Emphasis: Financial Services

Transcription

February 7-13, 2014, Vol. 7, Issue 7
Emphasis:
Financial Services
Accounting businesses are seeing
growth in the Memphis market,
as seen at a couple of local firms
that have been adding to staff and
offerings. P. 16
•
Shelby
•
Fayette
•
Tipton
•
Madison
pilot reform
Economic development leaders weigh changes to incentive program
The Electrolux factory began operations on Presidents Island last year. The payment-in-lieu-of-taxes program was used to bring the plant to Memphis.
|
(Memphis News/Andrew J. Breig)
Office
Occupancy Up
arc de
overton
The fourth quarter
pushed the office
market into positive
territory. P. 9
The arch of more than
300 bicycles opens as a
new eastern entrance
to Overton Park. P. 23
•
digest: page 2
P. 14
health care: page 7
|
•
Inked/recap: page 10
|
newsmakers: page 24
|
editorial: page 30
A Publication of The Daily News Publishing Co. | www.thememphisnews.com
www.thememphisnews.com
2 February 7-13, 2014
weekly digest
Get news daily from The Daily News, www.memphisdailynews.com.
The Memphis News | almanac
February 7-13
This week in Memphis history:
1950: Among the new merchant licenses listed in The Daily News,
Memphis Recording Service at 706 Union Ave. The owner of the
recording service was a sound engineer for WREC radio who had
decided to branch out into making recordings for whoever hired out
his studio or hired him to bring his equipment to their event. His
name was Sam Phillips. And he would soon add his own independent
record label to the business, Sun Records.
On the front page of The Daily News, Memphis Light, Gas and Water
Division was expanding its central shops at Beale and Myrtle streets
in a $225,000 project that included a modern paint shop.
1944: County Court Clerk Marvin Pope announced that effective
April 1, car owners in the county would pay the same fee for renewal
of car tags, but they would get just one license plate for the back of a
car instead of two for the front and back. The effort was billed as an
effort to save metal for the war effort. The war was making its presence known in other ways. New car tires were also being rationed.
And starting that February only drivers holding gas rations good for
601 miles per month could get new tires with exceptions made for
“highly essential occupations.” Also, Joy Cayler and her Swinging Coeds – “an all-girl” band – had recently played the Balinese Ballroom
at the Hotel Claridge.
Smith & Nephew to Buy
ArthroCare in $1.5B Deal British medical technology company Smith & Nephew plans to buy U.S.
medical device maker ArthroCare in a $1.5
billion deal that it says will strengthen its
sports medicine business.
Smith & Nephew said Monday it will
pay $48.25 in cash for each share of ArthroCare Corp., which is based in Austin,
Texas.
Smith & Nephew PLC said ArthroCare's expertise in shoulder joint repair
will complement its strength in knee
repair.
ArthroCare has 35.4 million shares
outstanding, counting options and
restricted stock, according to Smith &
Nephew spokesman Charles Reynolds. Smith & Nephew values the deal at
$1.7 billion counting ArthroCare's cash.
It expects the acquisition to close by the
middle of the year.
ArthroCare makes surgical devices,
instruments and implants and employs
about 1,800 people. The company announced on Jan. 7 that it will pay a $30
million fine to resolve an investigation by
the U.S. Department of Justice into alleged
securities fraud by its former management.
The Justice Department also is
charging the company with one count of
conspiracy to commit securities fraud and
wire fraud, but it has entered into a twoyear deferred prosecution agreement with
No other Memphis-based CPA firm
has a longer legacy of providing
assurance,tax and advisory services
to the Mid-South community.
ArthroCare. If the company meets requirements set by the Justice Department, it
won't bring charges against the company.
ArthroCare has said that deal will end
the Justice Department's investigation,
which was first made public in December
2008.
Wright Medical Buys Solana,
Plans to Acquire OrthoPro
Arlington-based Wright Medical Group
Inc. has closed on its agreement to acquire
Solana Surgical LLC of Memphis and has
entered into a definitive agreement to
acquire OrthoPro LLC of Salt Lake City, the
company announced Thursday, Jan. 30.
Under the terms of the Solana acquisition, Wright acquires all of Solana’s
outstanding equity for about $90 million,
consisting of $47.6 million in cash and
$42.4 in Wright common stock.
The same basic arrangement applies
to OrthoPro for $36 million in cash, with
$32.5 million paid at closing and up to
$3.5 million more in cash contingent on
revenue milestones included in the agreement.
The OrthoPro agreement is expected
to close in a year, according to a statement
from Wright.
Both companies add to Wright’s
foot and ankle portfolio, increasing the
company’s focus on the surgical podiatric
market.
Wright Medical executives are ex-
February 7-13, 2014 3
weekly digest
DON’T JUST READ
THE BUSINESS SECTION.
pected to provide more details about the
acquisitions, as well as what the coming
integration will mean for Wright’s relocation from Arlington to Memphis, during
the company’s Feb. 24 earnings conference call.
Smucker Files $16 Million
Permit for Plant Expansion
The J.M. Smucker Co. has filed a $16
million permit with the city-county Office
of Construction Code Enforcement as part
of its planned plant expansion at 4789
Cromwell Ave. in Oakhaven.
No contractor or architect was listed
on the permit, which is the first in Smucker’s plan to invest $41 million to upgrade
its peanut butter production lines.
The Economic Development Growth
Engine of Memphis and Shelby County in
mid-January unanimously granted the Orrville, Ohio-based company an amended
payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement for
15 years on personal property and 13
years on real property.
In addition to 42 new positions, which
will have an average wage of $52,545, created through the expansion, Smucker will
maintain its existing 61 employees.
The approved tax freeze will save
Smucker $13 million, but the company
will still pay an estimated $16.2 million
in taxes to the city and county over the
length of the PILOT. The company said 25
percent of the company’s planned $21.5
million in discretionary spending will be
with women- and minority-owned businesses.
Kemmons Wilson School
Becomes Independent
The University of Memphis is making
the 10-year old Kemmons Wilson School
of Hospitality and Resort Management an
independent school within the university.
The school has its own bachelor’s
degree curriculum with 60 credit hours of
coursework. The coursework had been a
third of that previously.
With the autonomy, the school will
also offer concentrations in event management, lodging, and food and beverage
services.
The Kemmons Wilson School had
been a part of the Fogelman College of
Business and Economics since it was
founded.
The school is housed in a full-service
hotel and conference center on the university campus and is named for the late
founder of Holiday Inn.
His son, Kemmons Wilson Jr., said in a
statement that the school’s goal is “a realworld environment within an academic
setting.”
Dr. Radesh Palakurthi, professor and
director of the school, said the status as
a separate school means it has achieved
“the critical mass it needs to offer a more
focused program in hospitality and resort
management.”
Gibson Guitar Launches
‘Government’ Brand
Gibson Guitar Corp. has launched a
“Government Series” Les Paul guitar commemorating federal agents raiding the
Gibson factories in Nashville and Memphis.
The guitar – which is available in a
“Government Tan” color – is made from
wood confiscated during the raids in
Nashville.
"Great Gibson electric guitars have
long been a means of fighting the establishment, so when the powers that be
confiscated stocks of tonewoods from
the Gibson factory in Nashville – only to
return them once there was a resolution
and the investigation ended – it was an
event worth celebrating,” Gibson said in a
statement.
The Nashville-based guitar maker was
raided by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
agents on allegations it violated the Lacey
Act, which requires U.S. companies to
comply with other countries’ environmental export restrictions. While denying wrongdoing, Gibson agreed to pay a
$300,000 penalty and other fines.
The Government Series II Les Paul,
which will sell for around $1,099, features
a pickguard that is “hot-stamped in gold
with the Government Series graphic – a
bald eagle hoisting a Gibson guitar neck.”
Fred's Says Bad Weather
Hurt Sales, Profits Fred's Inc. said Thursday that its sales
were hurt in January by bad weather that
also cut into the retailer's profit for the
quarter.
The discount retailer said that the
rough weather disrupted consumers'
shopping habits and led to the closure of
more than 120 stores during the final week
of the month.
Fred's, based in Memphis, Tenn., operates 704 discount general merchandise
stores in the southeastern U.S.
The company said that its revenue
from stores open for at least a year fell
1.8 percent in January. That measure is a
closely watched gauge that strips away
the impact of recently opened or closed
stores. Analysts polled by Thomson
Reuters were anticipating a 1 percent
decline.
Fred's adjusted its January results to
eliminate the first week of the month to
make it comparable with those of the
prior year.
CEO Bruce Efird said that prior to the
last week of January, the company's sales
were running in the middle of the company's forecast but fell sharply in that final
week due to bad weather. He said that the
drop in sales should reduce the company's earnings for its fourth quarter by 3
cents per share.
Fred's now expects earnings between
13 and 16 cents per share for its fourth
quarter. Analysts polled by FactSet were
anticipating earnings of 18 cents per
share.
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4 February 7-13, 2014
weekly digest
at 45,094 square feet. No architect or
contractor is listed.
Misenhelter last year bought the 5.6acre site east of Grays Creek on Walnut
Grove Road to build Wesscorp Sports &
Office Property. The development will
include a climate-controlled indoor sports
facility with turf soccer field and three
separate areas for sports programs. The
site also has two outparcels dedicated for
office and medical development.
Misenhelter filed a $2.3 million construction deed of trust through BankTennessee on Jan. 8, and the sports facility is
expected to be fully operational in July.
Source: The Daily News Online &
Chandler Reports
Prudential Collins-Maury
Joins Coldwell System
Prudential Collins-Maury has joined
the Coldwell Banker Real Estate system
and will now be known as Coldwell Banker
Collins-Maury.
“I started the process of exploring affiliation with the Coldwell Banker brand
over the last six months and included our
management team in the process,” said
Doug Collins, president and CEO of Coldwell Banker Collins-Maury. “At the end of
the review process, Coldwell Banker was a
unanimous decision.” Collins, a former president of the
Memphis Area Association of Realtors,
shared the news with his staff Tuesday,
Feb. 4.
The Collierville-based firm, which has
nearly 100 agents working in offices in
Collierville, Memphis and Southaven, is
coming off a strong year in which its sales
volume increased by 16 percent to more
than $243 million, the best year in the
company’s history.
High School Hoops Tourney
Coming to FedExForum
Some of the best high school basketball teams from Shelby County will compete at FedExForum for bragging rights in
the SCIAA Fever Basketball Tournament
Sunday, Feb. 9.
Formerly known as the MIAA City
Championships, 2014 will mark the
inaugural SCIAA Fever tournament, a
winner-take-all style tournament dating
back to the 1960s. Past stars of the MIAA
City Championships include Memphis’
own Larry Finch, Larry Spicer, John Gunn,
James Bradley, Andre Turner, Todd Day,
Cedric Henderson, Penny Hardaway and
Elliot Perry.
The tournament will consist of three
girls games and three boys games. Tipoff
will begin at 12:15 p.m. with a 16A girls
game and conclude that evening with the
16AAA boys game featuring White Station
High School, Tennessee’s top-ranked team
and the No. 4 team in the nation.
During the marquee match with White
Station High School, the SCIAA will present the Court of Legends, a special presentation honoring NBA athletes from Shelby
County, including Todd Daye, Elliot Perry,
Penny Hardaway and Keith Lee. Tickets,
which start at $12 and are valid for all six
games, are available through Ticketmaster
and the FedExForum box office.
Ashley Furniture
Outlet to Close
The Ashley Furniture HomeStore
Outlet location at 5228 Summer Ave. inside
Perimeter Center is closing its doors due to
a “lost lease.”
The store, located near Summer and
White Station Road, launched a closing
sale on Thursday, Feb. 6. The sale will feature a large selection of furniture, bedding
and accessories sold at discounts of up to
90 percent.
A statement about the store closing did
not mention a specific closing date, and
the Summer Avenue closing does not affect the three other Memphis-area Ashley
stores. “The lost lease in this location in no
way reflects on the brand,” said Shawn
Roberts, regional vice president of Ashley
HomeStore Outlet, in a statement.
Council OKs ‘Tax Dead’
Anti-Blight Program
The Memphis City Council on Tuesday,
Feb. 4, approved an anti-blight grant program for “tax dead” properties – properties
with more in back taxes and associated
fees than the property is appraised for or
could ever be sold for.
The five-year pilot program, which was
approved last month by the Shelby County
Commission, offers up to $200,000 a year
to fund grants to community development
organizations in the amount of the back
taxes and fees due, which are then paid
back to the city and county. The program
would offer another pool of $100,000 a
year in grants to pay property taxes on the
properties for the next five years.
The program now goes to the Tennessee attorney general’s office for legal
review, then back to both city and county
bodies for another vote.
In other action, council members sent
back to committee a proposal by Bill Boyd
that would have waived the new monthly
streetlight fees on Memphis Light, Gas and
Water bills for recently annexed residents
of South Cordova in areas without street
lights.
Harrison Creek Apartments
Sell for $4.4 Million
The 382-unit Villages at Harrison Creek
apartment complex on Jackson Avenue in
Raleigh has been purchased by an Illinoisbased entity named AMG Memphis LLC
for $4.4 million.
AMG bought the Class C complex in
a Jan. 31 special warranty deed from JK
Financial LLC and SK Financial LLC, which
had acquired it in a 2011 foreclosure sale
for $3.9 million.
The purchase includes three main
parcels and 0.2 acres of vacant land on the
east side of Jackson Avenue north of Gragg
Avenue.
The largest parcel, 3807 Jackson, is a
6.76-acre site containing 208 apartment
units built in 1964 and totaling 154,984
square feet. The Shelby County Assessor of
Property’s 2013 appraisal is $1.8 million.
The 3923 Jackson Ave. parcel is 2.9
acres and contains 98 units totaling 63,206
square feet. The phase was completed in
1966 and has an appraised value of $1.2
million.
Last, the 3881 Jackson Ave. parcel is 2.6
acres and contains 76 units totaling 45,168
square feet. The phase was completed in
1964 and has an appraised value of $1.2
million.
In conjunction with the purchase,
AMG Memphis LLC filed a $3.2 million
deed of trust, assignment of leases and
rents, and security agreement through
Thorofare Asset Based Lending Fund III LP.
Adam M. Glickman signed the trust deed
as manager of AMG Memphis.
Pearl Shaw Named To
Tennessee Lottery Board
Gov. Bill Haslam has appointed Pearl
Shaw to serve on the board of the Tennessee Education Lottery Corp.
Pearl Shaw is co-author, along with
Mel Shaw, of “Prerequisites for Fundraising
Success: The 18 Things You Need to Know
as Fundraising Professional, Board Member, or Volunteer” and “The Fundraiser’s
Guide to Soliciting Gifts.”
The Shaws also write the “FUNdraising
Good Times” column that runs Tuesdays in
The Daily News and weekly in The Memphis News.
St. Louis School Files
Permit for New Facility
of Art, The Venue Apartments and the
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis
ReStore, which sells a variety of donated
goods to support Habitat’s mission to provide housing for families in need.
The Modern West team of Laura Miller
and Jess Vandenberg finished second, and
the Handmade American team of Sam
Herwehe and Evan Lebaroff captured third
place.
The Venue Apartments awarded $1,000
and six months of free rent to the firstplace team, $600 to the second-place team
and $300 to the third-place team.
The contest allowed students to showcase what they’ve learned in the classroom on a real-world canvas. The Venue
provided the three teams with $500 for materials and $50 for supplies, plus a $100 gift
certificate and a discount at the Memphis
ReStore. The teams were also given a “mystery item” – an identical chest of drawers
– to incorporate into their designs.
Fred’s Offering Free
Blood Pressure Screenings
Fred’s Pharmacy is offering free blood
pressure screenings at all 360 of its pharmacies during February.
To encourage participation, fred’s will
donate $1 to the American Heart Association for each screening.
The campaign is the beginning a
long-term effort by the company to help
educate people about being conscious
about their heart’s health, and each person
screened will have an “I am Heart Smart”
name card displayed at the pharmacy to
show the progress of the campaign in that
location.
In addition to the free screenings and
financial donation, fred’s Pharmacy also
has partnered with the American Heart Association to create a special website, freds.
toolsfortheheart.org, that features a “My
Life Check” evaluation.
St. Louis Catholic School has filed a
$2.4 million building permit application
for a multipurpose building on its campus
at 5192 Shady Grove Road.
The permit application filed with the
city-county Office of Construction Code
Enforcement lists the building as including
administrative offices, a multiuse room,
snack bar and recreation-type facility.
Philadelphia, Miss.-based W.G. Yates &
Sons Construction Co., which has an office on Poplar Avenue, is listed as general
contractor.
Started by the Dominican sisters
in 1957, the Catholic school is on the
northwest corner of Shady Grove and
South White Station Road, adjacent to St.
Louis Catholic Church. In March 2012, the
school broke ground on a junior high wing
that added eight classrooms, a science lab,
music room and other amenities.
St. Louis currently has more than 500
students in preschool through eighth
grade, according to the school’s website.
The Memphis chapter of Black Girls
CODE will host its first workshop for the
2014 program year Feb. 22 at the Whitehaven branch library, 4120 Millbranch
Road.
This class will focus on how to build a
website. Check-in will start at 9 a.m., and
class starts at 10 a.m.
Thanks to a grant from the Memphis
Chapter of the Society of Information
Management, the Whitehaven branch is
partnering with Black Girls CODE to offer
scholarships to 50 girls ages 10 to 17.
MCA Design Contest
Winners Announced
Bartlett Mayor’s Son to Lead
McDonald Insurance
After hours of design and construction time, two open houses and more than
8,000 votes cast, a contest that allowed
Memphis College of Art students to redesign real apartments has come to a close.
Voters awarded the Double M team of
Bailey Brocato and Ethely Lyons first place
in the ReStore for More design contest, a
competition created by Memphis College
Brooks McDonald is leading McDonald
Insurance of Bartlett following the retirement of his father, Keith McDonald, after
32 years of running the firm.
The younger McDonald is a 10-year
insurance industry veteran. The business
has 10 employees and a satellite office in
Covington, Tenn.
Keith McDonald continues to serve as
For more local and national news, visit www.memphisdailynews.com
Black Girls CODE to Host
Web Design Workshop
February 7-13, 2014 5
Bartlett mayor and will seek re-election to
another four-year term in the November
Bartlett elections.
Target Taking Actions
On Security, Exec Says
An executive of Target Corp. said Tuesday the retailer has taken actions to shore
up security following the massive breach
of millions of consumers' data during the
holiday season.
The testimony at a Senate hearing by
John Mulligan, executive vice president
and chief financial officer at the No. 2
U.S. discounter, also revealed that Target
discovered an additional 25 cash registers
infected by malicious software on Dec. 18.
The company had said earlier that it had
removed all the malware from its system
by Dec. 15.
Mulligan's testimony before the Senate
Judiciary Committee was the first public
appearance by a Target executive addressing the issue since the breach that
occurred between Nov. 27 and mid-December. An estimated 40 million credit and
debit card accounts were affected.
Mulligan said Target is "deeply sorry"
for the effect of the data theft on consumers, and he acknowledged that their confidence in the Minneapolis-based company
has been shaken.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the panel's
chairman, said the erosion of consumers'
confidence — with data breaches on the
rise affecting retailers, Internet companies and others — could hinder the U.S.
economy's recovery.
Nichols Named New
Deputy District Attorney
Jennifer Nichols is the new deputy district attorney general in the Shelby County
District Attorney General’s office.
District Attorney General Amy Weirich
appointed Nichols to the No. 2 position
in the county prosecutor’s office Monday,
Feb. 3, succeeding Carter Myers, who is
retiring after 30 years in the office.
Nichols has been chief prosecutor for
the office’s Special Victims Unit. She joined
the Shelby County prosecutor’s office in
1991 after earning her law degree from
Cumberland School of Law at Samford
University in Birmingham and practicing
law in Florida.
She and Weirich shared an office at the
start of their careers as prosecutors.
Victorian Village to Host
Fundraiser Feb. 23
Victorian Village Inc. on Feb. 23 will
host a fundraiser dinner called A Taste of
Elegance, a farm-to-table period dinner
benefiting Victorian Village Inc. Community Development Corp.
The event will be held inside three of
the Victorian homes on Adams Avenue.
The Mallory-Neely House will provide the
backdrop for the charcuterie course, the
1871 Woodruff-Fontaine House will host a
dinner and the newly renovated James Lee
House will offer desserts.
The menu will be period-inspired, and
Victorian dress is welcomed. Tickets are
$125 and can be purchased at victorianvillageinc.org.
All three homes will be open for tours
during the event.
Dunavant Transportation
Hires Recruitment Specialist
Dunavant Transportation Group has
hired Darlene Beasley as its new driver recruitment and relations manager, responsible for the recruitment and retention of
drivers for its Dunavant Sea Lane Express
subsidiary.
Dunavant Transportation Group
acquired Sea Lane Express, which specializes in regional trucking and intermodal
drayage operations, in 2011. The company
currently has terminal operations in intermodal and port cities including Atlanta
and Savannah, Ga., Norfolk, Va., Charleston, S.C., Charlotte and Wilmington, N.C.,
and Nashville.
Beasley, who most recently served as
the regional manager of field recruiting for
Comcar Industries, will analyze each terminal’s needs for driver recruitment based
on customers’ freight requirements.
Grizzlies’ Joerger Named
Conference Coach of Month
Memphis Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger
was named the Western Conference Coach
of the Month for January.
Joerger guided Memphis to an NBAbest 12-3 record (.800) during the month of
January, as the Grizzlies won five consecutive games and nine of their last 10 to close
out the month. Memphis tied its franchise
record for January wins and finished just
one victory shy of the franchise record for
wins in any month (13 in March 2004 and
April 2012).
The Grizzlies also won six consecutive
road games from Jan. 5-31, the secondlongest road winning streak in franchise
history. The Grizzlies held all six opponents to 90 points or fewer, including
allowing just 77 points on the road against
the Milwaukee Bucks on Jan. 15 in the
second game of a back-to-back.
Memphis emerged as one of the
stingier defenses in the month of January,
holding opponents to 91.5 points per game
on just .431 shooting from the field and
.311 shooting from behind the arc. After
the return of center Marc Gasol from injury
on Jan. 14, Memphis held opponents to a
league-low 86.3 points per game.
tions Board determined that the UAW and
Volkswagen didn't violate federal labor
laws last year during the process of moving
toward a union representation vote.
