Memphis - April 2022

FAVORITE STAYCATIONS | 2022 POWER PL AYERS | HABITATS | COOKIE E WING

MAGAZINE

VOL XLVII NO 1 | A P R I L 2 0 2 2

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DISPLAY UNTIL MAY 10, 2022

THE PEOPLE’S STAGE A HISTORY OF THE OVERTON PARK SHELL

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3/16/22 10:39 AM

Celebrate Your Company’s Milestone

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COVER PHOTOGRAPH: MUSICIAN JAWAUN CRAWFORD BY CRAIG THOMPSON / COURTESY OVERTON PARK SHELL

V O L X LV II N O 1 | A PR I L 2022

UP FRONT 10 12 24

I N T H E B E G I N N I N G ~ by a n n a t r av e r s e f o g l e C L A S S I C D I N I N G ~ by michael donahue S I P S ~ by b r u c e va n w y n g a r d e n

FEATURES 16 A Perfect Memphis Day

A few prominent Memphians share their favorite staycation ideas.

30 The People’s Stage

How the Overton Park Shell won Memphians’ hearts and survived against all odds. ~ by alex greene

34

HABITATS

Two Transformations

How designer Tara Engelberg helped save an East Memphis gem. ~ by c h r i s m c c oy

39

LOCAL TREASURES

Cookie Ewing

A force in theater education continues to search out humanity. ~ by j o n w. s pa r ks

84

ASK VANCE

Doyle’s Pharmacy

Our history expert solves local mysteries of who, what, when, where, why, and why not. ~ by va n c e l au d e r da l e

86

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DINING OUT

Lucy’s

Kevin Williams’ creative brunch and breakfast await visitors at the Hu. Hotel. ~ by s a m u e l x . c i c c i

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CITY DINING

The city’s most extensive dining listings.

112 L A S T

STAND

For Ukraine

As a country burned, a writer sought traction. ~ b y f r a n k m u r ta u g h

SPECIAL SECTIONS 49 82

16 Memphis (ISSN 1622-820x) is published monthly for $18 per year by Contemporary Media, Inc., 65 Union Avenue, 2nd Floor, Memphis, TN 38103 © 2022. Telephone: 901-521-9000. For subscription info, please call 901-521-9000. Subscription customer service mailing address is Memphis magazine, P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101. All rights reserved.

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2022 POWER PLAYERS 2022 SOCIETY OF ENTREPRENEURS

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Power Players 2022

86 APRIL 202 2 • MEMPHISMAGA ZINE.COM • 7

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CEO AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF anna traverse fogle

STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE SINCE 1950

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Memphis Magazine's

THE 2022

jon w. sparks

FACE

ASSOCIATE EDITOR abigail morici

OF

alex greene, vance lauderdale, chris mccoy,

CONTRIBUTORS michael donahue,

ORIENTAL RUGS

bruce vanwyngarden

4 EDITOR samuel x. cicci SENIOR EDITOR jon w. sparks

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CREATIVE DIRECTOR brian groppe ADVERTISING ART DIRECTOR christopher myers GRAPHIC DESIGNER neil williams PHOTOGRAPHERS willy bearden, robyn birch,

justin fox burks, lisa buser, samuel x. cicci, michael donahue, karen pulfer focht, alex greene, brian groppe, mike kerr, larry kuzniewski, shaun marsh, mari martin, frank murtaugh, john pickle, alex shansky,

Hand Cleaning Appraisals Sales Reweaving Repairs Color Run Restoration Pet and other Stain Removals Moth Damage Odor Removal and much more Spread love, not germs by having your rugs disinfected.

Master Weaver Ali Taghavi restoring an antique Persian Farahan rug.

Here at Taghavi’s, we would like to do our part to help stop the spread of the novel COVID-19 virus. Recent studies have shown that the virus can be brought into your home, by your shoes and can live on surfaces like your rugs and floors anywhere from two to nine days. In order to help curb the spread, we at Taghavi’s, recommend that you stop wearing your outdoor shoes into your homes and to have your rugs cleaned and disinfected. Quality rug cleaning can only be accomplished by in-store professional rug cleaners. Call us for disinfecting and cleaning of your rugs.

jon w. sparks, craig thompson, amie vanderford, bruce vanwyngarden, andrea zucker

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I N

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B E G I N N I N G | BY ANNA TR AVERSE FOGLE

War and Basketball

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I have my dreams. Ja Morant has … just of the spring of 2022. Even the more cautious about every game he plays. The Memphis among us (such as myself) are beginning to Grizzlies’ current roster is rich with talent, walk into public settings with our full faces on display, maskless for the first time in two personality, and verve. I believe that even without Morant, I would have been follow- years. The people who produce this magazine ing the team’s progress this spring. Steven are (most of us, most of the time) back in the Adams, Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr., office. I won’t tempt fate by claiming the panDe’Anthony Melton, and more perform im- demic is winding down, but the threat seems, pressive feats on a weekly for now, abated.

People are congrebasis. Each deserves to be written about, I’ve no doubt. gating, if they ever But you have to understand stopped. With any luck, the small lothat I am, most of the time, not someone who pays much cal businesses that attention to sports. I am are still here will find more steadicertainly not someone who texts basketball highlights ness ahead. to her husband with lots of We’ll remember exclamation points. Watchthose sighs of relief. ing Morant leap and soar But I know we’ll and stride through the air is remember, too, the only sort of about basketball, sharp intakes of breath when witfor me. It’s also about those ne s si ng h istor y dreams of f lying. Morant unfold 5,500 miles manages so many twists and away. Missiles ripturns while aloft, he looks to have mastered temporal ping into apartment manipulation as well as, you buildings, civilians Ja Morant know (no big deal), flight. shot dead while At the heart of it all, Motrying to flee, NICU rant gives me hope that maybe, just maybe, babies being tended by brave nurses in basethe edges of the possible are more flexible ment corridors, and on and on. Thanks in than they typically appear. Maybe he can part to social media, we’re seeing that Kyiv manage one more mid-air stride before and Kharkiv aren’t so very far away at all. (It’s gravity reasserts itself, and then another, not lost on me that I consume news about the and another. Maybe he can show the rest Memphis Grizzlies and Russian missiles in of us how. Those highlight clips bring joy, the exact same manner: while scrolling my too, and hope in all its stubbornness. News phone. How do our devices not combust from alerts flash on my phone with more and more the sheer volume of disparate information we distressing updates from Ukraine, and what ask them to deliver?) Even or especially in the the devastation there portends for the rest of darkest times, we’re reminded of humanity’s us. And then there’s Ja Morant, sailing above bold, brilliant spirit. The Ukrainian people the rim like a ballet dancer, like a bird out for are outnumbered and outgunned, but they a joy ride. Time stops. The noise stops. All aren’t giving up. that matters, for a moment, is: how the heck did I don’t know what’s to come; none of us he just do that?! does. But I think it’s a safe bet that we’ll need It’s too soon yet to say what we’ll remember reminders of wonder here and there.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOE MURPHY-NBAE-GETTY IMAGES

A HOUSE-SOLD NAME IN MEMPHIS!

ike an awful lot of people, I sometimes dream of flying. It’s a common enough trope, as dreams go: You leap into the air and discover that gravity’s taken a holiday. You find a current and you glide, swooping a few feet above the earth or a few hundred, looking down on rivers and rooftops, still near the world but tethered no more. In the logic of dreams, flying seems quite natural and unsurprising: why wouldn’t I be able to do what any old sparrow can? Among waking activities, running’s the closest I can get, earthbound and on my own steam, to flying. I savor the moments when I can stretch time mid-stride, between when my feet leave the ground and when they touch down again. Something like flying.

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M Y L A G O S M Y W AY

C AV I A R C O L L E C T I O N S

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C L AS S I C

D I N I N G

Turkey and Dressing at The Four Way Restaurant

Fried catfish filets are a close second to the turkey and dressing, but both meals — served with yams, greens, and cornbread — are popular at this legendary restaurant.

BY MICHAEL DONAHUE

P

atrice Bates Thompson is quick to tell you The Four Way’s most popular items: “Turkey and dressing and the fried catfish filets.”

The amount of each sold is “very close,” but turkey and dressing probably has the edge, says Thompson, owner of the soul-food establishment. “It’s always been pretty much what I consider a staple, everyday item.”

As for the most popular sides, she says, “They kind of vary between the greens and yams.

And the mac and cheese is very popular. Our most sold dessert is the peach cobbler and strawberry cake.”

Asked what makes The Four Way so popular, Thompson says, “I think our history. The longevity of the family restaurant — even though it’s not been the same family — on the same cor-

ner in that neighborhood.”

That history includes “just having notable people to come through. Famous people.” Among them, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and “a lot of people from just all over the country.”

Thompson is part of the Bates family that has owned the restaurant since 2002. Her parents, the late Willie Earl Bates and the late Jo Ellen Bates, bought the restaurant that Clint and Irene Cleaves

originally opened at Mississippi and Walker in 1946.

Of course, the appeal is also the food. “We cook with passion and love. And we take pride in what we do. I’m sure we’re not only going to give you a good p ro duc t , but good service.”

When she was still working as the office manager at nearby Metropolitan Baptist Church, Thompson could walk to The Four Way in five minutes. Her duties — all of which she still does today, if needed — included cooking in the kitchen,

working the register, and serving customers.

Thompson also is in the enviable position of being around all that great food. Asked which is her favorite item, she says it’s “probably neck and neck: the fried fish and fried chicken wings. Oh, the way we cook them. They’re so crispy. When we first started we had a saying here, ‘Every bite’s a delight.’” The outside of the fried chicken and fish is “crispy and good,” while the meat is “still juicy inside.”

The Four Way’s cabbage is one of her favorite side items. “Some people like their cabbage soaked till it’s almost what I would consider mushy,” she says. “Some like theirs when it’s still crisp. Ours is kind of in-between. The longer you cook cabbage, the softer it gets. We don’t cook it till it gets soft.”

Thompson also has her favorite food combination: macaro ni and cheese with yams. “I do not care for my foods to touch, but those are two things that can. The mac and yams give me a little extra yam juice. With a little cornbread, that’s my heaven.”

The Four Way Restaurant is located at 998 Mississippi Boulevard.

THOMPSON PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL DONAHUE | DONAHUE PHOTOGRAPH BY THE THOMPSONS

left: Patrice Bates Thompson and her daughter, JoElle Thompson, at The Four Way Restaurant. below: Michael Donahue indulges in turkey and dressing, yams, and greens.

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A Place Apart

Café 1912 is a cozy bistro that serves up classic films and cocktails.

BY BRUCE VANW YNGARDEN

Bartender Tyler Morgan with a “Viser.”

T

he first thing that hits you when you enter Café 1912 is the smoky aroma emanating from the compact open kitchen, where chef Keith Riley and his small crew are creating the classic country French dishes that have long been the staple of this Midtown bistro.

Make a quick left turn and then a right, and you’re in the cozy back-room bar, amid a stellar collection of vintage French food and drink posters pulled together over the years by owners Glenn and Martha Hays. You’ll likely be greeted by bartender Tyler Morgan, who — as anyone who’s met him will tell you — loves a good conversation. It may be his college philosophy-major

roots or it may be that he’s just a smart, gregarious guy, but whatever it is, Tyler is very good at his trade.

Behind the bar, the television is tuned to an old black-andwhite film called Keeper of the Flame, with the sound turned down. Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn are f iercely smoking cigarettes and appear to be discussing something

quite important. A Coltrane tune plays softly over the bar’s sound system, providing an oddly appropriate soundtrack.

I like this place.

It’s early and the dinner crowd hasn’t arrived, so Tyler and I have time to talk. I first ask him why he shows movies, which turns out to be a good place to start a

conversation.

“It got to the point where I didn’t like the energy that sports created,” he says, warming up. “I noticed that when I showed a film, it created connections from one person to the next at the bar. It started conversations. ‘When was the first time you saw this film?’ ‘Who is this actor?’

It helps people get to know each other rather than them just yelling at a touchdown or something. Since the sound is turned down with subtitles, it’s a fun way for me to get my customers to talk to each other and to me, and to create a conversational atmosphere, like a little nightly community.”

That settled, I ask Tyler what his favorite drink is to make. “A beer,” he says, adding quickly, “That’s a bad bartender joke. I actually like making some of the classics — Sazeracs, Manhattans, whiskey sours.”

“Wow, I haven’t thought about a whiskey sour in a long time,” I say, thinking about a whiskey sour.

“I make one I call the ‘Viser,’

says Tyler. “It’s named after a customer who always asks for it. I make it with over-proofed whiskey — in this case, Wild Turkey 101 — lemon juice, simple syrup, and an egg white. You combine everything and give it a dry shake — without ice — then add ice and shake again to chill.

Then I toss in a maraschino cherry for color.”

“I noticed that “Sold,” I say. when I showed a “Fire one up.” film, it created Two minconnections from utes later, Tyone person to the ler slides the concoction next at the bar.” a c ro s s t he bar. My first impression is that it looks like a late-night Coltrane tune, creamy and lush and dangerous. And it is. The texture is velvety, but it’s cut perfectly by the lemon and, to a lesser extent, by the whiskey. It is a very satisfying cocktail, one of the best I’ve had in a while.

As I savor my drink, a few customers come in. Over there is a woman from France and her American friend, Mary. A noted local attorney and his wife enter and hold down the far end. An old friend walks in, says hello, and sits next to me.

We chat among ourselves, our attention occasionally drawn to the screen, where Tracy and Hepburn are still working out some dilemma that involves a lot of smoke and dramatic lighting on Hepburn’s astonishing cheekbones.

“Were they already lovers when this film was made?” asks the French woman, to no one in particular.

“I think they were lovers,” says the lawyer’s wife, “but I read that the studio set them up in a marriage later because they found out they were both gay.” “ W hat? Tracy and Hep burn? Really?”

“That’s what I read somewhere.”

“That’s a new one for me. Guess I need to google that.”

And so it goes and on it went. Cocktails, dinner, conversation, a movie, and even a little mystery. Classic.

Café 1912 is located at 24 2 South Cooper.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY BRUCE VANWYNGARDEN

S I P S

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VO R I T A

W

E

StaycationsG F

e’re as excited as anyone about the beautifully upgraded Memphis airport, which has at last moved out of the 1960s and into more modern times. And unlike so many interchangeable airports, this one feels distinctively Memphis, thanks to the work, organized by the UrbanArt Commission, of 61 local artists. But if your vacation plans don’t involve

air travel, there’s plenty to get excited about right at home, starting with an innovative approach to Vincent van Gogh at Graceland (a combination we might never have predicted). For more ideas, we asked a range of Memphians to tell us about the ingredients of their perfect Memphis days. We suggested that these notable folks branch out from the local institutions they’re associated with, and they delivered. Let their inclinations inspire your next staycation experience.

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PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY ELVIS PRESLEY ENTERPRISES

3/15/22 6:23 PM

Elvis and Vincent Looking for a staycation destination? The world-famous legacies of the King and van Gogh merge at Graceland this spring.

BY ABIGAIL MORICI

It was 1954, and the hitchhiker carried a guitar case when he approached the stranger’s car, saying he had run out of gas. The man let him in, and the two spoke about music as they drove to the gas station.

Low on money, the hitchhiker asked for a loan, and the stranger obliged before the hitchhiker took his name and address, promising to repay him.

A month later, a large package came in the mail from the hitchhiker, containing a watch and a letter, who wrote that he’d like the stranger to have a painting of his. This painting of a cow in a meadow, the stranger noticed, was signed and inscribed by the hitchhiker — a young musician named Elvis Presley. Forty years later, the stranger registered the painting, still in his possession after all this time, with the U.S. Copyright Office, writing in his statement of fact: “I feel it is time to show Elvis fans that Elvis was a fine young artist as well as entertainer.”

Despite this stranger’s belief in the authenticity of his painting, by 2005, Janet Gwendolyn Smith, fine art appraiser and historian, determined that Elvis was not the artist, though a handwriting analysis authenticated his signature and the dedication to his grandmother and mother. But after academic research and forensic examinations — including an x-ray, thread count of the canvas, and ink analysis of the inscription, as well as a study of the original signature buried beneath this newer signature — Smith attributed the painting to another icon: the world-famous post-impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh.

Since then, Smith has submitted the painting to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam for authentication. “It takes 50-100 years to approve,” Smith

says. “I might not ever see it [authenticated] in my lifetime.”

“I’ll be honest with you,” she continues. “I don’t think Elvis knew who painted it. I think he just put his name on it because he wanted to make sure he was credited with owning it. …

He had a very rough childhood.

I’m relatively certain that he was trying to leave a legacy for [his family].”

Of course, we may never know why Elvis signed the painting, but we do know that this artwork, which never hung on the walls of Graceland, was not what gave the Presley name the legacy Elvis craved.

For now, we can believe that the painting is, perhaps, a part of another legacy — that of Vincent van Gogh. And beginning March 25th and running through June 5th, these legacies of Elvis and van Gogh will once again be intertwined as Graceland hosts “Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience.”

In this popular traveling exhibit, van Gogh’s work spills off the canvas as cutting-edge technology projects his paintings to a larger-than-life scale over the walls and floors of the exhibition space. “The audience literally steps foot in them and becomes a part of his vision of the world,” says Fanny Curtat, art history consultant for the exhibit.

“This technology breathes new life into it,” Curtat continues, pointing to the animation that captures the movement already present in van Gogh’s linework and use of complementary colors. “I think he would be comfortable with using tools in a way that showcases his vision, not only what he saw but really what he perceived, and in that sense, it was really about what he saw and didn’t see and what he felt.”

For van Gogh, painting was

a form of communication.

“We know that he was very sensitive to color,” Curtat says.

“He imbues power in them, and he saw a symbolic importance to them. … We know that he thought about colors in a very meaningful way, and that’s one of the goals — to showcase this craving for beauty he put into his work. We tend to remember him for the darkness in his life and the ear-cutting incident, but there’s so much more to him than that.”

“For sure, he struggled — for sure,” she continues. “But when you read his letters, he’s very lucid. At times there’s this philosophical depth; at other times, he has this childlike wonder to the world. He’s all about bringing joy and solutions, and he’s known for all the hardship in his life that he successfully transcended into works of art and works of beauty. He was able to see the beauty in a sack of onions on a kitchen table or a pair of boots in the doorway.”

In one of his letters, van Gogh urged, “Find things beautiful as much as you can, most people find too little beautiful.”

For an exhibit whose inception began in the midst of a pandemic, Curtat says, “He felt like sort of a good resonating point for what we were going through. He felt very much like the artist we needed.”

The exhibit begins with an introduction to van Gogh’s story, flipping the narrative of the mad artist and showing him as a more complex figure.

After this, guests move into the gallery space, where the projections move from one painting to the next, beginning with his early, darker-toned works and transitioning to his later, much brighter and more colorful paintings. “We wanted to focus on the light and the joy,” Curtat says.

Part of this light and joy

is conveyed through the soundtrack that plays throughout the exhibit. The music is from different periods and different artists, but the tracks carry a sense of levity to them, a warmth that welcomes the viewer into van Gogh’s work.

“For me this is really the fantasy of going into the paintings I know and love,” Curtat says.

“But part of this whole endeavor is to connect the twenty-first-century audience to a nineteenth-century artist. People might find it hard to relate to art of the past or might be intimidated by museums, so it’s really about connecting these elements and showing why the work is still popular in this case, why it’s still relevant. And music helps bridge that gap.”

In bridging this gap, Curtat explains, the exhibit promotes the timeliness and prevailing relevance of van Gogh’s work. “It speaks to the power of his work and the fact that people resonate with him,” Curtat adds.

With that in mind, it seems more than coincidental that van Gogh’s work is now at Graceland, where more than 500,000 visitors come each year to be a part of Elvis’ world.

And perhaps, this exhibit will encourage you, the next time (or the first time) you visit Graceland, to examine Elvis as more than a legend, a persona, but as an artist who crafted a legacy and a message that has persevered across decades. After all, as van Gogh once wrote, “I don’t know if you’ll understand that one can speak poetry just by arranging colors well, just as one can say comforting things in music.”

“Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience” will be on view at the Graceland Exhibition Center, 3171 Elvis Presley Blvd., through June 5th. Tickets can be purchased at vangoghmemphis.com.

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Maysie Craddock ARTIST

The Metal Museum grounds offer unique views of the Mississippi River.

“While I can most often be found painting at The Medicine Factory, because I love working there so much, I feel lucky to live in a city that has so much to offer within just a mile of my studio. I am always inspired by the excellent shows on view at the Metal Museum — the Tributaries series especially challenges my ideas about the possibilities of materials and the

incredible creativity of sculptors and jewelers pushing the boundaries of their medium.

Plus, it has the best river view in Memphis. Also nearby is the wonderful Big River Crossing, giving me views of the Mississippi as it changes through the seasons. And, keeping with the Mississippi theme, for a great lunch I love the Four Way over on Mississippi Boulevard.”

Boo Mitchell OWNER /PRODUCER— ROYAL STU DIOS

“My favorite staycation destination? The Peabody Hotel, hands down. They’ve got super-plush beds, those great robes, and the absolute best room service you can imagine.

A lot of hotels don’t have room service. And The Peabody’s room service is spectacular. Especially the breakfast, because, you know, when you staycation, you always go out to dinner, and maybe sleep a little late. And then you order breakfast in. If

I can get a five-star breakfast sent to my room without going to the lobby, I’m just going to freaking do that! Also, The Peabody has one of the best lobby bars for meetings. I’ve had meetings with some pretty iconic people in that lobby bar.

And then at night, you can just valet-park and all of Downtown is right there. Me and my wife, Tanya, have been staycationing there for years — since we were dating, actually.”

The Peabody ducks welcome local and out-of-town visitors.

Michael Detroit E X E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R — P L AY H O U S E O N T H E S Q U A R E

From art to pizza, Broad Avenue is a not-so-hidden gem.

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“I could spend a whole day in the Broad Avenue Arts District. Whether it’s ‘First Fridays on Broad’ or ‘Holiday Open House Week’ or ‘Broad Avenue Art Walk’ or just any ole’ day, I would start my day at Whitney Winkler Art Studio and Shop on N. Hollywood, then turn the corner on Broad, stopping by T Clifton Art Gallery and check

in on Mylo, the dog who greets visitors, then end the day with a great bottle of wine and the best seafood paella in town at Maximo’s! Of course, window shopping the entire way goes without saying. And because I live close by in Midtown, maybe another glass of wine on our front porch, because porch sittin’ is always good!”

PHOTO CREDITS: TOP BY SHAUN MARSH; CENTER BY JDPPHOTO12 / DREAMSTIME; BOTTOM BY MIKE KERR

3/15/22 6:20 PM

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rsary 2022 marks the 45th annive e king‘s of Elvis’ passing. To honor thgend, there memory and celebrate his le aceland will be more happening at Gr this year than ever before!

TO PLAN YOUR STAYCATION 3/14/22 4:29 PM

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HOLLY WHITFIELD AUTHOR, I LOVE MEMPHIS BLOG

The International Blues Competition.

“Part of what I love about Memphis is the variety and diversity of experiences, people, and places we have. I don’t know if it’s in the air or in the delicious water, but I know the special moments happen in Memphis in a way that can’t be duplicated elsewhere.

A few examples: “I remember Beck’s ‘Raspberry Beret’ cover at Beale Street Music Fest — days after Prince had passed — on the banks of the Mississippi River, the rain softly falling and everyone singing along. I remember the Overton Park Shell concerts when I introduced my childhood Mississippi friends to my new Memphis friends and watched my worlds collide in the best way.

“Then there was the sweaty and wild Lord T & Eloise blowout in Overton Square on July 4th weekend years ago,

that parking-lot show from one of Graham Winchester’s first bands when I was in college, and the Lucky 7 Brass band performance at sunset after the I Love Memphis tenth birthday party at Railgarten. There are last summer’s concerts at Handy Park when Memphians crawled out of their quarantines to turn up for PJ Morton, Marcella, Amy LaVere and Will Sexton, and the Sensational Barnes Brothers. There are so many more.

“We can’t conjure these experiences on command, but in Memphis all the ingredients are here. For many years, our city’s parks and trails have given me solace, space, and happiness while the ever-present music provides the soundtrack. These experiences connected me to Memphis and helped me put down roots. Best of all, I know there are more to come.”

Amanda Willoughby LEAD VIDEO INSTRUCTOR — MEMPHIS PUBLIC LIBRARY

“For a perfect day, first, I take my dog, Jojo, to the Shelby Farms Park off-leash dog park, because he loves to run. Then it’s off to Ben Yay’s Downtown. They have good light and hardy brunches. I had the lump crabmeat on top of fried green tomatoes on a little salad, and it was so good! I like to shop, so then I would definitely hit up some of my favorite stores, like the African Place in the Uptown area. They have food there, too. I would check out some of the smaller shops on Broad, and find a little art crawl to shop at.

“A perfect evening would include an Indie Memphis Shoot & Splice. It’s always

awesome, and all my friends are usually there. You get to hear some really interesting people talk about what they do.

Afterwards, I don’t have a lot of friends who do bars, but if y’all invite me, I’ll go! I recently tried the Art Bar in Crosstown for the first time, and I liked that. Railgarten usually has good music. Just last night I saw the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, and they are amazing. They were at Crosstown Theater. They have a new residency there.

“Then, it’s back Downtown.

I’d hit Beale Street to see what’s going on down there, get some good drinks. B.B. King’s — I’d definitely go to B.B. King’s.”

B.B. King’s on Beale Street.

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PHOTO CREDITS: TOP BY MEMPHIS TOURISM / ALEX SHANSKY; BOTTOM BY PIERRE JEAN DURIEU / DREAMSTIME

3/16/22 12:20 PM

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Ruby Bright E XECUTIVE DIRECTOR — WOMEN ’S FOUNDATION FOR A GREATER MEMPHIS

“A staycation day would start with the National Civil Rights Museum and a short walk to the newly installed Ida B. Wells Memorial Statue. After that, I would take an on-foot self-tour of the best-kept secret — the new Women’s Heritage Trail. And, if I had the energy, I would take a slow stroll across the Big River Crossing and admire the great Mississippi River. There are so many ways we have grown as a city, but these places provide us inspiration of where we could be if we all work together. It’s a time for reflection and celebration. Memphis is unique in giving that balance to all who visit the Bluff City.”

Birch children (L-R): Mason James Birch, Matthew Birch Jr., and Charlotte Birch.

Joe Birch N E WS A NCHOR — WM C -T V ACTI O N N E WS 5

“A good night of blessed sleep would be the start of a perfect day for this reporter.

After morning prayer and quiet time, coffee and a review of news sites are necessities for lift-off. After kissing wife Robyn goodbye, my first stop on Thursday mornings would be Panera Bread in Laurelwood, where intermittent roars of laughter from our table happen a lot. Five or six of us who belong to the original Memphis Rotary Club gather as a leadership team to enjoy each other’s company and chart our course.

Otis Sanford serves as president and guides our planning of service projects and weekly speaker luncheons as Brett Batterson (Orpheum president), Taylor Hughes (our executive director), Brigadier Gen. Harry Montgomery Jr. (ret.) of the Tennessee Air National Guard, and Amy Beth Dudley of the Community Foundation offer entertaining commentary.

“The fun factor would rise exponentially at the Links of Whitehaven or any course that would admit a frequent foursome: Steve Mitchell,

Dennis ‘Sweet Denny P’ Paden, ‘Memphis Mike’ Hearington, and this bogey-maker. It would be a cavalcade of golfing comedy. A perfect day would include conversations with other golf friends such as Nick Scully, Jon Hornyak, Clay Bounds, Gaylon Reasons, Borys Tomaszczuk, and so many others. We might retell the story from the old Holiday City course in Olive Branch that had us doubled over circa 1983. A duffer ahead of us fired a series of shots that all landed in a lake. Red of face and fuming, the player took his bag of golf clubs and launched them into the watery depths.

He quit the game forever right before our eyes, storming away — only to return moments later to wade into the lake, retrieve his bag, unzip a pocket where he had stored his car keys, and then relaunch the bag!

“We’ve giggled over that one over many a lunch, including those prepared by the incomparable ‘Rev. Bailey,’ the esteemed chef at the Women’s Exchange where men can dine, too. It might be the most consistently excellent food in the city.

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After a nap, a day of perfection would feature a visit from the Birch twins, our now 4-yearold red-headed grandchildren (Charlotte and Mason James) and their cousin (Matthew Jr.) who turns one in August.

“After some fun and giggles with our twins, we might take little Matthew Jr. for a stroll around our Midtown neighborhood. A perfect day would include conversations with our son, Joseph, his wife, Natalie, and our son, Matthew, and his spouse, Xinlun. They have brought us so much joy. The unseen hand in all this perfection would be native Memphian Robyn Davis Birch, who orchestrates our loving family life. We might go to dinner at Second Line but more likely than not, she would have produced another spectacular dinner at home. After evening prayer, we’d get comfortable to stream a movie or TV show.

Twenty minutes later, Robyn would see a regular rerun on this day of Memphis perfection: her local news anchor husband slipping back to blessed dreamland.”

The National Civil Rights Museum.

PHOTOGRAPH CREDITS: TOP BY ROBYN BIRCH; BOTTOM BY BRIAN GROPPE

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“A perfect day in Memphis would be to either walk or take a bike ride down on the river. Then I’d grab breakfast or brunch at a restaurant Downtown or in Midtown — places like Another Broken Egg, Sunrise Memphis, or Automatic Slim’s.

I love this place called Sage Memphis. I would order off of their brunch menu and get the egg white omelette with a side of avocado and the soul waffle — and a mimosa or two!”

“Afterwards, I would possibly catch an afternoon play or dance performance with a theater company like The Orpheum or Theater Memphis. And I would go to a Memphis Grizzlies game, because I love sports! Before the game, I usually eat at Charlie Vergos’ Rendezvous restaurant and order the shredded chicken barbecue nachos with everything on it. If I eat Downtown I would go to Flight restaurant and wine bar if I’m feeling fancy. Otherwise, it’s Blues City Cafe and I’ll do the Southern fried chicken tenders with greens and fries, and the apple dumpling or the pecan pie for dessert. I would finish my night on Beale Street dancing with friends or the Midtown area with live music. Then, home to sleep.”

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY DISCOVER MEMPHIS NATURALLY

3/16/22 12:55 PM

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A Jogging trail at Stanky Creek in Bartlett.

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“Although we don’t have mountains with sweeping views, we have so many outdoor spaces to explore. My very favorite place to run is Stanky Creek in Bartlett. But as a Midtowner, I’m more often in Overton Park or on the V&E Greenline.

I love looking for wildlife! I almost always see deer on my trail runs, and sometimes I see snakes and the occasional turtle or lizard. I even spotted a fox once in Overton Park! Memphis has so many trails and lots of great places for kayaking (my second favorite outdoor activity).”

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY DISCOVER MEMPHIS NATURALLY

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Crossing the Wolf River on the Germantown Greenway.

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“ The outdoors is a way for me to enjoy nature and be connected to the community. Skating provides phenomenal exercise and allows one to be free through the unbound of music, movement, and culture.

Memphis has so much to explore outdoors, from Downtown all the way to Germantown. There are so many reasons to get outside of your own neighborhood and explore!

My favorite place to skate is the stretch of road on the Memphis Greenline in between Graham St., not far from Allison Ave. Also, the Memphis (Wolf River) Beach!”

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“When the weather is nice, the whole city comes alive, whether you’re having a beer on a patio or walking in the park or riding your bike. You’d be surprised that you don’t have to look far in Memphis to enjoy the outdoors. There are so many amenities within the city where you still feel like you’re surrounded by nature, and there are places that are a quick 20-minute drive from Downtown, like Shelby Forest State Park, where my dog Tina and I do the 3-mile loop almost every weekend.”

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3/16/22 10:56 AM

THE PEOPLE’S STAGE HOW THE

OVERTON PARK SHELL WON MEMPHIANS’

HEARTS AND SURVIVED AGAINST ALL ODDS

BY ALEX GREENE

clockwise from top: An early M.O.A.T performance (COURTESY BENJAMIN L. HOOKS CENTRAL LIBRARY); 1954 Music Under the Stars poster; 1955 Elvis & Johnny Cash Press Scimitar news clipping; Poster of Jessie May Hemphill from 1999 art exhibit; 1936 Overton Park Shell postcard; Emmylou Harris in 2012 (PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREA ZUCKER); WPA plaque; Valerie June in 2012 (PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREA ZUCKER); Charlie Miller painting; The Bar-Kays ca. 1970s (COURTESY BENJAMIN L. HOOKS CENTRAL LIBRARY); Furry Lewis (COMMERCIAL APPEAL); 1939 No, No, Nanette poster. ALL IMAGES COURTESY OVERTON PARK SHELL ARCHIVES EXCEPT WHERE NOTED. 30 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • A P R I L 2 0 2 2

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THE BELL RINGERS

I

t was 1933, and the world reeled from the Great Depression and portents of war. Chancellor Adolf Hitler had used a fire in Germany’s Reichstag to his advantage, gaining unprecedented emergency powers and suspending civil liberties; stateside, Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn in as the 32nd president of the United States.

Meanwhile, in cities and towns across this country, life and the arts went on. Folks waited in line to see King Kong, or thrilled to Ethel Waters’ new hit, “Stormy Weather,” on their phonographs. And in Memphis, everyone was abuzz with news that The Mikado would be performed in Overton Park. The Gilbert and Sullivan comedy would use as its stage a natural dip in the landscape near the Brooks Memorial Art Gallery. This concavity had become a de facto gathering place for anything from anti-Prohibition speeches to theater.

Fifteen-year-old Marion Keisker, who would figure in a later chapter of Memphis’ and Overton Park’s history, was especially thrilled, for she was in the cast. Even though it was a minor role, she’d be mingling

with real professionals. The production was being staged by none other than Ralph and Jocieta Howe Dunbar, who’d toured the vaudeville circuit and were now partnering with the Memphis Junior Chamber of Commerce. Ralph was the genius behind “Ralph Dunbar and His Bell Ringers,” a traveling musical act featuring a male quartet, a string trio, and “100 bells weighing from one to two-and-a-half pounds.”

Though the summer theater seasons ended after 1934, the Dunbars saw promise in the little hollow in the park. In 1935, Roosevelt initiated the Works Progress Administration (WPA), and one of its accomplishments was to build bandshells around the country, ultimately 27 in all. The Dunbars spearheaded a lobbying campaign to have one built in Memphis, and on September 13, 1936, Mayor Watkins Overton and an over-capacity crowd celebrated the dedication of the new concrete bandshell and stage, complete with benches seating 4,000.

The bandshell’s motto: “A pledge to the future of music in Memphis.”

Nobody there that day could have guessed how prophetic the motto would prove to be, or the central role that the Shell, under various names, would play in the city’s musical evolution. Still standing 86 years later, the newly redubbed Overton Park Shell is one of only a few surviving WPA bandshells in the country, and a lightning rod for musical talent from around the world. But before we turn to this century, it’s best to look back to the last, as the Shell

weathered decades of threats and neglect.

Within a year of its dedication, the Shell was hosting the Memphis Open Air Theater (M.O.A.T.) series. Keisker, now a student at Southwestern (later known as Rhodes College), popped up again, dubbed “one of the brightest stars in local theatrical circles” in the 1939 M.O.A.T. program. She would soon leave town, then return as a local radio personality on WREC in the 1940s, before her next brush with history.

Meanwhile, the M.O.A.T. series continued another 13 years with concerts and light opera, as World War II came and went, and in 1947 the Memphis Federation of Musicians began its 30-year “Music Under the Stars” series, which helped underscore the importance of music to the venue. Other concert events gathered momentum there, such as local WMPS disc jockey Bob Neal’s Country Music Jamboree.

One jamboree from 1954 featured Slim Whitman and Billy Walker as the headliners.

ELLIS [SIC] HAS LEFT THE BUILDING

T

hat was when Keisker’s boss, who ran a small recording studio on Union, was trying to promote a new act. Keisker had left behind her own radio career in 1949 to work at Sam Phillips’ Memphis Recording Service in 1950. In the summer of 1953 a young man came through the door intending to record a one-off disc as a gift for his mother. For four dollars, anyone could do so. Keisker dutifully let him cut an acetate and he was on his way. When he returned to make another disc in January of the following year, she began pestering her boss about the teenager’s talent, until he finally relented and booked the kid for a recording session.

Now, trying to promote the up-and-coming singer, Phillips asked his DJ buddy Bob Neal to add the artist’s name to the Country Music Jamboree scheduled for July 30, 1954, and so it was that the ad in the Memphis Press Scimitar read, “In person, the SENSATIONAL radio-recording star, Slim Whitman, with Billy Walker, Ellis Presley and many others ... Tonight at Shell, $1.25 reserved.”

It was likely the first and last time any newspaper misspelled the name “Elvis.”

Being Elvis Presley’s first public appearance with his new band, he was nervous as he waited in the wings. Perhaps his jitters lent an extra urgency to the performance; his voice and gyrations drove the Shell

above (l to r): Elvis Presley (ROBERT DYE SR.), Carl Perkins, Larry Raspberry (COMMERCIAL APPEAL), Robert Randolph (PAUL BURNS). ALL COURTESY OVERTON PARK SHELL ARCHIVES.

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THE PEOPLE’S STAGE audience crazy. In Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ’n’ Roll, Peter Guralnick quotes guitarist Scotty Moore as saying, “With those old loose britches that we wore, it made it look like all hell was going on under there. During the instrumental parts he would back off from the mic and be playing and shaking, and the crowd would just go wild, but he thought they were actually making fun of him.” They weren’t; dozens of teens rushed backstage for autographs after the show.

Keisker must have been proud to see the young man she’d first recorded dominate the stage where she herself had appeared 15 years earlier. And for some, of course, the history of the Shell begins and ends with that moment. Elvis appeared again a year later, and his association with the Shell was forever enshrined. But even as he moved on to bigger stages, the Shell endured.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

T

oday, it’s hard to fathom that hosting the King’s first performance didn’t immediately grant the Shell status as a National Historic Site. But as the 1960s rolled around, Elvis was just another pop star, at least as far as urban developers were concerned.

And that decade proved to be the first of many times when the Shell’s place in the hearts of Memphians saved it from destruction. With the construction of the new Memphis Academy of Art in Overton Park, city planners hoped to follow through on ambitious visions for a Memphis Art Center, first suggested in 1955, which would combine the new school with Brooks Memorial Art Gallery. As part of that plan, they proposed razing the Shell to make way for a two-million-dollar theater.

