Inside Memphis Business, Aug/Sept 2017

AUG / SEPT 2017 | VOLUME XII | NUMBER 6

our comprehensive guide to planning

MEETINGS & EVENTS F

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Venues About Town Tap Rooms Galore Event Planners Tell It Like It is

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SMART RECYCLING: EXIT INTERVIEW:

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I S S U E

ER2

Dr. William E. Troutt Kevin Kane

MEMPHIS CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU

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$2.3 BILLION

ADDED TO TENNESSEE’S ECONOMY

$84.3 MILLION

IN GRANT EXPENDITURES

3097

TOTAL STUDENTS

ENROLLED

100+

CLINICAL AND EDUCATIONAL

SITES ACROSS TENNESSEE

Patient Care | Professional Education Research

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HEALTH CARE COLLEGES

Dentistry | Graduate Health Sciences Health Professions | Medicine Nursing | Pharmacy

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FULL CLINICAL CAMPUSES Memphis | Chattanooga Knoxville | Nashville

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MISSION:

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TRANSFORM HEALTH CARE Education | Clinical Care Public Service | Research

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6/28/17 9:21 AM

COLUMNS 4

FROM THE EDITOR ••• BY JON W. SPARKS

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AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2017

CREATIVE COMMUNICATION

VOLUME XI | NUMBER 6

••• BY ANDREA WILEY

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FINANCE & INVESTMENT ••• BY DAVID S. WADDELL

f e a t u r e s

10 M A D E I N M E M P H I S

Recycling with ER2 ••• BY JANE SCHNEIDER

41 E C O N O M I C I M P A C T

What would happen in Shelby County if the Trump budget were enacted?

••• BY JON W. SPARKS

58 T I P S H E E T

Best of our weekly newsletter.

••• BY JON W. SPARKS

DEPARTMENTS 14 T H E H O T S H E E T 17 L E A D E R S H I P

Mauricio Calvo Executive Director of Latino Memphis.

26 CVB — BY THE NUMBERS

••• B Y F R A N K M U R TAU G H

21 E X I T I N T E R V I E W

William E. Troutt retires as president of Rhodes College.

How Kevin Kane is taking Memphis to the world.

••• BY SAM X. CICCI

••• B Y J O N W. S PA R K S

38 S M A L L B U S I N E S S C E N T R A L

30 VENUE MENU

901 Breweries and Distilleries Offer Non-Traditional Event Space.

••• BY AISLING MAKI

The best locations for your next corporate function

56 P O W E R P L A Y E R S

Healthcare Administration

••• B Y S A M X . CIC CI

61 C O M M U N I T Y P A R T N E R S H I P S

36 EVENT PLANNING

A natural collaboration.

The Wolf River Conservancy and Ring Container Technologies join forces.

Firms like LEO Events and Behind the Scenes change with the times.

••• B Y EMILY A DA M S K EPL IN GER

62 T H E O F F I C E

••• B Y J O DY C A L L A H A N

Ken Dowling Y&R Advertising.

••• BY SAM X. CICCI

64 F R O M T H E A R C H I V E S

The Goodwyn Institute A Beaux-Arts beauty and center of culture.

••• BY VANCE LAUDERDALE

COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY K AREN PULFER FOCHT

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AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2017 | INSIDE MEMPHIS BUSINESS.COM |

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F R O M

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E D I T O R

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S PA R K S

The inside goods

Plan a meeting, recycle that iPhone, look at the future of the Convention Center

INSIDEMEMPHISBUSINESS.COM EDITOR

Jon W. Sparks

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Brian Groppe

MANAGING EDITOR EDITORIAL ASSISTANT COPY EDITOR EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS

ADVERTISING ART DIRECTOR GRAPHIC DESIGNERS PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR PRODUCTION OPERATIONS DIRECTOR

Frank Murtaugh Sam Cicci Michael Finger Jody Callahan, Emily Adams Keplinger, Aisling Maki, Jane Schneider, David S. Waddell, Andrea Wiley Christopher Myers Jeremiah Matthews, Bryan Rollins Brandon Dill, Karen Pulfer Focht, Larry Kuzniewski Jeffrey A. Goldberg Margie Neal

PUBLISHED BY CONTEMPOR ARY MEDIA , INC .

PUBLISHER/EDITOR CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER SPECIAL PROJECTS DIRECTOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR CONTROLLER EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Kenneth Neill Jennifer K. Oswalt Molly Willmott Jeffrey A. Goldberg Ashley Haeger Bruce VanWyngarden

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

Kendrea Collins

EMAIL MARKETING MANAGER

Britt Ervin

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER

Lynn Sparagowski

IT DIRECTOR

Joseph Carey

OFFICE MANAGER

Celeste Dixon

RECEPTIONIST

Kalena McKinney

Inside Memphis Business is published six times a year

by Contemporary Media, Inc., P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101 © 2017, telephone: 901-521-9000.

For subscription information, call 901-575-9470. All rights reserved.

Periodicals postage paid at Memphis, TN. Postmaster: send address changes to Inside Memphis Business, P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101. Opinions and perspectives expressed in the magazine are those of the authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of the ownership or management.

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Our cover package is a keeper for anyone who has to put together an event, whether a meet-and-greet in a private room in a restaurant or a big shindig in an auditorium with food and music and presentations.

There’s an interview with Kevin Kane, president and CEO of the Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau, who offers insight into the present state of Memphis tourism and the future of conventions. You’ll also find a terrifically useful list of venues in and around town where you can stage your event.

Meanwhile, Jody Callahan interviewed event planners to see how the industry has changed and Aisling Maki has a feature on the growing number of taprooms, breweries and distilleries that will host events. And if you’re planning a presentation, check out Andrea Wiley’s column for tips on making it effective.

Elsewhere in the issue, see Frank Murtaugh’s interview with Latino Memphis leader Mauricio Calvo, Jane Schneider’s profile of the forward-thinking ER2 recycling operation, and Sam X. Cicci’s Q&A with outgoing Rhodes College president William E. Troutt.

And don’t miss David S. Waddell’s fascinating look at “E-conomics,” where the rapidly changing global information marketplace is wildly different from the one-time dominant manufacturing and oil sector — but they still have some resemblance to the “bully monopolies” of yore.

We also take a look at the Y&R ad agency’s offices Downtown and get a peek at their relationship with the U.S. Navy.

You’ll also read Emily Adams

Keplinger’s interesting community partnership story about the collaboration between Wolf River Conservancy and Ring Container Technologies. And the inimitable Vance Lauderdale goes back in time to reveal the grand Goodwyn Institute that once stood where the First Tennessee tower now dominates.

I’ve been encouraging people to sign up for IMB’s Tip Sheet on our web site. Each week, you’ll get an email with some business nuggets. Inside this issue, you’ll find some of those items we’ve recently run.

We also take a look at an economic impact analysis by Dr. John Gnuschke, director of the Sparks Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Memphis, and Dr. Jeff Wallace, associate research professor.

They’ve got some numbers on how Shelby County would be affected if the proposed Trump Administration budget were to be enacted. (And, no, I’m not related to the Sparkses who created the Sparks Bureau).

Next Up Our October-November issue is our annual Innovation Awards tribute to some of the savviest creators in Memphis. Last year’s winners continue to make important strides in medicine, education, and social development. We expect the winners this year will be just as impressive.

Dig Deep for Memphis A 2012 survey conducted by The Chronicle of Philanthropy ranked Memphis second in that magazine’s list of per-capita charitable contributions for America’s 50 most-populous metro areas. Memphisarea residents and businesses give over $700 million to charity annually.

Because of this, Inside Memphis Business in 2015 started working together with local companies to highlight the good work being done in our community. This is our “Dig Deep for Memphis” partnership program.

Over the past two years, we’ve matched

every advertising full page purchased by our partners with a donated page for the charitable organization of their choice.

We are very pleased with the “Dig Deep” program and look to expand it in the coming year. For further information, contact neill@contemporary-media.com.

As always, please join me in thanking our program partners — Triumph, FedEx, and Northwestern Mutual — for their support of philanthropy in the Mid-South, and their support for Inside Memphis Business in 2017. — Kenneth Neill

INSIDE MEMPHIS BUSINESS.COM | AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2017

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CREATI V E COMMUNICATION

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The reality is that there are several elebest presentation, then determine what you need to do to make it work, well in advance, ments that contribute to a solid presentation and it does not end at the caliber of one’s not 15 minutes before your meeting. You public speaking ability. That is just the bemay even consider having someone onsite to ginning. Though so often, that is where all troubleshoot anything that may go wrong. the emphasis is placed when planning and Show up early (like a day or two) and do a preparing a presentation. run through. Do not wing it.

We live in a world where Do not figure it out when you we think we are too busy to get there.

WHILE PERFECTION MAY slow down and take the time When creating PowerNOT BE A REALISTIC EXnecessary to thoughtfully prePoint or Keynote slides, less pare for a presentation, even is more. The bullet points, PECTATION, WE SHOULD images, info graphics, and though, growing up we were STILL “PRACTICE, PRAC- videos need to be carefully taught, “Practice makes perTICE, PRACTICE,” IN AN fect.” While perfection may selected, so that all elements not be a realistic expectation, are relevant to your target auEFFORT TO DO OUR BEST. we should still “practice, pracdience. And all of that contice, practice,” in an effort to do our best. The tent should work together to accomplish your more practice you put in ahead of time, the overall goal, whether it is to sell a product or an idea, or to recap the results of a previous more comfortable you will be presenting, and initiative. the more you present, the more confident you Avoid reading each slide to your audience will be in your ability to do so.

Putting our best foot forward and grabbing as if it is your script. Instead, include the most the audience’s attention early should be the important text visually on your slides, and intent, but not in a negative way. How many elaborate with further detail in what you acpresentations have you experienced that betually say verbally. Memorization may seem gan with technical difficulty? It almost seems like a good approach, but could make you like this has become the norm and is widely more nervous about getting every word exaccepted under the mindset that “it happens actly right. Know the content backwards and to everybody.” But what if a large number of forwards, so you can flexibly go off script to these mishaps could be prevented? react to your audience with ease, and come If you want your client or customer to feel back to make the points that matter most. as though your presentation was a good use However, making things look “easy” isn’t of their valuable time, then respect them actually easy. It takes a lot of practice and enough to do everything you can to insure it hard work on the front end, but it always will run smoothly from start to finish. If you pays off. Whether it is in the form of a closed are going outside of your office to another deal, a satisfied customer, or an impressive location, take the time to find out what pre8th-grade commencement speech, a solid presentation capabilities exist. sentation isn’t just a reflection of your brand, Is there a screen with Internet access that it is a demonstration of your character. connects to your laptop or a projector that Andrea Wiley is director of account management needs a specific adaptor? Would it be best at DCA Creative Communications Consulting. to bring the PowerPoint file on a jump drive She is an adjunct professor teaching advertising at for an IT professional to set up prior to the the University of Memphis and was the 2015-2016 meeting? If the presentation contains videos, president of the American Advertising Federation, are there speakers to properly play the sound?

Memphis Chapter. She can be reached at awiley@ If the locale of your meeting isn’t set up the dcamemphis.com. way you need it to be so that you can give your

INSIDE MEMPHIS BUSINESS.COM | AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2017

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FI NA NCE & I N V ESTMENT

••• BY DAVID S. WADDELL

Winner Take All E-conomics In 1995, the top 100 publicly traded US companies generated 53 percent of all public company income. Twenty years later, the top 100 generated 84 percent of all public company income. For direction on what has led to this inflating concentration, look no further than roster rotation among the top 10. In 1995, the 10 largest US companies, worth a combined $813 billion, were GE, AT&T, Exxon, Coke, Merck, Shell, Philip Morris, Procter & Gamble, J&J, and Microsoft. Microsoft made the list for the first time that year,

TV Shows • Columns • Radio Show • Books • Podcast

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vaunting a technology name into a “blue While the market power of these players chip” leadership class long dominated by oil, cannot be disputed, their value to society consumer goods, and manufacturing names. draws contentious debate. On the one hand, Today, technology companies dominate the they resemble the bully monopolies of the top 10 list with Apple, Google, Microsoft, past, controlling marketplaces and purchasAmazon, Facebook, well ahead of J&J, Exxon, ing political favor. On the other hand, they Berkshire, JP Morgan, and GE. These techhave acquired their powers through cutting nology behemoths themprices, not raising them, beselves combine for a market stowing massive economic gains upon consumers. Unvalue of $3 trillion, $1 trillion GOOGLE AND FACEBOOK more than the bottom five.

TOGETHER GENERATE MORE fortunately, consumer benefits Unregulated economies and worker benefits diverge AD REVENUE THAN EVERY as digitally enhanced compadevelop natural monopolies.

In 1900, Standard Oil (now nies require fewer workers.

NEWSPAPER, MAGAZINE Exxon) controlled 90 percent is has led to more economic AND TV STATION WORLD- Th of the US oil market, making value being shifted to “ownWIDE COMBINED. John D. Rockefeller the richers” and away from “laborers,” est American who ever lived. A few years exacerbating wealth disparity. Lastly, natulater, the newly formed US Steel controlled ral monopolies on their own are not a bad 70 percent of the nation’s steel production, thing (do we really need hundreds of interlifting Andrew Carnegie’s net worth to over net search engines?) but they often become $310 billion. Unsurprisingly, Americans tired platforms for bad behavior. The EU recently of these “robber barons,” resulting in major fined Google $2.7 billion for prioritizing their anti-trust legislation being passed and Presiown proprietary properties in search results. dents Roosevelt and Taft suing 120 US compaOver the last 20 years, global internet nies. Today, 1,160 federal employees work for adoption has created the largest and most the Federal Trade Commission, safeguarding addressable marketplace in human history. market competition.

On the World Wide Web, scale begets scale, creating borderless monopolies lacking borInitially, many celebrated the technology revolution as a counter-culture democratizer derless regulators. While the benefits of their that challenged legacy providers and paved the ascension can be catalogued — better conway for more enlightened wealth creators. Persumer pricing, shareholder value creation, haps in the initial stages of natural monopolies cluster innovation — the costs are attracting (AT&T for example) marketplace reorganizaattention as well: outsized political influence, tion attracts “new order” fans. Nonetheless, as anti-competitive practices, wage comprestime passes, new bosses tend to resemble old sion, labor displacement, etc. How history bosses. In 1995, only 1 percent of the world’s will judge these digital giants, and whether population was online. Today, that number apa new global anti-trust regulator will approaches 50 percent. Never in the history of the pear in response, remains to be seen, but as world has a distribution platform created such these E-conomic titans continue to grow, the ubiquitous customer access at such negligible scrutiny will grow as well. cost. The potential and results are mind-bogSources: Jonathan Taplin, Kathleen Kahle, Rene gling. Today, Google controls 88 percent of Stulz, Standard and Poors global search, Facebook controls 77 percent David S. Waddell is CEO of Waddell and of social media, and Amazon controls nearly Associates. He has appeared in The Wall Street half of the online retail market. In fact, Google Journal, Forbes, Business Week, and other and Facebook together generate more ad revlocal, national, and global resources. Visit wadenue than every newspaper, magazine and TV dellandassociates.com for more. station worldwide combined.

INSIDE MEMPHIS BUSINESS.COM | AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2017

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M A D E

ER2

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M E M P H I S

Old electronics are repurposed with a conscience.

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As technology advances, the electronic gadgets we rely on, from computers and video game consoles to Kindles and iPads, become obsolete — and fast. Which means most of us have probably two or more pieces of electronic equipment that need to be disposed of safely.

In fact, electronic waste is the fastest growing category of trash in the United States where half the states require e-waste recycling (although Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas have no such legislation).

But the demand, whether mandated by law or not, is growing.

That’s where companies like ER2 come in. This fully certified recycling company — ER2 stands for Electronic Responsible Recyclers — does more than ensure e-waste doesn’t wind up in local landfills. In addition to recycling everything from computers and cell phones to modems and servers, the company safely disposes

THE COMPANY SAFELY DISPOSES OF PERSONAL AND COMPANY DATA, REFURBISHES USED COMPUTING EQUIPMENT, AND MAKES REHABBED ELECTRONICS AVAILABLE FOR ONLINE RESALE AT AN AFFORDABLE PRICE.

of personal and company data, refurbishes used computing equipment, and makes rehabbed electronics available for online resale at an affordable price.

Established in Mesa, Arizona, in 2010, ER2 opened its second location near Downtown Memphis in October 2015. Inside this stylishly refurbished warehouse at Georgia and Fourth Street, young employees whiz by on small scooters, moving deftly around the airy, 69,000-squarefoot building where, amid huge cartons of used office equipment being sorted, you’ll also spy less conventional elements, like a cornhole game and basketball goal. While these entrepreneurs take their business venture seriously, they also encourage the staff of 20 to have fun and

ER2 - Electronic Responsible Recyclers 670 South Fourth Street, Memphis TN 38126 (844) 372-0002

SERVICES OFFERED INCLUDE

◗◗ Customer drop-off ◗◗ Data destruction ◗◗ Responsible recycling ◗◗ Asset recovery ◗◗ Asset management

Want to drop off your outdated electronics?

Customer drop-off is at Dock 10 at the facility at 670 S. Fourth. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

It won’t accept ◗◗ appliances, ◗◗ fluorescent light bulbs, ◗◗ hazardous materials, ◗◗ fuel/oil filters, ◗◗ fluids/cleaners, ◗◗ paint.

Rick Krug is one of the owners and partners of ER2.

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For more information, go to er2.com

PHOTOGRAPHS BY KAREN PULFER FOCHT

ER2 will accept ◗◗ computer material, ◗◗ networking devices, ◗◗ office equipment, ◗◗ consumer electronics, ◗◗ industrial equipment.

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7/10/17 11:38 AM

speaks to the ethos of the company, which strives to be responsible not only to its clients, but to team members, the community, and the environment. “We look to revitalize places, to make an impact on the local community with jobs,” says Ko. Krug’s community involvement (he lives in his downtown condo when tending to business in Memphis) led him to Steve Nash, who heads Advance Mem-

to banned countries like China,” adds Krug.