Board Changes Stance
On Teacher Licensing
The Tennessee Board of Education has
changed its stance on rules effecting the
licensing of teachers.
In August, the board voted for the
policy brought by the state Education
Department to use student growth measured through standardized test scores, or
value-added data, to determine renewing
teaching licenses.
The board voted at the time to delay
implementation of the new rules until
2015.
But The Tennessean reports the board
voted to step away from the new policy.
The vote was on first reading and the
board is scheduled to take up the issue
again in April. Many teachers opposed the
changes because they were concerned that
flawed scores could cause qualified teachers to mistakenly lose their licenses.
Despite the board's new position, the
Tennessee Education Association, the
state's largest teachers' union, says it will
still push a measure this legislative session
that would prevent the state from taking
teachers' licenses based on "any statistical estimate utilizing standardized test
scores."
Miss. Senate OKs Adding
'In God We Trust' to Seal The Mississippi Senate voted Friday,
Jan. 31, to add "In God We Trust" to the
state seal, as requested by Republican Gov.
Phil Bryant.
Currently, it has an eagle and the
words, "The Great Seal of the State of Mississippi" without a slogan.
Senate Bill 2681 passed the Senate 480, with four senators absent.
It was set to move to the House for
more work.
The bill is called the "Mississippi
Religious Freedom Restoration Act," and
it says government may not burden a person's right to practice religion.
Its chief sponsor is Republican Sen.
Phillip Gandy, who is minister of Liberty
Baptist Church in Waynesboro. Gandy said
he has heard no examples of Mississippi
government trying to limit religion, but he
has talked to some conservative Christians
– particularly Pentecostals and Baptists –
who are concerned.
"Times are changing, and Christians
are afraid of a lot of different things. And
some of that is reality, possibly, and some
is perception. But we want to do what we
can," Gandy told The Associated Press
after the bill passed.
Some senators, including Democrat
David Jordan of Greenwood, pointed out
during the debate that the U.S. Constitution already guarantees freedom of
religion.
Read to your baby.
It’s amazing how much
you’ll both learn.
Go to TUCI.org for a copy of the Parents Guide to Kindergarten Readiness.
Tennessee VW Workers
To Hold Union Vote
The United Auto Workers says employees at Volkswagen's Chattanooga plant will
vote Feb. 12-14 on whether they want the
union to represent them.
The Detroit-based UAW said Monday
that the National Labor Relations Board set
the election.
The vote follows an agreement between the UAW and the Germany-based
automaker, which decided not to challenge a unionization vote.
UAW President Bob King says a statement that Volkswagen "is known globally
for its system of cooperation with unions
and works councils." The UAW says the
Chattanooga plant is VW's only major U.S.
facility without a union.
Last month, the National Labor Rela-
weekly digest
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ones routine in
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with peace of mind.
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www.eaglemedicalstaffing.com
6 February 7-13, 2014
contributors
F e b r u a r y 7 - 1 3 , 2 0 1 4 , V O L . 7, N O . 7
news
E d u c at i o n
President & CEO
P e t e r Sc h u tt
General Manager Emeritus
Ed Ra i ns
Publisher
Eric Ba r nes
bill dries
Senior Reporter
Government, Education, Manufacturing, Agribusiness
528-5277 | bdries@memphisdailynews.com
Associate Publisher & Executive Editor
Ja m es Ove rstr eet
Martin Challenges
Dropout Premise
Bill Dries
bdries@memphisdailynews.com
Managing Editor
L a n c e All a n W i e d owe r
Deputy Managing Editor
Eric S m i th
Associate Editor
K at e S i m o ne
Graphic Designer & Photo Editor
B ra d J o h nso n
andy meek
Senior Reporter
Banking/Financial Services/Accountants, Markets & Economy,
Economic Development, Small Business
528-5279 | ameek@memphisdailynews.com
Graphic Designer
Y v e t t e To u c h e t
Senior Production Assistant
Sa n dy Yo u ng blo o d
Production Assistant
L aurie B ec k
AMOS MAKI
REPORTER
Public Notice Director
DON FANCH E R
Commercial and Residential Real Estate, Architects/
Engineers/Construction
521-2464 | amos@memphisdailynews.com
Senior Account Executive
JANICE J E N K INS
Account Executive
LUCY B L ACK MON
Business Development Manager
Pat rici a m c k i nney
Marketing Manager
L e a h Sa ns i ng
Controller/Human Resources
PAM MA LL E TT
DON WADE
Reporter
Health Care, Sports & Entertainment, Hospitality/Tourism,
Nonprofits
528-8622 | dwade@memphisdailynews.com
Administrative Specialist
MARSHA PAY N E
Circulation Coordinator
K AY E K E RR
Pressman
C EDRIC WA LS H
Pressman
P ET E MITCH E L L
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The Daily News is a general interest
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Record, The Daily Court Reporter, and The
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U
niversity of Memphis interim
President Brad Martin says the
premise that students coming out of high school are academically
unprepared for higher education may not
be as prevalent as it’s believed to be. And
he adds that the university’s experience
indicates students leave without graduating because of other factors.
“That’s a common belief. I’m not sure
that’s true. I’m not sure that students
are any less prepared for college than
students were when I went to college,”
Martin said on the WKNO-TV program
“Behind the Headlines.”
Martin is a 1976 graduate of the university.
“When we look at the academic
performance of our students who do not
graduate, invariably, it’s not just academics,” he said. “It’s financial. It is family. It is
some sort of an emotional or social issue
that’s come up. Only probably about 10
percent of our students that do not finish
clearly can’t do the work or have not been
able to do the work at that level.”
The program, hosted by Eric Barnes,
publisher of The Daily News, can be seen
on The Daily News Video page, video.
memphisdailynews.com.
Martin, who became interim president of the city’s largest institution of
higher learning in July, set a basic goal
of growing the university from its current enrollment of 22,000 students and
bringing the school’s graduation rate from
the mid-40s to the national average of 54
percent.
Central to those two goals, Martin believes, is no tuition increase on his watch,
which is expected to be about a year.
“We are not going to raise tuition this
coming year. We think enough is enough,”
he said. “We’re very serious about growing
our enrollment, improving our success
rate and that will generate incremental
revenue dollars in tuition and incremental revenue dollars from the state.”
Martin is also critical of higher education’s rise in price, which he said has
increased nationally more than the cost of
providing that education has increased.
“I think those days are over,” he said.
“But the University of Memphis is still a
bargain. It’s a fair bargain, and we have
substantial federal programs, state programs and generous scholarships have
been provided by donors.”
The state provides $5,000 in funding
a year for every student, out of $9,000 annual tuition for in-state students.
Martin is among higher education
leaders who would like to see Tennessee
forget about the state line when it comes
to tuition for students who live in metro
Memphis but on the other side of a state
line.
He estimates about 1,000 university
students live in the greater Memphis area
but in Arkansas and Mississippi.
“When we look at the
academic performance of
our students who do not
graduate, invariably, it's
not just academics. It's
financial. It is family.”
–Brad Martin
“I don’t even understand how the
concept of an in-state or out-of-state student works in 2014 when so much of our
education is online,” Martin said. “What’s
the digital border between north Alabama
and Memphis if you are taking three
classes online? I think it’s nuts.”
The state does not contribute to the
university’s cost of educating those students who pay more in tuition and have
an impact on the local economy.
“Those people are going to be school
teachers, nurses, scientists and engineers.
They are going to work in this greater
Memphis community,” he said. “We are
desperate to have more college-educated
workers in the greater Memphis community. The state contributes not a dime
to the operating costs of us serving those
1,000 students.”
Tuition is two-thirds of the university’s revenue pool, with the other third
coming from state funding. State funding
has declined and university tuition has
increased every year for the last 22 years.
Martin has also made cuts in the
university’s payroll. As enrollment at the
University of Memphis has dropped,
Martin said the faculty has increased 6
percent since the 2008-2009 academic
year and staff has increased 2 percent
over the same period.
“We are not immune from the laws
of economics,” Martin added, saying no
tuition hike should increase the university’s revenue flow. “I think you will find
that with no tuition increase we will have
a substantial year-over-year increase in
revenues if we achieve our enrollment
goals.”
February 7-13, 2014 7
news
P u bl i c C o m pa n i es
He a l t h C a r e
ServiceMaster
Lays Off 65 In
Restructuring
Bill Dries
M
Baptist Memorial Health Care Corp. is in the midst of installing an electronic health records
system, Baptist OneCare, that is one of the more ambitious undertakings in the company’s
history. (Memphis News/Andrew J. Breig)
Doctors Go Digital
Baptist Adopts Electronic Records System
Don Wade
dwade@memphisdailynews.com
T
he name – Baptist OneCare –
really does say it all. Baptist Memorial Health Care Corp. is in the
midst of installing an electronic health
records system that is as ambitious an
undertaking as any in Baptist’s centuryplus history.
“We call it ‘one patient, one record,’”
said Beverly Jordan, Baptist vice president and chief clinical transformation
officer. “No matter where you are, the
caregiver can see all of your records. It
improves efficiency, safety and reduces
overall cost of care.”
At the start of the year, Baptist’s four
minor medical centers began using
the new system designed by software
vendor Epic Systems of Verona, Wis. Also
coming online early this year were more
than 50 clinics staffed by Baptist Medical Group doctors in metro Memphis,
West Tennessee and North Mississippi.
The entire system is expected to be operational by the middle of 2015.
This March, the metro Memphis
hospitals, including the flagship Baptist
Memorial Hospital-Memphis, are
scheduled to go live with the new system. The project also involves Baptist’s
financial systems.
Baptist’s minor med centers actually
had been using a different electronic
system for the last three years, so for
them this has represented a smaller
change, but still a significant one.
“We’ll be able to share data with hospitals,” said Dr. Monica Griffin, medical director for Baptist Minor Medical
Centers. “I can pull up an X-ray that a
patient had in an emergency room six
months ago. Or I can compare an EKG
from two weeks ago to now. That is
extremely valuable.”
Another key component of the
new system is MyChart, a free application that allows patients to view their
records, schedule appointments, refill
prescriptions and even send messages
to their medical providers. All from their
computers or mobile devices.
“Some people will be robust users
of the technology,” Griffin said. “And
others …”
Not so much. Regardless, the movement to digital medical records has
picked up momentum.
According to a 2012 Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention survey,
only 17 percent of physicians were using
an advanced electronic health records
system in 2008.
By May of 2013, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
reported “more than half of physicians
and other eligible professionals in the
United States had received a government incentive payment for adopting,
implementing, upgrading, or meaningfully using an EHR.”
In addition, about 80 percent of all
eligible hospitals and critical-access
hospitals in the U.S. had followed suit.
In 2008, the figure was just 9 percent.
Epic Systems has provided EHR
systems for huge health care providers such as Cleveland Clinic and the
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los
Angeles.
Griffin says Baptist’s OneCare system
will help patients take a more active role
in their own treatment.
“You’ve got a lot of medical alerts
that will pop up a warning box,” she
said. “One thing Epic has is a way to
display different health advisories. For
example, if a patient has high cholesterol” and is due for a test.
Critics of EHRs have voiced concerns about security.
“We have all sorts of firewalls and
security systems in effect to prevent
data breaches,” Epic’s founder and chief
executive, Judith Faulkner, said in an
interview with The New York Times. For
instance, she said, files can be viewed
on laptops used by doctors but those
files cannot be stored there – a precaution in the event the device were to be
stolen.
Faulkner added, “To the best of
our knowledge, there has never been a
breach of Epic’s data by a hacker.”
Jordan says there is a learning curve,
like with any new electronic records system, for those using it. Baptist has about
4,000 affiliated physicians.
“Doctors would probably tell you
the first few days were kind of rough,”
Jordan said, “but that after that it’s been
pretty good.”
How Baptist patients respond to the
system’s full installation won’t be known
for some time, but Jordan said: “To the
patient, it should be seamless.”
emphis-based ServiceMaster
Co. has laid off 65 employees
and eliminated another 40
vacant positions in a restructuring of its
headquarters that began Feb. 5, and was
confirmed by the company Thursday.
The total number of positions – 105
– amounts to 8 percent of the headquarters staff and is a result of the spin-off of
ServiceMaster’s TruGreen division as a
separate company, said ServiceMaster
spokeswoman Alison Bishop.
“With the TruGreen separation behind
us, we’ve taken a fresh look at the overhead structures and associated costs to
support ServiceMaster’s growth plans and
ensure that we are operating effectively
and productively,” Bishop said. “We recognize the need for a simpler, leaner operating model that’s in line with the scale of
the new ServiceMaster.”
TruGreen became a company independent of ServiceMaster with the closing
of the spin-off deal Jan. 14. ServiceMaster
leaders had struggled to bring the commercial and residential lawn care service
back to profitability.
TruGreen lost 300,000 customers in
two years despite several turnaround
efforts, including an overhaul of sales
methods and in-office practices, across
the administrations of three ServiceMaster
CEOs in 2 1/2 years.
Under changes that began when Hank
Mullany succeeded Patrick Spainhour as
ServiceMaster CEO, the company tried to
transplant the successful business model
and methods of its Terminix pest-control
division, loaning Terminix leaders to TruGreen in a turnover of TruGreen leadership.
However, instead of Terminix executives returning, the effort instead led to
new leadership at Terminix, not a return
of the leadership to ServiceMaster’s most
prominent brand in its set of commercial
and residential services.
So in November, five months after
he was named ServiceMaster CEO, Rob
Gillette announced TruGreen would be an
independent company by the end of 2013.
The irony was that it came just as
TruGreen showed its first year-over-year
increase in revenue in more than two
years. Nevertheless, the bump in revenue
didn’t make a dent in the declining customer count.
TruGreen President David Alexander,
at the time, called the spin-off “the best
possible move for both ServiceMaster and
TruGreen.”
“We’re in charge of our own destiny,”
Alexander added in the November earnings call with analysts.
The layoffs appear to be the public
start of the move to restructure ServiceMaster toward that destiny.
8 February 7-13, 2014
E d u c at i o n
A dv e rt i s i n g
Cohen Against
Haslam’s
College Plan
More Than 30 Seconds
Bill Dries
Kitty Taylor and Natalie Cunningham
Special to The Memphis News
T
he legislator who pushed and finally won passage of the Tennessee
Lottery a decade ago doesn’t like
the plan by Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam
to use most of the lottery reserve for an
endowment to offer two years of community college free to every Tennessee high
school graduate.
U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen,
D-Memphis, specifically has a problem with
the part of the Tennessee Promise plan that
would cut the amount of
money the lottery-funded Cohen
HOPE scholarship would pay for the first
two years of college. Haslam’s proposal
would cut that amount by $2,000 but then
increase the amount the HOPE scholarships pay for the third and fourth years of
college by $2,000 a year.
“I am extremely concerned and remain cautious about any plan that would
make it harder for our state’s proven
young people to begin attending the best
universities in Tennessee,” Cohen said in a
written statement. “Or any plan that places additional financial burden on schools
like the University of Memphis, which are
already struggling to keep costs down and
provide high quality educations.”
Cohen proposed and pushed for passage of the state lottery law including the
establishment of the HOPE scholarships
as a Tennessee state senator.
And since leaving Nashville for Washington, Cohen hasn’t hesitated to express
his opinions about changes to the lottery
and the scholarships.
Haslam made the Tennessee Promise
the centerpiece of his State of the State
address Monday. He also said the state
still has to sell many Tennesseans on the
necessity of some college or training after
high school graduation to fill new manufacturing jobs Haslam has made the priority of his economic development efforts.
To do that, Haslam is making the offer
of free community college for two years
and lowering the amount of HOPE scholarships in those first two years of college
at four-year institutions.
Cohen sees it as “raiding the scholarship fund’s surplus to create a new government program.”
Instead, Cohen said he’s told Haslam
the surplus should be used to either
raise the income cap for eligibility for the
scholarships or to raise the Aspire Awards
funded by the lottery that go to low- and
middle-income students.
State Senate Democratic leader Jim
Kyle of Memphis, meanwhile, has said he
is “pleased” with the proposal. And Kyle
does not think the emphasis on community colleges comes at the expense of
four-year colleges and universities.
“We’re leveraging our assets to get
a bigger bang for the buck,” Kyle said.
cohen continued on P28
Super Bowl ads go beyond traditional to tell story
I
t’s official. Super Bowl
advertising is no longer
a one-night event. The
marketing strategies that
reigned supreme in Super
Bowl XLVIII took the better
part of January to accomplish and are still unfolding online even this week.
The real story is what
this year’s advertisers did
outside of the multimillion-dollar TV spots. We
saw more brands than ever
taking advantage of realtime rhetoric with their
fans, marking a historymaking shift in the way
companies communicate
during the Super Bowl.
With many major
advertisers using social
media to tease their #SB48
commercials well before
game day, the rising ratio
of digital to traditional
media has never been this high. Official
advertisers and non-advertisers alike
manned interactive digital war rooms
for the duration of the evening. Indeed,
this year’s Super Bowl advertising story
is simple: It’s what happened outside of
the 30-second commercials that is most
interesting.
Here are the two major ways we observed brands stepping up their game:
These Companies Smacked Brand
Perception in the Face
The first to acknowledge its reputational shortcomings, Radio Shack
acknowledged its mundane image with
self-deprecating humor and a slew of
’80s celebrities. In the hilarious spot
called “The Phone Call,” we watched
and laughed as “the ’80s called and
said they want their store back.” While
the commercial was entertaining and
brave, the real conversation happened
on Radio Shack’s social media outlets.
Just seconds following the broadcast
of its ad, Radio Shack tweeted, “Out w/
the old, #InWithTheNew! For the next
24hrs, we're giving away all our old ’80s
stuff,” extending their 30-second spot
for another day.
In a different approach, Audi
introduced its new A3 model, a car at
an entry-level price that still boasts
premium German engineering. The
luxury carmaker needed to foster a
more approachable perception to drive
sales within an expanded demographic.
In a brand-atypical move, Audi chose
Snapchat, arguably a Millennial-focused
service, as its social media tool of
choice, being among the first big brands
to show interest in this up-and-coming
platform. Twitter simply served to refer
consumers to the conversation happen-
ing on Snapchat. This isn’t the first time
Audi touts a Super Bowl social media
first – it claims that in the 2011 game, it
was the first company to use a Twitter
hashtag in its ad.
These Companies Just Made You
Social
Ads were noticeably devoid of traditional “calls to action.” Instead we saw a
groundswell of real-time conversation
and connection, or at least the illusion
of being authentically “in the moment.”
Rather than asking consumers to buy,
select advertisers gave us something
to talk about with a series of risky – but
potentially high-reward – stunts.
Let’s start with J.C. Penney. Its brand
buzz happened entirely off the airwaves.
With just two tweets containing nonsensical typos, J.C. Penney stole attention with what was initially perceived
to be a drunken social media staffer.
Other big brands even engaged, including Pizza Hut, Coors Light and Doritos,
brightening the spotlight as J.C. Penney
rode the (odd) wave until it unveiled its
#TweetingWithMittens stunt at halftime.
The highly retweeted “Go USA” mittens
photo painted a thousand words. It’s
too soon to tell whether this stunt will
translate into increased sales for the
struggling retailer, but J.C. Penney certainly claimed relevance at a time when
its brand is not top of mind for many
consumers.
Another buzz-worthy stunt that
helped break up the monotony of the
uneventful game was the #HumanDoritosChip photobomb. The snack
brand known for its bold style dressed
about 50 game-goers in orange jackets,
forming an audience blob that when
photographed from overhead looking
like an oversized chip. With the tweet
“Are we making you hungry?” Doritos
kicked off a fan conversation online
that lasted the entire game and showed
immensely more creativity than what it
brought to the game through its TV ads.
Newcastle completely bucked tradition. Bragging that it couldn’t afford to
purchase Super Bowl TV ads, the U.K.
beer-maker owned the realm of online
campaigning before and during the
game. With its audacious #IfWeMadeIt
series, Newcastle capitalized on the
sport of Super Bowl ad-watching by
releasing parodies of some of the night’s
most-talked-about commercials. We’d
wager a bet that the brand’s “no bollocks” attitude garnered more attention
than a traditional 30-second spot and
without the hefty price tag.
It’s impossible in this column to
address every brand’s performance.
We acknowledge that many advertisers
elected to go with the tried-and-true formula for Super Bowl commercials. They
appealed to our emotions (Cheerios,
Bud Light) and they deployed celebrities
to appear as their spokespeople (Stephen Colbert for Wonderful Pistachios,
Bruce Willis for Honda, the Full House
cast for Dannon, and Ellen DeGeneres
for Beats Music, to name a few). While
the tried-and-true formula had its own
winners and losers, we hope you agree
– the magic this year took place outside
of the 30-second ad spots and on our
“second screens.”
Kitty Taylor and Natalie Cunningham
are account executives at RedRover Sales
& Marketing. Taylor is the lead public
relations strategist and Cunningham is
the lead digital media strategist for the
award-winning downtown agency.
February 7-13, 2014 9
Re a l E s tat e
Office Occupancy Ends 2013 on High
Amos Maki
amos@memphisdailynews.com
A
n unusually strong fourth
quarter helped push the
overall Memphis office
market occupancy rate into positive territory for 2013, according
to year-end commercial real
estate market reports.
The Memphis market recorded absorption of 225,338 square
feet in the fourth quarter – the
largest positive absorption the
market has experienced during
any quarter in more than 10 years
– to end the year with positive net
absorption of 40,558 square feet,
according to CB Richard Ellis
Memphis.
A series of large transactions
led to the high fourth-quarter
total.
Wright Medical Group Inc.
leased 122,653 square feet for its
new headquarters at 1023 Cherry
Road in East Memphis. The state
of Tennessee also signed its lease
for 100,000 square feet at One
Commerce Square Downtown for
its relocation from the Donnelley
J. Hill State Office Building, backfilling part of the 170,000 square
feet vacated by Pinnacle Airlines.
