Since 1898, International Paper has made products people depend on every day. At IP, we’re meeting today’s needs for renewable, fiber-based packaging and pulp while sharpening our focus on tomorrow. We’re International Paper, and we’re creating what’s next.
Entrepreneurship Council
Agribusiness Council
Government A airs Committee
Corporate HQ Council
Food & Beverage Council
Small Business Council
A Tale of Speed & Power
With Elon Musk’s xAI Investment, Memphis Steps into a Digital Future
Women's
■BY
JON W. SPARKS
Supply Chain Logistics Council
SMALL BUSINESS PROFILES
Government A airs Committee
Ivette Butron Ramos – Butron Media
The first Mexican-Americans to own a multimedia company outright in Tennessee, Ivette Butron Ramos and husband Sergio send a powerful signal.
Young Professionals Council
■BY FRANK MURTAUGH
Carlo Foster – C. Foster Construction
This entrepreneur's pivot to construction has enabled him to contribute to the growth of a city that inspires him.
■BY TOBY SELLS
Advanced Manufacturing Council
Ken Quick – EM Printing
Ken Quick has left his mark, literally. For more than 40 years, through thick and thin, he has kept the presses running.
Memphis Moves
■BY FRANK MURTAUGH
Mid-South Quality & Productivity Center
Elizabeth Tate – Signet Inc.
The Mid-South's leading provider of promotional merchandise makes its mark by helping other companies make theirs.
Image by Mary Drost
SERVICE & GOOD WORK
When O.L. Pickering established our firm in 1946, his goal was straightforward: to deliver exceptional service and good work. Today, we are honored to uphold this mission and are committed to consistently exceeding the expectations of our clients, employees, shareholders, and community.
As a fully employee-owned company, our dedicated team takes great pride in going above and beyond to understand our clients’ challenges and offer effective solutions. Whether it involves surveying, civil engineering, natural/water resources, or architecture, structural, mechanical, plumbing and electrical services, meticulous preparation ensures the optimal outcome for every project. Our comprehensive engineering and architectural teams work collaboratively to seamlessly integrate both the visible and hidden aspects of a project. OUR FOUNDATION. OUR FUTURE.
SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES kelli dewitt, chip googe, patrick pacheco, shaune mcghee published by contemporary media, inc. memphis, tennessee 901-521-9000
Since June, your Gre Ater Memphis Ch A mber h A s welcomed Elon Musk’s xAI to Memphis, briefed White House staff on the Memphis business community, and celebrated receiving over $393,750,000 for a new Interstate 55 Bridge over the Mississippi River at Memphis to be known as America’s River Crossing.
◗ We also happened to welcome our 200th Chairman’s Circle investor (spoiler alert: It was xAI), have held over 75 small business ribbon cuttings, and launched a redesigned website: memphischamber.com.
◗ It’s been a whirlwind of excitement for me and my team, our business community, and the entire region.
◗ We’ve dedicated this issue to what it took for this team to bring xAI to Memphis. We felt it was important to capture it for our time capsule and for future generations of Memphians.
◗ The decision by xAI to establish its presence in Memphis is a testament to the vibrant and growing ecosystem that we call the Digital Delta. As a city with a deep history of innovation and a forward-looking approach to economic development, Memphis is the perfect fit for a company like xAI, which is at the cutting edge of artificial intelligence and technological advancement.
◗ xAI’s investment in our community not only brings new opportunities for collaboration and growth but also underscores the strength of Memphis as a hub for high-tech industries. The presence of xAI will contribute to the economic vitality of our region, creating jobs, attracting talent, and fostering an environment where innovation can thrive.
◗ Moreover, xAI’s commitment to environmental responsibility aligns with our own vision for a sustainable future. As one of the most environmentally conscious companies to enter our market in recent years, xAI sets a new standard for corporate stewardship and community engagement.
◗ The work that xAI is doing is groundbreaking, and we are proud that Memphis will play a role in its future success. As xAI begins its operations here, the Chamber stands ready — as with every business — to support the company in any way possible, ensuring that it has the resources and connections needed to thrive in our city.
◗ Hope you enjoy this edition of GREATER!
Best,
Ted Townsend PRESIDENT & CEO Greater Memphis Chamber
•
• Knee spurs
• Hip arthritis, pain, and tears
• Biceps tendon rupture
• Runner’s knee
• Tennis/golf elbow And more
CHAIRMAN
Greg Duckett
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER
Baptist Memorial Health Care
VICE CHAIRMAN
Duncan Williams
PRESIDENT
Williams Holdings Company
SECRETARY/GENERAL COUNSEL
Jason Yarbro
PARTNER
Butler Snow LLP
FINANCE CHAIR/TREASURER
Russell Nenon
SVP MIDDLE MARKET BANKING
Truist
CHAIRMAN, CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE
Bill Dunavant, III
PRESIDENT & CEO
Dunavant Enterprises, Inc.
IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR
Douglas Browne
PRESIDENT
Peabody Hotel & Resorts
OFFICERS
Ben C. Adams, Jr.
CHAIRMAN EMERITUS
Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC
Willie Gregory
DIRECTOR, GLOBAL COMMUNITY IMPACT
Nike
Tammy LoCascio
SEVP & CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
First Horizon
David May
MID AMERICA COMMERCIAL BANKING EXECUTIVE AND MEMPHIS MARKET EXECUTIVE
Regions Bank
Tom Newbern
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
AutoZone
Richard Smith
COO INTERNATIONAL AND CEO AIRLINE
FedEx
DIRECTORS
Imad Abdullah
CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER
Regional One Health
Terry Blue
PRESIDENT & CEO
Memphis Shelby County Airport Authority
Jozelle Booker
PRESIDENT/CEO
Mid-South Minority Business Council Continuum
Eric Brown
VP & GENERAL MANAGER, MEMPHIS REFINERY
Valero Energy Corporation
Tyrone Burroughs
FOUNDER & CEO
First Choice Sales & Marketing Group
Micheal Cristal
DELTA DIVISION PRESIDENT
Kroger
Craig Gaffin
PRESIDENT, GLOBAL ORTHOPEDICS
Smith+Nephew
Jason Gillum
CEO
JAG Investment Group
Kevin Kane
PRESIDENT
Memphis Tourism
Daphne Large
CEO
Data Facts, Inc.
Jason Little
PRESIDENT & CEO
Baptist Memorial Health Care
Neely Mallory
PRESIDENT
Mallory Alexander International Logistics
Stacy McCall
CEO & PRESIDENT
ServiceMaster by Stratos
Doug McGowen
PRESIDENT & CEO
MLGW
Blair Taylor
PRESIDENT
Memphis Tomorrow
Chuck Thomas
CHIEF GOVERNMENT & EXTERNAL RELATIONS OFFICER
SWTCC
Michael Scarbrough
PRESIDENT & CEO
POGA Companies
Michael Ugwueke
CEO
Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare
David Waddell
CEO, CHIEF INVESTMENT STRATEGIST
WADDELL & ASSOCIATES, LLC
John Webb
PRESIDENT, TRI-SOUTH
CIGNA Healthcare
Spence Wilson Jr.
PRINCIPAL
KWC Management
Kera Wright
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
ALSAC
HILLTOPSECURITIES FEELS AT HOME IN THE CITY OF BLUES, SOUL, AND ROCK ‘N ROLL
It’s been nearly two years since HilltopSecurities expanded its office in Memphis and settled into the Mid-South Region.
Today, our fixed income, commodities, and wealth management professionals continue to partner with public sector and institutional investors in Memphis and surrounding communities to help them pursue their objectives in the marketplace. HilltopSecurities’ deep industry knowledge and active market participation allow us to deliver accurate, relevant, and real-time information for our clients.
With over 75 years of experience, we’re built on trusted relationships. Let HilltopSecurities put our legacy to work for your future.
Ted Townsend
President & CEO
Courtney Blanchard
Director, Public Affairs
Terri Bosby
Director, Investment Engagement
Leland Burress, III
Senior Membership Account Executive
Nancy Coffee
Senior Vice President, Chairman’s Circle
Amy Daniels
Chief Communications Officer
Ted Ferris
Senior Vice President & Chief Administrative Officer
Gwyn Fisher
Chief Economic Development Officer
Sondra Howell
Executive Vice President, Workforce and Community Development
Jeanette Jones
Director, Existing Business and Manufacturing Industry Council
Abby Latture
Economic Development Research Analyst, Greater Memphis Economic Research Group (GMERG)
Tunga Lee Director, Events
Lisa Lovell-Ayres
Senior Director, Chairman’s Circle Engagement
Susan Hadley Maynor
Vice President, Product Development & Regionalism
Patricia McKinney
Director, Small Business & Member Programing
Jessica Mosley Director, Community Development
Tecora Murray
Executive Director, Greater Memphis Economic Research Group (GMERG)
Troy Parkes
Senior Vice President, Global Business Development
Blake Payne
Membership Sales Manager
Rob Recker
President, Chamber Benefits, Inc.
Quintin Robinson
Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Operations
MacKenzie Stonis
Economic Research Analyst, Greater Memphis Economic Research Group (GMERG)
Amity Schuyler
Senior Vice President, Workforce Development
Brandon Smith
Membership Account Executive
DeQuanda Smith
Senior Director, Sponsorship Sales
Chris Stewart Vice President, Finance & Administration
Vera Terrell
Membership Account Executive
Eldridge Thompson
Membership Account Executive
Bobby White
Chief Government Affairs Officer
Samantha White
Staff Accountant
Donnell Word Director, Economic Development
Diamond Young Director, Marketing
Members of the Greater Memphis Chamber's Special Ops team pictured with team members from xAI.
Everyone in the 901 deserves a decent place to live
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis helps local families build or improve places they can call home through affordable home mortgages, rehabilitation projects, and repairs to help older homeowners live in their homes longer.
OUR PROGRAMS
Homeownership / Affordable Mortgages
Memphis Habitat offers affordable mortgages to quali ed applicants with a need for affordable housing who earn below 80% of Area Median Income (AMI). Homebuyers are required to attend a multi-week homebuyer education program and complete 350 hours of “sweat equity,” working alongside volunteers to build their homes and the homes of other future Habitat homebuyers. They also must save earnest money for an emergency fund before closing on their affordable Habitat mortgage.
Aging In Place
Habitat provides repairs and modi cations to quali ed homeowners age 60 and older who earn below 60% AMI and have a need for accessibility modi cations and/or critical home repairs.
CREATES TAXPAYERS who contribute $550,445 annually in local property taxes.
SAVES TAXPAYER FUNDS by keeping seniors in their homes longer — an estimated cumulative savings of $19.6M in less than 5 years.