Jeff Whitney, a former executive with FedEx who now oversees quality, environment, health, and safety for ER2, says much of the $1.6 million renovation of the building was done by Krug and Ko themselves. The public spaces have a distinctive feel, with locally produced artwork giving it a hip, contemporary vibe.

Walk into the warehouse and

Chris Ko is one of the owners and partners of ER2, an electronic recycling and secure data destruction company just south of Downtown.

and the ability to more readily serve clients in the eastern United States. Since becoming established in the Bluff City, they’ve added to their client list, servicing institutions such as Vanderbilt, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Regional One, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Shelby County Schools.

But the fact that ER2 opened this $2 million facility in one of the city’s poorest zip codes also 12 |

phis. The faith-based nonprofit works to improve the lives of people living in South Memphis, and because of the connection, ER2 hired several employees from the neighborhood.

Its industry certifications, by e-Stewards, NAID, R2:2013, and others, also hold the company to a higher standard. Such certification means zero percent of the materials it processes winds up in landfills across the country.

“We’re also not sending products

“WE LOOK TO REVITALIZE PLACES, TO MAKE AN IMPACT ON THE LOCAL COMMUNITY WITH JOBS.” —CHRIS KO you’ll see huge cardboard cartons filled with batteries, processors, calculators, old phones, cords and cables, servers, computers, printers, and other elec-

tronic parts. Desktop computers, stacked in columns that resemble Jenga towers, are wrapped in cellophane and await buyers.

When office equipment arrives at ER2, the materials are assessed for value. Some products, like computers, can be rebuilt.

Others get completely de-manufactured, taken apart and sorted by components. Materials like plastic, steel, aluminum, and copper go to certified scrap buyers.

At those mills, items are shredded or ground down to chips and melted into pellets that can be reused to manufacture new goods.

What makes electronic waste unique, however, is that “everything has data on it that is proprietary,” says Ko. “Companies need to be aware that if it’s not disposed of properly, they’re at risk. A certified company knows how to destroy that data.”

Computers with newer operating systems and processors are often refurbished by ER2, an important segment of their business.

Workers make sure SD cards are removed and hard drives are either wiped clean for reuse or removed and shredded.

This ensures that secure data is destroyed, says Whitney. Once a computer is upgraded, it is tested by technicians at ER2’s in-house lab, then sold online at outlets like eBay, Amazon, New Egg, and Walmart.com. Even the ads that display the refurbished products are made here, with one corner of the warehouse dedicated to shooting photographs of equipment before information is uploaded to the web.

Ko says he f inds charter schools and small businesses are a solid and growing market for the firm’s refurbished products.

It also sells to customers in Europe, Asia, and Australia. The computer systems can be customized for clients. ER2 warranties its work and makes tech support available. Most importantly, the sea of e-waste that’s f loating out there is less overwhelming thanks to this company.

PHOTOGRAPH BY KAREN PULFER FOCHT

contribute ideas of their own, a practice that has helped move the company forward.

ER2 was launched by managing partners Chris Ko and Rick Krug. Krug is a 53-yearold entrepreneur who learned the recycling business from Jim Greenberg, considered one of the pioneers of electronic recycling. Growing the business in Memphis made sense logistically, Krug says, with FedEx’s hub here

INSIDE MEMPHIS BUSINESS.COM | AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2017

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A great business leader is dynamic, inspirational, resourceful, approachable, and creative. Memphis is teeming with them.

Who is your favorite?

We are now accepting nominations for our annual CEO of the Year Award!

For more information, or to nominate a CEO, please visit insidememphisbusiness.com or email editor Jon W. Sparks, sparks@insidememphisbusiness.com.

And keep an eye out for the date and time of our CEO of the Year Awards banquet coming in early 2018.

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ceived a grant totaling $375,00

The HOT Sheet Advancement Kimberly Williams Collins joins University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) to serve as counseling psychologist with University Health Services.

Lori Humber, BSN, has been named as the volunteer director at Agape Child & Family Services.

Laurel Wiedower has been promoted from event coordinator to bed buyer at Hollywood Feed.

Lehman-Roberts Company promoted Richard Moore to director of business development.

Douglas Dietz, PE, joined Barge, Waggoner, Sumner and Canon, Inc., as civil group leader in Memphis.

Pickering Firm, Inc., announced four hires: Irene Ball (marketing specialist); Lindsay Murray and Patrice Thomas (Memphis transportation team); and Kelsey Rivers (civil engineering team).

Memphis National Golf Club has announced additions to its team: Casey Nerren (golf course superintendent); and Brian Wood (head golf professional).

Hollywood Feed has promoted Kayla McKeown to event coordinator.

UTHSC’s associate professor Patricia Dubin, MD, has been named chief of pediatric pulmonology and sleep medicine at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital.

Memphis in May International Festival promoted Susan Elliot to vice president of programming.

Agape Child & Family Services welcomed new members to its team: Desiree Lyles Wallace (director of human resources) and Ava Conley (administrative assistant).

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation selected the ten members of its Memphis Finest Class of 2017, a distinction given to professionals with strong leadership qualities, active in the community, and who excel in their professions: Ryan Paule, Elizabeth Turner, Nick Gant, Felicia Lechuga, Rhamy Alejeal, Javon McKinnon, Sharon Hogue, Jamila Smith-Young, Brooke Vogel, and Dwayne Woods.

Trezevant, a continuing care retirement community, added two members to its team: David Edwards (director of dining services) and Theresa Johnson (communications and program coordinator).

Daniel Allen, J.D., CFP, the vice president and financial advisor at Red Door Wealth Management, received his certification by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards.

Tracy Trotter has been promoted to senior manager of community development for the Memphis market by the American Cancer Society.

Levy Dermatology has added two employees: Dr. John Huber and Jodi Burgess, P.A. Mesha Crump joined the team at Obsidian Public Relations as an account executive.

Dennis Ring joined Peer Power as the new development director.

Adams Keegan made three staff promotions within their sales, business development, and recruiting departments: Courtney Allen (director of sales); Trevor Benitone (vice president of business development); and Kristin Lockhart (vice president of recruiting).

Davida Cruthird joined Agape Child & Family Services as director of Teamworks, an employment collaborative led by Agape.

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Folks Folly Prime Steak House hired Terry Burt as assistant manager.

Memphis Symphony Orchestra hired Andrew Crust to serve as assistant director to Robert Moody.

Appointment Vaco Risk Solutions, part of Vaco Memphis, named Brian Prentice as a new managing partner.

David Andrews, owner of City Auto, has been named president of the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association.

Awards Three research projects at UTHSC have been selected as winners of the 2017 University of Tennessee Collaborative Research Network (UT CORNET) Awards in Cancer Research.

Dr. Glen Fenter, incoming superintendent of the Marion School District, has been named as the newest member of the Peer Power Foundation board of directors.

Lehman-Roberts Company was recently recognized through awards from the Mississippi and Tennessee departments of transportation for work on I-40 and State Route 17; the firm also received the 2016 Safety Culture Award from the Associated General Contractors Tennessee Chapter.

Averitt Express honored Memphis-based associate Shuford Bishop for 20 years of safety.

Archimania took home seven out of a possible 28 awards at the AIA Gulf State Awards.

Debbie Bosse of Cannon Wright Blount has been named among the Nationwide Top100 ProAdvisors by Insightful Accountant.

University of Memphis students Angel Kelly (‘18) and Charles Bettendorf (‘17) won the American Advertising Federation District 7’s Mosaic and Jan Gardner scholarships, respectively.

The Tennessee offices of Littler received top rankings in the 2017 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.

Inked UTHSC and Dr. Sandeep Rajan have established the Hemophilia and Thrombosis Treatment Center, the only clinic of its kind in a 150-mile radius.

Memphis-based pet store Hollywood Feed recently expanded to open stores in three new locations: Johns Creek, Georgia; Montgomery, Alabama; and Lexington, Kentucky LEO Events has been granted certification as a Women Owned Business by the Women’s Business Enterprise Council South Certification Committee.

The College of Nursing at UTHSC opened a new Center for Community Partnerships and Nursing Innovation.

Saint Francis Hospital acquired the da Vinci surgical system, expanding it’s minimally-invasive robotic surgery capabilities.

Baptist Memorial Health Care signed the American Cancer Society’s 80 percent by 2018 pledge for colon cancer screening. It partners with over 1,000 organizations that hope to have cancer screening for 80 percent of adults over 50 by 2018.

Memphis based Poplar Healthcare has recently completed its acquisition of a specialty anatomic pathology lab, Bostwick Laboratories.

The Seam recently announced a new multi-year agreement with a major peanut shelling organization for its growing commodity management platform.

In its 2017 first quarter financial earnings, Paragon Bank celebrated a 57 percent increase over first quarter earnings from 2016.

Saint Francis Hospital restored in-network access to all patients with Humana’s commercial, Medicare, and Healthcare Marketplace Exchange insurance.

Once Upon a Child, a children’s apparel consignment store, opened a new location in Memphis.

INSIDE MEMPHIS BUSINESS.COM | AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2017

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L E A D E R S H I P

Mauricio Calvo

PHOTOGRAPH BY BRANDON DILL

Executive Director of Latino Memphis

Mauricio Calvo

• • •

B Y

F R A N K

M U R TA U G H

Mauricio Calvo knows defeat. He endured three failed business ventures — one he founded himself – before his 35th birthday. Calvo also knows when and how to say “yes” when opportunity extends a hand.

When Calvo accepted an offer to become executive director of Latino Memphis in 2008 — on the same day his third child was born — it was merely the latest in a series of unexpected open doors through which the Mexican native has entered on his way to becoming what he calls a “connector” for a Memphis community that now numbers more than 81,000. Latino Memphis had exactly one full-time employee in 2008. Today, Calvo leads a staff of 20 in a mission to improve access to health care, education, and jobs for Memphians not just from Mexico, but from Honduras, Guatemala, Venezuela, and more than a dozen other Latin countries.

The youngest (by 10 years) of five siblings, Calvo left his home in Mexico City for a year as an exchange student in tiny Lima, Ohio. He was 15 and had just lost his father, who died of a heart attack at age 52. There was culture shock, as might be expected, particularly considering the couple that took Calvo into their home

curious. I’ve always felt welcome here. It took me years to find out that not every newcomer gets that [feeling].”

Calvo’s parents owned and managed a had no other children. He didn’t play team photo film-development business and they sports, spoke very little English, and wasn’t placed heavy emphasis on a college education exactly accustomed to Midwest winters. But for each of their children. Calvo’s father the year abroad served as Calvo’s first introboasted of being an attorney. Only after his father’s death duction to societal did Calvo learn he diversity: a different had actually never way of living and A THR I V ING MIDDLE CL ASS — IN THE attended college. among people with L AT INO COMMUNI T Y AND GRE ATER “It was a lie, and a varied tastes, interpart of me wishes ests, and priorities.

MEMPHIS — IS A MUST FOR TRUE , I’d never had those Back in Mexico ME ASUR ABLE GROW TH conversations with City, as a high school senior, Calvo found himself recruited by a him [about his status as an attorney],” says college with a new emphasis on diversifying Calvo. “But he was an entrepreneur, for sure, its student body. Despite not being near the and it was his way of motivating us.” top of his class, Calvo received a “valedictorian Calvo graduated from CBU with a business scholarship” to Christian Brothers University degree in 1997, but left with a greater reward, in Memphis. (“I was the highest-ranked having met his future wife, Yancy (also Mexstudent who wanted to come,” says Calvo.) He ican), on campus. They married in 2001 and arrived in 1993 and was immediately drawn are now the parents of two daughters (Anna and Carolina) and a son (Santiago). The “yes” to the city’s warmth, and it had nothing to do with summer temperatures. “I didn’t Calvo had given CBU had yielded not only really know a thing about CBU,” says Calvo, the college degree his parents insisted he “or Tennessee either. But I’ve always been target, but a new home. And the transition attracted to things that are different. I’m felt perfectly natural.

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2017 | INSIDE MEMPHIS BUSINESS.COM |

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“I wasn’t even aware of this whole immigration thing,” says Calvo. “I knew there were people from my country coming into the United States, but I didn’t realize to what extent and what it really meant. My four years [in college] were somewhat in a bubble. I hear heroic stories about how immigrants got here. My story’s kind of boring.”

There’s nothing boring about having to establish a career track, and this is where Calvo encountered roadblocks. He enjoyed a year — under his college visa — working for Sysco and thought the food-distribution business might be his calling. He founded his own wholesale business (selling food to Mexican restaurants), only to see profits stall. Then came stints with a packaging business (that

“WE’RE WORKING WITH THE LATINO COMMUNITY,” STRESSES CALVO, “BUT WE’RE WORKING FOR MEMPHIS.”

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failed) and real estate (selling to low-income families, making very little money). Calvo ultimately found himself working in fast food (Chick-fil-A) when the call came from Latino Memphis. Despite some self-doubt over his qualifications and the organization’s future, Calvo again said “yes.”

“I went to a couple of meetings,” reflects Calvo, “and then was on the board, and became the board chair. This is the story of immigrants. You don’t know what you’re going to be doing here. People think roofers here were roofers in Mexico. No, they weren’t.

They came here and tried to find a job they were good at.”

Calvo says his top priority upon taking the job was simply raising awareness of the organization’s presence. “I wanted to start building relationships,” he says. “Going back to existing relationships and finding new relationships. I hired someone to work in the office, to help people coming to us.

And I worked outside, to create an image.

Branding, shaking hands, sharing the story of immigrants. Helping Latino families connect to resources.”

According to Calvo, more than 50 percent of Latinos in Memphis live in poverty. (This despite an employment rate of 92 percent.)

And that has to change, not just for one segment of the Memphis population, but for the city as a whole. A thriving middle class — in the Latino community and greater Memphis — is a must for true, measurable growth, and this is Calvo’s chief priority today, with an ironic twist. “Once you’re in the middle class,” says Calvo, “you have better access to education and healthcare. To the point where ultimately you don’t need Latino Memphis. Right now, we’re dealing with first-

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generation immigrants. But for their kids?

Unless we’re equipped to help them, it’s going to be a mess.”

Since President Donald Trump’s election last November, Calvo has witnessed a new element in those seeking direction from Latino Memphis: fear. And the anxiety isn’t strictly among Latinos. “I am extremely compassionate about the challenges of other communities,” says Calvo, who first engaged with African Americans when he worked in a kitchen during his college days at CBU. “We all have the same challenges; we want the same things. Regardless of the color of your skin, whether you are urban or rural, people have challenges. I feel bad for rural Tennessee: the opioid epidemic and lack of

“YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE COMMUNITY AT HEART. WHAT MIGHT THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE IF WE MAKE THE RIGHT KIND OF DECISIONS AND INVESTMENTS TODAY?”

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infrastructure. The jobs that were there are not coming back. They’ve been lost to automatization. How do you fix that?”

Calvo notes that the threat — the fear — of deportation does harm well beyond the Latino community. The owner of a local furniture business (not Latino) recently told Calvo his revenue has nosedived because Latinos are simply not buying sofas and dining sets. Why build a home if you’re afraid it can be taken away tomorrow?

Calvo most admires servant leaders, and those who display an ability to see what others might not. “Vision is an important component,” he says. “And you have to have the best interests of the community at heart. What might the future look like if we make the right kind of decisions and investments today?

You have to be willing to take risks. It can’t be all about praise and high-fives.”

Now in his tenth year at the helm of an organization he’s helped transform, Calvo all but blushes at the suggestion that he’s one of those visionary leaders. “We’re working with the Latino community,” stresses Calvo, “but we’re working for Memphis.” Leaders can be found in every segment of the population and, as Calvo notes, almost literally on any street corner.

“There’s a man who sells newspapers every morning at Sam Cooper and Perkins,” says Calvo. “He is the happiest guy. Any of us can love our jobs. I’m sure he has a lot of challenges, but he also has a vision, or he wouldn’t get up so early in the morning.

Doesn’t matter if it’s raining. He’s wishing everybody a great day. If he can be happy, all of us should be.”

INSIDE MEMPHIS BUSINESS.COM | AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2017

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7/10/17 11:53 AM

E X I T

I N T E R V I E W

A Lifetime in Education

Reflections on Rhodes College and higher academics with Dr. William E. Troutt B Y

S A M U E L

X .

C I C C I

Some people never want to leave college, but Dr. William “Bill” E. Troutt was lucky enough to stay at the helm of Rhodes College for almost two decades.

At the age of 68, he retires as the longest-serving college president in the country, with a 17-year position at Nashville’s Belmont College preceding his time in Memphis. Thirty-five years is a long time, and the education landscape has changed drastically during his tenure. However, he doesn’t regret a second of it. Marks of his leadership remain on campus, including the $35 million gift for the Paul Barret Jr. Library, opened in 2005, as well as more internal changes, such as restructured trustee governance. The college’s continued growth in the community, as well as the success of its students, may well be Troutt’s greatest legacy, but the bow-tied Tennessee native has many fond memories of his time at Rhodes.

IMB: You were at Rhodes for 18 years?

D R . W I L L I A M T R O U T T: I came here on July 1 of 1999, and tomorrow, I finish 18 years of service here and 35 years as a college president. I was at Belmont at Nashville for 17 years before that, so it’s been a wonderful journey.

When I was a college senior, I was trying to decide what I wanted to do with my life. I had started college thinking I’d be a minister.

Then you go to liberal arts college and things are clarified, so I decided I wanted to be a college president. To my surprise and delight, that’s been my occupation for most of life, really. You’re my last interview of my professional career! July 1, 1999, has passed quickly.

Do you have any plans for what comes next?

W T: Well, I’ve been telling my students I’m going to take a gap year. But I really do want to take some time because every morning for 35 years I’ve woken up thinking about what I need to do for college. Last summer, I taught at the Harvard Seminar for New Presidents, and I really enjoyed that and found that that might be an area where I can be helpful. Not right away, but I can envision working with some college presidents, maybe working with their board of trustees just to try to pass on some of the things I’ve learned over the years.