Other significant leases in the
fourth quarter included Financial Federal taking 27,055 square
feet at 1715 Aaron Brenner
Drive in the Renaissance Center,
Trustmark Bank leasing 12,622
square feet at 5350 Poplar Ave.
and Legacy Wealth Management
leasing 7,674 square feet in the
Renaissance Center.
“It was the biggest quarter
we’ve had in 10 years, but it
didn’t come from healthy, robust,
across-the-board activity,” said
Ron Kastner of CBRE Memphis.
“There were two really large
deals, the state of Tennessee and
Wright Medical, and it’s great
to have them, but I think folks
would say it’s better if it was 25
smaller deals.”
The vacancy rate for Class
A space in the East submarket
dipped 5.4 percent, which could
help improve the position of
Class B properties or lead to new
office construction.
“With the Class A tightening,
you’ll see tenants starting to look
at Class B,” said Ron Riley of Colliers International Memphis. “I
think it’s possible we may hear of
a building in 2014, but there are
significant hurdles to overcome.
That building will have to be preleased at 50 percent or more.”
Meanwhile, the Memphis industrial market remained in the
black in 2013 with year-end net
absorption of 3.2 million square
feet, according to Cushman &
Wakefield/Commercial Advisors.
The overall market vacancy rate
dropped 0.4 percentage points
from the previous year to 15.1
percent.
The DeSoto County industrial
submarket continued to post
impressive gains.
DeSoto County recorded
more than 3 million square feet
of absorption in 2013, essentially cutting the vacancy rate in
the submarket in half from 12.1
percent in 2012 to 6.4 percent by
year-end, according to Commercial Advisors. DeSoto Class A bulk
The Memphis office market recorded absorption of
225,338 square feet in the fourth quarter – the largest
positive absorption the market has experienced during
any quarter in more than 10 years. (Memphis News File/Lance Murphey)
vacancies ended 2013 even lower,
at 5.6 percent, down 6.2 percentage points from 2012. By comparison, the Southeast Memphis
submarket ended 2013 with a
vacancy rate of 15.8 percent.
Industrial developers and
their tenants have flocked to
DeSoto County because of the
availability of space and the area’s
business-friendly reputation, according to Commercial Advisors.
“One reason for demand is
DeSoto County’s proximity to
major transportation corridors
coupled with the fact that it is
one of the few submarkets where
new space can be found,” states
the Commercial Advisors report.
“Furthermore, DeSoto County
continues to enjoy a reputation as a pro-business suburb of
Memphis which offers property
tax abatements that are easy to
understand and easy to obtain.”
During 2013, construction
deliveries totaled more than
2.8 million square feet, which
is about 1.2 million square feet
more than 2012 and the largest year-end delivery total since
2007, according to CBRE Memphis.
Construction deliveries
should continue in the first quarter of 2014, with IDI expected to
complete the 861,252-squarefoot Building H at Crossroads
Distribution Center and Panattoni Development Co. expected
to complete a 554,000-squarefoot building at Gateway Global
Logistics Center in Marshall
County, Miss.
The Memphis retail market
closed 2013 with a net absorption of 346,846 square feet, the
highest year-end total since 2010,
according to CBRE Memphis.
“Retail really came back
strong last year,” said Brian
Whaley of CBRE Memphis.
Leases and purchases in and
around the redeveloped Overton
Square accounted for more than
125,000 square feet of transactions during 2013, according to
CBRE Memphis.
Grocery activity increased
significantly in 2013.
Cincinnati-based The Kroger
Co. is investing heavily in the
area, pouring around $100
million into new stores and
redeveloping older ones. Kroger
has replaced its store in the
large Poplar Plaza retail center
at Poplar and Highland Street
and is planning an ambitious
new store to replace its existing
Union Avenue location. Kroger is
also expanding its Olive Branch
location at 7427 Goodman Road,
increasing the store from 50,000
square feet to 75,000 square feet.
In addition to Kroger, Whole
Foods expanded its location on
Poplar Avenue in East Memphis
and is planning a new store
in Germantown, while Fresh
Market will convert the Ike’s store
on Union Avenue to one of its
upscale grocery stores. The Cash
Saver grocery store on Madison
Avenue in Midtown also underwent a large renovation.
“It was a really busy year for
a lot of factors, from increased
stand-alone construction, which
we haven’t seen in a while, to infill of existing shopping centers,”
Whaley said.
He a l t h C a r e & B i o t e c h
Memphis Firm Warns of IV Saline Shortage
Don Wade
M
emphis-based Comprehensive Pharmacy Services, the
nation's largest pharmacy
services provider, issued an advisory to
its more than 400 hospitals and health
systems clients throughout the country
to prepare for a protracted intravenous
saline shortage.
Greg Wenthe, a vice president with
CPS, said the reason for the shortage was
not known, but that there are concerns it
could last for some time.
“We don’t really know what’s driving
it,” Wenthe said.
"We've been doing this for 40 years,
and we don't see a clearly defined end to
the current intravenous saline shortage so
we are calling on the health care facilities we serve to take immediate action
to help effectively manage through this
crisis," Marvin Finnefrock, divisional vice
president for Clinical Services, said in a
statement. "It can't be business as usual,
because the shortage is lasting longer
than expected, so hospitals have to immediately focus energy, beyond finding
the scarce supply, on managing what they
have and engaging in thoughtful measures to best serve their patients."
Wenthe said CPS does have several clients in the Memphis market, but declined
to name them.
“Our job is help (clients) figure out
how to use the best medication at the
right time for a given situation,” Wenthe
said of CPS.
Finnefrock explained that the IV
saline shortage is particularly concerning
because it is one of the most commonly
used drugs in patient treatments.
"As other avenues are pursued, such
as the Food and Drug Administration
working with the manufacturers to step
up production or the federal government
releasing some emergency stockpiles,
those solutions have hurdles and are well
outside the control of health care providers, so they need to take matters into their
own hands, as well,” Finnefrock added.
CPS is advising medical, nursing and
pharmacy staff to work together to man-
“We've been doing this for 40
years, and we don't see a clearly
defined end to the current (IV)
shortage.”
–Marvin Finnefrock, CPS
age the IV saline shortage using a threepart approach involving conservation,
substitution and communication.
To that end, CPS is recommending
that medical professionals “set up basic
guidelines leading to conservation of
a limited resource.” Also, hospitals are
advised to put in place plans for saline
substitution where practical and possible,
in case the shortage worsens or lasts for
long time.
10 February 7-13, 2014
FedExForum-Area Targeted for New Apartments
Nashville-based Elmington Capital
Partners apparently likes the apartment
market in Downtown Memphis.
An Elmington-affiliated company
plans on building a 64-unit apartment
complex at 362 S. Second St., south of
FedExForum.
A $5.4 million building permit for the
project lists Patton & Taylor Construction
Co. as the general contractor and Shapiro
& Co. as the architect.
The apartment complex could boost
development efforts in the roughly 150acre neighborhood south of FedExForum,
which has largely missed out on the wave
of development and investment that has
washed over Downtown in the last 10-plus
years.
Elmington Capital is also launching
the roughly $10 million second phase of
Crescent Bluffs, which will contain three,
three-story buildings at Virginia Avenue
West and Kentucky Street. In all, the second phase of Crescent Bluffs will contain
172 units. Patton & Taylor and Shapiro &
Co. are also serving as the general contractor and architect on the second phase
of Crescent Bluffs.
Elmington Capital, a Nashville-based
commercial real estate investment and
development firm, launched Crescent
Bluffs’ 72-unit first phase at the northeast
corner of Virginia and Florida near Crump
Boulevard in 2012.
In leasing news, Ozburn-Hessey
Logistics has signed a short-term lease for
200,000 square feet at 4880 Tuggle Road,
which is part of the Memphis TradeCenter
development.
Ford Motor Co. also occupies space inside the 1.1 million-square-foot building.
Brad Murchison of CB Richard Ellis
Memphis represented the landlord, while
Brian Camp at ProVenture Real Estate
represented Ozburn-Hessey.
In other leasing news, Seriously Fun
Apparel is on the move and getting a new
name.
The boutique fashion store is moving from its current location at 7859
Farmington Blvd. in Germantown to the
60,724-square-foot Germantown Collection shopping center on Poplar Avenue.
Betty Hays of Seriously Fun Apparel
R E A L E S TAT E R E CA P
Smucker Files $16 Million
Permit for Plant Expansion
Eric Smith
esmith@memphisdailynews.com
S Perkins Rd
Cromwell Ave
Outland Rd
J.M. Smucker Co.
4789 Cromwell Ave., Memphis, TN 38118
4789 Cromwell Ave.
Memphis, TN 38118
Permit Cost: $16 million
Project Cost: $41 million
Permit Date: Applied January 2014
Completion: TBA
Owner: The J.M. Smucker Co.
Tenant: The J.M. Smucker Co.
Architect: N/A
Contractor: N/A
Details: The J.M. Smucker Co. has
filed a $16 million permit with the
city-county Office of Construction
Code Enforcement as part of its
planned plant expansion at 4789
Cromwell Ave. in Oakhaven.
No contractor or architect was
listed on the permit, which is the
first in Smucker’s plan to invest $41
million to upgrade its peanut butter
production lines.
The Economic Development
Growth Engine of Memphis and
Shelby County in mid-January
unanimously granted the Orrville,
Ohio-based company an amended
PILOT on for 15 years on personal
property and 13 years on real
property.
signed a five-year lease for 1,284
square feet at Germantown Collection. As part of the move, the
fashion and accessories store
will be renamed Betty Hays – A
Style Experience.
Ed Thomas and Andrew
Phillips of Colliers International Memphis facilitated
the transaction.
Bentley Pembroke and Anna
Tranum of Cushman & Wakefield/
Commercial Advisors represented
the landlord, In-Rel Properties Inc.
Spa Parts has leased 48,000
square feet of space at 371
Saturn Drive, which is part of
the Space Center development
Amos Maki owned by Olymbec USA LLC.
Inked
Bruce Young with Memphis
Commercial and Industrial
Dynamic Security Inc.,
represented Spa Parts, while Elliot Embry
which provides a wide range of private
and Hank Martin with NAI Saig Co. represecurity services, has leased 1,655 square
sented Olymbec.
feet at Southwind Office Plaza.
In November, Olymbec acquired
Don Drinkard of CB Richard Ellis
the 1.8 million-square-foot Bellbrook
Memphis represented the landlord, Coindustrial park for around $23.3 milhen Southwind GP.
lion. In February 2011, Olymbec bought
the 1.1 million-square-foot Space CenTri-State Title & Escrow Inc. has reter portfolio at 3051-3133 Tranquility
newed its lease at Lynnfield Office Park in
Drive from Trammell Crow Co. for $7.3
East Memphis.
million.
The full-service, locally owned title insurance agency founded in 1990 recently
Send commercial lease announcerenewed its lease for 2,375 square feet at
ments to Amos Maki, who can be reached
1255 Lynnfield Road. The company also
at 521-2464 or amos@memphisdailynews.
has an office on Farmington Boulevard in
com.
Germantown.
In addition to 42 new positions, which
will have an average wage of $52,545,
created through the expansion,
Smucker will maintain its existing 61
employees.
The approved tax freeze will save
Smucker $13 million, but the
company will still pay an estimated
$16.2 million in taxes to the city and
county over the length of the PILOT.
The company said 25 percent of the
company’s planned $21.5 million
in discretionary spending will be
with women- and minority-owned
businesses.
3815 S. Houston Levee Road
Collierville, TN 38017
Loan Amount: $1.7 million
Loan Date: Jan. 2, 2014
Maturity Date: Jan. 15, 2021
Borrower: Roller Properties LLC
Lender: Community Bank, North
Mississippi
Details: The owner of Cecil’s
Automotive at 3815 S. Houston Levee
Road in Collierville has filed a $1.7
million loan on the property.
Roller Properties LLC filed the deed
of trust Jan. 2 through Community
Bank’s North Mississippi branch in
Hernando. Bradley Roller and Cecil
Roller signed the deed as members of
the borrower.
Built in 2010, the 6,121-square-foot
auto service garage sits on an acre
along the west side of South Houston
Levee Road south of its intersection
with Winchester Road.
126 Beale St.
Memphis, TN 38103
Permit Cost: $2.5 million
Project Cost: TBA
Permit Date: Applied January 2014
Completion: TBA
Owner: Belz Enterprises
Tenant: Hard Rock Cafe International
(USA)
Architect: N/A
Contractor: W.G. Yates & Sons
Construction Co.
Details: Hard Rock Cafe International
(USA) has filed a $2.5 million permit
with the city-county Office of
Construction Code Enforcement for
interior renovations at 126 Beale St.
The restaurant, bar and music venue
will depart its current location at 315
Beale St. and move to the Lansky Bros.
building at Second and Beale.
The permit lists Hard Rock as the
tenant and Belz Enterprises as owner.
Philadelphia, Miss.-based W.G. Yates
& Sons Construction Co., which has
an office on Poplar Avenue, is general
contractor for the project.
2435 Whitten Road
Memphis, TN 38133
Loan Amount: $1.1 million
Loan Date: Jan. 24, 2014
Maturity Date: Jan. 24, 2029
Borrower: GPG Development Co.
Lender: Landmark Community Bank
Details: The owner of the
14,136-square-foot retail center at
2435 Whitten Road in Northeast
Memphis has filed a $1.1 million loan
on the property.
GPG Development Co. filed the deed
of trust, assignment of rents and
security agreement Jan. 24 through
Landmark Community Bank.
The following joint venturers signed
the deed on behalf of the borrower:
Ken Garland Jr., Mark E. Pugh,
Michael R. Pugh, Timothy L. Pugh,
and Arminta L. Pugh.
February 7-13, 2014 11
G ov e r n m e n t
M a n u fa c t u r i n g
Haslam: Remove Higher
Education Barriers
Buckman Sees
Leadership
Changes
Bill Dries
Bill Dries
W
hen Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam outlined an
endowment from Tennessee lottery reserve funds
to offer two years of community college free to all
Tennesseans graduating high school – a plan he presented
during his State of the State address Monday, Feb. 3 – it was a
concept that had been years in the making.
One of Haslam’s goals – as well as a goal of his predecessor, Gov. Phil Bredesen, and some legislators of both parties
– has been a greater role for the state’s community colleges
and other two-year institutions.
This past September, state Sen. Jim Kyle of Memphis
called on Haslam to use the operational reserve lottery fund
of more than $400 million to pay for Tennesseans to resume
and complete college.
“We do good things with the lottery, but we can do more
for other folks,” the Senate Democratic leader told the Frayser Exchange Club. “We’ve got to build the lives of adults. …
Everybody needs to drink from the well.”
Kyle paid close attention to Monday’s State of the State
address.
“I’m pleased with the proposal,” he said after the address. “What the governor has done is address the issue of
the lottery. We’re going to use the lottery for access to higher
education.”
Kyle points to a detail that wasn’t in the speech, but in
Haslam’s written proposal.
In that proposal, Haslam would cut the HOPE scholarship amount in the first two years at a four-year college by
$2,000 per year, but would increase the scholarship amount
for the last two years by $2,000 to $5,000.
“What it appears to be to me is something we’ve been
working on for the last several years,” Kyle said of the
change. “It’s a nationwide concept of trying to direct people
into their community colleges because it’s a lot less expensive for people to go to a community college. It’s less expensive for the state and it’s less expensive for them.”
The result is a bigger pipeline with four-year colleges
gaining more students who are continuing beyond two years
and associate degrees at that level.
Haslam has made upping the percentage of Tennesseans
with some kind of associate degree, similar certification or
four-year degree a priority of higher education. His goal is 55
percent, compared to the current 35 percent.
He said Monday night that there are barriers, including
continued perceptions that it’s not necessary to go beyond a
high school diploma.
(AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)
The centerpiece of Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam’s State of
the State address was his plan to offer two free years of tuition to all Tennessee high school graduates.
“We have to change our culture,” Haslam said. “More
Tennesseans have to believe that earning a certificate or degree beyond high school is not only possible but necessary.
As we urge more Tennesseans to continue their education,
we know we have to remove as many barriers as possible.”
And Haslam said the biggest barrier is cost.
“Of course, if you are going to a community college, you
would be going for free,” Kyle said. “And then secondly, in
your last two years we’re going from $3,000 to $5,000. So over
the course of a four-year scholarship, the student gets the
same amount of money.”
Haslam specifically proposed Monday using all but $110
million of the $400 million reserve to create an endowment
under the banner of what Haslam called the “Tennessee
Promise.”
“The Tennessee Promise is an ongoing commitment
to every student – from every kindergartner to every high
school senior,” Haslam said from the well of the state House.
“We will promise that he or she can attend two years of community college or a college of applied technology absolutely
free.”
And, closer to Kyle’s specific proposal for using the lottery reserve funds, Haslam announced an expansion of the
“last dollar” scholarships to cover all adults – no matter their
age or whether they qualify for a HOPE lottery scholarship –
to attend Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology free.
Haslam said the endowments are essential to sustaining
the programs over multiple budget years.
“The Tennessee Promise can only be a true promise if
state of the state continued on P29
Kathy Buckman Gibson
is changing her role in the
Buckman family business,
Buckman International.
Buckman Gibson became
president and chief operating officer of the global
Buckman
specialty chemical company
with a company announcement Thursday, Jan.
30. She had been chairman of the Buckman
board since 2000.
Succeeding her as chairman of the board
is Otto Heissenberger Jr., retired president and
CEO of Voith Paper Inc., who has been on the
Buckman board since 2010. Heissenberger is
the first chairman of the board who is not a
Buckman family member.
The company was created in 1945 by Buckman Gibson’s grandfather, Stanley J. Buckman.
Its original location, on the site of a former
lumberyard in North Memphis, remains the
company’s global headquarters.
Buckman Gibson succeeded her father,
Robert Buckman, as chairman of the company
in 2000. The president position at Buckman has
been open since Edson Peredo retired last year.
As president and CEO, Buckman Gibson will
focus on the company’s global strategic plan
and track industry trends.
She is involved in numerous civic organizations, including the Women’s Foundation for
a Greater Memphis and the Chairman’s Circle
of the Greater Memphis Chamber. Buckman
Gibson also leads the company’s BuckmanCares
initiative, which coordinates Buckman employees’ community volunteer work.
Steven B. Buckman remains chief executive
officer and president of Bulab Holdings Inc., the
parent company of Buckman International.
Buckman International makes chemicals
used in pulp and paper production, water treatment and leather production.
As part of the changes in the front office,
Buckman also announced Robin Luck, vice
president of global marketing since 2004, has
retired.
Community
Literacy Mid-South Gears up for Busy March
Andy Meek
ameek@memphisdailynews.com
L
iteracy Mid-South is gearing up for a
whirlwind of activity next month.
The national Read Across America
event happens in March, and Literacy MidSouth will have special events, book giveaways, author visits and more throughout
the month. The literacy organization also
will be hosting a month-long “virtual book
club” on social media via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Heather Nordtvedt, Literacy Mid-South
community relations manager, said the
group wants to use those virtual outlets to
engage the entire city in one communal
reading experience by everyone focusing
on the same books.
“If you use our #ReadMemphis hashtag
during the month of March, you'll be eligible to win prizes, including a Kindle Fire,
baskets from The Booksellers at Laurelwood, and Literacy Mid-South swag bags,”
she said. “Through our book giveaways,
we'll (also) be distributing over 1,000 books
to Mid-South children at Title I schools,
including Springdale Elementary, Peabody
Elementary and Kingsbury Middle.”
The group’s previous book of choice for
the month was read by more than 5,000
people, and this year Literacy Mid-South
has picked two books for March. They are
“Neversink,” by local author Barry Wolverton, and “Life is So Good,” by Richard
Glaubman and George Dawson.
“To wrap up Read Across America
Month, we're hosting a Literacy Leader
Awards finale event on Tuesday, March 25,”
said Nordtvedt, about the event that will be
held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Rhodes College. “We're currently accepting nominations for community organization of the
year, outstanding education volunteer,
and person of the year. Winners will be
announced at the event, which is free and
open to the public.”
Other things in March include a “Read-
ing Flash Mob” at Overton Park that will
kick off the month. The event will be held
March 1 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. as part of
the group’s citywide reading campaign
and involves participants simply heading to the park with things like a picnic
blanket, friends, lunch and a book. Prizes
will be awarded to anyone spotted reading
“Neversink” and “Life is So Good.” To know
where the flash mob will be, Literacy MidSouth recommends following the group’s
Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Separate from the March events, 2014
will be a milestone pretty much all year for
Literacy Mid-South, partly because it’s the
group’s 40th anniversary.
12 February 7-13, 2014
Re a l E s tat e
Competing Bidders Emerge for Ashlar Hall
Amos Maki
T
wo people that had once
considered teaming up
to acquire and renovate
crumbling Ashlar Hall are going
their separate ways.
Joe Thordarson, founder of
the Memphis Comic and Fantasy Convention, and Ty Cobb,
founder of the nonprofit Have a
Standard Foundation, said this
week that they are now pursuing
separate plans to gain control of
the Midtown mansion.
“I met with Ty Cobb last week
to discuss how we might share
the space, but we found that
there is just no realistic way to
do it,” Thordarson said. “So we
have both decided to pursue the
acquisitions separately. I suppose
you could say that we are now in
friendly competition.”
The future of Ashlar Hall has
been in the hands of Environmental Court Judge Larry Potter
since its owner Robert “Prince
Mongo” Hodges entered into an
agreement with Potter’s court and
the city to find a new owner that
could make the repairs necessary
to bring the 11,114-square-foot
building into compliance.
Thordarson was the first
person to present Potter a plan
to reuse Ashlar Hall. The local
remodeling contractor would like
to transform the castle-like building on Central Avenue into an
arts, education and events center
showcasing fantasy and science
fiction art, literature and events.
Thordarson is planning a Feb.
15 demonstration at the University Club, on the opposite side of
Ashlar Hall, built in 1897 just off Central Avenue, could have two bidders interested in redeveloping the property. (Memphis News/Andrew J. Breig)
Central Avenue near Ashlar Hall,
to give the community a preview
– complete with local filmmakers, artists and writers – of how he
would use the building.
“The concept for what we
want to do is so unique we want
to give people a taste of what
it’s all about,” Thordarson said.
