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 MMBC Continuum
Robert R. Church, Sr. Achievement Awards Gala
September 12, 2024
PROGRAM
Networking Hour | 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Silent Auction Opens | 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Welcome
Jozelle Luster Booker, President & CEO
MMBC Continuum
AWARD PRESENTATIONS
Great Beginnings Award
Rising Star Award
M/WBE Quality Business of the Year
Scalabe M/WBE Business of the Year
Tennessee MBDA Business of the Year
Economic Engagement Award
Advocate of the Year Award
Chairman of the Year Award
Corporation of the Year Award
Closing Remarks
Jozelle Luster Booker
Closing Comments
Keith Norman
Vice President, Government Affairs
Baptist Memorial Health Care
Chair, Board of Directors
MMBC Continuum
Networking & Dancing
ROBERT R. CHURCH, SR. ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
2024 ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS NOMINEES
CORPORATION OF THE YEAR
Baptist Memorial Health Care
Grinder Taber Grinder
Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division
Memphis Shelby County Schools
Regional One Health
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Tennessee Valley Authority
Turner Construction Company
M/WBE QUALITY ASSURANCE BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
ACTION Janitorial Paper Safety
AHA Mechanical Contractors, LLC
Aztec Masonry Inc.
Blues City Tours of Memphis, Inc
Campbell & Ford Construction, Inc.
KBG Technologies, LLC
Tate Computer Systems, Inc.
Unistar-Sparco Computers, Inc.
SCALABLE M/WBE BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
ABC Charter Services, LLC
Campbell & Ford Construction, Inc.
Oteka Technologies
Tate Computer Systems, Inc.
RISING STAR
Kendra Clay, Turner Construction Company
Tori Haliburton, Downtown Memphis Commission
Monica Holley, Blues City Tours
Trey McKnight, EDGE
Tamara Pate, Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division
Alexandria Baker-Williams, Memphis-Shelby County Schools
GREAT BEGINNINGS
AHA Mechanical Contractors, LLC
Comprehensive Staffing Solutions, Inc
CTD Staffing, LLC
KBG Technologies, LLC
Mid-South Drug Testing, Inc.
Pete Mitchell & Associates
ECONOMIC
ENGAGEMENT
Downtown Memphis Commission Walbridge
TENNESSEE MBDA BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
ABES
ACTION Janitorial Paper Safety
Circle H Trucking & Construction, LLC
KQ Communications
Topcat Masonry Contractors, LLC
W & T Contracting Corporation
SPECIAL THANKS TO JUDGES FOR SCALABLE M/WBE BUSINESS OF THE YEAR & MBDA BUSINESS OF THE YEAR AWARD CATEGORIES
CRC JUDGES COMMITTEE
Arma Orr
Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division
Vanessa Christian Regional One Health
Christy Mullikin
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Shanikka Tate
Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division
Tamara Pate
Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division
Noah Hudson Turner Construction Company
Dan Keevy EDGE
Alexandria Baker-Williams Memphis Shelby County Schools
SPECIAL THANKS
Isaac Singleton – Photography
Vescent Design – Graphic Design Services
Spotlight Productions – Video & Editing Services
THE MMBC CONTINUUM 2024 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jozelle Luster Booker President & CEO MMBC Continuum
Larry Fogarty Vice President, Supply Chain Management Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare
Tammy LoCascio
SEVP, Chief Operating Officer First Horizon
Doug McGowen President & CEO, Memphis Light, Gas & Water
David McKinney VP, Government, Public & Community Relations, Customer Satisfaction, AutoZone
Keith Norman Vice President of Government Relations Baptist Memorial Health Care Board Chairman
Bacarra Mauldin Interim CEO Memphis Area Transit Authority
Leticia Towns
Sr. Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer Regional One Health
Justin Troy Director, Sourcing/Sourcing & Procurement FedEx
John Webb
Market President, Tri-South Region CIGNA Healthcare of Tennessee, Inc.
Laurel Williams, Esq. Burch Porter & Johnson
MMBC CONTINUUM STAFF
Jozelle Luster Booker President & CEO
Natalie Robinson Vice President and Director of Communications & Marketing
Melba Chester Director of Core Development and MMC-TADP, Inc.
Brittney Elkins Program Manager
Lashonda McBride Director, Member Registration
Capryka Hunt Administrative Program Assistant
TENNESSEE MBDA BUSINESS CENTER STAFF
Lawrence Browder, Jr. MBDA Project Manager
Kelli Wiggins Business Development Specialist
Cedric Hamilton Director, Federal Procurement and Business Development
Brittney Gaines Senior Project Assistant
ROBERT R. CHURCH, SR. ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
2023 ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS WINNERS
MBDA Business of the Year