I’ve been so fortunate; I chaired this commission for Congress right before I came to Rhodes, and I had a chance to be on some other federal commissions, chair of the American Council on Education, and it’s been interesting to see not only changes at Rhodes, but changes in higher education. It’s expanded dramatically. A lot more people are going to college and are often going

Bill and Carole Troutt walk with their dog, Maggie

to different kinds of institutions. A lot of adults are going back to college now. When I started, the primary demographic of college students was 18-22-year-olds. Of course it still is here, but that’s expanded really exponentially. When I started college, there were about seven million people in higher education, and right now there are about 21 million.

You can see how it’s changed. Technology has been a big part of that, with new ways of thinking about how we teach and learn.

Although here, there’s a certain timeless quality to what we do: all small classes, great co-curricular learnings out on the campus, and some other amazing things we do for

students. Those who want to venture into Memphis learn through internships, learn through service, and learn through research.

Looking back on my time here, I’ve been so pleased that we’ve been able to expand student opportunity more than anything else.

From what we’ve done to provide support in the classrooms, support for the faculty on campus with new programs, new facilities.

We’ve added about $200 million to the fiscal plan over the past 18 years, and it is, of course, America’s most beautiful campus!

We’ve also expanded student opportunity, and think of all the opportunities you have as Rhodes students. If you’re interested in scientific research, you can be part of St. Jude’s Summer Plus Fellowship. If you want a business internship you can look at FedEx or some other places. If you want to learn through service, we’ve got wonderful partners like MIFA, and as you know, Memphis loves Rhodes students and as we’ve become more focused on Memphis, we’ve become a more national institution.

We’re more distinctive among our liberal arts national peers because we’re in a city and we try to take advantage of that with these partnerships and relationships.

A nice byproduct for Memphis has been the retention of students. You’re a great example of that. Ninety percent of our students come from somewhere else.

Over the last few years, over forty percent of our students are still here in Memphis.

Think of what that means to the city to have a talent magnet like Rhodes College bringing the best and brightest to our state. I’m really proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish regarding expanding student opportunity, in the classroom and across campus. It’s created a real win-win situation for students and the city.

I have a lot of friends interested in the medical scene, and they’re finding great opportunities at hospitals all around the city.

W T: Hospitals love Rhodes students, whether you’re a scribe or interning. The result of that is terrific for our students.

Last fall, accounting for students who took a gap year, 59 students entered medical school. For a school of our enrollment, that’s phenomenal. But again, that’s attributed to the great faculty here, the hardworking

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2017 | INSIDE MEMPHIS BUSINESS.COM |

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PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY RHODES COLLEGE

• • •

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I wanted to ask about a few changes you implemented during your tenure and how they benefitted the school. To start, can you elaborate on how establishing endowed faculty chairs improved each department?

W T: The heart of everything we do here starts in the classroom: small classes, opportunities for great faculty with students.

We recruit really well, and have got our top choices each time over the past seven or eight years for a tenure track spot. But to recruit these remarkable people, it’s best to retain them. We need endowed positions, which not only underwrite the salary of the person, but provide support for their research and work with students. As we do that, we not only strengthen the college financially, but we provide opportunities for the faculty to not only see themselves as being valued, but to have extra tools to work with students. I’m very proud of the many positions we’ve been able to secure in terms of having them underwritten by donors.

Next, tell us about the trustee governance structure that you reformatted.

W T: We have always had wonderful individuals serving on the board, but we had a very large board, and a board that had so many talented people. We asked “how do we structure the work to take advantage of that?” Thanks to the leadership of Bob Waller, the former head of Mayo Clinic and one of our trustees, a study team, an ad hoc committee, looked at the best governance practices all over the country, from Wellesley, to Rice, to Stanford. They asked a number of questions among themselves and came up with a structure where we’re able to use the talents of our trustees at the highest level.

We could talk about strategic leadership, generative leadership, and were composed and structured in such a way to take advantage of this amazing talent that’s around the table. To have the college governed in this way and to have our trustees provide this level of leadership has been extraordinary.

When you create a very positive culture of mutual respect and candor, and you structure our meetings appropriately, you get amazing results.

Funding for the Paul Barret Jr. Library was one of the biggest acquisitions.

W T: That was the largest gift that the college has received [$35 million]. It began when I arrived, and our accrediting body had said we needed a new library that reflected the tremendous academic quality here and

INSIDE MEMPHIS BUSINESS.COM | AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2017

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supported our students in the best way.

That was a daunting task. We brought in a consultant to help us think about that, and he said that it would take about $14 million to create that kind of structure.

So, we went to work speaking with individuals, and I had the privilege of talking for over a year with the trustees of the Paul Barret Trust about how they might memorialize Mr. Barret here. The result of it was an initial gift of $20 million, and as happens in American life, we went through a period of significant economic downturn, and I began to wonder, how could we raise the other half.

It’s not unusual in college fundraising to ask someone for a naming opportunity — to give half for the building, and then the college raises the other half from supporters.

I went back and asked them to do the entire building. After some reflection, and on one of the happiest days for me professionally, Lewis Donelson [head of the Paul Barret trust] said they’d decided to do the entire building. It would be named totally for Paul Barret, and it’s a towering testimony to his good life. It’s become the center of the campus, our cathedral in the village, and it’s where Rhodes students want to be, even as libraries have changed. We knew they would, so we built a lot of flexibility into the building, and that resulted in a building that works as well today as it did when it opened.

It’s more a center for technology, but always has been where students and faculty connect, where students can connect with one another, and it’s been a great success story for us.

What message do you send out initially to get investors interested in a venture of that scale?

W T: You always are looking not only to the needs of the college, but what’s meaningful to the donor. There has to be an alignment between your request and their deepest values and most important commitments. That takes a lot of conversation and takes a lot of time. People may think you just come in and ask someone for money, but at the highest level for the largest gifts, it’s a long series of conversations about what matters most to them and what the needs of the college are, and how working together you can achieve something very meaningful for everybody.

And that’s been the case for all of our fundraising efforts here. We just finished, about a year ago, the Campaign for Rhodes, which was $314 million, which included endowment, program support, and the final piece of it, coming together this summer, was Robertson Hall, the great new biochemistry building. That and the renovation of Briggs Hall create a new quadrangle. It’s really a time of completion for me in every way, as it completes our academic core of the campus.

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What does Rhodes need to do to continue its successful expansion, into the community, the public eye, and maybe even internationally?

W T: The success of Rhodes has been, and will continue to be, being faithful to its core values. When I arrived here, 18 years ago, I got some great advice from Lester Crane, one of our trustees. He said, “Bill, you’re new.

You’re going to want to change some things, and that’s just fine, as long as you don’t change two things: honor code and architecture.”

And of course on one level he was talking about our time-honored, student-run honor code, which really works here, and he was talking about our architectural consistency, which has been here since 1925. But he was really talking about staying true to the core commitments: high-level intellectual engagement and high-level service to others. I think what drives everything we’ve done here has been anchored in providing the best education possible and having this ideal of excellency that will continue to sustain the college in days ahead.

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Do you think you’ll continue to wear bowties?

W T: My wife Carole, who’s been the best life-partner and first lady the college could have, asked me the other day, “Are you going to continue wearing bowties, or are you going back to long ties?” And I responded, “How about no ties for a while?” So, I don’t know.

I didn’t know how to tie a bowtie until, maybe, 12 or 13 years ago. I was on the Abraham Lincoln Commission for Study Abroad, which was looking at how to enable more American college students to study in another country, and that was a vision of Paul Simon, who’d been a longtime senator from Illinois. I was somewhat helpful on the commission, especially to the Simon family, and he’d been famous for wearing bowties when there was no one else in the Senate who did that. So Martin Simon, his son, sent me one of his bowties, and I thought, “Wow, that’s special, I’ve got to learn how to tie it!” I had no idea. Bud Richey, one of our colleagues here, a gifted and patient teacher, taught me how to tie a bowtie. I grew fond of doing it, and now I can tie it more quickly than a straight tie. I’ve enjoyed it, but we’ll see what happens in the next chapter!

It’s just really amazing. I grew up in a small town, less than 70 miles from here, Bolivar, Tennessee, and again you know my story of wanting to be a college president, now completing 35 years as a college president. But getting to complete my time as president, back home, so to speak, and at one of America’s truly great colleges, what a privilege! As I told the seniors at graduation, my hope for them is really my own life story: Sometimes your life exceeds your dreams.

INSIDE MEMPHIS BUSINESS.COM | AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2017

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The event planning industry is changing with the times, and these are times that demand closer attention to technology, to amenities, to environment. In this issue, we talk with Kevin Kane, President and CEO of the Memphis Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, on the hopes and challenges of marketing Memphis to the world. Whether it’s about luring a major business conference or selling the brand of Memphis to potential tourists, the CVB has to find the right buttons to push to get people to come.

On a different scale, businesses and organizations in Memphis are doing more event planning, some of which requires hiring professionals, other times handled by a staffer.

It may be an event with entertainment and lights and sound on a stage, or it might be a basic reception in a private room in a restaurant.

Whatever the event, this issue offers a list of a variety of venues where you can find the right place for your get-together. There are also stories about the growing number of taprooms and tips from the professionals on how to make an event click.

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CVB — BY THE NUMBERS How Kevin Kane is taking Memphis to the world.

• • •

OPPOSITE: The Memphis Cook Convention Center set up for the Annual Blues Awards. BELOW: Kevin Kane in his office Downtown.

PHOTOGRAPH BY K AREN PULFER FOCHT

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B Y J O N S PA R K S

Kevin Kane will gladly run the numbers for you.

As President and CEO of the Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau, he is all about the digits: dollar figures, rankings, crowd flow, ticket buyers, economic impact and all.

One interesting number is 26 – the number of years he’s been at the helm of the CVB. That’s a long time to stick around in that kind of job, but the Memphis-born, Memphis-raised smooth booster is all Memphis all the time.

Kane uses the word “great” a lot and takes a back seat to no one when it comes to touting the city. He’s also realistic.

“We take negative happenings in our city as personally as if it was happening to our own family,” he says. “We bleed for Memphis. We bleed the Memphis product.

And what Memphis represents. Yeah, we’ve got some room for improvement but we’ve got a lot more things going right for us than going wrong.”

The CVB works on several levels to put Memphis in the best light. “We have really been able to fine-tune, hone, mature, and really promote the brand and the brand appeal and target the potential visitor bases for this area,” Kane says.

“The Convention & Visitors Bureau is about driving revenue. We don’t just hand out brochures with pretty pictures and say come visit our attractions. We’re very strategic in what we do.”

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CONVENTION CENTER

The heart of the CVB’s operation is convincing organizations to hold events in Memphis. Key to that is its management of the Cook Convention Center and the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts. The wholly owned subsidiary to CVB is the Memphis Management Group, which handles both facilities.

“By us doing the marketing and management of facilities, it really allows us to promote ourselves as a real one-stop shop for events and groups and conferences that want to come to the city,” Kane says.

The reality of the industry is that conferences and tournaments require incentives to come to a particular market. “They don’t usually just go to a city because the city may have facilities or because the city’s in a good location,” Kane says.

“Usually somebody has helped with bid fees, helped with incentives, helped with promotions to lure those events to the community. The reason communities pay for those events is because when you fill up your hotels, all of those people have to go out to eat, they want to go shopping, they want to visit your attractions. It just feeds the whole cycle of what this industry is all about.”

There remain challenges, though, with the convention center built in 1973 being the biggest. “In the next few months, we’ll be doing probably an $80 million to $90 million upgrade, modernizing and bringing that facility into the 21st century the best that we can,” Kane says.

“We think that what we are proposing doing over the next two and a half years on the convention center will be transforming. It will certainly help keep us competitive in the meetings and conventions marketplace.”

There are limits to what can be done. It’s not realistic to try to compete with the Nashville Music City Center, a 2.1 million 28 |

square foot facility that opened in 2013 and, at $623 million, is the most expensive municipal-financed civic project in the state’s history.

These days, the Convention Center stays reasonably busy. In 2016 there were 40 “dark” days, meaning that it was buzzing with some sort of activity more than 320 days.

Kane says it has the largest ballroom in the Mid-South at 27,000-square-feet and the largest air-conditioned, covered main hall with 125,000-squarefeet of column-free space.

Kane says the improvements will give it a new look and feel. If it’s now a fairly typical 70s-era concrete block, basic building where people simply convene and conduct business, the new version will be more twenty-first century. “Contemporary facilities have shifted more to almost hotel quality finishes,” he says. “These are places where people can gather informally, more with a personality of the community and certainly trying to incorporate more of the outdoors, more glass, more vistas, taking advantage of our waterfront, our ridge, our natural beauty that is around the building right now that you really can’t see if you’re in there because there’s very few windows and very few places to look out.”

The building, he says, won’t be a lot bigger but will be more functional, flexible, and efficient.

HOTELS

Another key consideration is that the Nashville complex is surrounded by big hotels, a situation in which Memphis falls short.

“We need some larger hotels,” Kane says. “It’s one of the challenges we have, especially when it comes to the big group business. We’ve done a lot of research that shows that we’re very under served when it comes to the big full-service hotels. We only have one hotel over 500 rooms — the Sheraton, at 600 rooms. And we only have five

hotels larger than 300 rooms in all of Shelby County, and that’s counting the Guest House at Graceland. That’s a real challenge for us when it comes to the group business when we want to bring in large groups and conferences. Planners want to bring in as many people under one roof as possible so they don’t have their delegates and attendees spread out in 20 different hotels.”

So the push is on to get a hotel or hotels that can bring that about. Kane says he’s met with a hotel consultant hired by the city in hopes that the ball can get rolling in earnest.

“For big hotels, in order to make them work, you probably have to give some type of public incentives to make them work — the land, the parking, some type of tax incentive,” Kane says.

“I think the city recognizes that public incentives with a big box hotel is something they have to do.”

COLLABOR ATIONS

To attract both leisure and business sectors, the CVB works with a number of other entities in the theory that everybody benefits one way or another.

“We’ve had a relationship with the Mississippi Department of Tourism & Economic Development for over 20 years,” Kane says. “We have a very strong strategic international marketing relationship because Mississippi needs us and quite honestly we need the assets and amenities that they have to offer with the Mississippi Delta rich blues music heritage.”

The CVB works with the Tennessee Department of Tourism, of course, but also with the cities of Nashville, New Orleans, and Atlanta. “We market and sell internationally, the Memphis and the Mid-South region,” Kane says. “We sell it as a whole section of the country, and it works. We’ll have over a million visitors this year from outside the United States. Our

strongest international markets are Canada, the UK, and Australia. As a result of that, earlier this year, we hired a full-time sales and marketing representative for us. He’s based in New Zealand and he spends his time in New Zealand and Australia, working that whole market for us because the folks from Down Under feel right at home in the South. The Southern culture really resonates with them.”

CVB SERVICES

The range of activities and services done by the CVB is wide, beginning with reaching out to potential visitors.

“We have a whole effort that we do toward the masses,” Kane says. “We go after mom, dad, the kids, the seniors with our websites, publications, television commercials, radio spots, and all the outreach that we do.”

Beyond that is a team of sales people who target national travel planners, corporations, meetings, trade shows, and conferences in the hope that Memphis might host those events.

Kane says that one thing that separates the CVB from a Google or Expedia, is that, “we can pick up the phone and get the mayor to come welcome your group to the city. We can get a street closed if you’re having a special little party. We can make things happen to make your experience memorable and special. I’m not sure a lot of third parties in other parts of the country can know how to push all the buttons in the city and get the same results, especially as quickly and efficiently as we can.”

CVB’s leisure group side in the tour and travel market industry targets people who do excursions, to, for example, Graceland and the National Civil Rights Museum. Much of that work is done at national and international trade shows directly with operators to get them hotel deals.

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“We have a whole dedicated area towards an operation called Memphis Sports Council targeting the amateur and youth sports market,” Kane says. “We work to lure everything from working with the University on getting NCAA Regionals here to youth baseball, soccer, gymnastics, cheerleading, fencing, volleyball, and so on.”

Marketing and promotions is another effort entirely, pushing brand awareness, national campaigns and media.

“We also have a whole team of people that do nothing except work with journalists and videographers,” Kane says. These are the people that come to do news and feature stories on, for example, Elvis week and next year’s 50th anniversary events surrounding Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination.

“We track just about every story in the planet where Memphis is mentioned or featured, we get a report on it,” he says. “We keep up with the positive and the negative images that come up on the destination.

We work the PR and the communications angle very, very impressively.”

There’s also social media, including the well known “I Love Memhis” blog that’s been around for several years. “We were one of the first marketing, tourism organizations to hire a full-time blogger and give them total independence,” Kane says.

“If you’re going to blog, you can’t be ‘You’ve got to promote only members of the Bureau and people that support us.’ They have total independence to speak freely in the blog about their experiences and their perceptions. We get some heat from that sometimes, but it keeps it real and as a result of that, it’s trusted and it’s a source a lot of people lean on and find useful information. The digital side of what we do is really becoming financially a much bigger and bigger piece of the pie where we’re spending our resources on.

The sheer numbers that you can reach through the digital platforms out there are huge.

Social and digital are obviously a very, very important part of what we do.”

The CVB also runs three Visitor’s Centers around Shelby County. “I don’t know how much longer those will be relevant,” Kane says. “They still service hundreds of thousands of people but I think the day’s coming where everything is becoming so mobile that they may be going to the Visitor’s Center to just use the rest room. The centers are in areas where you can buy attractions tickets or various things. Obviously they may have a little bit longer of a shelf life, but I don’t know how long we will continue with them.”

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

In 2023, the CVB will be 100 years old. Kane would like to welcome the organization’s new century with a list of ongoing changes, not the least of which is the improved convention center and a couple of big hotels nearby.

Other changes he’s hoping to see include better international air service with an improved airport and a re-imagined and more vibrant riverfront. The airport changes are underway but he’s like to see more movement along the riverfront. “I think we do a pretty bad job giving people access to the river and taking advantage of the fact we have a body of water.”

Kane says the development of outdoor recreational tourism in the past decade has made Memphis a player with Shelby Farms, the Greenline, and the Big River Crossing. “We’ve got this unbelievable opportunity for people that want to take advantage of cycling and jogging and canoeing and kayaking.

