2026 Robert R. Church, Sr. Achievement Awards Gala

RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER

A U G U S T 2 7, 2 0 2 6

Robert R. Church, Sr. I Business Leader & Philanthropist Robert Reed Church, Sr. was born on June 18, 1839 in Holly Springs, Mississippi. From an early age he was known as an achiever and he strengthened the belief of his attributes as he became a businessman, a family man, a philanthropist and a protector and helper of his fellow man. Church began working on the Mississippi River at age 12. He began saving his earnings and looked forward to the time when he would have accumulated enough money to leave the river and enter business in Memphis. The opportunity to fulfill this dream and ambition presented itself after Mr. Church escaped the river during the Battle of Memphis on June 6, 1862.

Mr. Church had implicit faith in the future of Memphis and established himself in the city. At the close of the Civil War, he was a well known and respected citizen of Memphis. His faith in Memphis was demonstrated many times, but as a result of six disastrous yellow fever epidemics, Memphis lost its Charter in 1879. Church was the first person to buy a bond to help pay the city debt. His $1,000 purchase of bond number 1 helped pave the way for Memphis to recover and restore the city charter in 1893.

Church later opened Church’s Hotel at Second and Gayoso. “The only first-class hotel in the city.” He built a park and auditorium on Beale Street near Fourth & Turley. In directing the idea and construction of the facility, he had the only business venture of its kind in America; built, owned and managed by Church.

The first black millionaire in the city, Church was one of the founders and the first president of the Solvent Bank and Trust Company, the first Black bank to be organized in Memphis. In 1880, when the Beale Street Baptist Church, the oldest Black Baptist church in Memphis, fell on hard times, Mr. Church and Solvent Savings Bank stepped in and helped the members and trustees save the church.

Robert Reed Church Sr. died in Memphis, the town he loved and helped sustain, on August 29, 1912 at age 73. The Colored American, a publication from Washington, D.C., on February 16, 1901 wrote in part of Mr. Church: “He was a self-made man in the broadest sense of the term. Had no opportunity of the schools; he had no nucleus for wealth left to him by an ancestor, but with nothing but his hands, he made his way to success over every possible obstacle.”

The Mid-South Business Continuum

Robert R. Church, Sr. Achievement Awards Gala August 27, 2026

PROGRAM Cocktail Hour | 6:00 pm - 6:30 pm PROGRAM | 6:30 pm Welcome Jozelle Luster Booker, President & CEO The Mid-South Business Continuum AWARD PRESENTATIONS Economic Engagement (E2) Award Great Beginnings Award Rising Star Award Operational Excellence & Resilience Award Strategic Growth Award Vanguard Business of the Year Award Chairman’s Award Corporation of the Year Award Closing Remarks Jozelle Luster Booker Networking & Dancing

ROBERT R. CHURCH, SR. ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

2026 ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS NOMINEES ECONOMIC ENGAGEMENT AWARD FedEx

OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE & RESILIENCE AWARD

Flintco, LLC

Dart Services LLC

Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division

Ladd Safety, LLC

Memphis Medical District Collaborative

S&M Construction Firm Inc.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

W&T Contracting Corporation

Tennessee Valley Authority Turner Construction Company

STRATEGIC GROWTH AWARD Ardmore Roderick

GREAT BEGINNINGS AWARD

Itonyx

Anchorage Corporate Apparel

Malasri Engineering, PLLC

Brwnskn Yoga

Memphis Electric Co., LLC

Downtown Memphis Commission

Unistar-Sparco Computers, Inc.

Evolve Screening New Visions Technical Solutions LLC

VANGUARD BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

Street M-Pact

Allworld Project Management, LLC

Tricenergy

Artisan’s Place Itonyx

RISING STAR

Mission Construction, LLC

Adrienne Cooper MLGW

Precise Contracting, LLC W&T Contracting Corporation

Sharicka Eddings Evolve Screening

CORPORATION OF THE YEAR

Romanethia M. Green TopCat Masonry Contractors LLC

Baptist Memorial Health Care

Dr. Daphene S. Booker-Harris Global Children Services

Flintco, LLC

Erik Henneghan CourtesyPro Zachary Rodgers Hope Credit Union Jaclyn Townsend Invisible Footprints

FedEx Regional One Health Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division Memphis Shelby County Airport Authority Tennessee Valley Authority Turner Construction Company

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR JUDGES CRC JUDGES COMMITTEE Khalif Johnson Turner Construction Company Lucy Vick-Watson Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division Jovan Harris Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division Dan Keevy EDGE Eileen Peterson Turner Construction Company Vanessa Christian Regional One Health Adrienne Cooper Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division Kanisha Massey Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division Melissa Perez Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division Patrick Woods The University of Memphis (*Categories judged: Great Beginnings, Rising Star, Economic Engagement (E 2), Operational Excellence & Resilience, Strategic Growth, and Vanguard Business of the Year Awards)

SPECIAL THANKS Isaac Singleton – Photography Vescent Design – Graphic Design Services Spotlight Productions – Video & Editing Services DJ – Matthew Ferguson “DJ Ferg”

THE MID-SOUTH BUSINESS CONTINUUM 2026 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jozelle Luster Booker President & CEO The Mid-South Business Continuum Keith Norman Vice President of Government Relations Baptist Memorial Health Care Board Chairman Beth Ardoin SEVP Chief Communications Officer First Horizon Bank Reggie Crenshaw, MBA Vice President Cigna Healthcare Albert Dennis AutoZone Doug McGowen President & CEO Memphis Light, Gas & Water Quincy McGlown Director Sourcing FedEx Leticia Towns EVP and Chief Administrative Officer Regional One Health Laurel Williams, Esq. Burch Porter & Johnson

THE MID-SOUTH BUSINESS CONTINUUM KEY STAFF

Jozelle Luster Booker President & CEO Natalie Robinson Vice President and Director of Communications & Marketing Melba Chester Executive Director, TADP, Inc. Brittney Elkins Director, Corporate Engagement Lashonda McBride Director, Business Development & Member Registration Doris Batchelor, CAP Executive Assistant to CEO Capryka Hunt Communications & Data Specialist Brittney Gaines Technology & Data Specialist

ROBERT R. CHURCH, SR. ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

2025 ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS WINNERS

The Mid-South Business Continuum 200 Jefferson Avenue Suite 1000 Memphis, TN 38103

Phone: 901.525.6512 Fax: 901.525.5204 www.businesscontinuum.org