Enter Noel Gilbert, a gifted violinist and member of the Memphis Federation of Musicians since 1926. As Roy Brewer writes in the Tennessee Encyclopedia, “Beginning in the mid-1930s, Gilbert organized and conducted small orchestras for local hotels and led both the WREC and WMC radio staff orchestras. From 1947 to roughly 1980 he led an eight-week summer season at the Memphis Overton Park Shell, playing light classical and popular music.”

A pillar of the local arts community since before the days of the Memphis Sinfonietta (which became the Memphis Symphony Orchestra in 1960), who also led string sections on many pop and soul recordings of the 1960s and ’70s, Gilbert was a central figure in the Shell’s history. When the Memphis Art Center proposal became public, Gilbert gathered 6,000 signatures in a petition to save the Shell. It worked.

But the music of the Shell was not always so refined. The 1960s also witnessed a new milestone in its history, centered on the blues. (Typifying the open-ended policies that governed the Shell at the time, the event held the week before the first Memphis Country Blues Festival was a Ku Klux Klan rally. As recounted in It Came from Memphis by music historian Robert Gordon, at that time a $65 deposit was all that was required to reserve the space.)

The Country Blues Festival was organized, almost miraculously, by a rag-tag group of beats and bohemians that included Lee Baker, Jimmy Crosthwait, Jim Dickinson, and Sid Selvidge (a group that eventually coalesced into Mud Boy & the Neutrons), along with other associates like John McIntire, Randall Lyon, Charlie Brown, and Chris Wimmer.

Starting in 1966, the Shell hosted the first of a series of festivals that would run three more years before fizzling out. The Country Blues

Festival’s focus was originally the obscure local blues players — Sleepy John Estes, Furry Lewis, Bukka White, and Son Thomas — whose work inspired the artists behind the event. From there, the festival gained a higher profile each year, and a recording of the 1968 event was even released as an album on London Records.

In 2019, Fat Possum Records premiered a film compiled of footage shot during the final festival, Memphis ’69, that fully captures the unique blend of rural Mississippi and urban hippiedom that the Country Blues Festivals embodied. As Bruce Watson, the film’s co-producer, noted at the time, “The audio engineer was tripping on acid, so the audio is kind of hit-and-miss. The solo performances with the blues guys sound pretty good, but when you start getting Johnny Winter and Moloch and that stuff, it’s really overdriven.”

Indeed, overdrive marked the next stage of the Shell, as the ’70s set in. But it almost got driven through. A planned extension of Interstate 40 through the park during this period was halted by the nonprofit Citizens to Preserve Overton Park. The grassroots movement, which won the landmark 1971 Supreme Court case Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe, has been a model of such popular resistance ever since.

And so the Shell rocked on. David Leonard, a native Memphis videographer and photographer who later played a pivotal role in the Shell’s history, was there to witness it.

“The Shell had this crazy thing going on in the early ’70s where any private promoter could rent the stage for nothing — a couple hundred bucks or something — and put on shows. So these huge shows happened. Leon Russell and Freddie King on the same bill!

The Allman Brothers. Black Sabbath.

Mountain. And when those shows happened, people were freaking out. It was sure enough culture war stuff. Like, ‘What are all these hippies doing in my neighborhood?’ And they had this stupid, ugly chain-link fence, with turnstiles. I remember I had a friend from elementary school whose dad was kind of a hippie, and he promoted one of those shows. So we went! They were only charging three or five bucks. And that got to be a problem. The neighbors didn’t like it, and I’m sure the [Brooks] museum didn’t like it.”

Being somewhat countercultural himself, he pauses and lets out a laugh. “Finally, around 1975, the Park Commission said, ‘We’re going to tear down this fence and stop letting private promoters do these shows. So the freaks tore down the fence for them at the last show that happened, which was Seals & Crofts. There were thousands of people, and they climbed the trees and broke down the fence.”

According to Leonard, getting “the freaks” out of Midtown became a priority. “Roy Harrover, the great architect who designed the airport and the College of Art, told me that when he got the job to design Mud Island, Mayor Wyatt Chandler told him, ‘I don’t care what you do out there, but you need to build an amphitheater so we can get the freaks out of the park.’”

SAVE OUR SHELL

T

o be sure, many pleasant evenings were no doubt still available at the Shell. With the incendiary tonal onslaught of Seals & Crofts now safely in the past, free, fence-less shows continued.

“A stigma still hung over the Shell,” explains Leonard, “but the Memphis Federation of Musicians had a fund that would pay union musicians to do free shows. And for a while, those few shows were

above: A Save Our Shell poster from April 2002

(OVERTON PARK SHELL ARCHIVES)

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the main events at the Shell. Not much else would happen. Then there was Arts in the Park, started by Martha Ellen Maxwell. That went on for a few years, and then moved to Audubon Park.”

It wasn’t long after that that Leonard and many others became involved in the Shell on a deeply personal level. And the catalyst was a remarkable person named John Hanrahan. Or, as Leonard says, “Save Our Shell really got started in 1985. It began as an Irish wake that lasted for 18 years.”

Hanrahan was a video artist who was fired by a strong activist streak. “He didn’t have a car,” Leonard recalls. “He rode a bicycle and lived in a little back house in Midtown. And he was certain that they were about to tear down the Shell. As far as I know, 1985 was the only year when not a single concert happened on that stage. The city had run out of any kind of vision for what to do with the Shell. And, because they were initially looking at doing the Ramesses exhibit at Brooks [the first show in the city’s “Wonders” series], there were a few months when they were seriously considering tearing down the Shell.

Because they needed parking!”

This gave Hanrahan a goal. “He got on this mission to save the Shell,” says Leonard. “He would talk to anybody. He got petitions printed, he got bumper stickers printed, he got T-shirts made. And that went on for months.

But the first press we got — which, amazingly, was on the front page of the Sunday paper, back when that was a big deal — came on the weekend that John Hanrahan died.”

He was killed in a construction accident on November 5, 1985. “The funeral was on a Friday,” says Leonard, “and that day, his brother took a wreath from the funeral and put it on the stage of the Shell, which was absolutely a wreck at that point. There was graffiti all over the stage. And the old benches, you could just kick and break. It was totally neglected. But spontaneously, that day, people gathered there, because we had all heard about the wreath.

We were there telling ‘remember John’ stories. But also making plans.

‘We’re going to do this.’ Now, John had a big family, and also he knew a lot of construction guys. They weren’t afraid to just do it. So the next day, we were out there painting over the graffiti. And the day after that, it was on the front page of the Sunday paper. And Mayor Dick Hackett told us that was what made him say, ‘Hold on. Wait a minute.

Let’s see what these guys are going to come up with.’”

As it turned out, the crew that eventually formed Save Our Shell, Inc. came up with a lot. With Leonard as the first president, and many others thereafter, the nonprofit carried on for 18 years, staging hundreds of free shows during that period. One of the most determined members was stage manager John Larkin, who had attended the first Memphis Country Blues Festival as a 13-year-old and embodied the can-do, D.I.Y., “let’s put on a show” spirit that fueled Save Our Shell.

And yet, having never been granted a full management contract by the city, and with funding dependent on annual grant cycles, the nonprofit was always on precarious footing.

METAMORPHOSIS AND REBIRTH

L

eonard recalls the malaise that set in during the final years of Save Our Shell. “I had a meeting with the Park Commission and said, ‘Look, this unofficial status is giving us just enough rope to hang ourselves. We cannot really apply for capital improvements money to fix this place if we don’t have authority to run the

place.’ But we were told that the city didn’t want us to compete with the Mud Island Amphitheater. At that point, a bunch of the original board members lost their enthusiasm. Nothing officially changed.

And there were a lot of great shows during those years, when John kept it going. But we were burnt out, man! So when we found out that there was this foundation that was devoted to preserving or building amphitheaters, we wanted to hear more.”

T

he Levitt Foundation, formed as the result of New Yorker Mortimer Levitt’s passion for outdoor concerts, had already been financing new band shells, or renovating older ones, around the country when they learned of the situation in Memphis. In 2005, they fairly leapt at the chance to save it, with a local board helping to steer the process and local matching funds helping to subsidize at least 50 free shows every year, from 2007 through 2021. Annie Pitts served as executive director during this period, and over the years, an impressive list of local movers-and-shakers joined the board. Among them: Thomas Boggs, Jeff Goldstein, Deanie Parker, Blanchard Tual, Barry Lichterman, Martha Ellen Maxwell, Christine Todd, Jeff Nesin, Katie Smythe, Lee Askew, Mimi Phillips, Joyce Cobb, and David Leonard.

Natalie Wilson became executive director of the Memphis Levitt Shell nonprofit in 2019 and sings the praises of the Levitt Foundation, now based in Los Angeles. “I told Liz Levitt Hirsch [board president of the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation], ‘You helped save the Shell. You will always have that legacy.

And we’ll always have a special marker on the lawn that speaks to the Levitt era.’ They started with two years of renovation money. A million dollars. And then 15 years of programming support.

If it wasn’t for that support, we wouldn’t be able to create what we do today. The Shell would not be here.”

But by 2022, the goals of Wilson and other Memphians shifted to a desire for a more locally grounded organization. That was due in part to the Shell being nearly a century old, and needing renovations.

“We were the only historic venue [supported by the Levitt Foundation],” says Wilson. “The other ones were all built in the past 16 years, but we have major deferred maintenance that I have to continue to focus on, on behalf of the citizens of Memphis. We’re owned by the city, by the citizens, so we have a responsibility for the continued preservation of the Shell. So on top of managing it and the mission, I’ve got to renovate it. I’ve got to preserve it.”

If Wilson frames the work as a personal responsibility, she also takes some pride in announcing that, due to a complete restructuring, on March 3, 2022, what was until recently known as the Levitt Shell is once again the newly independent Overton Park Shell.

“We had a current contract with the Levitt Foundation that ended in 2021,” she says, “and after a lot of research, the board made the decision that we could truly lend more sustainability to the community by bringing in more local investment. With local partners supporting us. Families. Foundations. Individuals. Businesses that believe in the work we do, from outreach and education to the Shell on Wheels, a mobile shell stage. Since I came in in 2019, we’ve been working to find local sustainability, and we have it now. We’re grateful for it.”

And so the Overton Park Shell has endured since it first opened more than eight decades ago, created and then saved many times through the grassroots efforts of the Memphians who love it most.

above: Rebirth of the Overton Park Shell, 2022

(OVERTON PARK SHELL ARCHIVES — CRAIG THOMPSON)

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S N O T I A R M O S F N A T R

H A B I TAT S

O W T

When Tara Engelberg moved to

How designer Tara Engelberg helped save an East Memphis gem.

BY

C H R I S

M c C OY

P H O T O G R A P H S BY

J O H N

P I C K L E

Tara Engelberg decided to radically change careers and become a designer after overcoming breast cancer. The Baum family were one of her earliest clients.

Memphis, the experience of setting up a new house in her husband Jeff’s hometown awakened a creative urge.

“We hired a firm out of Chicago to help us with the design process,” she says. But when they finally got their home like they wanted it, “I was not ready to be done. I had nothing left to do here, but I was so geared up. The creative juices were flowing.

I looked at things in a different way.

I started going to people’s houses and noticing things. How would they like drapes there? Or, I feel like these pillows are wrong.”

Then, a breast cancer diagnosis knocked her life off track. As she endured six months of grueling treatment, she reconsidered her career goals. Once she fully recovered, she took a leap of faith and launched Tara Felice Interiors.

“That was really scary,” she says.

“I remember thinking, ‘Who the hell is going to hire me?’ … Spending someone else’s money was a very different experience. It is one thing to make a mistake on my dime. It’s a

This cozy den was a portion of the back deck when the Baums recently expanded their home.

The end table was created from scrap wood and broken glass, then encased in a block of resin.

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whole other thing when someone else is buying. But I have to tell you, the cancer experience led me to this feeling of, ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’ The wrong size sofa is not a life-or-death matter. If I need to pay for someone’s sofa, then so be it. I have to learn somehow.”

A Fixer-Upper

A round the same time, her

cousins, Ryan and Maureen Baum, were in the process of rehabbing a home in East Memphis. “It was a hoarder’s house, so it was effectively condemned,” says Ryan of the three-bedroom, 1964 home. “I did all the rehab myself. I tore out all the drywall, all the electrical, all the plumbing, all the HVAC.” He discovered the house came with a surprise. “When I went to tear out the last little bit of drywall, there were 75,000 bees in the rafters, and they had 16 gallons of honey up in the braces.”

After calling in a professional to take care of those unwanted visitors, he says, “It’s fun to look at parts of your house and realize, there used to be a wall there, or, I tore that floor out. The house is

more meaningful to me because I put my blood, sweat, and tears into it. I didn’t just write a check and say here, y’all take care of it. I spent the first six months filling eighteen thirty-cubic-yard dumpsters with flooring and insulation. It’s definitely been a labor of love.”

The Baums decided they wanted to work with Tara. “When they were starting on the house,” she says, “I was just starting my business and needed experience, so I reached out to them. ‘Hey, we’d love to help you guys out. I need the experience. I’ll give you guys a great bargain for letting me kind of experiment and work out all my business stuff.’

Since then, we’ve become really good friends.”

“I feel like even if I didn’t know Tara, I would use her, because we work so well together,” says Maureen. “I’m always shocked with just how patient she is. I feel like many husbands don’t necessarily have design opinions, but my husband has an eye for design, and he has opinions. So it’s not just Tara and me working together.”

Being involved in the creation of the home from the ground up helped Tara refine her design style. “When I’m first talking to clients, what I tell them I do is ‘sophisticated comfort.’ I want it to look nice and sophisticated and polished, but also very user-friendly.”

This buffet in the formal dining room sports oversized Art Decostyle hardware. “I think mixing [styles] is the key to a more classic, longer-lasting design,” says Tara Engelberg.

The unique, wraparound butcher block countertop was added to the kitchen island along with a second sink. The light wood and marble define the kitchen’s color palette.

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H A B I TAT S

above: The glossy black paint on the walls and ceiling gives the sunroom a stylish shine.

Engelberg chose the large, square coffee table to ground the spectacular chandelier.

“Light fixtures are the jewelry of the room,” she says. right: In the formal dining room, a rough-hewn wooden table echoes the gold colors of a classic starburst light. The shade of green seen on the walls is derived from the leafy colors in the Andy Warhol prints from the artist’s 1964 Flowers series.

In this case, “user-friendly” meant childproof. “I think when I first met her, she knew my style,” says Maureen. “I want modern, and I want glam, but I also have kids, so we need to keep it so they can’t destroy everything. She was able to execute that so well.”

Tara says good design “is all about finding the best pieces that fit the functionality of the room.

That is always the first step — meeting with a client and seeing what they want to do with the space. How do you live? How do you want to use this room? How is this going to function for you? It’s just having a deep understanding of the client, I think.”

In this case, the clients were a growing family. “We knew they were going to be a kid-centric family, and we knew this wasn’t going to be the kind of family that was like, ‘Oh, kids, you can’t go in that room.’ That’s not how they are.

That’s not how they live. So we built

the design around that.”

Thus, the decor favors sturdy, natural materials like wood and marble. “Some stuff patinas really well, the more you use it,” says Tara. “If a kid digs a fork into the table, it adds more character, you know? That’s the way I look at it.

Nothing should be too pure, in my opinion. Nothing should be too precious.”

Growing with the Family

Tara’s business and the Baum

family grew together. “I’m now at a point where I’m crazy busy, but I hate to turn people down,” she says. “It’s like, can you wait a few months for me to be able to work with you?”

So when Maureen told her they were expanding the house because a fourth Baum was on the way, she knew she would be returning to the site of her first assignment. The plan was to add an

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extra bedroom upstairs, fully integrate the hearth room and kitchen, and enclose part of the back deck to create a new den.

“I was involved in the planning stages with the architect,” says Tara. “How should it flow? How should these rooms function?

Should we have doors to the outside here? It was those kinds of decisions.”

In the kitchen, a U-shaped island enclosed a booth with built-in seating. It seemed like a good idea, but it did not function as intended.

“It was like a jungle gym for the kids,” says Maureen.

The booth was removed and replaced with more storage and a unique, wrap-around butcher-block countertop. “I have a butcher block in my house, and Maureen really liked the look of it,” says Tara. “And it’s very useful, too.”

The expanded hearth room now sports a long, wooden table that seats ten. In contrast to the bright, open space of the dining area, the sunroom is painted a glossy black.

“That black was our choice together — Maureen and I are really on the same page, design-wise,” says Tara. “She’s super fun to work with.

We tend to come up with some crazy, dramatic, and moody ideas.”

Black and white tiles dominate these two very different bathrooms. left: The alternating chevrons contrast with the straight lines of the light wood wall paneling. below: The black tiled walls make the pink from Dolly Parton’s bubble gum pop in this downstairs bathroom.

The jumping-off point for the sunroom was a minimalist, contemporary sofa Ryan found, which influenced choices like the area rug. “Sometimes,” she says, “a client will send me a picture of something. ‘I love this. Can we make it work?’ If a client loves it, I want to give it to them. It’s their space, not mine.”

The common denominator in all the rooms is statement light fixtures, like the sunroom’s stunning globe. “Light fixtures are the jewelry of the room,” says Tara. “I think they change the entire look and feel. The room feels more casual or more dressed up, depending on what you choose. I think it’s a place to spend money, because kids aren’t going to damage it. Lighting is everything, and I love multiple sources of light.”

In the formal dining room, a mid-century modern starburst hovers over a rough-hewn table.

“That’s a classic,” says Tara. “I try

to incorporate some classic elements, and I like to do some trendy stuff. I try to make it so clients won’t have to redo their house in five years because we went so trendy, and all that is out now. I think mixing [styles] is the key to a more classic, longer-lasting design. It just gives a depth and personality to a home, so it doesn’t feel so staged. I never want a room to feel like you purchased it out of a catalog.”

The story of the home is also the story of two transformations: a falling-apart house becoming a beloved home, and a woman discovering her dream career.

“Tara’s done an unbelievable job,” says Ryan. “We saved the house, and she’s done all the decorating with my wife, and that’s been the icing on top.”

Maureen says of her friend, “It’s nice that she can take everybody’s opinions, and make everyone happy.”

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LOCAL TREASURES

C O OK IE E W IN G A force in theater education continues to search out humanity.

S

BY JON W. SPARKS

ometimes, Cookie Ewing is just plain wrong.

It is no exaggeration to say that she has had a lifetime of being in theater. She was a pre-schooler in 1949 when her mother started the Memphis Children’s Theatre and made sure her daughter was part of it.

Later on, Ewing would spend some four decades devoted to teaching theater at Rhodes College. She has directed countless productions at the school’s McCoy Theatre, acted in several others, and inspired young thespians. In 2007 she got a super-Ostrander honor when she received the Eugart Yerian Award for Lifetime Achievement at the Memphis Theater Awards.

When she retired from Rhodes in 2016, Chris Davis, then the theater critic for the Memphis Flyer, wrote a remembrance from his college days when Ewing was his professor and faculty adviser: “She’s always had a switchblade edge, zero tolerance for malarkey, and a reputation for gentleness and generosity, in addition to an uncanny ability to shut out the whole world and devote her full attention to whoever she might be talking to.”

She has earned honors throughout her career as well as appreciation and respect from her students. So, when she says, “There’s nothing about me that’s interesting in any form at all. I’m a regular, old human being out here doing what I think I can do,” then you could not be blamed for shaking your head and saying, “You’re just plain wrong about that, Cookie.”

PHOTOGRAPH BY JON W. SPARKS

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LOCAL TREASURES

I

t would be correct to say that Julia I took from it, is the purpose of theater or anything “Cookie” Ewing (she loved eating cookies when she creative is to find your own humanity and the humanity was little and adults kept telling her she’d turn into one) of the other people around you.”

It is that quest for discovering the humanity around is self-deprecating. But if she’s disinclined to boast, she us that motivates Ewing. will speak with passion about her love of teaching, of “That has been my driving factor fortheater, and of finding and exploring the “The purpose of theater humanity in life. ever,” she says. “That has been an anthroHer mother was a considerable force or anything creative is to pological view of things. What does it in the community as a champion of chil- find your own humanity and mean to be human? Find out when you’re dren’s theater. Lucile Ewing was a strong the humanity of the other young and find out the expanse that humanity has and not the narrow version. salesperson and had skills in political people around you.” persuasion. So when she decided MemIt doesn’t mean just checking off boxes phis needed a children’s theater, she focused on the and making money. It means there’s a person sitting Memphis Recreation Department, which operated next to you — can you smile at them or do you ignore them? All of that comes back to our humanity, it really under the Memphis Park Commission. She convinced does. Do we care about what’s coming tomorrow? Do them that kids needed more than physical exercise, we only care about now?” that they had to have their imaginations challenged.

It was first located in the Little Theatre (now Theatre Ewing’s education was both traditional and in-

above: Willy Bearden’s 2010 film One Came Home featured a Memphis cast. It starred Cookie Ewing with (from left) Hailey Giles, Savannah Bearden, and Corey Parker. above right: Ewing gets wired for sound before a scene.

Memphis) that was then housed at the Pink Palace Museum. Eventually it ended up on Avery Street and was renamed the Lucile Ewing Children’s Theater, but was wrecked by the infamous Hurricane Elvis in 2003. It was torn down, and the institution ended after 55 years. But in the meantime, youngsters who had attended grew up and kept the lessons they learned.

While her mother was clearly a major influence, Ewing says one has to go back to a great aunt of hers to see where she’s coming from. “They were building something behind her house, behind the fence, and they were digging holes where they were going to put poles in,” she says. “My great aunt didn’t want them there, so she sat in one of the holes and would not get out. This was in what, the late 1800s, early 1900s? A gentleman would not pick her up to move her, so she sat there — and that is a kind of woman that I come from.”

When she says that “they’d see something they thought needed to be done and they did it,” it seems that such determination is genetic. “Mother went to a conference in Kentucky one time, and I remember when she came home, she said, ‘We’re going to have children doing plays, not just adults doing plays for children, but children doing plays for children.’ And that’s how it all started. The whole point of that, what

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novative. She attended White Station High School, where she learned from the legendary drama teacher and director Gene Crain. For his obituary in Th e Commercial Appeal, she said, “He helped me find my soul as an actor.”

Her collegiate studies were rich and varied. “My undergraduate degree was split between schools in St. Louis and schools here, both the University of Memphis and Siena College,” she says. “But I really say my education came from New York when I was there with my aunt. That was really the education, doing theater there, travel, whatever — just doing it.”

Ewing’s passion for finding humanity was kindled by performances she saw in Memphis. One actor who found a way to connect was Jay Ehrlicher — also a designer and artistic director at Theatre Memphis — who was in Tennessee Williams’ Night of the Iguana. “He could move me because he had that heart,” she says. She cites other actors who found the essence of humanity in their roles, including Bennett Wood, Karen Riss, and the late Jerry Chipman. She saw Chipman when he was in college doing the play Five Finger Exercise.

“There was a scene where he was going up some stairs and had kind of an emotional explosion. And I knew that’s what it was.”

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY WILLY BEARDEN

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Ray Hill was another influence — Ewing refers to him as a mentor and she credits him with starting the theater program at Rhodes.

In high school, she went to a summer program Hill had and he gave her the role of Uncle Ted in an absurdist play. “I had more friggin’ fun playing Uncle Ted than I have ever had,” she says. “He saw it and would encourage me. He just saw beyond.”

And Hill exempliTheater at Rhodes fied the humanity College can trace its she so prizes. Ewing leadership from Ray points to a painting Hill to Tony Lee Garner of him as a clown and a collection of clown to Cookie Ewing. figurines in her home.

He often played a character called Tiny the Clown on television, where he co-hosted with Trent Wood the popular Memphis kiddie show Looney Zoo, and, she says, “every clown you see up there was Ray’s.”

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Ray Hill’s collection of clown figurines.

Hill was far from the boisterous clown persona (Bozo comes to mind) and instead would “just sit and the kids would come up to him and sit down next to him and he would just talk to them quietly and they would talk to him quietly,” she says. “He was the quiet clown, the clown that was lonely.” The one with humanity.

Theater at Rhodes College can trace its leadership from Hill to Tony Lee Garner — who saw to the creation of the McCoy Theatre — to Cookie Ewing, who worked with and admired both of them. She took retirement in 2016 and was succeeded by Kevin Collier who became managing director at McCoy Theatre. The era, however, has come to an end. Last year, the school announced it would phase out its theater major. The department had a great run with inspiring teachers, numerous Ostrander Awards, and a string of critically acclaimed productions. There’s still some activity, though: The student-run Rhodes Theatre Guild has scheduled a staging of the musical version of Little Women for early April this year.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JON W. SPARKS

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he has performed on stage and screen, but Ewing will tell you that “performing is not my gig.” She chuckles when she says, “I just can’t do it anymore. It’s too scary.”

But in the days she acted in productions, the part she loved most were the rehearsals.

“That’s exploring! It’s humanity, your own and the characters and the writers and the director and this actor.”

All that, of course, informed her teaching.

When she was at Rhodes, the notion of collaboration was something of a prerequisite for everything. “I cannot do it without it being that way,” she declares. Ewing cites a time when there was a staging of Hamlet and the group of students discussed what it was that pulled audiences in. “What did people need?

We talked for three or four weeks before we even got on the stage and had already talked about and worked things out. And they did it.

I just happened to be there to say, something like ‘I can’t see you — move this way.’ They did it together and you could see it. I will forever be amazed at those kids.”

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Ewing says even one-person shows require collaboration. “I did Amelia Earhart out at Collierville in 1991,” she says. “Amelia Lives had only one person on the stage, but there was a sound person and a light person, all those people. And if they were not there, there’s nothing going to happen out there on that stage, I’m sorry. It was one of the most collaborative pieces I think I have ever done as a performer.”

We can go back to Ewing’s mother and the Memphis Children’s Theatre to find the origins of her embrace of collaboration. “Mom wanted to get as many kids as possible,” Ewing says. “And she built that children’s theater on the same principle as the Little Theater at the time. You had to be in the fourth grade, and you had to serve backstage at least once. You never had to be on stage, but you could never just be on stage. There was a board of directors [composed of children]. You had to work backstage, and you had to be there for at least two years before you could be on the board.”

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY RHODES COLLEGE

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ucile Ewing’s daughter also carried on the priceless lessons learned in children’s theater, turning them into a way of teaching theater to college students.

She discusses her approach by first saying, “I listen.” It gets the attention of those who are ready to learn. “It’s discipline when you love what you do, because you want to do it,” she says. “You want to learn your lines.

You want to be in rehearsal. You want to know who that character is. You want to know what they want. You want to know why they act that way. You want to know what made them angry. You want to know those things. That’s discipline.”

Whoever imagines studying drama will be an easy course will find disappointment. “To just go in when you feel like it, that’s not doing theater,” Ewing says. “That’s doing something else. It’s not what I taught.

You do the work and when you do it, you find the love of doing it. You’re here for a limited time. You’re in a college class for how many hours out of your life? So what can you get in that “It’s not about being a time? What can you star. It never has been. find? What can you It’s not about being find about yourself? lauded. It never has You know, how do been.” — Cookie Ewing you relate to that character? How do you relate to the playwright? Why is this play even being done? Why has it survived?”

She is also insistent about who gets to be a star: “It’s not about being a star. It never has been. It’s not about being lauded. It never has been.”

What it is about is finding a connection to humanity. “All sorts of weird stuff happens, but the weird stuff makes you think, ‘Was that just to be weird or am I missing something?’

You’re thinking and that helps to develop an individual. That’s my push for theater.”

As for Ewing, ending her time at Rhodes was an opportunity to close the door and take time to ponder the ways of the world.

She’s eager to get back to going to see plays.

And she has grandchildren to dote on but worries how they’ll fare in a world with climate change, homelessness, and global tensions. “I had to get away,” she says of her retirement. “I had to just close it and find out who I had become because there’s so much that you do and then, who am I now? And where am I going now? What do I have to offer?”

The answer, of course, applies to everything and everyone she cares about.

It is humanity.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JON W. SPARKS

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Power Players 2022 W

with the marker

Power Players. On the following pages you’ll find the mov-

this year: banking veteran Frank Cianciola, and grocery pro Randy

ers, the shakers, the difference makers: These are the folks who

Stepherson. Read more about the Society’s newest additions on page 82.

make things happen in Memphis, from top executives to specialists

Be sure to hang on to this essential reference to Memphis industry leaders.

in a wide range of areas that keep this city and its economy healthy.

We also feature a Power Player in IMB’s Tip Sheet newsletter every Friday,

This year we collected more than 500 Power Players, including

and we hope you’ll subscribe to this roundup of area business news. Sign up

many members of the Society of Entrepreneurs, who are designated

ILLUSTRATION BY DANIEL ESKRIDGE / DREAMSTIME

soe .

elcome to the 2022 edition of INSIDE MEMPHIS BUSINESS’

Business Hall of Fame 50 Architecture 50 Arts & Entertainment 52 Auto Dealers 54 Banking: Administration 54 Banking: Commercial Lending 55 Bioscience 56 Business Organizations 57 CEOs, COOs, and Leaders 58

Certified Public Accounting 60 CFOs 60 Commercial Insurance 62 Commercial Real Estate 62 Construction - Commercial 63 Construction - Residential 64 Employee Benefits 64 Engineering 65 Financial Planning 66

The organization is honoring new inductees

here: memphismagazine.com/tip-sheet-sign-up. – Samuel X. Cicci

Higher Education 66 Hospitality 67 Independent Schools 68 Information Technology 68 Investment Brokers 69 Law: Business Litigation 70 Law: Employment 70 Logistics 72 Manufacturing 72

Marketing / PR 72 Medical: Group Practice Administration 74 Medical: Hospital Administration 76 Philanthropy 76 Public Service 77 Security 78 Staffing 80 Compiled by Samuel X. Cicci and Abigail Morici A P R I L 2 0 2 2 • I N S I D E M E M P H I S B U S I N E S S • 49

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Power Players 2022

/ BUSINESS HALL OF FAME

BUSINESS HALL OF FAME

Jack Belz soe Chairman and CEO, Belz Enterprises.

Factory-outlet mall pioneer. Developed The Peabody and Peabody Place. Master Entrepreneur, SOE, Junior Achievement; Lifetime Achievement Award, DMC. Founder, Belz Museum of Asian & Judaic Art.

Karen Blockman Carrier soe Founder, Another Roadside Attraction Catering, Bar DKDC, The Beauty Shop, Mollie Fontaine Lounge. Restaurateur of the Year award, MRA.

George Cates soe Founder, former chairman, CEO, Mid-America Apartment Communities. Started company as Cates Company in 1977. MAA on New York Stock Exchange.

IN MEMORIAM William B. Dunavant Jr.

soe

Founder, former CEO, Dunavant Enterprises. Cotton, commodities trader with global holdings. Futures Industry Association Hall of Fame. Founder, Racquet Club of Memphis; brought major-league tennis to Memphis.

Avron Fogelman Chairman, Fogelman Properties.

Owner, Memphis Chicks, Rogues, Tams. First chairman, Memphis Shelby County Sports Authority. Won World Series as owner of MLB’s Kansas City Royals.

Art Gilliam soe Chairman, president, Gilliam Communications, Inc. Founded WLOK, first blackowned radio station in Memphis. Frequently #1 Gospel Station in nation, Religion & Media Quarterly. Sponsor WLOK Stone Soul Picnic. 2011 Visionary Award, DMC.

Carolyn Chism Hardy soe President, CEO, Chism Hardy

Jim McGehee Former chairman, Memphis Shelby County

Investments. Entrepreneurial ventures include Hardy Bottling Co., Henderson Worldwide Investments. Past chair, Greater Memphis Chamber.

Airport Authority. Secured Northwest Airlines hub status for Memphis and inauguration of transatlantic service.

Director, Financial Strategy Group Investment Management and Pinnacle Airlines.

O. Mason Hawkins soe Chairman, CEO, Southeastern Asset Management, Inc. Operates one of the world’s most successful mutual-fund families. Seeks highly competitive businesses. Played key role in the Grizzlies’ move to Memphis.

J.R. “Pitt” Hyde III soe President, Hyde Family Foundations. Founded AutoZone. Automotive Hall of Fame.

Helped found Memphis Bioworks Foundation, Memphis Tomorrow, National Civil Rights Museum. Helped bring Grizzlies to Memphis.

John R. Malmo soe Chairman

Allen B. Morgan Jr. soe Co-founder, chairman emeritus, Regions Morgan Keegan, Inc. Launched Morgan Keegan as leading investment firm.

Merged with Regions Bank; acquired by Raymond James. Entrepreneur of the Year, SOE 1994.

David Porter Founder, president,

Frederick W. Smith PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY FEDEX

emeritus, Archer Malmo, Inc.; principal, John Malmo Marketing Consulting. Former president, Memphis Advertising Federation; former director, American Association of Advertising Agencies. American Advertising Federation Silver Medal.

Brad Martin soe Chairman, RBM Venture Co. Former chairman and CEO, Saks Inc. Former interim president, U of M. Grew Saks revenue from $70 million to $7 billion. Author, Five Stones: Conquering Your Giants; Myles’ Pesky Friends (a children’s book).

Consortium MMT. Songwriter, singer, producer. Part of Stax Studio success in 1960s-’70s. Wrote classics including more than 100 Billboard hits. Songwriters Hall of Fame. Involved in Memphis small-business enterprises.

Leigh Shockey CEO, Drexel Chemical Co.; manufacturer and formulator of agricultural, ornamental, and turf chemicals since 1972. More than $100 million in sales annually. Chair, West Tennessee District Export Council, Greater Memphis Chamber.

Frederick W. Smith soe Founder, chairman, CEO, FedEx Corp. Launched Federal Express, which became a Memphis institution and a global powerhouse. First implementer of airport-hub concept and pioneer of the “Just In Time” inventory concept.

Pat Kerr Tigrett soe Chairman and CEO, Pat Kerr, Inc. Fashion designer specializing in bridal couture; offices in London, New York, Memphis. Influential in city’s music and cultural scene. Founded the Blues Ball, Moonshine Ball, Jingle Bell Ball.

Henry Turley soe Founder, Henry Turley Company.

Real estate developer and New Urbanism pioneer.

Created mixed-use Harbor Town community and similar developments at South Bluffs and Uptown Memphis.

Founding member of SOE.

Jesse Turner Jr. Former president, chairman, Tri-State Art Gilliam PHOTOGRAPH BY LARRY KUZNIEWSKI

Bank of Memphis. Succeeded his father at the bank in 1990. Bank, founded to serve African-American community, was integral in civil rights struggles. Operates own CPA firm. Treasurer, NAACP National Board of Directors.

ARCHITECTURE

Rebecca Conrad Partner and president, ANF Architects.

Projects include U of M Law School, Student Rec Center, & Community Health Building, Crosstown High School, CBU Rosa Deal School of Arts & Cooper Wilson Science Center, FedEx Main Screening & SuperHub, Trezevant, The Village at Germantown, St. Jude Shared Resource Center, First TN Bank Ops Center, Baptist Medical Group projects, and Freedom Prep Academy.

Metcalf Crump Chairman and CEO, The Crump Firm. Clients include FedEx, Smith & Nephew, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, International Paper, Orpheum Theatre, Highwoods Properties, CBRE Memphis, Commercial Advisors.

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Excellence

The Collierville Chamber of Commerce & Simmons Bank Present

in

BUSINESS

2021 AWARD WINNERS

Person of the Year James Lewellen

Nonprofit of the Year Southern Reins Center for Equine Therapy

Health Care Provider of the Year Campbell Clinic

Entrepreneur of the Year The Skybox Grill

Spirit of Collierville Edward Jones – Kevin Baltier

Bridging the Gap Collierville Police Department

Boyle Insurance Agency, Inc. Ron Gant, Agent

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3/14/22 4:24 PM

Power Players 2022

/ A RCHIT ECT URE / A RTS & EN T ERTA INMEN T

Dianne Dixon Founding Partner, Clark/Dixon Architects.

Projects include SCSO Firing Range, Cancer Survivors Park, Raymond Skinner Center for the Disabled, and Metal Museum library. AIA Memphis Merit Award and Award of Excellence, AIA Tennessee.

Scott Fleming President, Fleming Architects, PC. Projects include U of M Law School, McLean @ Madison, Kroc Center, St. Mary’s School, CBHS, Briarcrest, Church of the Holy Communion, New Collierville HS, U of M Centennial Place, U of M Scheidt School of Music, Bartlett HS, Hope Presbyterian Church, Conwood/Snuff District, Signature at Schilling Farms, CBU Living Learning Center.

Charles “Chooch” Pickard Principal, Architecture, Incorporated. Projects include Court Square Center, My City Rides Headquarters, 124 Newsroom/McEwen’s on Monroe, Friends For Life Headquarters, Mallory Neely Carriage House Renovation, Historic Gaston Community Center Renovation, and Downtown Memphis Commission Tower Renovation.

Frank Ricks Managing principal, LRK and founding member, ULI Memphis and RegionSmart. Projects include Crosstown Concourse, Renasant Convention Center, The Walk on Union, FedEx Logistics HQ, Orion Federal Credit Union HQ, Artspace Lofts, Chisca on Main, FedExFamilyHouse, AutoZone Park/Ballpark District, Stax Museum, Old Dominick Distillery, Tennessee Brewery, Pinch Plan, and Edge District Plan.

Rick Gardner Principal and CEO, HBG

Design. Practice ranked 4th nationally in hospitality, entertainment architecture, Stewart Smith Principal, senior archiMichel Lebel interior design; nine national and local tect, A2H. Specializes in education and PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY ALLEN & HOSHALL “Best Workplaces” awards. Clients healthcare design. Projects include U of include Elvis Presley Enterprises, Carlisle Corporation, Hilton M STEM Research and Classroom Building, Memphis Health Hotels, Hyatt Hotels, International Paper, FedEx Express.

Center, Lakeland Middle School, Baptist Medical Group, Forest Hill Elementary School, University of Mississippi Timothy N. Garrett Director of architecture, Belz Manning Center.

Enterprises/Belz Architecture.

Susan Golden Founding partner, president, & healthcare practice leader, brg3s architects. Clients include Youth Villages, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, Shelby County, Regional One Health, West Cancer Center, Shelby County Health Department.

Mary Haizlip, AIA Principal, Haizlip Studio. Practice specializes in education, museums, and nonprofits.