REDUCES FORECLOSURES
by providing homebuyer education, resulting in a foreclosure rate of less than 1% for Memphis Habitat.
IMPROVES HOME VALUES by a minimum of $9M for AIP clients.
REDUCES UTILITY BILLS by improving their homes — estimated savings of $1.5M in a 5-year period.
SAVES MEDICAL COSTS by preventing falls in seniors’ homes — an estimated cumulative savings of $3.7M.
CREATES JOBS
102 full-time equivalent jobs with over $6.5 million in employee earnings.*
Higginbotham Insurance & Financial Services Johnny Pitts
Highline Warren Darcy Curran
Hope Federal Credit Union Bill Bynum
Hunter Fan Scott Ayers
Hyde Family Foundation J. R. “Pitt” Hyde, III
Hyosung HICO, Ltd. Jason Neal
IMC Companies Mark George
Inclusive Excellence Consulting Mary McConner
Independent Bank Susan Stephenson
International Paper Alissa Campbell Shaw
JAG Investments Jason Gillum
KBG Technologies Kathy Buckman Gibson
Kemmons Wilson Companies
Spence Wilson, Jr.
Kimery Wealth Management Kevin Kimery
Kroger Micheal Cristal
Kruger Products Mark Hauke
Landers Auto Group Kent Ritchey
Leadership Memphis Bobby White Jr.
LeMoyne-Owen College Christopher Davis
Linkous Construction Co. Inc. Rusty Linkous
Louis Dreyfus Company Joe Nicosia
LRK Frank Ricks
Lubin Enterprises Inc. , Nathan Lubin
Mallory Alexander International Logistics
Neely Mallory, III
Manufacturers Industrial Group Andre Gist
Martin, Tate, Morrow & Marston, P.C.
Clay Purdom
Marx – Bensdorf Realtors Jimmy Reed
McVean Trading & Investments, LLC
Dow McVean
Memphis Area Association of Realtors
Amanda Creel
Memphis Area Transit Authority
Bacarra Mauldin
Memphis Capital Group Joel Banes
Memphis Grizzlies Jason Wexler
Memphis Light Gas & Water
Doug McGowen
Memphis-Shelby County
Airport Authority Terry Blue
Memphis-Shelby County Schools
Marie Feagins
Memphis Showboats Steve Macy
Memphis Tomorrow Blair Taylor
Memphis Tourism Kevin Kane
Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare
Michael Ugwueke
Meticulous John Weston
MicroPort Orthopedics John Michael Pela
Mid-American Apartment Communities, Inc. (MAA) Eric Bolton
Mid-South Drug Testing Kelly Dobbins
Mimeo Oliver Doughtie
Monogram Food Solutions Karl Schledwitz
MoSH Kevin Thompson
Mueller Industries Greg Christopher
National Civil Rights Museum
Russ Wigginton
National Guard Products Lewie Smith
New South Capital Management
Steve Morrow
nexAir, LLC Bill Proctor
Nickson General Contractors
Octavius Nickson
Nike Willie Gregory
Nucor Steel Eric Nystrom
Olymbec USA, LLC Jason Berger
Orgill, Inc. Mike Keeney
Orion Federal Credit Union
Ashley McDurmon
OrthoSouth Thomas Giel, III
OsteoRemedies Chris Hughes
Oteka Technologies Alandas Dobbins
Pandrol USA Sandro Silva
Pathmark Transportation Wes Kraker
Patterson Warehouses Nathan Bell
Peabody Memphis Douglas Browne
PennAKem Sameer Rupani
Phelps Dunbar John Bobango
Pickering Firm, Inc. Mike Pohlman
Pinnacle Financial Partners Phillip May
Power & Telephone Supply Company
Jennifer Pentecost Sims
Preserver Partners Dana Pointer
ProTec Andy Yambrek
ProTech Services Group, Inc. Dan Weddle
Raymond James Ryan Ehrhart
Reaves Law Firm Henry Reaves
Regional One Health Reginald Coopwood
Regions Bank David May
Renasant Bank Shawn Clayton
Richardson International Jim Meyer
Ring Container Technologies Brian Smith
Riviana Tim Gyovai
RKA Construction Ryan Anderson
Running Pony Jonathan Epstein
Saint Francis Healthcare Scott Smith
Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc. Jason Landrum
Seeding Success Mark Sturgis
Self + Tucker Architects Juan Self
Semmes Murphey Clinic John Lewis
ServiceMaster by Stratos Stacy McCall
Silver Tree Residential James Carmichael
Simmons Bank Chuck Newell
Smith & Nephew, Inc. Craig Gaffin
Southeastern Asset Management
Jessica Pressgrove
SouthernSun Asset Management
Michael Cook
SouthWorth Capital Management
Jeff Presley
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
James Downing
Stragistics Technology Inc Hughetta Dudley
Stratas Foods Jack Straton
State Systems Bob McBride
Strategic Resource Management
Brad Downs
StringBend Capital Kevin McEniry
Stryker Jeanine Redden
Supreme Staffing Eduardo Sanchez
Sylvamo John Sims
Systems Technologies Jeremy Simpson
TAG Truck Center Gary Dodson
Tate Computer Systems Sylvester Tate
Tennessee Carriers Candy DeBord
Tennessee Valley Authority Chuck Marquis
The Crump Firm Architects Metcalf Crump
The J.M. Smucker Company
Carlos Manning
The Juice Plus + Company Paulo Teixeira
The P3 Group Dee Brown
Tri-State Truck Center Inc. Jim Maddox
TruckPro Chuck Broadus
TRUIST Ted Miller
Trust Marketing Ryan Robertson
Turner Construction Andy Davis
UMRF Ventures Pierre Landaiche
UnitedHealthcare Robert Horton
University of Memphis Bill Hardgrave
Urban Child Institute Gary Shorb
UTHSC Peter Buckley
Vaco Justin Farmer
Valero Energy – Memphis Refinery
Eric Brown
Vantiva Rob Wipper
Varsity Spirit Bill Seely
Vortex Aviation Michael Grace
W & T Contracting Corporation
Terrell & Wiley Richards
Waddell & Associates David Waddell
Ware Jones Realtors William Ware
Worlds Away Robert Berry
Worldwide Business Group Anthony Norris
Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, LLP Lee Harkavy
xAI Brent Mayo
Yates Construction Alex Teague
YMCA of Memphis & the Mid-South
Jerry Martin
Youth Villages Patrick Lawler
A Tale of Speed & Power
With Elon Musk’s xAI Investment, Memphis Steps into a Digital Future
BY JON W. SPARKS
OPPOSITE: Troy Parkes and Ted Townsend, both of the Greater Memphis Chamber, with Brent Mayo of xAI. ABOVE: Greater Memphis Chamber investors were invited to celebrate the announcement of xAI during the Chamber’s press announcement on June 5th.
It wA s June 5th, 2024 when Ted Townsend broke the news. Standing before a group of press and Greater Memphis Chamber staff, he announced that Elon Musk’s xAI Corporation was setting up operations here.
“I am pleased to announce that xAI’s Gigafactory of Compute, the world’s largest supercomputer, is to be located in Memphis, Tennessee,” said Townsend, the Chamber’s President and CEO. “It will represent the city’s largest, multibillion dollar capital investment by a new-to-market company in Memphis history.”
The announcement was stunning in so many ways.
xAI aims to build artificial intelligence better — and safer — than any other company in the field. Its stated mission is “to accelerate human scientific discovery. We are guided by our mission to advance our collective understanding of the universe.” Founded in 2023, xAI’s major product is Grok, a generative AI chatbot that is available with X Premium on the site formerly known as Twitter and now owned by Musk.
While his company is a relative newcomer to the rapidly expanding world of AI, Musk is not new to the concept. He was a co-founder of OpenAI in 2015 and reportedly invested more than $40 million into that company before parting ways in 2018.
The entrepreneur was determined to build his own supercomputer, the world’s largest. But why in Memphis?
Musk doesn’t do things by anyone else’s playbook. When Memphis pinged on his radar, his team contacted the Greater Memphis Chamber — in March of 2024 — with some very specific questions. His decision would be made based not only on the answers to those questions, but on the Chamber’s nimbleness in responding to some rather uncommon requirements.
Musk liked the location, but his top concern was having sufficient power both to generate massive electricity and to control the resulting heat. Not only did the energy need to be copious, it also had to be reliable. Also: There was a need for speed. When Musk wants something done, he wants it fast, so the Chamber quickly brought Doug McGowen to the table.
McGowen, President and CEO of Memphis Light, Gas and Water, explains: “Every customer is slightly different, and we have to meet them where they are. In this case, they wanted speed of decision-making, and that’s what we gave them.”
Potential businesses don’t typically make a move of this magnitude so quickly. Nor is the top of the chain so directly involved — in this case, Musk’s top lieutenants were involved from the beginning, and the boss himself was asking questions early in the talks. “Sometimes other customers are not that speedy with their decisions,” McGowen says, “and they don’t have quite a straight line to the top. They will take some information back from us and discuss it, and it could be days or weeks or months later before they come back to us. That was not the case here.”
In Musk’s world, decisions are made in hours or days, even ones of this significance, so the Chamber team was quickly informed as to the direction xAI wanted to go. All that the Memphis contingent had to do was be responsive. And fast.
In fact, those first seven days of talks were
turbocharged and set the deal in motion.
Here’s how Townsend put it in his press conference:
“In less than 90 days, the Greater Memphis Chamber’s Economic Development team moved at lightning speed to ensure that Memphis would be in a position to be selected by xAI. Our Chamber is built for this by providing remarkable coordination, swiftly providing solutions, and rallying partners faster than any other community. We made certain Memphis was the company’s top choice.”
“So, Memphis, are you ready? Let’s go!”
The wheels were set in motion as far back as December 2023, when an affiliate of Milwaukee-based Phoenix Investors announced its acquisition of a 10-year-old 785,000-square-foot industrial building and surrounding property in southwest Memphis. Phoenix is a national leader in acquiring and revitalizing former manufacturing facilities, and it put the word out that it had this prime piece of industrial real estate.
—TED TOWNSEND
Investors of the Greater Memphis Chamber joined Chamber President & CEO Ted Townsend for a toast celebrating xAI.
Memphis mayor Paul Young said that he sees xAI as “part of the impetus for us to grow our tech sector, for us to make more investments in technology in our community.”
The Chamber was involved and met with Phoenix, showing the investors “how we market the market,” as Townsend puts it. The investors were impressed. “They told us, ‘We manage 80 million square feet of properties around the country, and most chambers couldn’t care less that we’re there,’” Townsend says. “We said, we’re not those chambers. We want you to see us as an extension of who you are. We want you to know you have a partner and we're going to aggressively market this to our prospects.”
