Images Tupelo, MS: 2009-10

2009-10 | IMAGESTUPELO.COM ®

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TUPELO, MISSISSIPPI

OLD WEST MEETS DEEP SOUTH AN INDUSTRY SITTING PRETTY Town remains regional hub of furniture manufacturing

What’s s e Online Video tour of Elvis Presley’s birthplace

A Healthy Imagination Museum uses fun and games to teach health lessons SPONSORED BY THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION

2009-10 EDITION | VOLUME 8 ®

TUPELO, MISSISSIPPI

CO NTE NT S F E AT U R E S 14 A HEALTHY IMAGINATION HealthWorks! interactive museum mixes laughter with learning.

18 OLD WEST MEETS DEEP SOUTH Tupelo Buffalo Park and Zoo brings a bit of the Old West to Tupelo.

22 SUPER SERVICE MADE TO ORDER Danver’s down-home restaurant serves up soups, salads and plenty of smiles.

34 A NOTEWORTHY SUCCESS Tupelo Symphony takes its show on the road as part of regional outreach program.

38 COMMUNITY ACTIVE-ISM Residents work toward increasing parks and recreation offerings.

42 PRINCE OF TUPELO Historic home site celebrates Elvis Presley’s early years.

46 HEALTH CARE 2.0 26 A TALE OF TWO TUPELOS Diverse housing options make this Southern city the perfect choice for newcomers.

30 PET PROJECT Rare Toyota model is driving visitors to the Tupelo Automobile Museum.

High-tech advancements keep North Mississippi Medical Center in tip-top shape.

50 REEL GOOD FISHING Tupelo’s lakes, rivers and waterways earn reputation as an angler’s paradise.

ON THE COVER HealthWorks! interactive museum Photo by Antony Boshier

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D E PA R TM E NT S

TUPELO BUSINESS 10 Almanac: a colorful sampling of Tupelo’s culture

56 Image Gallery 60 Portfolio: people, places and events that define Tupelo

79 Health & Wellness

66 An Industry Sitting Pretty Tupelo remains a regional hub of furniture manufacturing.

70 Biz Briefs 73 Chamber Report 74 Economic Profile

81 Arts & Culture 82 Sports & Recreation 85 Education 86 Community Profile: facts, stats and important numbers to know

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imagestupelo.com THE DEFINITIVE RELOCATION RESOURCE

What’s Onl Online n

PICTURE PERFECT We’ve added even more of our prize-winning photography to the online gallery. To see these photos, click on Photo Gallery.

RELOCATION Considering a move to this community? We can help. Use our Relocation Tools to discover tips, including how to make your move green, advice about moving pets and help with booking movers.

VIDEOS In our Interactive section, watch quick videos by our editors and photographers featuring people, places and events.

FACTS & STATS Go online to learn even more about: • Schools • Health care

LOCAL FLAVOR

• Utilities

From barbecue to bread pudding, Tupelo dives dish out old-fashioned Southern cuisine. Get a taste of local flavor in our food section.

• Parks • Taxes

ABOUT THIS MAGAZINE Images gives readers a taste of what makes Tupelo tick – from business and education to sports, health care and the arts.

“Find the good – and praise it.”

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– Alex Haley (1921-1992), Journal Communications co-founder

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TUPELO, MISSISSIPPI COPY EDITOR JOYCE CARUTHERS ASSOCIATE EDITORS LISA BATTLES, SUSAN CHAPPELL, JESSY YANCEY STAFF WRITERS CAROL COWAN, KEVIN LITWIN CONTRIBUTING WRITERS SHARON H. FITZGERALD, ANNE GILLEM, MICHAELA JACKSON, JOE MORRIS, ANITA WADHWANI DATA MANAGER CHANDRA BRADSHAW INTEGRATED MEDIA MANAGER ANDREA JOINER SALES SUPPORT MANAGER CINDY HALL SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER BRIAN McCORD STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS JEFF ADKINS, TODD BENNETT, ANTONY BOSHIER, IAN CURCIO, J. KYLE KEENER PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT MANAGER ANNE WHITLOW CREATIVE DIRECTOR KEITH HARRIS ASSOCIATE PRODUCTION DIRECTOR CHRISTINA CARDEN PRODUCTION PROJECT MANAGERS MELISSA BRACEWELL, KATIE MIDDENDORF, JILL WYATT SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNERS LAURA GALLAGHER, KRIS SEXTON, VIKKI WILLIAMS LEAD DESIGNER CANDICE SWEET GRAPHIC DESIGN ERICA HINES, ALISON HUNTER, JESSICA MANNER, JANINE MARYLAND, AMY NELSON, MARCUS SNYDER WEB IMPLEMENTATION DIRECTOR ANDY HARTLEY WEB DESIGN DIRECTOR FRANCO SCARAMUZZA WEB PROJECT MANAGER YAMEL RUIZ WEB DESIGN CARL SCHULZ WEB PRODUCTION JENNIFER GRAVES COLOR IMAGING TECHNICIAN TWILA ALLEN AD TRAFFIC MARCIA MILLAR, PATRICIA MOISAN, RAVEN PETTY