Projects include U of M Pedestrian Bridge, U of M Student Center, Hospitality Hub + Women’s Shelter, new Frayser Library.

Carter Hord Principal, Hord Architects. Specializes in master planning, architecture, interior design for nonprofit and institutional clients, particularly churches and Christian schools. Projects include churches in multiple states.

AIA 150 Design Award of Merit.

Michel Lebel Principal and architect, Allen & Hoshall. Registered Architect in seven states.

Manager of architecture division since 2018.

Served as project manager for DeSoto County Schools’ Building Program for past six years.

Award-winning projects include DeSoto County Career and Technology Center, West Memphis Library and Innovation Center.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Tony D. Alexander Co-founder, president and managing director, Made in Memphis Entertainment. Subsidiaries include 4U Recording, Beatroot, Heavy Hitters Music, MIME Publishing, RoyaltyClaim. Entrepreneur, intellectual property attorney, law professor.

Ekundayo Bandele Founder and CEO, Hattiloo Theatre.

Spearheaded $4.3 million and a later $1 million capital campaign for a theater and development center that opened, debt-free, in June 2014. United Way of the Mid-South award, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis award, Congressional Certificate of Honor, IMB Innovation Award.

Brett Batterson President & CEO, Orpheum Theatre Group. Entering seventh year as the head of the Orpheum Theatre and Halloran Centre for Performing Arts & Education. Leadership helped the organization successfully navigate the pandemic with innovative ideas, programs, and community events. Officer, Rotary Club of Memphis.

Executive Committee member, Independent Presenters Network. Tony Award voter.

Michael Bollinger Artistic director, Bartlett Performing

the Renaissance Group Architecture and Engineering.

Architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, civil engineering, and electrical engineering design services for industries from automotive to retail.

Arts & Conference Center. At BPACC, launched Arts In Ed and Music by the Lake series, growing live theater program, presents eclectic performing arts series, Former director of theaters in Missouri, Virginia, and New York City. Produced &/or directed 500+ concerts/events, 200+ live theater productions.

Jimmie Tucker Founding Principal, Self + Tucker

Scott Bomar Musician, Emmy Award-winning film/

Michael Terry Senior vice president and partner,

Architects with Juan Self. Projects include Universal Life Insurance Building Revitalization, Clayborn Temple Restoration, Historic Melrose School Adaptive Reuse, Memphis Innovation Corridor BRT Stations, South Memphis TIF Planning.

Todd Walker Founding partner, archimania with co-partner Barry Yoakum. Projects include Brooks on the Bluff, U of M Scheidt Family Music Center, Frayser Community Center, OrthoSouth, FedEx, Collage Dance Collective, Girls Inc., Youth Villages, The Grove at GPAC, Christ Community Health Services, Ballet Memphis.

TV composer, music producer. Projects include Hustle & Flow Black Snake Moan, and Dolemite Flow, is My Name. Produced Grammy-nominated albums

by Cyndi Lauper, Memphis Blues (2010), and Don Bryant, You Make Me Feel (2020). Songwriter, William Bell’s 2017 Grammy-winning album, This is Where I Live.

Tom McConnell Principal/lead architect, Pickering Firm. Projects include FedEx Ground Sort Hubs, Smith & Nephew manufacturing, AutoZone distribution centers and various industrial parks , including Gateway Global Logistics Center.

Michael Detroit PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY PLAYHOUSE ON THE SQUARE

Tony D. Alexander PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY MADE IN MEMPHIS ENTERTAINMENT

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A RTS & EN T ERTA INMEN T /

Ned Canty General director, Opera Memphis. Directed at Santa Fe Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Florida Grand Opera, New York City Opera, Israeli Vocal Arts Institute, Shanghai Conservatory. Created annual 30 Days of Opera program, now replicated in 17 other states. 2017 CEO of the Year, IMB. Paul Chandler City of Germantown department head and executive director, Germantown Performing Arts Center, which includes the Duncan Williams Performance Hall, The Grove, and Watkins Studio Theater. Directs the development of Germantown’s Public Art Master Plan funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Michael Detroit Executive producer, Playhouse on the Square. Oversees $15 million in assets and $2.7 million annual budget producing 14 shows on three stages, 2 tours, and 13 education outreach programs. Audition coordinator for the Unified Professional Theatre Auditions, the largest audition conference in the U.S. 100+ professional stage credits, 100s of TV commercial, industrial, and voice-over credits, appeared in nine films.

Jon Hornyak Senior executive director, Memphis Chapter, Recording Academy. U of M College of Communication and Fine Arts Distinguished Achievement Award. Executive producer of over 50 video interviews for Grammy Museum’s Living Histories archives. Executive producer, Sounds of Memphis documentary. Multiple Mid-South Regional Emmy nominations for music-themed shows.

Merit Award, 2021 Tennessee Arts Commission Governor’s Arts Leadership Award.

Sherry May Co-Director, Live at the Garden and new Radians Amphitheater. Live at the Garden is the long-running premier outdoor concert series located at Memphis Botanic Garden since 2001, with an annual attendance of more than 35,000 people. Treasurer, The Blues Foundation Board of Directors.

Dan McCleary Founder and producing artistic director of Tennessee Shakespeare Company, the first and only professional classical theater in the Mid-South, creating 35,000 points of contact annually through performances, education, outreach, and training. 2009 Distinguished Arts & Humanities Medal from Germantown Arts Alliance.

Gretchen Wollert McLennon

Marcia Kaufmann Executive director, Iris Orchestra.

Was executive director, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Breckenridge Music Festival. Co-founder and artistic director, Icicle Creek Music Center. Member, numerous chamber ensembles and chamber orchestras.

Preston Lamm CEO, River City Management (Rum Boogie Cafe, King’s Palace Cafe, Pig on Beale, Mesquite Chop House, Spindini). Pioneer Award, 2004, Memphis Restaurant Association, for redeveloping restaurant business on Beale Street. Finalist, 2013 CEO of the Year, IMB. David Less Author, Memphis Mayhem: A Story of the Music That Shook Up The World. Producer Alex Chilton & Hi Rhythm Section Boogie Shoes LP, Ann Peebles/ Hi Rhythm Section Live in Memphis LP. Member, Jazz Journalist Association. Keeping the Blues Alive Award, Blues Foundation. Former partner, Memphis International Records, Merless Publishing.

Debbie Litch Executive producer, Theatre Memphis.

Memphis Symphony Orchestra Hebe and Amphion Awards; Germantown Arts Alliance Arts and Humanities Award; American Association of Community Theatre’s Twink Lynch Award; Gyneka Award from Women’s Theatre Festival of Memphis; “Janie McCrary Putting It Together” Ostrander; American Association of Community Theatre’s Distinguished

Ballet Ensemble & School. Secretary, National Guild for Community Arts Education. National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, 2014. Founding Board, Overton Park Shell.

Howard Stovall President and co-founder, Resource Entertainment. Produces annual pre-game concert for College Football National Championship Game.

Company provides event management services and entertainment from local bands to national headliners for its clients.

Manages The Columns Downtown rental venue.

Katie Smythe

Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell Chief manager/

engineer, Royal Studios. Chapter governor, Memphis Chapter, Recording Academy.

Producer, Take Me to the River documentary. NARAS awards for Grammy award-winning and nominated Carissa Hussong Executive projects. Clients include Al Green, Bruno director, Metal Museum, only U.S. Mars, North Mississippi All-Stars, Keith organization dedicated to art and craft Richards, Robert Plant, Boz Scaggs, of fine metalwork. Whitney Museum of Wu-Tang Clan, John Mayer. 2016 Record American Art Curatorial Fellow. One of Gretchen Wollert McLennon of the Year Grammy, Uptown Funk.

“25 Who Shaped Memphis: 1989-2014,” PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY BALLET MEMPHIS 2019 Memphian of the Year, Memphis Memphis Flyer. Ellida Fri Leadership magazine.

Award, 50 Women Who Make A Difference, Memphis Center City Commission Vision Award.

Katie Smythe Founder, CEO, and artistic director, New

PHOTOGRAPH BY MARI MARTIN

President and CEO, Ballet Memphis.

With organization since childhood as former student and dancer. Led board of directors as chairman from 2014-17.

Former founder and principal, DI Studio. 2009 Top 40 Under 40, MBJ.

Power Players 2022

Natalie Wilson Executive director, Overton Park Shell. Former director of visitor experience, Shelby Farms Park Conservancy, where she was key in redevelopment of the park.

Cindi Younker Director, Buckman Arts Center and Buckman Dance Conservatory. Center at St. Mary’s is Memphis’ premiere, intimate performance venue welcoming world-class artists to the Mid-South with educational outreach for Shelby County youth since 1996. Conservatory offers ballet, jazz, and modern to over 125 dancers ages 3 to adult from across the community with performance opportunities. Levy Gallery features exhibitions for five visual artists each season.

Robert Moody Music director, Memphis Symphony

Orchestra. Guest-conducted Chicago Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl.

International work includes Slovenian Philharmonic, Vienna Chamber Orchestra. Work is on several commercial audio recordings.

IN MEMORIAM Tommy Peters Founder and president of Beale Street Blues Company, which owns and operates B.B. King’s Blues Clubs in Memphis, Nashville, Orlando, New Orleans, Montgomery, and on nine Holland America Cruise Ships. Founder / president of Lafayette’s Music Room, Itta Bena, and Moondance Grill in Germantown with his wife, Liz.

Robert Moody PHOTOGRAPH BY KAREN PULFER FOCHT

Mark Resnick Acting executive director, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. Previously museum deputy director and COO. Former executive vice president, business affairs, 20th Century Fox. Kevin Sharp Linda W. and S. Herbert Rhea Director, The Dixon Gallery and Gardens. Leads museum and public garden with diverse exhibition and education programs. Expanded audience, membership, donor base, income yearly since 2007. Led major renovation of the museum in 2015. Oversaw construction of the Farnsworth Education Building in 2018-2019.

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Power Players 2022

/ AUTO DEALERS / BANKING

AUTO DEALERS

James J. Keras President, Jim Keras Automotive Group.

David S. Andrews soe Founder and CEO, City Enterprises, LLC, holding company for City Auto, Dealers Auto Auction Group, City Auto Finance, City Leasing, Pace Finance, City Construction and Development, Chief Automotive Group of Jackson, Auto Simple Chattanooga.

Operations in 4 states and 12 cities; employs over 950.

Bobby Cline General manager, Landers

Family-owned business. Became dealer principal in 1978.

Circle of Excellence, General Motors Select Dealer, and Mark of Excellence awards.

Ernie Norcross Owner/dealer principal, Volvo Cars of Memphis & Norcross Mazda of Memphis. Past president, Greater Memphis Automobile Dealers Association.

Chairman, Volvo Retailer Advisory Board. Member, North American Volvo Product Advisory Board.

Bruce Kent Ritchey Sr. soe

Cadillac. Former general manager of Bud Davis Cadillac.

Karen Dawson General manager, Roadshow BMW/MINI franchise.

Previously in financial services and marketing roles for BMW in Ohio, New Jersey, and Louisiana. 2018 Automotive News Top 40 Under 40. National Automobile Dealers Association NextGen Leadership Club.

Bruce Kent Ritchey Sr. PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY GMADA

Mark Goodfellow Owner, It’s All Good Auto Sales.

“Favorite Used Car Dealership,” The Commercial Appeal, Memphis Most. Four-star athlete at Marion High School in Arkansas in basketball, baseball, football, tennis.

With Devin Donaldson, won 2010 United States Tennis Association’s 7.0 Mixed Doubles National Championships in Arizona.

Al Gossett President, CEO, owner, Gossett Motor Cars. Largest privately owned automotive group in the Mid-South. Manufacturers include Volkswagen, Porsche, Audi, Kia, Hyundai, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Fiat. Member, Memphis Grizzlies ownership group.

Russell Gwatney President, Gwatney Mazda of Germantown, Gwatney Saab of Memphis, and Gwatney Mazda of Jackson. Finalist, 2005 Time Quality Dealer of the Year. Andrew Jackson Award, 2000 Tennessee Volunteer of the Year, Tennessee Society of Economic Development.

Trudy Higginbotham Moody Owner, Mercedes-Benz of Collierville and Mercedes-Benz and Porsche of Jackson, Mississippi. Best Mercedes-Benz Dealership to Work For in nation, Mercedes-Benz Best of the Best Dealer, Porsche Premier Dealer.

Henry A. Hutton President/dealer, Chuck Hutton

President, Landers Auto Group with locations in Memphis, Southaven, and Jackson, Mississippi. Franchises include Ford, Nissan, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Buick, GMC, Audi, Jaguar, Land Rover, Cadillac, Volkswagen.

President, Greater Memphis Auto Dealers Association.

Joseph H. Schaeffer III Owner, Wolfchase Honda and Wolfchase Nissan. Member, Honda Market Advisors Board, Better Business Bureau of the MidSouth, Greater Memphis Automobile Dealers Association, National Automobile Dealers Association, and Tennessee Automotive Association.

Bryan Smith Owner and general manager, Lexus of Memphis. Co-owner with father Stefan. Family-owned dealership serving Memphis since 1990. Elite of Lexus certification for 20 years for exceptional performance.

Gunter Stephan President, Mercedes-Benz of Memphis.

Experience with company in Germany, Canada, and United States.

Dan Umansky Owner, Umansky Auto Group.

Farrar Vaughan President, Jaguar Land Rover Bluff City. One of six female Jaguar dealers of more than 170 nationwide.

Appointed by former Governor Bill Haslam to Tennessee Motor Vehicle Commission representing 9th Congressional District.

Rob Walker Executive manager and founding general sales manager, Infiniti of Memphis.

Over 30 years with family-owned company.

BANKING - ADMINISTRATION

Kirk Bailey Chairman, Memphis, Pinnacle Financial Partners. Leader in local banks since 1980. Founded Magna Bank 1999. PMD degree, Harvard Business School. Active in industry, community affairs.

Tara Burton President and CEO, FedEx Employees Credit Association. NAFCU Certified Compliance Officer. 2017 Super Women in Business Award, MBJ. Honoree, 2016 Women to Watch, Credit Union Times.

Harold Byrd President, Bank of Bartlett. Co-founder, Bank of Bartlett, Bartlett Mortgage, Bartlett Travel.

Former Tennessee State Representative. Former special assistant to U.S. Senator Jim Sasser. President emeritus, Memphis Rebounders. Partner in Education Award, SCS, Distinguished Alumni Award, U of M.

Frank Cianciola soe Board chairman and CEO, Banc3 Holdings; executive board chairman, Bank3. Former CEO, Victory Bank & Trust; founder, CEO, and chairman, Renasant Bank. Was chairman and vice chairman, Metropolitan Bank.

Brandon Cooper Executive vice president, Memphis metro division president, Simmons Bank. Former experience in commercial lending, retail branch management, district management, wealth management relationship manager, community banking.

W. Craig Esrael President and CEO, First South Financial.

Executive of the Year, MBJ. Entrepreneur of the Year, Bartlett Area Chamber of Commerce. CEO of the Year, IMB. One of Fittest CEOs in America, Fortune. Tennessee Volunteer Commendation Award

by Governor of Tennessee.

Mott Ford Chairman and CEO, Commercial Bank and Trust Company, a $995 million institution with statewide offices in Memphis, Paris, Jackson, and Union City.

Gene Henson President, Memphis & North Mississippi Region, Trustmark National Bank. Board Member,

Chevrolet, Chuck Hutton Toyota, Chuck Hutton Co. Graduate, Tennessee Banking School at Vanderbilt, Banking School of the South at LSU.

Kirk Bailey PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY PINNACLE FINANCIAL PARTNERS

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BANKING /

Power Players 2022

Tennessee Bankers Association and past chairman, Government Relations Committee. Past member, Government Relations Council Administrative Committee, American Bankers Association.

David C. May Market executive and regional commercial banking director for Tennessee and Kentucky, Regions Bank. Co-Chair of Greater Memphis Chamber’s Chairman’s Circle. Board member, United Way of the Mid-South.

Johnny B. Moore Mid-West Tennessee regional president, Truist. Former president and CEO, SunTrust Bank.

SunTrust merged with BB&T at the end of 2019.

Daniel Reid President, West Tennessee Banking Group, Renasant Bank. Focus on commercial banking practices and an emphasis on training opportunities for leadership, lending, and productivity.

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Jim Rout Consultant, former president, and CEO, BankTennessee. Former Shelby County Mayor and Shelby County Commissioner. 2009 Optimist Citizen of Year from Memphis and Shelby County Respect for Law Committee, Optimist International. Distinguished Alumni Award, U of M. Robert S. Shaw Jr. Co-founder and CEO, Paragon Bank. Graduate, American Bankers Association National Commercial Lending School.

W. Scott Stafford President, CEO, & director, Evolve Bank & Trust. 2015 CEO of the Year, IMB. Evolve a sponsor of Halloran Centre Music Series, River Arts Fest, Overton Park Shell, Cooper-Young Festival.

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Chip Dudley SOE and Susan S. Stephenson SOE Co-founders and co-chairs, Independent Bank. Before founding i-bank, Dudley was chairman, president, and CEO of Boatmen’s Bank of Arkansas and Stephenson was chairman, president, and CEO of Boatmen’s Bank of Tennessee. Both have led and served on numerous civic organizations. Bank is recognized as a top community bank in the nation.

William R. Tayloe President, Financial Federal Bank.

Financial Federal Board of Directors. Responsible for oversight and management. Active in business development, risk management, strategic planning.

BANKING - COMMERCIAL LENDING

Rebecca Bowers Senior vice president, Private Banking,

Linda Ash Principal Broker, COO

Elizabeth Montesi Realtor® 813 Ridge Lake Blvd.

Memphis, TN, 38120 901.763.6001 • centricrealtyco.com Licensed Brokerage in Tennessee.

Evolve Bank & Trust. Almost 30 years in banking in Memphis. Former positions with First Capital Bank and Bank of Bartlett. Mentor, HopeWorks of Memphis.

Hunt Campbell Regional president, Tennessee, Guaranty Bank & Trust Company based in Belzoni, Mississippi. Bank holds almost $1.5 billion in total assets. Former president & CEO, First Alliance Bank.

Wright Cox President & CEO, BankTennessee. LSU Graduate School of Banking. More than 35 years in banking. Graduate, Rhodes College Executive Leadership Program. C.H. Harrell Education Award.

Blake Elliot Senior vice president, commercial banking

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executive, Regions Bank. 25+ years commercial banking.

Specialties include healthcare, transportation, logistics, technology, food and beverage, government and institutional banking, capital markets.

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Power Players 2022

/ BANKING / BIOSCIENCE

Duncan Galbreath Senior vice president, Mid-South commercial banking manager, First Horizon National Corp.

Two-plus decades of commercial banking with focus on lending, depository, cash management needs.

Tom Stephenson Executive vice president and chief

Andrea Gladney Community president, Commercial Bank and Trust Company, Memphis. Former treasurer, House of Grace. Life member of the National Association of Junior Auxiliaries.

Richard T. Wood III Executive vice president and manager of Commercial/Multifamily Division, Financial Federal Bank. Involved in commercial lending more than 40 years. 2014 Lifetime Achievement “Titan” Award, 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award. Regional CCIM Chapter. Leads mortgage banking team in Memphis, Atlanta, Nashville offices.

Rick Hall Executive vice president and senior commercial lender, Renasant Bank. Almost four decades in banking.

Member, Lambda Alpha International, Economic Club of Memphis. Founder and former chairman, Westminster Academy.

Steve Hawkins Director of specialty

credit officer, Independent Bank. More than 40 years’ experience in the banking industry. Former president, American Cancer Society.

BIOSCIENCE

Bob Bean CEO, YX Genomics Holding Corp. and subsidiaries TransnetYX, YX Services, RobotYX. Provides outsourced genetic services, cloud-based management software, and laboratory consulting. 2012 CEO of the Year, IMB.

Andrea Gladney banking, First Horizon National Corp.

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY With bank for 38 years, current position COMMERCIAL BANK AND TRUST since 2012. Wholesale line of business director for all commercial loan and treasury activities, James Beaty Pediatric orthopedic surgeon, Campbell including commercial, corporate, specialized lending, Clinic Orthopaedics. Board certified, American Board deposit relationships. of Orthopaedic Surgery. Former chief of staff, Campbell Phillip May Memphis market president, Pinnacle Clinic; former director, Pediatric Orthopaedic Fellowship.

Financial Partners. Commercial and corporate lending since President, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 1994. Former corporate executive, SunTrust and Regions Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America, MidBank. Founded Metropolitan Bank in 2007, grew assets to America Orthopaedic Association. $700 million before merging with Renasant.

Kevin Foley Chairman and director of complex spine Robert Morehead Community Bank president, surgery, Semmes Murphey Clinic. Director, Spine Fellowship BancorpSouth. In banking for more than 30 years.

Program, Department of Neurosurgery; Professor of Responsible for all commercial operations in the Memphis Neurosurgery, Orthopaedic Surgery, Biomedical market. Works with the Greater Memphis Chamber, Engineering, UTHSC. Medical director and chairGermantown Area Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club of man, Medical Education & Research Institute.

Memphis East.

Manoj Jain Infectious disease consultant, John Palmer Managing director, Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac hospital epidemiologist, health policy lending at Greystone Servicing Corporation. Responsible for advocate. Consults at Baptist Memorial Greystone’s Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae DUS Hospital and Methodist hospitals. Advisor, Lending Platform, including affordable, Memphis and Shelby County Covid-19 seniors, small balance multifamily Joint Task Force. lending.

Richard Magid Vice president Frank Stallworth Executive vice and director of technology president of commercial real estate, transfer, UT Research Foundation.

Orion FCU. Former senior vice president Led out-licensing of UTHSC inventions of commercial and multifamily financing and discoveries, including launch of at Pinnacle Bank responsible for all Tennessee-based startups. Creator and commercial and multifamily real estate teacher, “Entrepreneurship for Biomedical lending activities, including placement of and Pharmaceutical Sciences,” UTHSC. income property loans with Freddie Mac and U.S. patent agent.

Fannie Mae.

Duncan Galbreath PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY FIRST HORIZON

Geoffrey S. Martha President and CEO, Medtronic, leader in medical technology, services, and solutions. Was executive VP of company’s restorative therapies group.

Oversees operating groups and regions.

Jon McCullers Pediatrician-in-chief, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. Senior executive associate dean of clinical affairs, COO, Dunavant professor and chair, Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, UTHSC. Advisor, Memphis and Shelby County Covid-19 Joint Task Force.

Frank A. McGrew III Director of cardiovascular research and clinical cardiologist, Stern Cardiovascular Foundation.

Certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular disease, American Board of Internal Medicine. Assistant clinical professor of medicine to Duke University, certified in advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology.

Robert Palmisano President and CEO, Wright Medical Group. Former president and CEO, ev3, endovascular device firm. Former president and CEO, IntraLase, MacroChem, Summit Technology.

Mary V. Relling Chair, Pharmaceutical Department, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Institute of Medicine of National Academy of Sciences. Pediatric Cancer Award, American Society of Clinical Oncology. Team Science Prize, American Association of Cancer Research. Co-leader, NIH-funded Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium.

Isaac Rodriguez Co-founder, chief science officer, SweetBio Inc. Top 40 Under 40, MBJ. Innovation Award winner, IMB. Top 10 Alumni, VCU. Keynote speaker, NASA Langley’s Hispanic Heritage Month.

Gary Stevenson Managing partner and co-founder, MB Venture Partners. CPA, Chartered Financial Analyst. Invested in more than 40 medical-device and biotech startups, 18 in Shelby County.

Participated in financing GTx and BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc.

Isaac Rodriguez PHOTOGRAPH BY LARRY KUZNIEWSKI

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BIOSCIENCE / BUSINESS ORG A NIZ AT IONS /

Jessica Taveau CEO, Epicenter, the Memphis region’s entrepreneurship hub. Drives strategy to develop a thriving entrepreneurial economy and increase entrepreneurs’ equitable access to a growing network of partners and resources.

John E. Gnuschke Director, Sparks Bureau of Business and Economic Research, Center for Manpower Studies.

Professor, Economics, U of M. Director, Applied Information Technology Center. Co-director, Center for Real Estate Research.

Robert Williams Professor and chair

Mark Heuberger President, CEO,

of the Department of Genetics, UTHSC; UT-ORNL governor’s chair in Genomics; Developer of open access websites for scientific discovery since 1994, including GeneNetwork, and new experimental methods and models to test predictions of disease risk using genetic data.

Collierville Chamber of Commerce.

Provides services, resources, opportunities to help Collierville businesses.

Members receive business advocacy, promotion, legislation representation, and B2B relationships.

Merrill Lynch). 30 years+ in public/community relations, communications, strategic planning, research.

Otis Sanford President, Rotary Club Memphis branch.

Hardin chair of excellence in economic and managerial journalism, U of M. Contributor, Daily Memphian , WREG-TV.

Linn Sitler Runs Memphis & Shelby County Film and Television Commission. As reporter/producer/writer, was member of first Memphis tv crew to film overseas. As film commissioner, has recruited clients who’ve left millions of dollars in the local economy during the last three decades.

Spearheaded Memphis effort to recruit filming of Memphis as Chicago in ABC-TV’s Women of the Movement. Led Film Commission’s efforts to assist production community during pandemic.

Randy Hutchinson President and CEO, Better Business PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY EPICENTER Bureau of the Mid-South, Innova Memphis, which invests in with 4,400 BBB Accredited members. and mentors early-stage medical device companies, Provides more than 1.4 million reports biosciences,technology companies. on Mid-South businesses annually to consumers. Educates consumers on how to avoid scams.

Jozelle Luster Booker President & CEO, The MMBC Kannette Keough Executive director, West Continuum. An experienced economic development Tennessee Home Builders Association. Hosts VESTA leader operating a top-performing MBDA Business Center Home Shows. Largest local home builders’ for the U.S. Department of Commerce with a national association in Tennessee with a network of scalable minority suppliers. MMBC Continuum network of home construction, is the economic accelerator for minority-owned and remodeling, contractor, supplier women-owned businesses in the Mid-South. services.

Scott A. Brockman President and CEO, Memphis Shelby Eric Mathews CEO, County Airport Authority. Oversees airport’s modernization Start Co., national plan. Accredited Airport Executive. AAAE Distinguished venture architect of new Service Award. SEC AAAE Airport Professional of the Year, business models and 2010 & 2012. data-inspired problem Reggie Crenshaw President and CEO, Leadership solving. Directly Memphis, with Executive Program for senior leaders, supported over 300 FastTrack for emerging leaders. Events include MLK Days of growing businesses.

Service, 9/11 Day of Service, Volunteer Memphis Awards.

International thought leader on Pearson Crutcher Executive director, The Society of innovation. Boards Entrepreneurs. Educates and encourages businesspeople member, CodeCrew, with the Entrepreneurs Roundtable, Insights Group, and Ballet Memphis.

Annual Dinner and Awards Banquet. Top 40 Under 40, Superwoman of Business, MBJ. St. Agnes Academy Hall of Jeremy C. Park Fame.

CEO, cityCURRENT, Beverly Robertson PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY GREATER Janie Day President and CEO, Germantown Area Chamber focused on MEMPHIS CHAMBER philanthropy, of Commerce. Previously elected executive director. Creates positive media, free vibrant environment in Germantown through business, community events; government, and community partnerships. member of Lipscomb Anna Mullins Ellis President and CEO, New Memphis, & Pitts Insurance, a which develops, activates, and retains diverse talent for Higginbotham Company. a vital and prosperous Memphis. Former publisher, High Author of Giving for Growth; Ground News. Director, TEDx-Memphis. Top 40 Under 40, producer/host of The SPARK and MBJ; 20<30, Memphis Flyer.

SPARK Awards on WKNO-TV, Gwyn R. Fisher Greater Memphis regional director of ChangeMakers podcast, and Tennessee’s Department of Economic and Community cityCURRENT radio show.

Development. Founder and CEO, Revolution Strategy.

Beverly Robertson Former executive director, MPACT Memphis. Top 40 Under President & CEO, Greater 40, MBJ. Memphis Chamber. Former Don Glays President, Tennessee Builders Education president, National Civil Rights Foundation. Former executive director, West Tennessee Museum. Principal, TRUST Home Builders Association. Provides career development, Marketing (accounts include training, placement in building industry.

Promus Companies, Holiday Inn Worldwide, Midas International, Ken Woody Partner and president,

BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS

Jessica Taveau

Power Players 2022

Blair Taylor President, Memphis Tomorrow. Directs strategic, collective action

by CEOs of Memphis’ largest enterprises to promote opportunity and quality of life for Memphians. Founder and chair, Tennesseans for Quality Early Education.

Rory Thomas President, Memphis Medical District Collaborative.

Former executive director, Tennessee Small Business Development Center, STCC. “Top 40 Under 40,” MBJ.

John Threadgill President, Bartlett Area Chamber of Commerce.

Sustains Bartlett economy and community, implements programs for member businesses, assists with growth for current businesses, markets assets to attract new investment.

Laurie Tucker Executive director, Economic Club of Memphis. Co-Founded Calade Partners, a strategy and marketing consultancy. Former senior vice president of marketing, FedEx Services, where she led rebranding initiatives and go-to-market strategies.

Mark Yates President and CEO, Black Business Association of Memphis. Assists minority and women business owners. Founder, Memphis Youth Summer Business Experience, The Enlightenment Center, LES mental-health outpatient care for children and families. Founder, Voices for Memphis’ Children.

Former chief of staff and faculty, LeMoyne-Owen College; chief of staff, U.S. House of Representatives.

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Power Players 2022

/ BUSINESS ORG A NIZ AT IONS / CEOS , COOS , & LE A DERS

CEOS, COOS, & LEADERS Ron Beal Chairman, president, CEO, Orgill, Inc. Former U.S. Army Field Artillery Officer.

Joined Orgill in 1985 as general manager of the hardware division. Became president and CEO in 2005; elected chairman 2013.

Founding partner, Viceroy Investments, LLC in Dallas; Value Acquisition Fund in Memphis. Project developer and board chairman, Soulsville Revitalization Project. Member of original Grizzlies ownership group.

Gregory Christopher Chairman and CEO, Mueller Industries, Inc., multinational manufacturer, distributor, seller of copper, brass, and other metal products for a variety of industries. Became CEO in 2008 and chairman of the board in 2016.

Copper Club Ankh Award.

H. Eric Bolton Jr. Chairman and CEO, MAA, a real estate investment trust focused on acquisition, development, Stacy McCall redevelopment, management of Paul DePriest Executive VP and COO, PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY SERVICEMASTER multifamily homes. 2007 Distinguished Baptist Memorial Health Care. Completed

BY STRATOS Alumni, U of M Fogelman College residency in obstetrics and gynecology, of Business & Economics. 2001 Multifamily Executive fellowship in gynecological oncology at University of the Year. of Kentucky Medical Center. Top Doctors for Women in the South, Women’s Health.

Kennard Brown Executive vice chancellor and COO, UTHSC. Assistant professor, College of Pharmacy; Department of Surgery, College of Medicine; chief administrative officer, UTHSC campus. Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives. Previous director, Office of Equity and Diversity, Office of Employee Relations, Center on Health Disparities.

Robert B. Carter Executive vice president and chief information officer, FedEx Information Services; chief information officer, FedEx Corp. Member of executive committee that plans and executes strategic business activities. Sets technology direction of FedEx applications, infrastructure, networks, data centers providing global support for products.

Andy Cates Founder, general partner, and CEO, RVC Outdoor Destinations, country’s leading provider of high-quality outdoor vacation properties.

Steve Ehrhart Executive director,

AutoZone Liberty Bowl. Managed Liberty Bowl Football Classic since 1994, one of the oldest annual postseason games and highest-rated telecasts originating from Memphis. Former executive director, USFL; president/GM, Memphis Showboats; president, Colorado Rockies.

Fred Jones Jr. President, Summitt Management Corporation. Founder, Southern Heritage Classic; organizes annual matchup betwen Jackston State University and Tennessee State University since 1990. 40 Change Makers, Leadership Memphis. 2019 Power 100, MBJ.

Bryan Jordan Chairman, president, CEO, First Horizon National Corp. Sets strategy for 5,500-employee company founded in 1864 with 14th oldest national bank charter.

Leading regional financial services company with $79 billion in assets. Company named a top employer by American Banker and Working Mother. Chairman, Coalition for Better Health.

Stuart Kronauge Global CEO, The Juice Plus+ Company.

Oversees more than 700 employees. Former chief marketing officer for Beyond Meat. Prior, two decades of executive and corporate experience at Coca-Cola.

Stacy McCall President, CEO,

Troy Watson PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY SERVICEMASTER

Mark Halperin Executive VP and COO, Boyle Investment Co. Appointee, EDGE for Memphis and Shelby County.

2008 Commercial Broker of the Year, Memphis Area Association of Realtors Commercial Council; 2012 Outstanding Recipient, 2008 Realtors Commercial Alliance National Award, National Association of Realtors, Commercial Division.

ServiceMaster by Stratos. Former petroleum engineer. Past president of NAWBO Memphis, member of Boy Scouts of America Chickasaw Council and Le Bonheur National Leadership Council.

2017 CEO of the Year, IMB. 2019 Marion E. Wade Award.

Billy Orgel soe Founder, president, CEO, Tower Ventures, a national provider of wireless communications structures. Member of Grizzlies ownership group. Organizer and director, First Capital Bank. Top 40 Under 40, MBJ. Completed new construction of commercial spaces and 500 apartments, and preserved seven historic buildings in Downtown Memphis.

Brett Ponton CEO, Terminix. Joined company in 2020 after serving as president and CEO of Monro, Inc. Almost 25 years’ experience with distributed service organizations, including leading both company-owned and franchise operations.

David T. Popwell President of banking, First Horizon National Corp. Former chairman, president, CEO, SunTrust in Memphis; executive VP, National Commerce Financial Corp.; shareholder, responsible for mergers and acquisitions practice group, Baker Donelson.

Henry E. Reaves III Founder and CEO, Reaves Law Firm.

Founded firm in 2011. Specializes in the fields of workers’ compensation and personal injury.

Bill Rhodes Chairman, president, and CEO, Customer Satisfaction, AutoZone. Leads Fortune 500 company with

Mark Yates PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY BLACK BUSINESS ASSOCIATION OF MEMPHIS

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CEOS, COOS, & LEADERS /

Power Players 2022

more than 100,000 employees and net sales of $14.6 billion in 2021. In 2005, became the youngest Fortune 500 CEO at age 39.

Lauren McHugh Robinson President and CEO, Huey’s Restaurants. Operates nine family-owned establishments in the Mid-South, with a tenth opening soon. 2022 CEO of the Year, IMB.

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Raj Subramaniam President and COO, FedEx; president and CEO, FedEx Express; Co-president and Co-CEO, FedEx Services. Oversees FedEx portfolio of operating companies and more than 450,000 team members. Member of executive committee that plans and executes FedEx’s strategic business activities.

Mark Sutton Chairman and CEO, International Paper, one of world’s leading producers of packaging, pulp, and paper. Started at IP in 1984 as an engineer at the Pineville, Louisiana, mill. Prior to becoming CEO, gained leadership experience as president and COO. Rex Tibbens President and CEO, Frontdoor, Inc. Tech-enabled home services and building sub-contractor platform. 2021 revenue increased by nine percent to more than $1.6 billion. Former COO, Lyft Inc. W. Troy Watson President and CEO, ServiceMaster Facilities Maintenance. Founded company in 2005.

Oversees more than 700 employees across 14 states. 2022 CEO of the Year, IMB.

John Webb Memphis market president, Cigna. Oversees healthcare and related benefits plans in West Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi. Clients include FedEx, Shelby County Schools.

Daniel Weickenand CEO, Orion Federal Credit Union.

Joined in 2010; revitalized business into a community-focused enterprise with more than 70,000 members and $1 billion in assets. Oversaw move to new headquarters. 2018 CEO of the Year, IMB.

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Jason Wexler President of business/basketball operations, Memphis Grizzlies. Oversaw transition from the “Grit and Grind” era to a younger squad led by young stars Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. Kevin Woods Market president, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee. Former executive director, Memphis’ Workforce Investment Network. Leadership Memphis Executive Class of 2014; Leadership Tennessee class of 2017.

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J.T. Young President and CEO, MLGW. Joined in 2018 and is the 11th president to lead the utility. Experience in engineering, customer service, marketing, sales, risk management, information technology, finance, and supply chain management.

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Power Players 2022

/ CERT IFIED PUBLIC ACCOUN TA N TS / CFOS

CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING

Gregory E. Barnes Managing partner, Memphis office, KPMG, LLP. Graduate, Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Business Executive Development Program. CPA, Chartered Financial Analyst.

private arenas. Member, Economic Club of Memphis, Rotary of East Memphis.

J. Kenneth (Chip) Marston Jr. Founder and CEO, The Marston Group, PLC. Advisory, tax, and financial reporting.

Entrepreneurial ventures and advisor to companies, families, trusts, foundations.

Jud Cannon CEO, Cannon Wright Blount. Started company with Doug Wright and Richard Blount offering business, software, outsourcing solutions for clients beyond general accounting services. Tax and audit services, technology, accounting, consulting solutions.

Kevin McAdams Office managing shareholder, Memphis

P. Anthony Clark Market managing partner, Memphis/ Dallas-Fort Worth, DHG. Industry leader for hospitality and resorts practice. Clients in construction, manufacturing, wholesale, distribution. American Institute of CPAs, Tennessee, Florida Society of CPAs.

B. Robert Payne President and managing partner,

J. Eustis Corrigan, Jr. Senior managing director and

Jonathan Pennington Memphis

shareholder, CBIZ & Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C. Transforms accounting, tax, and advisory services into creative solutions. CPA licensed in Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana.

David L. DelBrocco Owner, DelBrocco & Associates CPAs. Business consulting, audit, tax services to privately held family businesses in manufacturing, distribution, real estate, services, and nonprofits throughout the Mid-South since 1990.

Randal L. Gregory Managing partner, Fouts & Morgan, CPAs. Serving clients in construction, home building, nonprofits, professional service businesses. Tax and audit, partner in charge of marketing. Oversees staff of 30+ professionals, paraprofessionals, support personnel.

CPAmerica International.

John M. Griesbeck Managing member, Reynolds, Bone & Griesbeck PLC. Audit, tax, and advisory services to private companies in Mid-South including financial institutions, manufacturing and distribution, real estate, dealerships, nonprofits.