The Chamber had been in talks with dozens of potential companies who had been eyeing the property. Phoenix also had some interested businesses and were reassured that the Chamber knew what it was doing. The two organizations had developed a familiarity and trust, and the stage was set.
On Sunday, March 3rd, 2024, Troy Parkes got a phone call. Parkes, the Chamber’s Senior Vice President of Global Business Development, took the call from Frank P. Crivello, the founder and chairman of Phoenix. Crivello said, “I need you to organize a meeting tomorrow with a company that we’ve been working with. This is pretty important, so we need all the best people.” Parkes immediately got to work setting up the meeting. Townsend called McGowen and said, “Doug, I need you on this one because we think we know who this is. It’s critical that you join me to pitch Memphis because power is going to be incredibly important to them, from what we hear.”
At 1 p.m. on Monday, March 4th, the virtual meeting commenced and, as Townsend puts it, Memphis history changed. If he and the Chamber participants weren’t quite sure who they were dealing with initially, it took no time to figure it out once the meeting began. “I’m looking at the names and the email domains, and I see SpaceX, the Boring Company, Neuralink — and the hair on my neck stands up. Musk wasn’t there, but his top cadre of executives were.”
They got the pitch about Memphis from Townsend and the Chamber as well as Phoenix and McGowen, letting the Musk team know what it would look like to operate here. But it was no sure thing. “They told us, ‘You guys are on the outside looking in. We’re already looking at other cities.’” That revelation helped sharpen the Memphis team’s approach. “We saw that the only way Memphis wins is speed and power,” Townsend says. “So, our focus became the Chamber being the nexus of that potency and velocity, and that is what we launched into.”
He knew the approach was working when, at the end of the meeting, one of the Musk ex-
ecs said, “You're the first community to even breathe toward a solution for our need to operate quickly and the amount of power that is required. Can we meet on Wednesday?”
“Absolutely.”
Townsend says the Musk team wanted to zero in on the power generation, and wanted the timeline to be operational by June 1st. And they wanted that timeline and commitment by Friday.
“It was do or die,” he says. “We presented a plan of action on scaling temporary power to hit 50 megawatts by June 1st, to hit another 50 megawatts for 100 total by August, and 150 megawatts by the end of the year.” [Editor’s note: Musk announced in August that 200 megawatts was the goal by the end of the year.]
The Friday meeting saw a further presentation of the Chamber’s plan, solution, scale, timing, and all. “They said it looked good,” Townsend says, “and that they’d get back to us.”
Meanwhile, the Chamber was traveling that weekend to Austin, Texas for the annual South by Southwest International Conference. It hosted six sold-out events that Saturday, called 9-0-1 Day, highlighting the best
of the region’s business, culture, and more.
As Townsend told the Daily Memphian, “It was probably the most popular house on Saturday.” Thank goodness the busy public event wasn’t on Sunday. Because the very Saturday that Memphis was being spotlighted in Austin, Musk’s people called. Townsend says, “We got word from the company that ‘Elon liked what he saw, but he wants to know more. If you’re serious, you’ll meet on Sunday.’” “Absolutely.”
On Sunday, just a week after the initial phone call from Phoenix, and with three meetings already done, Townsend sat down with his electronics in an Austin hotel getting ready to talk to the wealthiest man in the world. McGowen was also plugged in. Townsend says, “I was nervously unfolding my iPad and putting my earbuds in and ready to experience anything at that moment. Elon’s team had told me they wanted me to just give a brief pitch on Memphis and then Doug would talk about power. I said, okay, we’ve done this. When we began, I reminded Elon of his brother’s investment here and thanked him for that, and started to talk about Memphis. He
MLGW president and CEO Doug McGowen was involved from early in the talks with xAI.
A former U.S. Navy fighter pilot with deep experience in local government, he knew the importance of offering a straightforward report about what Memphis was capable of.
cut me off and said, ‘I don’t need to know about Memphis. I want to talk about the power.’”
Townsend handed him off to McGowen, but worried that the legendary Musk abruptness meant that he’d messed up. Not to worry, though — “Elon didn’t need to be sold on Memphis. We’d already done that.”
The Chamber team didn’t fully realize it yet, but things were going smoothly. “He was impressed by the speed at which we assembled things,” Townsend says. “And really for him it was the mechanics. He wanted to know if we could give him enough power. Elon’s vision is to build the world’s largest and most powerful supercomputer, and he’s willing to put it in Memphis — if we can meet his expectations.”
For McGowen, a former U.S. Navy fighter pilot with deep experience in local government, it was all about giving the boss a meaningful sitrep — a straightforward situation report on what Memphis had, and what it could do. “We laid out what we had available to offer,” he says. “This was an industrialized area in Memphis, in which we had pretty significant infrastructure already, and that for anything
that they could potentially want from a water or gas perspective, we already had.”
McGowen told Musk the city had eight megawatts of electric power immediately available and that could be brought up to 50 megawatts in the substation. “Then we shared what would be necessary to get more than a hundred megawatts — and we learned at that time that they anticipated about 150 megawatts.”
The discussion got into the process of getting up to 150 megawatts — anything over about 100 megawatts was going to need the Tennessee Valley Authority board’s approval, for one thing — and the need to build a new electric substation or expand the existing one.
“We knew that would take some time for MLGW to procure the transformers to go through the bid process,” McGowen says. The process would take years for the utility, so the xAI team said they wanted to handle it themselves. “They could do it faster, and we agreed to that, but they would build it to our specifications. They would build it, and then they would turn the keys for what we call
the high side of the transformer back over to MLGW. And for their part of building it, they would be reimbursed through a credit on their electric bill every month until they paid back what typically MLGW would've spent to upgrade the substation.”
McGowen says two issues needed to be addressed. One was the stress on the electric grid that had been exacerbated by rolling blackouts due to the weather. “As a very large power user, they would have to be on a demand response program — in other words, when the grid was stressed and it was so ordered, they would be under contract to come off of peak or to remove some of their loads so that everybody didn’t lose their power.”
The second issue was water. McGowen said he recommended that the supercomputer plant take water from MLGW but also join the utility in developing a recycling wastewater process called greywater, which was already in the works to meet cooling needs at the city’s wastewater treatment plant. That was agreeable to the xAI team. “Even Mr. Musk said during the meeting, ‘I really don't want to use drinking water for cooling, so let’s see if we
In less than six months, xAI built the world’s largest supercomputer. The Greater Memphis Chamber took a moment to celebrate this accomplishment.
Why Stragistics?
You
CEO
Hughetta Dudley President &
can find a different solution.’ The interim answer was to use MLGW water while we build a greywater facility. Now they’ve joined in the effort to do the graywater facility, which they acknowledge is a win for everyone, for them and for us.”
A persistent question has been, how much water will the Gigafactory of Compute use? McGowen says, “They forecast that they could use up to 1.1 million gallons for cooling. That is a large number. But MLGW produces and distributes 150 million gallons of water a day to all of our customers across the county, so it’s less than a 1 percent increase.” It also helped the city’s case that the location of the facility was in an industrial park area that was built with the intention of new businesses coming in and taking advantage of the water.
According to Townsend, the xAI team made clear to the Memphis team early on that they are cognizant of the impact on the city. “From the onset, the company has implored us to make certain that the public understands they’re coming in to not take but to give. Of course, they want the supercomputer to run efficiently and cost-effectively, but they also understand that our resources are their resources.”
At the press conference, Townsend gave a glimpse of the project’s potential local effects. “It’s a defining moment for Memphis to be recognized globally. We’re going to have some of the world’s top data scientists and computational engineers attracted here that are working with the supercomputer. Take the two largest supercomputers in the world and combine them and multiply that by four — that’s what we’re building here. What it takes to do that is going to shape and form who we are as a community. It puts Memphis in the global consciousness where we’ll be seen as … leading the artificial intelligence space.”
“You hit home runs not by chance but by preparation.”
—ROGER MARIS NEW YORK YANKEE SLUGGER
Townsend expects that other companies will follow, whether directly as a result of xAI’s presence or more generally in the technology realm. “As other companies that are needing to move swiftly and establish the infrastructure and the power necessary to do things like a supercomputer and manufacturing facility, we want to tell them that today marks that moment,” he said in June.
He points out that between Musk’s enterprise and the Chamber’s preparation, a standard has been set. “With their own technology and with a community that moves
as quickly as we do, I think we can see more come here,” Townsend says. “You have their partners pushing the limits of their own innovation: Nvidia, Dell, SMC, faster, better, faster, better. We’re going to continue to see this drive.”
For the public, it’s taking a bit longer to process what’s going on. Reaction to the announcement was instantaneous and all over the place. After all, the news was astounding. The impact was clearly going to be enormous. And Musk is controversial. Add to that the fact that AI is a controversial, widely debated, and still new topic.
Townsend says public response has overwhelmingly reflected a sense of pride for the city’s possibilities and for the Chamber’s work. But he also acknowledges that the development is so big and so new, it’s a challenge to fathom the scope and impact of xAI in Memphis.
“It's hard for people to accept what has just happened,” he says. “And I understand the skepticism. There’s a sense of not knowing whether or not this is really going to be as big as what is portrayed. This is a natural process of assimilation and absorbing what we put out there.”
One area where undeniably positive work is already underway is in partnership with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “That partnership will only become stronger,” Townsend says. “And if you can imagine modeling out therapeutics or treatments in two to three hours versus 10 to 20 years, then you’re going to see more advancement and cures for other cancers and catastrophic diseases that these children face.”
The city is likely to benefit in other ways as well, such as in the energy sector. “Having access to their engineering and technology experts is going to be good for MLGW,” Townsend says. “There may be a time where they’re assisting when we have challenges with power by providing battery storage, so the power is put back onto the grid. They also have access to technology known as power walls that can be installed in low-income houses and neighborhoods so that if we do have a power disruption, people don’t lose the contents in their refrigerator that they’ve worked so hard for. That is the spirit of this company — they want to be a community partner, whether that is protecting our aquifer and resources or providing resiliency in our power grid. They are already at the table already actively engaged and will continue to do that. Is it going to be a direct investment? Possibly, but it already is open access to their expertise, and I think that ultimately should be encouraging.”
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From on stage to behind the scenes, from the drawing board to the boardroom, and from the classroom to the greenroom, there is a role for everyone.