We’ve got these elements there and we’re really starting to flesh them out and enhance them and make them as visitor friendly as possible.”

And there are the aspects of

PHOTOGRAPH BY CRAIG THOMPSON / MEMPHIS CVB

the city that have long been troubling. “I look forward to the day when we have a city where crime and poverty don’t always tend to dominate the conversation,” he says. “The more that we can bring people out of poverty and get more people in the part of society it will help having this community operate a lot more functionally. There are a lot of people from the public, the private, and the philanthropic side working very diligently to try to address a lot of these issues. Look at what the Chairman’s Circle is doing at the Greater Memphis Chamber with the cleaning issue with eradicating blight, developing more entrepreneurs. Look at some of their key new mission activities.

Those things all fall into making us a stronger destination to attract visitors and improvements to the city.”

PAYING FOR IT

Kane says some residents may not be clear on how the CVB is funded. “Our funding comes from hotel taxes. We are not draining or living off the general fund tax dollars of residents of the citizens of Memphis.”

Even the ambitious plans, such as renovating the convention center, will largely be paid for through tourism development and some hotel license tax revenues. “We’re basically being paid for by the visitor,” he says.

“And the improvements to the airport are being paid for by airplane landing fees and contributions from the federal government.”

“This is such a clean and pure industry that really works tirelessly on behalf of the citizens of Shelby County,” Kane says.

“There are times when the city will invest in a park or invest or add money to the Zoo or into Beale Street or wherever, but some of those things are expected just to have the quality of life for the citizens that live here too. Where would we be as a community if you took all the amenities away? You may have a lot of people that brag that they’ve never been to Graceland or that they’ve never been to the National Civil Rights Museum or they’ve never been on a riverboat. Take all of those things out of here and what kind of city would we have? What would the city really be like if you didn’t have those unbelievable amenities that we have?”

For Kane, it’s very much about selling one of the best packages ever. “We show the best that Memphis has to offer,” he says.

“It’s our food. It’s our musical legacy. It’s our entertainment. It’s our culture. It’s these one-of-akind, unique amenities that you can’t find or replicate anyplace else. We are very blessed in this region to have an overabundance of these things.”

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VENUE MENU

The best locations for your next corporate function • • •

B Y

S A M U E L

X .

C I C C I

University of Memphis Conferences and events. 210,000 available sq. ft., up to 1,000 guests. Conference and event services: 901-678-5000; conferences@memphis.edu.

365 Innovation Dr. memphis.edu

EVENT VENUES Annesdale Mansion Corporate events. Up to 9,000 available sq. ft., 250-300 guests. Val Bledsoe: 901-490-9460; val@annesdalemansion.com. 1325 Lamar Ave. annesdalemansion.com Anthony’s Classic Hall Corporate events. Multiple rooms for 130-150 guests.

Office: 901-388-6468; anthonysclassichall@aol.com.

2828 Stage Center Drive, Bartlett, TN anthonysclassichall.com

CHURCHES AND TEMPLES

Horseshoe Casino and Hotel Meetings, weddings, and special events. 840-1,060 sq. ft., 30-70 guests. 855-633-8238; meet@caesars. com. 1021 Casino Center Dr, Robinsonville, MS caesarsmeansbusiness.com

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception Corporate events and meetings. Parish office: (901) 7252700. 1695 Central Avenue iccathedral.org

Gold Strike Casino Resort Meetings and special events. 350-18,250 sq. ft., 151,170 guests. 662-357-1373; Kjordan@goldstrike.com.

1010 Casino Center Dr., Casino Center, MS goldstrike.com

Temple Israel Corporate events and meetings. Small conference rooms and large auditoriums for up to 1,500 guests. 901-9372797; sharonn@timemphis.org. 1376 E. Massey Rd. timemphis.org

Southland Park Meetings and large corporate events. 1,200-12,800 sq. ft., 30-600 guests. 870-400-4855. 1550 Ingram Blvd, West Memphis, AR Southlandpark.com Tunica Roadhouse Meetings and corporate events. 3,300 available sq. ft., 24-300 guests. 855-633-8238; meet@caesars. com. 1107 Casino Center Dr, Robinsonville, MS caesars.com/tunica-roadhouse

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COLLEGES

Cadre Building Corporate, formal, and non-profit events. 2,50036,000 sq. ft., 350-1,000 guests. 901-779-1500; betsy.mckay@cadrebuilding.com. 149 Monroe Ave. cadrebuilding.com Cedar Hall Corporate events. Indoor and outdoor spaces for up to 350 guests. 901-377-4099; info@cedarhall.com.

3712 Broadway Rd., Bartlett, TN cedarhall.com

Christian Brothers University Meetings and events. Classroom, banquet rooms, and auditorium space for 25-500 guests. 901-321-3525; krosenbl@cbu.edu. 650 E. Pkwy S. cbu.edu

The Columns Corporate events. Up to 20,000 sq. ft., 200-800 guests. 901-552-4732; info@resourceentertainment. com. 40 S. Main St. resourceentertainment.com

Rhodes College Meetings, lectures, and special events. Scheduling and College Events Office: 901-843-3888. 2000 N Parkway. rhodes.edu

Esplanade Corporate events and conferences. 10,000 available sq. ft., 30-1,000 guests. 901-753-3333; info@ esplanadememphis.com. 901 Cordova Station Ave. esplanadememphis.com

ILLUSTRATION BY ELENABSL / DREAMSTIME

CASINOS

The Atrium at Overton Square Corporate events and meetings. Space for 150 seated guests, up to 250 standing. Catering kitchen available.

901-213-4514; events@memphiseventgroup.com.

2105 Madison Ave. theatriummemphis.com

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This is whaT a mulTi-asseT porTfolio looks like in real life...

FedEx Event Center Corporate Events. From 272-7,700 sq. ft., 20-800 guests. 901-222-7275; info@shelbyfarmspark.org.

6903 Great View Dr. N. shelbyfarmspark.org Fogelman Executive Conference Center & Hotel Corporate events and conferences. Up to 35,000 available sq. ft., 24-1,000 guests. 901-678-5410; fecsales@memphis.edu. 330 Innovation Dr. (Conference Center); 3700 Central Ave (Hotel). bf.memphis.edu The Great Hall & Conference Center Corporate events and conferences. Up to 8,675 sq. ft. available. 60-800 guests. 901-757-7373; ianslinger@ germantown-tn.gov. 1900 S. Germantown Rd. thegreathallevents.com La Place Ballroom Corporate and special events. Up to 5,500 sq. ft. available. 10-300 guests. Catering available. Tarmeckla Douglas: 901-340-0144; tarmeckladouglas@yahoo.com.

4970 Raleigh Lagrange Rd. laplaceballroom.com The Meeting Center of Collierville Meetings and conferences. Small conference rooms for 5-15 people. 901-861-6304; info@tmccollierville.com.

340 Poplar View Ln. E. #1 tmccollierville.com Minglewood Hall Corporate events and fundraisers. Up to 13,000 sq. ft. available. 100-1,500 guests. 901-312-6058; paula. davis@minglewoodhall.com. 1555 Madison Ave. minglewoodhall.com New Daisy Corporate events. Full theater setup for 500-1,100 guests.

901-525-8981; info@newdaisy.com. 330 Beale St. newdaisy.com Noah’s Event Venue Corporate events. Conference and event rooms for 16300 people. 901-606-4240. 3243 Players Club Circle. noahseventvenue.com Premiere Palace Ballroom Corporate events. 2,500 sq. ft. ballroom for up to 300 guests. 901-725-5625; info@premierepalace.com. 629 Monroe Ave. premierepalace.com Propcellar Corporate events. Large, versatile warehouse space for between 50-750 guests. 901-654-6737; hello@propcellar.com propcellar.com

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CNBC raNks W&a 29 iN Top 100 WealTh MaNageMeNT FirMs For 2015 * * Disclaimer: waddell & associates (“waddell”) is an seC-registered investment adviser. The “Top 100 fee-only wealth managers” is granted by CnBC, an independent association unaffiliated with waddell. The CnBC Digital Team, along with meridian-iQ created the Top 100 fee-only wealth management ranking based on scores for the following measures weighted according to a proprietary formula to arrive at a final total rank: aum, staff with professional designations, average account size, client segmentation, growth of assets, years in business and other key factors. additional information on the factors involved for inclusion in this ranking can be found at the following location: http://www.cnbc.com/id/102605785.

Ba rt l e t t Performing

rts

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WE’LL MAKE YOUR EVENT A SUCCESS Conferences. Meetings. Performances. Receptions.

BPACC.org / 901.385.6440 AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2017 | INSIDE MEMPHIS BUSINESS.COM |

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LOCAL ADVANTAGE.

Rumba Room Small corporate events. Tables and private rooms available on a limited basis. 901-523-0020; edgarmendez71@gmail.com. 303 S. Main St. memphisrumba.com Tower Center Conferences and meetings. Up to 10,000 available sq. ft., 6-600 guests. 901-767-8776; celkins@ towercentermemphis.com. 5100 Poplar Ave. #3300. towercentermemphis.com Woodland Hills Event Center Corporate events. Multiple room options, with 50-1,000 guests. 901-754-2000.

10000 Woodland Hills. Dr., Cordova. woodlandhillseventcenter.com Woodruff-Fontaine House Corporate events. Variety of room options for 30-200 guests. 901-526-1469; contact@woodruff-fontaine.org.

680 Adams Ave. woodruff-fontaine.org

HOTELS Big Cypress Lodge Corporate events, conferences, and meetings. Variety of room and outdoor options for 10-800 guests. 901-6204652; concierge@big-cypress.com. 1 Bass Pro Dr. big-cypress.com

CBRE knows the Mid-South. Through our industry leading perspectives, scale and local connectivity, we deliver outcomes that drive business and bottom-line performance for every client we serve in the Mid-South. How can we help transform your real estate into real advantage?

Crowne Plaza Downtown Corporate events and meetings. 8,600 available sq. ft., up to 257 guests. 901-525-1800; info@cphotelsmemphis. com. 300 N. Second St. ihg.com/crowneplaza

For more information contact or visit:

Crowne Plaza East Memphis Corporate events and meetings. 528-8,448 sq. ft., 12-1400 guests. 901-362-6200; hnelson@cphmemphis. com. 2625 Thousand Oaks Blvd. ihg.com/crowneplaza

+1 901 528 1000 cbre.com/memphis

Doubletree Hilton (Sanderlin) Corporate events and meetings. 336-3,368 sq. ft., 8-300 guests. 901-767-6666; 5069 Sanderlin Ave. doubletree3.hilton.com EconoLodge Downtown Meetings. Conference room available for corporate meetings. Up to 50 guests. 901-522-7050. 22 N. 3rd St. choicehotels.com Embassy Suites Memphis Corporate events and meetings. Up to 3,000 sq. ft., 16250 guests. 901-684-1777. 1022 S. Shady Grove Rd. embassysuites3.hilton.com Guest House at Graceland Corporate events and conferences. 403-10,681 sq. ft., 16-1,345 guests. 1-800-238-2000; GHAGsales@ guesthousegraceland.com. 3600 Elvis Presley Blvd. guesthousegraceland.com 32 |

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Hilton (Ridge Lake Blvd.)

Corporate events and meetings. Up to 36,000 available sq. ft. for up to 1,600 guests. 901-6846664. 939 Ridge Lake Blvd. www3.hilton.com Holiday Inn (Downtown) Corporate events and meetings. 425-3,456 sq. ft., 35-500 guests. 901-525-5491. 160 Union Ave. hisdowntownmemphis.com Holiday Inn (University of Memphis) Corporate events and conferences. 528-10,150 sq. ft., 15-1,500 guests. 901-678-5423; paustin@memphis. edu. 3700 Central Ave. ihg.com Holiday Inn Express (Medical Center Midtown) Small meetings. Meeting rooms available for small groups as available. 901-276-1175; hiemsales@1stcarolina.net. 1180 Union Ave. ihg.com

Boutique service with a national reach.

Vaco provides consulting, contract, and direct hire solutions in the areas of accounting, finance, technology, general administration, marketing, and more.

Hyatt Place Memphis (Primacy Pkwy.)

Meetings. Up to 1,170 sq. ft., 20-75 guests. 901-2149993; mark.smisor@hyatt.com. 1220 Primacy Pkwy. memphisprimacyparkway.memphis.hyatt. com Madison Hotel Corporate events and meetings. 405-1,665 sq. ft., 14-200 guests. 901-333-1258; info@ madisonhotelmemphis.com. 79 Madison Ave. madisonhotelmemphis.com Marriott Memphis East Corporate events and meetings. 420-3,807 sq. ft., 12-400 guests. 901-682-0080. 5795 Poplar Ave. marriott.com

Consulting, Contract & Direct Hire Solutions

Peabody Hotel Corporate events, meetings, and conferences. 30016,000 sq. ft. Up to 2,100 guests. 901-529-4000.

149 Union Ave. peabodymemphis.com River Inn - River Hall Corporate events and meetings. Banquet hall and terrace options for up to 120 guests. 901-2603333 ext. 2105; events@riverinnmemphis.com.

50 Harbor Town Sq. riverinnmemphis.com Sheraton Memphis (Downtown) Corporate events and meetings. 276-4,600 sq. ft., 10-414 guests. 901-527-7300. 250 N. Main St. starwoodhotels.com

www.vaco.com | (901) 333-2250 Vaco-Mem-NatlReach-May2017.indd 1

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Staybridge Suites Small meetings. 800 sq. ft. available for small business meetings. 901-682-1722.

1070 Ridge Lake Blvd. ihg.com AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2017 | INSIDE MEMPHIS BUSINESS.COM |

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Westin Memphis Beale Street Corporate events and meetings. 320-3,030 sq. ft. 8-300 guests. 901-334-5900. 170 Lt. George W. Lee Ave. starwoodhotels.com

LARGE VENUES

Grand Events & Meetings since 1869 The Peabody’s facilities offer 80,000 square feet of elegant ballrooms and meeting spaces that can accommodate groups from 10 to 2,000. From The Peabody Grand Ballroom to the historic mezzanine meeting spaces, an event at The Peabody guarantees meeting planners and their clients memorable, flawless meetings.

901.529.4000 • peabodymemphis.com

Agricenter International Corporate events and trade shows. Variety of small and large venues, ranging from 4,800-86,000 sq. ft. 901757-7777; info@agricenter.org. 7777 Walnut Grove Rd. agricenter.org Beale Street Landing Large corporate events. Large outdoor space, with capacity for anywhere from 250-5,000+ guests.

901-312-9190. 251 Riverside Dr. memphisriverfront.com Cannon Center for the Performing Arts Large corporate events and conferences. Large theater-capacity events with 2,100 seats. 901-576-1203; tthompson@thecannoncenter.com. 255 N. Main St. thecannoncenter.com FedExForum Large corporate events and meetings. Large stadium with variety of venue options for 30-1,000 guests. 901205-1522; jolson@grizzlies.com. 191 Beale St. fedexforum.com Landers Center Large corporate events and conferences. Multiple venue options, from 468-17,010 sq. ft., 30-1,888 guests. 662280-9120. 4560 Venture Dr., Southaven, MS. landerscenter.com Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Large corporate events. Large venue space with seating capacity for over 62,000 guests. 901-729-4344; thomas_ carrier@comcastspectacor.com. 335 S. Hollywood St. thelibertybowlstadium.com Memphis Cook Convention Center Large corporate events, meetings, conferences, and trade shows. Large hall with over 125,000 available sq. ft. 901-576-1200. 255 N. Main St. memphistravel.com

PUBLIC

R E H E A R S A L D I N N E R S • P R I VAT E P A R T I E S • M O N T H LY W I N E D I N N E R S T W O F O R T U E S D AY • W I L D G A M E S E L E C T I O N • S P E C I A LT Y W I N E L I S T 5960 Getwell Road

Southaven, MS 662.890.2467

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3165 Forest Hill Irene Road

Germantown, TN 901.249.5661

88 Union Avenue

Memphis, TN 901.527.5337

www.mesquitechophouse.com

1001 E. Jackson Avenue Oxford, MS 38655 662.232.8855

AutoZone Park Corporate events and meetings. Indoor and outdoor venues available for up to 350 guests. 901-722-0257; kallen@cardinals.com. 200 Union Ave. memphisredbirds.com Bartlett Performing Arts & Conference Center Corporate events and small meetings. Smaller room option or auditorium for 75-350 guests. 901-385-6440.

3663 Appling Rd., Bartlett, TN. bpacc.org

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Blues Hall of Fame Corporate events. Entry level and ground level spaces for 100-300 guests. 901-527-2583 ext. 13. 421 S. Main St. blues.org Brooks Museum Corporate events and meetings. Meeting and reception options for 20-400 guests. 901-544-6222; nikki.lekhy@ brooksmuseum.org. 1934 Poplar Ave. brooksmuseum.org Cotton Museum Corporate events. 3,200 sq. ft. for up to 150 guests.

901-531-7826; rentals@memphiscottonmuseum.org. 65 Union Ave. memphiscottonmuseum.org Dixon Gallery and Gardens Corporate events and meetings. Pavilion and auditorium options for 100-250 guests. 901-761-5250 ext. 101. scatmur@dixon.org. 4339 Park Ave. dixon.org Halloran Center for the Performing Arts Corporate events and meetings. 1,011-3,500 sq. ft., 40361 guests. 901-529-4276; adams@orpheum-memphis. org. 225 S. Main St. orpheum-memphis.com Memphis Botanic Garden Corporate events. Variety of indoor and outdoor spaces for 2-600 guests. 901-636-4106; rentals@ memphisbotanicgarden.com. 750 Cherry Rd. mbgrentals.com Memphis Zoo Corporate events. Indoor and outdoor spaces for over 300 guests. 901-333-6571. 2000 Prentiss Pl. memphiszoo.org Mirimichi Corporate events. Indoor and outdoor venues for 10300 guests. 901-259-3800. 6129 Woodstock Cuba Rd., Millington, TN. mirimichi.com

ILLUSTRATION BY ELENABSL / DREAMSTIME

The Orpheum Theater Corporate events. Small rooms and main auditorium available, for 70-2,300 guests. 901-529-4234; brown@ orpheum-memphis.com. 203 S. Main St. orpheum-memphis.com National Civil Rights Museum Corporate events and meetings. Conference rooms and auditorium for up to 350 guests. 901-521-9699 ext.2439; cmbaye@civilrightsmuseum.org. 450 Mulberry St. civilrightsmuseum.org National Ornamental Metal Museum Corporate events. 4,200 sq. ft. terrace. 300-500 guests. 901-774-6380; rentals@metalmuseum.org.