John D. Ivy Jr. Managing member, Frazee Ivy Davis, PLC. Serves owner-managed enterprises, nonprofits, individuals.

Volunteer board and committee service to Trezevant Manor, Second Presbyterian Church Foundation, EDGE for Memphis and Shelby County.

Jason Martin Managing partner, Memphis office, HHM. Oversees audit, assurance, and attest services for clients within governmental and

Office, Elliott Davis Decosimo. Administration, daily operations, organization of office. Firm founded in 1925.

750+ professionals in four states. A Top 30 accounting, tax, consulting firm in the country.

Brundige, Payne & Company, PC. Provides accounting, tax, consultation services. American Institute of CPAs. Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow.

Abed Abdo CFO, ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Responsible for utilizing analytical and financial information to grow the organization. Former vice president of finance, ConvaTec. Bill Griffin Executive vice president and CFO, Baptist Memorial Health Care. CPA. Chartered global management accountant. Fellow, Healthcare Financial Management Association. HFMA-certified healthcare financial professional.

Jamere Jackson CFO and executive vice president – finance and store development, AutoZone.

Former executive vice president and CFO, Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. Former leadership positions at Nielsen Holdings and General Electric Company.

managing partner and office audit leader, Deloitte. More than 23 years’ experience with clients in manufacturing, healthcare, transportation/logistics, consumer business industries.

Mike Skinner Partner-in-Charge,

CFOS

Chuck Lane Senior vice president and CFO, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare.

With organization since 1996.

Ashley McAdams PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY ORION FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

HORNE Cyber. Information technology audit, regulatory compliance, information security consulting, internal control consulting, business solutions. AICPA’s 40 Under 40.

Jeffrey L. Thomason Chief manager, Watkins Uiberall.

Guides strategic direction of the firm. 75+ employees in Memphis and Tupelo offices. Largest locally owned CPA firm in Memphis.

Terryl Viner Member/partner, Alexander Thompson Arnold PLLC. Specializes in tax planning, individual, partnership and corporate taxation, multi-state tax compliance, employee benefit issues, and supervising audits and reviews of financial statements.

Richard Wright Managing partner, Memphis, Ernst & Young.

Audit and other services to clients in manufacturing, distribution, retail, transportation. Member, American Institute of CPAs. Manages EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year program in the Memphis market.

Mike Lenz Executive vice president

and CFO, FedEx. Responsible for all of the corporation’s global financial functions.

Member, FedEx five-person executive committee.

William C. Losch III Executive VP and CFO, First Horizon National Corp. Leads corporation’s financial activities including treasury, accounting, controls, tax, financial planning, strategic planning.

Ashley McAdams CFO, Orion Federal Credit Union.

Former partner and director of financial institution practices, HORNE LLP. More than 15 years in financial industry helping community-based financial institutions grow.

Tim S. Nicholls Senior VP and CFO, International Paper.

At the company since 1999 through company’s acquisition of Union Camp. Has held a variety of finance, business planning, and leadership positions.

Frank Reid CFO, Duncan-Williams Inc. CPA. Oversaw transition to the Pershing system while maintaining independence as a fully computing FINRA member. Created in-house, self-directed 401(k) plan for employees with no outside administration costs.

Rick Wagers Senior executive VP and CFO, Regional One Health. Oversees finance, materials management, security, engineering, facilities development, safety, revenue cycle.

Leadership Memphis. 2012 CFO of the Year, MBJ. 2015 Senior Executive Meritorious Service Award, Tennessee Hospital Association.

Jimmie D. Williams CFO and senior vice president, Belz Enterprises, one of largest commercial and industrial developers in the South. U.S. Army Officer Training School, Finance Corps. Chairman, Mid-America Student Housing, Inc.

John D. Ivy Jr. PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY FRAZEE IVY DAVIS, PLC

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CTSI-Global + Honeybee TMS

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Power Players 2022

/ COMMERCIA L INSUR A NCE / COMMERCIA L RE A L ESTAT E

COMMERCIAL INSURANCE

J. Dale Crow Senior vice president at Risk Strategies Company. 100+ offices nationally, including Memphis, Nashville, Birmingham, and Atlanta. Professional liability and property and casualty insurance solutions for architectural and engineering firms, law firms, accounting firms, and a wide variety of consultants.

Larry E. Crum President, Larry E.

Insurance Advisory Committee, Greater Memphis Insurance Council.

Stephen L. Oseman President and owner, Oseman Insurance Agency. One of largest independent agencies in Tennessee. Offices in Memphis and Jackson, Mississippi, specializing in automotive industry, healthcare P&C, education, social services, entertainment, transportation.

Kenneth David Paylor CEO and

president, USI of Tennessee, Inc. Crum & Associates LLC. 50+ years as Executive management and large risk award-winning Nationwide Insurance management programs. 200+ offices Agency. Hall of Fame inductee. in the U.S. Certified Insurance Counselor, Independent Agent with 42 staff and Associate in Risk Management. Certificate Cindi Gresham PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY BOYLE licensed associates in 9 offices serving of Achievement for Advanced Consultancy INSURANCE AGENCY, INC. customers in English, Vietnamese, and Practice I. Spanish. Serves 37 states from New York to California.

John Robert Pitts Co-CEO, Lipscomb and Pitts Insurance,

Cindi Gresham President, Boyle Insurance Agency, Inc., providing for all lines of personal and business insurance needs including industry programs for senior care, professional liability, contractors, apartments/condominiums, nonprofits. Certified Insurance Counselor. Tennessee National Director of the IIABA.

LLC. With partner Mat Lipscomb III, majority owner of largest locally owned insurance agency in the Mid-South.

President’s Club member, University of Tennessee.

Jeffrey S. Hall President/principal, Insight Risk

Stallings & Brown, Inc. Heavy casualty, construction, surety, management liability, logistics, manufacturing risk. Develops alternative risk solutions including captives shared risk programs. Former president, West Tennessee Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, Collierville Chamber of Commerce.

Associates. Transportation, construction, surety, financial risk. Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter designation, American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters.

S. Eugene Mathis Jr. Executive VP, Mathis & Company dba Mathis, Tibbets & Massey, Inc. Surety bonding, contractors’ insurance, workers compensation, general liability, employee benefits, inland marine coverages. Commercial Lines Coverage Specialist.

Jeff Michael VP, Clay & Land Insurance, Inc. Joined father, Mike Michael, at Michael Insurance Agency in 1975. Merged with Clay & Land in 1982. Full-service, independent, family-owned agency providing all lines of insurance. Professional liability, property, general liability.

Dale Morris Owner and principal, Morris & Associates.

Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter and past president, Memphis CPCU Chapter. Associate in Risk Management. Past chairman, Memphis and Shelby County

Formerly named Cecil Smith Insurance. Purchased Berclair Insurance Center and merged companies into SmithBerclair Insurance. NCAA Division I college football replay official. Former president, Insurors of Memphis, Insurors of Tennessee. Elder, Grace Evangelical Church.

Paul Woods Managing director and client executive, Marsh USA, Inc. Member of firm’s Southeastern Partnership Management team. Transportation/logistics and wholesale/ retail segments.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

Ronald “Ron” Belz President and CEO, Belz Enterprises.

One of largest commercial and industrial developers in the South. Developed more than 25 million square feet of property, including Shelby Oaks, Goodlett Farms, Appling Farms, The Peabody, Peabody Place. Development and management of industrial, retail, office, residential properties nationwide.

Danny Buring Managing partner, Memphis office, The Shopping Center Group, LLC. Clients include Fresh Market, Dick’s, Bed Bath & Beyond, Panera Bread, Chipotle, LA Fitness, Fleming’s Steakhouse. 2004 Pinnacle Award for Commercial Broker of the Year.

Mark E. Harris Principal, Harris, Madden, Powell,

W. Joseph Lammel Principal, Lammel &

Brad V. Smith President, Smith-Berclair Insurance.

Paul Boyle President, Boyle Investment Co. Specializes in Memphis and Nashville real estate. Properties include Schilling Farms, Regalia Shopping Center, Ridgeway Center, The Pinnacle of Germantown.

Management. Handles large commercial and group employee benefits with a focus on warehousing, contracting, transportation. Provides business/commercial and personal insurance, bonds, health and life insurance. Former president, Insurors of Memphis.

Cindy Klatt President, Kemmons Wilson Insurance Group. Former COO. Oversees agency operations and provides strategic leadership.

Kirk Riggins Partner, Page, Chaffin & Riggins Insurance.

Hands-on insurance mainly with Main Street America business. Licensed in multiple states. Certified Insurance Counselor Designation. Insurors of Tennessee.

Chance Carlisle CEO, Carlisle Corporation.

Manages aviation, real estate development, Wendy’s franchise departments. Development portfolio includes One Beale Project and $30 million Chisca Hotel renovation.

Darrell T. Cobbins PHOTOGRAPH BY AMIE VANDERFORD

Andy Cates CEO and president of Brokerage Services, Colliers International in Memphis. Colliers Everest Award and numerous Memphis Area Association of Realtors Pinnacle Awards. SIOR Memphis Chapter President, 2013.

Kevin Clarkson Managing director of asset services, CBRE’s Memphis office.

Responsibilities include all industrial, office, and retail property management and leasing assignments, oversight of property management operations, owner and tenant relations within the portfolio.

Darrell T. Cobbins President and principal broker, Universal Commercial Real Estate, LLC. 20-year industry veteran involved with projects like Crosstown Concourse, Liberty Park redevelopment, Orange Mound Tower, and Northside High redevelopment. Represented clients FedEx, BlueCrossBlueShield, City of Memphis, Junior Achievement of Memphis, Kruger Tissue.

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COMMERCIA L RE A L ESTAT E / CONST RUCT ION - COMMERCIA L /

Thomas Farnsworth Partner, Farnsworth Investment Co. and Holdings. Society of Office and Industrial Realtors.

Memphis Area Association of Realtors Commercial Broker Lifetime Achievement Award, Lambda Alpha International Excellence in Real Estate Lifetime Achievement Award, Carnival Memphis Cook Halle Award.

Rick Fogelman CEO, Fogelman Properties.

Establishes and implements business strategies. Owns/operates 90 multifamily communities of over 28,000 apartment homes throughout the country.

Licensed real estate broker in Tennessee.

Lawrence “Larry” Jensen

Responsible for sale, lease, and/or disposition of over 50,000,000 square feet of industrial and office facilities in Mid-South. MAAR Pinnacle Award Top Producers Club, 2013-2018.

Lewis K. McKee, Jr. Partner and broker, McKee and McFarland, Inc. Full-service real estate firm in acquisition, development, management, marketing of commercial and industrial properties. Licensed Real Estate Broker in Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri.

Jeff Morris President, Morris Auction Group and Morris Realty Group in Memphis; Luxury Estates Auction Group in Destin, Florida. CAI, AARE certified.

Tennessee Auctioneer Commission.

Power Players 2022

CONSTRUCTION - COMMERCIAL

Jack Bearden Vice president, Belz Construction LLC. Design, design-build, general contracting. Focuses on healthcare, industrial, office, retail, government, education construction. Clients include Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, St. Jude, Nike, Saint Francis Healthcare, Campbell Clinic. LEED Accredited Professional.

Andy Davis Vice president and business manager, Turner Construction. Responsible for overall management and performance within the region. Leadership has led the office to grow to more than 60 full-time employees and a volume of work over $100 million per year.

Chairman|Principal Cushman & Wakefield Commercial Advisors.

Gary Prosterman Clients have included Campbell Clinic, Josh Poag President and CEO, Poag PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY DEVELOPMENT AutoZone, FedEx, Stratas Foods. 2005 Shopping Centers. Management, leasing, SERVICES GROUP, INC. Commercial Broker of the Year, 2008 development, acquisition of lifestyle Office Broker of the Year. Member, Tennessee State Board of centers. Current managed/leased properties comprise Education. Board member, Shelby Farm Conservancy.

5.2MM square feet. ISCSC and ULI certifed.

Briggette Green Owner, TopCat Masonry Contractors, Inc. Founded company in 1997. Provides brick, block, rock, glass block, pre-cast and stone masonry services, concrete work for commercial and industrial projects. Projects include U of M Pedestrian Ramp, Hattiloo Theater, South Junction, Chisca Hotel. 2020 CEO of the Year, IMB.

Carma C. Jude Portfolio manager, Healthcare Realty.

General contracting, design/build, construction management, LEED-certified projects. Projects include Crosstown Concourse, Rhodes College, CBU, Ballet Memphis. Multiple AIA Awards for Excellence, American Architecture Award.

LEED Platinum status for Crosstown Concourse.

Certified Commercial Investment Member. Company owns seven properties totaling 516,000 square feet.

Michael A. Lightman Owner, Michael Lightman Realty Co., regional leader in commercial property brokerage and land investment. Developed Shelby Business Park, Germantown’s Exeter Village, Centennial Place, South Lake Centre in Southaven, and multiscreen movie complexes for Malco Theatres. Commercial Hall of Fame, Memphis Area Association of Realtors.

Robert “Bob” Loeb President, LPI Memphis, SOE. Memphis projects include redevelopment of Overton Square Theatre District, Broad Avenue Arts District, University District revitalization. Past trustee, Memphis University School, St. Mary’s Episcopal School, Memphis College of Art, Youth Villages.

G. Treat Macdonald Principal broker and partner, Crump Commercial. Six top industrial transaction awards from CORFAC International. Clients include Durham School Bus Services and Shearer Supply.

Hank Martin Vice president/ broker manager, NAI Saig Company, full-service industrial, retail, and office brokerage firm.

Gary Prosterman President and CEO, Development Services Group, Inc. Projects: adaptive reuse of historic Fort Worth office building into Kimpton Harper Hotel; Candler Office Building in Atlanta into Hilton Curio Hotel; Butler Brothers warehouse in St. Louis into multifamily; mixed-use redevelopment of 11 acres in Memphis’ Edge District including The Rise Apartments, Orion Headquarters, Memphis Made Brewery, The Ravine urban park, linking Downtown Memphis to the Medical District.

Adam Slovis Owner, Slovis Commercial. Founded company in 2006. Specializes in redevelopment, historic properties, new in-fill opportunities, and traditional CRE transactions. Provides consulting and real estate services locally and nationally.

Joseph Steffner Senior vice president and regional managing director, Newmark. SIOR, CCIM, and CPM designations. Pinnacle Awards, 2015 Commercial Broker of the Year. Greater Memphis Chamber chairman’s circle.

Alex Turley CEO, Henry Turley Company. Former president.

With company since 2014.

Oversees development of residential and commercial properties in Downtown Memphis.

Fred Grinder President, Grinder Taber and Grinder, Inc.

Rusty Linkous soe President, Linkous Construction Co. General contracting, construction management, consulting. Projects include Malco Theatres, Michael Lightman Realty, CBHS, U of M Men’s Basketball Facility, St Mary’s School, Sedgwick HQ, Boyle Investment Company, St Jude.

Jonathan Logan President and CEO, Castle Black Construction. Founded company in 2005 with brother Jarrett. Markets served include healthcare, education, worship centers, transportation, government agencies.

Clients include St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Freedom Preparatory Academy, Bank of America, Pinnacle Financial Partners. 2019 CEO of the Year, IMB. H. Montgomery Martin Founder & CEO, Montgomery Martin Contractors. Retail, office, healthcare, multi-family, hospitality, urban redevelopment, institutional. Clients include Shelby Farms Park, Rael Development, Highwoods Properties, Henry Turley Company, AutoZone Park, Kroger, CBU, Regional One Health, Dixon Gallery and Gardens.

Chris McDermott Owner, Grinder Haizlip Construction.

Commercial and industrial construction. Clients include FedEx, Gossett Motors, Mellow Mushroom, Valero, Keras Automotive, Cargill, Sunrise Motors, Chemours, AutoNation.

Clyde L. Patton Jr. President, Patton & Taylor Construction Co. General construction, construction management, value engineering. Projects include Harbor Town Landing, The Carrington at Schilling Farms, Civic Center Apartments, 88 Union Center, Centennial Garden Apartments Phases 2, 3, & 4, Fieldstone Apartments Phases 2-8, Memphis Cotton Exchange.

Hank Martin PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY NAI SAIG COMPANY

Joe T. Savage Owner and CEO, Metro Construction.

Commercial renovation and new construction of cold chain, education, historic, hotel & condo, industrial, office, religious, restaurant, retail projects. Projects include Oxford Toyota (LEED), LEO Events, Brookhaven Pub & Grille, Eversauna Cold Chain.

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Power Players 2022

/ CONSTRUCTION-RESIDENTIAL / EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

Allen Wagner President, Wagner General Contractors, Inc., commercial general contractor licensed in Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas. Diamond Level certified in ABC Safety Training and Evaluation Process.

Trey Sowell Owner, Sowell Investment Group, Acorn

Tim Weatherford President, Southeast Region, Flintco,

Gary Thompson Vice president, Boyle

LLC. Specializes in construction management projects for healthcare, education, hospitality, corporate clients. Cients include St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis Shelby County Airport Authority, ServiceMaster, U of M, Campbell Clinic, Collierville Schools.

Investment Company. Responsible for acquiring, planning, developing, selling, managing Boyle’s residential properties. Recent projects include Spring Creek Ranch, Braystone Park, Twin Lakes, Washington Gates, Twinings of Collierville, The Pinnacle of Germantown, Addie Green, Hidden Creek, Allelon.

Development Company. Specializes in real estate development, construction, investments, and brokerage.

President, WTNHBA.

and Nashville. Focus is on strategic group benefit planning and risk management consulting for medium to large businesses.

Todd Dyson President, Clay & Land Insurance, Inc., founded in 1968. Employee benefits consulting, serves on multiple broker advisory committees, Leaders Club qualifier. Member, National Association of Health Underwriters, Professional Insurance Agents of Tennessee (PIA).

Kelly O. Finnell President and founder, Executive Financial Services, Nisha Powers Inc. National consultancy has done ESOP PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY transactions in 20 cities nationwide.

POWERS HILL DESIGN, LLC. Author, The ESOP Coach: Using ESOPs in Ownership Succession Planning; several articles in professional journals.

Austin Baker President, HRO Partners, HR consulting and Timothy J. Finnell Founder and Managing Partner, Ryan Anderson Owner, RKA Construction. Custom home outsourcing firm representing private sector and public Group Benefits LLC. Merged with a top 10 national broker sector municipal and governmental entities with more builder that specializes in anything from small renovations Alera Group in 2017. Provides strategic planning for compathan 45,000 employees and retirees. Top 40 under 40, to ground-up new construction. Owner, Williamsburg nies seeking employee benefits solutions. Speaker/author MBJ. Home Services. Member, WTNHBA Remodelers Council. on healthcare and benefits. Interviewed by The Wall Street Ed Barnett Executive vice president for HUB Journal, CNNMoney. Executive of the Year Finalist in 2015 Kim Brown Owner, Kim Grant Homes.

International, Mid-South. Recognized fourth and three-time Pacesetters Award Honoree, MBJ. Leading residential construction company in top performer of HUB in country. American the West Tennessee and North Mississippi Keith A. James Founder, President and CEO, The Association of Life Underwriters, Top regions; third-generation family of James Group, LLC, national employee benefits consulting of the Table Award, 2013 Methodist Le homebuilders. Former president, firm.

Lifetime member, National Association of Health Bonheur Healthcare Living Award for WTNHBA. Underwriters Leading Producers Round Table. Fellow, Inspiration in Faith and Health.

American College of Healthcare Executives, Leadership David Clark Owner, David Clark C. Robert Brown Founder and Germantown.

Construction. Mid-South building Partner, UCL Financial Group, LLC. Past and remodeling company since 1942.

James “Jay” F. Keegan Jr. Chairman and founder, Dave Moore President of NAIFA National, Tennessee Current home inventory includes Bodock, Inc., a holding company comprised of four PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY Insurance Professional of the Year Allelon, Pipers Grove Germantown, MOORE COMPANIES operating platforms in the human capital management (2000), Lester A. Rosen Humanitarian Chapel Cove. industry. President and CEO, Adams Keegan, a national and Achievement Award, Ameritas Hall of Fame, 2013 payroll, HR, and employer services firm. Founder and CEO, John Catmur President, Catmur Development Company.

Robert E. Musto Tennessee Insurance Hall of Fame, MTSU. Staffline, a staffing provider. Co-founder, The James Group, Homebuilding and remodeling firm founded in 1984.

Member FSP Financial Services Professionals, Million Dollar life and health insurance agency.

Personalized services include remodeling, renovating, Roundtable Court of the Table, Memphis additions, custom homes. Member, WTNHBA Remodelers David Klevan Principal, Corporate Benefits Estate Planning Council.

Council.

Management Group. 40+ years in insurance, Karen W. Buckner Partner and employee benefits, financial services industries.

Karen Garner President, Magnolia Homes. Founded office leader, Mercer, HR consulting 1999 Sam Walton Small Business Award; 2000 home building company as single mother in 1987. Runs firm and subsidiary of Marsh and Home Town Hero award, City of Germantown; business with son Reggie Garner Jr. Recently opened new McLennan Companies. Consulting 2008 Small Business of the Year, Germantown office and design center in Collierville. actuary for large retirement plans.

Area Chamber of Commerce.

Keith Grant Co-owner, Grant & Co. Runs company with Enrolled actuary for DOL and IRS. Chris L. Woods soe President, Chris Woods

Construction Co., Inc. Projects include FedEx, Memphis Shelby County Airport Authority, Main Event Entertainment, TAG, Carvana. Multiple Excellence in Construction Awards, Associated Builders and Contractors.

CONSTRUCTION - RESIDENTIAL

brother David. Third-generation family of homebuilders, with a focus on homes in Collierville, Arlington, Bartlett, and Olive Branch, MS.

David McLemore Owner, McLemore Home Builders.

In construction business since 1997, with a focus on both homebuilding and realty services. Managing partner, Real Living McLemore and Co. Realtors.

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

Charles Sims Jr. President and CEO, Sims

Largest employee benefits firm in Memphis.

Shannon Dyson Vice president, Shoemaker Insurance Solutions. Leads group employee benefit, home and auto, commercial operations in Memphis

Financial Group, Inc. Certified Financial Planner, Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow, Certified Mutual Funds Manager.

Dave Moore Owner, Dave Moore companies. Founded company in 1986. Member, WTNHBA Remodelers Council.

Several 1st Place for Quality Craftsmanship awards, Memphis Area Home Builders Association. Member, National Association of Home Builders.

Jennifer Ransom Owner, The Ransomed Group. Women and minority-owned general contracting firm specializing in residential and commercial remodeling projects.

Building, design, renovation, and remodeling services.

C. Robert Brown PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY ULC FINANCIAL GROUP, LLC.

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ENGINEERING /

Power Players 2022

National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors.

Life and qualifying member, Million Dollar Round Table. First African-American member, John Hancock’s Hall of Fame.

Orma Smith CEO, CanopyNation. Certified Self Funding Specialist. CanopyNation is a UBA partner firm, serving more than 150 high-performing companies to deliver strategic employee benefit solutions developed by local advisors.

ENGINEERING

Jeff L. Arnold President and CEO, Fisher Arnold, Inc. Leading architecture, engineering, consulting firm.

Registered Professional Engineer. Projects include I-69, SR-385, U of M University Center.

David C. Bradford Jr. Principal and mechanical engineer, Smith Seckman Reid, Inc. Certified PE, LEED AP. Pursues projects that directly impact the community, including local healthcare and community facilities used by wide range of Memphis residents. Provides mentorship to young engineers.

Richard C. Bursi President and CEO, OGCB, Inc. Mechanical and electrical consulting engineers. Work includes Rhodes College, U of M, Crosstown Concourse, University of the South. Member, Tennessee Board of Architectural and Engineering Examiners.

James Collins Principal, Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. Projects include Memphis Innovation Corridor Bus Rapid Transit, Elvis Presley Boulevard, Walk on Union, I-240/Airways interchange, Memphis/Shelby County traffic signal improvements, Parkside, Carrefour at the Gateway, Tom Lee Park, MSCAA Consolidated Deicing Facility, MSCAA Concourse B Reconstruction, MPO Regional Transportation Plan, Handy Park.

Phillip G. Coop SOE Chairman and co-founder, EnSafe, Inc., provides national environmental consulting, engineering, industry safety, hygiene consulting, geographic information services. Former member, White House Advisory Panel on Sustainability. Charter member, Hazardous Materials Control Institute. Herff Honor Award for Distinguished Service in Engineering. Certified Hazardous Material Manager.

Greg Dotson PE, Barge Design Solutions, Inc. Client Service Leader. Board of directors, University Neighborhood Development Corporation and Engineers’ Club of Memphis.

Leadership committee, Institute of Transportation Engineers Southern District. Advisory board, U of M Civil Engineering Department, East High School T-STEM Academy.

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Pat Harcourt Principal, CEO, A2H. Expertise includes engineering for site development, utilities, transportation.

Clients include FedEx, Baptist Memorial Health Care, U of M, City of Memphis. City of Memphis Wastewater Hearing Authority Board.

Larkin Myers President and environmental engineer, Tioga Environmental Consultants. Licensed professional engineer in 3 states. Certifications in Level 1 and 2 Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control and LEED AP. Past chair, Tennessee Environmental & Water Resources Institute.

Member, American Society of Civil Engineers; Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers.

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Power Players 2022

/ ENG INEERING / FIN A NCIA L PL A NNING / HIG HER EDUCAT ION

Michael Pohlman, PE President/CEO, Pickering Firm, Inc. Engineering and architectural design professionals. MLGW Board of Commissioners since 2017.

Nisha Powers President, Powers Hill Design, LLC. Projects include Overton Square Garage Detention Basin, Main to Main (Big River Crossing), Zoo & Overton Park parking solution. Super Woman in Business, Top 40 Under 40, MBJ. Ruby R. Wharton Outstanding Community Service Award.

Appointed to state Aeronautics Commission by Governor Bill Haslam.

Brian Douglas Principal, Guidingpoint Financial Group.

Works with those approaching and in retirement on income strategies and intergenerational planning. Certified Financial Planning Professional working with families, individuals, couples.

John Phillips V Founding member and chief investment

Kathleen Fish President and founder, Fish +

David Pickler President and CEO, Pickler Wealth Advisors.

Associates Financial Services. CFP, Chartered Life Underwriter, Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor. Member, Financial Planning Association, Society of Entrepreneurs Insight Group. Founding partner, Fusion Advisor Network.

Harry Pratt President and civil engineer, Allen & Hoshall. Oversees Jim Isaacs President and CEO, Legacy nearly 100 employees in nine offices Wealth Management. CFP, MBA, Finance. across the Southeast U.S. Registered Legacy consistently named in AdvisoryHQ’s Professional Engineer in six states. annual objective review as top-rated Harry Pratt PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY ALLEN & HOSHALL Wealth Manager in Tennessee.

Served as project manager for over 70 projects for FedEx at Memphis, Indianapolis, Newark, Marty Kelman Chairman and co-founder, KelmanAnchorage hubs. Technical project manager, Memphis Main Lazarov Inc. CFP. Former president, Memphis Street to Main Street Intermodal Connector Project which Chapter, International Association of Financial included Big River Crossing.

Planning. National Leadership Council, Matthew D. Wolfe President, ETI Corporation. Detailed design of civil engineering and land development projects, (roadways, hydrology, industrial/commercial site development). Projects include City of Memphis, State of Tennessee, several municipal airports.

J. Wesley Wooldridge Director of Civil Engineering, Renaissance Group, Inc. Partner, Professional Civil Engineer. Certified Arborist. Site planning, subdivision design, and municipal engineering, state and municipal permit compliance. Clients include Shelby County Schools, Collierville School System, Gateway Tire, MPD, Beruk Properties, L.L.C.

FINANCIAL PLANNING

Sudhir K. Agrawhal Financial planner, Ami Financial Group. CPA, CDFA, CFP. Specializes in retirement income, executive compensation, women’s financial, tax planning, estate planning strategies. Ameriprise Mercury Award, 1999. Five-Star Wealth Manager, 2012-2016.

Chirag Chauhan Founding member and partner, Bluff City Advisory Group. CFP. FINRA Dispute Resolution Arbitrator. Accredited Investment Fiduciary. Equitable Advisors award recipient: 2020 Bronze Eagle, 2020 Hallmark II, 2011 to 2019 Centurion Producer and Hallmark I. Top 40 Under 40, MBJ.

officer, Red Door Wealth Management. Comprehensive asset management for personal advising, retirement plans, family office, and business owners. Top 40 Under 40, MBJ. CFP, Chartered Financial Analyst.

Senior partner, The Pickler Law Firm and Pickler Accounting Advisors. Executive director, American Public Education Foundation. Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisors list, 2021; Commercial Appeal’s Best Law Firm in Memphis, 2020; Invest in Others Catalyst Award, 2019; Financial Times 400 Top Financial Advisors list, 2015; Top Advisor in Tennessee, Barron’s. Altruism Award, Registered Rep magazine, 2011.

Rebecca Brown Schulter Agent and financial planner, UCL Financial Planning. Joined company in 2014; specializes in comprehensive financial planning, life insurance and disability, asset accumulation, college funding, retirement planning, business succession planning, employee benefits.

David Waddell CEO, Waddell & Associates.

Facing History and Ourselves. Past president, Memphis Chapter, assistant treasurer, Jewish Community Partners.

Past president, Lausanne Collegiate School.

Karen M. Kruse Chief Compliance Officer, First Horizon Advisors. 28+ Chirag Chauhan PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY BLUFF CITY years in financial planning, investment, ADVISORY GROUP trust services. Team works on goalsbased financial planning and investing. CFP, Accredited Investment Fiduciary.

John N. Laughlin Principal and chief executive officer, Summit Asset Management, LLC. CFP. Client service, portfolio management, business development, strategic planning. Chair, Summit’s Financial Advisory Committee.

Charles R. (Mack) McKinney Financial advisor and manager, Waddell & Reed, Inc. 2011, 2013, 2014, 2019 Waddell & Reed Circle of Champions, 2012 Advisor Medalist Program.

Jim E. Meeks Jr. Managing partner, Northwestern Mutual of Memphis. Investment strategies and products, life insurance, employee and executive benefit programs, education funding, estate analysis, retirement analysis. Million Dollar Round Table.

CFP. Contributor: The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, CNBC Europe, Fox News, Bloomberg, Nikkei CNBC Japan, Cheddar TV, Yahoo! Finance, iHeart Radio, Authority Magazine. Featured expert: Barron’s, IMB, Daily Memphian, Commercial Appeal, Forbes. Top 40 Under 40; Small Business Awards Finalist; Executive of the Year, MBJ; Most Admired CEO, Nashville Business Journal.

HIGHER EDUCATION

David L. Archer Interim president, Christian Brothers University. Since 2017, full-time associate professor, CBU School of Business; director, Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Management. Former CEO, St. Francis Healthcare.

Vernell A. Bennet-Fairs President, LeMoyne-Owen College. Recently vice president of student affairs at Delta State University in Cleveland, MS; former vice president of student affairs, Kentucky State University.

Peter F. Buckley Chancellor, UTHSC. Former dean, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU); and executive vice president of health affairs, VCU Health System. Distinguished fellow, American Psychiatric Association. Fellow, Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Jennifer M. Collins President, Rhodes College. Takes role as college’s 21st president in July 2022. Previously dean of Dedman School of Law, Southern Methodist University. Former law faculty, associate provost for academic and strategic initiatives, and vice provost, Wake Forest University.

Larkin Myers PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY TIOGA ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANTS

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HIG HER EDUCAT ION / HOSPITA LIT Y /

Dr. Tracy D. Hall President, Southwest Tennessee Community College. Former vice president of academic affairs, St. Louis Community College-Forest Park.

Affiliations include American Association of Community Colleges Commission on Economic and Workforce Development, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, Tennessee Board of Regents President’s Council, Memphis Region Member of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’ Community Development Advisory Council.

Betty Sue McGarvey President, Baptist College of Health Sciences. Distinguished Alumni Award, UTHSC School of Nursing, U of M Lowenberg School of Nursing, Baptist College of Health Sciences.

Phil Cordell Global head, New Brand Development, Hilton. Inception and development of new Hilton brands, including Tempo by Hilton. Cultivation and enhancement of existing brands in development.

Skip Redmond President, Moore Tech. Supported

Bill Duncan Global head, suites and focused service

legislative effort to have Moore Tech granted use of Tennessee Promise grants. Works with lawmakers to provide more post-graduate options to students.

Lewis Reich President, Southern

Jody Hill President, Memphis Theological Seminary. Veteran pastor in Cumberland Presbyterian and Presbyterian USA churches. Former vice president for community relations, Blue Mountain College, MS. Author, 38: The Chucky Mullins Effect.

Lewis Reich PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY SOUTHERN COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY

Don W. Jones Assistant vice president, enrollment and student services, Belhaven University. Co-author of two textbooks. White House Volunteer Service Award, University of Phoenix Service Award, Mississippi Emergency Service Medal. Commander, 210th MP Battalion for the Mississippi State Guard.

College of Optometry. Optometrist.

Residency in low-vision rehabilitation.

Ph.D. in Physiological Optics. Fellow, American Academy of Optometry.

Research funded by National Eye Institute, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.

M. David Rudd President, University of Memphis. Top-tier public university, U.S. News & World Report. Oversaw record-breaking improvements in student retention and graduation rates, and significant boost in research expenditure. Pursuing Carnegie Tier 1 status. Stepping down from post in May 2022.

Cindy Brewer Principal and co-founder, LEO Events.

Named Influential People in Events by BizBash, Top 25 Super Women in Business, MBJ MBJ; IMB Power Player; most recently inducted into Smart Women in Meetings Hall Magazine. of Fame, Smart Meetings Magazine

Douglas Browne General manager, The

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY RHODES COLLEGE

categories, Hilton; oversees Embassy Suites, Homewood Suites, Home2 Suites by Hilton, Hampton by Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn, Tru by Hilton. Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association’s Top 25 Extraordinary Minds in Sales & Marketing.

Karl Friedrich General manager, River Inn of Harbor Town. Oversees hotel and restaurants, including overall performance of property. Former general manager, small luxury hotel in Pawley’s Island, SC. Former president, International Hospitality Management.

Matt Huss General manager, Sheraton Memphis Downtown Hotel. Employee Satisfaction Hotel of the Year (Davidson Hotels) 2006, 2012, 2013; director of meeting/convention services of the year, Wyndham International; Agoura Hills Business of the year.

Thomas B. Johnson Managing director, Wilson Conference Center Group, Holiday Inn U of M, Fogelman Executive Conference Center. Eight Torchbearer Awards from InterContinental Hotels Group. Member, Metropolitan Ken Steorts President/founder, Phil Cordell Memphis Hotel and Lodging Visible Music College. Founder, GrammyPHOTOGRAPH COURTESY HILTON Association, International Association nominated band Skillet. President, of Conference Centers.

Madison Line Records, Visible Community Music School.

Dove Award nominee. DMC Vision Award, 2013; Thomas W. Kevin Kane President and CEO, Memphis Tourism.

Briggs Community Service Award, 2016.

President of its subsidiary, Memphis Management Group

HOSPITALITY

Jennifer M. Collins

Power Players 2022

Peabody Memphis. President, Peabody Hotels & Resorts. Peabody Hotel Group’s General Manager of the Year and award from Metropolitan Memphis Hotel and Lodging Association, Tennessee Hospitality Association. Recipient, Spirit of Memphis Award, Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Pace Cooper President and CEO, Cooper Hotels. Developer of the Year Award, Hilton Worldwide, Hotel Owner of the Year Award, HotelWorld Network. Tennessee, American Hotel and Lodging Associations. Chairman, Multi Franchise Organization.

LLC. Responsible for economic growth in Memphis through events, conventions, visitors. Overseeing renovation/ expansion of Renasant Convention Center.

Jeremy Sadler General manager, Central Station, a Curio by Hilton. 123-room hotel in South Main district.

Redesigned 105-year-old transportation building into eight-story, music-based luxury hotel.

James Siao Managing director, Arrive Hotel. Hospitality experience as general manager and executive chef.

Boutique hotel has 62 rooms and dining options Longshot, Hustle & Dough, Vintage & Vice, Bar Hustle.

Jack Soden soe CEO, Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. since 1982. Oversaw opening of The Guest House at Graceland ($92 million resort hotel) in 2016 and Elvis Presley’s Memphis (multi-gallery entertainment complex near the mansion) in 2017.

Dianna Vaughan Global head, All Suites brands, Hilton; former global head, DoubleTree by Hilton. Experience with food and beverage, finance, sales and marketing, general manager. Former VP of marketing for Hilton’s portfolio of brands; created the global Hilton Honors marketing promotions team.

Wayne Tabor President and CEO, Metropolitan Memphis Hotel and Lodging Association. Holiday Inn University General Manager’s School. Billy Hicks Award, Memphis CVB; Fiduciary Responsibility Award, Hospitality Management Advisors. MMHLA Award.

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Power Players 2022

/ INDEPENDEN T SCHOOLS / INFORM AT ION T ECHNOLOGY

Nail Task General manager, Big Cypress Lodge, Bass Pro Shops Hospitality Division in Memphis Pyramid. Previous positions include Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa Valley and Titanic Deluxe Resort in Turkey.

Timothy Gibson Head of school, St. George’s

Sarah Titus General manager, Hyatt Centric Beale Street.

More than 15 years in hospitality industry. Former hotel manager, Chicago Association Hotel by Hyatt.

INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

Braxton Brady Head of School, Evangelical Christian School. Was chaplain and director of Building Boys, Making Men at Presbyterian Day School; director of player relations, U of M football team; family ministries pastor, Harvest Church.

Independent School. Counselor That Changes Lives award, 2013. Helps frame students’ search beyond ratings and rankings to find a college that provides the foundation for a successful and fulfilling life.

Thomas Hood President, St. Agnes AcademySt. Dominic School. Founded on Dominican Pillars of Study, Prayer, Community, and Service. St. Agnes for girls and St. Dominic for boys build a nurturing community of learning and faith where each student can achieve in classroom and beyond.

context of Biblical worldview, extracurricular development through fine arts and athletics.

Pete Sanders Headmaster, Memphis University School, college-prep school for boys grades 7-12. Experience in independent school education and administration.

Previous leadership roles at Collegiate School (VA), Brunswick School (CT), University School (FL), Christ Church Episcopal School (SC).

Brad Sewell Head of school, Presbyterian Day School. Christian school for boys age 2 through grade 6.

Educates boys from all walks of life.