“The Mid-South doesn’t have any
venue like what we’re proposing.”
Meanwhile, Cobb, whose
foundation operates the CoreFire
Commando learning program
inside the AutoZone Challenge
Center at the Kroc Center, is
pursuing a plan to turn Ashlar
Hall into an experiential learning venue designed to motivate
students and mentors.
CoreFire Commando participants are given “missions” – such
as responding to a natural disaster or helping rescue hospital
patients in a war zone – to foster
an environment of innovation
and teamwork.
“You’ve got to work together
as a team to overcome obstacles
and succeed on that mission,”
Cobb said.
Cobb and Thordarson
have each shown the ability to
organize and raise funds, which
will be important factors in their
drives to acquire Ashlar Hall.
Potter has emphasized that
whoever wants to acquire the
building will have to provide
detailed plans on how they would
finance future renovations and
operations.
“I cannot and will not accept any proposal unless that
structure can be dealt with in an
immediate fashion … so we can
stop the bleeding,” Potter said
during a Jan. 27 hearing.
Thordarson started the Memphis Comic and Fantasy Convention from scratch.
The fourth annual convention, held last year, attracted
thousands of children, including around 1,300 who flocked
to the Kroc Center Oct. 25 to
participate in “Geek 101,” which
featured comic book artists and
characters, craftspeople and local filmmakers. Thordarson also
shares his passion for the arts
with children each year in school
classroom visits.
Thordarson said other contractors have pledged to donate
their time and services to repair
the building.
“I think we have the ability
to get around 80 percent of the
repairs done now, but once we
do the fundraising we’ll be able
to take care of all the repairs,”
Thordarson said.
Cobb is not a Kroc Center employee but operates the CoreFire
Commando program there in
addition to his existing location
in Cordova.
Cobb’s Have a Standard Foundation brought in $3.2 million
in revenue from 2006 through
2012, according to state records.
Around $1.2 million came from
“public contributions,” with the
rest coming from fees individuals,
groups and business pay to take
part in the CoreFire Commando
course and host events such as
birthday parties.
“People who have supported
us in the past, we’re going to go to
them and see what their interest
level is in seeing this happen,”
Cobb said. “When there’s been a
need before, people have come
forward.”
The once stately Ashlar
Hall, which was built in 1897
and served as the home of real
estate developer Robert Brinkley Snowden, has turned into a
dilapidated eyesore.
Hodges’ brother, Bernard
Hodges, acquired the property for
$300,000 in 1993 before transferring it via warranty deed to 1397
Central Ave LP in 1994. Robert
Hodges began operating The
Castle nightclub at the property after his brother acquired it,
before closing the club’s doors
around a decade later. The buildashlar hall continued on P29
Real Innovation Work is Corporate Shamanism
This visionary work dates
Everyday we advise clients to
as far back as 40,000 years.
take risks, leap into unknown
A shaman uses the power,
and unexplored areas, express
wisdom and energies of a differthemselves in new ways – all
ent frame of mind to create
to locate, validate and capiand promote constructive
talize on new areas of growth. JOCELYN ATKINSON
change in people and their
We have formal methods & michael graber
let’s grow
environments. and processes for unlocking
A good shaman sees him or herself
potential and manifesting new realities for
as a “hollow bone” through which healing
them. We always tell them to be true to
and messages are transmitted to clients.
themselves, their organizations and be a
Isn’t this the same work as an Innovapositive force on the planet. We embolden
tion Catalyst who strives to connect their
and encourage. We connect them to the
clients with their own humanity and the
real lives that use their creations.
humans who use their products and serFor these reasons, we would like to
vices? Without imposing a pre-amped set
state that real innovation work is a form of
of prejudices, innovation starts in the dark
Corporate Shamanism. of discerning what people perceive of your
Shaman (pronounced SHAH-maan)
offering.
is a word of the Tungis people of Siberia,
Then, through a set of rigorous exwhich means “one who sees in the dark.”
ercises, the energies are harnessed and
the perceptions that are gathered are put
into a new pattern, a new way of seeing, a
new way of measuring value. This creative
process holds true on individual, product
and corporate levels.
As organizations are nothing more
than collections of individuals, it makes
deep sense that these time-tested,
powerful methods can be used to restore
organizations to a sense of mission, purpose and optimal creativity. In fact, many
actual Shamanic practices can be applied
to business issues and corporate cultures
with great effect. Besides, Innovation, as a word, has no
real meaning anymore. For some organizations it is a lofty goal, for others a marketing plan, for others a new IT platform. Yet,
real innovations – categorized as Disrup-
tive or Breakthrough – change the world
they inherited. While it seems like a wild leap of fancy,
calling the discipline Corporate Shamanism instead of the empty word from the
industrial revolution (innovation) is a
better-fitting moniker. Corporate Shamanism re-humanizes
business, focuses on the people who use
a product or services, and uses a scientific
approach to achieving a visionary result. Who wants to journey into the vast
land of possibility? Let’s go.
Jocelyn Atkinson and Michael Graber
run the Southern Growth Studio, a strategic growth firm based in Memphis. Visit
www.southerngrowthstudio.com to learn
more.
February 7-13, 2014 13
S MA L L- B U S IN E S S S P OT L IGHT
Hunter Fan’s Casablanca
Brand Emphasizes Design
Bill Dries
J
ames C. Hunter’s first ceiling fan,
which he invented in Syracuse, N.Y.,
in 1886, was water-driven.
Sometime after that, Hunter moved
the company to Memphis and in 1896
changed its name to Hunter Fan & Motor Co.
Today, Hunter Fan Co. is still a part
of the Memphis economy with its central administration facility that includes
industrial design, engineering and a test
lab.
Over the company’s long life, it has
bought several other brands, such as
the smaller Casablanca Fans Co., which
became part of Hunter in 1996 but kept
the Casablanca brand name.
“Casablanca is really set up as our
leading design brand,” said Hunter CEO
John Alexander, who took the company’s reins in March.
Casablanca’s 2014 line of eight new
fans debuted this month at the Dallas
Market Center Show, a wholesale trade
show.
The new line is a concept in letting
consumers choose the components of
their ceiling fan.
“With design, it’s always changing.
Always evolving. … The one big change
that came out with the line we launched
this year … is built around the ability
to customize your fan depending on
your needs,” Alexander said. “It allows
designers and consumers to be able to
choose and decide and personalize the
product they are building for their room
specific to the room. For us, that’s a big
change.”
Christophe Badarello, Hunter’s director of industrial design, says the fan
design and style is just as important as
the furniture beneath the fan.
Director of Industrial Design Christophe Badarello (right) goes over a
product design with industrial designer Ben Guthrie. (Memphis News/Andrew J. Breig)
“The first thing is you will choose
your furniture. We’ve got to stay close to
those trends,” he said. “It’s kind of the
centerpiece of the ceiling. You cannot
really see it as an accessory.”
Badarello said aged white oak that
has only a minimal treatment is a popular trend that Casablanca is pursuing.
The company matches the woodwork in a new resin-molding process
that makes other parts of the fan.
“The blades that are on the fan are
really high-end wood,” said Tiffany
Miracle Judd, senior product manager.
“The housing on that fan is the resin.
They are spitting images. You cannot tell
the difference. The grain is very specific. It mimics the look of the true wood
in the housing of the ceiling fan.”
Alexander said Hunter has other
new technology in its future.
“We can’t speak about them now,
but I think what you will see over the
next couple of years will be very exciting,” he said as he talked of broadening
the reach of the products into foreign
markets.
“We feel it’s much more important
to put a stronger presence in some of
the developing markets,” he added.
“That will benefit both those markets
as well as the U.S. as we scale up this
company. We’ll see more trends from
other countries that actually will feed
into the U.S.”
Alexander said ceiling fans enjoyed
great popularity in the 1970s as homeowners became more conscious of
energy costs.
“It was a really strong story. As
energy became relatively less expensive,
people forgot about that benefit and the
importance of it,” he added. “That story
is still as strong as it was back then.”
hunter continued on P29
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College Housing
Options Have
Different Costs
Ray’s Take
As if college
tuition – and
books – weren’t
expensive enough,
there’s also
the cost of ray & dana Brandon
rays of wisdom
housing.
Unlike the other two, however, this is one area
where you can possibly have a little control.
Many colleges offer various options. The
old complaints about lack of privacy and
shared bathrooms aren’t necessarily valid
– depending on how much you’re willing to
pay. Dorms still provide less privacy and more
distractions. That’s why some students opt to
switch to housing off campus.
When that happens, sit down with your
student and do the math. It isn’t just the cost
of an apartment versus a dorm room, there
are a lot of other factors to consider as well.
Campus housing usually includes utilities, high-speed Internet, cleaning services,
basic furnishings, the option of a meal plan
that offers a balanced diet, a built-in support
system through resident assistants, and
eliminates the need for transportation to and
from campus. These are all expenses that will
add to the cost of off-campus living. Plus, the
student will have to do all his own cooking
and cleaning. Is it ultimately worth it?
Some parents think they can largely offset
housing costs by buying a condo or house
and then selling it when their child is through
school. If they’re really lucky, this might work
out. However, when you consider the short
duration of ownership, wear-and-tear, and associated costs like taxes, insurance and local
oversight, the odds are against them.
Do the math, and think through the social
and college-experience aspects, too. There is
no one right option, but there is a better one
for your child.
Dana’s Take
Imagine a student having to get to an 8
a.m. class in 30-degree weather. As hard as it
is for a student to get up in the morning at all,
it is important to remove as many obstacles
to class attendance as possible.
Students living off-campus may have to
drive, park on the outskirts of campus, and
then walk to class. University housing is nearly always a short walk to class, thus improving
the odds of the student arriving to class.
Might the parent or student save money
by renting off-campus housing? Yes. The risk
is that the off-campus student may miss
more classes, resulting in a lower overall
return on the education investment.
No one knows your college student better
than you. If your child craves independent
housing, make sure he or she has the tools
and discipline to make it work financially, socially and academically. Otherwise the costs
could be severe.
Ray Brandon is a certified financial planner and CEO of Brandon Financial Planning
(www.brandonplanning.com). His wife,
Dana, has a bachelor’s degree in finance and
is a licensed clinical social worker. Contact
Ray Brandon at raybrandon@brandonplanning.com.
Visit cbtcnet.com for details.
14 February 7-13, 2014
Work on an expansion of the Frayser Nike facility is well
underway. The $301 million expansion will create 250
new jobs. (Memphis News/Andrew J. Breig)
PILOT Reform
Economic development leaders weigh changes to incentive program
Amos Maki
N
ike is in the midst of a $301 million expansion of its Northridge
plant in Frayser, a project that
means the Beaverton, Ore.based company will create 250
jobs and retain 1,600 existing
local jobs.
But Nike officials said the
expansion could have landed in another
community if not for a payment-in-lieuof-taxes (PILOT) incentive that is expected
to save the company $57.8 million over 15
years. Nike was considering multiple sites
for the project at the time and the PILOT
incentives offered by Memphis and Shelby
County played a key role in the company’s
decision to expand locally.
“It is our intent to be here in Memphis,” Willie Gregory, Nike director of
Community and Business Relations, said
at the time. “The support and incentives
that we have received will help in that
decision.”
Now, major changes could be in store
for the PILOT program, the primary economic development incentive tool used by
Memphis and Shelby.
The Economic Development Growth
Engine of Memphis and Shelby County
has launched a sweeping review of the
PILOT incentive that could lead to the
most significant reforms in the program’s
history.
“This is the city and county’s most
effective and important program,” said
EDGE president Reid Dulburger.
“It has served the county well over the
years.”
“It has been tweaked over the years,
but this is the best opportunity in years to
do a thorough review from top to bottom,”
he said. “From our board members’ perspective, it’s been a long time coming and
the time is finally here.”
EDGE has hired Sharon Younger of
Younger Associates to conduct the review,
which will include getting input from commercial real estate brokers and developers,
elected officials, PILOT recipients, chambers of commerce from across Shelby
County and the public.
“Given the importance of this program
it’s important that we get it right and take
the time to talk to the right people,” said
Dulburger. “Everything is on the table,
from small tweaks to the program to completely rethinking the program.”
The PILOT program administered by
EDGE is the main business recruitment
tool used by Memphis and Shelby County.
The program works by abating taxes –
85 percent on the city side this year, before
dropping to 75 percent next year, and 75
percent on the county side – for real and
personal property improvements. Companies pay the full amount of taxes on
the pre-developed land. A scoring matrix
that includes the number of jobs created,
wages, capital investment and other factors determines the length of the PILOT
term.
A cost-benefit analysis is performed
to ensure that for every $1 in taxes abated
at least $1 in new taxes is produced. To
qualify for a PILOT, companies must
produce at least a $1 to $1 tax ratio and
the vast majority of PILOT recipients far
exceed that amount.
Nike’s $57.8 million PILOT, for example,
is expected to lead to a local tax benefit of
$105.3 million in return, or $1.82 in revenue for every tax dollar abated.
“We have net new dollars that otherwise would not be coming in to the
community,” Dulburger said. “We try to
negotiate the best deal for the community
that we can.”
Memphis and Shelby County have relied heavily on the PILOT program to offset
the cost of property taxes to businesses to
locate or expand here. A national expert
on business incentives told City Council
members in 2012 that nearly a third of all
properties enrolled in PILOT programs
across the state of Tennessee are from
Shelby County.
The PILOT has been used to land everything from the corporate headquarters
of International Paper and ServiceMaster
to the manufacturing plants Electrolux
and Mitsubishi Electric Power Products
Inc. are operating. Conduit Global, which
recently announced it was building an $8
million call center that will employ 1,000
people, will likely seek a PILOT.
But it has also been a lightning rod
for criticism. Some residents and elected
officials paint the incentive as corporate
welfare, and public employee unions have
blasted the tax breaks, saying city and
county governments have slashed public
employee salaries, reduced benefits and
cut services while doling out lucrative tax
breaks to often-profitable businesses.
A 2010 report from the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental
Relations said exemptions and tax incentive programs suck “millions of dollars in
uncollected taxes” from local governments
and “impose unfair tax burdens on households and businesses” that don’t receive
the incentives.
“We’re issuing long-term PILOTs but
once the companies get established and
get on their feet they should contribute to
the community,” said Mike Williams, president of the Memphis Police Association.
“A lot of them are making major profits but
they’re not contributing back to the city
other than the jobs they provide.”
Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. has
heard the criticisms for years but says
Memphis must remain competitive in the
high-stakes game of job recruitment if the
city is going to make significant strides
toward alleviating poverty and curing the
city’s financial woes.
“The competition is fierce and there
is a need for incentives,” said Wharton.
“Our job is to make sure we get a return
for those incentives, not only in terms of
dollars but what (the companies) are doing
for the community as a whole. So far the
companies who have come in here have
been good corporate citizens
contributing more than just tax
dollars.”
Gov. Bill Haslam said incentives should be viewed as an
investment that produces returns
for taxpayers.
“The challenge for me is
to look at it like you would in
business and that is return on
investment,” said Haslam. “We’re
literally investing the taxpayers’
money when we give incentives
so we have to make sure the
return is there in terms of the
number of jobs, what those jobs
pay and the capital investment.”
Dulburger said he understands the controversy that
surrounds the use of incentives
but that simply doing away
with incentives like the PILOT
program would be tantamount
to unilateral disarmament in the
ongoing battle for jobs.
“We get that there is general
criticism from people who don’t
like the concept of public sector
incentives for private firms and
that’s a common theme around
the country,” Dulburger said.
“They say, ‘We pay our taxes; they
should pay theirs.’
“But we live in a highly
competitive world and the choice
we have is to compete or not
compete. If we choose not to
compete we will have fewer jobs
and capital investment in Shelby
County.”
Wharton also understands the
criticism surrounding and even
harbors his own mixed feelings
for the PILOT program.
“We have to have the incentives but I wish we had a greater
arsenal of incentives,” Wharton
said. “I’m not a big fan of the
PILOT program because you’re
manipulating the tax rate, but it’s
the only tool we have for the most
part.”
That is beginning to change,
and the PILOT review could
produce recommendations that
could allow the program to do
more.
EDGE has already introduced
several new incentive programs
in the hopes of expanding the
number and types of businesses
it can reach.
February 7-13, 2014 15
The PILOT program has been used for projects such as the International Place Tower IV construction.
Dr. David Ghodoussi, founder
of Optimum Polymer Technologies, a Memphis-based automotive detailing solution manufacturer, was trying to expand his
business and looking at locations
in Memphis and Mississippi. In 2013, Ghodoussi acquired a
$271,000 loan through the EDGE
Impact Fund, which provides
capital to small businesses that
want to expand in Shelby County
but would not qualify for a PILOT.
“It was a great program that
we were able to take advantage
of for a building we wanted to
purchase,” Ghodoussi said. “The
terms were much better than
what the banks were offering
us and I really enjoyed working
through EDGE because most
small businesses like us are not
able to go and find all the resources available to them.”
EDGE also provides Small
Business Administration 504
loans, which can help fund land
and equipment purchases and
building renovations. EDGE has
also launched the Inner City
Economic Development Fund,
a forgivable loan program to
fund façade and interior improvements for neighborhood
businesses in distressed parts of
Memphis.
Dulburger said the ongoing
review will include exploring
ways to do more with the PILOT
program, which currently places
a heavy emphasis on job creation.
“How can we use the existing
tools we have in new and innovative ways to spur additional
growth in Memphis and Shelby
County?” Dulburger said. “A focus
on jobs means we are structurally
precluded from other projects
that may be of benefit to the
community.”
Younger will take a close look
at the PILOT program offered by
the Center City Revenue Finance
Corp., the financial arm of the
Downtown Memphis Commission. Both PILOT programs are
authorized by the same state
law, but the one offered by the
CCRFC places a greater emphasis
on capital investment, which en-
The PILOT program was instrumental in bringing the
Electrolux manufacturing plant to Presidents Island.
courages redevelopment. EDGE,
which places an emphasis on job
creation, may be able to craft a
similar program to encourage investment in targeted areas to spur
things like inner-city redevelopment or speculative industrial
development.
The ongoing review will also
focus on the process for receiving
incentives, which has been criti-
cized for years by some business
officials as too cumbersome.
“The general notion is, if we
can compete how can we better
compete?” Dulburger said. “How
can we streamline the process,
or make the process simpler,
while at same time maintaining the transparency we have
worked very hard to implement
at EDGE?”
16 February 7-13, 2014
special coverage
e m p h a s i s : F i n a n c i a l S e r v i c es
New Horizons
Office move heralds new future for Marston Group
Andy Meek
W
hen The Marston Group PLC,
a Memphis-based certified
public accounting and financial consulting firm, held an
open house in recent weeks
at its new digs, the evening
portion of the event lasted from 7 till later
in the night, with the last person leaving
around 10.
The next day, when senior partner
and CEO Chip Marston talked about the
event, the energy and excitement from
the night before was still there – about
how far his firm has come and about what
is on the horizon.
“We wanted to celebrate with clients
and give them a chance to visit with each
other,” Marston said of the festivities Jan.
23, which included breakfast, lunch and
evening gatherings to celebrate the firm’s
move to 1661 International Drive. “It’s a
fun space. It’s bright, warm and inviting.
There’s also a tremendous amount of art
in our office, artists that all have Memphis
roots.”
The company moved to the second
floor of the 89,000-square-foot, four-story
building there known as the Colonnade.
It was a relocation from Primacy Parkway that was needed because the firm’s
clients and business have grown, and The
Marston Group wanted to rethink the
functionality of its workspace and layout
design after being in the same place for
almost 20 years with three expansions.
Marston described the new space as
a better match for the firm’s corporate
identity and more convenient for clients –
Girl To Great_4.875”x7”_DailyNews
The Marston Group PLC offices
at 1661 International Drive in the
building known as the Colonnade.
From left: Marston Group partners
Chip Marston, Bill Drummond, Terry
Courtenay and Jimmie Dickey.
girltogreat.
as well as a “brighter, more vibrant office
environment inside.” Graham Reese of
Graham Reese Designs helped fashion the
space and make it a good fit for the accounting firm’s more than 25 employees.
“It’s going to be a very dynamic year
for us,” Marston said, referring to both
the new office and the fact the firm is
continuing to add to its ranks.
Recently, for example, The Marston
Group – which was founded in 1985 –
added Terry Courtenay as a member of
the firm’s practice.
Courtenay, a certified public accountant, has experience providing tax
and advisory services to predominantly
family-held businesses, and he’s worked
with a variety of businesses, including in
the fields of real estate and agriculture.
“Over the last year, Bill Drummond
also joined us from Ernst & Young to lead
our audit and financial reporting area,”
Marston said. “And Terry Courtenay
merged his practice into ours. We have
both of those guys providing experience
and leadership now, and we’ve also added
a senior manager in the financial reporting ranks, plus others. We really deepened
the bench and broadened our service
offerings.”
The Marston Group works with both
individuals and companies, with the individuals often being members of multigenerational families who own companies,
trusts or estates.
The firm’s services include accounting
and consulting, tax preparation, general
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also the attest function, an independent
review of data and research from an audit.
Besides accounting, the firm is known
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town, including Marston and Chief Operating Officer Jimmy Dickey taking on
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“Many of our clients were entrepreneurs who grew their ideas into successful businesses,” Marston said. “We feel
passionately about community involvement and helping companies get started
on the right foot. Our staff has donated a
tremendous amount of time to be mentors.”
On his biography page on the firm’s
website, Marston has included a quote
from Lucius Annaeus Seneca: “As long
as you live, keep learning how to live.” It
reflects what he presents as the evolving
nature of the firm and its work – and its
adaptability.
“People like to say that death and
taxes are the only thing that’s certain – but
the other thing to add to that is change,”
Marston said. “We’re constantly evolving as a company. Our new space reflects
that. We wanted it to be productive, relaxing and energizing. We wanted clients to
be comfortable and warm at the office.
And it’s fun. We’re having fun.”
February 7-13, 2014 17
special coverage
Lamanna Loves Client Relationship of Accounting
Andy Meek
F
rank Lamanna attributes
his interest in pursuing accounting as a career to an
early episode in his life – taking
an accounting class at Christian
Brothers High School.
