by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
“Jazzy Jag,” one of the latest installations of the Otis Smith Kids Foundation’s Big Cats, is on the prowl in the lobby at the Omni Hotel.
“As a company, we are involved in the local community and we support different charities,” said Omni General Manager Scott Stuckey. “The Otis Smith Kids Foundation is very important to us because it’s very educational and gives us an opportunity to help children.”
Stuckey said the design by artist Barbara Womack was chosen through a democratic process.
“We narrowed it down to three different cats then took the designs to an employee team meeting. We let the employees vote and picked the one they wanted and it was ‘Jazzy Jag’,” said Stuckey. “It fits us very well since we play jazz music in the hotel at night.”
Sponsoring the Big Cat is only part of the Omni’s involvement with the foundation. About 150 of the foundation’s children will get the chance to find out what it’s like to be a guest in a luxury hotel.
“At the end of the year, they have a graduation ceremony and dinner for the kids. We’re going to host it here in our ballroom as part of our sponsorship,” said Stuckey.
In the meantime, everyone is enjoying the Big Cat.
“Guests and visitors have been sitting next to it and taking pictures. Some of them have been putting their kids in front of the piano,” said Stuckey. “It will probably be on some people’s Christmas cards.”