Alumni include Fred Smith, Pitt Hyde, Paul Tudor Jones.

Ralph Janikowsky Headmaster, Dan Weddle Westminster Academy. Communicates Caron Swatley President, Briarcrest PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY PROTECH SERVICES GROUP, INC. Alicia Brown Principal, St. Francis of Assisi Catholic the vision of classical Christian eduChristian School, college-prep Christian School. School partnered with Project Lead the Way to cation to churches in Memphis and the greater Memphis education. Briarcrest a Best Christian Workplace, 2007-2016, inspire K-8 students with hands-on, transformative community. Completed new playground, implemented 2018. Top-ranked school by Memphis Parent, Commercial learning. PLUS program offers traditional campus after-school care program. Best Places to Work, Appeal, MBJ. experience to students with learning 2016-2018, Commercial Appeal.

Albert Throckmorton Head of school, St. Mary’s disabilities.

Thor Kvande Headmaster, Grace-St. Episcopal School since 2012. Superior educational McKenzie Cohen Head of The Luke’s Episcopal School. Former experience for girls to encourage and enable them to reach Collegiate School of Memphis. Private, dean of middle school, promoted to their individual potential. President, MAIS. college prep school provides middle headmaster in 2011. Former positions Bryan Williams Head of school, Christ Methodist Day and high school scholars with highest at St. John’s Episcopal School (MD), The School. Devoted to exceptional Christian elementary quality education in disciplined and Independence School (DE), Woodland education for boys and girls. STEAM initiative combines caring environment.

Country Day School (NJ). academic elements with a hands-on, inquiry-based Jim Ferguson President and head of Timothy Gibson Ann M. Laury Head of school, Christ curriculum. Top 40 Under 40, MBJ. PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY ST. GEORGE’S school, Northpoint Christian School, the King Lutheran School. Background Trent Williamson Head of School, Harding Academy.

Christ-centered, college prep. #5 Best Private K-12 School in Memphis, Mississippi, and Nashville public schools.

Teaches students to love others as Christ loves them, to in Mississippi, #2 Best Christian High School in Mississippi, Teacher and early childhood director at Christ the King think creatively and learn with open minds, and to live niche.com. #3 in enrollment of private schools in before becoming head of school in 2016. Cummins courageously to the glory of God. Memphis MSA, MBJ. business award.

Stuart McCathie Headmaster, Lausanne Collegiate School. Experience in UK, Bahamas, U.S. Former dean of students, Indian Mountain School (CT). Former headmaster, the Oakwood School (NC).

Adam Moore Head of school, Woodland Presbyterian School. Former president, Memphis Association of Independent Schools. Five-time winner of Top Workplace and multi-year winner of Best Private School, Memphis Parent. Fosters individual growth of intellectual, spiritual, creative, physical, social, emotional roots.

David Poos President, Christian Brothers High School.

Bishop Kelley Hall of Fame. Guiding Star Award, De La Salle Middle School, St. Louis.

Kristen Ring Head of school, Hutchison School.

Experience as senior administrator, teacher, coach in private schools in AL, NC. Waddill Excellence in Teaching Award for exemplary classroom instruction. Division 1 Field Hockey Atlantic Coast Conference scholar athlete.

Bryan Sanders Head of School, First Assembly Christian School. Legal and legislative counsel, ACTS. Co-educational, multi-denominational, Cognia-accredited PreK-12 school.

Strong academic and career preparation in the Brother David Poos PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY CBHS

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Gary Bellanti Owner and president, Open Road Technologies. Was national business development manager with Vanstar/Apple. Partners with major tech vendors to provide services to SMB, education, government markets.

Provides full range of cyber-security solutions.

Wayne Cook Chairman, founder, and CEO, Cook Systems International Inc. Three decades+ of IT leadership and service. Company has exceptional talent and tech to deliver the most successful IT solutions to Fortune 1000 clients and government entities.

Nick Gant President and founder, Gant Systems. Actively managing clients in six states. Managed IT services, cloud, backup, disaster recovery solutions. Since 2007, has grown to perennially recognized high-performing small business.

Top 40 Under 40, MBJ. Mark Pryor Chairman and CEO, The Seam, commodity trading and agriculture tech company. Previously vice president at The Seam and global head of information tech, Noble Group/Noble Agri. Founder, Cotton Technology Alliance.

Sylvester Tate President and CEO, Tate Computer Systems, Apple authorized reseller/repair. Executive Management Institute, CBU. Minority Business of the Year Award, Mid-South Minority Business Council Continuum.

Alumnus of the Year, STCC.

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INVESTMENT BROKERS /

Power Players 2022

Paul Tomes President and CEO, WorldSpice Technologies.

Manages strategic direction of the company, which provides data center co-location, cloud/virtual computing, integrated voice/data (VOIP) systems, high-speed internet, wide area network services.

Adam Underwood Partner and president, Mellon Consulting Group, LLC. Custom-designed medical software, database integration, website development and marketing, disaster recovery solutions.

Dan Weddle CEO, ProTech Services Group, Inc., top tech and talent solutions company with largest local IT workforce. Tech and consulting, managed services, cloud services, outsourcing, talent acquisition, security services.

25 years+ of leadership experience.

Gary Wiseman Regional manager, VC3. Designs, delivers, evolves masterIT’s solutions to small and medium businesses. Former founder, president, and CEO, Wisetech.

40 Most Innovative MSP’s in North America, CRN.

INVESTMENT BROKERS

Joseph R. Heinz Executive director, UBS Financial Services Inc. Tailored investment service including asset management and estate planning. Wealth management and financial planning. CFP. Wealth Management Executive Education Certificate, Directors Council, UBS Financial Services.

Lance Hollingsworth Principal and chief investment officer, Summit Asset Management LLC. CFP. Client service, portfolio management, investment research and development, trading, operations. Chair, Summit’s Investment Committee.

Michael E. Kisber President, FHN Financial. Oversees capital markets division, core business line of First Horizon National Corp., which provides fixed-income products and services for investment and banking community. Colonel Aide de Camp, highest honor to a Tennessee citizen for outstanding achievement and civic contribution in 2013.

Mark A. Medford President and CEO, Vining Sparks. CPA accredited by American Institute of CPAs. Former president and CEO, FTN Financial. Former managing partner, National REIT Leader, National Bank and Thrift Tax Leader. Served on Southeast’s Merger and Acquisition Team, National Securitization Team with KPMG. David Rains Branch manager, managing director, Raymond James & Associates.

Growth and income from investable assets. Was branch manager and assistant manager, Legg Mason and J.B. Bradford.

With ten locations across the Memphis area, Healthcare Realty is the go-to source for on Baptist Memorial Hospital campuses.

A variety of locations and levels of build-out provide move-in ready suites, time-share space and the ability to build to suit.

It’s your move.

Mark A. Medford PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY VINING SPARKS

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Power Players 2022

/ L AW - BUSINESS LIT IG AT ION / L AW - EMPLOY MEN T

Duncan F. Williams soe President and CEO, Duncan-Williams, Inc. Founded in 1969, family- and employee-owned full-service broker-dealer has branches in Boulder, CO; Jackson, MS; Tampa, FL. Steven Wishnia CEO, Highland Capital Management, LLC. Registered Investment Adviser, managing equity, fixed-income, short-term cash portfolios for endowments and foundations, institutions, municipalities, high net worth clients and 401(k) plans.

Gary Wunderlich Co-founder and

John J. Heflin III Member, Bourland, Heflin, Alvarez,

Glen G. Reid Senior counsel, Wyatt Tarrant & Combs.

Minor & Matthews, PLC. Complex commercial litigation, breach of contract, fraud, insurance, intellectual property, securities, construction. Chair, firm’s litigation practice. AV Preeminent Rating, MartindaleHubbell. Best Lawyers in America, Mid-South Super Lawyers.

Intellectual Property Protection and Litigation Service Team.

Banking litigation, commercial litigation, products liability litigation, white-collar criminal defense.

Michele Howard-Flynn Managing

Duncan F. Williams

partner, HF Law Group, PLLC. Business litigation, estate planning, probate and estate administration in state and federal courts of Western and Middle Tennessee.

managing partner, Live Oak Merchant PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY DUNCAN-WILLIAMS, INC. Partners. Specializes in investment S. Joshua Kahane Member, Glankler organizations and investor relations.

Brown. Business and real estate litigation.

Founder and former CEO, Wunderlich Securities, before Recognized in Best of the Bar, Super Lawyers, Best merger with B. Riley Financial in 2017.

Lawyers in America. Featured in Forbes, Fortune, Money, Bloomberg Businessweek. Cover and featured attorney in Philip Zanone COO, B. Riley Wealth Management.

Top 100 Attorneys in America. Litigated cases in more than Joined Wunderlich in 1997 as head of private client group 15 states and has reputation as go-to litigator in Memphis and became president in 1999. Began in 1991 at Morgan and across the country.

Keegan and continues to serve clients as a financial advisor in addition to overseeing the firm’s sales, trading, operations units.

LAW - BUSINESS LITIGATION

Nathan Bicks Member, Burch, Porter & Johnson, PLLC. Complex litigation with emphasis on white-collar crime, healthcare fraud, class-action matters. One of 150 Best Lawyers in Tennessee, BusinessTN. Town attorney for Collierville. 2019 CEO of the Year, IMB. Richard Glassman Senior shareholder and president, Glassman, Wyatt, Tuttle & Cox, PC. Business and professional liability/malpractice litigation. Certified Civil Trial Specialist, Civil Pretrial Practice Advocate. 2012 Distinguished Alumnus Award, U of M; 2019 Pillar of Excellent, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. Albert C. Harvey Partner, Lewis Thomason.

Business and commercial, construction, healthcare, intellectual property, product and professional liability.

Lawyers’ Lawyer Award, Memphis Bar Association. U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, Major General, retired.

Timothy Lupinacci PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY BAKER DONELSON

Timothy Lupinacci Chairman and CEO, Baker Donelson.

More than 28 years’ experience representing financial institutions, REITs, special servicers, indenture trustees, banks, asset-based lenders in loan workouts and insolvency, focusing on healthcare defaults, bankruptcy, restructuring. Former office managing shareholder, Baker Donelson’s Birmingham office.

Michael G. McLaren Member, Black McLaren Jones Ryland & Griffee, PC. Federal and state litigation, commercial litigation, professional liability, insurance coverage, environmental law, construction law, fidelity and surety law.

Former VP and general counsel, Wright Medical Technology. Mid-South Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers in America.

John C. Speer Member, Bass, Berry & Sims. Business litigation. Represents financial institutions in disputes involving commercial loan and public bond defaults and federal and state laws and regulations. Represents companies in critical business disputes.

David Wade Director and shareholder, Martin Tate Morrow & Marston, PC. Civil and criminal litigation, land use, administrative law. Mediator for state, federal cases. Top 100, Tennessee Super Lawyers.

George Wheeler Member, Harris Shelton Hanover Walsh, PLLC. Business and corporate law, healthcare, intellectual property, personal injury. Best Lawyers in America, Mid-South Super Lawyers.

LAW - EMPLOYMENT

W. Kerby Bowling Shareholder, Evans Petree, PC. Co-leader of Labor and Employment Law Practice Group.

At Kellogg as union laborer before campaigning against organized labor. Assists clients in remaining non-union and avoiding employment litigation. AV-rated, MartindaleHubbell. Consistently recognized in Best Lawyers in America.

Craig A. Cowart Office managing principal, Jackson Lewis, Memphis office. Employment law, management-side labor, collective actions, multi-party lawsuits. Best Lawyers 2020; 2019 Super Lawyers, Thomson Reuters.

Alan Crone Attorney and founder, The Crone Law Firm, PLC. Licensed in Tennessee, Arkansas. Represents executives, employees, W. Kerby Bowling entrepreneurs in employment and PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY commercial litigation including wrongful EVANS PETREE, PC. termination, discrimination, retaliation, John McQuiston II soe Shareholder, sexual harassment, partnership, contractual disputes.

Evans Petree, PC. Experience in banking, construction, securities, fraud, antitrust, breach of fiduciary duties, Donald Donati Founding attorney, Donati Law PLLC. e-commerce. One of top 100 lawyers in Tennessee, top 50 Employment law, personal injury, veterans’ benefits. Began lawyers in Mid-South, top 15 lawyers in Memphis. with Memphis Area Legal Services, providing legal counsel to disadvantaged individuals. Tennessee Super Lawyers, Robert F. Miller Member, Farris Bobango, PLC. General Best Lawyers in America, 150 Best Lawyers in Tennessee, civil litigation, commercial litigation, railroad litigation, BusinessTN, Lawyers USA. construction litigation, bankruptcy law, insurance defense litigation. Memphis, Tennessee, American Bar Associations.

Eugene S. Forrester Member, Farris Bobango.

Honored in Mid-South Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers in Employment, workers’ compensation, civil litigation.

America.

Tennessee, Arkansas, Memphis Bar Associations. MBA. 1994 Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year. Licensed in Tennessee, Arkansas.

Randall D. Noel Partner, Butler Snow, LLP. Business litigation, data security, products defense. Chambers USA: Deborah Godwin Partner, Godwin, Morris, Laurenzi & America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Best Lawyers in Bloomfield, P.C. ERISA, labor and employment, civil rights, America, Lawdragon, Super Lawyers. Former president, personal injury. Director, firm’s ERISA Law Section. Best Tennessee Bar Association, American Counsel Association, Lawyers in America; Top 50 Women Attorneys, Mid-South Tennessee Legal Community Foundation.

Super Lawyers. AV-rated, Martindale-Hubble.

Lucian T. Pera Partner, Adams and Reese, LLP. Myra Hamilton General counsel, Hamilton Entertainment Commercial litigation, media law, legal ethics. Best Lawyers Employment Law, LLC. Employment and labor, HR and in America, Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business corporate compliance, business contracts. Top 100, The Lawyers, and BusinessTN. American Law Institute. Former National Black Lawyers. 2017 Women of Excellence; 2020 Best president, Tennessee Bar Association. Former treasurer, Attorney, Best in Black Awards, New Tri-State Defender; 2020 American Bar Association. Former president, Association of BEST of the BAR, MBJ. Professional Responsibility Lawyers.

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LAW-EMPLOYMENT /

Power Players 2022

Charles Hill Member, Glankler Brown. Employment law, broker/dealer litigation, contracts, commercial litigation.

Experience in litigation over restrictive covenants, covenants against disclosure of proprietary information, protection of trade secrets, dissolution of closely held business, and securities litigation. Best Lawyers in America.

David Jaqua Labor and Employment Group, Butler Snow

Memphis Magazine’s

THE 2022

FACE OF

INSURANCE & SURETY

LLP. Employment litigation (defense), arbitration and mediation, NLRB hearings, labor negotiations, representation campaigns, management counseling and training.

Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA, Mid-South Super Lawyers.

Lisa Krupicka Member, Burch, Porter & Johnson, PLLC. Employment litigation and business advising. Fellow, College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Best Lawyers in America; “Top 100 Lawyers in Tennessee,” Mid-South Super Lawyers; America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Chambers USA. Dan Norwood Partner, Norwood & Atchley. Represents clients involved in discrimination, retaliatory discharge for whistleblowing, workers’ compensation claims, breach of contract. Best Lawyers in America, Mid-South Super Lawyers.

Robin H. Rasmussen Founding member, Dinkelspiel Rasmussen & Mink, PLLC. Employment law, workers’ compensation, civil litigation. Firm founded in 2010. American Jurisprudence Award in Real Estate Transactions.

Stephen L. Shields Founding partner, Jackson Shields Yeiser & Holt. Represents employers in private and public sectors. Author, Alternative Dispute Resolutions in Tennessee; Alternative Dispute Resolution: Staying in Business and Out of Court.

Bruce M. Smith Member, Apperson Crump PLC. Former general counsel, Memphis Area Transit Authority.

Employment law, litigation, transit law. Lecturer on public transit system labor and regulatory issues, ADA regulations, legal ethics. Best Lawyers in America.

Jeffrey C. Smith Partner, Waller Lansden Dortsch & Davis. Employment law, commercial construction litigation, counsel in construction, equipment distribution, franchise, healthcare industries. Defended employers against discrimination claims, unfair competition, wrongful termination.

Tanja Thompson Office managing shareholder, Littler.

TODD DYSON & LOUIS CLAY 866 RIDGEWAY LOOP ROAD • MEMPHIS, TN 38120 (901) 767-3600 • WWW.CLAYANDLAND.COM

Represents companies in traditional labor law, focusing on manufacturing healthcare for union and non-union clients. 2020 Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers in America.

Jeff Weintraub Partner, Memphis office of national management-side labor and employment law firm, Fisher Phillips. Represents employers in jury trials in employment lawsuits, FLSA collective actions, labor cases. Chambers USA, Best Lawyers in America, Mid-South Super Lawyers, and World’s Leading Labour & Employment Lawyers (UK).

Murray B. Wells Partner, Wells & Associates. Civil rights litigation, federal criminal defense, catastrophic injury.

Top 100 Lawyers – Civil Plaintiff. Admitted to practice in California, Tennessee, federal districts of California, Western and Middle Tennessee, Sixth Circuit Court of appeals, all state courts.

Ba rt l e t t Performing

rts

& conference center

WE’LL MAKE YOUR EVENT A SUCCESS Conferences. Meetings. Performances. Receptions.

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Power Players 2022

/ LOGISTICS / MANUFACTURING / MARKETING-PR

Ed Young Shareholder, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz. Represents employers before NLRB in employment litigation, collective bargaining, labor arbitration. Achieved landmark judgment against the EEOC for $750,000. Led efforts for a food manufacturer in Ohio in a union campaign that involved 600 voters and communications in multiple languages.

LOGISTICS

Charlie Andrews COO, Nickey Warehouses, Inc. Warehousing, order fulfillment, reverse logistics, international shipping, transportation management. With company 10+ years.

Lanny Chalk Terminal manager,

Medallion. Supply Chain Executive in Residence, Epicenter.

Author, five books on logistics. Adjunct professor, supply chain management, U of M.

W. Neely Mallory III President, Mallory Alexander International Logistics, one of largest third–party logistics organizations in U.S. Oversaw company’s growth from cotton forwarding to ocean and air transportation, intermodal trucking, warehousing and distribution, consulting.

President’s E Star Award for Excellence in Exporting, Governor’s GATE Award.

Charlie Andrews PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY

Pat Nelson President, LehmanRoberts Co. Highway paving, construction, asphalt, aggregate industry services.

Chairman of the board, Lehman-Roberts Co. and Memphis Stone & Gravel Co.

NICKEY WAREHOUSES, INC. Fullen Dock and Warehouse, LLC. Rick Rodell Founder, chairman, 30+ years in freight, distribution, Cornerstone Systems, employee-owned multimilwarehousing. Full-service, intermodal river terminal lion-dollar firm, 2021 USA Top Workplace, leader and warehousing. Clients include barge brokers, freight in transportation industry. Member, The forwarders, manufacturers requiring barge, harbor, and Global Leaders. Employees stay partners tug services, transshipment, trucking, storage. after selling private stock. Mentors new William B. Dunavant III CEO, President, Dunavant directors of charities.

Enterprises, Inc. Global logistics, development company, Craig Russell Founder and CEO, capital management with 50+ years experience. Logistics Green Mountain Technology. 16 years at divisions in truck brokerage, intermodal and container FedEx, most recently as billing manager operations, global 3PL, warehousing, custom brokerage, at FedEx Express. leasing. Henderson Resort, Destin, Florida.

Buzz Fly Vice president, Patterson Warehouses, Inc. 33+ years in transportation and warehousing. Two million square feet of food-grade space, distribution services, ecommerce fulfillment for 19 accounts. Kitting and display builds, intermodal drayage, retail freight consolidation.

Mark H. George Chairman, IMC Companies. Founder, IMC Companies, nation’s largest marine drayage provider with 2,500+ team members. Appointed by Governor Bill Lee in 2020 to serve as West Tennessee’s At Large representative on Board of Regents. Chairman and one of 12 founding members, North American Chassis Pool Cooperative.

Ken Hazen President and CEO, CTSI-Global. Formed transportation consulting company Multi-Modes before purchasing Continental Traffic Service. Co-author, The Role of Transportation in the Supply Chain, The Role of Freight Bill Payment, and Transportation Information in the Supply Chain Industry.

Rick Hechinger President, Blue Sky Couriers since 2004.

23+ years experience in transportation industry. Package deliveries, warehousing, medical specimens, freight delivery. Blue Sky has operations in Memphis, Murfreesboro, Chattanooga, Cape Girardeau, St. Louis, and Carolinas.

Glenn Lacy Regional service center manager, YRC Freight. Long-haul transportation services for industrial, commercial, retail customers in North America. Employs about 750 in Memphis.

Stuart Leslie Director, Vaco’s Memphis-based logistics practice. Mentors transportation fellows through U of M. Places logistics professionals across multiple industry verticals. Southeast Transportation Workforce Center Move the Needle award in 2018, Kellogg Society Inductee.

Clifford F. Lynch Principal, C.F. Lynch & Associates.

Recipient, CSCMP Distinguished Service Award, Salzberg

MANUFACTURING

Jack Sammons President, Ampro Industries.

Manufactures personal care products. President, River City Laboratories. Former chairman, Memphis Shelby County Airport Authority. National president, Ethnic Product Manufacturers Association.

Karl Schledwitz Co-founder, chairman, and CEO, Monogram Foods, a leading manufacturer and marketer of ready-to-eat further processed meats including jerky, corn dogs, precooked bacon, appetizers, sandwiches, smoked sausage. Operates nine plants in seven states with over 3,000 employees.

MARKETING / PR

Tyrone Burroughs soe Founder/CEO of First Choice Sales. Founded in 1987 with the mission to serve as the premiere global consumer products management firm in the beauty care industry. First choice offers targeted sales support as well as regional and national coverage.

Valerie Morris Bearup President & CEO, Morris Marketing Group. Serves on numerous nonprofit boards. Named Leadership Memphis Distinguished Alumni of the Year, PRSA Executive of the Year, a finalist for the Small Business Executive of the Year. Also recognized as a Super Women in Business, Women with Drive, and the Face of Public Relations.

Doug Carpenter Principal, DCA, creative communications consulting firm. Provides business-based communications solutions for public and private sector clients for 30+ years. Instrumental in instituting and reimagining ways to advance momentum of Memphis, including Mighty Lights, Explore Bike Share, Liberty Park, Big River Crossing, Tennessee Brewery.

Doug Carpenter

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY DCA

Tommy Blaylock Plant manager, Memphis Cellulose LLC, Georgia-Pacific Cellulose operations in Memphis. Plant in business locally for more than 100 years. Pulp used in specialized applications including LED displays, technical papers, paints, currency papers, filtration, other products.

Kathy Buckman Gibson CEO, KBG Technologies. Former president and COO, Buckman Laboratories International, Inc. Formed KBG to diversify chemistry-supply industry with a woman-led business.

Gareth Jolly Senior vice president and plant manager, Hino Motors Manufacturing in Marion, AR. Oversees 510,000 sq. ft. of production space. Supplies rear driving axles and rear suspension components for light trucks, SUVs. Clients include Toyota and Hino trucks.

Jerry Ehrlich CEO/Founder, The Brand Squad. Focused on launching brands, products, special initiatives, and revitalizing under-performing brands. Clients in hospitality, healthcare, manufacturing, nonprofit, agriculture, technology, government,

Michael Kelly Senior vice president, Sharp Manufacturing Co. of America. Oversees Sharp facility in Memphis, which produces microwave drawer, in addition to other Sharp and OEM cooking products.

Mike McCarty President and CEO, Helena Chemical Company, agronomic solutions provider specializing in seed and seed treatments, fertilizer and application services, crop protectants, financial services and precision ag services. Manufactures own line of adjuvants, crop protection products, fertilizers, crop production products, seed treatments.

Allen W. Pierce Sr. General manager, manufacturing, new and recon parts, Cummins Inc. Leadership Memphis, class of 2000. Member, Finance Committee, LeMoyne-Owen College. ODI Certified Facilitator.

Deidre Malone PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY THE CARTER MALONE GROUP, LLC.

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MARKETING-PR /

Power Players 2022

financial services. Former Memphis Advertising Federation President of the Year and recipient of 2020 Silver Medal Award for lifetime achievement.

Courtney Ellett Founder and owner, Obsidian Public Relations. 2021 Best Places to Work; 2014 Executive of the Year; 2013 Small Business of the Year; Top 40 Under 40, MBJ. 2019 Young Alumna Award, U of M. 2013 CEO of the Year, IMB. PR Director of the Year, Memphis Advertising Federation. 50 Women Who Make A Difference, Memphis Woman. Recipient, six Silver VOX Awards; Addy Awards’ Best of Show.

Susan Akil Ewing Founder and chief navigator of Ewing Marketing Partners, a boutique marketing firm that helps organizations grow through practical, effective marketing strategies. Recognized as Ad Woman of the Year and Account Executive of the Year, AAF Memphis.

Charles T. Gaushell Principal/founder, Paradigm Marketing & Creative. Branding — celebrating 30 years!

Marketing, creative, advertising, digital agency. Local clients include Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Allure Bridal, Pyros Fire Fresh Pizza, Humdingers, Barnhart Crane, RBR Enterprise, Taming the Wild, Bellano Dental, The Pet Hospitals, The Village, Miestro Home Integration, Arrow Creative, Brother International, YMCA of Memphis/ MidSouth.

Trace Hallowell managing partner, Tactical Magic. With more than 30 years in the business, his work is featured in numerous books, magazines, and college textbooks, earning international honors for creative branding. Clients include CGHP, Eventive, Kindred Place, Malasri Engineering, PuppyUp, Sound Credit, Trousseau.

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Christi Kelley President and CEO, Kelley & Associates Advertising. Clients in the medical, agricultural, industrial, nonprofit, financial, retail, B2B industries. Numerous awards including Addy, Telly, SIAA, MIRM, NAMA, PIAS Graphic, MarCom, International Communicator Awards.

Deidre Malone Founder, president, CEO, The Carter Malone Group LLC. Integrated marketing communications strategies. Offices in Memphis, Jackson, MS. Founding member, Tennessee Public Relations Alliance. President, National Women’s Political Caucus Tennessee; immediate past president, NAACP Memphis Branch.

Beth Okeon Owner, ABO Marketing & Communications, public relations firm specializing in providing businesses and nonprofits with custom PR support. Top 40 under 40, MBJ. Certified LOSB and MWBE in Memphis/Shelby County.

Former director of marketing, ServiceMaster.

Alex Rasmussen A sought-after speaker on all things marketing as the co-founder/CEO of Neon Canvas, a specialty digital marketing agency with clients across the country, and CEO of Signature Advertising, an award-winning full-service marketing firm that’s been in business for 25+ years.

Howard Robertson Jr. Native Memphian, founder, CEO, TRUST Marketing & Communications, Spotset Radio, and Ode Audio. Trust is a premier, African American-owned marketing firm and one of too few remaining in the South. Clients include: P&G, AARP, Pfizer, Walmart, City of Memphis, and the Crime Commission.

Cynthia H. Saatkamp Owner, co-founder, Hemline, tailoring brand strategies for clients for 20 years, including A P R I L 2 0 2 2 • I N S I D E M E M P H I S B U S I N E S S • 73

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Power Players 2022

/ M A R K E T I N G - P R / M E D I C A L- G R O U P P R A C T I C E A D M I N .

POWERED BY cityCURRENT

GROWTHcurrent is an e-learning g and online personal development platform platfo fo f rm that gives you access to exclusive virtual events and online Q&A sessions with global thought leaders, national guest speakers and industry experts, along with learning modules, success secrets and more.

New GROWTHcurrent Modules Added Weekly

Hilton Worldwide, Baptist Memorial Health Care, LEO Events, MIFA. Top 40 under 40, MBJ. Marketing Professional of the Year, Communications Firm of the Year, AAF.

of Downtown creatives. 2016 Memphis American Advertising Federation Silver Medal Award. 2016 CEO of the Year, IMB. Top 40 Under 40, MBJ.

Tim Sellers Co-founder, partner, and director of

Kenneth Worles President & creative director, Three(i) creative

operations, inferno. Strategic counsel and marketing communications solutions to clients in bioscience, healthcare, logistics, financial services. Advertising CEO of the Year, Ad Man of the Year, AAF Memphis.

communications. Social impact marketing agency focused on civic, nonprofit, corporate social responsibility, and entertainment initiatives. Founded company in 2017. Offices in Memphis and Washington, D.C.

Sheperd Simmons Founder and president, Counterpart Communication Design — the Message Strategy Experts®.

Locations in Memphis, Dallas, Minneapolis, and other cities. Clients include AARP, P&G, Progressive, Terminix, FedEx, Hilton. Top 40 Under 40, MBJ. Officer, Knights of Columbus. On parish council of St. Michael Catholic Church. Commissioned minister of God’s Word.

MEDICAL- GROUP PRACTICE ADMIN.

Brian Sullivan Principal and CEO,

Pam Alexander President and CEO, MidSouth Healthcare Management. Provides practice management services to include oversight management, accounts payables and monthly financials, human resources, billing and collection services. Certified Medical Coder.

Kim W. Avery CEO and General Counsel, Mid-South Pulmonary and Sleep Specialists, P.C. One of largest privately owned pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine practices in Southeast with 21 physician providers and 13 acute care practitioners.

Sullivan Branding. Develops brands and creates award-winning advertising campaigns, internal communications, Joyce Jeffries company culture and training programs PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY LAKESIDE for clients in hospitality, healthcare, Drew Botschner CEO, University Clinical Health. Private practice entertainment, professional sports, tourism, education. arm of UT College of Medicine. Clinical practices in dermatology, Elizabeth Tate Chairman and CEO, Signet, Inc. WBENC family medicine, nephrology, ophthalmology, plastic surgery, certified company. Clients include International Paper, neonatology, dermapathology, neurology, minimally invasive FedEx, ServiceMaster, TruGreen, Terminix, First Horizon, surgery, pathology, hematology.

Genie. Founding member, PeerNet industry consortium.

Michael S. Dragutsky President and managing partner, Distinguished Friend of the Fogelman College of Business at Gastro One. Treats patients with digestive disease symptoms and U of M, Fogelman Hall of Fame. gastrointestinal disorders. Treasurer, Digestive Health Physicians Lori Turner-Wilson CEO and founder, RedRover Sales Association. & Marketing Strategy. 2018 Vistage Impact Award winner.

Debbie Eddlestone CEO, Stern Cardiovascular Foundation, Syndicated columnist. Author of WOOF — Why Ordinary one of the Mid-South’s largest single specialty Groups. Stern Organizations Fail. Contributing ghostwriter to the Cardiovascular provides a comprehensive approach to wellness Complete Idiot’s Guide to Guerrilla Marketing. and preventive medicine with 11 Mid-South locations, and 42 Ceil T. Walker CEO, president, Walker + Associates. Telly, physicians. Over the years, has held numerous positions in the Addy, Vox, MarCom awards for clients including ARRIVE Stern organization with increasing responsibilities; was named Hotels, Green Dot Schools, Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, COO in 2004 and CEO in 2008. Honors include MBJ’s Superwomen Higher Education Commission, McDonald’s, Thomas & in Business and 2017 CEO of the Year, IMB. Betts, Lucite International.

Mitch Graves CEO, West Cancer Center. 35+ years of leadership Becky Jones West President and founder, WestRogers experience in healthcare. Prior to joining West Cancer Center, Strategic Communications, LLC. Media planning and served as CEO of HealthChoice, LLC and prior to that was a buying, political and public affairs, crisis commusenior executive for 25 years at Methodist Le Bonheur nications, brand development. Planned and Healthcare. Church Health Center finance committee. bought media for Ted Cruz for President.

Board chairman, MLGW. Martin Wilford Founder and executive John Gross Practice administrator, Shea creative director, Red Deluxe Brand Clinic. ENT medical practice and surgery center Management. 25 years+ experience with specializing in treatment of chronic hearing brands like HGTV, FedEx, Bass Pro. Focus and balance disorders. Leadership Council, has turned to campaigns for national Association of Otolaryngology Administrators. nonprofits. Recipient, numerous Gold Starkey Foundation 2021 Millennium Award.

ADDY awards.

Board member, philanthropy chairperson, Russ Williams CEO, Archer American Red Cross.

Malmo, integrated agency Joyce Jeffries Chief nursing founded 1952. 25-year veteran officer, Lakeside. 28 years+ expeof strategic action. Supporter rience. 365-bed, 37-acre campus has behavioral healthcare and Valerie Morris Bearup PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY MMG

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Providing the Mid-South with accounting and business consulting services since 1971.

Memphis, TN: (901) 761-2720 | Tupelo, MS: (662) 269-4014

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Power Players 2022

/ M E D I C A L- H O S P I TA L A D M I N / P H I L A N T H R O P Y

substance use disorder treatment for adolescents, adults and senior adults.

Kimble Jenkins CEO, OrthoSouth. Orthopedic care in eight Mid-South locations. Surgical and non-surgical treatment for general orthopedics, sports medicine, shoulder, back, neck, spine, hand.

John A. Lewis CEO, Semmes Murphey Clinic. Neurosurgery, neurology, physiatry, pain management. CPA, CITP, Certified IT project manager.

Fellow, American College of Medical Practice Executives. Tennessee Association of CPAs, American Institute of CPAs, Medical Group Management Association.

Instrumental in launching Pediatric Cancer Genome Project. Elected to the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Received the Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering Prize, the E. Donnall Thomas Lecture and Prize from the American Society of Hematology, and the Pediatric Oncology Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Michael O. Ugwueke PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY METHODIST LE BONHEUR

Rola Obaji CEO, McDonald + Murrmann Center for Wellness and Health. Provides obstetrics, gynecology, wellness treatments. Also skin and laser center and female rejuvenation.

Daniel Shumate CEO, Campbell Clinic Orthopaedics. With company more than 10 years. Held previous position as Campbell Clinic COO. Former chief administrative officer, Louisiana Cardiology Associates.

Mark Swanson CEO, Baptist Medical Group, 500-member multispecialty physician group. VP of physician enterprise, Baptist Memorial Health Care. Fellowship training in anesthesia and critical care at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

MEDICAL- HOSPITAL ADMIN.

Reginald Coopwood President, CEO, Regional One Health. General surgeon before roles as CMO and CEO in health systems. 2014 CEO of the Year, IMB; 2011 CEO Meritorious Service Award, 2013 Diversity Champion, 2016 President’s Award from Tennessee Hospital Association.

Christopher Cosby CEO, Saint Francis Hospital-Memphis; market CEO, Tenet Healthcare Memphis market. More than 20 years of healthcare leadership experience.

Former CEO, HCA Healthcare.

James R. Downing President, CEO, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Architect of strategic initiatives to expand St. Jude clinical care and research programs in Memphis and globally.

James Downing PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY ST. JUDE

Jason Little President, CEO, Baptist Memorial Health Care. Former executive VP and COO, Baptist; CEO Baptist Memphis, Baptist Golden Triangle, Baptist Collierville. Early Career Healthcare Executive Award, American College of Healthcare Executives.

Michael O. Ugwueke DHA, FACHE. President, CEO, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare. 2012, 2018 and 2020 Modern Healthcare Top 25 Minority Executives in the country. 2021 Baldrige Foundation Hertz Leadership Award.

Board of Governors and Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives. 2021 Tennessee Hospital Association CEO of Distinction.

Michael Wiggins President, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. Was senior VP of clinical operations for Children’s Health in Dallas, TX, and administrator for Children’s Medical Center Plano.

Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives.

the Mid-South’s largest charitable grantmaker, with $1.1 billion in assets representing 1,200 charitable funds. Its FY2021 grants to nonprofits topped $158 million. During the pandemic, Fockler led the Mid-South Covid-19 Regional Response Fund, deploying $14.5 million for relief, recovery, and resilience efforts.

Barbara Rosser Hyde Chair and CEO, J.R. Hyde III Family Foundation and J.R. Hyde Sr. Foundation. Dedicated to improving quality of life in the Memphis area. Public education reform, including KIPP Academy, Teach for America, New Leaders. Top 100 Most Powerful People in Tennessee, BusinessTN, 2004.

Jenny Turner Koltnow Executive director, Campbell Clinic Foundation. Extensive experience with local organizations like AutoZone, Memphis Grizzlies.

Laura K. Linder President and CEO, Jewish Community Partners. Provides professional leadership to $130 million+ organization that works to build and sustain a vibrant Jewish community that is cared for, connected, and engaged. Convenes agency partners to understand and meet community needs and partners with local estate and financial professionals to advise and inspire philanthropy from hundreds of Memphis families.

Justin W. Miller Co-Founder and CEO, Slingshot Memphis, Inc., independent assessor of poverty-fighting impact.

Tammie Ritchey Slingshot’s portfolio of nonprofits curPHOTOGRAPH COURTESY REGIONAL ONE HEALTH rently stands at 30 organizations. In 2020, Slingshot raised and invested $2 million in its portfolio of nonprofits. 2020 TedX Memphis presenter and represented Charles Burkett Chairman, First Horizon Foundation.

Memphis as the only U.S.-based nonprofit at the 2019 Paris Invests towards vital aspects of the community Peace Forum. including arts and culture, education and Jenny Nevels Executive director, Baptist Memorial Health leadership, environment, financial literacy, Care Foundation. Baptist Heart Institute, Kemmons Wilson health, human services. Contributed more Family Center for Good Grief, Baptist Reynolds Hospice than $125 million to strengthen communities House, scholarships for students, others. 50 Women Who since 1993.

Mauricio Calvo Executive director, Latino Make a Difference, 2005.

Maureen O’Connor VP of Institutional Advancement, Memphis. Providing vital access, justice, and Le Bonheur. Leads efforts of the Le Bonheur Foundation, advocacy services for Memphis’ immigrant marketing, public policy, trauma administration, and population, Calvo’s efforts have helped tens injury prevention teams. of thousands within Memphis’ multicultural communities. From education Zach Pretzer President, Methodist Healthcare to healthcare, to legal rights, Foundation. Oversees operations of the Methodist Calvo and Latino Memphis Healthcare Foundation and leads all fundraising efforts remain determined to promote the health and well-being of patients and to build a more community members served by Methodist Le Bonheur equitable and Healthcare’s adult hospitals, health service lines, and inclusive Memphis. programs focused on health disparities. Pretzer’s work leading the Foundation also pays special attention to philRobert M. anthropic initiatives addressing the needs of underserved Fockler President, and uninsured patients and social determinants of health Community challenges in our community.