For the Chamber, traditional economic development in Memphis is typically centered on affordable land and labor, but with xAI’s entry, other considerations are in play. Townsend lays it out: “Economic impact is measured in direct, indirect, and induced layers of impact. In this case, the capital investment is really what moves that direct impact. You’re talking about billions of dollars that, prior to this announcement, was not in our community. This is net new revenue. This is building a bigger pie so that the taxes, when they are incurred and collected, go toward the public good.”
He points out that there are likely to be individuals at xAI making upwards of $100,000 a year. “They’ll be earning six figures in our community that weren’t here before,” he says. “So that’s the direct. Indirect will be the vendors — all of the construction companies that are in here, with thousands of people on site building this out. That is revenue coming into the city. And then you have the induced: all of that indirect labor spending in our community.”
With all of this backing for the Musk project, it’s worth mentioning other initiatives
that will complement and enhance the xAI presence. The Chamber has been working on a project called Digital Delta. It’s a ninecounty innovation district that aims to supercharge key industries such as agribusiness and food, medical device and healthcare technology, supply chain and logistics, and electric vehicles and sustainable mobility. It’s a broad, regional tech effort with large ambitions. When Townsend realized the scope of the xAI project, he told McGowen, “This is Memphis’ future. This is the Digital Delta coming to life.”
From Mayor Young 's
Perspective
Mayor Paul Young had been in office barely three months when the initial meeting was held between xAI and Chamber representatives. For a brand-new city leader, it was a tremendous gift.
“When you have somebody like Elon Musk that’s attached to a project, obviously you get excited that there’s a worldwide brand that
is interested in our community,” the Mayor says. “I later had a conversation with members of their team and hearing their vision for the project and how competitive it was going to be in the AI space was something to be really excited about and proud of for our community.”
Young may have been as astonished as everyone else by Musk’s rapid move, but he wasn’t surprised that the city was capable of being part of the expanding tech culture.
“When I was running for Mayor, I would quote a statistic that the Chamber had presented a couple of years ago that said that Memphis has the highest number of Black and female tech talent per capita in the world. That was a stat I was already bragging on, and it shows where our community was already headed.”
This accumulation of talent and opportunity is the sort of thing a city leader loves to tout, with good reason. “Right in our metropolitan area, we have more electric vehicles that are going to be produced here than anywhere else in the nation,” Young says. “And then you add to it the world’s largest, stron-
The Chamber and xAI teams gathered to mark progress to date and discuss the future.
Grok is the AI chatbot developed by xAI. Musk named and modeled it after a classic science-fiction novel that purports to contain all knowledge and wisdom. In this fanciful illustration, Musk and Grok don Elvis suits as they enter Memphis.
gest supercomputer located right here. To me it’s a statement of innovation. It’s a statement of where our community is going, that we are embracing the next chapter of industry, taking technology and using it as a means to improve our local economy. I see this as part of the impetus for us to grow our tech sector, for us to make more investments in technology in our community, becoming that smart city for the Mid-South. This company is going to help us get there.”
Young sees enormous opportunities for the city and the region. “Certainly, there will be an economic benefit when you have billions of dollars being invested in a facility that means millions of dollars annually to our taxes,” he says. “We want to take those tax dollars and reinvest them into our city, into things like our infrastructure, into our young people, and into our facilities. There’s a direct benefit in that way, but it also allows for us to have another area of focus from an educational perspective. I think about all of the young people that are learning about AI, learning about STEM — and how they can apply their knowledge of technology to the workforce.
This gives us more workforce development opportunities for our community.”
One of the specific benefits of the relationship with xAI is the building of that effluent water treatment facility that will help recycled water cool the supercomputer equipment. Once completed, it will be the largest ceramic membrane greywater facility in the world. “This means that we are able to get an asset we needed that was already going to help us preserve water from our aquifer,” Young says, “and it’s going to be executed as a result of this private investment. That is a tremendous win for this community.” The greywater facility and the new substation, he says, “will come into the inventory of the city. And so those are things that are wins for our community with the two very important natural resources of power and water being preserved as a result.”
The Mayor has been involved in the Chamber’s Digital Delta initiative, and he sees how the xAI move fits in with the wider role of technology and the region. “It plays right in,” he says. “The whole focus of the Digital Delta is about ensuring that we have a smart
city, that we are using technology as a catalyst for recruiting more companies into our community and having the world's largest, strongest supercomputer. There’s no better way to recruit technology companies and to make that statement.”
If all goes according to plan, the xAI facility will be quickly operational along with the expeditious construction of a greywater plant and power substation. Looking ahead, Young says, “We should be able to say that the project is up and running and that things in the AI industry are happening as a result of the investment — and I mean the industry worldwide, not just right here in Memphis. I also want to be able to say that there are young people who benefit from the talent that comes in town as a result, whether that talent is serving as mentors and sharing information or even internships that they are able to provide. And that the tech industry really begins to take hold as an industry that shapes the future of jobs in our city.”
The xAI announcement was accompanied with a few distinctively Memphis touches.
Musk's Vision
What does Elon Musk aim to do with xAI?
He’s long had an interest in artificial intelligence, as his foray with OpenAI showed. And even though he’s starting this enterprise later than others, he’s been working in the area for some time as he’s been leading the way on everything from self-driving cars to computer chips in the brain to the establishment of colonies on Mars. And, as Townsend points out, Musk never wants to come in second. “He is looking for the supercomputer to really fuel and fund the AI space for all of his companies. You can imagine the computational power necessary to place humans on the surface of Mars — that is going to happen here in Memphis.”
Musk wants to make things better, at least as he defines it, and he wants to do it fast. “Elon wants the world to learn from the world,” Townsend says, which is why the entrepreneur is an advocate for open access. “This is a guy who does not file for patents
because he wants the world to benefit. He understands that open access allows for this exponential multiplication of tech advancement. It becomes faster and he wants the principles challenged.”
Naturally, Musk wants this effort to benefit his companies, but, as Townsend says, “he also expects it to truly advance AI in a more open way so that the world benefits.”
Recently, Townsend was at the facility on a tour with Musk and the xAI team. “Elon made a comment about a principle he lives by: eliminating the limiting factors. That is how they get to the next level of success and then the next level of success. If you think about the Starship 4 launch [in early June], as they said, the payload was the data. And Memphis will be the home of making that data work to the next advancement.”
Townsend says a city using that method of improvement to make things better will stand to gain. “The Chamber had to do that and we’re better for it. And city divisions and county and MLGW and other partners, TVA, they have had to do that and they’re better for it.”
The Team
Townsend has been at the helm of the Chamber since December 2022, and he was Chief Economic Development Officer for two years before that. He knows his team. “I expect these things to occur,” he says, “and I wouldn’t be in this role if I didn’t. It is that mentality that this team has embraced and absorbed into themselves, and the results are reflective of this expectation of winning and this culture of getting to success.”
As CEO, he says he has made a point of asking himself every day, “Have I made Memphis greater?” He encourages everyone on the team to ask themselves the same question. “It’s that multiplier effect, right? I know everyone here is oriented to greater. So, the response to xAI wasn’t surprising because we’ve been working toward this. Once presented with the opportunity and the immense challenge that we were facing, we were equipped. It’s like we said in all of our early announcements: We were built for this, but it was not without sacrifice. It was not without a roller coaster of emotions. And there are facets of the story that at any one moment could have put this project in peril.”
In this case, failure could have emerged from that old decree that “we’ve always done it that way.” Townsend says, “We relentlessly
drove and pressed and annoyed and disrupted. It was not to add undue pressure or to force the systems in place to break at any point, but we had a belief system in that traditionally the models have worked. So, if you just input speed into it, what is the outcome? We believed that we could get that and we proved it. We accomplished the goal and that was risky, but everyone was willing to calculate that risk within their own systems and they contributed to making it better and faster.”
Townsend points to a long list of supporters and team members who helped pull the effort together. He cites the Phoenix investors and the partnership the Chamber shares with the City of Memphis, Shelby County, and Memphis Light, Gas and Water. In addition to City of Memphis Mayor Paul Young and Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, he credits Director John Zeanah of the Memphis and Shelby County Department of Planning and Development, the local police, fire, and sheriff’s departments, Homeland Security, public works teams, the Shelby County Health Department, and the leadership of MLGW.
Within the Chamber, he mentions Troy Parkes, Senior Vice President of Global Business Development; Bobby White, Chief Government Affairs Officer; Amy Daniels, Chief Communications Officer; Courtney Blanchard, Director, Public Affairs; and Gwyn Fisher, Chief Economic Development Officer. He also singles out investors and members of
the Chamber represented, including Board Chairman Greg Duckett, Chairman’s Circle Chairman Bill Dunavant, and all of the Chairman’s Circle investors.
Mayor Young, meanwhile, gives credit to the Chamber’s leadership for its savvy in bringing xAI to Memphis. “But for their aggressive action, their forethought, pulling the players to the table and really, really pulling everybody in the same direction, I’m not sure that we would have this project. We need wins like that. The Chamber does an amazing job going out and bringing companies to the table, and it’s our job to close the deal. That was exactly what we were able to do in this instance. I look forward to getting many more wins just like this with the Greater Memphis Chamber.”
“xAI will become an integral part of the Memphis narrative – one that my children, and their children will be proud of,” said Brent Mayo, senior manager for site build and infrastructure for xAI. “As a new Memphian, it is an honor to lead this historical project and work alongside Ted, Troy, Bobby, and the rest of the Chamber team. The MLGW team led by Doug McGowen and team members Alonzo Weaver and Chandrika Winston have been incredible partners, too. xAI will continue to expand its footprint in Memphis and I for one look forward to propelling Memphis into the pantheon of great tech cities.”
The Greater Memphis Chamber team pictured with xAI’s Brent Mayo (third from left, seated), Chamber President & CEO Ted Townsend (center), and members of the xAI team.
Butron Media
The first Mexican-Americans to own a multimedia company outright in Tennessee, Ivette Butron Ramos and husband Sergio send a powerful signal.
BY FRANK MURTAUGH
HAving studied journA lism in her native Mexico, Ivette Butron Ramos felt a career calling when she visited her mother in Nashville shortly after her 1999 graduation. All it took was a week at a local Spanish-language radio station for Ramos to answer that calling. “You have the power to impact so many people,” says Ramos, today the force behind Radio Ambiente (1030 AM) and La Jefa (99.3 FM).
“As soon as you open a microphone, you see how many people are connected, even though they’re not in the same space. It can be a hard life [for immigrants], in many cases. You turn on the radio to hear the news in your own language, and listen to music that you enjoyed in your own country. Radio is the bridge to connect.”
for Radio Ambiente (at the time renting its signal from Flinn Broadcasting Group), she and Sergio moved to Memphis from Nashville.