374 Metal Museum Dr. metalmuseum.org

Opera Memphis Corporate events.1,450-5,400 sq. ft. lobby and hall spaces. 901-202-4536; jonathan@operamemphis.org.

6745 Wolf River Pkwy. operamemphis.org Playhouse on the Square Corporate events and meetings. Auditorium and meeting facilities for 12-347 guests. 901-937-6473; jody@playhouseonthesquare.org. 66 S. Cooper St. playhouseonthesquare.org Rock n Soul Museum Corporate events and conferences. 850-8,500 sq. ft., 60-400 guests. 901-205-2526; info@memphisrocknsoul. org. 191 Beale St. memphisrocknsoul.org Stax Museum Corporate events. Museum space available for 10-450 guests. 901-942-7685; lisa.allen@soulsvillefoundation. org. 926 E. McLemore Ave. staxmuseum.com West Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau Corporate events and meetings. Meeting rooms available for up to 500 guests. 870-732-7598. 231 E. Broadway Blvd., West Memphis, AR. memphistravel.com Crescent Club Corporate events and meetings. 540-1,500 sq. ft., 12-200 guests. 901-684-1010 ext. 224. 6075 Poplar Ave., Suite 909. clubcorp.com Kroc Center Corporate events and meetings. Conference and hall space for between 12-300 guests. 901-729-8031; events@krocmemphis.org. 800 E. Pkwy. S. krocmemphis.org Ridgeway Country Club Corporate events. Indoor and outdoor spaces for between 200-350 guests. 901-853-2247 ext. 106; bernadetteslavin@ridgewaycountryclub.com.

9800 Poplar Ave. ridgewaycountryclub.com Racquet Club Corporate events and meetings. Membership not required for events. 456-4,320 sq. ft. 20-600 guests.

901-765-4456; ssmith@racquetclubofmemphis.com.

5111 Sanderlin Ave. rcofmemphis.com TPC Southwind Corporate events and meetings. Membership not required for events. 580-1,952 sq. ft. 30-130 guests. 901-259-1835; juliesmith@pgatourtpc.com.

3325 Club at Southwind. tpc.com

University Club of Memphis Corporate events and meetings. Variety of indoor and outdoor spaces for 12-450 guests. 901-772-3716; banquets@ucmem.com. 1346 Central Ave. ucmem.com Victory Ranch Corporate events. Outdoor team building experiences for businesses. 901-338-7093; harrison@victoryranch.org.

4330 Mecklinburg, Bolivar, TN. victoryranch.org

RESTAURANTS B.B. King’s Blues Club Corporate events. Club available for rent, with room for 25-400 guests. 901-202-9114. 143 Beale St. bbkings.com Capital Grille Corporate events. Private dining rooms for 12-42 guests.

901-683-9291. 6065 Poplar Ave. thecapitalgrille.com Folk’s Folly Prime Steak House Corporate events. Private dining and event rooms for 12-100 guests. 901-762-8200. 551 S. Mendenhall. folksfolly.com Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar Corporate events. Private rooms available for 25-65.

901-761-6200. 6245 Poplar Ave. flemingssteakhouse.com The Grove Grill Corporate events. Private rooms available for up to 100 guests. 901-818-9951. 4550 Poplar Ave. thegrovegrill.com Loflin Yard Corporate events. Indoor bar and outdoor private and semi-private areas available. 901-614-4589; info@loflinyard.com. 7 W. Carolina Ave. loflinyard.com

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EVENT PLANNING

Firms like LEO Events and Behind the Scenes change with the times.

‘For what you’re looking for, due to all of our diligence and experience, this is what we’re proposing to you is the best thing for you.’

Back then they couldn’t just go and Google everything they wanted. It was more about trusting the expert.

[But] as the web evolved, people would say, ‘What about this? I found this,’” says Brewer. “We went through a transition where people really felt like they could go around us, shop around us. ‘I’m not going to pay for you because I can piece all this together.’”

Cindy Brewer

• • •

B Y J O D Y C A L L A H A N

Fifteen years ago, Cindy Brewer was just planning meetings in Memphis, handling corporate events for local companies or those planning a visit to the Bluff City.

Today, Brewer is global. Her company — originally called Destination King in 2002, now rebranded as LEO Events — has handled events in 75 percent of the 50 states as well as in at least 18 countries. They’ve gone from all their business Memphis-based to now having only about 10-12 percent of it conducted here.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY KAREN PULFER FOCHT

TODAY’S MEETING PARTICIPANT IS LOOKING FOR A DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE.

LEO, which also includes Brewer’s husband Kevin and another partner, Kent Underwood, grew from three employees to 50, spread among offices in Memphis, Nashville, and Chattanooga.

But in between, Brewer’s company — like almost every business in the world — felt the disruptive impact of the Internet.

“The web evolution hurt quite a bit,” Brewer says from her office on Downtown’s Front Street. “[We would tell clients],

Now, Brewer says, the pendulum has swung back toward the expertise she and her company provide. Certainly, many people — particularly those who have little experience in planning events — still use the Internet to find venues, bands, and caterers.

But the larger clients, Brewer says, prefer the professional approach.

“What we’re seeing, thankfully, is that mindset has gone away. Now most corporations, most nonprofits, most of these companies we’re working with realize there’s a value in having an events management partner,” she says.

That’s not the only change facing professional planners these days.

When such companies began, a traditional event might feature speakers lecturing to a crowd, or a panel of speakers talking to a room full of attendees.

Today’s meeting participant, though, is looking for a different experience.

“Through the last decade, there’s a higher expectation of people [wanting] an experiential event,” says Dusky Norsworthy, who founded the Behind the Scenes event-planning company 18 years ago in Memphis. “[You’re]

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SECR ET S TO PL A NNING A SUCCESSFUL M EET ING Not everyone can afford a professional event planner. But even if an event is relatively uncomplicated — a family picnic, a military reunion, or a sporting event — there are important things to know. Professional event planners Cindy Brewer (LEO Events) and Dusky Norsworthy (Behind the Scenes) offered a few tips for those choosing to go it alone.

Have a clear idea of what you’re trying to do. Nail down the details so that you know your objectives. “The first thing is to have a clear idea of what you’re trying to accomplish,” Brewer says. “Everyone’s goals and objectives are different.”

Know your budget. Know how much you can spend without getting into financial trouble. “Things usually cost more than you anticipate,” Norsworthy says. Added Brewer: “It’s important to know what you want to accomplish from it, and what you can afford.”

Consider who’s involved in the event. This can help in not only planning the event, but also in preventing unnecessary mistakes. “Know all the key players that will be working on the event,” Brewer says. “That’s also a game changer. Know who your team is at the onset.”

And perhaps the most important tip is one that, really, is applicable everywhere:

participating, not just an observer. You’re engaged in some activities. It’s a lot less talking to, a lot more being involved in.”

Brewer has seen the same thing.

“We have seen this festivalization of meetings,” she says. “It’s not so much the executive standing up there and telling you what you need to do and rolling something out as much as it’s the feedback and engagement, the buy-in with the delegates. That’s just as, if not more, important. You start to see a lot more engagement and they start to feel that they matter.”

Norsworthy has also seen the role our fascination with screens is playing in today’s events. She’s helped plan events that include some type of technology that allows participants to comment or respond in real time.

“When we first started doing it, people had a lot of sit-down dinners. Now it’s, ‘How can we be more interactive?’” she says.

“There’s so much engagement

with technology.”

Brewer feels LEO is well positioned for that new trend, since their company has what she calls a “festival component.”

Thanks to Underwood’s expertise — he worked for Memphis in May for years — LEO has the ability to stage festivals around the country.

“We’re unique in that we have a festival division. Most of the people we compete with just do meetings and events,” Brewer says.

They’ve handled the Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford, Mississippi, for years, but they’ve also become partners in the KAABOO festival in Del Mar, California, not far from San Diego. That event, staged for the first time in 2015, is meant to appeal to a more affluent festivalgoer.

“This was a group of investors that really wanted to create a festival for this demographic,

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY LEO EVENTS

Keep your eyes open and be prepared. Something will go wrong, and be ready for that when it happens. “Try to expect the unexpected. Try to think of anything that can go wrong, because it will,” Norsworthy says. “It could be the weather. It could be tables and catering. The driver could have a wreck on the way to your event, or someone could get sick.”

people that are semi-affluent enough that when they go to a festival they don’t want to use a Porta-Potty, they don’t like standing in the mud. [They] want to drink nice wine. They may want to hear a band here, but then they want to go look at art,” Brewer says. “It’s something that we take a lot of pride in, that we were asked to help see this festival come to life.”

ABOVE: The KAABOO festival in Del Mar, California, is handled by Memphis-based LEO Events. The three-day festival, first staged in 2015, features music, comedy, art, and cuisine, and is targeted to a more affluent demographic.

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S M A L L

B U S I N E S S

C E N T R A L

Meet Up And Sip It Down 901 Breweries and Distilleries Offer Non-Traditional Event Space.

• • •

B Y

A I S L I N G

M A K I

A mid-sized city with the feel of a large town, Memphis has a great deal of character and a great many characters.

Laid-back, welcoming, and ruggedly charming are descriptors easily applied to both the people and places in this river city. So when Memphians seek out space to celebrate memorable events, brewery taprooms offer the perfect mellow match. gatherings. The venue also offers a private multipurpose room that holds 30 people and can be used for dinners, meetings, and presentations, and an outdoor pavilion has a capacity of 200-plus.

Over in the Edge District, just around the corner from world-famous Sun Studio, the birthplace of Rock-andRoll, is High Cotton Brewing Company’s taproom. The build-

ing was constructed in the late nineteenth century, and because of its proximity to Victorian Village, the building is believed to have served as a carriage house.

When the owners purchased the property in 2012, it required a great deal of renovation. The taproom was added in 2014.

High Cotton hosts a myriad of events, including fundraisers for dog rescue groups, art

ABOVE: Ghost River Brewing Companies new taproom hosts events of up to 200 people, but it mainly gives craft beer connoisseurs a taste of the local brew.

BELOW: High Cotton Brewing Co. hosts a variety of events — private, semi-private, and public ­— in the Edge District.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY KAREN PULFER FOCHT

Wiseacre Brewing Company, in the vibrant Broad Avenue Arts District, with its colorful 901-proud murals and funky gift shops, is well known by locals for its canned Ananda Indian Pale Ale and Tiny Bomb American Pilsner, sold in six packs at stores throughout the city. Its taproom is a popular rental space for events such as receptions, fundraisers, parties, and corporate

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shows, beer fests, live music, comedy shows, trivia contests, college mixers, and even yoga and pilates. The 1,200-square-foot main space always remains open to the public, with the exception of events scheduled outside of business hours.

“If we can fit into our space and make it happen, we’re happy to take on the event, whether it’s private, semi-private, or public,” says Cayleigh Tralongo, High Cotton’s taproom and events manager.

Private events — such as receptions, engagement parties, and retirement parties — are held in a back room, a 2,500-square-foot space with its own private bar that can accommodate up to 150 guests, who also have access to a connecting side patio for additional space.

Over in the heart of Midtown’s historically hip Cooper-Young neighborhood, Andy Ashby, a neighborhood resident and former local business journalist, combined his knowledge of entrepreneurship with a passion for craft beer and community when he opened Memphis Made Brewing Company in 2013.

He partnered with president and head brewer Drew Barton, who previously worked as a head brewer in North Carolina, to open the brewery in an old building that Ashby described as “basically a drive-in cooler for pies. It’s a little unconventional, but it fit us.” In 2014, Memphis Made opened its taproom, for which Barton planned the layout.

Ashby says the main purpose of opening a taproom was to get feedback on the beers.

“Events are kind of secondary,” he says. “Our hours were limited at first, so we started renting out the space. That’s something that evolved over time.”

But Memphis Made Tap Room has evolved into a popular event space. Taproom parties and events often spill over into the adjacent parking lot, where party-goers can play cornhole or jenga, grab some food truck fare, and take selfies at the iconic I Love Memphis mural. The venue offers a patio that can hold roughly 50 guests, and sometimes

Memphis Made hosts more than one event at a time.

The taproom has been the site of wedding receptions, corporate gatherings, and employee appreciation events.

“A lot of businesses are looking for ways to retain young talent,” Ashby says. “A brewery is going to capture the minds of young people a little more.”

Memphis Made Tap Room sometimes donates space for other fundraisers and invites local musicians and comedians to perform for taproom patrons. The taproom hosts monthly community concerts, with a percentage of the proceeds from each event benefiting a different nonprofit.

“We kind of treat the space like a community center,” Ashby says.

“We’re in this as a business, but we’re also very much invested in giving back to this community.”

Ghost River, named after the section of the Wolf River that provides the local water for the aquifer said to give local craft beer its unique f lavor, was a Memphis craft brewing pioneer,

OLD DOMINICK DISTILLERY, ESTABLISHED IN FALL OF 2016, CARRIES ON THE FAMILY TRADITION OF MAKING SPIRITS. THE FACILITY WAS DESIGNED BY LOONEY RICKS KISS ARCHITECTS. starting production back in 2007.

But it wasn’t until almost a decade later, in November of 2016, that it opened its taproom, which features a large space that holds 200 guests. Smaller parties can reserve an area with a common table, located on the other side of the bar. There’s also a large patio available for parties.

“We don’t have a private room but we do have private space,” says Suzanne Feinstone, Ghost River’s marketing vice president, who says the taproom will open outside regular hours for group events and is booked for weddings, wedding rehearsals, conferences, and nonprofit fundraisers.

However, its primary purpose

is to give craft beer connoisseurs a taste of Ghost River’s award-winning beers, and Ghost Rivers keeps patrons entertained with internal events, such as live music, flight nights, and trivia.

“We’re a taproom for our customers first and foremost and our goal is to be a taproom for people to enjoy our beers,” Feinstone says. “You do have to find a balance.”

The newest kid on the block, Downtown’s Old Dominick, is also the oldest distillery. In the late nineteenth century, Domenico Canale founded Old Dominick Whiskey. Just a few steps away and five generations later, Old Dominick Distillery, established in the fall of 2016, carries on the family tradition of making spirits.

The facility was designed by Looney Ricks Kiss Architects.

“Our design was done carefully to mix the old and the new, to keep it somewhere between that old industrial look and something modern,” says owner Alex Canale.

The taproom opened May 1st

ABOVE: Old Dominick’s rooftop patio and their bar space are but a few examples of the facilty’s more than 10,000 square feet of available event space.

of this year, but its event space is already bustling with activity.

The distillery’s 50,000-squarefoot set of historic industrial buildings contains roughly 10,000 square feet of event space broken up into three areas: a tasting room, bar for rent, and a large, private multipurpose room upstairs called the “Enthusiast Lounge.” Its audiovisual capabilities have made it it popular with corporate groups. There’s also a rooftop patio.

Canale said the space has been booked for weddings, parties, and rehearsal dinners, and the distillery has donated space for charitable events.

Although Memphis was a little late to the taproom/distillery event trend because of prohibitive state laws that didn’t change until 2014, Memphians have shown their enthusiasm for holding traditional events in these nontraditional spaces.

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A fresh perspective

E C O N O M I C

I M P A C T

Budget Consequences

What proposed federal budget cuts might do to Shelby County.

• • •

B Y J O N W. S PA R K S

ILLUSTRATION BY ELIZAVETA SERPINSKAYA / DREAMSTIME

There’s been no end of discussion about significant changes in federal spending lately, but the whirlwind of words and figures have not yielded a clear sense of the consequences the 2018 budget proposed by the Trump Administration would have at the local level. How would Shelby County fare if and when funding is cut for widely used public programs?

An analysis by Dr. John Gnuschke, director of the Sparks Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Memphis, and Dr. Jeff Wallace, associate research professor, provides an estimate of the economic impact our community would feel if the Trump administration’s budget proposals were to be enacted.

The blueprint for federal spending, which Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget has called the “America First” budget, was made public in May. It proposes to balance the budget in 10 years with $3.6 trillion in cuts in social safety net programs, many of which are administered by the departments of Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Education.

Those programs, Mulvaney says, discourage work and hinder economic growth. Opponents say the proposed tax cuts for wealthier Americans effectively take away from the poor, particularly the most vulnerable in the lowest quintile (20 percent of households in terms of household income), which in Tennessee is $18,440, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In Memphis, it’s about $15,000.

In the first year of the decade-long plan, the Administration’s $4.1 trillion proposed

budget for fiscal year 2018 is about on par with last year’s.

The deep cuts in social programs are offset by proposed boosts in defense, border security, veterans’ care, and school choice.

But while the President proposes, it is Congress that disposes, with its own determination of how the money will flow. The administration’s proposal, however, is a starting point for discussions.

“To simplify the analysis,” Gnuschke says, “we limited the scope to three specific agencies/programs within Memphis and Shelby County that receive substantial amounts of federal funding.” Those are the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDOLWFD), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP – also known as food stamps).

“The first year of cuts results in a loss of $193.6 million for Tennessee across the three programs analyzed,” his report says. The projection at the end of the budget’s tenth year shows the state losing $525.1 million.

The loss to Memphis and Shelby County would be an estimated $133.6 million in federal dollars.

The impact of this reduction, the analysis says, is a loss of 3,262 jobs and a loss in labor income of about $188.3 million.

It will also result in a value added loss of more than $73 million (the value of what is added to goods and services through local businesses), and an output loss of nearly $490 million (the total value of goods and services produced as a result of the activities in question).