CHAIRMAN GREG THURMAN PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER BOB SCHWARTZMAN EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT RAY LANGEN SR. V.P./CLIENT DEVELOPMENT JEFF HEEFNER SR. V.P./SALES CARLA H. THURMAN SR. V.P./OPERATIONS CASEY E. HESTER V.P./SALES HERB HARPER V.P./SALES TODD POTTER V.P./VISUAL CONTENT MARK FORESTER V.P./EDITORIAL DIRECTOR TEREE CARUTHERS V.P./CUSTOM PUBLISHING KIM NEWSOM MANAGING EDITOR/BUSINESS BILL McMEEKIN MANAGING EDITOR/COMMUNITY KIM MADLOM PRODUCTION DIRECTOR NATASHA LORENS PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR JEFFREY S. OTTO CONTROLLER CHRIS DUDLEY ACCOUNTING MORIAH DOMBY, DIANA GUZMAN, MARIA McFARLAND, LISA OWENS RECRUITING/TRAINING DIRECTOR SUZY SIMPSON DISTRIBUTION DIRECTOR GARY SMITH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR YANCEY TURTURICE IT SERVICE TECHNICIAN RYAN SWEENEY HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER PEGGY BLAKE SALES SUPPORT RACHAEL GOLDSBERRY SALES/MARKETING COORDINATOR RACHEL MATHEIS EXECUTIVE SECRETARY/SALES SUPPORT KRISTY DUNCAN OFFICE MANAGER SHELLY GRISSOM RECEPTIONIST LINDA BISHOP

CU S TO M M AG A Z INE M ED I A

Images Tupelo is published annually by Journal Communications Inc. and is distributed through the Community Development Foundation and its member businesses.

For advertising information or to direct questions or comments about the magazine, contact Journal Communications Inc. at (615) 771-0080 or by e-mail at info@jnlcom.com.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Community Development Foundation 300 W. Main Street • Tupelo, MS 38804 Phone: (662) 842-4521 • Fax: (662) 841-0693 www.cdfms.org VISIT IMAGES TUPELO ONLINE AT IMAGESTUPELO.COM ©Copyright 2009 Journal Communications Inc., 725 Cool Springs Blvd., Suite 400, Franklin, TN 37067, (615) 771-0080. All rights reserved.

No portion of this magazine may be reproduced in whole or in part without written consent.

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Almanac

What Darkness Brings to Light March 28, 2009, will go down in history as the night the lights went out in Tupelo.

No, there was no storm. The voluntary blackout was part of the city’s recognition of Earth Hour, a global initiative to bring to light issues surrounding the environment. For one hour, downtown restaurants shut off their lights in eco-solidarity. Some restaurants, such as Fairpark Grill, took the celebration to another level by offering dinner by candlelight. According to officials of the Downtown Tupelo Main Street Association, the Earth Hour celebration was just another example of the business community’s commitment to sustainability and environmental awareness.

Cruising Toward a Success With a successful 2009 event under their belt, organizers are already busy planning the 2010 Blue Suede Cruise, which they promise will be an even bigger and greater success.

The annual May event offers hard-core collectors the opportunity to show off their prized classic cars and network with other owners and vendors from across the state. But the Cruise isn’t just for automobile aficionados; five venues, live entertainment, food and a visit to the Tupelo Automobile Museum make this a must-do event for anyone.

Scholarly Approach Scholar Who be better to prepare tomorrow’s workforce than today’s business leaders?

Mississippi Scholars program pairs educators with business and civic The Missis leaders to create a special four-year curriculum for incoming high-school freshman aimed at preparing them for college and careers. Students selected participate in the program complete a rigorous course of study as well as to participa complete 20 hours of community service. Tupelo Middle School was one of only 14 schools in the state to participate in the pilot program. Since Mississippi initiative in 2003, more than 5,000 students have joined the nationwide n Scholars diplomas. graduated with w

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Fast Facts Q Approximately 80,000 people tour the Elvis Presley Birthplace attraction each year.

Q The Gum Tree Museum of Art is housed in a Beaux Arts-style building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Homegrown Goodness Helping the environment has never tasted so good as when you buy locally grown fruits and vegetables at the Downtown Tupelo Farmers’ Market.

Held each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning from May through October, the market attracts vendors and patrons from across the state’s northeast region.

A Mississippi Certified Farmers’ Market, Tupelo’s market features fresh flowers, plants, pastries and preserves. Vendors only have to pay $7 a day to rent a booth.

Art Out Loud For 38 years, Tupelo’s Gum Tree Festival has been giving visual and performing artists from across the country a stage on which to showcase their talents.

Typically held the first weekend in May, the festival features a songwriting competition, live musical performances, arts and crafts displays, as well as plenty of food and fun for the entire family.

The festival is sponsored by the Gum Tree Museum of Art, formerly the Tupelo Artist Guild Inc., a nonprofit organization that promotes the arts in Tupelo through educational opportunities for the community and display space for local artists.

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Q In 1934, Tupelo became the first city in America to buy electricity from the Tennessee Valley Authority. Residential electric rates in Tupelo today remain among the lowest in the nation.

Q Fishing is abundant in the Tupelo area, with popular spots such as Elvis Presley Lake, Lake Lamar Bruce and the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway.

Q The 1864 Battle of Tupelo was among the bloodiest Civil War battles in Mississippi.

Q The Tupelo Buffalo Park and Zoo attracts 200,000 visitors a year who can safely view the big beasts by riding aboard a Monster Bison Bus. Q The Tupelo Automobile Museum, which includes an 1886 Benz and an 1889 Knox Porcupine, is regarded as the official car museum for the state.

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Almanac

The Toast of the Town The Downtown Tupelo Main Street Association has found a new way to welcome spring – a free wine-tasting.

The event aptly dubbed Wine Down Main Street replaces the annual Burger Bash on Broadway as the DTMSA’s main spring event. Eleven local merchants participated in the inaugural tasting, with each offering a variety of wines to sample.

Attendees received wine glasses, T-shirts and could purchase tickets to Art for Animals, which raises money for the Tupelo-Lee Humane Society.

Driving Through the Decades Dating as far back as 1898, the antique, classic and collectible automobiles featured in the Tupelo Automobile Museum are a history book on wheels.