At the time, he enjoyed it,
and while he made good on that
interest and ended up going
into accounting after college, his
love of the work has deepened
because of the rewards that come
with time spent doing it.
Over his two-decade career,
it’s the feeling of sitting at the
table with clients and working
with them, giving them advice
that helps their businesses thrive,
that especially appeals to him.
“What I like about the work
is the relationships you develop
working with clients,” Lamanna
said. “That’s very rewarding. It’s
rewarding to see clients have success and to hope you were a part
of that success and were involved
in it. It’s very professionally rewarding to see your clients fulfill
their dreams in running successful businesses and perhaps at
some point successfully exiting
those businesses or transitioning
them to the next generation.”
Lamanna is an assurance
principal in the Memphis office
of Decosimo Certified Public
Accountants. He also serves as a
director with the broker-dealer
Decosimo Corporate Finance
LLC.
Among his duties, Lamanna
provides audit and management
advisory services to entities like
partnerships, not-for-profits
and 401(k) and profit-sharing
plans. For much of his career, he’s
provided corporate buy-side and
sell-side transaction advisory services, and he’s been involved in
due diligence work for everything
from software and telephone systems companies to even a minor
league baseball team.
Much of his practice focuses
on the real estate industry and
overseeing internal audit procedures, financial statement
audits, employee benefit plan
audits and tax work for multifamily and property management company clients.
“I went to work right out of
college for another accounting
Lamanna
firm, and then I’ve been over
here for 20 years,” Lamanna
oriented, and helping transition
said. “One of the roles, I think, of
businesses to the next generation
a good CPA and good adviser is
or even for an exit of a business.”
to understand when things are
Decosimo is based in Chatgoing to impact a company going
tanooga, Tenn., and has nine
forward and then kind of helping
offices throughout the Southeast.
them make decisions and plans
The firm has clients from Calithat we see are going to impact
fornia to New York and employs
them in the next year or longerabout 20 people in Memphis.
term than that.
“Obviously, our industry is
“It’s about helping them with
constantly changing,” Lamanna
ways to generate additional cash
said. “On the tax side, for examflow for their businesses, help
ple, we have a Congress at any
with things like financial reportpoint in time that can and does
ing requirements, with tax planevery year enact changes in the
ning and tax savings and estate
tax laws. And as most people are
planning, which are all future-
probably keenly aware for 2013,
their tax rates were increased.
Every year, there’s something
there. Tax brackets have gone
up for individuals, increasing
from what they were in 2012.
There’s also some additional
phase-outs and additional
taxes levied on top of that that
will tend to affect more of your
middle- and upper-income
people.”
When he’s not helping clients
navigate their financial landscapes, Lamanna is deeply involved in the Memphis community. He’s a past chair as well as a
current member of the board of
the Boys & Girls Club of Greater
Memphis and the Alliance for
Nonprofit Excellence, among
several other boards on which
he’s participated.
He’s also an avid outdoorsman and a board member of the
Minnendosa Duck Club, a fundraising organization supporting
the activities of Delta Waterfowl.
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18 February 7-13, 2014
Diversity Dialogues
A Project of American Anthropological Association
Funded by Ford Foundation & National Science Foundation
CBIZ Memphis
Welcomes
20 Hires, Interns
Andy Meek
T
Businesses churches
community groups
maKe your group reserVations toDay!
Diversity Dialogues are facilitated discussions surrounding
the traveling exhibit RACE: Are We So Different? Led
by Common Ground Memphis, these discussions allow
audiences to participate and reflect on what they have
learned about experiencing race as a factor in their lives
and community.
FeB. 17 through may 1
MONDAYS
THURSDAYS
SATURDAYS
9:30am to 12:30pm
1:30pm to 4:30pm
1:30pm to 4:30pm onLy
9:30am to 12:30pm
1:30pm to 4:30pm
group program Fee $400. non-proFit Discount $200.
maximum 20 participants per program.
reserVations requireD.
Presented by Kathy and JW Gibson
P!NK PALACE
MUSEUM
he Memphis office of CBIZ MHM
LLC is welcoming a host of new
faces in 2014.
The firm, which provides financial
services such as accounting, tax, financial
advisory and others, in recent days added
a new business development manager.
Drew Bringhurst joined the office’s marketing department with more than 10 years
of experience in a variety of industries,
including sales, marketing and human
resources.
As business development manager,
he’ll support CBIZ’s business growth
through client retention and lead generation. His areas of expertise include the
financial, accounting, engineering, human
resources and information technology
industries.
CBIZ MHM senior managing director
Steve Dunavant said Bringhurst’s addition
shows the firm’s commitment to client
service.
“He’s going to be a great addition to the
team – his personality and skill set are just
a nice complement to what we’re trying to
do in the market,” said Megan Murdock,
CBIZ practice development manager.
Bringhurst’s position is a new one for
the Memphis office but one that’s established in other CBIZ markets, according to
the firm. In the past, he’s also had account
management and sales positions with
firms such as Robert Half and New Job
Fever. He received a bachelor’s degree in
business administration from Christian
Brothers University.
Besides Bringhurst, the Memphis office
is adding 20 hires and interns this year,
with 14 of the additions starting in January.
That will tip the Memphis office past the
100-person mark.
Along with those personnel moves,
the firm has promoted Karen Cassella to
managing director. She has more than 20
years of experience in accounting, internal
audit and consulting services. She’s worked
for eight years in public accounting with
local and international accounting firms
and has more than 15 years in the public
and private sectors.
Her concentrations and specialties include risk management and the payment
card industry, especially with data security
assessment and compliance.
Eustis Corrigan, managing director in
the CBIZ Memphis office, said the personnel additions and deepening of the team’s
bench strength are a reflection of several things, one of which is a moderately
improving economy. He also cited a kind
of resurgence of what could be described
as the “talent wars,” intense competition
Bringhurst
CBIZ MHM LLC has
welcomed several
additions, including
Drew Bringhurst as
business development
manager.
among professional services firms to
secure the best talent as the firms face a
growing need for new staff.
“We do have the need, and we have
a strong pipeline of work right now,” he
said. “We’re seeing the economy come
back, and there’s demand for talent in the
professional space.”
Along with new staff, the Memphis
office expects to see a particular segment
of its business – its payment card industry
compliance and advisory work – continue
to grow at a steady clip. Cassella now leads
the CBIZ Security & Advisory Services service line, which is based in the Memphis
office.
Dunavant said the office expects work
to pick up in that area and in its employee
services division in 2014.
“There does seem to be an economic
pickup that seems to be developing that's
a little stronger than it was last year,” Dunavant said. “We’re seeing it in our clients’
business a bit as well. I think things are
looking better overall this year economically than last year.”
CBIZ provides a long list of services
that also include government health
care consulting, risk advisory, real estate
consulting and valuation services. Employee services include employee benefits
consulting, property and casualty insurance, retirement plan consulting, payroll,
life insurance, human resources consulting
and executive recruitment.
February 7-13, 2014 19
Legacy Wealth Management Grows Staff, Relocates
Andy Meek
L
egacy Wealth Management
is starting 2014 with a
handful of new faces and a
move to a new office soon.
New additions to the ranks at
Legacy include Brent Westbrook,
who’s joined the firm as managing director of business development and client service. He came
to Legacy from Argent Financial
Group and will be working to
introduce Legacy’s services to individuals, families and businesssponsored retirement plans.
Stephen Russell also has
joined Legacy as a financial
planner. He came to Legacy from
his own firm – Russell Law Firm
PLLC – and is responsible for
delivering financial plans to new
and existing clients while also
helping with portfolio management needs and helping with
client needs related to estate
planning.
Jeffrey Barnes has joined the
Legacy team as director of retirement plan services. Before joining Legacy, Barnes was founder
and president of Barnes Retire-
ment Plan Specialists Inc.
The Memphis-based firm
employs 23 wealth management
professionals and manages more
than $1 billion in assets. Legacy,
which has been in business for
more than 30 years, provides
portfolio management and
financial planning services to
more than 750 clients.
“The culture here is client
service – clients come first,” said
Westbrook, in describing his reasons for the move. “That’s in the
DNA of this firm. For me, that’s
important. Coming over and
meeting Jeff, it was the same reason he did. We both want to see
our clients serviced well and not
have to worry about other things
that distract from that. This is a
well-established, client-centered
firm poised to grow even more,
and that’s exciting.”
Barnes said his arrival at
Legacy came as a result of an
inflection point he reached in his
previous venture.
“I had decided in 2008 that
I would incorporate a business
Brent Westbrook, Stephen Russell, Jeffrey Barnes.
“The culture here is client service — clients
come first. That's in the DNA of this firm.”
–Brent Westbrook
that would be so specialized that
it would only cater to and advise
companies that sponsor 401(k)
plans,” Barnes said. “I had this
idea of bringing a boutique firm
and great deal of client service
to the market here in Memphis,
set out to grow, and I did. I got
to a point really at the end of last
year where I realized that I had
to do something different and
was either going to have to go out
and find capital, either private or
through a bank, and go out and
try to hire more staff.
“(With Legacy) I saw a way
for me to move my practice in
and elevate it. This company is
full of very smart people who
already know how to provide
M AS T E R YO U R M A R K E T:
A S E M I -A N N UA L S E M I N A R S E R I ES O N S H E L BY C O U N T Y R E A L ES TAT E T R E N D S
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014
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TO D D G L I D E W E L L
financial services to individuals.
It’s not hard at all to have that fall
right into the same approach to
companies that sponsor retirement plans.”
Another aspect of what’s
new at Legacy, meanwhile, is the
new office space it’s preparing to
move into.
Legacy is taking space in the
Renaissance Center, 1715 Aaron
Brenner Drive, relocating from
its current office at Atrium I.
Wyatt Aiken and Neely Mallory of
Cushman & Wakefield/Commercial Advisors represented Legacy
in the relocation transaction, announced last year, and Ron Kastner of CB Richard Ellis Memphis
represented the landlord.
At the time it was announced,
Legacy President and CEO Jim
Isaacs said the new location
would provide the double benefit
of new space for his growing firm
as well as replacing the firm’s current divided space.
The goal, he said, was to lease
offices where everyone shares a
common suite.
$10
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20 February 7-13, 2014
sports
G r i zzl i es
Stretch Against East Teams
Pivotal for Grizz Playoffs Push
Don Wade
I
t wasn’t unthinkable that Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks would
come into FedExForum and win. They
were, after all, protecting a one-game lead
over the Grizzlies for the last playoff spot
in the Western Conference, Nowitzki has
been on a hot streak, Rick Carlisle is one
of the NBA’s best coaches and the Grizzlies
were without point guard Mike Conley.
But giving up 110 points? That’s what
the Grizzlies did Wednesday, Feb. 5, losing
110-96 and getting dominated 56-32 in the
paint.
“We needed this game,” forward Zach
Randolph said. “We’re better than (allowing 110 points). We’ve got to be better,
especially to get where we’re trying to get.”
Back in the postseason party. Where,
theoretically, anything is possible.
Given the team’s recent play – the
league’s best defensive rating (94.3)
through a 9-2 stretch upon center Marc
Gasol’s return – this was a very unGrizzlylike performance, to invent a word.
Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger pointed
the blame at himself, saying, “I did a poor
job at getting us ready against the multiple
action pick-and-rolls that they ran.”
Dallas left town with a 29-21 record, a
two-game lead over the Grizzlies (2622). With a 3-0 record this season over
Memphis the Mavericks would own the
tie-breaker should it come down to that for
a playoff berth or seeding, if you wish to
dwell on worst-case scenarios.
“This is a game that was worth two –
their win and our loss,” Joerger said.
That about says it. Except that, this has
been a season dedicated to doing things
the hard way.
It’s likely the Grizzlies keep Conley and
his sprained ankle off the court until after
the All-Star break. A re-injury might mean
a month or more on the bench and that
almost certainly would end the Grizzlies’
playoff chances.
The remaining schedule before the
break looks like this: Saturday, Feb. 8, at
Atlanta, Sunday, Feb. 9, at Cleveland, Tuesday, Feb. 11 at home against Washington
and John Wall, and Wednesday, Feb. 12 at
Orlando.
Having lost the Dallas game, the Grizzlies really need a 2-2 split.
Even without Conley, there is no
excuse for not beating a Cavaliers team
that couldn’t defeat the Los Angeles Lakers
when they literally ran out of eligible players and by NBA rule center Robert Sacre,
who had fouled out, was put back in the
game so the Lakers would have five players
on the court.
And the Magic are even worse than the
Cavs.
“These are the four biggest games of
the year,” Joerger said. “There are 30 after
that. These are four teams we are playing
from the East (code for the lousy conference aside from Indiana and Miami).
“It’s a tough time for us to play without Mike Conley, Tony Allen and Quincy
Pondexter,” Joerger continued. “But it is
what it is. It’s very important. Otherwise,
you’re going to come into the last 30 games
and say, `jeez, we’ve got to go 21-9.’ This is
big-time right here.”
Of course, you need go no further
than the Mavericks’ locker room to hear
comments about how this victory, to quote
Carlisle, “guarantees nothing.”
It did put Dallas eight games above
.500 for this time this season, though guard
Devin Harris was even careful with that
fact.
Taking On Tennis Recruiting Woes
Rafael Nadal isn’t walking through
that door. But Kei Nishikori is.
Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and
Roger Federer aren’t walking through
that door, but Vasek Pospisil, Feliciano
Lopez and Lleyton Hewitt are.
If you know the names Nadal,
Djokovic, Murray and Federer – the
ATP’s Nos. 1, 2, 6th and 8th-ranked players – then you qualify as at least a casual
tennis fan.
If you remember Lleyton Hewitt,
now ranked 40th, as a former No. 1 (way
back there in 2001), and also know that
Pospisil, 23, a Canadian ranked 25th, is
considered a potential rising star, you
are well past casual.
All of this, of course, is getting around
to who you will and won’t see next week
at the U.S. National Indoor Championships at The Racquet Club of Memphis.
The ghosts of Connors and McEnroe,
Agassi and Sampras, still float about but
let’s not lie to each other.
The Memphis tennis event isn’t
what it once was. You may have noticed
American men’s tennis isn’t either. This
year, there are 11 significant American
tournaments. In 1980, when John McEnroe won the Memphis event, there were
three dozen.
I could kill a lot of your brain cells and
THE PRESS BOX
DON WADE
mine with detailed, tedious, back story
about how the local tennis tournament
is now in its second straight year without
a title sponsor.
I won’t do that. What I will say is that
we’ve been this way before with the PGA
Tour stop at TPC Southwind in 20092010. Then FedEx, well, delivered.
However, for tennis tournament director Peter Lebedevs, the sponsorship
issue is not his problem. His job is trying
to lure the best players here. And that is,
to a large extent, a separate recruiting
issue.
This year, Nishikori, No. 17, is the projected highest-ranked player who will be
in the draw. Nothing against Nishikori, a
24-year-old from Japan, who happens to
be this event’s defending champion, but
he brings no buzz.
“We had Andy Roddick for 11 years,”
Lebedevs said of the last American man
to win a Grand Slam (2003 U.S. Open).
“As soon as Andy signed up, it gave the
event a certain flair. Last year was our
first year without Andy and it was a different vibe.
“The field, by the numbers, was the
best field ever,” Lebedevs added. “But it
didn’t reflect in ticket sales.”
The mission is complicated, too,
by being dropped from a 500-level
ATP Tour event to the 250 level. In
real-world terms, it means the event’s
purse got sliced in half (it’s a little under
$600,000 this year) and rankings points
were halved – hence the 500 and 250
designations.
The tournament has employed exhibitions to try and deliver a little more
zing to the event – McEnroe came a
couple of years ago – and last year
there was a mixed doubles exhibition
that featured former Memphis singles
champs Mark Philippoussis and Lindsay
Davenport.
“It was good,” Lebedevs said.
“But the feedback from our fans was
they wanted to see something a little
different.”
Different they will get on Monday,
Feb. 10, when No. 1-ranked doubles partners and brothers Bob and Mike Bryan
split up for an exhibition match that will
feature actor Boris Kodjoe (he played
tennis in college) and local “celebrity”/
car dealer Mark Goodfellow, who carries
a 4.5 ranking and won a national title as
part of USTA team doubles.
Hey, it’s all good. Especially on the
new party deck at the stadium court.
“The umpire may even say, `You
people on the stinking party deck please
quiet down,’” Lebedevs said. “It’d be OK
– means they’re having a great time.”
Meanwhile, Lebedevs is working
on the 2015 field – networking, talking
to players and their coaches and their
agents – and presumably hoping to
find a large bag of money under a rock
to cover “appearance fees.” He says he
and a representative from the Acapulco,
Mexico, tournament have had good discussions with a Top 10 player.
He declined to name the player but
when asked what the chances were of
landing him for the 2015 tournament,
Lebedevs smiled.
“Better than 50-50,” he said.
In 2014, any director of an American
tennis tournament not named the U.S.
Open will take those odds.
Don Wade’s column appears weekly
in The Daily News and The Memphis
News. Listen to Wade on “Middays with
Greg & Eli” every Tuesday at noon on
Sports 56 AM and 87.7 FM.
February 7-13, 2014 21
sports
“
These are the
four biggest games of the
year. There are 30 after
that. These are four teams
we are playing from the
East."
–Dave Joerger
After dropping their third game this season to the Dallas Mavericks, Marc Gasol and the Memphis Grizzlies find an upcoming stretch against Eastern Conference teams important in the playoffs race. (Memphis News/Andrew J. Breig)
Multifunction Machines
Scanners
Copiers
Printers
“We don’t want to jinx it,” he said, “but
we’re headed in the right direction.”
Enough so that Carlisle quickly tired of
talking about the status quo.
“We’re looking to move up in the standings, not hang on to the eighth spot,” he
said.
“Who wants to be in the eighth spot if
you have a chance to move up to seventh,
sixth, fifth or fourth?”
It’s a viewpoint that, for now, is beyond
the Grizzlies. For them, there is only the
eighth spot, the closest entrance into the
playoffs, and a four-game push before the
break that makes beating the Cavs and
Magic as crucial as any game against the
Mavericks.
“There are no games in the NBA that
are not important,” Gasol said.
For the Grizzlies, no truer words were
ever spoken.
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22 February 7-13, 2014
S m a ll B u s i n ess
Champion Rebrand
Memphis T-shirt company aligns name closer with business focus
Amos Maki
I
n 1996, the company known
as Champion Awards and
Apparel first waded into the
world of e-commerce by operating a merchandise website for the
Memphis Mad Dogs, the Canadian Football League team that was
partly owned by FedEx founder,
chairman and CEO Fred Smith.
Champion ended up selling
just $339 in Mad Dogs merchandise on the Web, with most of that
going to Smith and his associates.
But CEO Mike Bowen remained focused on e-commerce,
and since 2001, the company has
bought more than 100 domain
names and considered multiple
business name changes he hoped
would better showcase the company’s reputation as a premier
custom T-shirt printer.
In January, Champion Awards
and Apparel made the leap, announcing it was rebranding itself
as T-Shirt Champions, a name
created to emphasize its focus on
T-shirt design. The rebranding
effort included a new website,
tshirtchampions.com, to make
it easier for customers to design
and order T-shirts while giving
employees more time to engage in
customer service.
For T-Shirt Champions CEO
Mike Bowen, the name change
lifted an “albatross” from around
his neck. Bowen said the company’s previous name, which
was created when he merged
his mom's Champion Trophy
and dad's Custom Printed Tees
companies, had made it difficult
to easily describe the company’s
focus. T-Shirt Champions creates
around 1.2 million shirts a year.
“The T-shirt really had made
us a champion,” Bowen said.
“Champion Awards and Apparel
will always be close to my heart,
but we’re the oldest and best Tshirt printer around and people
just didn’t know it. People who
have only bought awards from
us would come in and visit and
say they didn’t know we printed
T-shirts like we do.”
But the journey to rebranding the company and creating a
versatile website that allowed for
greater customer interaction was
not a quick one.
Bowen said he recognized
early on that the Internet was a
vehicle that could propel his company, which serves a wide range
of local companies and organizations, into the future – or crush it.
“We used to say our biggest
competition was ourselves, but in
the 1990s, our biggest competitor
became the Internet,” Bowen said.
Roger Webb operates a manual screen printing press at T-Shirt Champions. The company
recently rebranded from its former name, Champion Awards and Apparel. (Memphis News/Andrew J. Breig)
“These loyal Memphis companies were getting online and ordering a T-shirt on the Internet.”
Over the years, the company
acquired dozens of domain
names and explored multiple
operating platforms to find one
that would allow customers to efficiently create and order a broad
array of T-shirts.
Bowen said he had to trust
the expertise and opinions of
his employees, who were urging
him to pursue the rebranding
campaign.
“I had all these smart young
people around me, and they said,
‘You’ve always been frustrated
that people don’t know what you
do, so why don’t you go ahead
and take the plunge?’” Bowen
said. “You’ve got to create a culture where people feel like they
can say ‘No, this is a better way.’”
In addition to relying on
his team at T-Shirt Champions, Bowen engaged Obsidian
Public Relations, RocketFuel and
Running Pony to help with the
rebranding effort and creation of
the new website.
The new website offers
instructions on placing orders,
access to more than 20,000 individual pieces of art, and design
advice from T-Shirt Champions
employees.
“We’re going for the people
who want to design a T-shirt for
themselves or their organization
and let them go online and have
fun,” said Brandon Conners, vice
president of customer care for
T-Shirt Champions.
Bowen said the new website will allow the company to
produce more shirts – he hopes
to produce 2 million a year by
the end of 2016 – while giving
employees more time to “hug”
customers.
“We think having a Webbased order entry system will
allow our customer-care people
to serve our customers faster and
better,” Bowen said. “Our goal is
to do 2 million T-shirts a year by
end of 2016, and we can do that
with our existing equipment and
our existing staff.”
I Choose Memphis
“I Choose Memphis” spotlights Memphians who are passionate about calling this
community home. New Memphis Institute provides the profiles.
Name: Mickell Lowery
taurant. Great southern cooking, warm and
friendly atmosphere, as well as an historical
landmark.