According to Ramos, there are more than 185,000 Latinos within reach of her stations. (Census numbers are dramatically low, the result of many Latinos choosing not to share their ethnicity, or the number of people in a household.)
“Radio Ambiente has 50,000 watts,” emphasizes Ramos. “We cover all of the MidSouth, but also parts of Missouri and Alabama. It’s a monster.”
“We're stronger than ever. With 30 years behind Radio Ambiente and La Jefa's massive signal, it's hard to compete with us in this market.”
—IVETTE BUTRON
RAMOS
RADIO PIONEER
Ramos built her media credentials throughout the Southeast — at stations in Kentucky, Arkansas, Florida, and Georgia — and in 2004, married her partner in business and in life, Sergio.
When an opportunity surfaced in 2014 for Ramos to purchase operations and branding
In 2023, Ramos completed the purchase of Radio Ambiente — the studio, antenna, and land — making Butron Media fully independent.
And the effect has been profound.
The station hosts three major festivals annually, one in May and two in September.
Ramos herself is on the air daily from 7 to 11 a.m. offering news, traffic, weather, sports, and interviews with live guests, including a weekly conversation with a representative of the Memphis Police Department to explain
Ivette Butron Ramos can be heard on the air at 1030 AM (Radio Ambiente), one of two stations she owns with husband Sergio Ramos.
various driving laws and regulations.
In distinguishing the two channels, Ramos says Radio Ambiente is aimed toward listeners who have lived in Memphis more than two decades, and families who are not bilingual but have significant purchasing power.
La Jefa’s market is first- and second-generation Latinos living in the Mid-South: young, bilingual, and with different consumer habits than their parents’ generation.
Butron Media is a small business (15 employees) but with a supersized mission of engaging fully with Memphis, both citizens and business.
“My biggest customers today are companies looking to hire Latino employees,” says Ramos. “The City of Memphis, for example, or dealerships, cell phone companies, lawyers. They know money is out there.”
Ramos and her husband are the first Mexican-Americans in Tennessee to own a multimedia company outright. As a 21st-century trailblazer, she takes the future of her business quite seriously. And she has good reason for optimism.
“We’re stronger than ever,” she says. “With 30 years behind Radio Ambiente and La Jefa’s massive signal, we have two big pillars. It’s hard to compete with us in this market.”
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Unparalleled Career Development: Members develop individual skills and the skills of their teams with our extensive resources, immersive learning, and deep peer connections. The SIM Leadership Institute offers programming for the full stack of technology leadership to assist in meeting the challenges of the tech world today. The SIM Research Institute, Advanced Practices Council, and IT Trends are additional offerings that help develop exceptional leaders.
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C. Foster Construction
This entrepreneur's pivot to construction has enabled him to contribute to the growth of a city that inspires him.
BY TOBY SELLS
Drive A round Memphis A nd it’s easy to find examples of work by C. Foster Construction Co.
Start at Memphis International Airport’s modern concourse. The doors and hardware were installed by the company.
Head Downtown and you might pass the newly constructed Madison@McLean apartment complex, or LeBonheur Children’s Hospital, or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital’s new research tower. If your Downtown destination happens to be the Renasant Convention Center, you’ll find C. Foster’s work there, too.
However, construction was not the first industry choice for the company’s founder and owner, Carlo Foster. That was law enforcement. But when Foster hit a growth ceiling, he decided to make his own opportunities.
response to how hard I worked,” Foster says of starting his company. “That was one of the things that carried me to go, that I could kind of control the narrative.”
Though the business required dedication and imagination, construction was far from new to Foster. As a kid, he would take whatever construction work he could find — painting houses, hauling shingles to rooftops for roofers, cleaning up job sites, moving materials — “to make a couple of extra dollars.”
“I'm watching my city grow and I'm a part of it. I owe it to Memphis because Memphis gave it to me.”
—CARLO FOSTER CONSTRUCTION ENTREPRENEUR
He left law enforcement to start a construction company. For five years, he laid the foundation of what would become C. Foster Construction, and built his business from the ground up in 2009.
“If I worked hard, I would get rewarded in
C. Foster Construction specializes in finishes, often making custom woodwork. An example of this from the company is an impressive lattice ceiling at Story Point Senior Living.
The company also installs doors that will be recognizable to any visitor to the Renasant Conventions Center’s exhibit halls.
Some of the company’s specialty work is even appreciated by local pets if they happen to fly with their humans and need the potty at the airport.
Foster finds working on such a wide range
Carlo Foster worked odd jobs on construction sites as a kid. Now, he owns a flourishing construction company in Memphis.
of projects to be inspiring.
“I’m watching my city grow and I’m a part of it,” he says. “I owe it to Memphis because Memphis gave it to me. Memphis being home, it’s special to be a part of so many iconic projects here.”
Foster focuses his company on innovation. He always has an eye on the latest and most sustainable methods. Foster is now in the process of updating his mill shop with new technology and equipment, all with the goal of improving efficiency.
“If you don’t embrace it, you get left behind,” he said.
C. Foster Construction also encourages its employees’ growth.
“Healthy things grow,” Foster said. “I don’t want anybody to come in and get complacent with what they’re doing. I want them to always want to work on being better, learning a new skill.”
Next time you notice one of the many projects built by C. Foster Construction, you'll know that more was built there than doors and millwork. Foster is building dreams from the ground up.
EM Printing
Ken Quick has left his mark, literally. For more than 40 years, through thick and thin, he has kept the presses running.
BY FRANK MURTAUGH
One short visit with Ken Quick and you’ll dismiss that “print is dead” blather for good. “Print has been changing, but it’s definitely not dead,” says the founder and owner of EM Printing, which he launched back in 1981. “Some of the things we do now are different from what we did in the past, but we’re adapting.”
Shortly after graduating from the University of Memphis, Quick found himself in print sales. After gaining experience in the field, and learning about the industry, he realized he could run such a business himself.
And so, as many of the best businesses began, he opened his first shop in his parents’ garage. In little more than 300 square feet, the young entrepreneur cranked out business cards, envelopes, and more on a two-color press for a growing roster of clients.
tistep business, one that requires EM to go beyond what you might see on a press or bindery. “We do a lot of marketing literature, a lot of brochures and catalogs,” explains Quick. “We do a lot of direct mail. We still do pocket folders and stationery, depending on our clients’ needs. Marketing is the biggest component. We’ll produce multiple pieces for a project and send them to 5,000 locations.
“We do pretty much everything in-house, with the exception of design. We work with creative people in marketing departments and agencies.”
“There are a lot of opportunities in Memphis. We rely on repeat business, and we take care of our clients.”
—KEN QUICK PRINTING EXECUTIVE
Having relocated his growing operation five times over the course of four decades, Quick has an appreciation for Memphis and the fuel the Mid-South region has provided for that momentum.
At the local print shop he owns, Ken Quick and team offer a wide range of services to clients, from marketing and direct mail to stationery.
They keep coming back.”
Back to that word so critical to long-term success: adapting
“There are a lot of things we used to print that businesses now publish online,” says Quick. “But we’ve added a mail department, and we’ve increased our fulfillment assembly. There’s a lot of growth in that.”
And time is money, we all know. EM Printing has the capacity to run 24 hours, seven days a week when needed.
What kind of small-business advice might Quick give his younger self in a time-hop back to 1981, when he was just starting out in the industry he has seen through so many chapters?
“Hard work and perseverance,” he emphasizes. “Look at long-term goals. You’re working really hard and making very little money, so you have to realize you’re working toward a larger goal. Stick with it. It’ll pay off.”
Print, it turns out, is alive and well right here in Memphis, and not just in the form of the magazine in which you are reading Ken Quick's story.
Today, EM Printing occupies a 45,000-sq.ft. facility in Bartlett and employs more than 50 people. (“EM” originally stood for East Memphis Printing.)
Printing in 2024 is a multilayered, mul-
“There are a lot of opportunities in Memphis,” notes Quick. “Corporate offices and larger companies that are our target market. We have clients we’ve been doing business with for more than 20 years. We rely on repeat business, and we take care of our clients.
EM Printing’s slogan is a succinct fourword reminder of the industry’s role in helping other businesses thrive: Success Beyond the Press
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Signet Inc.
The Mid-South's leading provider of promotional merchandise makes its mark by helping other companies make theirs.
BY TOBY SELLS
There’s A big, fun truth At the core of Signet Inc.: “Everyone likes receiving cool products.”
That’s straight from the Memphis company’s website. There’s a line after that with another truth that hints at the company’s success: “We like making them.”
Signet is the Mid-South’s top supplier of promotional merchandise. So, what does that mean, exactly? Have you ever seen a tote bag emblazoned with The Peabody Hotel logo? Ever seen someone wearing a sweater vest embroidered with the red, Youth Villages kite? That’s what Signet does and has been doing successfully in Memphis since 1976.
Signet puts their logos on a huge spectrum of products like hats, coffee mugs and travelers, shirts, sweaters, shoes, golf bags, knives, notebooks, and just about anything else.
But Signet does much more than just put logos on products; they work with clients to tell their stories. Years ago, for example, FedEx hoped to spread Christmas cheer among their busy delivery drivers. Signet developed a custom Santa hat for them in the company’s iconic purple hue.
“At Signet, we are flexible and responsive to an ever-changing environment.”
—ELIZABETH TATE SIGNET CEO
Signet makes its mark by helping other companies make theirs. In fact, “make your mark” is the company’s tagline, stamped in bold letters on the sign over the company’s front door. Those clients are some of the biggest and most recognizable in the Memphis area: FedEx, The Peabody, International Paper, ServiceMaster, TruGreen, Terminix, First Horizon, Genie, Youth Villages, and more.
Signet is a secondgeneration, womanowned company. Elizabeth Tate, the company’s CEO, attended St. Agnes Academy and the University of Memphis.
As of December 2023, Tate had grown the company from $150,000 to $13 million over the course of four decades.
For this and much more, Tate and her husband and business partner, David Tate, were inducted into the U of M’s Fogelman College of Business Hall of Fame. The recognition was “so meaningful to us,” she said.
A secret to that success is in female leadership, which both Tate and Signet take seriously.
Elizabeth Tate comes by business naturally and nimbly. She has grown Signet from $150,000 to $13 million during her four-decade tenure.
The company is a member of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, the local branch of the National Association of Women Owned Business, and Promotional Products Association International.
Tate comes by business naturally. Her career mentor was another woman, her mother.
“She taught me the process of creativity and self-reliance, and was a successful businesswoman,” Tate says.
Signet works to open the door to women as suppliers. Supplier diversity is good for morale, and Tate says companies that embrace diversity are more profitable. A 2015 study by the Hackett Group said supplier diversity programs add $3.6 million to the bottom line for every $1 million in procurement operation costs.
