REV WATSON pg 7
Vol 16, No. 8 • January 2017
Tywanna Smith is helping athletes manage wealth, fame and the pressures of public life lunch. She's a battle-tested athlete who proved she could cut it in the hardscrabble world of professional basketball as well as TUPELO in life off the court. After starting for four Athletes are the years for the Ole Miss Lady Rebels basketepitome of shootball team, from 2000-2004, Smith played ing stars. Even professionally in Holland and Spain. the most workSneakers and wristbands weren't the only man and longthings Smith carried to Europe in her suitlasting of them case. She had to leave room for her play for a relOle Miss diploma, specifically a atively bachelor's degree in marshort time. keting along with an Their M.B.A. moment in Once the sun, she'd when they're achieved a household what she name and earnTywanna Smith wanted on ing big money, is the hardwood, Smith decided to return up as quickly as a two-minute warning. stateside and accept a position with finanWhen the final buzzer sounds and the cial firm Merill Lynch, serving as a financheering stops, the men and women who cial advisor to several, professional athmoved so skillfully on the playing field often need help navigating the choppy seas letes, both in Europe as well as in the NBA and NFL. "I wore several hats including of life. That's where Tywanna Smith and business manager, sports marketer, event her company, The Athlete's Nexus, comes planner, counselor and more," said Smith. in. "I want to touch athletes' lives while they are still playing and help them become Unlike many of her financial colleagues, who had spent their professional lives in an well-rounded, competent and confident people, equipped to handle what life throws office, Smith could relate personally to the athletes' struggles and the social and culturat them," said Smith. al tensions that put stress on their lives, she Earned experience said. "I think I developed a unique perspecSmith isn't some effete, Madison tive in the sports world and was able to Avenue exec casually dropping her clients' see SMITH pg 4 names to other execs over a two-hour By Galen Holley
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Visionary, Entrepreneur, Humanitarian Aaron Washington is taking a lead in community building By Galen Holley TUPELO - True masters of their craft can make a haircut more than routine. Virtuosos use the vulnerability and trust that comes from sitting in the barber's chair to carve out a space for social interaction and perhaps even create a moment for learning. For these gifted artisans, like Aaron Washington, giving a haircut is not just a chore but the creation of an experience. At A Plus Barbershop Washington gives his customers velvet-rope treatment as well as a chance to tap into business and cultural resources. "Our concerns touch all areas of life, from Aaron Washington
see WASHINGTON pg 4
Corinth High graduate found his career with Caterpillar, just not in Corinth "I knew about Caterpillar, but it never crossed my mind that I would one day have a career with them. I never thought about pursuing a career there," he said. However, while a student in mechanical engineering at Tuskegee University, Keith visited a Caterpillar booth at a career fair. He landed his first undergraduate internship in 2006 with the company at the Booneville facility for the summer and stayed as a co-op student that fall. In 2007, he was awarded another internship with the company at its headquarters in Peoria, Ill. Before he left that internship, he
By Lucy Weber Jamarius Keith was grounded in a rock solid work ethic as he grew up in Corinth. The Corinth High Class of 2003 graduate, now a mechanical engineer for Caterpillar in Sumter, S.C., credits his family and his small town upbringing for his growth in the corporation. "Growing up in Corinth laid the foundation for me. It helped prepare me for the world. Corinth definitely gave me my work ethic," he said. Although Corinth is home to one of the corporation's remanufacturing hubs, Keith said he never thought about working for Caterpillar as he grew up.
Jamarius Keith
see KEITH pg 11