Job Title and Company: District Sales Manager, FedEx Services
What company are you most impressed
with? FedEx! With over 30,000 local employees, FedEx is the economic engine of
our area’s economy. FedEx is also a leader
in community investments for our future
grow and development.
Length of time living in Memphis: 18 years
Life history: I was born in Memphis,
however I grew up in Atlanta. I would
often visit and spend the summers with
my father. I moved back to Memphis in
1995, after receiving an athletic scholarship from LeMoyne-Owen College to play
basketball. After graduating I decided to
remain here due to my love for city and
the many opportunities to get involved
with organizations which help shape the
city’s future; such as the New Memphis
Institute and Leadership Memphis. I
began working at FedEx and shortly after
received my Master’s Degree from the
University of Arkansas. I am proud to currently serve on the Board of Trustees for
LeMoyne-Owen College and Fire Museum
of Memphis.
Lowery
What is your favorite local festival? I look
forward to Memphis in May every year. I
invite all of my out-of-town friends so they
can experience great music and the best
BBQ on the planet. We learn so much about
the countries that Memphis in May honors.
What is your favorite local restaurant?
I like Spindini’s, Tugs, and Majestic Grill.
However my favorite is the Four Way Res-
What can you find in Memphis that you
can’t find anywhere else? Music and cultural heritage; Sun Studios, Rock and Soul
Museum, Graceland, Stax, Gibson Guitar,
Beale Street, National Civil Rights Museum,
Slave Haven, and much much more.
In your opinion, what can be done to
move Memphis forward? Combining
Memphis and Shelby County to compete as
one community for a successful future. We
also need to provide better educational and
employment opportunities for our future
generations.
February 7-13, 2014 23
Community
Bicycle Arch to Serve as Gateway
Bill Dries
T
he bicycle arch on the
eastern side of Overton
Park should be installed
Saturday, Feb. 8, where Sam
Cooper Boulevard dead-ends into
East Parkway.
In the week leading up to it,
sculptor Tylur French still has
several dozen bicycles to be
welded into the larger pieces of
the arch, which will be lifted with
a 40-ton crane.
And the director of the
Overton Park Conservancy says
the arch, consisting of more than
300 bicycles welded together, is
a symbol of the park’s heritage as
well as a gateway to the Hampline
bicycle and pedestrian way connecting with the Shelby Farms
Greenline and the bicycle and
pedestrian trails in the park.
“It’s pretty much where I-40
would have cut through Overton
Park had it not been stopped,”
said Tina Sullivan, referring to the
legal fight over the interstate that
was decided in the 1970s by the
U.S. Supreme Court. “Rather than
having an expressway bisecting the park and pretty much
destroying it, we now have a new
bike/pedestrian entrance that
brings people in to enjoy a thriv-
ing park.”
The public art also
takes its place in a park that
is home to the Memphis
Brooks Museum of Art, the
Memphis College of Art,
other public art – including
the park’s iconic doughboy statue from between
the two World Wars – and
the recently redesigned
playground. And there is an
artistic link with the nearby
Broad Avenue district.
“We are a very artcentric park,” Sullivan
said. “You see that in our
Rainbow Lake playground.
Artist Tylur French atop Bike Gate, the new gateway on the eastern side
I’m really excited that this
of Overton Park near East Parkway. (Memphis News/Andrew J. Breig)
project honors that heritage and, at the same time,
the cyclists are really going to
it is in good shape already. The
honors the emerging bicycle
be interested in, once they pass
conservancy is looking over the
infrastructure in the city.”
through the bike gate: There will
condition of the picnic tables.
As a gateway into the park for
be a paved trail that connects
In terms of trails, those on
pedestrians and bicyclists, the
them to the internal road system.
foot will have five miles of trails
park is ready for increased traffic.
They can access all of the differfrom the gateway, including the
The nearby gazebo on East
ent areas of the park from there.”
park’s paved road system, a dirt
Parkway, which is more than 100
The gateway is also a connectrail and a limestone loop.
years old, was renovated in 2012
tor built with an eye toward other
“Cyclists, they are probably
as one of the conservancy’s first
greenprint planning efforts, ingoing to be less likely to use the
projects. Bathrooms were added
cluding bicycle lanes on Cooper
dirt trail, especially road bikes,”
after six years of portable toilets.
Sullivan said. “It’s close to 1 1/2 to Street that improve the connecThe existing playground may be
tion of Cooper at Poplar Avenue.
2 miles of paved roads. But what
renovated down the road, but
One of the conservancy’s next
projects is a new connector there to take bicyclists to
Veterans Plaza Drive.
“You see that through this
greenprint planning effort
that we are not just working
on projects on our own,” Sullivan said.
“We are working in partnership with other organizations.”
Among those organizations is the Broad Avenue Arts
District, which is working
with the city of Memphis on a
redesign of the busy intersection at Sam Cooper and East
Parkway to make it friendlier
to bicyclists and pedestrians
as well as a street crossing
leading into the plaza with the
bicycle arch.
“This grand entrance to the
park sort of represents that new
direction we are going – not just
with the park but with the city,”
Sullivan said as she talked of
the immediate practicality of “a
way to move people to and from
the park and the neighborhood
surrounding the park to the east,
and between the park and the
Greenline.”
E n t r ep r e n e u r s h i p
Cowork Memphis Opens Workspace Venture
Andy Meek
F
reelancers and other busy professionals who work remotely, outside
of a traditional office setting, probably know the feeling.
Their coffee shop is loud and sometimes a difficult place to work. Perhaps a
phone call comes in that they need to step
outside to take – while being stuck leaving
papers spread out and a computer on the
table inside. And working from home, of
course, brings its own distractions.
Because of the lack of constancy, finding a workspace can sometimes be a kind
of hit-or-miss proposition, which is why a
new venture called Cowork Memphis has
opened its doors in Cooper-Young.
The business, at 902 S. Cooper St.,
launched a few weeks ago and offers a
collaborative workspace environment
catering to people like freelancers, small
businesses and entrepreneurs. Cowork
Memphis provides them a workspace, as
well as a way to connect with like-minded
professionals and grow their business
network.
Cowork Memphis director of com-
munity development Katie
Maxwell said the venture
sells memberships, which
start at $100 per month and
go up a few more tier levels
from there. Depending on
the membership, a professional can get access to WiFi, educational classes and
events, workspace, shared
office equipment – and “all
the coffee and bottled water
Maxwell
you can drink.”
The coworking space
also has classrooms, event
presentation rooms and conference
rooms available for rent by the day or the
hour for local businesses.
“It works kind of like a gym membership,” Maxwell said. “You come in at what
level best meets your needs, and you have
a place to work.
“The basic membership, the $100
deal, is for regular business hours Monday
through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. It’s
kind of like a Starbucks on steroids. You
come in and sit down wherever there’s an
open spot to work. There’s a couch, coffee
table, desk, chairs – you plug in where
you’re most comfortable.”
Other amenities available to participants include
access to a network printer,
where users pay for what
they print. The higher pricing tiers include things like
access to conference rooms,
passes for guests and more.
Cowork Memphis
corporate partners include
Bikes Plus, Konica Minolta
Business Solutions, Ashley
Furniture HomeStore and
Stash.
Beyond offering workspace, Cowork
Memphis will provide educational programming via partnerships with entities
like Startup Grind and House of Genius.
“There’s a whole other section to what
we’re offering, too – an educational side,”
Maxwell said. “We’ll bring in programming for the entrepreneurial community.
We’ll be hosting Startup Grind events here
monthly, for example.”
Startup Grind is a global startup community powered by Google for Entrepreneurs. Through that partnership, Cowork
Memphis will bring in local entrepreneurs
to essentially tell their stories.
First up was Muddy’s Bake Shop
founder Kat Gordon, who talked about
starting her business and the development of its second location in CooperYoung.
She talked about the difficulty in starting any new business – “I knew enough to
know I knew absolutely nothing” – and,
in response to a question about competition, explained that Muddy’s tries to focus
on making sure it’s the best bakery it can
be, regardless of competitors.
In explaining why she wanted to appear at the event, Gordon said that “without the support of the Memphis community and the generosity of the many
Memphis business owners who shared
their knowledge with me, Muddy’s never
would have succeeded like this.”
The next entrepreneur speaking at
Cowork Memphis will be Michael Nunn,
president of S2N design.
“We’re looking for entrepreneurs who
have a story to tell and can speak to an
audience that’s trying to do the same
thing and start from scratch, getting their
own business up and going,” Maxwell
said.
24 February 7-13, 2014
Starting Over:
When Corporate
Goes Kaput
For many employees in the
Memphis area, the story is all
too familiar. You wake up one
day and go to work, just like it
was any other. You wear the
same clothes, drive the
same route, and
eat at the same
Angela Copeland
place for lunch.
Career Corner
Things seem fine at
first, but something starts to feel a little out of
whack.
You’re taken into a large room with your
entire department or a small room with just
your team. Then and there, you learn that the
company has decided to take a new direction. And, the worst part – your job has been
eliminated.
So many thoughts go through your head.
You’ve been at this job for years. You have
children, and a mortgage to pay. You don’t
even remember where you put the last copy
of your resume. You wonder where to begin.
This is an unfortunate situation many
folks in the Mid-South have faced this year.
After you’ve had a few days to think things
over, you may come to the conclusion that
things had been a little strained at your company for a while. Maybe money had been tight
in your department, or the culture overall
has been stressed. And maybe at the end of
this crazy tornado, there’s an opportunity to
rebuild your career into something bigger and
stronger than it was before.
Start off by perfecting your elevator pitch.
Practice your pitch until you can articulate
who you are, what type of job you’re looking
for, and the relevant experience you have.
Find your latest resume, and update it to
reflect your recent accomplishments. Clearly
state your career goals near the top in an
“objective” section. Be sure to highlight any
new training you have participated in, technical skills you’ve acquired, or any community
leadership roles you’ve held.
The next step is networking. Start by
ordering new business cards. Even though
you may no longer have a full-time job, you
need a way to give your contact information
to those you meet. Your business card can
be as simple as your name, email address
and phone number. When you make new
contacts, follow up by sending an email and
connecting with them on LinkedIn. Look for
opportunities to reconnect over lunch, coffee
or happy hour.
Setup informational interviews with
contacts at companies you’re interested
in. They’re an opportunity for you to network with someone new one-on-one for 30
minutes. Remember that although this is a
difficult time, it’s temporary. Get started by
reaching out to your support system of family, friends and groups. But, it’s important to
move quickly. The faster you start, the easier
it will be to transition into your new career.
Angela Copeland is CEO/founder of Copeland Coaching, www.CopelandCoaching.com,
and author of “Breaking The Rules & Getting
The Job.” You can follow Copeland Coaching
on Twitter (@CopelandCoach) and Facebook
(Facebook.com/CopelandCoaching).
News m a ke r s
Meghan McMahon Joins
Glankler Brown as Associate
Kate Simone
ksimone@memphisdailynews.com
Meghan K. McMahon has joined Glankler Brown PLLC
as an associate, concentrating her practice in business and
commercial litigation and intellectual property. McMahon
previously worked in academic and membership affairs
for the NCAA, and has experience with issues relating to
NCAA compliance, sports and entertainment contracts,
intellectual property.
Hometown: Germantown
Experience: Bachelor of Arts in
2010 and juris doctorate in 2013,
from the University of Notre Dame
Family: Parents Jim and Denice, and
brother Sean
Favorite quote: “Everyone you will
ever meet knows something you
don’t.” – Bill Nye
Favorite movie: “It’s a Wonderful
Life”
The sports teams you root for:
Notre Dame; Memphis Grizzlies;
Chicago White Sox, Bears and Blackhawks; and whoever plays the Cubs
What’s playing on your stereo
right now? Pat McKillen, a friend
from college who is on the verge of
making it big in the music industry
Activities you enjoy outside of
work: Spending time with family and
friends, traveling, yoga, Pure Barre
and watching sports
Rev. Harry
D. Durbin
has been
named
senior vice
president
of Faith &
Durbin
Health for
Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare.
Durbin has been part of
Methodist’s Faith & Health
Division since 2011 and began serving as interim senior
vice president in May 2012.
Chandra
Alston has
been named
the assistant vice
chancellor
of human
Alston
resources
at the University of Tennessee Health
Science Center. Alston as
served as interim director of
human resources since July
while maintaining her duties
What talent do you wish you
had? I would love to be able to play
the piano.
Who has had the greatest
influence on you and why? My
mother, Denice. She sacrificed her
successful marketing career in
order to raise my brother and me
when we were young, and she has
McMahon
since worked tirelessly to get back
sincere in their desire to help me
into freelance marketing and consulting. Now, she owns her own small learn and grow as a new attorney.
business and has been recognized
What do you consider your greatnationally for her accomplishments.
est accomplishment? I am proud to
My mother constantly inspires me
have been captain of Notre Dame’s
to pursue my goals and never sell
cheerleading team. I cheered for four
myself short.
years, including my first two years
of law school, and I was able to sucWhat attracted you to Glankler
cessfully balance academics with the
Brown? I knew that the breadth and
demands of being a varsity athlete.
experience of the firm would provide
a great foundation for building my
If you could give one piece of adown practice in Memphis. Glankler
vice to young people, what would
Brown has an excellent reputation in
it be? The economy is very difficult
the Memphis community, and it was
for new graduates right now, but be
evident from my interviews that this
patient. Sometimes the best opporpraise is well-deserved. The senior
tunity for you is the one that takes a
management committee members I
while to find!
met during my office visit were very
as assistant dean for finance
and administration for the
UTHSC College of Allied
Health Sciences.
Dana Avant has been named
vice president/chief nursing
officer at Methodist South
Hospital. Avant joined Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare
in 2004 and most recently
served as administrative
director of nursing for Methodist University Hospital.
Ali Glemser
has joined
Obsidian Public
Relations as
an account
assistant.
Glemser
Glemser was
an intern
at the firm before being
hired to the full-time position. Sarah Lichterman has
been promoted to account
specialist. Lichterman was
an Obsidian intern before
joining the company in June
as an account assistant.
Robin Hogue-Hughes has
joined Closetrak LLC as
an associate attorney in
the Bartlett office. HogueHughes comes to the firm
with more than 20 years of
residential and commercial
real estate closing, title and
legal experience.
Memphis Athletic Ministries
has named Beth Cummins
and Ruth Hamilton to its
board of directors. Cummins
is the national accounts
manager for Impact Innovations, and Hamilton is cofounder of Point of Impact
Global Missions.
The Tennessee Association
of Construction Counsel
has elected its 2014 officers,
including Memphians Jim
Summers, president; Beth
Stengel, secretary; and John
Willett, director.
Heather
Nordtvedt
has joined
Literacy
Mid-South
as community
Nordtvedt
relations
manager,
working to increase public
and private support for
the organization through
special events, annual
fundraising campaigns and
grant writing. She previously served as a development
coordinator for Ronald
McDonald House Charities
of Memphis.
The C.H. Nash Museum at
Chucalissa has received the
Sponsor of the Year award
from AmeriCorps, recognizing the role the museum
played in coordinating
collaborative projects
between AmeriCorps teams
and community partners in
Southwest Memphis.
February 7-13, 2014 25
S m a ll B u s i n ess
E n t r ep r e n e u r s h i p
Samuelson Turns Passion
Into Race Management
Memphian
Prepares to Launch
‘Fashion Truck’
Andy Meek
C
Mike Samuelson, in the Run Across America on Trail event, started Altis Endurance
Sports last year. (Submitted Photo)
Erinn Figg
R
etired Navy Cmdr. Michael
Samuelson of Lakeland has
one simple philosophy that
sums up his approach to life: “Enjoy
yourself.”
For Samuelson, that enjoyment
often comes in the form of running,
usually on trails and frequently for
more than 26 miles during one run.
Oh, and he also likes to run across
the country, as in from Washington to
Delaware in 80 days.
Samuelson is an avid ultrarunner – an endurance runner who runs
marathons longer than the traditional
26.2 miles. His new race-management
company, Altis Endurance Sports,
which he started in May with Navy
buddy and fellow runner Frank Dembia of Annapolis, Md., aims to spread
the joy of trail running by organizing
half-marathons, marathons and ultramarathons throughout the country.
“There are more and more ultramarathon, marathon and half-marathon races and race finishers every
year. The plan is for Altis Endurance
to provide quality races for those runners interested in completing events
on great trails,” Samuelson said.
The most common ultramarathon distances are 50 kilometers, 100
kilometers, 50 miles and 100 miles. At
age 48, Samuelson has been running
them for more than 16 years. During
that time, he has run more than 20
100-mile races.
“I feel alive. I feel my best when
running, even when it’s tough out
there and I’m hurting. I don’t wear
headphones. I don’t listen to music,”
Samuelson said. “It’s what my body
needs.”
Samuelson ran his first marathon,
the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, in 1987. It wasn’t the greatest
experience in the world, so he didn’t
run another one until the 1994 San
Diego Marathon. Once again, not the
greatest experience. But this time,
something was different.
“I didn’t train well. I did very poorly. I was very queasy. But a half-hour
after finishing, I couldn’t wait until
the next race. I was hooked,” he said.
“I often wonder if I still would have
turned out to be a running addict if I
hadn’t run so poorly in that race.”
Sounds like a cryptic statement
until you factor in Samuelson’s passion for a good challenge, whether in
life or on a trail. The tougher a racecourse is, the more determined he is
to beat it. And after beating them for
almost two decades, he’s now ready to
plan them.
The two business partners organized and directed their first race, the
Surface Line Week 10K, while they
were still in the Navy and, since then,
had frequently toyed with the idea of
doing it for a living. After their careers
took them in different directions,
Samuelson continued managing races
as a hobby, serving as director of the
annual SwampStomper 25K/50K
in Millington from 2010 to 2013 –
this year, he served as the assistant
director of the Jan. 19 race – and the
Bartlett Park Ultras from 2007 to 2013.
“The thought of directing races
for-profit had crossed my mind a
few times over the years, but I never
seriously considered it until April
2013. I had just rejoined the U.S.
Postal Service in February, delivering
the mail in Millington a couple days
a week. I enjoy delivering the mail,
but I needed another outlet – another
challenge,” Samuelson said. "I called
Frank and asked if he was serious
about directing races for-profit. He
was serious.”
The inaugural Altis Endurance
event was the Jan. 5 Herb Parsons
Trail Marathon and Half Marathon in
Fayette County. Tough weather aside,
it went off without a hitch, Samuelson
said. Next up is the Feb. 23 Shelby
Forest Loop Marathon and Half Marathon in Millington.
Fellow runners say they appreciate
Samuelson’s respect for the sport.
“I was first introduced to Mike's
race-organizing skills at the final
Bartlett Park Ultras last September,”
said Houston Wolf, a Germantown ultrarunner who’s been running marathons since 2008. “What I can speak
to is how well-organized and no-frills
it was. Mike understands what runners want and don't want in their race
experience. He really gets it.”
So far, the company website,
altisendurance.com, lists events and
marathon series in Tennessee, Mississippi and Mid-Atlantic and New
England states. Samuelson plans to
eventually extend that reach even
further.
And who knows, maybe one day
he’ll organize another trans-America
run, a feat he accomplished from
May 30 to Aug. 17, 2012, during the
Run Across America on Trail event,
which took him about two years to
plan. Four runners started the 80-day
journey in Twin Harbors, Wash. Only
two, Samuelson and Jennifer Bradley, who made history by becoming
the first British woman to run across
America in 80 days, completed the
run at Cape Henlopen State Park in
Lewes, Del. Samuelson’s time was 719
hours and 47.2 minutes, averaging 41
miles a day.
samuelson continued on P29
yndii Jo Hartley, a hairdresser at Epic Total
Salon, is preparing to start her own clothing
boutique – one with a concept that ought
to sound familiar to fans of Memphis’ food truck
community.
Instead of food, though, Hartley’s mobile
boutique will sell clothes and accessories from a
truck that’s roughly 18 feet long by around 7 feet
wide. The roving boutique will be what’s known as
a fashion truck – complete with a dressing room.
And as entrepreneurs have done with the
food they sell out of campers and vans, Hartley
will bring a smaller-scale, personalized shopping
experience to her own mobile unit. She’s hoping to
open the doors in late March or early April.
She recently bought her truck, and she’s been
out of town over the past few days as she builds up
inventory for the new venture.
“I’m really excited,” Hartley said. “I’ve been
doing hair for 14 years, and for several years I’ve
rented my space at the salon. I’ve considered
myself self-employed, so I felt like a small-business
owner already and had just been thinking what my
next step is.”
For now, the plan is to split her time evenly during the week, three days at the salon and three days
in her fashion truck.
The inventory will come from more than one
source. In recent days, she’s been at an apparel
market in Atlanta, meeting with designers and
brands to get some inventory there. Some inventory also will come locally from Memphis.
She’ll mostly be selling ladies apparel and accessories as well as some jewelry and handbags.
And she hopes to keep everything in the truck
priced at $100 or less.
She envisions customers spanning all age
groups, especially including those shoppers who
love to see and touch what they buy and aren’t
solely concerned with the quick convenience of
buying online.
Another reason she’s excited about the venture
is the range of possibilities it affords. She’ll be able,
for example, to drive the truck somewhere a buyer
might want to shop for clothes while on a break
from work. She also talks about having a chalkboard outside for announcements and messages,
and an inviting display that woos people in.
“I could take it and park in high-traffic areas
that might not have lots of retail and also do private events at people’s homes,” Hartley said.
She heard about fashion trucks a little more
than a year ago but didn’t seriously consider opening one herself until last April.
That’s when she had a bicycle accident and,
because of the injury from it, had a long recovery
before returning to work. She still works at the
salon, albeit doing less than before the accident.
“That got me thinking what to do next,” she
said.
She got more serious and started talking to
other people about the idea, eventually connecting
with the Mayor’s Innovation Delivery Team. The
team had launched a mobile retail pilot program
whereby grants were offered to applicants whose
plan involved setting up a venture from something
like a truck.
Through the program, Hartley got a forgivable
loan administered by alt.consulting, a firm that’s
been working closely with the Innovation Delivery
Team.
