arts this morning to lead a master class.

I've been making the rounds lately saying goodbye to some old friends: Bread Basket's cream cheese brownies, Tony's Chicken Tetrazzini and Chili's Chicken Monterey.

If you’ve read my column on the front of today’s Life section, you know I’ve committed to diet and blog about the experience as part of the Times Free Press’ project, “The Shape We’re In.”