Donna Hilley to Receive Posthumous Honor From NaSHOF

Donna Hilley

The late publishing icon, Donna Hilley, will receive the 2012 Frances Williams Preston Mentor Award from the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation.

Hilley, who passed within a week of Preston in June 2012, became president and CEO of Sony/ATV Nashville after negotiating Tree International’s purchase while it was under her leadership. She worked for more than 30 years for the company.

“Donna was a truly amazing woman who rose from typist at a radio station to be one of the most successful music publishing executives ever,” said John Van Mol, chairman of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation.

The honor will be acknowledged at the organization’s 42^nd Anniversary Dinner & Induction ceremony on October 7 alongside previously announced Hall of Fame inductees Tony Arata, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Larry Henley and Kim Williams. The ceremony also includes NSAI’s annual awards for the year’s Best Song, Songwriter and Songwriter/Artist, as well as the Top 10 “Songs I Wish I Had Written,” as determined by the professional songwriters division.

Previous recipients of the Frances Williams Preston Mentor Award include Bob Beckham (2008), Bill Hall (2009), Preston (2010) and David Conrad (2011).

Tickets for the event are $225 each with a limited number available to the public by contacting Mark Ford hoftix@nashvillesongwriters.com.