26 February 7
7-13,
- 13,2014
2014
public notices
Foreclosure Notices
Fayette County
NOTICE OF TRUSTEE’S SALE
WHEREAS, default has occurred in the
performance of the covenants, terms,
and conditions of a Deed of Trust Note
dated June 30, 2005, and the Deed of
Trust of even date securing the same,
recorded July 15, 2005, at Book D787,
Page 67 in Office of the Register of
Deeds for Fayette County, Tennessee,
executed by Mary E. Dockery and Jennings L. Dockery, conveying certain
property therein described to I. Dyke
Tatum as Trustee for Mortgage Electronic
Registration Systems, Inc., as nominee
for U.S. Bank N.A., its successors and
assigns; and the undersigned, Wilson
& Associates, P.L.L.C., having been
appointed Successor Trustee.
NOW, THEREFORE, notice is hereby
given that the entire indebtedness has
been declared due and payable; and
that an agent of Wilson & Associates,
P.L.L.C., as Successor Trustee, by virtue
of the power, duty, and authority vested
in and imposed upon said Successor
Trustee will, on February 24, 2014 on
or about 10:00 A.M., at the Fayette
County Courthouse, Somerville, Tennessee, offer for sale certain property
hereinafter described to the highest
bidder FOR certified funds paid at the
conclusion of the sale, or credit bid
from a bank or other lending entity preapproved by the successor trustee. The
sale is free from all exemptions, which
are expressly waived in the Deed of
Trust, said property being real estate
situated in Fayette County, Tennessee,
and being more particularly described
as follows:
Lot 63, Section A, Oakland’s Greenvalley Subdivision, as shown on plat of
record in Plat Book 7, Page 86, in the
Register’s Office of Fayette County,
Tennessee, to which plat reference is
made for a more particular description
of said property.
ALSO KNOWN AS: 20 Spring Valley
Drive, Oakland, Tennessee 380603411
This sale is subject to all matters
shown on any applicable recorded plat;
any unpaid taxes; any restrictive covenants, easements, or setback lines
that may be applicable; any statutory
rights of redemption of any governmental
agency, state or federal; any prior liens
or encumbrances as well as any priority
created by a fixture filing; and to any
matter that an accurate survey of the
premises might disclose. In addition, the
following parties may claim an interest
in the above-referenced property: Mary
E. Dockery; Jennings L. Dockery
The sale held pursuant to this Notice
may be rescinded at the Successor
Trustee’s option at any time. The right
is reserved to adjourn the day of the
sale to another day, time, and place
certain without further publication, upon
announcement at the time and place
for the sale set forth above. W&A No.
848-239286
DATED December 30, 2013
WILSON & ASSOCIATES, P.L.L.C.,
Successor Trustee
FOR SALE INFORMATION, VISIT WWW.
MYFIR.COM and WWW.REALTYTRAC.
COM
Jan. 24, 31, Feb. 7, 2014 Fjn11698
WHEREAS, default has occurred
in the performance of the covenants,
terms, and conditions of a Deed of Trust
Note dated October 10, 2008, and the
Deed of Trust of even date securing the
same, recorded November 20, 2008,
as Instrument No. 08008077 in Office
of the Register of Deeds for Fayette
County, Tennessee, executed by Candice Haynes, conveying certain property
therein described to Monte S. Connell
as Trustee for American Mortgage
Services, Inc.; and the undersigned,
Wilson & Associates, P.L.L.C., having
been appointed Successor Trustee.
Trustee will, on March 3, 2014 on
as follows:
Lot 93, 1st Addition, The Grove of Oaklands Subdivision, as shown on plat of
record in Plat Book 7, Page 56, in the
Tennessee, to which plat reference
is hereby made for a more particular
description of said property.
ALSO KNOWN AS: 100 Riverwood
Cove, Oakland, Tennessee 380603409
following parties may claim an interest in
the above-referenced property: Candice
Haynes; Community Bank N.A.
700-192604
DATED January 24, 2014
Successor Trustee
COM
Jan. 31, Feb. 7, 14, 2014 Fjn11703
Note dated October 29, 2002, and the
same, recorded November 8, 2002, at
Book D644, Page 358 in Office of the
Register of Deeds for Fayette County,
Tennessee, executed by Shunda Wilkins
and Ronald E. Wilkins, conveying certain
property therein described to Kathryn L.
Harris as Trustee for Mortgage Electronic
Registration Systems, Inc., as nominee
for Community Mortgage Corporation,
its successors and assigns; and the
undersigned, Wilson & Associates,
P.L.L.C., having been appointed Successor Trustee.
County Courthouse, Somerville, Ten-
nessee, offer for sale certain property
as follows:
Lot 51, Phase II, Oakland’s Reserve
Subdivision, as shown on plat of record in Plat Book 7, Page 163 of the
is hereby made for a more particular
description of said property.
ALSO KNOWN AS: 280 Winding Creek
Drive, Oakland, Tennessee 38060
the above-referenced property: Shunda
Wilkins; Ronald E. Wilkins
1286-144039
Successor Trustee
COM
Jan. 31, Feb. 7, 14, 2014 Fjn11704
Note dated February 3, 1999, and the
Deed of Trust of even date securing
the same, recorded March 26, 1999,
at Book 508, Page 410 in Office of the
Register of Deeds for Fayette County,
Tennessee, executed by Thomas Price,
Sr. and Renee Price, conveying certain
property therein described to Rick Atkison as Trustee for In-Home Lenders,
a Corporation; and the undersigned,
Trustee will, on March 10, 2014 on
as follows:
Lot 88 Civil War Subdivision, in Fayette County, Tennessee, as recorded
in Plat Book 3, Page 5, and being more
particularly described as follows:
Beginning at an old iron pin in the
North line of Blue Gray Road 332.07
feet Eastwardly from the North line
The Memphis News
Call 683-NEWS
of a 50 foot roadway as shown on
recorded plat, said point being in
the West line of Blue Gray Road a
distance of 250 feet to an old iron
pin in the East line of Lot 87; thence
Northwardly with the East line of Lot
87, a distance of 417.42 feet to a
point in the North line of said subdivision and parallel with Blue Gray
Road 250 feet to an old iron pin in
the West line of Lot 89, 417.42 feet
to the point of beginning.
ALSO KNOWN AS: 370 Blue Gray Circle, Collierville, Tennessee 38017
the above-referenced property: Thomas
Price, Sr.; Renee Price
817-199726
Successor Trustee
COM
Feb. 7, 14, 21, 2014
Fjn11713
dated August 5, 2005, and the Deed
of Trust of even date securing the
same, recorded September 23, 2005,
at Book 1232, Page 622 and modified
on November 14, 2013, at Book 1608,
Deeds for Tipton County, Tennessee,
executed by Sherman G. McGill, Jr.
and Mary G. McGill, conveying certain
property therein described to Accurate
Title and Escrow as Trustee for Mortgage
Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., as
nominee for Accredited Home Lenders,
Inc. A California Corporation, its successors and assigns; and the undersigned,
or about 10:00 A.M., at the Tipton
County Courthouse, Covington, Tennessee, offer for sale certain property
situated in Tipton County, Tennessee,
as follows:
Lot 9 Franklin Square Subdivision,
Section A, as recorded in Plat Cabinet
F, Slide 56, in the Register’s Office
of Tipton County, Tennessee, to
which plat reference is hereby made
for a more particular description of
said lot.
ALSO KNOWN AS: 390 Beaver Road,
Munford, Tennessee 38058
the above-referenced property: Sherman
G. McGill, Jr.; Mary G. McGill; Mortgage
Electronic Registration Systems, Inc
acting solely as nominee for Accredited
Home Lenders, Inc.; Marshall Investments Corporation; Regions Bank;
SIH Family Acquisition I, LLC; SIH
Family Acquisition I, LLC; SIH Family
Acquisition I, LLC; Southwest Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation;
Patriot Bank; Washington Mutual Bank,
FA; Martha F. Lowe; Deutsche Bank
National Trust Company, as Trustee
for Morgan Stanley Home Equity Loan
Trust 2006-2, Mortgage Pass-Through
Certificates, Series 2006-2
725-204132
Successor Trustee
COM
Jan. 24, 31, Feb. 7, 2014 Fjn11699
dated June 12, 2006, and the Deed of
recorded July 24, 2006, as Instrument
No. 06006396 in Office of the Register
of Deeds for Fayette County, Tennessee,
executed by Cathy B. Catron, conveying
certain property therein described to
Walter H. Neilsen, Nashville City Center #2100, 511 Union St, Nashville,
TN. 37219 as Trustee for Mortgage
Electronic Registration Systems, Inc.,
as nominee for Encore Credit Corp. a
California Corporation, its successors
and assigns; and the undersigned,
as follows:
Lot Number 19, Section A, Morris
Subdivision, as shown by Plat of
record in Plat Book 2, Page 20,
Register’s Office for Fayette County,
is hereby made for a more complete
legal description.
ALSO KNOWN AS: 795 Lynn Street,
Somerville, Tennessee 38068
in the above-referenced property: Cathy
B. Catron
1455-229142
February
- 13, 2014 2
February77-13,
277
public notices
Successor Trustee
COM
Jan. 24, 31, Feb. 7, 2014 Fjn11700
Foreclosure Notices
Madison County
terms, and conditions of a Deed of
Trust Note dated March 10, 2004, and
the Deed of Trust of even date securing
the same, recorded March 17, 2004, at
Book T1564, Page 737 in Office of the
Register of Deeds for Madison County,
Tennessee, executed by Orin Christie,
Jr. Meamya D. Christie Meamya D.
Christie Orin Christie, Jr. and Meamya
D. Christie, conveying certain property
therein described to Wesley D. Turner as
Trustee for Argent Mortgage Company,
LLC; and the undersigned, Wilson &
Associates, P.L.L.C., having been appointed Successor Trustee.
or about 10:00 A.M., at the Madison
County Courthouse, Jackson, Tennessee, offer for sale certain property
situated in Madison County, Tennessee,
as follows:
Being Lot 69 in Section VII of Burlington Park Subdivision, a plat of
which appears of record in Plat Book
5, Page 192, in the Register’s Office
of Madison County, Tennessee, reference to which plat is hereby made for
a more particular description of said
lot showing its location and the length
and direction of its boundary lines.
ALSO KNOWN AS: 33 Saint James
Cove, Jackson, Tennessee 38305
agency, state or federal; any prior liens or
encumbrances as well as any priority created by a fixture filing; and to any matter
that an accurate survey of the premises
might disclose. In addition, the following
parties may claim an interest in the
above-referenced property: Orin Christie
, Jr.; Meamya D. Christie; Meamya D.
Christie; Orin Christie , Jr.; Meamya D.
Christie; Velocity Investments, LLC
700-183050
Successor Trustee
AUCTION.COM
Jan. 31, Feb. 7, 14, 2014 Fjn11702
the same, recorded March 24, 2008,
at Book T1827, Page 1689 in Office
of the Register of Deeds for Madison
County, Tennessee, executed by Olivia
Deberry and Charlie Deberry, conveying
certain property therein described to
Landamerica Lawyers Title as Trustee
for Mortgage Electronic Registration
Systems, Inc., as nomineee for Security
Atlantic Mortgage Co. Inc., its successors and assigns; and the undersigned,
Trustee will, on April 17, 2014 on or
about 10:00 A.M., at the Madison
as follows:
Beginning at an iron pin in the West
margin of Hollywood Drive at the
Northwest corner of Carl Williams
Lot; runs thence with the West margin of said street North 40 degrees
30 minutes West 100.00 feet to an
iron pin; thence South 51 degrees 00
minutes West 200.00 feet to a point;
thence South 54 degrees 00 minutes
West 77.00 feet to an iron pin; thence
South 40 degrees 30 minutes East
104.03 feet to an iron pin in Williams
North line; thence North 51 degrees
00 minutes East 276.79 feet to the
point of beginning, and containing
0.64 acres.
ALSO KNOWN AS: 1262 Hollywood
Drive, Jackson, Tennessee 383013809
in the above-referenced property: Olivia
Deberry; Charlie Deberry; Credit Acceptance Corporation
1286-239069
Successor Trustee
AUCTION.COM
Jan. 31, Feb. 7, 14, 2014 Fjn11705
dated April 25, 2012, and the Deed of
recorded May 1, 2012, at Book T1925,
Deeds for Madison County, Tennessee,
executed by Jay Mitchell Roberts, conveying certain property therein described to
W. Aaron Fortner as Trustee for Mortgage
Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., as
nominee for Churchill Mortgage Corporation, its successors and assigns; and
the undersigned, Wilson & Associates,
P.L.L.C., having been appointed Successor Trustee.
P.L.L.C., as Successor Trustee, by
virtue of the power, duty, and authority vested in and imposed upon said
Successor Trustee will, on March 27,
2014 on or about 10:00 A.M., at the
Madison County Courthouse, Jack-
son, Tennessee, offer for sale certain
property hereinafter described to the
highest bidder FOR certified funds paid
at the conclusion of the sale, or credit
bid from a bank or other lending entity
pre-approved by the successor trustee.
The sale is free from all exemptions,
which are expressly waived in the Deed
of Trust, said property being real estate
as follows:
Being Lot Number Eighty-nine (89),
Section V, Carroll Stadium Subdivision, a plat of which appears of record
in Plat Book 7 at Page 82, in the
Register’s Office of Madison County,
is hereby made for a more complete
description.
ALSO KNOWN AS: 580 Gettysburg
Drive, Jackson, Tennessee 38305
in the above-referenced property: Jay
Mitchell Roberts
700-242512
Successor Trustee
AUCTION.COM
Jan. 24, 31, Feb. 7, 2014 Fjn11697
dated December 19, 2007, and the
same, recorded December 28, 2007, at
Tennessee, executed by Tyles Staten
and Sholanda Staten, conveying certain
property therein described to Arnold M.
Weiss, Esq. as Trustee for Wells Fargo
Bank, N.A.; and the undersigned, Wilson
& Associates, P.L.L.C., having been appointed Successor Trustee.
as follows:
All that certain lot or parcel of land
situate in the County of Madison,
State of Tennessee, and being more
Beginning at a point of the Northwestern intersection of Westwood Avenue
and Campbell Street; runs thence
Westerly with the North margin of
Westwood Avenue a distance of 188
feet, more or less, to a point; runs
thence North 157.8 feet, more or
less; runs thence East 10 feet, more
or less; runs thence North 10 feet
more or less; runs thence East 183.6
feet, more or less, to a point in the
Western margin of Campbell Street;
runs thence South slightly west with
the West margin of Campbell Street
170 feet, more or less, to the point
of beginning.
ALSO KNOWN AS: 401 Westwood Avenue, Jackson, Tennessee 38301
in the above-referenced property: Tyles
Staten; Sholanda Staten; American
General Financial Services, Inc.
1286-199917
Successor Trustee
COM
Jan. 24, 31, Feb. 7, 2014 Fjn11701
the same, recorded March 17, 2004, at
Tennessee, executed by Orin Christie,
Jr. Meamya D. Christie Meamya D.
Christie Orin Christie, Jr. and Meamya
D. Christie, conveying certain property
therein described to Wesley D. Turner as
Trustee for Argent Mortgage Company,
LLC; and the undersigned, Wilson &
Associates, P.L.L.C., having been appointed Successor Trustee.
as follows:
Being Lot 69 in Section VII of Burlington Park Subdivision, a plat of
which appears of record in Plat Book
5, Page 192, in the Register’s Office
of Madison County, Tennessee, reference to which plat is hereby made for
a more particular description of said
lot showing its location and the length
and direction of its boundary lines.
ALSO KNOWN AS: 33 Saint James
Cove, Jackson, Tennessee 38305
agency, state or federal; any prior liens or
encumbrances as well as any priority created by a fixture filing; and to any matter
that an accurate survey of the premises
might disclose. In addition, the following
parties may claim an interest in the
above-referenced property: Orin Christie
, Jr.; Meamya D. Christie; Meamya D.
Christie; Orin Christie , Jr.; Meamya D.
Christie; Velocity Investments, LLC
Related Info
Also read our daily edition, The Daily
News, in print or online every business
day for public notices for Memphis &
Shelby County.
Go to www.memphisdailynews.com or
call 683.NEWS for more information.
700-183050
Successor Trustee
FOR SALE INFORMATION, VISIT
WWW.AUCTION.COM
Jan. 31, Feb. 7, 14, 2014 Fjn11702
Foreclosure Notices
Tipton County
dated September 18, 2009, and the
Deed of Trust of even date securing
the same, recorded October 8, 2009,
at Book 1454, Page 188 in Office of
the Register of Deeds for Tipton County,
Tennessee, executed by Vernon D. Jones
and Flora M. Jones, conveying certain
property therein described to Arnold M.
Weiss, Esq. as Trustee for Wells Fargo
Bank, N.A.; and the undersigned, Wilson
& Associates, P.L.L.C., having been appointed Successor Trustee.
Trustee will, on April 2, 2014 on or
about 10:00 A.M., at the Tipton County
Courthouse, Covington, Tennessee, offer for sale certain property hereinafter
described to the highest bidder FOR
certified funds paid at the conclusion
of the sale, or credit bid from a bank
or other lending entity pre-approved by
the successor trustee. The sale is free
from all exemptions, which are expressly
waived in the Deed of Trust, said property being real estate situated in Tipton
County, Tennessee, and being more
Lot 42, McLister Place Subdivision
as recorded in Plat Cabinet G. Slide
72 of the Tipton County Register’s
Office to which reference if hereby
made for a more particular description of said lot.
ALSO KNOWN AS: 261 Royal Oaks
Drive, Brighton, Tennessee 38011
the above-referenced property: Vernon
D. Jones; Flora M. Jones; Timbs Builders
& Supply Company, L.P.; Timbs Builder
& Supply Co., LP
1286-200698
Successor Trustee
Continued on Page 28
28 February 7-13,
7 - 13,2014
2014
public notices
Foreclosure Notices
Continued from Page 27
COM
Jan. 31, Feb. 7, 14, 2014 Fjn11707
Misc. Notices
Shelby County
NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE OF
PERSONAL PROPERTY
Notice is hereby given that the undersigned will sell, to satisfy lien of the
owner, at public sale by competitive
bidding on February 13, 2014 at 10:00
a.m. at the Extra Space Storage facility
located at:
2939 Poplar Ave.
Memphis, TN 38111
901-452-1185
The personal goods stored therein by
the following may include, but are not
limited to general household, furniture,
boxes, clothes, and appliances.
Kathleen Mclallen 042, Elizabeth Bell
404, Elijah Marshall 193, Brittanii Brown
766, Letrice Campbell 084, Jennifer
Dunn 221, Kimberly Brown 357, Erica
King 151.
Purchases must be made with cash only
and paid at the time of sale. All goods
are sold as is and must be removed at
the time of purchase. Extra Space Storage reserves the right to refuse any bid.
Sale is subject to adjournment.
Feb. 8, 2014
Mjn11712
PERSONAL PROPERTY
located at: 1235 Gateway Dr. Memphis,
TN. 38116. Ph. 901-332-4405.
boxes, clothes, and appliances. Units:
#A13 Shamice Williams, #A49 Daisy
McNeil, #A54 Bruce Knowles, #C51
Angela Smith, #C58 Lynease Myles,
#C72 Jacqueline Evans, #C98 Cleveland
Elliott, #D25 Lisa Thomas, #E22 Patricia
Beard, #F35 Jasmine Rankin
Feb. 8, 2014
Mjn11706
PUBLIC NOTICE
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT THE
UNDERSIGNED WILL SELL, TO SATISFY
LIEN OF THE OWNER, AT PUBLIC SALE BY
COMPETITIVE BIDDING ON FEB 13,2014
AT 10:45 AM AT THE EXTRA SPACE
STORAGE FACILITY LOCATED AT: 1075
MADISON AVE. MEMPHIS, TN 38104
PHONE NUMBER 901-525-7545 THE
PERSONAL GOODS STORED THEREIN
BY THE FOLLOWING MAY INCLUDE, BUT
ARE NOT LIMITED TO GENERAL HOUSEHOLD, FURNITURE, BOXES, CLOTHES,
AND APPLIANCES: TOMMIE GLADNEY JR
282, MARCHE JOHNSON 069, FELICIA
FLOYD 178, KIMBERLY COLEMAN 246.
PURCHASES MUST BE MADE WITH
CASH ONLY AND PAID AT THE TIME
OF SALE. ALL GOODS ARE SOLD AS IS
AND MUST BE REMOVED AT THE TIME
OF PURCHASE. EXTRA SPACE STORAGE
RESERVES THE RIGHT TO BID. SALE IS
SUBJECT TO ADJOURNMENT.
Feb. 8, 2014
Mjn11708
PERSONAL PROPERTY
AM at the Extra Space Storage facility
located at:
2699 Union Ave Ext.
Memphis, TN 38112
901.452.8539
boxes, clothes, and appliances
William Emerson #D7,Deanna Combs
#U3,Akiera Stewart #I54,Lisa Carter
#F12,Syble Mitchell #HI1, Constance
Brown #C10,Calvin Hall #F20
»
happenings
Memphis Botanic Garden will host the Green Your
Home Winter Plant Sale Friday, Feb. 7, and Saturday,
Feb. 8, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the garden, 750 Cherry
Road. The sale will feature house plants, custom potting,
terrariums and garden gift items. Admission is free. Visit
memphisbotanicgarden.com.
The Daily News and In-Synk will host a
Leadership Lunch and Learn discussing
Gary Keller and Jay Papasan’s book “The
ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth
Behind Extraordinary Results” Friday,
Feb. 7, from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in the
Triumph Bank boardroom, 5699 Poplar
Ave. Tickets are $20. Visit lnltheonething.
eventbrite.com.
symphony.org.
David Lusk Gallery will host an opening
reception for Anne Siems’ “trees” and
Carlyle Wolfe’s “until the day breathes …”
Friday, Feb. 7, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the
gallery, 4540 Poplar Ave. The exhibit runs
through March 8. Visit davidluskgallery.
com.
Belz Museum of Asian & Judaic Art
will hold its Chinese New Year Family Day
celebration Saturday, Feb. 8, from noon to
4 p.m. at the museum, 119 S. Main St. The
event will include cultural performances,
children’s crafts, raffles and more. Cost is
free. Visit belzmuseum.org.