The museum, which began as a hobby of collector and museum founder Frank Spain, features more than 100 cars, including the 1976 Lincoln Mark IV gifted by native son Elvis Presley. Since opening in 2002, the museum has been a hit with both budding collectors and car novices alike – so much so that it was designated the state’s official automobile museum. The museum is open every day except Mondays for self-guided tours.

Tupelo At A Glance POPULATION Tupelo: 36,058 (2007) Lee County: 81,139 (2008)

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BEGINNINGS Tupelo was incorporated as a city in 1870, and its development was closely tied to the boom of the railroad industry.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Community Development Foundation 300 W. Main St. Tupelo, MS 38804 Phone: (662) 842-4521 Fax: (662) 841-0693 www.cdfms.org

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LOCATION Tupelo is in northeast Mississippi, 90 miles from Memphis, TN, and 165 miles from Jackson, MS.

Take a virtual tour of Tupelo, courtesy of our award-winning photographers, at imagestupelo.com.

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A

Healthy

Fun Dose of

MUSEUM USES HANDS-ON HUMOR TO TEACH HEALTH LESSONS

STORY BY MICHAELA JACKSON | PHOTOGRAPHY BY J. KYLE KEENER

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ot many school field trips start with a talking brain discussing the importance of flossing. But then, you’d be hard pressed to find anything typical about HealthWorks!, an interactive health-education museum in Tupelo.

The city’s teachers bring their classes to HealthWorks! to satisfy a state-mandated health-education requirement, but the experience feels more like being on a fast-paced kids’ game show than being in school.

Learning about the human body turns into a high-energy race to assemble a glow-in-the-dark-skeleton with the lights turned off. Kids learn the difference between smokers’ and non-smokers’

lungs, for example, by blowing a ball across the room through a straw and then blowing that same ball across the room using a coffee stirrer. Watching a multimedia presentation about choices becomes an active experience as students play the role of neurons inside the brain.

“We try to get their bodies involved; we get that kinesthetic energy going,” says Donna Loden, who oversees the facility. “They’re learning, and they’re not realizing they’re learning.”

The energetic experience is often surprising to both students and teachers, who are expecting a run-of-the-mill museum experience but instead find themselves competing against each other

in hilarious learning challenges.

“We let them see that they are allowed to be kids and show them that it is okay.

It’s fun to watch the teachers release a little bit of control as well,” says Kathy Tucker, a HealthWorks! teacher. “We have to unravel them a bit and let them loosen up so that they’re free to interact and do the fun things that we’re asking them to do. You can see them breaking down and loosening up, and that’s when the magic starts.”

Though words like “zany” and “rambunctious” would not be inappropriately applied to HealthWorks!, the facility is, at its core, more than an entertaining way for schools to fulfill a state education requirement. Organizers hope the

Second-graders work their way around an obstacle course of giant vegetables during a field trip to HealthWorks! museum.

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program will be something of a catalyst in Tupelo and throughout Mississippi.

“We are trying to make an impact on the overall health of the region, which will be a long-term effort. In doing so, we are focusing in on children’s health,” says Dean Hancock, president of the Health Care Foundation of North Mississippi, which founded HealthWorks!.

“When the kids get in there and they start absorbing the information, you can just see it in their eyes, how they’re absorbing it. And we’re getting some anecdotal information back that it’s clicking; it’s working.”

HealthWorks! opened in 2009, and a telling gauge of the program’s success has been the rising number of repeat visits by children who visit the facility with their school and are so excited that they want to share the experience with their families. This multiplying effect is actually a primary goal of HealthWorks!

– to see children, newly imbued with all manner of health smarts, becoming the standard bearers of healthy living to their parents, grandparents and, ultimately, the greater community.

“Every parent wants to do the right thing, but maybe they don’t have all the information. What we see HealthWorks! doing is sort of turning that pyramid on its head,” Hancock says. “We are engaging children in such a dynamic way that they can’t help but learn, and then in turn, they’re going to bring somebody in their family into the circle of it, and that reinforces our idea of children becoming teachers to their parents. It is the beginning.”

What’s Online e Watch kids laugh and learn about their bodies at HealthWorks!, an interactive health-education museum. See this and more quick videos at imagestupelo.com.

Students increase their heart rates and health knowledge through interactive play at HealthWorks!.

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Where the

Buffalo Roam

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TUPELO BUFFALO PARK AND ZOO BRINGS THE OLD WEST TO THE DEEP SOUTH

STORY BY MICHAELA JACKSON

Fast Fact Though they are both part of the Bovidae family and they are similar in appearance, buffalos and bison are different animals. With stark differences in the shape of the horns, the physical body and the size of the head, the American bison, the African cape buffalo and the Asian water buffalo are related, but not synonymous.

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uffalo in Tupelo? That’s the question Dan Franklin’s family and friends might have asked him when the veteran cattleman returned home with six buffalo from Colorado and Canada.

But doubts were quickly put to rest as Franklin’s herd grew to nearly 100 and became the main attraction at the Tupelo Buffalo Park and Zoo, a 217-acre menagerie of giraffes, monkeys, buffalo and everything in between.

The park, which occupies a former Chickasaw Indian village, offers schoolchildren and families part animal kingdom experience and part social studies lesson.

“We teach them about the buffalo and the longhorn and what role those animals played in the history of this country,” Franklin says.

One hundred buffalo may seem like a sizable herd, but that number was at one time roughly a third of all living buffalo in the world, Franklin says. While the animals were about 64 million strong before North America was colonized by the Europeans, within about 150 years of their arrival, that I M AG E S T U P E L O . C O M

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From left: Peacock in full plumage; a giraffe at the Tupelo Buffalo Park and Zoo

number fell to fewer than 300, which is why Franklin considers his work at the park so important.