Another Signet success secret is its people. In a Greater Memphis Chamber Facebook video in 2020, Tate advised companies to “continually invest in your team members and offer flexibility.”
“At Signet, we say that we are flexible and responsive to an ever-changing environment,” Tate said. “This approach has certainly paid off. Some of our people have been with us for 25 years.”
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Another Sip Cafe Inc. David Burnett
Answering Advantage LLC Susan Mealer
Apartment Association of Greater Memphis Robin Riggins
APG Office Furnishings Gayla Hobbs
AppleOne Employment Services
Nicole Veternik
Arbonne International Tiffany Klemis
Archer Russ Williams
archimania Barry Yoakum
ARCO Design/ Build Joel Olson
Ardmore Roderick Sam Boye
Ark Roofing Pam Lurie
Arkansas Capital Corporation Sam Walls
Arrow Creative, Inc. Linda Sloan
ARTSmemphis Elizabeth Rouse
Arvato USA LLC Brenda Payne
Ascendion Inc Maleeka Catron
ASG Staffing Kristen Hill
Ashaun, LLC Anthony Tate
Ashford Advisors Paul Cheek
Asia Sourcing Paul Freudenberg
Assisi Foundation of Memphis, Inc.
Jan Young
Assure Parking Will Douglas
Aston Carter Britan Crow
AT&T Chuck Thomas
ATA Alexis Long
Athens Distributing Company of Memphis
John Aaron
Aussie Pet Mobile Mathis Young
Auston Mealer’s Restaurant Equipment Service LLC Lana Vaughn
AutoZone David McKinney
AutoZone Liberty Bowl Harold Graeter
AVI-SPL, LLC Buster Vance
Avionics Specialist, Inc. Laurie Vaughn
AZO, Inc. Casey King
B.B. King’s Blues Club, Inc. Kathrine Corvelli
Baby Grand Ben Colar
Backrs Andy Bobowski
Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC Mark Glover
Baldwin & Shell Construction Co.
Tom Csicsila
Bank of America Trevia Chatman
Bank of Bartlett Harold Byrd
Bank3 William Chase
Banks, Finley, White & Co. of TN, P.C.
Sharon Lewis
BankTennessee Peyton Jones
Baptist Memorial Health Care Jason Little
Barge Design Solutions Trevor Cropp
Barnhart Crane & Rigging Company
Frank Smith
Barr Brands International Joe Lyons
Barrett Distribution Center Amy Cook
Barry Wehmiller Design Group
Jim Burkhead
Bartlett Chamber of Commerce
John Threadgill
Bass, Berry & Sims PLC Richard Spore
Bastian Solutions Kyrus Jones
The Bay at Highlands Health and Rehabilitation Jason Murphy
BDO USA, LLP Mike Musick
Behind the Scenes Dusky Norsworthy
Bellevue Baptist Church Chip Freeman
Belltower Coffeehouse and Studio Christopher Galbreath
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis, Inc. Tori Taylor
Hampton Inn & Suites @ Beale Street
Brooke Atkins
Hanz Oil, Inc. Haitham Alwousef
HarborChase of Cordova Cristy Browning
Harper-Avery Insurance, LLC dba Geico
Insurance Blake Sims
Harris Realty Services Reginald Harris
Harris, Shelton, Hanover, Walsh, PLLC
Kim McLaughlin
Harvest Creative Daniel Brown
Hatfield and Associates Jack Hatfield
Hawkins, Inc. J.R. Eledge
HBG Design Dana Ramsey
Heal The Hood Foundation of Memphis
LaDell Beamon
HealthcareTN Trinette Small
HealthLink International Sebastiaan de Kok
HealthMarkets Insurance Agency
Todd Rainey
Healthy Kids & Teens / Camp Get Fit
Jessica Simmons
Heartland Millwrights Inc. Jon Eaton
Heavenly Sunshine Property Services
Sandi Eley
Helen of Troy Tiffany Granderson
Hemline | Tailored Brand Strategies
Cynthia Saatkamp
Henry Turley Company Alex Turley
HGD Waste Solutions LLC Greg Echols
HHM CPA Memphis Laurie Stiles
Higginbotham Family Dental (Harbor Town) Cortne Young
Higginbotham Insurance & Financial
Services Johnny Pitts
HigherVisibility Adam Heitzman
Highland Capital Management LLC
Scott Notowich
Highline Warren Darcy Curran
Hill Services, Inc. Tandra Inmon
Hillwood Sarah Dickey
Hilton Garden Inn Memphis Downtown
Jill Baker
Hobson Realtors Joel Hobson
Hodges Law Firm, PLLC Rees Hodges
Hog Wild – Real Memphis Barbeque LLC
Ernie Mellor
Holiday Inn & Suites Wolfchase Galleria
Jonathan Williams
Holiday Inn Express Midtown Jeff Emmett
Hollywood Feed, LLC Kate Lancaster
Home Outlet Matt Hayeslip
Homelift, Inc. Lori Senn
Honest Monument Company
Earnest Hillman
Hope Credit Union Bill Bynum
HopeWorks Amy Braden
Hospital Wing Christy Chandler
Hot Graphics Printing, Inc. Lynn Blurton
Hotel Indigo Memphis Downtown
Charles Sweeney
HOTWORX – Memphis (Edge District)
Carmella Rogers
HOTWORX – Poplar Laura Cook
Howard Franks Wilson & Associates, LLC
Charlie McCarty
Howell Consulting, LLC Frank Howell
HRO Partners Austin Baker
Hudspeth Benefits Group Chuck Hudspeth
Huey’s Restaurants Monique Stitts
Hulsey PC Bill Hulsey
Hunter Fan Company Scott Ayers
Hutchison School Tracey Zerwig Ford
Hyde Family Foundation Teresa Sloyan
Hyosung HICO Ltd. Jason Neal
I Love Boxabl LLC Jabari Williams
I T Niche Harish Dahima
Ideal Chemical & Supply Company
Sam Block
Idexx Laboratories Jonathan Thomas
IDI Logistics Timothy Moore
iHeart Media DeJuan Hendricks
IKEA Michael Matteson
ImageWorks Commercial Interiors
Kevin Yates
IMC Mark George
IMEC Kelly Cole
ImmunoTek Bio Centers, LLC
Melissa Lee
Inclusive Excellence Consulting
Mary McConner
Independent Bank Susan Stephenson
Independent Presbyterian Church
Bob Hicks
Industrial Sales Company
Jennifer Richardson
Inferno Daniel O’Brien
InnerActive Consulting Group
Robin Graham
Innovate Memphis Jessica Lotz
Insight Risk Management, LLC
Patrick Siano
InSouth Bank Candy Sims
Insperity Stephanie Moyer
Insurance Consulting Group, Inc.
Steve Rodgers
International Paper Alissa Campbell Shaw
Intertrade, Ltd. Michael Goode
Inventory Locator Service John Herrman
Itta Bena Katherine Corvelli
J & K Nutrition Jose Gutierrez
The J. M. Smucker Company Travis McKie
J Rose Asset Management Treanna Street
J. Strickland & Company Marcus Mobley
Jack Pirtle, Inc. Tawanda Pirtle
Jack’s Family Restaurant
Brandy Weatherman
JAdams Financial Services PLLC
Joyce Adams
JAG Investments Jason Gillum
Jake’s Dumpsters LLC Bryon Daum
Jamerson Strategic Consulting LLC
Jiljuana Coleman
James Uptown Pressure Washing & Roof
Cleaning, LLC James Austin
JAN-PRO Development of Memphis and the Mid-South Trudi Pierami
JAS Forwarding Chris Shelton
Jasper Float Spa & Wellness Center
Antwanette Crutcher
GOODWILL
100 Years of Changing Lives in Memphis!
Goodwill has been providing opportunities to those who face difficult obstacles in their lives for more than 120 years. The national organization was founded by the Rev. Edgar J. Helms in Boston back in 1902 and Memphis Goodwill began over 100 years ago in 1923.
Helms, a Methodist minister, was inspired by compassion for the sick, poor, and disabled. He began collecting unwanted goods from Boston’s wealthier areas. Then he trained and hired the underprivileged to repair and sell the used goods, in addition to learning the traits and skills necessary in the restoration process. They were paid wages from the profits earned from selling
Our mission is to change the lives of people with disabilities and other barriers to employment through the power of work, education, and empowerment.
TONY MARTINI President and CEO of Memphis Goodwill
the goods at a weekly church bazaar. The system worked and the philosophy of “not charity, but a chance” was born. Little did the reverend know that his successful outreach would soon become one of the world’s largest and most successful nonprofit organizations.
Today, Goodwill Industries International trains and employs workers on five continents, and more than 155 independent member organizations operate in North America alone.
Tony Martini, President and CEO of Memphis Goodwill said, “Over the past 100 years, as one of the independent member
organizations, Memphis Goodwill has worked hard to follow the organizational mission – to give people with barriers to employment job skills training through a positive work experience. Our mission is to change the lives of people with disabilities and other barriers to employment through the power of work, education, and empowerment.”
Memphis Goodwill is making a powerful positive impact across 24 counties in the Mid-South and North Mississippi. Operating 11 stores, over 29 attended donation centers and bookstores, and two bargain centers that, combined with the contracts & donor services programs, provide jobs for almost 700 individuals in our community annually.
Memphis Goodwill also creates an incredible impact on the environment. We sourced, re-purposed, and sold 638,000 donated items in just one year, saving 13 million pounds of salvage from landfills.
For the last century, Goodwill has been transforming lives in the Mid-South through more than just donated goods operations. We also create job and mission opportunities with our Contracts program and The Excel Center – paving a pathway to progress for Memphis.
For the past quarter of a century Memphis Goodwill has offered janitorial services and switchboard operation employment opportunities to over 500 individuals with disabilities through crucial partnerships with federal and state governments –empowering people toward financial prosperity. Approximately 75% of our contracts employees are disabled.
In 2015, The Excel Center of the MidSouth was established as a beacon of hope for individuals searching to further their education and earning potential. Not only do students have the chance to obtain their high school diploma, but they can also learn valuable skills necessary for success - from professional certifications to college credits! By providing these tools at no cost, this
amazing program provides an opportunity to help launch each student towards a brighter future.
Martini said, “Our business is changing lives for the next 100 years and we are excited about the future.”
Jeffrey Jacobs Photography, Inc.
Jeffrey Jacobs
JEL Developments James Little
JEM Dining LLC Joshua Mutchnick
Jerry Christian Aircraft Sales, Inc.
