J.T. Thompson serves as Executive Director and Vice President of the Lotz House. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of The Carter House and serves on the Battlefield Task Force for the Mayor of Franklin, Tennessee. Thompson is also on the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Preservation Trust and serves on the Collections Committee for Carnton Plantation.

Opening the Lotz House has been a life long dream of J.T.’s. His enthusiasm and passion for sharing the fine arts, antiques and furnishings become apparent when you hear the stories he tells about each piece. He holds a special interest in antique furnishings, porcelain, silver and Civil War memorabilia.

He has served as President of the Battle of Nashville Preservation Society and continues to assist the organization as a past president and current member. He has a great love for Civil War history and its preservation.

For the past six years J.T. has been featured at various Antique Appraisal Fairs throughout Tennessee and the Southeast, including events for the Tennessee Backroads and the Jack Daniels Distillery.

Thompson is certified in Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice and Advisory Opinions (USPAP) and trained as a certified Personal Property Appraiser. He is also a member of the International Association of R.S. Prussia Collectors and The Society of Inkwell Collectors.

Thompson, a native Texan, has lived in Nashville most of his life. He had an impressive career in television news where he anchored the news at KTVE-TV, KNOE-TV and KALB-TV in Louisiana, served as news director in Guam for Cable News/CNN and later joined WSMV-TV in Nashville as executive producer and later as news director.

Following his television news career Thompson served as President of Music City Marketing and UPtown’s Smoke Shop. He is married to Susan Andrews Thompson.

Sue is often called the “One Woman Road Show,” as she has conducted numerous antique appraisal fairs for many years.

Sue, an independent appraiser, has been involved in the art and antiques appraisal business for more than 45 years. She has been retained to do appraisals throughout the U.S., England and Germany. In the past, she has also been an art instructor in the Western Pacific Islands of Guam and Saipan.

Her international work and travel have enabled her to understand art on a global level. She is a noted antiquarian who works as a consultant to individuals and corporations and lectures on the subject of collecting as investment.

She is avid collector of American furniture and decorative arts. In fact, she was instrumental in finding and collecting many of the furnishings and decorative arts you see at the Lotz House today.

She has also been involved in the restoration and preservation of many of Middle Tennessee’s historical homes including Mooreland, Longview, Belmont Mansion, Belle Meade Mansion, Clover Bottom, White Hall and, of course, the Lotz House.