There are currently 375,000 buffalo worldwide, but it’s uncommon to see large herds in captivity. The Tupelo Buffalo Park and Zoo’s herd is one of the largest east of the Mississippi River.

The park also features zebras, yaks, bears, tigers, lions and all of a large zoo’s other usual suspects.

More than 140,000 people visit the park and zoo each year.

Franklin hopes to impart in the visitors the importance of environmental conservation as well as the love of animals.

“What I’m hoping they’ll take away from the park is to experience what the animals actually look like and to learn TU PE LO

PHOTOS BY J. KYLE KEENER

what we’ve done to our environment and the animals’ environment and how we’ve changed things, destroyed things by just not caring,” Franklin says. “But if we pay attention to what we’re doing, we can stop the way things are going and make them go back to the way they were.”

A trip to the park and zoo is a bit like stepping back into the Old West, without having to leave Tupelo’s backyard.

“Just the big eyes, or that little gasp that you hear when those huge bison come right up next to the trolley, and you just see the kids’ eyes light up,” says Jesse Swinford, a park manager. “This is a chance to come and see the bison and get right next to them – we’re talking two feet away from a huge, 2,000-pound animal. That’s just awesome, you know?”

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SUPER Service

DANVER’S SERVES UP SOUPS, SALADS AND PLENTY OF SMILES

STORY BY CAROL COWAN | PHOTOGRAPHY BY J. KYLE KEENER

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Tupelo staple for some 31 years, Danver’s restaurant serves up some of the finest sandwiches, soups and salads you’ll find anywhere. But this popular eating establishment is known for more than its hearty, home-cooked food. The place has a solid reputation for cleanliness and excellent customer service

as well. Visit Danver’s and you’re likely to see owner Gene Box pause from busily wiping down tables to give you a personal welcome. That’s because, Box says, the restaurant business is all about the people.

“Since the day I opened, I try to greet everybody when they come in and say goodbye when they leave. It doesn’t cost

you a quarter to be nice to people.”

As for the food, he says, “If it’s not good, I’m not going to put it out there.”

That includes hamburgers, roast beef sandwiches, and quarter-pound, all-beef hot dogs that are so big and juicy “they’ll fill you up for two days,” Box says.

Danver’s also goes through 20 to 40 pounds of chicken every day for its

Clockwise from top left: Danver’s famous hot dog on a grilled bun; Happy customers are Danver’s commodity.

Danver’s owner Gene Box, right, shares a laugh with long-time patrons Sheila Jenkins and Sandra Ballard.

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Diners enjoy a late evening dinner at Danver’s restaurant, a Tupelo staple since 1977.

homemade chicken salad croissants, and the Rueben sandwich – rye bread piled high with corned beef and sauerkraut, slathered in thick, tangy thousand-island dressing – earns high praise from customers, including one New Yorker who said it was one of the finest corned beef sandwiches he had ever had.

Box believes in giving his customers plenty of choices, which is why on any given day, Danver’s offers five different soups, such as its own vegetable soup, as TU PE LO

well as French onion, clam chowder, gumbo, chili – served with old-fashioned Southern corn bread, of course – bean and cheddar cheese soups. And there’s more.

“A big drawing card is my salad bar,” Box says. “It’s really fresh and clean and colorful – it’s just wonderful. We put out fresh lettuce every day. I have a server taking care of the salad bar at all times, and we keep it as neat as a pin. We also sell a big baked potato and have all kinds of fixings on the salad bar.”

Don’t have time to come in for a sit-

down meal? Don’t worry. Danver’s restaurant also has drive-through service.

To make sure customers drive away with everything they ordered, Box says he is very particular about employee service at the window. But his employees know the drill. Some, including manager Larry Wade, have been at Danver’s since the place opened, inspired, no doubt, by their boss’s example.

“Sure, I’ve worked some long hours,” Box says. “But I like the restaurant business because I love people.”

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A Tale

of Two

Tupelos NEIGHBORHOODS RANGING FROM HISTORIC TO TRENDY WELCOME NEWCOMERS

STORY BY ANITA WADHWANI PHOTOGRAPHY BY J. KYLE KEENER

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hoosing to live in Tupelo is not hard. The question is which Tupelo.

There’s the Tupelo with small-town charm, historic, tree-lined neighborhoods and quaint, well-preserved architecture. Then there’s the Tupelo with its sleek, 21st-century downtown renovations and brand-new subdivisions that offer all the state-of-the-art amenities modern living can provide.

Fortunately for newcomers, both options combine to create the picturesque and progressive Southern town that has been wooing residents for years.

“Any type of residential living people want, they can find in Tupelo,” says Joey Guyton, a local developer and father of three who has watched Tupelo’s popularity with newcomers

From left: Spring Lake, a 1,000-acre planned community; The Belfry, a mixed commercial and residential development in downtown developed by Coldwell Banker Realtor Tommy Morgan

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and people looking to relocate grow in the past decade.

The real challenge, he says, is deciding which of the city’s attractive neighborhoods to call home.

Guyton lives with his wife and family in the new Spring Lake development, a planned, upscale community of newer single-family homes on 1,000 acres in northern Tupelo.

As a developer, Guyton is building several, similarly planned communities suited to a variety of price ranges and offering modern construction, community amenities such as pools, spas and club houses, and attractive living.

“Because of the great job the Community Development Foundation has done, we have had an influx of families which has increased our new and existing home sales,” says Sue Gardner of Century 21 Sue Gardner Realty. “The home of today is substantially larger with bonus/play rooms, home offices and larger yards.”

For those with a yen for an older home, the Joyner Area and the Highland Circle districts offer a chance to live in some of the oldest homes in Tupelo. In fact, the homes in these neighborhoods may be even more beloved than homes in many other cities because they survived the 1936 tornado that destroyed much of the city.