The Buckman Performing Arts Center
at St. Mary’s School will host African
circus troupe Cirque Zuma Zuma Friday,
Feb. 7, at 7 p.m. at Buckman, 60 Perkins
Road Extended. Buy tickets at buckmanartscenter.com.
The Booksellers at Laurelwood will host
Vincent Astor, author of “Memphis Movie
Theatres” for a discussion and signing
Saturday, Feb. 8, at 4 p.m. at the bookstore, 387 Perkins Road Extended. Visit
thebooksellersatlaurelwood.com.
The Children’s Museum of Memphis
will host its Cirque du CMOM fundraiser
Saturday, Feb. 8, from 7 p.m. to midnight
at the museum, 2525 Central Ave. The
“Memphis Strong” themed event will
feature live music from Ruby Wilson, Al
Kapone and Alexis Grace, and food from
more than 30 local restaurants. Tickets
are $150. Visit cmom.com.
Memphis Child Advocacy Center will
host its Works of Heart fundraiser auction
Saturday, Feb. 8, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
at Memphis College of Art, 1930 Poplar
Ave. The event will feature works by 100
regional artists, beer and wine and appetizers. Tickets are $75 through Friday, Feb.
7, or $100 at the door. Visit memphiscac.
org.
Memphis Symphony Orchestra will
present “Peter and the Wolf” as part of
the Paul and Linnea Bert Friday Classic
Accents series Friday, Feb. 7, at 7:30 p.m.
at Lindenwood Christian Church, 2400
Union Ave. Tickets are $39 for adults and
$5 for children. Buy tickets at memphis-
The Metal Museum will host Champagne
Sunday on Sunday, Feb. 9, from noon to 5
p.m. at the museum, 374 Metal Museum
Drive. Attendees can sip champagne, wine
and beer while shopping for one-of-a-kind
jewelry and gifts in the museum store.
Cost is free. Visit metalmuseum.org.
The U.S. National Indoor Tennis
Championships will be held Saturday,
Feb. 8, through Feb. 16 at The Racquet
Club of Memphis, 5111 Sanderlin Ave. The
ATP World Tour event supports St. Jude
Children’s Research Hospital. Visit memphistennis.com for tickets and a schedule.
Feb. 8, 2014
Mjn11709
PERSONAL PROPERTY
bidding on FEBRUARY 13, 2014 at 9:30
A.M at the Extra Space Storage facility
located at:
4649 Kirby Parkway
MEMPHIS, TN 38141
901-366-6369
boxes, clothes, and appliances, KESHA
MORRIS #B23; JANICE PARKER #D40;
DIESHIA SIMMONS #F89; KELEIAN
DAWSON #E34; KIMBERLY M WILLIAMS
#E68; EVELYN H. CLARK #E59; EARNESTINE DANDRIDGE #B47; LATOYA
ALBRIGHT #D24; OTHA FARRIS #F97;
AUSTIN TURNER #C1; TORA HILL#C62;
MARK MOORE #D49; TORY WILLIAMS
#B27; JANET POINTER #C52;
GEORGE BURNETTE JR #F65; MARIO
WARE #RV 60; OLIVIA WALSH #D37;
KIMBERLY M. PERRY; #E68 KIMBERLY
MARIE PERRY; #E68; KIMBERLY MARIE
WILLIAMS #E68; KIMBERLY M. WILLIAMS #E68;
The University of Memphis Rudi E.
Scheidt School of Music will present
“Music for Two: A Valentine’s Concert”
Sunday, Feb. 9, at 3 p.m. at Harris Concert
Hall, 3775 Central Ave. The school’s
professors and their spouses will perform
duets and share anecdotes about their
lives as musicians and couples. Cost is
free. Visit memphis.edu.
Germantown Performing Arts Center will host an artist reception for
Kelly Fischer, whose work is on display
throughout February, Sunday, Feb. 9,
from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at GPAC, 1801 Exeter
Road. Visit gpacweb.com.
The Confucius Institute at the University of Memphis will host “An Oriental
Monsoon,” presented by China’s Hangzhou Normal University, Sunday, Feb.
9, at 7 p.m. in the University Theatre at
Christian Brothers University, 650 East
Parkway S. The program will include classic Chinese dance, instrumental solos
and opera pieces. Cost is free; seating is
limited. Email riki.jackson@memphis.edu
or call 678-2595.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Memphis will host An Evening With Fred Davis
Tuesday, Feb. 11, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at
the organization’s Technical Training Center, 903 Walker Ave. Davis served as the
first black chairman of the Memphis City
Council and opened one of the South’s
first African-American-owned insurance
agencies. Tickets are $100. Visit bgcm.
org.
Methodist North Hospital will hold a
stroke support group meeting Tuesday,
Feb. 11, at 2 p.m. in day room one at
HealthSouth Rehabilitation, 4100 Austin
Peay Highway. The topic is “Light at the
End of the Tunnel: How seasonal depressive disorders affect stroke patients.” Visit
methodisthealth.org or call Connie Holland at 516-5947.
The Kroc Center will hold a nutrition
seminar titled “Nutrition & Athletic Performance” Tuesday, Feb. 11, at 5:30 p.m.
at the center, 800 East Parkway S. Cost is
$2; open to the public. Visit krocmemphis.
org.
The Shelby County Trustee’s office will
hold a Project H.O.M.E. (Home Ownership
Feb. 8, 2014
Mjn11711
PERSONAL PROPERTY
bidding on February 13 ,2014 at 11:00
located at: 395 Union Ave Memphis, TN.
38103. Ph. 901.521.7051
limited to general household, furniture, boxes, clothes, and appliances.
Units:#134 Bateman Gibson LLC, #15
Tiffany Watts,#209 Debra McBride,
#244 Sean Marion, #254 Family Home
Health Agency, #296 James Kovarik on
behalf of City of Memphis, #303 Renondia Patterson, #395 Christopher Keith
Medlock, #441 Dorlene Woods, #512
Kimishia R Burton, #517 Tanjie Hurt,
#521 Alyssa Szeremet, #564 Yolanda
Alston (VIN #4T1BG22K3WU861510
for Parts only), #627 Shena Wilson,
#729 Tishina Daniels, #745 Latarsha
Bell, #822 Chandra Nolan, #838 City
of Memphis HR Benefits, #889 Demarrius Rimmer, #935 Jay Clifton, #955
Gwendolyn White
Feb. 8, 2014
Mjn11710
Made Easier) Financial Literacy workshop
Tuesday, Feb. 11, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
at Glenview Community Center, 1141 S.
Barksdale St. Attendees will learn the
basics of budgeting, complete a spending plan and prepare a payment plan with
Trustee staff to pay off delinquent taxes.
Visit shelbycountytrustee.com.
Talk Shoppe will meet Wednesday, Feb.
12, from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. at DeVry University, 6401 Poplar Ave., sixth floor. Terri
Murphy, president of Terri Murphy Communication and chief information officer
for U.S. Learning, will present “Relationships & Romance: Both Require an ‘E’
Factor.” Cost is free. Visit talkshoppe.biz
or call Jo Garner at 482-0354.
Kiwanis Club of Memphis will meet
Wednesday, Feb. 12, from noon to 1 p.m.
at The University Club of Memphis, 1346
Central Ave. Steve Guinn, vice president of
Highwoods Properties, will present “Real
Estate Taxes: Memphis vs. Nashville.” Cost
is $18 for nonmembers.
cohen continued from P8
“We’ve got to get a bigger pipeline for
students. By creating a free community
college in West Tennessee, we have the
opportunity to really build a pipeline of
schools that will add students.”
He thinks students who start in community college will continue on to the
University of Memphis.
Interim University of Memphis
President Brad Martin has also identified
helping students continue and complete
their four-year degrees as a priority of his
administration. The effort applies to students coming out of community colleges
as well as those who dropped out.
“We’re identifying those students,”
Martin said on the WKNO-TV program
“Behind the Headlines” before Haslam
unveiled the Tennessee Promise proposal. “We are inviting them back. We
are giving them support to find the right
path. And we are helping them to finish.”
February 7-13, 2014 29
Week of 1/27/14 - 2/2/14
crosswords
The Weekly
Crossword
Edited by Margie E. Burke
The Weekly Crossword
ACROSS
1 Indian garment
5 Back and ____
10 Sitter's
challenge
14 Jacob, to Esau
15 Met offering
16 Apiece
17 Wipes out,
mob-style
18 Mythical
strongman
19 Italian coin of old
20 Drug smuggler
21 Air show stunt
22 Choice beef cut
23 Ask in earnest
25 Georgia's
bulldog, e.g.
27 Segway
alternative
29 Ballpark snack
33 Bikini half
36 Singer Stevens
37 Rope-ladder
rung
38 Party hearty
40 Intrinsic nature
41 On in years
42 Ready-go link
43 Comic strip cry
44 Destructive
beetle
45 Tornado alert
47 Tooth
substance
49 Word before
trail or chase
53 Type of drum
56 Diva's rendition
58 Prod along
59 Top-notch
60 Kitchen gadget
61 Spreadsheet
function
62 Fan favorite
63 UV stopper
64 Washstand item
65 Rebut
66 Gossipy sort
67 Voice below
soprano
1
2
3
by Margie E. Burke
4
5
6
7
8
9
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
23
24
27
33
34
35
38
25
28
29
36
42
44
31
32
51
52
43
45
47
46
48
55
49
56
57
50
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
Copyright 2014 by The Puzzle Syndicate
DOWN
33 Cauldron
48 Mayan harvest
1 Old jazz dance
contents
50 Search for prey
2 Worse than bad 34 Lady Macbeth,
51 Shore bird
3 Hunter's
e.g.
52 Fashionably
weapon
35 White House
dated
staffer
4 Trousers
53 Put into words
measurement
37 Able to bounce 54 Stem swelling
5 Farm newborn
back
55 Ever and ____
6 Eye doctor's
39 To the extreme 57 Locale
field
45 Sunday delivery 60 Diminutive dog
7 Change
46 Queasy feeling
magazines, e.g.
8 Golf hazards
Answer to Last Week's Crossword
9 Possesses
S O C K
T R A P S
B A S T
10 Put down
U P O N
E E R I E
A L O E
11 Pool table part
D E L I
A P R O N
R O L E
12 Chunk of land
S N A F U
L E N D
C H I N
13 Yonder object
E N C A S E
S H A D Y
22 Stairway sound
J A R
B A C T E R I A
24 School of
E P I C U R E
R E T R A C T
thought
E S T A T E
F U T U R E
26 Beer, after a
R E E N T E R
P I A S T E R
shot
N O N E V E N T
O W N
of 1/27/14
- 2/2/14
28 Week
Saffron rice
F U T O N
V E N E E R
recipe
E V E N
B E N D
D A F F Y
T U N A
30 Wine's partner
I N D I E
D O L E
C L O D
A G O N Y
A R E A
31 Back then
H A R E
S E R G E
R E A R
32 Nerd's kin
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Copyright 2014 by The Puzzle Syndicate
HOW
TOTOSOLVE:

HOW
PLAY

Each row must contain the
numbers 1 to 9; each column

must contain the numbers 1

to 9; and each set of 3 by 3

boxes must contain the

numbers 1 to 9.

Answer to Last Week's Sudoku


ashlar hall continued from P12
samuelson continued from P25
ing has been vacant and deteriorating
ever since, racking up a host of city code
violations.
Potter said his goal is to find a viable
owner that can save the building from
the wrecking ball. Cobb will have to
submit his plan for the property to Potter at a planned Feb. 28 hearing.
“I have to see where you’re going
with it,” Potter told Cobb Jan. 27. “I have
to see the potential.”
He chronicles the run from the
planning stages to the finish line on his
blog Run Across America on Trail, runacrossamericaontrail.blogspot.com.
“I tried to choose a route that had
as much trail as possible and incorporated more than 1,000 miles of trail in
that run,” Samuelson said. “Most ultras
take place on trail, and I just wanted
to try running across the country on
them.”
In fact, “try it” is another one of
Samuelson’s short-but-sweet philosophies, one he shares with anyone who
expresses interest in giving endurance
or distance running a try.
“If you enjoy running, I say go for
it,” Samuelson said. “If you want to
try a half-marathon or a marathon or
even a 50K, just try it. Run for the joy
of it and don’t have any regrets in the
future.”
state of the state continued from P11
Difficulty : Medium
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30
40
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13
37
39
54
12
26
41
53
11
22
Sudoku
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10
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it is sustainable over time,” he said. “It
can’t be based on year-to-year budgets
or changing legislatures or new administrations.”
Private nonprofits would help with
enrollment of those in the two initiatives under the Tennessee Promise
banner, which Haslam said would
eliminate administrative fees and channel all of the endowment funding to the
students. The nonprofits would also
provide mentoring and counseling to
the students.
Haslam added that the $110 million
left in the lottery reserve is “a healthy
amount.”
Advertise in
The Memphis News.
Contact Leah Sansing @ 901.528.5270
hunter continued from P13
Alexander sees Hunter and Casablanca staying in Memphis “quite a
while.”
“I think with any company, whether
it’s Hunter or anything, there’s a couple
of things you look at. This does have a
great heritage,” he said. “That’s a great
asset because it’s a big brand and it’s
well-known and we get a lot of support
from the community.”
30 February 7-13, 2014
opinion
Local Economic Incentives:
Seeking a Better Solution
T
here has to be a better and
simpler way to play the
incentives game when it
comes to economic development.
If no one in the positions of authority really prefers the current arsenal of
economic development incentives, why
don’t they start to change them?
We’ve heard it from Tennessee
Gov. Bill Haslam, Memphis Mayor A C
Wharton Jr. and Shelby County Mayor
Mark Luttrell several times over when
they are asked about the local use of
payments-in-lieu-of-taxes, or PILOTs.
The statement that they would prefer not to have to offer any incentives
is always followed with the necessity
for us to be able to compete with the
incentives offered by the two states that
border us.
But it isn’t the much talked about
“apples to apples” comparison.
Our quest for economic development is simply too dependent on
PILOTs even taking into account the
unique challenges we face. The culprit
is our continuing failure to start from
scratch and instead add pieces to
something that hasn’t made sense for
quite a while.
The bureaucratic infrastructure
grows as the economic development
incentives become more elaborate. And
our incentives become more elaborate
as our leaders search for ways to make
the system more accountable.
The administration of Tennessee
Gov. Bill Haslam has found a way to
make this much simpler at the state
level. It’s called Fast Track funding for
economic development. A grant for
infrastructure and other public parts
of an economic development project
instead of a complex system of calculations and claw backs that seldom leave
a mark.
PILOTs exist to find a way around
the statewide prohibition on waiving or
forgiving property taxes and other ad
valorem taxes. It’s a dodge that is technically not a tax waiver but in reality is.
It makes us wonder whether going
to some form of the state’s Fast Track
grants on a local basis might not wind
up allocating the same amount of
money with less red tape – possibly
even less total money. A grant is straight
forward, easier for everybody to understand and therefore easier to assess
than the complicated matrix presently
used and deciphered by attorneys for
all involved.
It’s also a better and more basic discussion about accountability and value
that could make for a better judgment
taking into account our competition
but also allowing us to keep our eye
on the long-term goals that causes our
leaders to speak of five-year economic
plans in holy terms.
All we see now is long-term plans
for specific types of jobs and industries
that go out the window the minute a
site consultant for anyone shows up in
this part of the country.
A set of grants for public infrastructure based on some amount less
than the current total of property taxes
abated by payments-in-lieu-of-taxes
sounds like it should be a simpler decision.
Mutuality – A Must In
Fundraising World
portunity to congratulate her
It’s not all about you.
As you prepare for your
on her successes, to connect
next meeting with a current
her with like-minded men and
or potential donor, funder
women, or to offer guidance
or sponsor we suggest
for how she can grow to the
focusing on what you want
next level. If she does all the
to learn from the meeting.
talking, you leave without
MEL & Pearl shaw
This is distinctly different
FUNdraising Good Times having shared your sugfrom a focus on what you
gestions for how she can
want to share.
experience even more success.
Of course you need to be prepared to
Here are a few questions you can condiscuss the accomplishments, challenges,
sider including in your conversation: From
and vision of the nonprofit organization or
your vantage point, what do you see as
institution you represent. But that is not
our strengths? Our challenges? How does
enough. As you prepare, determine what
our work fit with what you are seeking to
you want to accomplish as a result of the
achieve through your philanthropy? Do you
meeting, which three pieces of information
have suggestions or guidance you could
you want to share, what you would like to
offer on how we could sustain and grow our
learn and how you can engage the person
organization? What trends are you seeing
you are meeting with.
nationally? How are these manifesting in
Here’s what you don’t want: a one-sided
our community?
meeting where you share all the wonderful
Practice having a conversation with
things your nonprofit has accomplished
another member of your board or a fellow
followed by an ask for a gift or involvement.
volunteer. Make a video so you can review
You definitely don’t want a meeting where
your presentation and make appropriate adyou talk about all the challenges that are
justments. Practice until you like what you
threatening your nonprofit. Even if you were
see and hear. Leave room in the conversato walk away with a big check, we believe
tion - and in your heart – for guidance and
you would have neglected to secure the
suggestions. Know when to be quiet. Listen.
most valuable resource: the birth or growth
The more people feel they can help you
of a mutually beneficial relationship.
succeed the more successful you can be.
Here’s an alternative: Engage your curYou can accomplish more with others than
rent and prospective donors in meaningful
you can on your own.
conversation. Think about it this way: If you
Mel and Pearl Shaw help nonprofit orwere going out to lunch with a friend, would
ganizations grow their fundraising. Services
you want to spend all of your time hearing
include coaching, campaign preparation
about how wonderful she is? Wouldn’t you
and proposal writing. Learn more at www.
want her to ask about you, your successes,
your challenges? Maybe you want the opsaadandshaw.com.
Enjoying Life's Fascinations From a Child’s Eyes
MEMPHASIS
dan conaway
URPED MY OATS.
“I urped my oats,” the 2-year-old announced from the backseat. “Urped her
oats? Did she throw up back there?”
her grandfather questioned. “Yes, baby,”
her grandmother said to her, “you do
have purple boots.”
Last week, her grandparents took
2-year-old Campbell to see her first
movie on a big screen.
“My plank sink,” came the next
announcement. “My plank sink,” her
grandfather repeated. “Wait, maybe
that was stink – we better check that
diaper.” “Yes, sweetheart,” her grand-
mother said to her, “your pants are
pink.”
She was very excited and chattered
all the way there.
“Be moisee, be moisee,” Campbell
exclaimed. “Moisee,” Grandan wondered, “Maybe that’s mouse?” “Beats
me,” said Doee, this time also stumped,
“Maybe she’s been listening to French
tapes.” “Be MOISEE!” Campbell repeated loud and clear, because, inside
her head it was perfectly clear to her.
“It’s big movie, you idiots, big movie!”
And when the movie started we
were all speaking her language. Mesmerized by the allover size of it, the
everywhere sound of it. The blanket of
the big dark space covering so many.
The big-as-a-house images on the big
bright screen reflected in so many little
bright eyes. The comfort of a lap to sit
in, a neck to hug when it gets scary, a
laugh to share when its funny, a gasp
to gasp and a song to sing all together
now. And all with popcorn.
We’re talking fascination, the language of first-time, wide-eyed wonder
that comes so naturally to her and is so
tragically lost to so many of us. Once
as fluent in fascination as she, we now
struggle to find as much of it in a day,
even a week, as she finds in every hour,
even every minute.
When we argue about whether or
not we should feed a hungry child today
at school, or a hungry mind in Pre-K,
or a hungry heart in a lonely childhood,
fascination dies early and we starve
our own tomorrow. When we fail to see
the difference early childhood makes in
the kind of adults we become, our lack
of vision has failed a generation if not
several.
Campbell will always be loved and
supported, but, at 2, she doesn’t know
that. She’s just fascinated, and the
delight of that shines in her eyes. Even
at 2, there are far too many in a city as
giving as this who are already aware of
a lesser, darker reality, the light in their
eyes already dimming.
“Seize biscuit,” she laughed on the
way home, pointing out the window
and rocking her car seat. “Seize biscuit!
Seize biscuit.” Nora and I were clueless
what that meant, but we were laughing,
too.
You can see yourself – what you
once were, what you hoped for – in
the eyes of a child. It’s up to all of us
to make sure what we see there, in all
those eyes, is fascination not desolation.
I’m a Memphian, and I have to run. I
have to go seize the biscuit.
Dan Conaway is a lifelong Memphian, longtime adman and aspiring
local character in a city known for them.
Email: dan@wakesomebodyup.com.
February 7-13, 2014 31
Valentine’s
Date
YOUR
has arrived
E n jOY a ROm ant ic E vE ning wi th
a livE mUs ic al p ERfORm a nc E bY
bRO ad waY ’s lOng Es t- RUnning p hantOm Of th E Op E Ra
hOwa R d mcg i llin
SponS ored by
F e b r ua r y 1 4 at 6pm
a t g paC
S tephen and a lic ia d aviS
J ac k and Sandra J oneS
Jean nie and o wen tabor, J r.
deborah d unklin tipton
en J oy:
open b ar
laviS h d inner
delec table deSSertS
exc lu Sive, F un a u c tionS
F or t icket S:
(901) 7 59- 0604
t n shakespeare.org
32 February 7-13, 2014
2014
SEMINAR SERIES
Presented by The Daily News Publishing Co.
WOmEN & BuSINESS
Thursday, February 27th, 3-5 PM @ Brooks Museum
PANELIST
ROBBIN HUTTON
Of Counsel, Memphis Office
Jackson Lewis P.C.
PANELIST
LESLIE JOHNSON
Assistant Director
Hutchison Leads
PANELIST
LINDA LAUER
Managing Director
CBIZ MHM, LLC
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
AMY HOWELL
CEO / Howell Marketing Strategies
The multi-faceted demands on women in the workplace today have never been greater. Join the smart
exchange as we discuss a range of topics from obstacles to opportunity. Take back a focused insight
into achieving your own career goals and learn the latest leadership trends for business women on all
rungs of the corporate, government and non-profit ladders.
Wine and Cheese Reception to follow.
REGISTER NOW: http://seminars.memphisdailynews.com
SPONSORED BY:

Emphasis: Financial Services

Transcription

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