There are additional repercussions.

“These losses will be spread across the Shelby County economy and not limited to government agencies and programs,” the Sparks Bureau analysis says. “Further, these specific federal budget cuts are estimated to result in a loss of $123.4 million in state and local taxes.”

Meanwhile, the Better Care Reconciliation Act, introduced in the Senate last month and being debated as we go to press, would eliminate much of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and make other changes that would result in about 22 million people losing health coverage over the next 10 years and of those, 15 million would lose Medicaid coverage. A report by the Urban Institute says the number of uninsured in Tennessee would increase

by 353,000. About 70,000 of those would be Memphians, many in the lowest quintile of household income.

The effect of that increase in the number of uninsured would likely see a return to how medicine operated for the poor before passage of the ACA. Instead of going to physicians and other practitioners, the uninsured would “go to the hospital and the costs and expense will be shifted to the other payers,” says Dr. Cyril F. Chang, Professor of Economics and Director, Methodist Le Bonheur Center for Healthcare Economics at the Fogelman College of Business & Economics.

METHODOLOGY: The analysis of the Trump budget impact used available budget data for the United States and for Tennessee in FY18.

Estimates were derived using IMPLAN economic modeling software that estimates changes in output (the dollar value of changes in the production of goods and services), earnings, and employment brought about as a result of the economic change in question. The methodology examines the link between the industry in question and other local industries, in addition to the impact on local households.

Economic impact is a function of money changing hands multiple times with each purchase or change in spending. Based on this principle and using generally accepted economic impact modeling methods, the estimated economic impacts on Memphis and Shelby County were calculated.

Gnuschke says that the models show estimated changes that would occur in static isolation, where nothing else changes and there are no adjustments by participants in the affected industries. Also, this analysis does not include changes in state spending related to the three programs analyzed.

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P R E M IE R M E E T IN G & E V E N T FAC IL I T IE S

Baxter Buck

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SPECIAL PROMOTION

Aleks McGraw Photography — www.aleksmcgraw.com

PREMIER MEETING & EVENT FACILITIES 2017

Memphis is home to a number of exceptional meeting and event facilities. Whether you’re looking for space to accommodate a large business conference or a room for a private reception, there’s a perfect place for your gathering right here in the Bluff City. With amenities to satisfy your technological, lighting, audio, catering, entertainment needs, and more, the facilities highlighted in this special advertising section from Inside Memphis Business have everything you require to host a seamless event for groups large or small.

On the following pages, you’ll find additional details and contact information for some of our city’s best meeting spaces; contact them today to help plan your perfect event.

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SPECIAL PROMOTION

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BASS PRO SHOPS AT THE PYRAMID Located in the heart of Memphis is one of the region’s most recognizable structures: the remarkable Bass Pro Shops at The Pyramid.

Inside this one-of-a-kind facility, an unforgettable group getaway awaits at Big Cypress Lodge. Overnight accommodations in this wilderness-inspired rustic retreat range from vintage duck hunting cabins to treehouse suites. Many of these spectacular accommodations overlook a remarkable indoor cypress swamp.

You can host your guests in an array of meeting spaces, including a large banquet room that holds 350 guests, breakout spaces seating between 40 and 60 guests and a boardroom that will accommodate 10. For larger groups, events can be hosted on the beautiful Mississippi Terrace, and for extra special occasions The Lookout at the Pyramid can also be reserved.

The Lookout is at the peak of The Pyramid and can be accessed via the country’s tallest free-standing elevator.

Once at the top, you and your group can take in views of Memphis from glass balconies 300 feet in the air.

Activities and team building adventures abound. On the ground level you won’t want to miss one of the most immersive retail experiences in the world at Bass Pro Shops. Here you and your team can also enjoy some friendly competition at Uncle Buck’s Fishbowl and Grill, an underwater themed bowling alley and restaurant.

Regardless the size or style of your group, Big Cypress Lodge inside the Bass Pro Shops Pyramid offers a world-class getaway your team is sure to never forget.

Call 901-620-4652 or visit big-cypress.com to start planning your next group gathering!

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“Big Cypress at the Bass Pro Shops Pyramid is the most unique off-site location your group could experience. From oneof-a-kind dining to truly beautiful meeting spaces, the combination of amenities and offerings in one singular location makes Big Cypress a standout in the marketplace. ”

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ROOM BRE AKDOWN AND SPECS:

• Cattail Boardroom: 294 sq. ft • Delta Room: 754 sq. ft.

• Gator Room: 745 sq. ft.

• Delta + Gator Rooms: 1,508 sq. ft.

• Flyway Room: 1,508 sq. ft.

• Ducks Unlimited Gallery: 1,400 sq. ft.

• Waterfowl Gallery: 1,400 sq. ft.

• Waterfowl + Ducks Unlimited: 2,800 sq. ft.

• Waterfowl + Ducks Unlimited + Mississippi Terrace: 10,530 sq. ft.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION GENERAL MANAGER: Big Cypress Group Sales, 901.620.4652 WEBSITE: Big-Cypress.com

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1. Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid: Camp out in the pyramid and experience Big Cypress Lodge.

2. Lobby: Take in views of the remarkable indoor cypress swamp from the Big Cypress lobby.

3. Uncle Buck’s Bowling: Enjoy fun team building activities like

bowling at Uncle Buck’s Fishbowl and Grill.

4. Boardroom: The Cattail boardroom is an ideal setting for smaller group gatherings.

5. Duck Cabin: Big Cypress offers inviting accommodations for relaxing in rustic comfort.

6. The Lookout Dining and Balconies: Ride to the Lookout on the country’s tallest free-standing elevator and enjoy a delicious meal and spectacular views.

7. Meeting Space: Big Cypress has multiple meeting rooms for groups of all sizes.

SPECIAL PROMOTION

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Photograph: Baxter Buck

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Photograph: Jack Kenner

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1. Mid-South Farm and Gin Show: 125,000 sq. ft. Main Hall.

2. Ballroom C 3. Regional One Gala, Grand Ballroom

SPECIAL PROMOTION

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MEMPHIS COOK CONVENTION CENTER + CANNON CENTER From the Mid-South’s largest agricultural show, to an intimate seated dinner for 1,700, to a concert hall fit for a King, The Memphis Cook Convention Center, along with The Cannon Center for the Performing Arts is Memphis’ go-to location to make sure your next event is... Eventful!

Overlooking sunsets on The Mississippi, we’re the authentic and affordable event venue right in the heart of legendary Downtown Memphis — Home of the Blues and the Birthplace of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

We’re known for meeting the most demanding event needs and surpassing all expectations, always with a taste of true southern hospitality!

“Flexible is the best way to describe the Convention Center and Cannon Center” said Pierre Landaiche, Vice President and General Manager of the Memphis Management Group, the company hired to manage the meeting and entertainment facility. “Large or small we can accommodate almost any group.”

Convenient too, he adds, with its connection to the 600 room Sheraton Hotel, 1,000 car garage and

proximity to Downtown Memphis’ most popular attractions. The Center is within easy walking distance to the Mississippi River, Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid and just blocks away from world famous Beale Street, The National Civil Rights Museum and the Historic South Main Arts District.

“Our greatest asset though is our people,” Landaiche said. “From the moment you talk to one of our sales professionals to your interaction with our event services experts, you will realize our experience, professionalism and attention to detail is what sets us apart.”

5. Cannon Center for the Performing Arts: The acoustically perfect, state of the art, 2100-seat multipurpose performance facility is home to the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and hosts a multitude of events including ballet, opera, pop and jazz concerts, touring theatrical productions, children’s theater and general convention sessions in conjunction with the adjoining Memphis Cook Convention Center.

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Photograph: Jack Kenner

SPECIFICATIONS EXHIBIT HALL/BALLROOM LEVEL: Features a 125,000 square-foot column-free

space, a 28,000 square-foot ballroom, 5 meeting rooms, a pre-function foyer and registration area, and an outdoor terrace overlooking the Mississippi River.

MEZZANINE: Features 7 full-equipped, self contained meeting rooms, an executive boardroom and is connected via skywalk to the Sheraton Hotel.

GRAND LOBBY: Perfect for receptions, registrations, or a lounge area for convention delegates and guests to gather. And, features 14 additional meeting rooms.

SOUTH HALL: Features a 35,000 square-foot room with 32-foot ceiling, a large truck access tunnel, exhibitor storage room, and direct access to a 1,000 space covered parking garage.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION LOCATION: 255 N. Main Street, Memphis, TN 38111 CONTACT: Nicole Seltzer, 901.576.1253 or Pierre Landaiche, 901.576.1203 WEBSITES: MemphisConvention.com and CannonCenter.com

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4. State of the Art Renovations: Design work has begun on the renovation of the Convention Center and construction will start before the end of the year.

The project will transform the Center, built in 1974, into a modern convention meeting facility that will allow it to compete for the national and international meetings. “Inside and out, the Convention Center will look like a new building,” said Landaiche. “This will be a game changer for the entire Mid-South”.

Rendering courtesy of LRK and tvsdesign.

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Elvis Presley’s Memphis offers multiple event spaces to have your next special event: 1. The new Elvis Presley’s Memphis complex offers 200,000 square feet of indoor space for live music, movies, conferences, and trade shows. You can also rent the

entire complex, including outdoor space, for an unforgettable block party feel.

2. The Grand Ballroom at The Guest House at Graceland features 10,000 square-feet of flexible meeting space.

3. The new Graceland Soundstage

allows you to create your own event setting with 20,000 square feet of space for luncheons, conferences, receptions, trade shows, live concerts, and more.

4. The Guest House Theater offers seating for 464 and features the perfect stage for live performances,

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ELVIS PRESLEY’S GRACELAND AND THE GUEST HOUSE AT GRACELAND RESORT HOTEL Following the greatest expansion since it opened to the public 35 years ago, Elvis Presley’s Graceland® now offers all-new, one-of-a-kind event venues that will create a unique and unforgettable experience for your guests.

Elvis Presley’s Memphis™ at Graceland, our new entertainment and exhibit complex, features 14 new Elvis exhibits and attractions which can serve as private event spaces, allowing your guests to experience Elvis’ life and career like never before. Guests can enjoy dinner and live music at Presley Motors Automobile Museum, surrounded by Elvis’ incredible collection of cars, including his iconic pink Cadillac, or enjoy drinks and views of Elvis’ legendary jumpsuits and gold and platinum awards at Elvis: The Entertainer Career Museum.

Our Graceland Soundstage allows you to create your own event setting with 20,000 square feet of space for luncheons, conferences, receptions, trade shows, live concerts, and more. Enhance your guests’ experience by incorporating a private, afterhours tour of Elvis’ beloved Graceland Mansion, where guests can learn more about the personal side of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll™.

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speakers, and movies.

5. At Presley Motors in Elvis Presley’s Memphis, guests can dine among Elvis’ automobiles, including his Stutz Blackhawk, Dino Ferrari, and his iconic Pink Cadillac.

6. Gladys’ Diner in Elvis Presley’s

The Guest House at Graceland, Graceland’s new AAA Four-Diamond resort hotel, offers extraordinary meeting, banquet, and entertainment space just steps away from Graceland Mansion and across the street from the Elvis Presley’s Memphis entertainment complex. Inspired by the same warm Southern hospitality that Elvis Presley always showed his guests, The Guest House offers more than 25,000 square feet of event space — ample room to accommodate groups of up to 1,800. Our Grand Ballroom is our largest meeting and special events space and is divisible into five separate meeting rooms that range from 4,578 square feet to a more intimate 918 square feet. In addition, we offer four additional meeting and breakout rooms, including an Executive Board Room complete with all of the tech amenities needed for presentations or brainstorming sessions — plus a 464-seat state-of-the-art theater for keynote addresses, signature presentations, private entertainment, or ceremonies.

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SPECIFICATIONS CAPACITY: Elvis Presley’s Memphis entertainment complex is 200,000 square

feet and can accommodate up to 3,000 guests. The Guest House at Graceland resort hotel offers more than 25,000 square feet of meeting and function space and can host up to 1,800.

CATERING: Elvis Presley’s Memphis offers in-house catering as well as a list of approved outside caterers. The Guest House of Graceland provides in-house catering with a wide range of specialty food and beverage options.

BARTENDERS: Full bar services available.

PRESENTATIONS: Full-service audio and video setup and services available.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ELVIS PRESLEY’S GRACELAND: Betty Johnson, Special Events Manager,

800.238.2000, specialevents@graceland.com WEBSITE: PartyWithElvis.com THE GUEST HOUSE AT GRACELAND: Mike Pramshafer, Vice President of Sales &

Marketing, 901.473.6016, mpramshafer@guesthousegraceland.com WEBSITE: GuestHouseGraceland.com

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Memphis offers a classic American diner experience where guests can enjoy Elvis’ favorite – peanut butter and banana sandwiches.

7. Vernon’s Smokehouse in Elvis Presley’s Memphis features authentic Memphis BBQ and classic southern home cooking.

8. If your guests need overnight accommodations, our 430 guest rooms and 20 suites provide an extraordinary hotel experience.

9. The Rock Meeting Room at The Guest House is one of four private meeting rooms available for smaller meetings or events.

© EPE. Graceland and its marks are trademarks of EPE. All Rights Reserved. Elvis Presley™ © 2017 ABG EPE IP LLC

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THE ORPHEUM THEATRE AND THE HALLORAN CENTRE P ut your event center st age w it h t he Orpheum Theatre Group’s beautiful venues: the Orpheum Theatre and the Halloran Centre.

Just steps away from some of Downtown’s finest hotels and attractions, the historic Orpheum Theatre is one of the Mid-South’s most celebrated venues. Your event will be timeless, complemented by ornate detail, crystal chandeliers, and gold-leaf accents. The Orpheum Theatre offers a variety of spaces for an event of any size, each with distinct 1920s appeal. From an intimate gathering of 50 to 100 in the Broadway Club to the high-ceilinged elegance of the 2300-seat auditorium, the Orpheum Theatre captures classic Memphis charm.

Next door to the Orpheum, the Halloran Centre is among the newest additions to Downtown Memphis.

With sleek architecture and

contemporary accents, this facility offers modern character that can’t be replicated. Let your imagination take over using flexible floor plans that can be easily adapted to suit your needs.

The Halloran Centre caters to events of any size, from a 40-seat meeting in the luxurious Board Room overlooking South Main to a lavish reception for 350 in the Gerber Taylor Capital Advisors Lobby. You can also seamlessly combine rooms to maximize your guest count.

Both venues offer state-ofthe-art audio/visual equipment, flexible catering options, and can arrange bar service and housekeeping on your behalf.

Make your vision a reality.

Explore the Orpheum Theatre Group’s event spaces online at Orpheum-Memphis.com.

“For nearly 100 years, guests have been making memories at the corner of Main and Beale. Let us help shape yours.”

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SPECIFICATIONS CAPACITY: 10 flexible spaces available can handle from 10 to 2,300 guests PRESENTATIONS: State-of-the-art sound and lighting available ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ORPHEUM THEATRE: Joy Brown, brown@orpheum-memphis.com or

901.529.4234 HALLORAN CENTRE: Sara Adams, adams@orpheum-memphis.com or

901.238.7062 WEBSITE: Orpheum-Memphis.com

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1. Orpheum Theatre: Infuse your event with a dash of Broadway glamor in one of the Orpheum’s historic, elegant spaces.

2. Orpheum Theatre Auditorium: Host an unforgettable event on the very stage where generations of stars have performed.

3. Halloran Centre: The Halloran Centre offers more than 39,000 square feet of space to accommodate gatherings of various sizes.

4. Halloran Centre Lobby: The Gerber Taylor Capital Advisors Lobby inside the Halloran Centre is bright, open, and sleek.

5. Orpheum Theatre Lobby: With its crystal chandeliers and sconces, antique mirrors, and an ornate cathedral ceiling, the Orpheum Theatre’s Grand Lobby exudes vintage glamour.

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RACQUET CLUB OF MEMPHIS The Racquet Club of Memphis, celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, is a locally owned racquet sport, fitness and social club steeped in history. With more than 186,000 square feet of facilities on 12 acres in the center of Memphis, The Racquet Club provides members with social activities plus a private place to swim, work out, dine, host events or meetings, enjoy special entertainment and play tennis, racquetball, pickleball, handball and squash. Members and non-members are welcome to hold events and meetings at the facility. The Racquet Club has helped people entertain for 60 years, from small groups up to 1000 or more people per event.

Meeting space at The Racquet Club of Memphis includes seven banquet rooms, boardroom- to ballroom-size rooms, and the capability to transform our indoor tennis courts for conventions, dinner parties, weddings, and special events. Our festive rooms are ideal for holiday parties. With a dedicated staff, prime central location and free on-premise parking, we are the best choice for your next event.

Full menu options include breakfast, lunch, cocktails, dinner, buffet, or sit-down service.

We are proud of our tradition of hosting unique special events, intimate dinners, birthday parties, baby showers, wedding receptions, anniversary celebrations, bar and bat mitzvah receptions, pool parties, corporate seminars, and luncheons. A long list of clients have chosen the Racquet Club for their events, 7

1. The Racquet Club Of Memphis: Aleks McGraw Photography - www. aleksmcgraw.com 2. Chef Peter Piazza 3. Custom Buffet Style Delicacies 4. Bridal Showers in Parlors 5. Ballroom Tables 6. Rehearsal Dinner in Walnut Room

including the East Memphis Rotary Club, The Humane Society, Boys and Girls Clubs of Memphis, and the Junior League’s Merry Marketplace.

Special events include the University of Memphis and NCAA tennis matches and tournaments, USTA Girls’ 18 National Clay Court Championships, USTA regional events, swim meets, corporate parties, themed parties, and more.

We provide infrastructure, whether a runway for a fashion show, stage/dais set up, special lighting, AV equipment, Wi-Fi, video streaming, and more.

Our courteous and attentive banquet staff is ready to plan and execute your event. Get started at the Racquet Club of Memphis by contacting Susan Smith at 901.765.4479 or ssmith@ racquetclubofmemphis.com.