And for the urban professional, downtown Tupelo and the Fairpark district offer lofts and townhouses within easy walking distance of restaurants and shopping, including the Belfry, a former government office building and bomb shelter turned luxury apartment complex developed by Coldwell Banker Realtor Tommy Morgan.

But even with all the available options, Ellen Short of TRI Inc./ Realtors believes what makes Tupelo so attractive to newcomers are the people who live here. While showing potential residents from Virginia around, the couple could not help but notice what Short calls the “Tupelo spirit.”

“They said ‘we feel so welcome and wanted,’ and I said ‘that’s the idea.’ The Tupelo spirit is one of open arms and welcome. I think that is very evident,” Short says.

Larry Ray, a resident of the planned community at Spring Lake, teaches his grandson, Ben, the finer points of fishing.

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Pet Project EARLY TOYOTA MODEL BECOMES MUSEUM’S LATEST STAR

STORY BY JOE MORRIS

JEFF ADKINS

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t may have been a dud during the Eisenhower administration, but the Toyota Toyopet is the hottest thing on four wheels these days at the Tupelo Automobile Museum.

The car, which was Toyota’s first entry into the U.S. market, went on sale in July 1958. American drivers were underwhelmed, to say the least. They found the car to be overpriced, not terribly powerful and lacking in the bells and whistles they’d become accustomed to from Detroit’s offerings, and only a dismal 287 were sold.

Fast-forward to 2008, when a Toyopet Crown Deluxe, one of only four known to still exist, surfaced on eBay. Some fast bidding put the car into the hands of the Community Development Foundation and the Tupelo Automobile Museum, which had long wanted to expand its early Toyota offerings. A trip to California and $22,322 later, and the car was on a trailer and headed to its new home.

“David Rumbarger at the CDF had come across the auction, and he got some other people to join in and start bidding on it,” says Allen McDaniel,

More than 100 antique cars represent a century of automobile design.

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PHOTO BY J. KYLE KEENER

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JEFF ADKINS

curator for the Tupelo Automobile Museum. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They ended up getting the car, and now itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s here in the back being restored. The engine and transmission are in Arizona, where they are being restored by Frenchy Dehoux, an oldercar restorer, and the rest of the work is being done here.â&#x20AC;?

Restoring the car will be tricky, in that no replacement parts exist, so care and caution are the order of the day. A 2010 rollout is being planned, as well as a joint exhibit with a Toyota Prius, which will be built at Toyotaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plant in Blue Springs.

For the museum, which has more than 100 classic automobiles in its 120,000 square feet of space, adding a Toyopet to the collection is a dream come true.

And with Toyotaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s physical presence just up the road, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also a chance to tie some automotive past with a major new industrial player in the region. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A lot of people are coming in and wanting to know when itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be ready,â&#x20AC;?

McDaniel says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If we can, we take them back to have a look at it. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really going to be wonderful for us, because a lot of people who follow this kind of project will travel in to see it. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to put the spotlight on the museum and show people the scale and caliber of our collection. Toyota has already given us a couple of cars for display here, and so this will really be the icing on the cake as far as theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re concerned.â&#x20AC;?

Being able to handle such a highprofile project also means the museum might be considered for others, giving it a whole new direction to develop as the staff explores not only acquisition but also restoration. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Car lovers have that common bond, so theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll talk about what weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re doing and the word will get out. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s great for the museum,â&#x20AC;? says Cindy Hale, the museumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s marketing director.

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RETIREMENT LIVING â&#x20AC;&#x201C; BASK

TH! IN THE WARM

U Wildlife, Fishing & Parks U Golf, Recreation & Walking Trails U Largest Non-Metropolitan Full-Service Hospital in the Nation U Continuing Education U Cultural Amenities U Affordable Housing U Low Cost of Living, 12.7% Below National Average U Great Shopping & Restaurants U Places of Worship & Civic Organizations U Convenient Airline Connections & Good Highways U Retirement Income is Exempt from State Taxes

From left: Chrome detailing on the rear quarter panel of the rare 1958 Toyopet Crown Deluxe; The Tupelo Automobile Museum

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Tupelo Retirement Living

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ANoteworthy

Success OUTREACH PROGRAM TAKES SYMPHONY ON THE ROAD TO REGION’S COMMUNITIES

STORY BY JOE MORRIS

I

PHOTO COURTESY OF J.A. HUDDLESTON

t’s not hard to get Margaret Anne Murphey and Steven Byess to talk about the Tupelo Symphony, and these days they have more ears to bend than ever.

Murphey, the symphony’s president and executive director, and Byess, its music director, are enjoying the early results of a new outreach program designed to take the symphony to smaller communities around Tupelo. The idea was to give smaller cities and towns the chance to host a concert or a school-education program, Murphey says.

“We targeted the communities within a 75-mile radius,” Murphey says. “A lot of those people come to our concerts, so we thought they would be open to having us come to them.”

The cities of New Albany, Fulton, Amory, Columbus and Starkville were chosen for the inaugural effort, and Byess went to each while he was in Tupelo preparing for an upcoming concert. He met with local officials, civic clubs and others throughout spring 2008, and the response was even more positive than he and Murphey dreamed it would be. Armed with that support, the symphony applied for and received a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the road show was on.

“During the 2008-2009 season we did two programs – one

The Tupelo Symphony Orchestra

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PHOTO COURTESY OF J.A. HUDDLESTON

As part of its community outreach, the Tupelo Symphony Orchestra regularly performs concerts for schools.

in New Albany in February and a school concert in Fulton in April,” Murphey says. “We have had the most wonderful response, and next year we plan to add the rest of the communities to the schedule as well as go back to these two.”