Jerry Christian
Jewelers’ Choice, Inc. Bill Ferrell
JIM Promotions & Uniforms
Brenda Curland
Jim Robbins & Associates, Inc.
Walker Robbins
Jimmy Whittington Lumber Company
Jim Whittington
JK International Inc. James Kim
JLL Jack Wohrman
JML Financial, LLC John Little
Joe’s Crab Shack Ronnie Cannon
John Deberry and Associates Errol Reid
JP Morgan Chase Bank Tom Simpson
JSSI Process Server, Inc. Othneil Penn
Judy Bell Consulting Judy Bell
The Juice Plus+ Company Paulo Teixeira
Junior Achievement of Memphis and the Mid-South, Inc. Leigh Mansberg
Junior League of Memphis Michelle Nixon
Kaye’s Pints & Scoops Kiamesha Wilson
KBG Technologies, LLC
Kathy Buckman Gibson
KC Hospitality James Kelly
Keeler Iron Works, Inc. Clay Keeler
Kele, Inc. Danny Lyons
Kelman-Lazarov, Inc. Marty Kelman
Kemmons Wilson Companies, LLC
Spence Wilson Jr.
Kemmons Wilson Insurance Group
Cindy Klatt
The Kent Toni Williams
Kershaw Primary Care and Weight Loss
Valarie Kershaw
Kimery Wealth Management Kevin Kimery
Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.
Henry Minor
Kindred Place Pam Meiners
Kinetic Homes Phalange Brutus
Kinfolk Memphis Jacob Watson
Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. Jeffrey Lee
Kooky Canuck Shawn Danko
KPMG, LLP Ruby Hancock
KPower Global Logistics Tyler Kattawar
Kroger Co. Micheal Cristal
Kruger Products Mark Hauke
KUDZUKIAN Larry Robinson
Kuehne & Nagel, Inc. Rodrigo Leal
L & M Enterprises dba Seko Logistics
Tim Moore
La-Z-Boy Home Furnishings and Décor
Debra Stansbery
LAB Digital Creative Michael Newsome
Lakeland Wealth Management Sreeni Meka
Lakeside Behavioral Health System
Joy Golden
The Lamar Companies Michael McFall
Landers Auto Group Kent Ritchey
Landmark Farmers Market/Landmark
Training Development Company
Mike Minnis
Landmark Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc.
Cynthia Rapp
Laser Aesthetics Body & Wellness
Pam Hathcock
Latino Memphis Mauricio Calvo
Lausanne Collegiate School Laura Trott
Lavish A Luxe Boutique (Lavish Too)
Lawanda Thornton
The Law Office of David E. Gordon P.C.
David Gordon
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Leaders Credit Union Shea Brown
Leadership Memphis Shirley Ford
Leading in Life Enterprise Kinah Burks
Leasing Angels, Inc. Nannette Fisher
LEEK LLC dba Londons Giggles
Jeremy Calhoun
Legion Force Security Shawn Wilson
LeMoyne-Owen College Christopher Davis
Lenahan, Smith & Bargiachi, PC, CPA
Shayne Smith
LEO Events Cindy Brewer
Lexus of Memphis Bryan Smith
Liberty Bank and Trust Company
Carolyn Walker
Life Choices of Memphis Rachel Davis
LifeDoc Health Gabriel Velasquez
LifeSigns / HealthyHere Sandy Bradford
Lifestyle Screen Printing Donald Kirkland
Lighting Source David Lee
The Lilly Company Wade Clark
Link Apartments Broad Ave.
Brittney Crandall
Linkous Construction Company, Inc.
Rusty Linkous
Literacy Mid-South Stacy Early
LocaliQ Michael Acuff
Lofton Wells Insurance Pamela Lofton Wells
Lokion Jennifer Lee
LoneTree Wealth Management
Jimmy Beard
Louis Dreyfus Company Joe Nicosia
Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores
Michael Balak
LPI Memphis, Inc. Ciara Neill
LRK, Inc. Frank Ricks
Lubin Enterprises, Inc. Nathan Lubin
Lurie and Associates, LLC Leonard Lurie
M & D Coatings, Inc. Michael Mays
M.J. Edwards Funeral Home Carolyn Brown
Machinery Sales Company, Inc.
Greg Meadows
Magna Services of America, Inc.
Dex Battista
Mahogany Memphis, LLC Jessica Miller
Main Street Dental Jodi Rump
Makowsky Ringel Greenberg, LLC
Michael Greenberg
Malasri Engineering, PLLC JT Malasri
Malco Theatres Karen Melton
Mallory Alexander International Logistics
Neely Mallory
Manufacturers Industrial Group (MIG)
Andre Gist
MAPCO Express Julie Thomas
Marion Chamber of Commerce
Trisha Bloodworth
The Marston Group, PLC Chip Marston
Martin, Tate, Morrow & Marston, PC
Clay Purdom
Marx-Bensdorf REALTORS Jimmy Reed
Mauser Packaging Solutions
Roxanne Mayes
McAdams Group, LLC Tearesa Claiborne
McEwen’s Memphis John Littlefield
McGriff Insurance Services Mark Forrester
McKee and McFarland, Inc. Bob Lafferty
McMillon Warehousing & Distribution, LLC Mike McMillon
McNeely Pigott & Fox Public Relations
Jennifer Brantley
McVean Trading & Investments, LLC
Dow McVean
Medegen Medical Products
Jennifer Williamson
Medford Roofing, LLC Meghan Medford
MedHaul Nathalie Occean
Medical Education & Research Institute
Cayla Cook
Medical Transportation Service, LLC
Michael Webb
Medtronic Hal Beckham
Meisler Trailer Rentals Noel Troxel
The Memphian Hotel Bobbie Peppers
Memphis & Shelby County Film & TV Commission Linn Sitler
Memphis Area Association of Realtors O'Hara Keszler
Memphis Area Legal Services, Inc. Cindy Cole Ettingoff
Memphis Area Transit Authority
Bacarra Mauldin
Memphis Army Recruiting Company
Memphis Blues Gina Beasley
Memphis Botanic Garden Mike Allen
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art
Kathy Dumlao
Memphis Capital Group Joel Banes
Memphis Chess Company, LLC
Michael Shuey
Memphis Christian Pastors Network
Pastor Rufus Smith
Memphis Clean Claudia Cogswell
Memphis Communications Corporation
Stacey Purdy
Memphis Consulting Group, LLC
Jonathan Nyaku
Memphis Education Fund
Terrence Patterson
Memphis Electric Company Donald Thomas
Memphis Electrical JATC Guinevere Griffith
Memphis Equipment Company
Douglas Cummings
Memphis Funeral Home Corey Hague
Move to Marion:
With over 30 years of experience in the drug testing industry, Kelly Dobbins and her team from Mid-South Drug Testing have successfully served the communities of Tennessee, Northeast Arkansas, North Mississippi and the boot heel of Missouri.
Memphis Gift Basket Jesse James
Memphis Grindhouse Coffee Dwayne Chaffin
Memphis Grizzlies Jason Wexler
Memphis Ice Machine Company Clark Lawrence
Memphis In May International Festival, Inc. Mack Weaver
Memphis Jewish Community Center Idesha Reese
Memphis Light, Gas & Water Doug McGowen
Memphis Management Group: Renasant Convention Center & Cannon Center for the Performing Arts Dean Dennis
Memphis Medical District Collaborative Rory Thomas
Memphis Medical Society Clint Cummins
Memphis Metropolitan Land Bank Authority Michael Harris
Memphis Music Initiative Rychetta Watkins
Memphis Obstetrics & Gynecological Assn., P.C. Robert Burns
Memphis Radiological PC Kim Asher
Memphis Record Pressing Catrina Traylor-Francis
Memphis Rock ‘N’ Soul Museum Carley Kirby
Memphis School of Excellence Samuel Beyhan
Memphis Shelby County Airport Authority Terry Blue
Memphis Shelby County Schools Marie Feagins
Memphis Showboats / UFL Steve Macy
Memphis Stone and Stucco Angela Rhodes
Memphis Tacos Claudia Cogswell
Memphis Tomorrow Blair Taylor
Memphis Tourism Kevin Kane
Memphis United Julius Goodwin
Memphis University School Liz Copeland
Memphis Urban League Deryl Gardner
Memphis Wings dba Wingstop Alexa Wendel
Memphis Zoo Nick Harmeier
Memphis/Shelby County Port Commission Randy Richardson
Mental Health Cooperative Memphis August Geeter
Mercer Capital Management, Inc.
Christopher Mercer
Meridian Life Science David Christian
Meritan, Inc. Melanie Keller
Message Factors Tom Logue
Metal Building Products, Inc. Barry Sims
Methodist Healthcare Employee Assistance Program Renee Dillard
Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare Michael Ugwueke
Meticulous John Weston
Metro Construction, LLC Joe Savage
Metropolitan Cardiovascular Institute Errol Raspberry
Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association (MIFA) Anna Word
MHP / Team SI Amanda Mauck
MicroPort Orthopedics, Inc.
Mid-America Apartments Eric Bolton
Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary Randy Redd
Mid-South Drug Testing, Inc. Kelly Dobbins
Mid-South Food Bank Cathy Pope
Mid-South Milling Company, Inc. Nathan Pappas
Mid-South Public Communications Foundation / WKNO Scott Davidson
Mid-South Transplant Foundation, Inc. Kim Van Frank
MidSouth Development District Anna McQuiston
Midsouth Ponds Bubba Hogan
Midtown Pediatrics of Memphis Bianca Sweeten
Millennium Machinery Inc. Jared Jobbins
Millennium Search Jason Gillum
Mimeo Oliver Doughtie
Mind Over Data Susan Gross
Minuteman Press Steven Ennis
Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church J. Lawrence Turner
Mitchell & Son, Inc. Ron Monmaney
Molly Maid of Memphis Kathy Biggers
Molly Maid of Tipton County Kathy Biggers
Monica Burt and Associates, LLC
Monica Burt
Monogram Food Solutions Karl Schledwitz
Morris Marketing Group
Valerie Morris Bearup
Mortgage Financial Services Ryan Knop
MoSH Kevin Thompson
Moxy Memphis Downtown Curtis Pandes
MSD Travel Advisors, LLC Michael Dawoud
MSHN Enterprises Corey Clark
MSK Group, P.C. dba OrthoSouth Thomas Giel III
Mueller Industries, Inc. Greg Christopher
Mustard Seed Realty Group Melanie Bolden
MVP3 Foundation Marie Pizano
MWT Transport LLC Milton Thomas
MyCityRides Andy Nix
NAI Saig Company Laura Saig Martin
National Civil Rights Museum Russ Wigginton
National Cotton Council Drew Davis
National Guard Products Lewie Smith
National Ornamental Metal Museum
Carissa Hussong
neMarc Professional Services, Inc.