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SPECIFICATIONS MEETING ROOMS:

456 square feet 609 square feet WALNUT ROOM: 1131 square feet DELTA ROOM: 651 square feet BALLROOM: 4320 square feet BALLROOM DIVIDE LARGE: 2640 square feet BALLROOM DIVIDE SMALL: 1200 square feet INDOOR TENNIS COURTS: May be utilized for a variety of different events — customized per the event DUNAVANT ROOM (BOARD ROOM): PARLOR B:

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Smith, 901.765.4479, ssmith@racquetclubofmemphis.com WEBSITE: rcofmemphis.com

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7. Specialty Foods 8. Ballroom Table 9. Ballroom Table Setting: Aleks McGraw Photography — www. aleksmcgraw.com 10. Ballroom Entry Way: Aleks McGraw Photography — www. aleksmcgraw.com

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1. The Westin Memphis Beale Street is located right in the heart of Downtown, across from the FedEx Forum, Gibson’s Guitar Factory & backs right up to the World Famous Beale Street. The Westin offers restaurants, shopping and nightlife all within walking distance.

2. The Mississippi Ballroom (3,030 sq. ft.) set in rounds.

3. Bleu Private Wine Room is the perfect setting for rehearsal dinners, graduation parties, birthday parties and/or board meetings.

4. The Delta Boardroom overlooks the FedEx Forum and Gibson’s Guitar

Factory 5. Bleu Restaurant & Lounge offers American Fusion Cuisine with flavors from around the world.

6. Westin Guestroom overlooking the FedEx Forum 7. CHECK IN AND ROCK OUT, being the Birthplace of Rock and Roll

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WESTIN MEMPHIS BEALE STREET With state-of-the-art event space offering comfort and service, The Westin Memphis Beale Street can accommodate groups of any size. Our flexible meeting facilities are made up of nine separate meeting rooms.

From grand receptions in the Mississippi Ballroom to more intimate meetings in the Delta Boardroom, our expert staff will assist you with every aspect of planning.

Perfect for larger corporate or social functions, the 3,000 squarefoot Mississippi Ballroom is an elegant and versatile facility. Up to 300 guests can gather inside for a seminar with large projection screens or a multi-course dinner.

For smaller events, the ballroom can be divided into three separate sections, and a spacious prefunction space allows guests to mingle before the doors open.

The smaller, more intimate 1,400 square-foot Tennessee Ballroom is outfitted in neutral tones and floor-to-ceiling windows that allow ample sunlight. The balcony looks out over Downtown Memphis.

The Delta Boardroom is ideal for executive meetings and intimate functions. A wall of windows lets in light while affording inspiring views of the FedEx Forum and the Gibson

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Guitar Factory. Comfortable leather chairs surround a rich wood table, while a private antechamber is a convenient spot for a quick break.

The Westin Memphis Beale Street at 170 Lt. George W. Lee Avenue, has 203 guest rooms and one unique form of room service: Check In and Rock Out. Guests can call the front desk and order a Gibson Custom Shop electric guitar delivered to their room with a virtual amp and headphones. You can rock out in the privacy of your hotel room and then visit the Gibson Factory and the Gibson Beale Street Showcase directly across the street.

For dining, the Westin Memphis Beale Street’s chic, sophisticated ambience of Bleu Restaurant & Lounge blends with the accommodating and welcoming Memphis vibe.

SPECIFICATIONS

4 Diamond Rated, all catering provided in house offering a wide range of appetizers, entrees, and dessert options available. Our amazing chef is happy to customize a menu perfect for any event.

BARTENDERS: Full Bar and or Beer/Wine options available PRESENTATIONS: Full sound mixing capabilities, include lighting and stage setups; outside vendors permitted CATERING:

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT:

Group Sales at 901.334.5920, lorraine.chatman@westinmemphis.com

WEBSITE: Westin.com/BealeStreet

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we offer a whole new kind of room service, courtesy of Gibson Guitar.

Guests can call the front desk and order a Gibson Guitar of their choice to play in their room during their stay.

8. The Mississippi Ballroom (3,030 sq. ft.) set classroom style 9. The Tennessee Ballroom (1,400

sq. ft.) offers floor to ceiling windows and a balcony overlooking the FedEx Forum and Beale Street.

10. The Tennessee Ballroom (1,400 sq. ft.) is perfect for meetings, receptions, rehearsal dinners and/or brunch.

11. Bleu Lounge is where locals come

to meet friends, where professionals come for a drink after work, and where visitors go to take a break from the fast pace of Beale Street.

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P O W E R

P L A Y E R S

Healthcare Administration

Doctors and nurses aren’t the only ones keeping our hospitals running, and the people in the business of saving lives aren’t always the ones wearing stethoscopes. The following POWER PLAYERS are responsible for making healthcare delivery run smoothly, so that doctors can do their jobs and you can get the care you need. Administrators make sure hospitals and clinics operate efficiently and provide appropriate medical care to patients. While doctors strive to keep the blood flowing and the heart beating, the hospital administrator is doing his or her job keeping the hospital alive and healthy. These individuals also have their fingers on the pulse of change and growth in the healthcare industry and the need to expand, raise money for such expansions, and purchase the most state-of-the-art equipment for every area of the hospital.

MERI ARMOUR President, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. M.S.N. and M.B.A., Case Western Reserve University Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and CWRU Weatherhead School of Management. Appointed in 2007. Led Le Bonheur to become one of the nation’s Best Children’s Hospitals as named by U.S. News & World Report. Focus on expanding community programs, research, recruiting, and retaining top talent. Opened 255-bed hospital in 2010, currently planning a $65 million expansion.

Board member, Urban Child Institute, Tennessee Women’s Association, UTHSC Research and Technology Development, Hospital Wing, Children’s Hospital Alliance of Tennessee, and Memphis Research Consortium.

Former board member, Children’s Hospital Association and Child Health Corporation of America.

KIM AVERY Administrator and General Counsel, Mid-South Pulmonary Specialists, P.C. B.B.A., International Business and Economics; M.B.A. Healthcare Economics, and J.D., University of Memphis. Clinic is one of largest pulmonary and critical care practices in the Southeast, specializing in the treatment of patients with respiratory illnesses as well as sleep medicine and intensivist services. Has been with the practice for 18 years. Also consults for primary care and other specialties.

KENNARD BROWN Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Operations Officer, University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC). Assistant Professor, College of Pharmacy, and Department of Surgery, College of Medicine; Chief Administrative Officer, UTHSC campus. Ph.D., Health Science Administration, UTHSC; J.D., University of Memphis. Fellow, American College of Healthcare 56 |

Executives. Previous director, Office of Equity and Diversity, Office of Employee Relations, and Center on Health Disparities.

REGINALD COOPWOOD President and CEO, Regional One Health. Board-certified surgeon.

Immediate past chair, Tennessee Hospital Association Board and American Hospital Association’s Governing Council on Metropolitan Hospitals. Chair, MidSouth e-Health Alliance and Memphis Division, March of Dimes. Member, March of Dimes Tennessee State Chapter and BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Board. Recipient, 2010 Individual Leader in Health, Community Health Charities of Tennessee; 2013 Tennessee Hospital Association Diversity Champion; and 2014 CEO of the Year Award, Inside Memphis Business.

PAUL DEPRIEST Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Baptist Memorial Health Care. B.S., Eastern Kentucky University, and M.D., University of Kentucky College of Medicine. Later, completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology and a fellowship in gynecological oncology at the University of Kentucky Medical Center.

Master’s degree in healthcare management, Harvard School of Public Health. Named one of the five “Top Doctors for Women” in the South by Women’s Health magazine. Board member, Medical Education and Research Institute and Select Health Alliance.

JAMES DOWNING President and CEO, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Research focused on improving treatment of childhood cancers. Instrumental in launching Pediatric Cancer Genome Project, which made TIME’s 2012 list of top 10 medical breakthroughs. 2013 finalist on TIME’s 100 most

influential people in the world list. Elected to Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. Architect of recent six-year plan to expand St. Jude clinical care and research programs in Memphis and around the world.

DEBBIE EDDLESTONE CEO, Stern Cardiovascular Foundation.

B.A., Education, LSU. Practice offers comprehensive approach to wellness and preventive medicine with 11 MidSouth locations. In 2011, Stern partnered with Baptist Memorial Health Care and in 2012 merged with Memphis Heart Clinic, making it the largest cardiology group in the area. Board Member, American Heart Association, MGMA, National Association for Professional Women, and Medaxiom. Named to Memphis Business Journal’s Superwomen in Business.

Named a 2017 CEO of the Year by Inside Memphis Business.

AUDREY GREGORY CEO of St. Francis Healthcare responsible for overseeing all areas of operations at Saint Francis Hospital-Memphis and Saint Francis Hospital-Bartlett. Earned a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in nursing, and a master’s degree in healthcare administration from Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Georgia, and a Ph.D. in global leadership, concentrating in corporate and organizational management, from Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida.

BILL GRIFFIN Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Baptist Memorial Health Care. Bachelor of Accountancy, University of Mississippi. Former Vice President of Corporate Finance, Baptist; Chief Financial Officer, Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle; Chief Financial Officer, Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis. Certified public accountant and a chartered global management accountant. A fellow of the Healthcare Financial Management Association and

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an HFMA-certified healthcare financial professional.

Serves on the board of directors of Christ Community Health Services, the Medical Education Research Institute and Mississippi True.

JOHN GROSS Practice Administrator, Shea Clinic.

B.A., LSU. Comprehensive ENT medical practice and surgery center specializing in treatment of chronic hearing and balance disorders. Member, Leadership Council and Association of Otolaryngology Administrators. Elected National Program Chairperson, AOA Annual Institute in San Francisco. Starkey Foundation 2013 Director’s Award for providing outstanding help to the hearing impaired within the Memphis community. Starkey Foundation 2014 Millennium Award in recognition of those whose lives embody their mission of “So the World May Hear.”

DAVID HARANO CEO, Gastro One. B.B.A., Finance, Emory University. M.B.A. and M.H.A., Georgia State. Former Chair, Medical Group Management Association’s Gastroenterology Administration Assembly. Board member, Preventing Colorectal Cancer. Chairman, Colorectal Cancer Committee, Tennessee Cancer Coalition. Member, Tennessee Group Practice Coalition, Memphis Medical Group Management Association, Baptist Healthcare Services Group Advisory Board, and MetroCare Physicians Practice Advisory Forum.

ALISA R. HAUSHALTER Named director of Shelby County Health Department in 2016. Leads local public health efforts to promote, protect, and improve health in Shelby County. The department provides public health services including environmental, laboratory, infectious disease, immunization, child health, health promotion and public health emergency response. SCHD is responsible for inmate health and providing medical examiner services. Alumna and faculty member of University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Nursing. On boards of the United Way of the Mid-South, Community Foundation, and ACE Awareness Task Force. Received 2017 John W. Runyan, Jr. Community Nursing Leader Award, the 2015 Nemours’ Leonard L. Berry Award for Service Excellence Finalist, the 2014 Nemours Transformational Nursing Leader Award, and the 2012 Middle Tennessee March of Dimes Public Health Nurse of the Year Award.

GEORGE HERNANDEZ CEO, Campbell Clinic Orthopaedics, and Executive Director, The Campbell Foundation. 2012 Large Business of the Year, Germantown Area Chamber of Commerce. Board member, Germantown Area Chamber of Commerce. City of Germantown Planning Commission member and Germantown Police Department Reserve.

Committee Chairman, American Academy of Orthopaedic

Executives. Member, Board of Examiners, Healthcare Financial Management Association.

JOHN A LEWIS CEO, Semmes-Murphey Clinic, which offers neurosurgery, neurology, physiatry, and pain management and serves all major medical centers in the Memphis area. Lewis earned his M.B.A. at Christian Brothers University and is a CPA, CITP, Certified IT Project Manager and a Fellow in the American College of Medical Practice Executives. His experience includes public accounting, manufacturing, logistics, information technology, project management, and healthcare management. He is a member of the Tennessee Association of CPAs, American Institute of CPAs, and the Medical Group Management Association. His community activities include service as the Memphis Heart Ball Chair, Senior Warden for Church of the Holy Communion, the Executive Board of the American Heart Association, the Executive Board of Shelby County Books from Birth (Imagination Library), and the national board of the Neurosurgery Executive Resource and Value Education Society.

JASON LITTLE President and CEO, Baptist Memorial Health Care. Former Executive Vice President and COO, Baptist; and CEO Baptist Memphis, Baptist Golden Triangle, and Baptist Collierville.

Recipient, Early Career Healthcare Executive Award, American College of Healthcare Executives. Board, Tennessee Hospital Association.

West Tennessee Vice President, Tennessee Business Roundtable. Board of Trustees, New Memphis. Alumni Board, University of Tennessee; Board, Greater Memphis Chamber. Industry Council, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

BETTY SUE MCGARVEY President, Baptist College of Health Sciences. Earned Ph.D. in Nursing from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Received the Distinguished Alumni Award from University of Tennessee Health

Science Center School of Nursing, the University of Memphis Lowenberg School of Nursing, and Baptist College of Health Sciences. President, Memphis Rotary Club and board member, Leadership Memphis.

ERICH MOUNCE CEO, The West Clinic and West Cancer Center. B.S., Business, University of Southern California. B.S. and M.H.A. in Health Administration, California State University, Northridge. Previously, CEO of Lakeside Systems/Lakeside Comprehensive Healthcare in Glendale, California.

Developed DC Healthcare Alliance, a public private partnership to provide care for the underserved Washington, DC population. Helped to formulate a three-way collaboration among Methodist, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, and The West Clinic to create the West Cancer Center, an innovative effort to combine expertise and provide new research and access to Phase I through Phase III clinical trials.

LEWIS REICH President, Southern College of Optometry. Graduate of University of California at Berkeley. Completed Residency in low vision rehabilitation at Pennsylvania College of Optometry.

Secretary, Memphis Medical District Collaborative. Serves on board of directors for National Board of Examiners in Optometry. Chair, Academy’s Maintenance of Fellowship Committee. Fellow, American Academy of Optometry. Former Chair, Optometry Admissions Test Committee; Chief Academic Officers; OptomCAS committee. Research funded by National Eye Institute and the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.

STEVE SCHWAB Chancellor, University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC).

Internationally recognized physician and researcher in kidney disease. Led UTHSC to position as one of the region’s largest healthcare providers and the state’s largest healthcare educator with major campus and practice locations in Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, and Nashville. Board member, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, UT Medical Center (Knoxville), Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, and Saint Thomas Health System (Nashville).

MICHAEL O. UGWUEKE President and Chief Executive Officer, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare. B.S., Shaw University; M.P.H., Emory; and D.H.A., South Carolina. 2012 Modern Healthcare “Top 25 Minority Executives.” Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives. Member, National Association of Health Services Executives. Former board member, Memphis Academy of Health Sciences, Boys & Girls Club of Greater Memphis, and the American Heart Association, Greater Southeast Area.

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At Work: IMB Goes to the Candy Store

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For the past several weeks, Inside Memphis Business has been sending out its Tip Sheet, quick items of interest about business in Memphis. The weekly email blast is free and anyone can get it. Go to our website InsideMemphisBusiness. com and sign up there.

Here are a few recent items:

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At Work: The sole of a city

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hen your shoes are ready at Nu-Life Shoe Repair, it’s very possible you’ll get a phone call from Cindy Marlowe, who works along with owner Alvin Hooper in the tiny shop suffused with the smell of leather and the sound of motors spinning multiple buffing belts.

Marlowe says her dedication and purpose is much like that of any doctor or nurse who goes in every day to do the very best job possible.

Hooper has been in the shoe fixing business for 38 years, first running a

shop at Trigg and Wellington. For the last two decades, he’s been at 699 Waring Rd., in a strip mall just north of Summer Avenue.

The shoe repair industry isn’t what it was. Low cost imports aren’t helping when it’s cheaper to buy new than get them fixed. And younger people are less likely to use shoe repair services. Market research firm IBISWorld says that, as of May, 2017, there are 6,142 working in the business nationally. And its annual growth is only 2 percent. But if you›ve got a favorite pair of shoes, an upgrade can keep them going a lot longer.

Gary Wilkes

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JON W. SPARKS

Cindy Marlowe

his year is the 70th birthday of Wayne’s Candy Company, Inc., [waynescandy.com] a place with sugar in the air and nostalgia at every turn. And bags and boxes and forklifts with crates full of candy from around the world.

The shop at 164 East Carolina has several aisles stocked warehouse-style with candy brands you’ve never heard of and many you remember from childhood. “It’s surprising the amount of nostalgia candy we have,” says Gary Wilkes, whose father, Wayne, started the company after coming home from World War II. “One of our biggest nostalgia sellers are candy cigarettes, but you can’t call them that anymore,” he says. “You have to say candy sticks.”

There’s also Bit-O-Honey, Jolly Rancher, Slo Poke, Pop Rocks – scads of labels. But the store also carries five-gallon pickles, snow cones, pigs feet, nacho supplies, World’s Finest fundraising packages, chips and more.

When you look around the store, you see an impressive selection, but, as Wilkes says, it’s only about 10 percent of the property. Started in 1947, it occupied its current store in 1953 and has since added warehouse space in 1975, 1978 and 1999, adding up to around 30,000 square feet.

The ample space is able to take in the occasional opportunity buy. One time, Wilkes says, Kmart changed its mind on taking several tractor-trailers filled with Almond Joy. Wayne’s acquired all of them.

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Sometimes, Wilkes says, he wants to brag about his operation that brings in stock from all over the world. “But really,” he says with a grin, “I sell candy.”

By the way, if you go, don’t bother with the credit cards. Wayne’s accepts “cash, paper checks with proper identification, and rolled coins.” You might want to hit up an ATM first.

Take a look at the MEM of the future

inaugural event. The objective was for students to learn investment strategies suitable for use by hedge funds.

Hedge fund managers chosen by the Southeastern Hedge Fund Association judged anonymously submitted investment strategy proposals. The top six finalists were then invited to Atlanta to present their investment strategies to a panel of SEHFA judges.