Foundation of Greater Memphis, Tammie Ritchey Senior vice president and chief development officer, Regional One Health. Relationship manager connecting philanthropists to programs, causes, clinical leaders. Certified Fundraising Executive.

PHILANTHROPY

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PUBLIC SERVICE /

Power Players 2022

Gayle S. Rose Chairman, Rose Family Foundation. CEO and founder, EVS Corporation. 100 most powerful people, BusinessTN. 2012 CEO of the Year, IMB. Changing Face of Philanthropy Award, International Women’s Funding Network. Humanitarian of the Year, Diversity Memphis.

Women of Achievement Award. Leadership Memphis Change Makers Award, 2019.

Elizabeth Rouse President, CEO, ArtsMemphis. Oversees support of the Memphis arts community. ArtsMemphis invested in 64 organizations and hundreds of artists in 2021.

During Rouse’s 16-year tenure in various roles, ArtsMemphis has allocated $47 million, started funding artists, and implemented a more equitable grant-making structure that supports more organizations, enabling more arts experiences for Memphians.

Jan Young Executive director, Assisi Foundation of Memphis. Outstanding Alumni Awards from U of M and UT. Major General, USAF/TN ANG (retired). Awarded grants of more than $250 million since Jan Young 1994. Initiatives PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY include Before You ask, ASSISI FOUNDATION OF MEMPHIS Transition to Success, Bridges Out of Poverty, Urgency of Awareness, Ethical Fitness.

PUBLIC SERVICE

Jen Andrews CEO, Shelby Farms Park Conservancy. Oversees services, amenities, development, operations at Shelby Farms Park and Shelby Farms Greenline, including implementation of Master Plan. Former director of development and communications with the Conservancy. 20 < 30, Memphis Flyer; 40 under 40, MBJ. Ward Archer Founder and president, Protect Our Aquifer.

Successfully challenged TVA’s cooling water wells that were drilled into the Memphis Sand Aquifer, Carrier’s plan to re-inject partially treated water back into aquifer, and Plains All-American’s Byhalia Connection crude oil pipeline.

Currently working with NASA to study recharge area of Memphis Sand Aquifer.

Eric Ballentine Executive director, Streets Ministries.

Innovative programming and community partnerships.

Founder, The Ark community outreach organization in Riverview Kansas community.

Ruby Bright President and CEO, Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis for 21 years and leads investments of over $2 million annually supporting community programs. MBJ Power 100 and 2022 Women Who Lead. Ida B. Wells Memorial Committee Honorary Co-Chair and 2021 Memorial Impact Award; Memphis Challenge and ThinkTN Board of Directors.

John Butler President/CEO, Agricenter International.

Oversees daily operation and responsible for implementation of strategic initiatives. Agricenter International is the largest urban farm in the U.S. and operates one of most successful ag research and education centers in the world. Fifthgeneration farmer, still very active in family’s operation.

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Power Players 2022

/ PUBLIC SERVICE / SECURITY

Kevin Dean CEO, Momentum Nonprofit Partners. Creates momentum in nonprofit sector to enact equitable, measurable, lasting change. 2013 Ruth J. Colvin and Frank C. Laubach Award for Excellence in Community-Based Adult Literacy from ProLiteracy in Washington, D.C.; 2015 Innovation Awards, IMB. 2022 CEO of the Year, IMB. J. Daniel Garrick Manager, Southeast Region, Vitalant (formerly Lifeblood). National organization provides expertise in blood collection, testing, logistics, distribution, special services, research.

Lakethia Glenn Executive director, LITE Memphis, organization dedicated to closing the racial wealth gap for African-American and Latinx students. More than 16 years’ senior leadership experience in the nonprofit sector.

Former development director, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mid-South, Inc.

affordable and accessible transportation. Former presence in administrative departments for legal and academic fields.

Leigh Mansberg President and CEO, Junior Achievement of Memphis and the Mid-South, Mansberg and her team are launching a new experiential learning center that will focus on building the talent pipeline for a 25-county footprint by empowering students K-12 with education in entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy. Former assistant head of school, St. Mary’s Episcopal School; Former COO, Epicenter and Bridge Capital.

Gary Shorb soe CEO, The Urban Child Institute. Led expansion of Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown and Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. Corporation of the Year, Memphis Business Development Corporation, and best hospital in Memphis, U.S. News & World Report.

Casey Kaufman Tansey President and CEO, Make-A-Wish Mid-South since 2017. With the organization since 2003. Creates life-changing wishes for children between 2 and 18 with critical illnesses.

Vickie Terry Executive director, Memphis Branch, NAACP. Ensures political, educational, social, and economic equality of all citizens. Memphis Branch is second largest in the U.S.

Tony Martini President and CEO, Shantelle Leatherwood PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY Memphis Goodwill, Inc. since 2003.

Van Turner Partner, Bruce Turner, PLLC. CHRIST COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES Provides job opportunities and life Commissioner, Shelby County District 12.

Tabitha Glenn President, Junior League of Memphis. skills assistance to individuals with barriers to employment Responsible for removal of Confederate statues from Memphis Involved with organization since 2011. 2022 Women of through donated goods operations. Sponsored programs public parks. Top 40 Under 40, MBJ. Mid-South Rising Stars, Impact Award, American Heart Association. 2021 Super include contract services through government partnerships 2010-2016, Super Lawyers.

Women in Business, MBJ. and Excel Center, free high school for adults. Member, Rex Jones President, Christian Community Foundation, Dana Wilson President and CEO, BRIDGES. Joined BRIDGES Memphis Rotary Club and recipient of several distinctions one of the largest philanthropic and grant-giving in 2008 as program coordinator; first employee to be promotincluding Outstanding Italian of the Year, Memphis Italian organizations in Memphis. Elder, Harvest Church. ed to president and CEO positions. Developed curriculum and Festival, and Executive of the Year finalist, MBJ. evaluation for the expanded Bridge Builders program.

Sally Jones Heinz President and CEO, MIFA. Joined soe Charles McVean Chairman and founder, as VP of development. Former director of Peer Power Foundation, nonprofit that development, Memphis Brooks Museum recruits and trains U of M students to tutor of Art. Former director of marketing and and mentor in Shelby County Schools Chris Bird soe President, The Dillard Companies. Security vice president of publications, Robert F. classrooms. Chairman and CEO, McVean installation and services for government facilities, manuSharpe Company, Inc. Trading & Investments. Key to creating facturing plants, warehouses, office buildings, apartment Big River Crossing. Master Entrepreneur, David Jordan President and CEO, buildings, retail stores, parking garages, churches, schools.

SOE. 2013 and 2017 Innovation Awards, Agape Child & Family Services, a local E. Winslow “Buddy” Chapman Executive director, IMB. nonprofit he has led 25+ years. Serving Crimestoppers of Memphis and Shelby County. Former manfamilies for more than 50 years, G. Scott Morris soe Founder, G. Scott Morris ager of business development, Guardsmark; VP and director PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY organization selected as Spark Awards CEO, Church Health Center, the largest of personnel administration, Dobbs International; director, CHURCH HEALTH CENTER Nonprofit of the Year, 2019. Kate Gooch faith-based clinic of its type in the nation Memphis Police Department, 1976-1983; named to White Leader of the Year, Leadership Memphis, 2020. with 61,000 patient encounters with over 17,500 unique House Advisory Council on Law Enforcement by President individuals in 2021. Tennessee Healthcare Hall of Fame, Melanie Ann Keller President, CEO, Meritan, Inc. Ronald Reagan, 1979-1982.

2020. U of M Honorary Doctor of Letters, 2015. Master Nonprofit health and social services agency that provides Jonathan Frase President, Frase Protection, home security Entrepreneur, SOE. Memphis Theological Seminary home healthcare, homemaker service, other residential and security camera systems for homes and small businesses.

President’s Humanitarian Award, 2010.

The Kindness support services to individuals with disabilities, emergency Joined firm after successful career as commercial airline pilot Revolution’s Spirit of Kindness Award, 2010. services to victims of elder abuse, senior employment and instructor. services, foster care services in Tennessee, Mississippi, Cathy Pope President and CEO, Mid-South Food Bank.

Arkansas, Georgia.

Organization serves needy in 31 counties through 300 charitable feeding programs. Former president and CEO, Patrick Lawler soe CEO, Youth Villages. 42nd year at Feeding the Gulf Coast food bank.

Youth Villages. 3,400 employees in 23 states and D.C. 2022

SECURITY

CEO of the Year, IMB. 2020 National Jefferson Award for Outstanding Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged.

Fellow, Results for America Nonprofit. Guest lecturer, Harvard Business School, Columbia University. Master Entrepreneur, SOE. America’s Best Leaders, U.S. News and World Report, 2006.

Shantelle Leatherwood CEO, Christ Community Health Services. Faith-based, multi-site organization providing healthcare to under-resourced communities in Memphis.

Services include adult and pediatric primary care, behavioral health, dental, pharmacy services.

Anton Mack Executive director, Explore Bike Share.

Operates city’s first nonprofit shared mobility system with a mission to advance and connect Memphis through

Adam Putnam CEO, Ducks Unlimited, world leader in wetlands and waterfowl conservation. Former commissioner of agriculture, Florida, where he managed 1.3 million acres of state forest. Youngest elected member of Congress from Florida.

Kenneth Robinson President and CEO, United Way of the Mid-South. Past Tennessee Commissioner of Health, served as health program and policy consultant and county health officer to mayor of Shelby County.

Richard C. Shadyac Jr. Leads ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. ALSAC works with supporters worldwide to raise funds — $2 billion last year — to fuel St. Jude’s $11.5 billion strategic plan that triples global investment. ALSAC was named Best Workplaces for Innovators, Fast Company (’20 and ’21).

Chris Bird PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY THE DILLARD COMPANIES

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Power Players 2022

/ STA FFING

Larry Heathcott Founder and CEO, Clarion Security LLC. Uniformed, armed, and unarmed security officers, security patrols, and alarm response. Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies. 2015-2020 Pacesetters Award, MBJ. Barry Marshall President and Partner, Security One, Inc. 35 years+ experience in public, private sectors. Firm founded by father in 1973. Joined Shelby County Sheriff’s Department in 1977 and is reserve instructor with the Memphis Police Department.

Patti Phelps Owner and CEO, Phelps Security, Inc. founded in 1953. 39 years+ experience managing and operating one of Memphis’ oldest security companies. Nationally certified, Woman-Owned Business. Co-founder, B.I.G. for Memphis.

Fallen Officer Memorial Committee, Neighborhood Watch Grant Committee.

Alfred Washington Owner, CEO, Top Notch Security, Inc. In seven states with 300+ employees. Government, commercial, industry facilities, international executive protection, vulnerability assessments, disaster response. MBJ Top 40 under 40.

SBDC Rising Star; African American Male Image award; MDBA Business of the Year; Robert R. Church award; Benny Award.

Craig Weiss Co-founder, CEO, Central Defense Security.

Build A Monument To Life

INTEGRITY. QUALITY. SENSITIVITY. Our primary focus is on creating a “monument to life”, offering premium quality service for less.

Our trained staff can help you with planning, designing and memorializing the life of your loved one. We are sensitive to the needs and feelings of the families we serve, which is very important in the selection process. While cemetery memorials are still our primary focus, our product offerings have grown to include cornerstones, commemorative plaques, brick fundraisers, commercial signage, civic monuments, cremation urns, cemetery inscriptions, and monument cleaning.

Helped firm become a top security provider in region. Started Central Defense Staffing 2013. Principal and EVP for Carrier Leasing at Tower Ventures, the largest wireless infrastructure company in the Mid-South.

STAFFING

Dotty Summerfield Giusti Founder, Summerfield Associates, consulting and recruiting services. Contract, contract to hire, direct-hire placements in human resources and information technology fields. Super Woman in Business, 2016.

Garen Haddad President, CEO, Gateway Group Personnel.

Accounting, finance, operations, engineering, technology, HR, administrative disciplines. Pinnacle Society member, nation’s premier consortium of top recruiters within executive search industry.

Justin Farmer Managing HONEST MONUMENT COMPANY

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partner, Vaco Memphis.

Provides consulting, project resources, direct hire, and strategic staffing solutions with expertise in accounting and finance, technology, and operations. Global Justin Farmer company named to PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY VACO Inc. magazine’s list of the fastest-growing private companies for the past 15 years.

Forbes’ 2018-21 lists of America’s Best Recruiting Firms.

Denise Burnett Stewart SOE CEO, OR Nurses Nationwide, Inc., Travel Nurses, Inc. Provides temporary and permanent healthcare staffing to healthcare facilities locally, regionally, nationally. Ranked 2nd, Best Places to Work, MBJ.

Dinah Terry CEO, President, Omni Staffing Plus, Inc. Provides testing, training, placement. Former owner/operator of OmniAdult Training Center, providing training and placement for medical transcription and terminology.

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Please join us for the 30th Annual

Entrepreneur Awards Presentation & Dinner Saturday, April 9, 2022 6:00 pm Holiday Inn at the University of Memphis

For more information contact Pearson Crutcher at Pearson@soememphis.com

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2022 Honorees

BY JON W. SPARKS

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he Society of Entrepreneurs is inducting two new members into the organization in 2022. Frank Cianciola, chairman of the board and CEO of Banc3 Holdings, Inc. and executive chairman of the board of Bank3, and Randy Stepherson, president of Stepherson Inc., Superlo Foods were chosen to join the organization that was founded in 1991 to honor the contributions of area entrepreneurs. The 30th Annual Dinner and Awards Banquet will be held April 9 at the Holiday Inn at the University of Memphis.

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Frank Cianciola

s founder, chairman of the board, and CEO of Banc3 Holdings, Inc., Cianciola began his financial services career at Union Planters in 1973 and since then has held a variety of executive positions. He holds a master of science degree in finance from the University of Memphis and is a graduate of the Graduate School of International Banking (University of Virginia), the Graduate School of Commercial Lending (University of Oklahoma) and the Effective Executive Program (The Wharton School).

FRANK CIANCIOLA: A good friend and fraternity brother — Bill Carkeet — was with Oden here in town and got us Pi Kappa Alpha members jobs. We were collecting past-due BankAmericard accounts and we could work our own hours. It taught me a little bit about banking, although I didn’t see it as an overly desirable job in banking, but I told myself I’d give this thing a shot. I was 17 and worked 40 hours and went to school full-time. I didn’t realize I would go on to get my master’s degree and do some things in banking. And it just became kind of a fun journey where I realized that you surround yourself with good people and learn from them and try to help them in their careers. And you’ll do pretty well yourself too. It’s worked out a few times.

IMB: How did you build up your resume?

FC: Somewhere in the early ‘80s, I started trying to get a different type of background. I was for a short period of time president of a venture capital company. Then I was head of underwriting for Asian markets and Western Europe for Union Planters Bank. I got to travel a lot — 15 or 20 countries. I was working on my master’s, so I would go to the embassies in these places and I would write my thesis or my papers on those experiences. It was a good way to learn about the Asian dollar market, for example, or Singapore, or wherever I was at the time.

IMB: Describe the culture at Bank3.

FC: We’re very careful about our culture here and very careful about the people we choose. All of us have strengths and weaknesses. I know what mine are, and I’m always trying to hire my weakness. I’m trying to fill that gap

of who can take us to another level in this particular area. I’ve got just a crackerjack group of folks here. You think more about the people that were around you and maybe you flipped that switch with them. I know people did it for me, and that still drives a lot of what I do today.

IMB: You’ve worked at big banks but you prefer being in a smaller one. Why is that?

FC: I hope somebody will say that I won’t be able to do something.

And when I hear that, I think this is great. How much fun can you have? People think you can’t do this. It just sets a challenge out there that gets you going every day.

We’re here to serve our clients. We’re here to create value for our shareholders. We’re here to make a career path for our folks. And for it to be profitable for those of us that invest our money in it.

IMB: What’s your style of management?

FC: As for the staff, we work together and I don’t get in their way. These people are all big boys and girls. I won’t micromanage them and I trust them. A problem comes up, I say please come talk to me about it. I’ve been doing this for a while, but y’all make the decisions and when y’all get it figured out, come back to me and let me know how we’re doing. And I try to learn something new every day.

I’ve learned from 20-year-olds and 70-year-olds, so I’ve got the youthful exuberance on one end and then there’s the guys like me that have been around for a while, that are conservative enough to make sure we don’t get overly excited because this is a risk business. But I can tell you in each group — 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s — every one of them has something unique.

PHOTOGRAPH BY LISA BUSER

INSIDE MEMPHIS BUSINESS: You went to school at Christian Brothers High School and Memphis State University. How did you get into the banking business from there?

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Randy Stepherson

tepherson, Inc. was founded by the Stepherson brothers in 1944. Eventually, Randy Stepherson (the son of one of the brothers) and his brother-in-law acquired the grocery business. Today, they operate eight Superlo Foods and one Stepherson’s location in Memphis.

INSIDE MEMPHIS BUSINESS: How did you get started?

RANDY STEPHERSON: I was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. My dad was in the grocery business with my uncles, his brothers.

They had two stores I worked in through high school and college. I was studying accounting at Memphis State University and got a job with a local CPA firm. I got my certificate but didn’t feel I was cut out for spending my days in somebody else’s back office. So, I came back to work with my dad. They laughed at me at the CPA firm and asked what I was going to do. I told them I was going to run a meat market and take a $5,000-a-year raise.

IMB: Eventually, you and your brother-in-law, Bob Reed, bought out your uncles. After a few years, you came up with the Superlo concept and did that with the store at Colonial and Spottswood.

How did that work out?

RS: We did it and never looked back. We dropped all our pricing, we quit running an ad. It was just everyday low prices as best we could do. And the store took off and that was in the fall of 1993 and it did very well. Then my dad decided to retire, so we bought him out.

PHOTOGRAPH BY LISA BUSER

IMB: What was next?

RS: We had an opportunity to buy out of bankruptcy the Mega Market on Covington Pike.

That was a scary thing. We had two stores behind it to support it, and we proceeded to lose a million dollars the first year in that store. We weren’t making a million dollars out of the other two stores, but it came around as volume started building a little after a year. A couple of years later, we bought the Piggly Wiggly at Watkins and Frayser Boulevard. We got an immediate bump in volume as we went in.

IMB: Since then you’ve acquired more stores and now have nine of them. And there was, as you said, often quite a bit of risk. What were some entrepreneurial lessons you learned?

RS: It was kind of scary. We weren’t sure we would be able to hang on through all of that, but you just had to go to work every day with a smile on your face and let the employees see you smiling. And when they expressed any concern, you had to go, it’s all good. It’s going to be great. We’re growing. See? And it happened. A lot of being successful is showing up every day.

IMB: You’ve said that’s what your father taught you. What other wisdom did he impart?

RS: He said to spend less than you make, save the difference, and invest it. Over the years we never took home all the money that we made — and many years it wasn’t that much — but we left some in the company so that it could renew itself as we went along.

IMB: How did the pandemic affect your business?

RS: I actually feel guilty, because we prospered. I say I feel guilty because I know so many companies have not prospered through the pandemic. But our business took a nice leap forward. Initially, the restaurants got shut down and everybody had to eat at home, so that helped the grocery business. The schools closed and kids weren’t getting their meals at schools, so people had to buy food for their kids for lunch and that helped the grocery business. The government then realized that they weren’t feeding the kids through the school program so they increased food stamp allotments. Some of our stores are in what was food deserts, and those areas tend to have heavier food stamp users, so that was good for our business. We’ve had troubles with our supply chain. I was shopping in one of our stores a few days ago and the biscuits were wiped out. And sometimes the cheese section will get in trouble.

IMB: Talk about the corporate culture at your stores.

RS: If your senior people care, they control everybody else. They set the tone.

You create a culture and they maintain that culture.

IMB: What do you see in the future?

RS: We’re looking for opportunities.

We’d love to grow. We don’t mind moving out. We could possibly buy a store in a small town nearby Memphis. I don’t want to go six hours away, but something close enough that we could keep our eye on it.

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Doyle’s Pharmacy

Our history expert solves local mysteries: who, what, when, where, why, and why not. Well, sometimes.

DEAR VANCE: I have a pair of vintage fans for Putnam Dyes and Tints, and I noticed on the back they say “Courtesy of Doyle’s Pharmacy -Memphis.” Where was this establishment, and what happened to it?

— M.H., MEMPHIS.

These are works of art, beautifully colored cardboard fans to promote a national company that produced “fadeless” dyes, tints, soaps, and other products. I’d say they date from the 1920s, and since the only air-conditioned spaces in Memphis at that time were the Downtown movie theaters and department stores, they surely came in very handy here during our summers.

Putnam products could be found in almost every home in America in the early 1900s. The company itself wasn’t called by that name, however; it was the Monroe Drug Company, based in Unionville, Illinois. Look closely at the fan with the man and child, which identifies the gentleman as company founder E.N. Monroe, who took a job in a Unionville drug store in 1870 and DEAR M.H.:

within six years had started his own pharmacy.

In those days, pharmacists compounded their own medicines, and Monroe hired an assistant named Hugh Elson, who not only helped produce pharmaceuticals, but came up with a new process for creating tints and dyes. Monroe and Elson named their new line of products Putnam, after the Illinois county where their company was located. What started as a local business quickly became a national firm, thanks to an aggressive newspaper and magazine advertising campaign, along with direct-mail products such as brightly colored fans, wall calendars, color charts, paper bags, and sample packets.

The company’s slogan — “Dyeing Saves Buying” — proved attractive to families trying to stretch their household dollars, since they could make old clothes look new again. And if anyone wanted an entirely different look, they could buy Putnam’s “No-Kolor Bleach,” which allowed customers to “remove any color, and then re-dye in any color.”

They didn’t limit their dyes to clothing and fabric.

Disturbed when you noticed that first grey hair in the mirror? Well, just write to the Monroe Company and ask for their exclusive “Mary T. Goldman Grey Hair Color Restorer,” described as “that clear, colorless liquid that you simply comb through your hair. The grey goes and the shade you want is restored.”

And while you’re at it, why stop at your hair? Putnam’s Bath-Bloom lets you “bathe your way to beauty.” A single tablespoon in the bath water “will give a whole tubful of silken, cloudlike foam, ready to cleanse and refresh your entire body, leaving the skin wholesome and fresh once more.” In short, “it will be the most refreshing bath you ever had.”

My goodness, Putnam could do almost anything.

What surprises me is that I haven’t come across their products before. Your fans, M.H., are the first Putnam items I’ve seen used by a Memphis store to lure customers. And since you asked about that establishment, I suppose I should tell you what I know about Doyle’s Pharmacy, which was located at 835 Poplar Avenue.

Let’s start with the building itself. Constructed sometime around 1900, it has a rather complicated history, so please pay attention. It was first home to a pharmacy run by Orville C. Cole. The ground floor housed the business, and the upper floor was the owner’s residence.

In 1915 two pharmacists — William Pryor and Allen Battle — took over, and this is when John Doyle (the fellow we are mainly interested in) began working there. By 1923, he had purchased the firm and added a partner, Harry Mayer, and the new company became Doyle-Mayer Drug Company.

When Mayer left in 1930, Doyle became the sole proprietor, and the business name was either Doyle Drug Company or Doyle’s Pharmacy, depending on where

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY M.H., MEMPHIS

BY VANCE L AUDERDALE

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you read it. I presume there is some medi- The company’s slogan — I was never able to find a photo of the cal/legal distinction between a pharmacy “Dyeing Saves Buying” pharmacy — or the Doyle family, for that and a drugstore, but I don’t know what it — proved attractive to matter — to share with you, so you’ll just is. I’ll save that for a future column. families trying to stretch have to be satisfied with the pretty fans So who was Doyle? Born in Memphis they gave away to customers. Based on city their household dollars, in 1890, he was the only son of Captain directories, the old building fell to the bullPhillip J. Doyle with the Memphis Fire since they could make old dozers soon after Barbara Doyle closed it.

Department. While living with his parents clothes look new again.

The location at Poplar and Dunlap is still on North Manassas, he attended Christian Brothers serving the medical needs of our city, though. Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital now stands on that corner.

College and graduated from the University of Tennessee School of Pharmacy.

Oh, and if you want to dye your clothes or your After he became owner of the drugstore on Poplar, hair, you won’t be able to do that with any Puthe lived with his wife, Barbara, above the store, where nam products. The company, which also went through many owners in its last years, closed in they also raised two daughters, Mary and Jean. Both 1971. That’s a shame. These days, I could really use girls attended Sacred Heart School, which I’ve written about before. their Bath-Bloom and “bathe my way to beauty.”

I’m sorry to say that Doyle died a relatively young man, suffering a fatal “stroke of paralysis” on December 13, 1938, at the age of 48. His obituary noted that he was “an ardent sportsman, and liked nothing better than a fishing expedition to Reelfoot Lake, where he was a familiar figure on weekends, before his health failed.”

He was also active with St. Peter’s Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus, and one year he represented his company in the annual Christmas parade.

Doyle was laid to rest in Calvary Cemetery. His wife took over the business, and seemed to be quite active in our city’s social life. Newspaper reports of breakfasts and bridge parties around town in the 1940s often mentioned her name, and every year she made a point to run a small ad in The Commercial Appeal saying, “Doyle’s Pharmacy extends Season’s Greetings to all.”

In 1955, Barbara Doyle played a small but crucial role in saving the life of a young boy. On the afternoon of November 21st, an older brother carried a 2-year-old into their home on North Seventh, not too far from the pharmacy. Clutching an empty green bottle he’d found outside, he was barely conscious, and his parents realized that he had probably eaten whatever had been in that bottle. In a panic, they called police, who then summoned Doyle.

She instantly recognized the bottle and was able to tell the doctors that it had contained ammoniated mercury, a quick-acting poison. With this knowledge, doctors at St. Joseph Hospital were able to administer the proper antidote and save the child’s life. Newspaper reports credited Doyle with “unraveling the mystery of the green bottle.”

Just one year later after this heroic deed, however, she sold the business, publishing a legal notice in The Commercial Appeal: “Having sold Doyle’s Pharmacy, I will not be responsible for any debts incurred after January 27th. Mrs. John P. Doyle, 835 Poplar.” I assume she retired and stayed active with her bridge parties, until she passed away in 1968, at the age of 77.

Got a question for Vance?

EMAIL: askvance@memphismagazine.com MAIL: Vance Lauderdale, Memphis magazine, P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101 ONLINE: memphismagazine.com/ ask-vance

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Lucy’s

Kevin Williams’ creative brunch and breakfast await visitors at the Hu. Hotel.

BY SAMUEL X. CICCI

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any folks consider breakfast the most important meal of the day, but Lucy’s wants to make it your favorite as well. In addition to breakfast, the downstairs diner at the Hu. Hotel on Madison recently launched its brunch program, and the menu is designed to catch your attention — and whet your appetite. Forget plain old eggs and pancakes; unique takes on anything from mac and cheese to bananas Foster will have customers returning for a second helping.

The Hu. Hotel shut its doors in early 2020 due to Covid-19, and only decided to reopen for business last fall. That meant, according to hotel leadership, a fresh start for a dining program that needed to make an impact

after more than a year out of the public eye. Owners the Aparium Hotel Group brought in Kevin Williams to lead the charge as executive chef, and Lucy’s has flourished during his first couple months at the helm.

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Kevin Williams

“I’m a Southern boy at heart,” muffins and scones. But it’s the laughs Williams, “so that’s a big Sunday brunch menu where his focus of what I like to cook. I conideas truly shine. He points to the sider the menu here as typical crab mac and cheese as one of his upscale Southern cuisine.” The personal favorites. And it’s now diner is for the early birds, open one of mine, too. The cavatappi for breakfast Monday through macaroni is doused in a smooth Saturday before kicking things layer of velvety four-cheese sauce up a notch for Sunday brunch. that glides across the palate. The And the menu is a product of soft, rich noodles are gilded with Williams’ almost two decades of crunchy bread crumbs and shot experience cooking in the restauthrough with small, toothsome rant, corporate, and hotel worlds. cuts of crab and crawfish (plus a little bit of bacon). All the ingreWilliams has been a chef 16 years, but he’s donned dients mix together a few other hats in his Crab mac and seamlessly. career other than a cheese is one of For a sweeter dish, toque blanche. He Williams’ personal Wil liams debated spent eight years as favorites. The cavbananas Foster or an electric techni- atappi macaroni is French toast before cian in the military, realizing he could doused in a smooth combine the two of where constant travel exposed him to the layer of velvety them. “I just love babreadth of cuisines four-cheese sauce nanas Foster,” he says. available around the that glides across “I think it was some time I spent in New world. “I’ve been to 15 the palate. The countries,” he recalls.

Orleans that did it for soft, rich noodles “I went around tasting me, but I knew I had to food, and that really are gilded with include it here.” Sweet, crunchy bread got me into cooking.” round flavors from the His first job out crumbs and shot banana bread are met of culinary school through with small, with fresh whipped cream, toasted alsaw him join up with toothsome cuts of Ruby Tuesday’s and monds, powdered sugcrab and crawfish head back to Memar, and several branphis. He next found (plus a little bit died bananas. While himself in the kitch- of bacon). All the I’ve had a few helpings ens of well-regarded ingredients mix toof tough French toast establishments like gether seamlessly. in my time, there’s no Amerigo and Bounty knife needed here. A on Broad before trying his hand fork slips through the soft bain a hotel kitchen (as executive nana bread with no resistance, chef at the Hilton Garden Inn) making dessert for breakfast easand as a corporate chef (FedEx, ier than ever.

If bananas aren’t for you, conInternational Paper, Smith & sider the pancakes. Williams inNephew, Wright Medical).

With support from hotel leadcludes several giant, fluff y flapership to create a menu in his jacks beneath a dollop of fresh, own image, Williams providhouse-made whipped cream ed plenty of sweet and savory and a spread of warm blueberry options at Lucy’s. The regular compote. I let the dish sit for a breakfast menu has the traminute and watched as the topditional trappings of an early pings slowly seeped into the panmeal: think frittatas, burritos, cakes, adding a natural dose of eggs and bacon, or house-made fruity flavor.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY SAMUEL X. CICCI

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And Williams doesn’t skimp on the portions, either. Each dish is sizable, with plenty of food to split between two people. Doling out large servings hasn’t stopped him from trying out his own spin on breakfast staples. “I want to come up with some things that not a lot of people are seeing,” he says. “Something Memphis-centric I wanted to do was a pulled pork hash. It’s got poached egg, barbecue, and hollandaise sauce.

That’s like fusing barbecue and breakfast, and I want to keep trying out new fusion dishes.”

As executive chef, Williams will have plenty of chances to keep trying out new things. He’s also in charge of the menu for the beautiful Hu. Rooftop, which currently serves small snacks like chili and lime popcorn, Hu. Nuts with wasabi ranch seasoning, or Tennessee lamb meatballs. “Our menu up there [on the roof] is still in development,” he says. “We’re looking at different ideas, but we definitely want it to be handheld dishes so you won’t need a knife and fork. Once the weather warms up, we’ll move forward on that, likely around April or May.” So, stay tuned.

Williams also has his eye on the now-vacant Hu. Diner space facing Main Street. The appeal of opening up something fresh there was part of what convinced him to join the Hu. Hotel team.

“We’ve got some really cool ideas for that space, but that’s still a little ways off,” he says. “In the meantime, we’re thinking of leasing out the space to generate a little walk-in traffic there.

But that would very much be a temporary thing while we figure out what we want to do with the Hu. Diner.”

For now, Lucy’s continues to attract both hotel guests and Memphians working or visiting Downtown. “As opposed to just serving guests, we’ve been seeing

a lot of our customers come in off the street so far,” Williams says of their walk-in business. And he thinks that the space’s relaxed vibe will continue to attract more. “It’s a perfect place to sit and chill with a cup of coffee, or even get some work done. We’ve got a really cool cafe-style space here at Lucy’s, and I’m excited for what we’re going to have going forward.”

Lucy’s is located at the Hu. Hotel at 79 Madison Ave., and is open for breakfast 7-11 a.m.

Monday through Saturday; and open for Sunday brunch 7 a.m. -2 p.m. 901-333-1200. huhotelmemphis.com

Top: Crab mac & cheese.

Middle (L to R): Bananas Foster French toast; chicken and waffles with maple syrup and honey sriracha; pancakes.

Bottom (L to R): Avocado toast with fresh tomato, goat cheese, and balsamic; shrimp & grits made with andouille sausage, red peppers, sweet onions, and Cajun cream sauce.

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The Memphis Dining Guide

FLIGHT RESTAURANT & WINE BAR—Serves steaks and seafood, along with such specialties as bison ribeye and Muscovy duck, all matched with appropriate wines.

39 S. Main. 521-8005. D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ FLYING FISH—Serves up fried and grilled versions of shrimp, crab, oysters, fish tacos, and catfish; also chicken and burgers. 105 emphis magazine offers this curated restaurant listing as a service S. Second. 522-8228. L, D, X, $-$$ to our readers. Broken down alphabetically by neighborhoods, this directory does GOOD FORTUNE CO.—Authentic handcrafted noodles, not list every restaurant in town. It does, however, include the magazine’s “Top 50” choices ramen, and dumplings. 361 S. Main. 561-306-4711. of must-try restaurants in Memphis, a group that is updated every August. Establishments L, D, $-$$ THE GENRE—Burgers, tenders, catfish, and plenty of open less than a year are not eligible for “Top 50” but are noted as “New.” This guide also vegan options made to order at this music-themed includes a representative sampling of other Bluff City eating establishments. No fast-food restaurant/lounge. 200 Poplar, Suite 105. 410-8169. B, L, D, facilities or cafeterias are listed. Restaurants are included regardless of whether they advertise $-$$ in Memphis magazine; those that operate in multiple locations are listed under the neighborhood THE GRAY CANARY—The sixth restaurant from chefs Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman, offering small plates of their original location. This guide is updated regularly, but we recommend that you call and entrees cooked on an open flame. Oysters, octopus, ahead to check on hours, prices, or other details. Suggestions from readers are welcome; please and hearty steaks are among the menu options at this eatery in Old contact Samuel X. Cicci at scicci@contemporary-media.com.

Dominick Distillery. Closed Mon. 301 S. Front. 466-6324. D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$$ and several Northern Italian specialties.

149 Union, The Peabody.

GRECIAN GOURMET TAVERNA—Serves traditional favorites DOWNTOWN 529-4199. B, L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$$ like spanakopita, pastitso, moussaka, and hand-rolled dolmathes, 117 PRIME—Restaurateurs Craig Blondis and Roger Sapp team CAROLINA WATERSHED—This indoor/outdoor eatery, set around as well as lamb sliders and pita nachos. Closed Mon. 412 S. Main. up with Chef Ryan Trimm to recreate the traditional American silos, features reimagined down-home classics, including fried green 249-6626. L, D, X, $ steakhouse. Serving oysters on the half shell and a variety of surf tomatoes with smoked catfish, a buttermilk fried chicken sandwich, GUS’S WORLD FAMOUS FRIED CHICKEN—Serves and turf options. 117 Union. 433-9851. L, D, WB, X, $-$$$ burgers, and more. Closed Mon.-Thurs. 141 E. Carolina. 321-5553. L, chicken with signature spicy batter, along with homeALDO’S PIZZA PIES—Serving gourmet pizzas — D, WB, $-$$ made beans, slaw, and pies. 310 S. Front. 527-4877; 3100 including Mr. T Rex — salads, and more. Also 30 beers, CATHERINE & MARY’S—A variety of pastas, grilled Forest Hill Irene (Germantown). 853-6005; 2965 N. Germantown bottled or on tap. 100 S. Main. 577-7743; 752 S. Cooper. quail, pâté, razor clams, and monkfish are among the Pkwy. (Cordova). 373-9111; 730 S. Mendenhall. 767-2323; 505 725-7437. L, D, X, $-$$ dishes served at this Italian restaurant in the Chisca. 272 S. Highway 70 W., Mason, TN. 901-294-2028. L, D, X, MRA, $ THE ARCADE—Possibly Memphis’ oldest cafe.

Main. 254-8600. D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ HAPPY MEXICAN—Serves quesadillas, burritos, chimichangas, Specialties include sweet potato pancakes, a fried peaCHEF TAM’S UNDERGROUND vegetable and seafood dishes, and more.

DINING SYMBOLS nut butter and banana sandwich, and breakfast served CAFE—Serves Southern staples with a 385 S. Second. 529-9991; 6080 Primacy all day. 540 S. Main. 526-5757. B, L, D (Thurs.-Sat.), X, MRA, $ Cajun twist. Menu items include totchoes, Pkwy. 683-0000; 7935 Winchester.

B — breakfast AUTOMATIC SLIM’S—Longtime Downtown favorite specializes jerk wings, fried chicken, and “muddy” 751-5353. L, D, X, $ in contemporary American cuisine emphasizing local ingredients; L — lunch mac and cheese. Closed Sun. and Mon. 668 HU. ROOF—Rooftop cocktail bar with also extensive martini list. 83 S. Second. 525-7948. L, D, WB, X, D — dinner Union Ave. 207-6182. L, D, $ superb city views serves toasts with a MRA, $-$$$ CHEZ PHILIPPE—Classical/ SB — Sunday brunch variety of toppings including beef tartare BACKLOT SANDWICH SHOP—Big sandwiches, contemporary French cuisine WB — weekend brunch with cured egg, cognac, and capers breakfast bowls, and build-your-own-biscuits for presented in a luxurious atmoor riced cauliflower with yellow curry, X— wheelchair accessible breakfast, lunch, and an early supper. 265 S. Front St. sphere with a seasonal menu focused on currants, and almonds. Also salads, fish MRA — member, Memphis 509-8612. B, L, D, $ local/regional cuisine. The crown jewel of tacos, and boiled peanut hummus. 79 Restaurant Association BARDOG TAVERN—Classic American grill with Italian The Peabody for 35 years. Afternoon tea Madison. 333-1229. D, $ influence, Bardog offers pasta specialties such as Grandma’s NJ $ — under $15 per person without served Wed.-Sat., 1-3:30 p.m. (reservations HUSTLE & DOUGH BAKERY Meatballs, as well as salads, sliders, sandwiches, and daily spedrinks or desserts required). Closed Sun.-Tues. The Peabody, & CAFE—Flaky, baked breakfast cials. 73 Monroe. 275-8752. B (Mon.-Fri.), L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$ 149 Union. 529-4188. D, X, MRA, $$$$ $$ — under $25 goodness every day with fresh pastries, BEDROCK EATS & SWEETS—Memphis’ only Paleo-centric CIMAS—It’s breakfast tacos, $$$ — $26-$50 sandwiches, and more at Arrive Hotel. restaurant, offering such dishes as pot roast, waffles, enchiladas, shrimp and grits, chilaquiles 477 S. Main St., 701-7577. B, L, X, $ $$$$ — over $50 chicken salad, omelets, and more. Closed for dinner Sun. 327 S. verdes, and plenty of other ITTA BENA—Southern and CajunMain. 409-6433. B, L, D, X, $-$$ Southern and Latin-American twists at the American cuisine served here, conveniently located above B.B. BELLE TAVERN—Serving elevated bar food, including a Hyatt Centric. 33 Beale St. 444-3232. B, L, D, $-$$$ King’s Blues Club on Beale St.; specialties are duck and waffles and butcher board with a variety of meats and cheeses, as well as THE CLOVER CLUB—Southern fusion and internation- shrimp and grits, along with steaks, chops, seafood, and pasta. 145 daily specials. 117 Barboro Alley. 249-6580. L (Sun.), D, MRA, $ ally-inspired small plates at Hotel Indigo.