Carmen Bassett-Brown
The Neely Agency LLC Sheri Neely
Neon Canvas Hillary Combest
New Ballet Ensemble and School Katie Smythe
New Memphis Anna Mullins Ellis
New Millennium Building Systems
Bob Hudson
New South Capital Management Steve Morrow
New Teacher University Terry Ross
New Way Aquaponic Farms Daryl Leven
New South Capital Management Steve Morrow
New York Life Scotty Hendricks
Newberry Tanks & Equipment, LLC
Chris Long
Newmark Real Estate Joe Steffner
nexAir, LLC Bill Proctor
Nextech Solutions Chris Hogue
Nextera Energy Resources Clark Stephens
Nickey Warehouse, Inc. Charlie Andrews
Nickson General Contractors
Octavius Nickson
Nike Willie Gregory
NKC of America, Inc.
Nancy Christian
Nollan Keynote Concerts Valaria Nollan
Noremac Media Group George Monger
Northwestern Mutual Jim Meeks
Nothing Bundt Cakes Amy Lupo
Novateur Brand Architecture
Saundra Nash
Novo Nordisk Marla Wiedenmann
Now Leasing Jennifer Wessels
Nu-Wave Development LLC Marilyn Conway
Nucor Steel of Memphis, Inc. Eric Nystrom
NuVasive Inc. Clare Gorman
Oak View Group Phoebe Breckenridge
Octapharma Plasma, Inc. Meghan Murphree
Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. Kim Hodges
Olam Agri Americas Inc. Amanda Cook
Old Dominick Distillery Chris Canale
Olymbec USA LLC Jason Berger
Olympic Career Training Institute
Patrick Carter
Olympic Industries Craig Owen
One by One Ministries Heather McCaskill
One Digital Health and Benefits Lisa Bell
One Dollar+ LLC dba Save-a-Lot / Uptown Bargains Casey Moore
One Step Initiative Brian Booker
One Stop Housing Mark Vengroff
Onin Staffing Regina Caldwell
OPACHS Sharon Pruitt
Opti-Coat, LLC David Ghodoussi
OrabiTech Muhammad Baig
Orgill, Inc. Eric Divelbiss
Orion Federal Credit Union
Ashley McDurmon
ORO Impact Inc. George Fatheree
The Orpheum Theatre Candace Dean
OsteoRemedies, LLC Chris Hughes
Oteka Technologies, LLC Alandas Dobbins
Our Connections Joe Roberts
Our Lady Queen of Peace Retreat Center
Steve Fracchia
Outfront Media, LLC
Overhead Door Company of Memphis, Inc.
Barry Ray
Overton Park Neighbors Kevin McConnell
The P3 Group Inc. Dee Brown
P.F. Chang’s Christian Carruego
Painting Unlimited, Inc. Joseph Lewis
The Pallet Factory Michael Doyle
Pandrol USA Sandro Silva
Paradox Catering & Consulting, LLC
Alia Hogan
Paragon Bank Robert Shaw
Parasol Awnings, LLC Michael Folk
Parties With Pizzazz Shun Stotts
PATH Company William Franklin
Pathmark Transportation Wes Kraker
Pathway Lending Jarlecia Jones
Patriot Bank John Smith
Patterson & Associates Real Estate
Kimberly Townsend
Patterson Warehouses, Inc. Nathan Bell
Payne Services Plumbing, Heating and Air
Danny Payne
Peabody Memphis Douglas Browne
Peer Power Cortney Richardson
Penn A Kem LLC Sameer Rupani
Pepsi Beverages Company Tom Macnaught
Perfecto Staffing Jeanne Prascak
PerformancePoint Brad Federman
Persevere Stacey Books
Pete Mitchell & Associates, Inc. Insurance
George Hilliard
Pfizer Inc. Nelson Zamora-Ramos
PFSweb Glen Harckum
Phancy Photo Booth Cathy Wood
PharmEx, LLC Amresh Narine
Phee Phi Fire LLC Phee Robinson
Phelps Dunbar PLC John Bobango
Phlebogo Oginga Carr
Piano’s / Shackelford’s Florist
Charles Strong
Pickering Firm, Inc. Mike Pohlman
Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc. Phillip May
Pinnakl Technologies Ashish Singh
Pitman Glass & Glazing Scott Pitman
Place of Good Abode Companies
Michael Scarbrough
Playhouse on the Square Michael Detroit
PMC Biogenix Clarke McGuire
PMI Global Services Lisa Kirk
PMI Memphis Chapter Tamara Brown
Porter-Leath Rob Hughes
Power & Telephone Supply Company
Jennifer Sims
Power Equipment Company of Memphis
Robert Brackett
Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc. David Warmath
Praxair, Inc. Kellina Anderson
Precision Air Conditioning & Heating, LLC
Kathe Stewart
Preserver Partners, LLC Dana Pointer
Primology Aesthetics and Wellness
Jami Bartholomew
Princeton James Productions
Princeton James
ProductionOne Kiley Butler
Professional Allied Health LLC
Tuwanna McDaniel
Professional Pharmacy Services
Patrice Pritchett
Professional Service Industries, Inc.
Larry Johnson
Progressive Realty Services, LLC
Leah Douglas-Wooten
Progressive Technologies, Inc. Christopher Brubaker
PROMAN Staffing Joan Trujillo
Protank Fran Shaw
ProTech Services Group, Inc. Dan Weddle
Pugh’s Flowers Michael Pugh
Puzzol Creative Mallory Lynch
Q3 Contractors LLC Sherman Brown
Quality Incentive Company Rodger Plumb
Quality Roofing Contractors Felix Haynes
Quality Title Group, LLC Leigh McDonald
Quality Vending Service, LLC
Thomas Dayton
R & R Enterprises of TN dba Double R Wine, Spirits & More Richard Farwell
R3Dream Action Innovation Group – rAiG Inc. Antoine Maxwell
Rachel’s Salon & Day Spa Paige Garland
Radians, Inc. Mike Tutor
Randstad US – Metro Memphis Area
Sylvia Grammer
Raymond James Ryan Ehrhart
RBG Wealth Advisors, LLC Greg Davis
RDX, LLC Roumen Denkov
The Reaves Law Firm Henry Reaves
The Recovery Center of Tennessee
Olivier Williams
Recycling Management Resources
C.J. Drew
Red Deluxe, LLC Ashley Buck
RedDOT Corporation
Redeemers Group, Inc. Rosie Graves
RedRover Company Lori Turner-Wilson
Regional One Health Reginald Coopwood
Regional One Health Foundation
Jared Bulluck
Regions Bank David May
Remington College Rose Van Alstine
Renae’s Window Treatments, Inc.
Susan Newby
Renaissance Group, Inc. Ruffin Flowers
Renasant Bank Shawn Clayton
Rendezvous Tina Jennings
Republic Services Anthony Woods
Research Dynamics, Inc. Hal Fogelman
Residence Inn by Marriott Memphis
Downtown Tracey Henninger
Resource Entertainment Group
Howard Stovall
Resource Management Group LLC
Barbara Knight
Resource Media Group – RMG
Steve Stewart
Revival Restoration Services Scott Trimble
Revival-Memphis Org Lyman Aldrich
Reynolds Bone & Griesbeck Skeet Haag
Rhodes College Kerri Campbell
Richardson International Jim Meyer
Ridgeway Business Center Virginia Rowland
Ring Container Technologies Brian Smith
Ritchie Smith Associates Ritchie Smith
River Arts Fest, Inc. Dan Flick
River Inn of Harbor Town
Mehri Ahmadzadegan
Riviana Foods Inc. Tom Gyovai
RIX International Gwendolyn Tucker
RKA Construction Ryan Anderson
Robert Half Chrissy Smith
Robinson Tree Service, Inc. Cynthia Sengel
Learn Differently
Learn Differently
Concord Academy surrounds students with a culture of understanding, a sense of belonging, and a dedication to helping them thrive.
Concord Academy surrounds students with a culture of understanding, a sense of belonging, and a dedication to helping them thrive.
Our specialized faculty and staff support student learning and growth within a culture of acceptance.
Our specialized faculty and staff support student learning and growth within a culture of acceptance.
Concord embraces differences, including Autism, learning disabilities, ADD/ADHD, and other neurodiverse learning needs.
Concord embraces differences, including Autism, learning disabilities, ADD/ADHD, and other neurodiverse learning needs.
As Concord students step into adult life, they’re confident in their abilities and ready to shine.
As Concord students step into adult life, they’re confident in their abilities and ready to shine.
Enrolling now grades 6 – 12
Enrolling now grades 6 – 12
Concord Academy | 4942 Walnut Grove Rd www.concord-academy.org info@concord-academy.org | 901-682-3115
Concord Academy | 4942 Walnut Grove Rd www.concord-academy.org info@concord-academy.org | 901-682-3115
STAY
THE LOOP
RockStar Medical Aesthetics & Therapeutics, Inc. Barbara Reed
Ronald McDonald House of Memphis
Meg Goorley
Rone’s Landscaping & Construction
Alicia Hill
Royal Choice LLC Latosha Isaac
Royalty Wellness Spa, PLLC
Sharonda Walton
Rumble Boxing Midtown Memphis Ann Lee
Running Pony Jonathan Epstein
Runyon Industries Stan Runyon
Rust College Rita Rayford
RWE Alexis Bowman
S&ME Jeff Doubrava
Sage Creative Malik Sharp
Saint Francis Hospital Scott Smith
The Salvation Army Memphis
Aaron Keegan
Schooley Mitchell of Memphis
Curtis McFarland
SchoolSeed Foundation Vincent McCaskill
Scooter’s Coffee Chase Hudson
The Seam Mark Pryor
Search Marketing Pros Ross Hornish
Sedgwick Claims Management Services, Inc. Jason Landrum
Seedco Darrell Scott
Seeding Success Mark Sturgis
Select Specialty Hospital – Memphis, Inc.
Tangi Townsend
Self+Tucker Architects, Inc. Juan Self
SelfieMemphis Photo Booth
LaKiva Williams
Semmes Murphey Clinic John Lewis
Serenity Recovery Centers, Inc.
Paula Hopper
Serra Chevrolet LLC Sam Hamady
Serv Restaurant & Bar Treshina Brownlee
ServiceMaster by Stratos Stacy McCall
Serving Size LLC Najee Bush
Shantorra Owens State Farm Agency
Shantorra Owens
Sharp Manufacturing Company of America Karin Tanaka