This pretty much doubles the season for the 38-year-old orchestra, but nobody’s complaining. For Byess, who comes to town just prior to concerts to work with the musicians, most of whom also live out of the city, reaching into communities throughout the region is a key component of the symphony’s ongoing mission.

“I don’t think I’ve ever designed or been a part of any process that has been exponentially more successful than I expected,” Byess says. “I began with the premise that we have something wonderful in Tupelo, and we should meet other communities and show them what we have.”

Adding the traveling shows also ties in with his goal of continually raising the artistic bar for the orchestra, as it gives members more opportunities to play together and be more cohesive as an entity. And with five very eager new audiences, it also introduces new listeners to the orchestra and to Tupelo’s performing arts scene.

Going forward, Byess says he hopes to build on the TU PE LO

framework that’s been created with this inaugural effort, and based on the wildly successful first year, that shouldn’t be much of a problem. If anything, he notes, the difficulty will be finding the time to put even more concerts on what’s becoming a crowded symphony calendar.

“All five communities in this first year have been overwhelmingly enthusiastic, and four of them engaged us immediately,” Byess says. “We think this will support our children’s concerts as well as our regular performances, so it’s already a win-win situation for everyone involved.”

More importantly, he adds, various organizations within the cities have pooled their resources to raise the funds needed to pick up some of the symphony’s traveling expenses, which has created a whole new network of music lovers and supporters in each municipality.

“We’ve established communication across different lines in these communities as they’ve worked to bring the symphony in, so there’s collaboration and communication that we’ve never seen before,” Byess says. “Only last spring I was in my car going to visit these people, and now we have all this.

It really speaks so well for the quality of life in northeast Mississippi.”

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Community

Active-ism PARENTS GET INVOLVED TO INCREASE PARK AND RECREATION OFFERINGS

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STORY BY ANITA WADHWANI PHOTOGRAPHY BY J. KYLE KEENER

F

or the past 20 years, Tupelo parents have shuttled their little leaguers across town from one city park to another to play in various ball games.

With the opening of a new, refurbished sports complex at Ballard Park, all of the city’s youth baseball games are held at one state-of-the-art facility, a location that can now lay claim to being the largest city-owned athletic complex in the state of Mississippi.

Today, the Ballard Park Sportsplex attracts crowds nearly every night of the week during the warm spring and summer ball season.

“Normally on any given weeknight, especially on a Tuesday or Thursday, all TU PE LO

800 ballplayers are here,” says Don Lewis, director of Tupelo Parks and Recreation. “That’s almost 2,000 to 3,000 people in the city’s park on a weeknight. The baseball lights are on.

There’s a whole lot of excitement about the games, seeing neighbors and one another’s kids. It’s a huge community gathering spot.”

In 2008, Ballard Park reopened with nine new baseball complexes in the 153acre park, which has long attracted residents to its scenic lake, serene walking trails, soccer fields and acres of green space.

It took an investment of nearly $4.8 million and the sincere desire of the community to create such a youth sports

From left: Walking paths encircle the lake at Ballard Park; little leaguers practice fielding grounders at the Ballard Park Sportsplex; Veteran’s Memorial Park

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complex, Lewis says. Parents got together and raised nearly $1 million of the total, including all of the funds needed to open the 5,000-square-foot concessions stand.

“It’s great when you get the community involved like this,” he says. “They have a lot more pride in it.”

Lewis credits parents and the community for creating a culture in Tupelo in which parks and recreation are a priority. If the community really wants something, Lewis says that the city has a long history of bending over backwards to try and get it for them.

“One of the things we do here in Tupelo is we take on community projects, and those are the ones we try to give priority to, when community really gets involved,” he says. “If they really want to get involved, we can usually make whatever it is happen – anywhere from a $10,000 investment in basketball courts to a multimillion-dollar baseball complex. It doesn’t matter the size of the project. When the community wants to get involved, we can make it happen.”

At Veterans Memorial Park, community interest led to a new cross-country trail, walking tracks, playgrounds and volleyball courts.

The 206-acre park has gone through many other recent changes, including the establishment of four softball fields, a playground facility, fitness trails throughout the park and a new splash and spray park.

The park has two lakes and a veterans’ memorial, dedicated in a 2008 ceremony to all of the city’s veterans.

The amenities – some old and some more current – make Tupelo’s parks a prime recreational destination for local residents and visitors.

“On any given weekend, you have to come early to find parking spots in the parks,” he says. “They are so well-used, from walkers and runners, to grandparents with grandchildren.”

What’s Online e Watch little leaguers swing for the fences in a video tour of Ballard Park.

See this and other quick videos at imagestupelo.com.

The Tupelo Rangers take batting practice at the Ballard Park Sportsplex.

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The house where Elvis Presley was born still stands at the Elvis Presley Birthplace and Museum.

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Prince of

Tupelo

HISTORIC HOMESITE CELEBRATES ELVIS PRESLEY’S EARLY YEARS

STORY BY MICHAELA JACKSON PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF ADKINS

B

efore the adoring crowds, before the swaying hips, before Graceland, before there was a “King,” there was Tupelo.

Elvis Presley was born in the northeast Mississippi city on Jan. 8, 1935, in a two-room home that his father built for $180. Each year, more than 80,000 people visit the home, which Elvis once remarked could fit inside his living room at Graceland.

The house nearly passed into obscurity in the 1950s when the land came up for sale. But Elvis happened to be stopping through in 1956 to play a concert at the fair, and he decided to donate the proceeds of his show to preserve his boyhood home and save the 15-acre plot from development.