Beale St. 578-3031. D, X, MRA, $$-$$$ BEN YAY’S GUMBO SHOP—Spiritual successor to DejaVu, 22 N. B.B. King.

KING & UNION BAR GROCERY—Classic Southern favorites offering fresh and authentic Creole staples. 51 S. Main St., 779COZY CORNER—Serving up ribs, pork sandwiches, including catfish plate, pimento cheese, po-boys, chicken & waf4125. L, D, X, $-$$ chicken, spaghetti, and more; also homemade banana fles. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with cocktails served BISHOP—Ticer and Hudman’s newest venture at the Central pudding. Closed Mon. 745 N. Parkway and Manassas. with flair and favorite Memphis beers. Locally made confections Station Hotel features upscale dishes in a French brasserie style.

527-9158. L, D, $ available in the grocery. 185 Union Ave. 523-8500. B, L, D, $-$$ 545 S. Main St., 524-5247. L, D, X, $$-$$$ CURFEW—An elevated sports bar/American tavern concept KOOKY CANUCK—Offers prime rib, catfish, and burgers, BLEU—This eclectic restaurant features American food with

by Top Chef contestant Fabio Viviani at the Canopy Memphis including the 4-lb. “Kookamonga”; also late-night menu. 87 S. global influences and local ingredients. Among the specialties are Downtown hotel. 164 Union Ave. B, L, D, X, $-$$ Second. 578-9800; 1250 N. Germantown Pkwy. 1-800-2453 L, D, a 14-oz. bone-in ribeye and several seafood dishes. 221 S. Third, EVELYN & OLIVE—Jamaican/Southern fusion cuisine includes X, MRA, $-$$$ in the Westin Memphis Beale St. Hotel. 334-5950. B, L, D, WB, X, such dishes as Kingston stew fish, Rasta Pasta, and jerk rib-eye.

LITTLE BETTIE—New Haven-style pizzas and snacks MRA, $$-$$$ Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun.-Mon. 630 Madison. from the Andrew-Michael team at Wiseacre’s Downtown BLUEFIN RESTAURANT & SUSHI LOUNGE—Serves 748-5422. L, D, X, $ location. 398 S. B.B. King Blvd. 334-9411. L, D, $-$$ Japanese fusion cuisine featuring seafood and steak, with FAM—Casual Asian restaurant serves sushi rice bowls, noodle bowls, THE LITTLE TEA SHOP—Downtown institution serves seasonally changing menu; also a sushi bar. 135 S. Main. 528-1010. sushi rolls, and spring rolls. Closed Sun. 149 Madison; 521 S. Highland. up Southern comfort cooking, including meatloaf and L, D, X, $-$$ 701-6666. L, D, X, $ such veggies as turnip greens, yams, okra, and tomatoes.

BRASS DOOR IRISH PUB—Irish and New-American cuisine FELICIA SUZANNE’S—Southern cuisine with low-counClosed Sat.-Sun. 69 Monroe. 525-6000, L, X, $ includes such entrees as fish and chips, burgers, shepherd’s pie, try, Creole, and Delta influences, using regional fresh seaLOCAL—Entrees with a focus on locally sourced products include all-day Irish breakfast, and more. 152 Madison. 572-1813. L, D, food, local beef, and locally grown foods. Entrees include lobster mac-and-cheese and rib-eye patty melt; menu differs by SB, $-$$ shrimp and grits. Closed Sun. and Mon. A Downtown staple at location. 95 S. Main. 473-9573; 2126 Madison. 725-1845. L, D, WB,

BY THE BREWERY—Breakfast and lunch café, with a focus Brinkley Plaza, 383 S. Main. 523-0877. L (Fri. only), D, X, MRA, $$-$$$ X, $-$$ on Southern-style biscuits, salads, and soups. 496 Tennessee St. FERRARO’S PIZZERIA & PUB—Rigatoni and tortellini are LOFLIN YARD—Beer garden and restaurant serves vegetarian 310-4341. B, L, $ among the pasta entrees here, along with pizzas (whole or by the fare and smoked-meat dishes, including beef brisket and pork CAFE KEOUGH—European-style cafe serving quiche, paninis, slice) with a variety of toppings. 111 Jackson. 522-2033. L, D, X, $ tenderloin, cooked on a custom-made grill. Closed Mon.-Tues. 7 W. salads, and more. 12 S. Main. 509-2469. B, L, D, X, $ FISHBOWL AT THE PYRAMID—Burgers, fish dishes, sandCarolina. 249-3046. L (Sat. and Sun.), D, MRA, $-$$ CAPRICCIO GRILL ITALIAN STEAKHOUSE—Offers prime wiches, and more served in a unique “underwater” setting. Bass Pro, steaks, fresh seafood (lobster tails, grouper, mahi mahi), pasta, 1 Bass Pro Drive, 291-8000. B, L, D, X, $-$$

A Curated Guide to Eating Out

M

We celebrate our city’s community table and the people who grow, cook, and eat the best Memphis food at M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M / F O O D 88 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • A P R I L 2 0 2 2

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(This guide, compiled by our editors, includes editorial picks and advertisers.)

3/9/22 1:10 PM

LONGSHOT—Chef David Todd has something for everyone with a wide variety of international fusion dishes, and a side of shuffleboard. 477 S. Main. D, $-$$ THE LOOKOUT AT THE PYRAMID—Serves seafood and Southern fare, including cornmeal-fried oysters, sweet tea brined chicken, and elk chops. 1 Bass Pro Dr. 620-4600/2918200. L, D, X, $-$$$ LUCY’S—Hu. Hotel’s downstairs diner serves up breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Start your day with a Hu. breakfast burrito, or Lucy’s Burger for a late-night bite 3 S. Main. 3331200. B, L, D, X, $-$$ LUNA RESTAURANT & LOUNGE—Serving a limited menu of breakfast and lunch items. Dinner entrees include citrus glaze salmon and Cajun stuffed chicken. 179 Madison (Hotel Napoleon). 526-0002. B, D (Mon.-Sat.), X, $-$$$ MACIEL’S—Entrees include tortas, fried taco plates, quesadillas, chorizo and pastor soft tacos, salads, and more. Downtown closed Sun. 45 S. Main.

526-0037, X, MRA, $ THE MAJESTIC GRILLE—Features aged steaks, fresh seafood, and such specialties as roasted chicken and grilled pork tenderloin; offers a pre-theater menu and classic cocktails. Well-stocked bar. 145 S. Main. 522-8555. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$$ McEWEN’S—Southern/American cuisine with international flavors; specialties include steak and seafood, sweet potato-crusted catfish with macaroni and cheese, and more. Closed Sun., Monroe location. 120 Monroe.

Temporarily closed for renovations. 527-7085; 1110 Van Buren (Oxford). 662-234-7003. L, D, SB (Oxford only), X, MRA, $$-$$$ MESQUITE CHOP HOUSE—The focus here is on steaks, including prime fillet, rib-eyes, and prime-aged New York strip; also, some seafood options. 5960 Getwell (Southaven).

662-890-2467; 88 Union. 527-5337; 3165 Forest Hill-Irene (Germantown). 249-5661. D, SB (Germantown), X, $$-$$$ MOLLIE FONTAINE LOUNGE—Specializes in tapas (small plates) featuring global cuisine. Closed Sun.-Tues. 679 Adams Ave. 524-1886. D, X, MRA, $ MOMMA’S ROADHOUSE—This diner and dive at Highway 55 serves up hot and crispy fried chicken wings, among other solid bar food options. Temporarily closed. 855 Kentucky. 207-5111. L, D, MRA, $ THE NINE THAI & SUSHI—Serving authentic Thai dishes, including curries, as well as a variety of sushi rolls. Closed for lunch Sat. and Sun. 121 Union. 208-8347. L, D, X, $-$$ THE PARAMOUNT—Fried green tomato and crab beignet small plates to grilled lamb loin, cowboy ribeye, and an extensive cocktail list. Closed Sun/Mon. 265 S. Front. 410-8169. D, $-$$$$ PAULETTE’S—Presents fine dining with a Continental flair, including such entrees as filet Paulette with butter cream sauce and crabmeat and spinach crepes; also changing daily specials and great views. River Inn. 50 Harbor Town Square. 260-3300. B, L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$$ PEARL’S OYSTER HOUSE—Downtown eatery serving seafood, including oysters, crawfish, and stuffed butterfly shrimp, as well as beef, chicken, and pasta dishes. 299 S. Main.

522-9070; 8106 Cordova Center Dr. (Cordova). 425-4797. L, D, SB, X, $-$$$ PONTOTOC LOUNGE—Upscale restaurant and jazz bar serves such starters as alligator filet fritters; entrees include Mississippi pot roast with jalapeño cornbread and tagliatelle with braised beef. 314 S. Main. 207-7576. D, X, $-$$ RAW GIRLS—Raw and hot plant-based food alongside cold-pressed juices made from seasonal, locally grown sources. Closed Sun. 150 Peabody Pl., Suite 118.

207-5463. B, L, D, $-$$ REGINA’S—New Orleans-inspired eatery offering po’boys, Cajun nachos topped with crawfish tails, catfish platters, oysters, and more. Closed Mon. 60 N. Main. 730-0384. B, L, D, SB, X, $-$$ RENDEZVOUS, CHARLES VERGOS’—Menu items include barbecued ribs, cheese plates, skillet shrimp, red beans and rice, and Greek salads. Closed Sun.-Mon. 52 S. Second. 523-2746. L (Fri.-Sat.), D, X, $-$$ SABOR CARIBE—Serving up “Caribbean flavors” with dishes from Colombia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. Closed Sunday. 662 Madison. 949-8100. L, D, X, $ SAGE—Restaurant and lounge features daily lunch specials and tapas with such dishes as braised short ribs, teriyaki pulled pork,

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A P R I L 2 0 2 2 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • 89

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The Memphis Dining Guide and the Sage burger made with Angus beef, avocado mash, fried egg, and flash-fried sage. 94 S. Main. 672-7902. L, D, WB, X, $-$$ SILLY GOOSE LOUNGE—Gourmet, wood-fired pizzas and hand-crafted cocktails at this Downtown restaurant and lounge.

150 Peabody Place, Suite 111. 435-6915. L, D, X, $ SLEEP OUT LOUIE’S—Oyster bar with such specialties as chargrilled Roquefort oysters and gulf oysters on the half shell with Prosecco mignonette; also serves flatbread pizzas and a variety of sandwiches. 150 Peabody Place, Suite 111. 707-7180. L, D, X, $ SOUTH MAIN SUSHI & GRILL—Serving sushi, nigiri, and more. 520 S. Main. 249-2194. L, D, X, $ SOB—Elevated gastropub that serves favorites like general Tso’s cauliflower or duck fried rice. 345 S. Main. 526-0388. L, D, WB, X, $-$$ SUGAR GRITS— Who said breakfast has to be in the morning? The Westmorelands offer grits and other breakfast goodness all day long, in addition to other Southernstyle lunch and dinner options. 150 Peabody Pl., Suite 111.

249-5206. B, L, D, $-$$ SUNRISE MEMPHIS—From the owners of Sweet Grass and Central BBQ. Serves breakfast all day, including house-made biscuits, frittatas, kielbasa or boudin plates, and breakfast platters.

670 Jefferson. 552-3144. B, L, X, MRA, $ TERRACE—Creative American and Continental cuisine includes such dishes as filet mignon, beef or lamb sliders, chicken satay, and mushroom pizzetta. Rooftop, River Inn of Harbor Town, 50 Harbor Town Square. 260-3366. D, X, MRA, $$ TEXAS DE BRAZIL—Serves beef, pork, lamb, and chicken dishes, and Brazilian sausage; also a salad bar with extensive toppings. 150 Peabody Place, Suite 103. 526-7600. L (Wed.-Fri.), D, SB, X, $$-$$$ TUG’S—Famous for New Orleans gumbo, fabulous burgers, fried thin catfish, and specialty pancakes. Now serving Grisanti Crafted Pizza. 51 Harbor Town Square. 260-3344. B, L, D, WB, X, $$-$$$ THE VAULT—Oysters, shrimp beignets, flatbreads, stuffed cornish hen, and Smash Burger featured on “Late Nite Eats” are among the dishes offered at this Creole/Italian fusion eatery. 124 G.E. Patterson. 591-8000. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$ WAHLBURGERS WILD—Wahlburgers brings its classic menu, but with a few gamey twists at the Bass Pro Pyramid. 1 Bass Pro Drive. B, L, D, $-$$ WESTY’S—Extensive menu includes a variety of wild rice dishes, sandwiches, plate lunches, and hot fudge pie. 346 N. Main.

543-3278.L, D, X, $

MIDTOWN (INCLUDES THE MEDICAL CENTER)

ABNER'S FAMOUS CHICKEN—Fried chicken tenders and dipping sauces galore at this Mid-South staple. 1350 Concourse Ave, Suite 137. 425-2597; (East Memphis) 1591 Poplar Ave. 509-3351; (Cordova) 1100 N. Germantown Pkwy. 7545355. L, D, $-$$ ABYSSINIA RESTAURANT—Ethiopian/Mediterranean menu includes beef, chicken, lamb, fish entrees, and vegetarian dishes; also a lunch buffet. 2600 Poplar. 321-0082. L, D, X, $-$$ ALCHEMY—Southern fusion, locally grown cuisine features small and large plates; among the offerings are pan-seared hanger steak, quail, and lamb chops; also handcrafted cocktails and local craft beers. 940 S. Cooper. 726-4444. D, SB, X, $-$$ ART BAR—Inventive cocktails feature locally foraged ingredients; snacks include house-cured salt & vinegar potato chips and herb-roasted olives. Closed Mon. 1350 Concourse Avenue #280.

507-8030. D, X, $ BABALU TACOS & TAPAS—This eatery dishes up Spanish-style tapas with Southern flair; also taco and enchilada of the day; specials change daily. 2115 Madison. 274-0100; 6450 Poplar, 4108909. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$ BACK DO / MI YARD—A revamped patio space behind The Beauty Shop features rotisserie meats and fishes via Brazilian-style outdoor grill. Dinner Wed.-Sat., weather permitting. 966 S. Cooper, 272-7111. D, X, $$ BAIN BARBECUE & BAKERY—Brian Bain’s popular Texas-style barbecue is back, alongside an assortment of baked goods. Barbecue menu coming this summer. 993 S. Cooper. 310-4141. B, L, $-$$ BAR DKDC—Features an ever-changing menu of international “street food,” from Thai to Mexican, Israeli to Indian, along with specialty cocktails. 964 S. Cooper. 272-0830. D, X, MRA, $ BAR KEOUGH—It’s old-school eats and cocktails at the new Cooper-Young neighborhood corner bar by Kevin Keough. 247 Cooper St. D, X, $

BAR-B-Q SHOP—Dishes up barbecued ribs, spaghetti, bologna; also pulled pork shoulder, Texas toast barbecue sandwich, chicken sandwich, and salads. Closed Sun. 1782 Madison. 272-1277. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ BARI RISTORANTE ENOTECA—Authentic Southeastern Italian cuisine (Puglia) emphasizes lighter entrees. Serves fresh fish and beef dishes and a homemade soup of the day. 524 S. Cooper.

722-2244. D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ BARKSDALE RESTAURANT—Old-school diner serving breakfast and Southern plate lunches. 237 S. Cooper. 722-2193. B, L, D, X, $ BAYOU BAR & GRILL—New Orleans fare at this Overton Square eatery includes jambalaya, gumbo, catfish Acadian, shrimp dishes, red beans and rice, and muffalettas. 2094 Madison. 278-8626. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$ BEAUTY SHOP—Modern American cuisine with international flair served in a former beauty shop. Serves steaks, salads, pasta, and seafood, including pecancrusted golden sea bass. Perennial “Best Brunch” winner. Closed for dinner Sunday. 966 S. Cooper. 272-7111. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ BELLY ACRES—At this festive Overton Square eatery, milkshakes, floats, and burgers rule. Burgers are updated with contemporary toppings like grilled leeks, braised tomatoes, and sourdough or brioche buns. 2102 Trimble Pl. 529-7017. L, D, X, $ BOSCOS—Tennessee’s first craft brewery serves a variety of freshly brewed beers as well as wood-fired oven pizzas, pasta, seafood, steaks, and sandwiches. 2120 Madison. 432-2222. L, D, SB (with live jazz), X, MRA, $-$$ BOUNTY ON BROAD—Offering family-style dining, Bounty serves small plates and family-sized platters, with such specialties as chicken-fried quail and braised pork shank. 2519 Broad. 410-8131. L (Sat. and Sun.), D (Mon.-Sat.), SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ BROADWAY PIZZA—Serving a variety of pizzas, including the Broadway Special, as well as sandwiches, salads, wings, and soul-food specials. 2581 Broad. 454-7930; 627 S. Mendenhall.

207-1546. L, D, X, $-$$ CAFE 1912—French/American bistro owned by culinary pioneer Glenn Hays serving such seafood entrees as seared sea scallops with charred cauliflower purée and chorizo cumin sauce; also crepes, salads, and onion soup gratinée.

243 S. Cooper. 722-2700. D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ CAFE BROOKS BY CITY & STATE—Serving grab-and-go pastries, as well as lunch items. Menu includes soups, salads, and sandwiches, such as the Modern Reuben and Grown-Up Grilled Cheese. 1934 Poplar (Memphis Brooks Museum of Art). 544-6200.

B, L, X, $ CAFE ECLECTIC—Omelets and chicken and waffles are among menu items, along with quesadillas, sandwiches, wraps, and burgers. Menu varies by location. 603 N. McLean. 725-1718; 111 Harbor Town Square. 590-4645. B, L, D, SB, X, MRA, $ CAFE OLÉ—This eatery specializes in authentic Mexican cuisine; one specialty is the build-your-own quesadilla. 959 S. Cooper.

343-0103. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$ CAFE PALLADIO—Serves gourmet salads, soups, sandwiches, and desserts in a tea room inside the antiques shop. Closed Sun. 2169 Central. 278-0129. L, X, $ CAFE SOCIETY—With Belgian and classic French influences, serves Wagyu beef, chicken, and seafood dishes, including bacon-wrapped shrimp, along with daily specials and vegetarian entrees. Closed for lunch Sat.-Sun. 212 N. Evergreen. 722-2177. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ CELTIC CROSSING—Specializes in Irish and American pub fare.

Entrees include shepherd’s pie, shrimp and sausage coddle, and fish and chips. 903 S. Cooper. 274-5151. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$ CENTRAL BBQ—Serves ribs, smoked hot wings, pulled pork sandwiches, chicken, turkey, nachos, and portobello sandwiches. Offers both pork and beef barbecue. 2249 Central Ave. 272-9377; 4375 Summer Ave. 767-4672; 147 E. Butler. 672-7760 ; 6201 Poplar. 417-7962. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ COMPLICATED PILGRIM—Quick serve coffee shop, bar, and restaurant all in one at The Memphian hotel. 21 S. Cooper St. 601-909-5820. B, L, D, $-$$ THE COVE—Nautical-themed restaurant and bar serving oysters, pizzas, and more. The Stoner Pie, with tamales and fritos, is a popular dish. 2559 Broad. 730-0719. L, D, $ THE CRAZY NOODLE—Korean noodle dishes range from bibam beef noodle with cabbage, carrots, and other vegetables, to curry chicken noodle; also rice cakes served in a flavorful sauce. Closed for lunch Sat.-Sun. 2015 Madison.

272-0928. L, D, X, $

ECCO—Mediterranean-inspired specialties range from rib-eye steak to seared scallops to housemade pastas and a grilled vegetable plate; also a Saturday brunch. Closed Sun.-Mon. 1585 Overton Park. 410-8200. B, L, D, X, $-$$ FABIOLA’S KITCHEN—Longtime caterer Fabiola Francis serves up burgers, tacos, fish, and much more. 1353 Jackson Ave. B, L, $ FARM BURGER—Serves grass-fed, freshly ground, locally sourced burgers; also available with chicken, pork, or veggie quinoa patties, with such toppings as aged white cheddar, kale coleslaw, and roasted beets. 1350 Concourse Avenue, Suite 175.

800-1851. L, D, X, $ THE FARMER AT RAILGARTEN—Mac Edwards comes out of retirement with classics including pan-seared catfish, gulf shrimp and grits, or a Gibson donut bread pudding. Closed Mon./Tue. 2166 Central. 313-0087. D, $-$$ FINO’S ITALIAN DELI & CATERING—The newly revived Fino’s offers the old favorites such as the Acquisto as well as a new breakfast menu. 1853 Madison. 272-FINO. B, L, D, X, $ FLAME RAMEN—Traditional Japanese ramen restaurant serving up bowls of noodles in Midtown. 1838 Union Ave. 779-8666. D, $-$$ FRIDA’S—Mexican cuisine and Tex-Mex standards, including chimichangas, enchiladas, and fajitas; seafood includes shrimp and tilapia. 1718 Madison. 244-6196. L, D, X, $-$$ GLOBAL CAFÉ—This international food hall hosts three immigrant/refugee food entrepreneurs serving Venezuelan, Sudanese, and Syrian cuisines. Samosas, shawarma, and kabobs are among the menu items. Closed Mon. 1350 Concourse Avenue, Suite 157. L, D, X, MRA, $ GOLDEN INDIA—Northern Indian specialties include tandoori chicken as well as lamb, beef, shrimp, and vegetarian dishes. 2097 Madison. 728-5111. L, D, X, $-$$ GROWLERS—Sports bar and eatery serves standard bar fare in addition to pasta, tacos, chicken and waffles, and light options.

1911 Poplar. 244-7904. L, D, X, $-$$ HATTIE B’S—Fried chicken spot features “hot chicken” with a variety of heat levels; from no heat to “shut the cluck up” sauce.

Sides include greens, pimento mac-and-cheese, and black-eyed pea salad. 596 S. Cooper. 424-5900. L, D, X, $ HUEY’S—This family-friendly restaurant offers 13 different burgers, a variety of sandwiches, and delicious soups and salads. 1927 Madison. 726-4372; 1771 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 754-3885; 77 S. Second (Downtown). 527-2700; 2130 W. Poplar (Collierville). 854-4455; 7090 Malco Blvd.

(Southaven). 662-349-7097; 7825 Winchester. 624-8911; 4872 Poplar. 682-7729; 7677 Farmington Blvd. (Germantown). 318-3030; 8570 Highway 51 N. (Millington). 873-5025. L, D, X, MRA, $ IMAGINE VEGAN CAFE—Dishes at this fully vegan restaurant range from salads and sandwiches to full dinners, including eggplant parmesan and “beef” tips and rice; breakfast all day Sat. and Sun. 2158 Young. 654-3455. L, D, WB, X, $ INDIA PALACE—Tandoori chicken, lamb shish kabobs, and chicken tikka masala are among the entrees; also, vegetarian options and a daily all-you-can-eat lunch buffet. 1720 Poplar.

278-1199. L, D, X, $-$$ INSPIRE COMMUNITY CAFE—Serving breakfast all day, in addition to quesadillas, rice bowls, and more for lunch and dinner.

510 Tillman, Suite 110. 509-8640. B, L, D, X, $ LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM—Serves such Southern cuisine as po’boys, shrimp and grits, and wood-fired pizzas. 2119 Madison.

207-5097. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$ LBOE—Gourmet burger joint serves locally sourced ground beef burgers, with options like the Mac-N-Cheese Burger and Caprese.

Black bean and turkey patties available. 2021 Madison. 725-0770.

L, D, X, $ THE LIQUOR STORE—Renovated liquor store turned diner serves all-day breakfast, sandwiches, and entrees such as Salisbury steak and smothered pork chops. Closed for dinner Sun.-Mon. 2655 Broad. 405-5477. B, L, D, X, $-$$ LITTLE ITALY—Serving New York-style pizza as well as subs and pasta dishes. 1495 Union. 725-0280; L, D, X, $-$$ MAXIMO’S ON BROAD—Serving a tapas menu that features creative fusion cuisine; entrees include veggie paella and fish of the day. Closed Mon. 2617 Broad Ave. 452-1111. D, SB, X, $-$$ MEMPHIS PIZZA CAFE—Homemade pizzas are specialties; also serves sandwiches, calzones, and salads. 2087 Madison. 726-5343; 5061 Park Ave. 684-1306; 7604 W. Farmington (Germantown).

753-2218; 797 W. Poplar (Collierville). 861-7800; 5627 Getwell (Southaven). 662-536-1364. L, D, X, $-$$

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MIDPOINTE FROM EDGE ALLEY—Edge Alley’s sister cafe at the Ballet Memphis headquarters focuses on freshness for its breakfast, lunch, and happy hour tapas. Closed Sun.-Mon. 2144 Madison Ave. 425-2605. B, L, X, $ MOLLY’S LA CASITA—Homemade tamales, fish tacos, a vegetarian combo, and bacon-wrapped shrimp are a few of the specialties. 2006 Madison. 726-1873. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ PANTÀ—Small, Catalan-inspired plates by Kelly English in the former Restaurant Iris space. 2146 Monroe Ave. Closed Mon.-Wed. 590-2828. L, D, $-$$.

PARISH GROCERY—Shrimp? Roast beef? Oysters?

Whatever type of po’boy you want, the New Orleansthemed eatery has got it. Closed Monday. 916 S. Cooper St. 207-4347. L, D, X, $-$$ PAYNE’S BAR-B-QUE—Opened in 1972, this family-owned barbecue joint serves ribs, smoked sausage, and chopped pork sandwiches with a standout mustard slaw and homemade sauce. About as down-to-earth as it gets.

1762 Lamar. 272-1523. L, D, $-$$ PIZZERIA TRASIMENO—Small pizzas baked in wood-fired clay ovens along with a selection of small salads. Menu is soon to include desserts, local beer on tap, and Umbrian wine. 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 181. 308-1113. L, D. $ PHO BINH—Vietnamese, vegetarian, and Cantonese specialties include lemon tofu and spring rolls. Closed Sunday. 1615 Madison.

276-0006. L, D, $ RED FISH ASIAN BISTRO—In the former Nineteenth Century Club building, serves sushi, teriyaki, and hibachi. Specialties include yuzu filet mignon and Chilean sea bass. 1433 Union. 4543926; 9915 Highway 64 (Lakeland). 729-7581; 6518 Goodman (Olive Branch). 662-874-5254. L, D, X, $-$$$ ROBATA RAMEN & YAKITORI BAR—Serves ramen noodle bowls and Yakitori skewers as well as rice and noodle dishes. 2116 Madison. 410-8290. L, D, X, $ SABROSURA—Serves Mexican and Cuban fare, including arroz tapada de pollo and steak Mexican. Closed Sun. 782 Washington.

421-8180. L, D, X, $-$$ SALT|SOY—Nick Scott and Brac McCarley team up to provide Southern and Asian-inspired dishes at this Japanese Izakaya. Closed Sunday, Monday. 2583 Broad Ave. 726-4444. D, $$

SALTWATER CRAB—Offers an array of seafood dishes including boils with blue crab, crab legs, lobster tails, and more, and specialty sushi like the Dynamite or Royal King rolls, in addition to signature sangrias and cocktails. 2059 Madison Ave. 922-5202. L, D, X, $$ THE SECOND LINE—Kelly English brings “relaxed Creole cuisine” to his newest eatery; serves a variety of po’boys and such specialties as barbecue shrimp, andouille shrimp, and pimento cheese fries. 2144 Monroe. 590-2829. L, D, WB, X, $-$$ SEKISUI—Japanese fusion cuisine, fresh sushi bar, grilled meats and seafood, California rolls, and vegetarian entrees. Poplar/Perkins location’s emphasis is on Pacific Rim cuisine. Menu and hours vary at each location. 25 Belvedere. 725-0005; 1884 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova).

309-8800; 4724 Poplar. 767-7770; 2130 W. Poplar (Collierville).

854-0622; 2990 Kirby-Whitten (Bartlett). 377-2727; 6696 Poplar.

747-0001. L, D, X, $-$$$ STICKEM—Brick and mortar location for the popular food truck, which offers grilled meat on a stick. 1788 Madison. Closed Sunday. 474-7214. L, D, X, $ SOUL FISH CAFE—Serving Southern-style soul food, tacos, and po’boys, including catfish, crawfish, oyster, shrimp, chicken, and smoked pork tenderloin. 862 S. Cooper. 725-0722; 3160 Village Shops Dr. (Germantown). 755-6988; 4720 Poplar. 590-0323. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ SWEET GRASS—Chef Ryan Trimm takes Southern cuisine to a new level. Low-country coastal cuisine includes such specialties as shrimp and grits. Closed Mon. 937 S. Cooper. 278-0278. D, SB, X, $-$$$ TAMBOLI’S PASTA & PIZZA—Pasta-maker Miles Tamboli whips up Italian soul food with seasonal menus featuring dishes like crispy fried chicken or creamy bucatini with pecorino cheese.

Serves dinner Tues.-Sat. Pizza only menu after 9pm. 1761 Madison.

410-8866. D, X, $-$$ TAKASHI BISTRO—Fusion restaurant with an open kitchen that lets customers watch chefs prepare a variety of Japanese and Thai cuisine. 1680 Union Ave., Suite 109. 800-2936. L, D, $-$$.

TONICA—Paella and other Spanish-inspired dishes with an Italian touch, alongside an extensive list of gin and tonics. 1545 Overton Park. Closed Mon.-Wed. D, $-$$ TSUNAMI—Features Pacific Rim cuisine (Asia, Australia, South Pacific, etc.); also a changing “small plate” menu.

Chef Ben Smith is a Cooper-Young pioneer. Specialties include Asian nachos and roasted sea bass. Closed Sunday. 928 S. Cooper. 274-2556. D, X, MRA, $$-$$$ ZINNIE’S—Dive bar classic reopens with a makeover and signature Zinnaloni sandwich. 1688 Madison. 726-5004. L, D, X, $

SOUTH MEMPHIS (INCLUDES PARKWAY VILLAGE, FOX

MEADOWS, SOUTH MEMPHIS, WINCHESTER, AND WHITEHAVEN) BALA’S BISTRO—Authentic West African cuisine available to order or by the pound, alongside traditional American dishes and an extensive vegan menu. 4571 Elvis Presley Blvd. 509-3024. L, D, $-$$ COLETTA’S—Longtime eatery serves such specialties as homemade ravioli, lasagna, and pizza with barbecue or traditional toppings. 1063 S. Parkway E. 948-7652; 2850 Appling Rd. (Bartlett).

383-1122. L, D, X, $-$$ CURRY BOWL—Specializes in Southern Indian cuisine, serving Tandoori chicken, biryani, tikka masala, and more. Weekend buffet. 4141 Hacks Cross Rd. 207-6051. L, D, $ DELTA’S KITCHEN—The premier restaurant at The Guest House at Graceland serves Elvis-inspired dishes — like Nutella and Peanut Butter Crepes for breakfast — and upscale Southern cuisine — including lamb chops and shrimp and grits — for dinner. 3600 Elvis Presley Blvd. 443-3000. B, D, X, $-$$$ DWJ KOREAN BARBECUE—This authentic Korean eatery serves kimbap, barbecued beef short ribs, rice and noodles dishes, and hot pots and stews. 3750 Hacks Cross Rd., Suite 101. 746-8057; 2156 Young. 207-6204. L, D, $-$$ FABULOUS FLAVORS & FRIENDS—”The Candy Lady” Precious Thompson Jones comes up with a little bit of everything: omelettes, quesadillas, t-bones and waffles, and plenty of soul food. 2063 E. Brooks Rd. 314-0735. L, D, $ THE FOUR WAY—Legendary soul-food establishment dishing up such entrees as fried and baked catfish, chicken, and turkey and dressing, along with a host of vegetables and desserts. Around the corner from the legendary Stax Studio. Closed Mon. 998 Mississippi Blvd. 507-1519. L, D, $ HERNANDO’S HIDEAWAY–No one cares how late it gets; not at Hernando’s Hideaway. Live music, killer happy hour, and plenty of bar fare at this South Memphis hang. 3210 Old Hernando Rd. 917-982-1829.

L, D, $ INTERSTATE BAR-B-Q—Specialties include chopped pork-shoulder sandwiches, ribs, hot wings, spaghetti, chicken, and turkey. 2265 S. Third. 775-2304; 150 W. Stateline Rd. (Southaven). 662-393-5699. L, D, X, $-$$ JIM & SAMELLA’S—It’s a revolving menu of soul food delight from Chef Talbert Fleming, with anything from Southern ribs to fried tamales. 841 Bullington Ave. 265-8761. L, D, X, $ LEONARD’S—Serves wet and dry ribs, barbecue sandwiches, spaghetti, catfish, homemade onion rings, and lemon icebox pie; also a lunch buffet. 5465 Fox Plaza. 360-1963. L, X, $-$$ MARLOWE’S—In addition to its signature barbecue and ribs, Marlowe’s serves Southern-style steaks, chops, lasagna, and more. 4381 Elvis Presley Blvd. 332-4159. D, X, MRA, $-$$ UNCLE LOU’S FRIED CHICKEN—Featured on Diners, DriveIns and Dives for good reason: fried chicken (mild, hot, or homestyle); jumbo burgers four patties high; strawberry shortcake, and assorted fruit pies. 3633 Millbranch. 332-2367. L, D, X, MRA, $

SUMMER/BERCLAIR/ RALEIGH/BARTLETT

ASIAN PALACE—Chinese eatery serves seafood, vegetarian items, dim sum, and more. 5266 Summer Ave. 766-0831. L, D, X, $-$$ BISCUITS & JAMS—Biscuits, waffles, French toast, and plenty of sharables at this Bartlett breakfast spot.

Closed Mon./Tue. 5806 Stage Rd. 672-7905. B, L, $ ELWOOD’S SHACK—Casual comfort food includes tacos, pizza, and sandwiches. Specialties include meats smoked in-house (chicken, turkey, brisket, pork), barbecue pizza, and steelhead trout tacos. 4523 Summer. 761-9898.

B, L, D, X, $ EXLINES’ BEST PIZZA—Serves pizza, Italian dinners, sandwiches, and salads. 6250 Stage Rd. 382-3433; 2935 Austin Peay. 388-4711; 2801 Kirby Parkway. 754-0202; 7730 Wolf River

The Memphis Dining Guide Blvd. (Germantown). 753-4545; 531 W. Stateline Rd. 662-342-4544 (check online for additional locations). L, D, X, MRA, $ LA TAQUERIA GUADALUPANA—Fajitas and quesadillas are just a few of the authentic Mexican entrees offered here. A bona-fide Memphis institution. 4818 Summer. 685-6857; 5848 Winchester. 365-4992. L, D, $ LOTUS—Authentic Vietnamese-Asian fare, including lemon-grass chicken and shrimp, egg rolls, Pho soup, and spicy Vietnamese vermicelli. 4970 Summer.

682-1151. D, X, $ MORTIMER’S—Contemporary American entrees include trout almondine, chicken dishes, and hand-cut steaks; also sandwiches, salads, and daily/nightly specials. A Memphis landmark since the Knickerbocker closed. Closed for lunch Sat.-Sun. 590 N. Perkins. 761-9321. L, D, X, $-$$ NAGASAKI INN—Chicken, steak, and lobster are among the main courses; meal is cooked at your table. 3951 Summer. 4540320. D, X, $$ NAM KING—General Tso’s chicken, hot and sour soup, and homemade chicken wings are back at the longtime Raleigh Chinese eatery. 3624 Austin Peay Highway, #3. 373-4411. L, D, $-$$ PANDA GARDEN—Sesame chicken and broccoli beef are among the Mandarin and Cantonese entrees; also seafood specials and fried rice. Closed for lunch Saturday. 3735 Summer. 323-4819. L, D, X, $-$$ QUEEN OF SHEBA—Featuring Middle Eastern favorites and Yemeni dishes such as lamb haneeth and saltah. 4792 Summer.

207-4174. L, D, $ SIDE PORCH STEAK HOUSE—In addition to steak, the menu includes chicken, pork chops, and fish entrees; homemade rolls are a specialty. Temporarily closed. Closed Sun.-Mon. 5689 Stage Rd. 377-2484. D, X, $-$$ TORTILLERIA LA UNICA—Individual helping of Mexican street food, including hefty tamales, burritos, tortas, and sopes. 5015 Summer Ave. 685-0097. B, L, D, X, $

UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORHOOD DISTRICT (INCLUDES CHICKASAW

GARDENS AND HIGHLAND STRIP) A-TAN—Serves Chinese and Japanese hibachi cuisine, complete with sushi bar. A specialty is Four Treasures with garlic sauce. 3445 Poplar, Suite 17, University Center. 452-4477. L, D, X, $-$$$ THE BLUFF—New Orleans-inspired menu includes alligator bites, nachos topped with crawfish and andouille, gumbo, po’boys, and fried seafood platters. 535 S. Highland. 454-7771. L, D, X, $-$$ BROTHER JUNIPER’S—This little cottage is a breakfast mecca, offering specialty omelets, including the open-faced San Diegan omelet; also daily specials, and homemade breads and pastries. Closed Mon. 3519 Walker. 3240144. B, X, $ CHAR RESTAURANT—Specializing in modern Southern cuisine, this eatery offers homestyle sides, charbroiled steaks, and fresh seafood. 431 S. Highland, Suite 120. 249-3533. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$$ DERAE RESTAURANT—Ethiopian and Mediterranean fare includes fuul, or fava beans in spices and yogurt, goat meat and rice, and garlic chicken over basmati rice with cilantro chutney; also salmon and tilapia. Closed Monday. 923 S. Highland. 552-3992. B, L, D, $-$$ EL PORTON—Fajitas, quesadillas, and steak ranchero are just a few of the menu items. 2095 Merchants Row (Germantown).