T

he modernization plan for Memphis International Airport will add moving walkways, wider corridors, higher ceilings, natural lighting and larger boarding areas into Concourse B. If you want to see what it’ll look like, you’ll find a virtual tour here [flymemphis.com/ modernization], complete with attractive avatars who are far better attired than typical air travelers.

There’s not much evidence of old people and very few children (but there is a play area). And there’s a bandstand which, presumably, will offer Memphis music although the video provides only generic smooth jazz.

For a look at the plan, see Toby Sells’ recent story in the Memphis Flyer here: [memphisflyer.com/NewsBlog/ archives/2017/04/20/the-new-newplan-for-memphis-internationalairport].

Hedge Fund bosses

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team of four students from the Fogelman College of Business & Economics at the University of Memphis was recently awarded the first-place prize in the Southeastern Hedge Fund Competition.

Vivek Sharma, instructor in the Department of Finance, Insurance and Real Estate, served as the faculty coordinator for the team of Aubrey Ballard, Eithel McGowen LaTorre, Joseph Pascarella, and Charles Rodgers. The team received a $10,000 scholarship prize for its first-place finish at the competition held at Georgia State University in Atlanta.

Teams of students from 39 universities and colleges participated in the

Tennessee Medical Association votes “Nay” on the AHCA

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ave Chaney, vice president of the Tennessee Medical Association, said in a statement that the Senate’s proposal to amend the Affordable Care Act doesn’t pass muster.

In February, TMA recommended several priorities for lawmakers to consider. It says the Senate bill proposed in June isn’t consistent with those priorities and doesn’t do much to improve over the American Health Care Act passed by the House in May. “If Congress reduces federal funding for Medicaid, then Tennessee will be unable to cover more people without changing TennCare eligibility requirements or cutting benefits,” Chaney says. “And while the bill’s premium tax credits are more palatable than those in the House-passed legislation, reducing from current levels will adversely affect premiums for many Americans. The bill offers no real solutions to help Tennesseans purchase coverage on the individual marketplace, which is already unstable and unaffordable in our state due to lack

of competition and choice.”

TMA says it has supported the idea of block grants or a per-capita allotment to give more states flexibility in how they administer Medicaid programs. “If adequately funded, the additional flexibility could allow Tennessee to better serve its most vulnerable populations. In both the AHCA and the Senate bill, however, federal funding would decrease from current levels.”

The organization also says the current system for purchasing affordable health insurance needs to be stabilized.

“Consumers need more than one insurer to have options for the coverage they need at rates they can afford. With no individual mandate or requirement for health plans to cover essential health benefits, we see no real solutions for providing affordable, practical coverage for individuals who need it most.”

TMA says a reduction in funding “will exacerbate our already poor public health status in Tennessee because people will not be able to afford the care they need, including primary care, preventive medicine and appropriate chronic disease management. Doctors and hospitals will still treat uninsured patients, especially in the ER, and absorb those costs, contributing to the overall rising cost of healthcare in Tennessee.

Cutting costs at the federal level will not necessarily trickle down to decrease the cost of healthcare in the private sector.”

TMA is the state’s largest professional association for physicians with a membership of 9,000.

Tennessee. Here’s the list, from 1 to 10: Winchester, Crossville, Fayetteville, Loudon, Pigeon Forge, Kingston, Sweetwater, Kingsport, La Follette, Manchester.

Memphis is cycling to the top

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ifty-three of the nation’s largest cities were surveyed by RewardExpert.com on how biking friendly they are.

At 24, Memphis did middling well overall, but it did score as the No. 1 “up and coming” city for bicycling.

The survey compared and evaluated the cities on 13 key metrics across four categories: biking infrastructure, city profile, bike-share index, and biking safety.

The survey approvingly noted that, “Memphis plans to implement a bike-share program in 2017. To gear up for the program, the city has already expanded its bike lanes. Once Memphis fully and successfully implements its bike-share program, the city will become much more bike-friendly.”

The up-and-coming category reflects cities that have significantly improved in the past three years and either have implemented a citywide bike-share program in the last six months or have a bike-share program being implemented soon.

For more on the local share effort, check out the Better Bike Share Partnership at betterbikeshare.org.

Retirees are going elsewhere

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ou know people who retire and move from Memphis to Middle and East Tennessee, right?

There’s a reason for that. SmartAsset, a financial technology company, has issued its third annual study on the Best Places to Retire. Cities are rated by tax friendliness, recreational and social opportunities for seniors, and availability of medical care.

Of the top 10, not one is in West AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2017 | INSIDE MEMPHIS BUSINESS.COM |

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No ve m

M P 4 ber 11 • 10AM -

Mark your calendars now for a fun and free curated exhibition and sale of handmade crafts from area makers and artisans.

Saturday November 11th

10am- 4pm in the

Crosstown area .

At our third annual Memphis Flyer

Crafts and Drafts, guests will enjoy:

holiday shopping

Proceeds benefit Crosstown Arts!

kids beer activities garden. and a

accepting vendor applications now through august 15th, 2017.

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7/11/17 9:10 AM

C O M M U N I T Y

P A R T N E R S H I P S

An Alliance to Conserve, Teach, and Play

Ring Container Technologies and the Wolf River Conservancy collaborate.

B Y

E M I LY

A D A M S

K E P L I N G E R

In 2015, the Wolf River Conservancy entered into a partnership with Ring Container Technologies, with the announcement of a $500,000 Ring Challenge Grant that was formally announced at WRC’s fundraiser, the Greenway Soirée. Proceeds during the evening’s “Fund A Need” portion of the live auction were matched dollarfor-dollar by Ring Container.

“Thanks to the Ring Challenge Grant, WRC has protected hundreds of additional wetlands in the Wolf River corridor, bringing our total number of protected wetlands to over 16,000 acres,” says Keith Cole, executive director of the Wolf River Conservancy. “No other company in the state of Tennessee has made this level of investment into land conservation Keith Cole and preservation.”

Ring Container is a plastic bottle supplier with 17 automated manufacturing facilities across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The company works with international food processors and suppliers including Stratas Foods, Cargill, Hormel, Con-Agra, and others to develop packaging for products such as dressings, sauces and oils, peanut butter, mayonnaise, snacks, and pet foods. In addition to its manufacturing facilities, it

also has three distribution centers and a corporate headquarters and research facility in Oakland, Tennessee. Companywide, it employs about 700 workers with 2017 projected sales of more than $400 million.

“We have an incredibly strong focus on sustainability and because the Wolf R iver flows near our headquarters and the homes Ben Livingston of many of our team members, this partnership made complete sense,” says Ben Livingston, president of Ring Container Technologies. “Our wetlands and watershed are amazing assets for the Memphis region and protecting them should be a top priority.”

Established in 1985, WRC is dedicated to the protection and enhancement of the Wolf River and its watershed as a sustainable natural resource.

“The Wolf River Conservancy has three major focus areas that

reflect the mission of the organization,” says Barbara Kabakoff, chief development officer. They are: Conservation — Protecting more than 16,000 acres along the Wolf River watershed to improve air and water quality, provide healthy habitats for plants and animals, and protect land and water.

Education — In the past year, WRC has worked with about 2,392 young people and 1,027 adults in service projects, classroom and community programs, field trips, workshops, and a lecture series.

Recreation — More than 600 paddlers participated in recreation and outreach trips.

“The Wolf River Conservancy is also making strides in completing the 22-plus-mile Wolf River Greenway trail within the Memphis city limits by 2019-2020,” says Cole. “This urban greenway will help connect many communities within the city and supports our three focus areas of conservation, education, and recreation today and for future generations.”

Jim Gilliland, a Ring shareholder and longtime supporter of the Wolf River Conservancy, was instrumental in getting the challenge grant and creating the partnership. The challenge grant was launched in 2015 and Ring Container has supported three land conservation projects representing about 300 acres of strategically important lands

to the conservancy’s watershed management plan.

WRC also hosts the Greenway Soirée, the organization’s largest annual fundraiser. This year, it’s November 11th at Opera Memphis.

Kabakoff says that fundraising continues year-round, with a variety of opportunities for the public to get to know the Wolf River.

“On the first Saturday of every month, guided trips (First Saturday Paddles) led by Wolf River Conservancy Volunteer River Guides, are offered to take members down various sections of the Wolf River,” says Kabakoff.

“Twice a year, the public is invited to embark on a Ghost River Eco Tour,” says Kabakoff. “The afternoon paddle on the Ghost Section of the Wolf River includes canoe rental and dinner on a sandbar.”

WRC also offers team-building experiences — including paddling outings and eco tours — as well as service project experiences.

WRC has embarked on a strategic planning process. Already under way is Phase 1 of “Confluence Park,” just north of Mud Island, which will include Wolf River Greenway Grand Opening events.

The Wolf River Conservancy is at 2693 Union Avenue Ext., Suite 205. For more information, go to wolfriver.org or call 901-452-6500.

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY WOLF RIVER CONSERVANCY

• • •

Areas that the Wolf River Conservancy has been able to protect thanks to funding from Ring Container Technologies.

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The Office Ken Dowling Y&R

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C I C C I

• • • PHOTOGRAPHS BY LARRY KUZNIEWSKI

For the new kid on the block, it can be difficult to find a place in the community.

However, it helps to have a friend who can show you around. For New York-based Y&R (Young & Rubicam), marketing, their acquisition of the U.S. Navy as a client paved the way for the firm’s expansion into Memphis. “They’ve been a dream client so far,” says Ken Dowling, Managing Director at Y&R’s new Memphis office. “These guys are fantastic. We love working with them, and they love coming down here.

Part of the pitch from Y&R was to put this office here and have that proximity so that we could cultivate this relationship.” Getting started was no easy task, but Y&R found Memphis to be fertile ground for their burgeoning naval campaign.

“The level of people and talent in this market is tremendous, looking at other agencies and St. Jude.

We can go out looking for someone with a specific talent, because that talent is right here in Memphis.” Creative types from around the area have joined the team at Y&R to help service the Navy’s campaign, a $457 million, five-year contract. Since Y&R also acts as a holding company, employees from multiple agencies currently reside in Y&R’s downtown office space at 80 Monroe Ave. Since the Navy was such a large client, Y&R needed to find the best employees spanning multiple agencies to produce its best work. VML, Burson Marsteller, Wonderman,

and Uniworld Group all handle different aspects of the operation, but getting them to work together hasn’t been a challenge.

“We had one guy from the navy come in and say that he couldn’t tell which firm people were from,” says Dowling. “People cluster more by skill set. I don’t want anyone to lose their connection to where they came from, but they’re here as part of this office in Memphis. It has its own culture and style now.”

The main room is wide open, allowing for easy communication and collaboration. “It’s an ad agency, so the office is open space,” says Dowling. Some creative types can hold a group meeting in one corner near a creative director’s desk,

while another half of the space, set up with couches, a tv, and a writable wall, allows for note taking and brainstorming.

The communal environment extends to the kitchen. “A big difference versus New York is that there, people don’t bring their lunch to work. We built this out and 40 people are bringing stuff from home. There’s the opportunity to meet and mingle, watch some TV, and see what else is going on.”

The collaboration and comingling has ensured a friendly and productive work environment for the Y&R staff. However, if privacy is still required, one only needs to explore the Million Dollar Quartet-themed conference rooms.

1. First U.S. Navy Jack: The First navy Jack is the current U.S. Jack authorized by the United States Navy.

The jack dates back to the Revolutionary War, where “Don’t Tread on Me” became a popular slogan. The rattlesnake’s rattle has 13 layers, signifying the original 13 colonies. The selection of the rattlesnake was used to convey that the U.S. would only strike if provoked. The snake symbol was officially adopted in 1778.

2. Writable Wall: The writable walls at Y&R’s office allow coworkers to congregate and exchange ideas, as well as have public meeting, allowing anyone to chip in with ideas. There are two in the office, on separate sides, as well as movable whiteboards.

3. Memphis Belle painting: Upon the opening of the office, several employees scoured the town for local works of art. With the intent of creating a very ‘Memphis’ office, the Memphis Belle painting was one of the first items procured as decoration.

4. Managing Director Ken Dowling’s “office” is simply a workstation like any other in the building. His proximity to the rest of his employees makes it easier to work with others and to ask him questions throughout the course of a day. Dowling himself has extensive experience in the ad world, and

has enjoyed his time in Memphis so far. “I started at Y&R right ouf of school and spent nine to ten years there. I was out of the market for a couple of years before heading back to New York City with Grey Advertising for 15 years.

They and Y&R are in the same recruiting company, so when Y&R won this business, they asked me to come down and manage this office. It’s a change from New York, but that’s fantastic. I love this city, this market, it’s a city on the rise and we’re working closely with hte city itself and have been involved with stuff right from the get-go.

5. Don’t Give Up the Ship: During the War of 1812, James Lawrence commanded the USS Chesapeake in a single-ship action against HMS Shannon. When wounded, he ordered his officers “Don’t Give Up the Ship, fight her ‘til she sinks.” The Chesapeake was eventually overwhelmed by a boarding party, and Lawrence died of his wounds on June 4, 1813. His fellow officer Oliver Hazard Perry ordered a large blue ensign with “Don’t Give up the Ship” to be displayed on his vessel.

6. Elvis Presley Conference Room: “If this was just solely Y&R, we’d built it off Ray Rubicam, but knowing we have five or six different groups here, part of the buildout of this was to ask ‘what’s the culture we’re going to develop

and really organize around?’ So, we decided to organize around Memphis.

We’re new here, there’s a cool spirit to this town, and you’ll find around the office some military stuff and some Memphis stuff. All four conference rooms are named after the Million Dollar Quartet: Cash, Perkins, Jerry Lee, and Elvis. This company up in Brooklyn called Flavor Paper makes amazing wallpaper, so we got this Elvis wallpaper and put that up. It’s an ad agency, so it’s very quirky, you’ll see lots of funny stuff around.

7. “Damn the Torpedoes:” One of many naval banners hanging throughout the office, “Damn the Torpedoes” is a quote widely attributed to Tennessee-born Union Rear Admiral David G. Farragut during the Civil War’s Battle of Mobile Bay. The battle’s renown is due to Farragut’s dash through a Confederate minefield, before which he yelled “Damn the Torpedoes! Go ahead!” The successful run led to eventual victory for the Union navy.

8. Challenge Coins: “When people do amazing things, you want to reward their contributions. You’ll be somewhere and you’ll reach out and shake their hand, and they’ll find a coin in there. It’s called coining people.”

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F R O M

T H E

A R C H I V E S

The Goodwyn Institute

An “elaborate fantasy on the Beaux-Arts theme.”

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VA N C E

L A U D E R D A L E

Very little, it seems, is known about William Adolphus Goodwyn, the founder of the Goodwyn Institute. Most histories mention that he was a successful cotton merchant here before the Civil War, and he later moved to Nashville, where he died in 1898. Though he had left our city behind, in his will he bequeathed his entire fortune for a public library and an annual series of educational lectures.

The Goodwyn Institute opened in 1907 at the southwest corner of Third and Madison. Historian Paul Coppock observed that the seven-story building “was notable for four large columns above the entrance and for lions’ heads in terra-cotta, with abundant white terra-cotta decorations.” The old postcard shown

here gives you some idea of the grandeur of this structure, which cost some $300,000 to build — an enormous sum in those days.

The top floor held the library, and the third floor was taken up by a 900-seat auditorium. The rest of the building held various offices and, at one time, the WMC radio station.

ABOVE: The top floor of the Goodwyn Institute held an impressive public library.

LEFT: A downtown landmark for five decades, the building was demolished to build the headquarters of First National (now First Tennesee) Bank.

ABOVE: Bette Stalnacker, the religious recording artist, got her start performing in the Goodwyn Institute auditorium. She purchased four massive columns from the facade and installed them across the front of her home in Central Gardens.

The authors of Memphis: An Architectural Guide thought highly of this landmark, calling it “an elaborate fantasy on the BeauxArts theme.” By the 1960s, however, the building was showing its age, lacking such amenities as central air conditioning, and the auditorium was far too large for the lecture series, which no longer drew the crowds it had in the past.

About this time, First National (now First Tennessee) Bank, just across Third Street, was looking for a new home, and they agreed to swap properties with the Goodwyn Institute. The bank would erect a new headquarters on the site, the Goodwyn lecture series would move to Memphis State University, and the library — which had grown into an impressive technical and business collection — would relocate to the downtown Cossitt branch of the Memphis Public Library system.

But that didn’t please a group called the Committee for the Preservation of the Goodwyn Institute Research Library, Auditorium, and Trust. Members protested that the original Goodwyn deed prevented the organization from being split up, or the property sold to private developers.

The dispute went all the way to the Tennessee Supreme Court, but everyone finally decided this was a good plan after all, and the wrecking crews got to work clearing the site for the bank’s new headquarters building — a downtown landmark to this day.

Several architectural elements

of the Goodwyn building have survived around Memphis.

A 1962 Commercial Appeal article headlined “Old Goodwyn’s Pillars Find New Home” said that new home belonged to Ed and Bette Stalnecker at 688 South McLean (shown as it looks today).

“The religious recording artist,” the article explained, “bought the columns to remind her of her childhood audition days at the Goodwyn Institute.”

What impressed me was the impulsive nature of the Stalneckers’ purchase. They didn’t really need them on their home, but they were determined to find a place for them, and the CA article noted, “Their roof will be extended to fit the new addition.” Now the two authors of that architectural guide didn’t really like that idea, observing that the house “gained in pretension, if not in grace,” when the columns were installed. At the same time, they admitted, “It’s good, of course, that the columns were not thrown away.”

That’s not all. Barely visible from the street, a row of terracotta lion’s heads adorned the roofline of the Madison Avenue side of the building. Three of those heads were salvaged, converted to fountains, and mounted on a brick wall outside the First Tennessee building erected in the mid-1960s at Poplar and Mendenhall.

And the Goodwyn Institute Lecture Series? It’s still active to this day, “concentrating on illustrated lectures covering all areas of the world.”

ALL IMAGES COURTESY VANCE LAUDERDALE

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Safety: 7.875”

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*See the FedEx Service Guide for locations served. © 2017 FedEx.

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