“I’m sure he wasn’t thinking in 1956 that it was going to be what it is today, but he had foresight enough to not want to see that little shack that he was born in be torn down,” says Linda Elliff, director of sales for the Tupelo Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Now, though, it is probably one of the most popular attractions in the state of Mississippi.”

The property has evolved over the years, with the restoration of the house completed by the Tupelo Garden Club

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The Fountain of Life at the Elvis Presley Birthplace and Museum

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Thanks to a $750,000 renovation in 2006, the birthplace includes Elvisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; boyhood home and the church he attended.

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before Elvis’s death, the construction of a meditation chapel in 1979 and the opening of a museum in 1992.

Today, the site also includes the fully restored Assembly of God church that Elvis attended with his family as a little boy, a 60-foot story wall covered with accounts written by people who knew Elvis in Tupelo and a replica of the vehicle that Vernon Presley took his family to Memphis in when Elvis was 13 years old.

“People have really enjoyed seeing the early life of Elvis Presley because nobody has ever told that story before,” says Dick Guyton, executive director of the Elvis Presley Memorial Foundation, which runs the park. “That’s what we’re all about. We let Graceland take care of the famous entertainer Elvis, and we portray to the fans his early years, his beginning, and how those 13 years in Tupelo affected the rest of his life.”

Aside from being shaped by the culture of Tupelo in the 1930s, Elvis received his earliest introduction to music in the city. The Presleys were quite poor, and they were forced to leave the home Vernon had built and bounce around east Tupelo, living with relatives or renting inexpensively. Their wanderings took them for a time to a predominantly black neighborhood, and it was there that Elvis was exposed to rhythm and blues and black gospel music. He also fell under the influence of gospel at his church, where his pastor taught him a few chords on the guitar. And he discovered country music by listening to the Grand Ole Opry on the radio.

Elvis’ mother bought him his first guitar at the Tupelo Hardware Store, which is still in business and still selling guitars to budding musicians.

“There are fans of Elvis who are avid and want his whole story, and for years, all they could get was the entertainer Elvis, because the birthplace had not developed to the point that it was really worth coming to Tupelo,” Guyton says.

“But now we tell that story, and I think that’s another reason that people are going to continue to come down here: because they want to know the whole story. They want to know why he turned out to be the most famous entertainer of all time, and it was because of those formative years here in Tupelo.”

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Health

Care 2.0 TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS ENHANCE PATIENT CARE AT NMMC

STORY BY JOE MORRIS PHOTOGRAPHY BY J. KYLE KEENER

H

igh-tech innovations are the order of the day at North Mississippi Medical Center, where not one but two new robotic devices are changing patient care in very profound ways.

In the operating room, the hospital now boasts the da Vinci Surgical System, which provides an alternative to open surgery and laparoscopy. The system can be used for various procedures and requires only a small incision. Since its installation, it has been used frequently for a variety of surgeries, including prostatectomies.

Urologist Paul Farabaugh says using robotics saves the patient a great deal of

recovery time as well as reduces the risk of future complications.

“Traditional open surgery to remove the prostate is very good,” Farabaugh says. “Robotic surgery is simply more sophisticated and mimics traditional surgery but with a less invasive approach.

These patients can recover more quickly and have the same cancer-free results.”

The da Vinci robot gives the surgeon a three-dimensional view of the area in question as well as the ability to zoom in and out. The surgery itself is done through 8-millimeter ports, which cuts down on healing time. The robotics system will soon be used for kidney surgery, as well as hysterectomy procedures and

Northeast Mississippi Medical Center

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The McKesson ROBOT-Rx can sort more than 4,000 doses of medicine per day in the NMMC pharmacy.

some cancer treatments.

And for those patients whose conditions are being treated with various medications, there’s always the matter of getting that prescription in a secure, timely manner. That’s going to be a faster and more efficient process now that ROBOT-Rx is on the job.

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then places them in envelopes to be delivered to each floor. The medications themselves are prepackaged by another technology, PACMED, for the robot’s use, so efficiency and safety are ensured throughout the process, says Ronnie Crosswhite, Pharm.D., assistant director of the medical center’s pharmacy.

“As you look at technology from a pharmacy’s perspective, you must

consider at least two things,” Crosswhite says. “Will the new technology enhance services provided to the patients by increasing efficiency in the pharmacy and to nurses who, ultimately, are our customers, when it comes to providing the medications to the patients? And will the new technology provide a safer environment for our patients by making the medication distribution system from TU PE LO

pharmacy to the end point, the patient, more efficient? Purchasing automation and robotics for the pharmacy was done entirely with the patient in mind.”

ROBOT-Rx uses bar codes to verify and automatically pick the right medications for a patient. After delivery, the system also utilizes bar-code technology to scan the medications at bedside, which further reduces the possibility of error.

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It also tackles such tasks as updating the patient’s medication records, as well as keeping an ongoing inventory of pharmaceutical stock.

This level of automation is still fairly new to the field, and the hospital was eager to upgrade. While several hospitals throughout the country are utilizing ROBOT-Rx, few have set it up for a start-to-finish, comprehensive operation

such as what is being done at NMMC, Crosswhite adds.

“The NMMC pharmacy has always been a leader in providing the most advanced pharmacy technology products available to serve our patients,” he says.

“We are committed to researching the products on the market and performing comparisons of these products to assure we have the best for our patients.”

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Reel Good

FISHING TUPELO EARNS ITS REPUTATION AS AN ANGLER’S PARADISE

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STORY BY MICHAELA JACKSON PHOTOGRAPHY BY J. KYLE KEENER

E

very weekend, anglers in northeast Mississippi confront what some might say is a good problem to have.