754-4268; 8361 Highway 64. 380-7877; 3448 Poplar (Poplar Plaza).

452-7330; 1805 N. Germantown Parkway (Cordova). 624-9358; 1016 W. Poplar (Collierville). 854-5770. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ MEDALLION—Offers steaks, seafood, chicken, and pasta entrees.

Closed for dinner Sunday. 3700 Central, Holiday Inn (Kemmons Wilson School of Hospitality). 678-1030. B, L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ OPEN FLAME—This authentic Persian and Mediterranean eatery specializes in shish kebabs as well as kosher and halal fare. 3445 Poplar. 207-4995. L, D, X, $ PLANT BASED HEAT—All of your favorite Southernstyle recipes, but deliciously transformed into a vegan format. Specialties include the spicy fye junt burger, or the chopped ‘n’ smoked bbq jackfruit sandwich. Closed Sun. 669 S. Highland St. L, D, $ SAM’S DELI—Everything from sandwiches to bibimbap bowls at this local favorite. Closed Mon./Tue. 643 S. Highland St. 454-5582.

L, D, $

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The Memphis Dining Guide EAST MEMPHIS (INCLUDES POPLAR/ I-240)

ACRE—Features seasonal modern American cuisine in an avante-garde setting using locally sourced products; also small plates and enclosed garden patio. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun. 690 S. Perkins. 818-2273. L, D, X, $$-$$$ ANDALUSIA— Authentic Moroccan cuisine, including tagines, brochettes, and briouates. 5101 Sanderlin Ave., Suite 103. 236-7784.

L, D, $-$$ AGAVOS COCINA & TEQUILA—Camaron de Tequila, tamales, kabobs, and burgers made with a blend of beef and chorizo are among the offerings at this tequila-centric restaurant and bar.

2924 Walnut Grove. 433-9345. L, D, X, $-$$ AMERIGO—Traditional and contemporary Italian cuisine includes pasta, wood-fired pizza, steaks, and cedarwood-roasted fish. 1239 Ridgeway, Park Place Mall. 761-4000. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ ANDREW MICHAEL ITALIAN KITCHEN— Traditional Italian cuisine with a menu from two of the city’s top chefs that changes seasonally with such entrees as Maw Maw’s ravioli. Closed Sun.-Mon. 712 W. Brookhaven Circle.

347-3569. D, X, MRA, $$-$$$ ANOTHER BROKEN EGG CAFE—Offering several varieties of eggs Benedict, waffles, omelets, pancakes, beignets, and other breakfast fare; also burgers, sandwiches, and salads. 6063 Park Ave. 729-7020; 65 S. Highland. 623-7122. B, L, WB, X, $ BANGKOK ALLEY—Thai fusion cuisine includes noodle and curry dishes, chef-specialty sushi rolls, coconut soup, and duck and seafood entrees. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun. at Brookhaven location; call for hours. 715 W. Brookhaven Circle.

590-2585; 2150 W. Poplar at Houston Levee (Collierville). 854-8748.

L, D, X, $-$$ BENIHANA—This Japanese steakhouse serves beef, chicken, and seafood grilled at the table; some menu items change monthly; sushi bar also featured. 912 Ridge Lake Blvd. 767-8980. L, D, X, $$-$$$ BIG BAD BREAKFAST—Fresh biscuits, house-made cured meats, jams, jellies, and more for the most important meal of the day. 6450 Poplar. More details coming soon.

BROOKLYN BRIDGE ITALIAN RESTAURANT—Specializing in such homemade entrees as spinach lasagna and lobster ravioli; a seafood specialty is horseradish-crusted salmon. Closed Sun. 1779 Kirby Pkwy. 755-7413. D, X, $-$$$ BRYANT’S BREAKFAST—Three-egg omelets, pancakes, and The Sampler Platter are among the popular entrees here. Possibly the best biscuits in town. Closed Mon. and Tues. 3965 Summer.

324-7494. B, L, X, $ BUCKLEY’S FINE FILET GRILL—Specializes in steaks, seafood, and pasta. (Lunchbox serves entree salads, burgers, and more.) 5355 Poplar. 683-4538; 919 S. Yates (Buckley’s Lunchbox), 682-0570. L (Yates only, M-F), D, X, $-$$ CAPITAL GRILLE—Known for its dry-aged, hand-carved steaks; among the specialties are bone-in sirloin, and porcini-rubbed Delmonico; also seafood entrees and seasonal lunch plates. Closed for lunch Sat.-Sun. Crescent Center, 6065 Poplar. 683-9291. L, D, X, $$$-$$$$ CASABLANCA—Lamb shawarma is one of the fresh, homemade specialties served at this Mediterranean/Moroccan restaurant; fish entrees and vegetarian options also available. 5030 Poplar. 7258557 ; 7609 Poplar Pike (Germantown). 425-5908; 1707 Madison.

421-6949. L, D, X, $-$$ CIAO BELLA—Among the Italian and Greek specialties are lasagna, seafood pasta, gourmet pizzas, and vegetarian options.

Closed for lunch Sat.-Sun. 565 Erin Dr., Erin Way Shopping Center.

205-2500. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$$ CITY SILO TABLE + PANTRY—With a focus on clean eating, this establishment offers fresh juices, as well as comfort foods re-imagined with wholesome ingredients. 5101 Sanderlin. 7297687. Germantown: 7605 W. Farmington Blvd., Suite 2. 236-7223.

B, L, D, X, $ COASTAL FISH COMPANY—Upscale offerings of international fish varieties utilizing styles ranging from Carribbean, East Coast, West Coast, Chinese, to Filipino, and more. 415 Great View Dr. E., Suite 101. 266-9000. D, X, $$-$$$ CORKY’S—Popular barbecue emporium offers both wet and dry ribs, plus a full menu of other barbecue entrees. Wed. lunch buffets, Cordova and Collierville. 5259 Poplar. 685-9744; 1740 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 737-1911; 743 W. Poplar (Collierville).

405-4999; 6434 Goodman Rd., Olive Branch. 662-893-3663. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$

DAN MCGUINNESS PUB—Serves fish and chips, shepherd’s pie, burgers, and other Irish and American fare; also lunch and dinner specials. 4694 Spottswood. 761-3711; 3964 Goodman Rd. 662-890-7611. L, D, X, $ DORY—Chef David Krog whips up Southern specialties with classic French techniques and locally sourced ingredients. Current specialties include pork tenderloin, beef bourguignon, or cocoa-dusted chocolate truffles, with new weekly additions. 716 W. Brookhaven Circle. 310-4290.

L, D, X, $$-$$$ ERLING JENSEN—For decades, has presented “globally inspired” cuisine to die for. Specialties are rack of lamb, big game entrees, and fresh fish dishes. 1044 S. Yates. 763-3700. D, X, MRA, $$-$$$ ERLING JENSEN SMALL BITES—Enjoy Erling Jensen’s specialty dishes in a sharable, small plate format alongside TopGolf Swing suites. 5069 Sanderlin Ave. 587-9464. L, D, X, $-$$$ FLEMING’S PRIME STEAKHOUSE—Serves wet-aged and dry-aged steaks, prime beef, chops, and seafood, including salmon, Australian lobster tails, and a catch of the day. 6245 Poplar. 761-6200. D, X, MRA, $$$-$$$$ FOLK’S FOLLY ORIGINAL PRIME STEAK HOUSE—Specializes in prime steaks, as well as lobster, grilled Scottish salmon, Alaskan king crab legs, rack of lamb, and weekly specials. 551 S. Mendenhall. 762-8200. D, X, MRA, $$$-$$$$ FORMOSA—Offers Mandarin cuisine, including broccoli beef, hot-and-sour soup, and spring rolls. Closed Mon. 6685 Quince.

753-9898. L, D, X, $-$$ FOX RIDGE PIZZA & GRILL—Pizzas, calzones, sub sandwiches, burgers, and meat-and-two plate lunches are among the dishes served at this eatery, which opened in 1979. 711 W. Brookhaven Circle. 758-6500. L, D, X, $ FRATELLI’S—Serves hot and cold sandwiches, salads, soups, and desserts, all with an Italian/Mediterranean flair. Closed Sun. 750 Cherry Rd., Memphis Botanic Garden. 766-9900. L, X, $ FRANK GRISANTI’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT—Northern Italian favorites include pasta with jumbo shrimp and mushrooms; also seafood, filet mignon, and daily lunch specials. Closed for lunch Sun. Embassy Suites Hotel, 1022 S. Shady Grove. 761-9462. L, D, X, $-$$$ HALF SHELL—Specializes in seafood, such as king crab legs; also serves steaks, chicken, pastas, salads, sandwiches, a ”voodoo menu”; oyster bar at Winchester location. 688 S. Mendenhall.

682-3966; 7825 Winchester. 737-6755. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$$ HEN HOUSE—Hybrid wine/cocktail bar and tasting room with plenty of cosmopolitan eats. Closed Sun. 679 S. Mendenhall. 499-5436. D, $-$$$ HIGH POINT PIZZA—Serves a variety of pizzas, subs, salads, and sides. Closed Mon. A neighborhood fixture. 477 High Point Terrace. 452-3339. L, D, X, $-$$ HOG & HOMINY—The casual sister to Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen serves brick-oven-baked pizzas, including the Red-Eye with pork belly, and small plates with everything from meatballs to beef and cheddar hot dogs; and local veggies. And with a few surprises this time around. Closed for lunch Mon. 707 W. Brookhaven Cir. 207-7396. L, D, SB, X, MRA. $-$$$ HOUSTON’S—Serves steaks, seafood, pork chops, chicken dishes, sandwiches, salads, and Chicago-style spinach dip. Famous for first-class service. 5000 Poplar. 683-0915. L, D, X $-$$$ LA BAGUETTE—An almond croissant and chicken salad are among specialties at this French-style bistro. Closed for dinner Sun. 3088 Poplar. 458-0900. B, L, D (closes at 7), X, MRA, $ LAS DELICIAS—Popular for its guacamole, house-made tortilla chips, and margaritas, this restaurant draws diners with its chicken enchiladas, meat-stuffed flautas, and Cuban torta with spicy pork.

Closed Sun. 4002 Park Ave. 458-9264; 5689 Quince. 800-2873. L, D, X, $ LIBRO AT LAURELWOOD—Bookstore eatery features a variety of sandwiches, salads, and homemade pasta dishes, with Italianinspired options such as carbonara and potato gnocchi. Closed for dinner Sun. 387 Perkins Ext. (Novel). 800-2656. B, L, D, SB, X, $-$$ LOST PIZZA—Offering pizzas (with dough made from scratch), pasta, salads, sandwiches, tamales, and more. 2855 Poplar. 5721803; 5960 Getwell (Southaven). 662-892-8684. L, D, X, $-$$ LYNCHBURG LEGENDS—This restaurant with a Jack Daniels’ theme and Southern cuisine serves such entrees as Bourbon Street salmon, buttermilk-fried chicken, and grilled steak and wild mushroom salad. DoubleTree Hotel, 5069 Sanderlin. 969-7777. B, L, D, X, $-$$$

MAGNOLIA & MAY—The family behind Grove Grill cooks up Southern-inspired casual dining at this country brasserie, with popular menu items like peach gazpacho, low country shrimp n’ grits, and plenty of weekend brunch options. Closed Mon. 718 Mt. Moriah Rd. 676-8100. D, SB, MRA. $$-$$$.

MAHOGANY MEMPHIS—Upscale Southern restaurant offers such dishes as coffee-rubbed lamb chops and baked Cajun Cornish hen. Closed for dinner Sun. and all day Mon.-Tues. 3092 Poplar, Suite 11. 623-7977. L, D, SB, X, $-$$$ MARCIANO MEDITERRANEAN AND ITALIAN CUISINE— Veal Saltimbocca with angel-hair pasta and white wine sauce is among the entrees; also steaks, seafood, and gourmet pizza. 780 E. Brookhaven Cir. 682-1660. D, X, $-$$ MAYURI INDIAN CUISINE—Serves tandoori chicken, masala dosa, tikka masala, as well as lamb and shrimp entrees; also a daily lunch buffet, and dinner buffet on Fri.-Sat. 6524 Quince Rd. 753-8755. L, D, X, $-$$ MELLOW MUSHROOM—Large menu includes assortment of pizzas, salads, calzones, hoagies, vegetarian options, and 50 beers on tap. 5138 Park Ave. 562-1211; 9155 Poplar, Shops of Forest Hill (Germantown). 907-0243. L, D, X, $-$$ MOSA ASIAN BISTRO—Specialties include sesame chicken, Thai calamari, rainbow panang curry with grouper fish, and other Pan Asian/fusion entrees. Closed Mon. 850 S. White Station Rd. 683-8889. L, D, X, MRA, $ NAM KING—Offers luncheon and dinner buffets, dim sum, and such specialties as fried dumplings, pepper steak, and orange chicken. 4594 Yale. 373-4411. L, D, X, $ NAPA CAFE—Among the specialties are miso-marinated salmon over black rice with garlic spinach and shiitake mushrooms. Closed Sun. 5101 Sanderlin, Suite 122. 683-0441. L, D, X, MRA, $$-$$$ NEW HUNAN—Chinese eatery with more than 80 entrees; also lunch/dinner buffets. 5052 Park. 766-1622. L, D, X, $ ONE & ONLY BBQ—On the menu are pork barbecue sandwiches, platters, wet and dry ribs, smoked chicken and turkey platters, a smoked meat salad, barbecue quesadillas, Brunswick Stew, and Millie’s homemade desserts. 1779 Kirby Pkwy. 751-3615; 567 Perkins Extd. 249-4227. L, D, X, $ ONO POKÉ—This eatery specializes in poké — a Hawaiian dish of fresh fish salad served over rice. Menu includes a variety of poké bowls, like the Kimchi Tuna bowl, or customers can build their own by choosing a base, protein, veggies, and toppings. 3145 Poplar. 618-2955. L, D, X, $ OWEN BRENNAN’S—New Orleans-style menu of beef, chicken, pasta, and seafood; jambalaya, shrimp and grits, and crawfish etouffee are specialties. Closed for dinner Sun. The Regalia, 6150 Poplar. 761-0990. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ PARK + CHERRY—The Dixon offers casual dining within the museum. Seasonal menu features sandwiches, like rustic chicken salad on croissant, as well as salads, snacks, and sweets. Closed for breakfast Sun. and all day Mon. 4339 Park (Dixon Gallery and Gardens). 761-5250. L, X, $ PATRICK’S—Serves barbecue nachos, burgers, and entrees such as fish and chips; also plate lunches and daily specials. 4972 Park.

682-2852. L, D, X, MRA, $ PETE & SAM’S—Serving Memphis for 60-plus years; offers steaks, seafood, and traditional Italian dishes, including homemade ravioli, lasagna, and chicken marsala. 3886 Park. 458-0694.

D, X, $-$$$ PF CHANG’S CHINA BISTRO—Specialties are orange peel shrimp, Mongolian beef, and chicken in lettuce wraps; also vegetarian dishes, including spicy eggplant. 1181 Ridgeway Rd., Park Place Centre. 818-3889. L, D, X, $-$$ PHO SAIGON—Vietnamese fare includes beef teriyaki, roasted quail, curry ginger chicken, vegetarian options, and a variety of soups. 2946 Poplar. 458-1644. L, D, $ PIMENTO’S KITCHEN + MARKET—Fresh sandwiches, soups, salads, and plenty of pimento cheese at this family-owned restaurant. 6540 Poplar Ave. 602-5488 (Collierville: 3751 S. Houston Levee. 453-6283). L, D, X, $ PYRO’S FIRE-FRESH PIZZA—Serving gourmet pizzas cooked in an open-fire oven, wide choice of toppings, and large local and craft beer selection. 1199 Ridgeway. 379-8294; 2035 Union Ave. 208-8857; 2286 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 207-1198; 3592 S. Houston Levee (Collierville). 221-8109. L, D, X, MRA, $ RED HOOK CAJUN SEAFOOD & BAR—Cajun-style array of seafood including shrimp, mussels, clams, crawfish, and oysters.

3295 Poplar. 207-1960. L, D, X, $-$$

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3/16/22 11:13 AM

The Memphis Dining Guide

RED KOI—Classic Japanese cuisine offered at this family-run restaurant; hibachi steaks, sushi, seafood, chicken, and vegetables. 5847 Poplar. 767-3456. L, D, X $-$$ RED PIER CAJUN SEAFOOD & BAR—Owners of Red Hook bring more cajun-style seafood dishes. 5901 Poplar Ave. 512-5923. L, D, $-$$$ RESTAURANT IRIS—French Creole-inspired classics, such as Gulf shrimp and rice grits congee served with lap chong sausage and boiled peanuts, are served at this newly remodeled restaurant owned by Chef Kelly English, a Food and Wine “Top Ten.” Opening soon at 4550 Poplar. 590-2828. D, X, $$-$$$ RIVER OAKS—Chef Jose Gutierrez’s French-style bistro serves seafood and steaks, with an emphasis on fresh local ingredients. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun. 5871 Poplar Ave. 683-9305. L, D, X, $$$ RONNIE GRISANTI’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT— This Memphis institution serves some family classics such as Elfo’s Special and handmade ravioli, along with house-made pizza and fresh oysters. Closed Sun. 6150 Poplar, Suite 122. 850-0191. D, X, $-$$$ RUTH’S CHRIS STEAK HOUSE—Offers prime steaks cut and aged in-house, as well as lamb, chicken, and fresh seafood, including lobster. 6120 Poplar. 761-0055. D, X, $$$-$$$$ SALSA—Mexican-Southern California specialties include carnitas, enchiladas verde, and fajitas; also Southwestern seafood dishes such as snapper verde. Closed Sun. Regalia Shopping Center, 6150 Poplar, Suite 129. 683-6325. L, D, X, $-$$ SAUCY CHICKEN—Specializes in antibiotic-free chicken dishes with locally sourced ingredients, with such items as hot wings and the Crosstown Chicken Sandwich, and a variety of house-made dipping sauces; also, seafood, salads, and daily specials. Closed Sun. 4715 Poplar. 907-0741. L, D, $ SEASONS 52—This elegant fresh grill and wine bar offers a seasonally changing menu using fresh ingredients, wood-fire grilling, and brick-oven cooking; also a large international wine list and nightly piano bar. Crescent Center, 6085 Poplar. 682-9952. L, D, X, $$-$$$ SOBEAST—Eastern branch of the popular South of Beale, featuring the restaurant’s traditional staples, as well as rotating special menu items. 5040 Sanderlin.

818-0821. L, D, SB, X, $-$$.

SOUTHALL CAFE—Locally sourced ingredients bolster a chef-driven menu offering breakfast and lunch classics. 669 S. Mendenhall. 646-5698. B, L, WB, X, $ STAKS—Offering pancakes, including birthday cake and lemon ricotta. Menu includes other breakfast items such as beignets and French toast, as well as soups and sandwiches for lunch. 4615 Poplar. 509-2367; 7704 Poplar (Germantown). 800-1951. B, L, WB, X, $ SWANKY’S TACO SHOP—Taco-centric eatery offers tortas, flatbreads, quesadillas, chimichangas, burgers, and more. 4770 Poplar. 730-0763; 6641 Poplar (Germantown). 737-2088; 272 S. Main. 779-3499. L, D, X, $ THREE LITTLE PIGS—Pork-shoulder-style barbecue with tangy mild or hot sauce, freshly made coleslaw, and baked beans.

5145 Quince Rd. 685-7094. B, L, D, X, $ TOPS BAR-B-Q—Specializes in pork barbecue sandwiches and sandwich plates with beans and slaw; also serves ribs, beef brisket, and burgers. 1286 Union. 725-7527; 4183 Summer. 324-4325; 5391 Winchester. 794-7936; 3970 Rhodes. 323-9865; 6130 Macon.

371-0580. For more locations, go online. L, D, X, $ TORCHY’S TACOS—Plenty of Tex-Mex variety, with creative monthly special tacos. 719 S. Mendenhall. 3438880. B, L, D, $ VENICE KITCHEN—Specializes in “eclectic Italian” and Southern Creole, from pastas, including the “Godfather,” to hand-tossed pizzas, including the “John Wayne”; choose from 50 toppings. 368 Perkins Ext. 767-6872. L, D, SB, X, $-$$ WANG’S MANDARIN HOUSE—Offers Mandarin, Cantonese, Szechuan, and spicy Hunan entrees, including the golden-sesame chicken; next door is East Tapas, serving small plates with an Asian twist. 6065 Park Ave., Park Place Mall. 763-0676. L, D, X, $-$$ WASABI—Serving traditional Japanese offerings, hibachi, sashimi, and sushi. The Sweet Heart roll, wrapped — in the shape of a heart — with tuna and filled with spicy salmon, yellowtail, and avocado, is a specialty. 5101 Sanderlin Rd., Suite 105. 4216399. L, D, X, $-$$

WOMAN’S EXCHANGE TEA ROOM—Chicken-salad plate, beef tenderloin, soups-and-sandwiches, and vegetable plates are specialties; meal includes drink and dessert. Closed Sat.-Sun. 88 Racine. 327-5681. L, X, $ ZAYDE’S AT THE J—Kosher options at the Memphis Jewish Community Center cafe include traditional New York-style dishes and Israeli fusion. 6560 Poplar Ave. 208-3495. L, D, $-$$

CORDOVA BOMBAY HOUSE—Indian fare includes lamb korma and chicken tikka; also, a daily luncheon buffet. 1727 N. Germantown Pkwy.

755-4114. L, D, X, $-$$ THE BUTCHER SHOP—Serves steaks ranging from 8-oz. filets to a 20-oz. porterhouse; also chicken, pork chops, fresh seafood.

107 S. Germantown Rd. 757-4244. L (Fri. and Sun.), D, X, $$-$$$ GREEN BAMBOO—Pineapple tilapia, pork vermicelli, and the soft egg noodle combo are Vietnamese specialties here. 990 N. Germantown Parkway, Suite 104. 753-5488. L, D, $-$$ JIM ’N NICK’S BAR-B-Q—Serves barbecued pork, ribs, chicken, brisket, and fish, along with other homemade Southern specialties. 2359 N. Germantown Pkwy. 388-0998. L, D, X, $-$$ EL MERO TACO—This food truck turned restaurant serves up Mexican and Southern-style fusion dishes, including fried chicken tacos, chorizo con papas tacos, and brisket quesadillas. 8100 Macon Station, Suite 102. 308-1661.

Closed Sun.-Mon. L, D, WB, X, $ POKÉ WORLD—Serves up Hawaiian poké bowls filled with rice and diced, raw fish. Also offers Taiwanese bubble tea and rolled ice cream for dessert. 1605 N. Germantown Pkwy., Suite 111.

623-7986. East Memphis: 575 Erin Dr. 779-4971. L, D, $ SHOGUN JAPANESE RESTAURANT—Entrees include tempura, teriyaki, and sushi, as well as grilled fish and chicken entrees. 2324 N. Germantown Pkwy. 384-4122. L, D, X, $-$$ TANNOOR GRILL—Brazilian-style steakhouse with skewers served tableside, along with Middle Eastern specialties; vegetarian options also available. 830 N. Germantown Pkwy. 443-5222. L, D, X, $-$$$

GERMANTOWN

BLUE HONEY BISTRO—Entrees at this upscale eatery include brown butter scallops served with Mississippi blue rice and herb-crusted beef tenderloin with vegetables and truffle butter. Closed Sun. 9155 Poplar, Suite 17. 552-3041.

D, X, $-$$$ FOREST HILL GRILL—A variety of standard pub fare and a selection of mac-and-cheese dishes are featured on the menu.

Specialties include Chicken Newport and a barbecue salmon BLT. 9102 Poplar Pike. 624-6001. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$ GERMANTOWN COMMISSARY—Serves barbecue sandwiches, sliders, ribs, shrimp, and nachos, as well as smoked barbecued bologna sandwiches; Mon.-night all-you-can-eat ribs. 2290 S. Germantown Rd. S. 754-5540. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ LAS TORTUGAS DELI MEXICANA—Authentic Mexican food prepared from local food sources; specializes in tortugas — grilled bread scooped out to hold such powerfully popular fillings as brisket, pork, and shrimp; also tingas, tostados. Closed Sun. 1215 S. Germantown Rd. 751-1200; 6300 Poplar. 623-3882. L, D, X, $-$$ MOONDANCE GRILL—From the owners of Itta Bena and Lafayette’s. Serves steak cooked sous vide and seafood dishes including Abita-barbecued shrimp and pan-seared sand dab, in addition to an extensive wine and cocktail list. 1730 S. Germantown Road, Suite 117. 755-1471. L, D, X, $$-$$$ NOODLES ASIAN BISTRO—Serves a variety of traditional Asian cuisine, with emphasis on noodle dishes, such as Singapore Street Noodles and Hong Kong Chow Fun. 7850 Poplar, Suite 12. 755-1117.

L, D, X, $ PETRA CAFÉ—Serves Greek, Italian, and Middle Eastern sandwiches, gyros, and entrees. Hours vary; call. 6641 Poplar.

754-4440; 547 S. Highland. 323-3050. L, D, X, $-$$ ROCK’N DOUGH PIZZA CO.—Specialty and custom pizzas made from fresh ingredients; wide variety of toppings. 7850 Poplar, Suite 6. 779-2008. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $$ ROYAL PANDA—Hunan fish, Peking duck, Royal Panda chicken and shrimp, and a seafood combo are among the specialties. 3120 Village Shops Dr. 756-9697. L, D, X, $-$$ SAKURA—Sushi, tempura, and teriyaki are Japanese specialties here. 2060 West St. 758-8181; 4840 Poplar. 572-1002. L, D, X, $-$$

SOUTHERN SOCIAL—Shrimp and grits, stuffed quail, and Aunt Thelma’s Fried Chicken are among the dishes served at this upscale Southern establishment. 2285 S. Germantown Rd. 754-5555. D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ TAZIKI’S—Mediterranean-inspired dishes all made from scratch. 7850 Poplar Ave., Suite 26. 612-2713. East Memphis: 540 S. Mendenhall Rd. 290-1091. Bartlett: 7974 US-64. 203-0083. L, D, $ UNCLE GOYO’S—More than 30 dishes with a focus on authentic Mexican cuisine, from the brains behind TacoNganas. 1730 S. Germantown Rd. L, D, $-$$ WEST STREET DINER—This home-style eatery offers breakfast, burgers, po’boys, and more. 2076 West St. 757-2191. B, L, D (Mon.Fri.), X, $ ZEN JAPANESE FINE CUISINE—A full sushi bar and plenty of authentic Japanese dishes, like Hibachi or Wagyu beef. 1730 S. Germantown Rd. 779-2796. L, D, X, X, $-$$$

COLLIERVILLE

CAFE EUROPE—From Italian chef Michele D’oto, the French, Spanish, and Italian fusion cuisine includes a variety of dishes like Rosette al Forno, fish ceviche, and sole meuniere. Closed Sun. 4610 Merchants Park Circle, Suite 571. 286-4199. L, D, X, $$-$$$$ CAFE PIAZZA BY PAT LUCCHESI—Specializes in gourmet pizzas (including create-your-own), panini sandwiches, and pasta.

Closed Sun. 139 S. Rowlett St. 861-1999. L, D, X, $-$$ CIAO BABY—Specializing in Neapolitan-style pizza made in a wood-fired oven. Also serves house-made mozzarella, pasta, appetizers, and salads. 890 W. Poplar, Suite 1. 457-7457. L, D, X, $ COLLIERVILLE COMMISSARY—Serves barbecue sandwiches, sliders, ribs, shrimp, and nachos, as well as smoked barbecued bologna sandwiches. 3573 S. Houston Levee Rd. 979-5540. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ DAVID GRISANTI’S—Serving Northern Italian cuisine and traditional family recipes, like the Elfo Special, shrimp sauteed in garlic and butter, tossed with white button mushrooms and white pepper, and served over vermicelli with Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Closed Sun. 684 W. Poplar (Sheffield Antiques Mall). 861-1777. L, D (Thurs.-Sat.), X, $-$$$ EL MEZCAL—Serves burritos, chimichangas, fajitas, and other Mexican cuisine, as well as shrimp dinners and steak. 9947 Wolf River, 853-7922; 402 Perkins Extd. 761-7710; 694 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 755-1447; 1492 Union. 274-4264; 11615 Airline Rd. (Arlington). 867-1883; 9045 Highway 64 (Lakeland). 383-4219; 7164 Hacks Cross Rd. (Olive Branch). 662-890-3337; 8834 Hwy. 51 N. (Millington). 872-3220; 7424 Highway 64 (Bartlett). 417-6026. L, D, X, $ EMERALD THAI RESTAURANT—Spicy shrimp, pad khing, lemongrass chicken, and several noodle, rice, and vegetarian dishes are offered at this family restaurant. Closed Sunday. 8950 Highway 64 (Lakeland, TN). 384-0540. L, D, X, $-$$ FIREBIRDS—Specialties are hand-cut steaks, slow-roasted prime rib, and wood-grilled salmon and other seafood, as well as seasonal entrees. 4600 Merchants Circle, Carriage Crossing. 850-1637; 8470 Highway 64 (Bartlett). 379-1300. L, D, X, $-$$$ JIM’S PLACE GRILLE—Features American, Greek, and Continental cuisine. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun. 3660 Houston Levee. 861-5000. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$$ MULAN ASIAN BISTRO—Hunan Chicken, tofu dishes, and orange beef served here; sushi and Thai food, too. 2059 Houston Levee. 850-5288; 2149 Young. 347-3965; 4698 Spottswood. 6098680. L, D, X, $-$$ OSAKA JAPANESE CUISINE—Featuring an extensive sushi menu as well as traditional Japanese and hibachi dining. Hours vary for lunch; call. 3670 Houston Levee. 861-4309; 3402 Poplar.

249-4690; 7164 Hacks Cross (Olive Branch). 662-890-9312; 2200 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 425-4901. L, D, X, $-$$$ RAVEN & LILY—Eatery offers innovative Southerninspired cuisine with such dishes as crispy shrimp and cauliflower salad, spiced lamb sausage and parmesan risotto, and bananas foster pain perdu. Closed Mon. 120 E. Mulberry. 286-4575. L, D, SB, X, $-$$ STIX—Hibachi steakhouse with Asian cuisine features steak, chicken, and a fillet and lobster combination, also sushi. A specialty is Dynamite Chicken with fried rice. 4680 Merchants Park Circle, Avenue Carriage Crossing. 854-3399. 150 Peabody Place, Suite 115 (Downtown). 207-7638 L, D, X, $-$$ WOLF RIVER BRISKET CO.—From the owners of Pyro’s Fire Fresh Pizza, highlights include house-smoked meats: prime beef brisket, chicken, and salmon. Closed Sun. 9947 Wolf River Boulevard, Suite 101. 316-5590; 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 165.

791-4389 L, D, X, $-$$

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The Memphis Dining Guide ZOPITA’S ON THE SQUARE—Cafe offers sandwiches, including smoked salmon and pork tenderloin, as well as salads and desserts. Closed Sun. 114 N. Main. 457-7526. L, D, X, $

OUT-OF-TOWN

BOZO’S HOT PIT BAR-B-Q—Barbecue, burgers, sandwiches, and subs. 342 Highway 70 (Mason, TN). 901-294-3400. L, D, $-$$ CATFISH BLUES—Serving Delta-raised catfish and Cajun- and Southern-inspired dishes, including gumbo and fried green tomatoes. 210 E. Commerce (Hernando, MS). 662-298-3814. L, D, $ CITY GROCERY—Southern eclectic cuisine; shrimp and grits is a specialty. Closed for dinner Sun. 152 Courthouse Square (Oxford, MS). 662-232-8080. L, D, SB, X, $$-$$$ COMO STEAKHOUSE—Steaks cooked on a hickory charcoal grill are a specialty here. Upstairs is an oyster bar. Closed Sun. 203 Main St. (Como, MS). 662-526-9529. D, X, $-$$$ ELFO GRISANTI’S NORTHERN ITALIAN CUISINE— Grisanti family classics like lasagna, homemade ravioli, garlic bread, and Northern Italian pizza. Closed Sun. 5627 Getwell Rd. (Southaven, MS). 662-470-4497. L, D, X, $-$$ LONG ROAD CIDER CO.—Specializes in hard apple ciders made with traditional methods. Cafe-style entrees include black-eyed peas with cornbread and greens, chicken Gorgonzola pockets, cider-steamed sausage, and housemade ice creams. Closed Sun.Wed. 9053 Barret Road. (Barretville, TN). 352-0962. D, X, $

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MANILA FILIPINO RESTAURANT—Entrees include pork belly cutlet with lechon sauce, and shrimp and vegetables in tamarind broth; also daily combos, rice dishes, and chef specials. Closed Sun.-Mon. 7849 Rockford (Millington, TN). 209-8525. L, D, X, $ MARSHALL STEAKHOUSE—Rustic steakhouse serves premium Angus beef steaks, seafood dishes, rack of lamb, and more. 2379 Highway 178 (Holly Springs, MS). 628-3556. B, L, D, X, $-$$$ MEMPHIS BARBECUE COMPANY—Offers spare ribs, baby backs, and pulled pork and brisket. 709 Desoto Cove (Horn Lake, MS). 662-536-3762. L, D, X, $-$$ NAGOYA—Offers traditional Japanese cuisine and sushi bar; specialties are teriyaki and tempura dishes. 7075 Malco Blvd., Suite 101 (Southaven, MS). 662-349-8788. L, D, X, $-$$$ PIG-N-WHISTLE—Offers pork shoulder sandwiches, wet and dry ribs, catfish, nachos, and stuffed barbecue potatoes. 6084 Kerr-Rosemark Rd. (Millington, TN). 872-2455. L, D, X, $ RAVINE—Serves contemporary Southern cuisine with an emphasis on fresh, locally grown foods and a menu that changes weekly. Closed Mon.-Tues. 53 Pea Ridge/County Rd. 321 (Oxford, MS). 662-234-4555. D, SB, X, $$-$$$ SAINT LEO’S—Offering sophisticated pizzas, pastas, sandwiches, and salads. A James Beard nominee for Best New Restaurant in 2017. 1101 Jackson (Oxford, MS). 662-234-4555. D, L, WB, $-$$ SNACKBAR—An intriguing mix of “French Bistro with North Mississippi Cafe.” Serving a confit duck Croque Monsieur, watermelon-cucumber chaat, pan-fried quail, plus a daily plate special and a raw bar. 721 N. Lamar (Oxford, MS). 662-236-6363. D, $-$$$ WILSON CAFE—Serving elevated home-cooking, with such dishes as deviled eggs with cilantro and jalapeño, scampi and grits, and doughnut bread pudding. 2 N. Jefferson (Wilson, AR).

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4 to 7 PM Weekdays A P R I L 2 0 2 2 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • 95

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L AS T

S TA N D

For Ukraine

As a country burned, a writer sought traction.

BY FR ANK MURTAUGH

O

After parking my car at the top of the bluff, I made my way to the river’s edge, and almost beyond. With my phone’s “flashlight” providing my only field of vision, I nearly stepped on a cluster of small tree debris — there was a lot of that in Memphis in February — before seeing the cluster move. It was floating debris. Having wandered as close as I could safely get, I snapped a photo of the bridge in its Ukrainian glory. A moment in history, indeed. I took some deep breaths, climbed the bluff, and, once back inside my car, shared the image with the small slice of the world I could reach. Yes, again with the social media. I wanted to do something.

The weeks since one (nuclear-armed) country began hurling bombs and bullets at another (much smaller) country have felt tilted, even as we here in North America begin to emerge from pandemic lockdown. How do we retain perspective when thousands upon thousands of Ukrainians are f leeing their country merely to survive the attack of a malevolent despot? That tree damage to your house from February’s ice storm? If insurance won’t cover the cost, you’re a strong tarp away from moving on with your life. The price of gas pinching your monthly budget? That’s a “crisis” of economics, the kind that corrects itself with patience. Ride a bike, if you’re able.

It will do your body good.

For perspective to make you cringe, Major League Baseball was shut down over a labor dispute during the first weeks of the Russian attack. How do we share billions of dollars fairly? My internal clock moves with the rhythm of baseball for at least seven months a year. But today, with Ukrainian families sweeping up the remains of their homes between shellings? How much does Opening Day really matter?

MLB reached an agreement with its players, but the world has been tilted, and not comfortably.

What can we do, an ocean away from the atrocity in Eastern Europe? What can I do? The deep breaths are a start. If you’re the praying kind, I suppose now would be a decent time for lots of it. I intend to send some American money to reputable organizations supporting the Ukrainian cause. I intend to provide what support I can to my grown daughters, each experiencing this kind of empathy strike for the first time. Their Ukrainian peers are being called into battle while they navigate more typical “crises” like rent payment or midterms. And I intend to use what platform I have as a journalist to share my concerns, fears, and yes, hope for the survival of human decency. If world history has shown us anything, it’s the serial demise of violent autocrats. Putin’s turn will come.

We are at a moment in history. And hasn’t April seen its share? Consider April 15th alone: the day Abraham Lincoln died (in 1865), the day the Titanic sank (in 1912), and the day Jackie Robinson first took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers (in 1947). I get the sense Ukraine and its world of supporters will need months, if not years, for any form of deliverance. And I write this column knowing two full weeks of history will unfold before you’re able to read it.

Who among us will be the heroes? Will new, scarier villains emerge? Will we need to light the Hernando DeSoto in Ukraine’s colors on a more regular basis? We shouldn’t need a large symbol to remind us to empathize, to take action however we might. But you know what? The symbol doesn’t hurt.

Bless the people of Ukraine, and may their strength lift all of us.

PHOTOGRAPH BY FRANK MURTAUGH

n the night of February 27th, having received the kind of tip only social media can provide, I ventured Downtown, all the way to the banks of the Mississippi River, for a look at the Hernando DeSoto Bridge at a moment in history. Those behind the lighting of our mighty “M” had been persuaded — again, social media’s muscle — to light the bridge in the colors of Ukraine, a small measure of solidarity for the Eastern European nation brutally attacked, starting earlier that month, by Russian forces under the thumb of Vladimir Putin. I wanted to capture the image … because I wanted to do something.

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3/14/22 1:50 PM

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