When they grab their poles and head for the water, they have to choose one of more than 20 lakes within an hour-anda-half drive of Tupelo. It’s tempting to head out to Enid Reservoir to try and beat the white crappie world record that was set there in 1957, but then all those prize smallmouth bass swirling around

in Pickwick Lake might get jealous. Is the day more suited for an afternoon jaunt up to Lake Lamar Bruce, just nine miles north of town or a day trip 50 miles out to Sardis Lake? That’s not to mention Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, Elvis Presley Lake or the dozens of ponds dotting the region.

“I tell people all the time that my problem in Tupelo is not when to fish, it’s which lake do I want to try and go to,” says Larry Pugh, assistant

From left: Lake Lamar Bruce is known for large populations of bass and channel catfish; fisherman’s bait washed up on the shores of Sardis Lake

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director of the Fisheries Bureau for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. “Tupelo is really the center, the hub, that would provide access to all these other places [for serious fishing].”

The Tupelo area is known far and wide as a hotbed for anglers, hosting tournaments and attracting biologists and fishermen from across the country.

In addition to abundant crappie and smallmouth bass, the region’s lakes and rivers have a reputation for stocking largemouth bass, catfish and bream.

What really cements Tupelo’s reputation in the fishing world, though, is that you can hardly throw a rock in any direction without hitting a pond, lake or river.

“When daylight savings time starts, you can get off work, hook the boat up and be on the water in 10-15 minutes at Trace, Tombigbee, Elvis Presley, Lake Lamar Bruce,” Pugh says. “In 10 to 15 minutes, you can be fishing, and you can fish for three hours. And there’s not a lot of places throughout the state – and trust me, I’ve looked at them all – that

Ethan Jones of Stayhorn, Miss., shows off his catch from Sardis Lake.

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can say that.”

Pugh isn’t just blowing smoke. The former president of the Tupelo Bass Club was transferred to work in Jackson nearly 200 miles away but chooses to commute instead of moving from Tupelo and its waterways.

That kind of dedication doesn’t seem odd to Mark Gwin, another member of the Tupelo Bass Club. Other than a few weeks when he was off his feet for health reasons, Gwin hasn’t missed a week on the water in roughly 16 years.

“I go every weekend,” he says. “We are so blessed in Tupelo with so many different kinds of water to fish. Just the father with his kid and a cane pole can fish farm ponds, and there’s public 54

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access on all our public waters. The stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s done well; the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s done well on supplying fishable places.â&#x20AC;?

Despite Tupeloâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recognition nationwide as an anglerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s paradise, Gwin says there are still some watering holes that only the locals know. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d rather â&#x20AC;Ś keep [those places] a secret,â&#x20AC;? Gwin says, laughing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s okay because I do believe in â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;share and share alike.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; And maybe theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll give us some of their secrets, too.â&#x20AC;?

General offices in the Town Creek District Top: Shore fishing is popular at Elvis Presley Lake. Left: Anglers get an early start at Lake Lamar Bruce.

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Image Gallery

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY J. KYLE KEENER

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Online e Visit imagestupelo.com to see more award-winning photography highlighting the people and places of Tupelo.

A 1957 Chevrolet at the Tupelo Automobile Museum

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Image Gallery

The historic Lee County Courthouse in downtown Tupelo

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY J. KYLE KEENER

Guitars for sale at downtown’s Main Street Vintage Guitars

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Portfolio

A Historic Return to Splendor LYRIC THEATRE CONTINUES TRADITION OF BRINGING BROADWAY TO TUPELO

JEFF ADKINS

A

Save money. Live better.

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ctors have been breaking a leg at the historic Lyric Theatre for nearly 100 years.

The downtown landmark hosted live theatrical productions from 1912 to the early 1930s, then was converted into a movie house during the Depression. It showed movies until 1984, at which time the Tupelo Community Theatre decided to purchase the historic building for $100,000 in order to stage the troupe’s performances.

That $100,000 investment was a good one because the building today is supposedly worth more than $2 million thanks in part to massive renovations over the past few years. The renovations have allowed the landmark to retain its art deco structure, and the exterior still has the original marquee.

Since 2001, the Tupelo Community Theatre has been a part of a Mississippi Arts Commission grant program called Building for the Arts, which helps cities make improvements to their art venues.

In 2008, TCT received $400,000 from the commission to make improvements to the theater’s auditorium, including upgrades to all 464 seats on the main floor and balcony.

The Lyric was built for live theater, so it has great acoustics. TCT presented its first production, On Golden Pond, in the theater in 1985.

Today, the theatrical troupe offers an annual five-show season that runs from September through May, and TCT currently has attracted 1,100 season ticket holders. Approximately 15‚000 people attend TCT productions annually at the Lyric, which is appropriately located on Broadway.

In addition, more than 200 volunteers contribute their time and talents to TCT each year. They range from actors to set builders to members of the Lyric Krewe, a support organization that raises money for the theater throughout the year.

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Picture-Perfect Success Story

M

uch of Stephanie Rhea’s successful professional career has been a snap.

In fact, it’s been a snapshot.

Rhea is the owner of the Tupelobased Stephanie Rhea Photography, although her work extends far beyond the local area. Her reputation in the industry is so highly regarded that she has been booked for assignments from Memphis to Maine and was even hired to shoot a wedding in Italy.

“My studio is currently based in the friendly South, but I’m available for travel pretty much anywhere,” Rhea says.

Her current body of work features primarily travel and wedding photography, and her specialty is an ability to artistically capture real-life moments.

Her mission is to blend fashion and photojournalism in all of her wedding day and travelogue assignments, and her passion always results in contemporary-classic images that tell a beautiful story.

Some of Rhea’s recent work has been featured in Southern Weddings and Coastal Weddings magazines as well as on the cover of Mississippi magazine’s 2009 Wedding Register bridal edition.

Can you imagine … a world without children?

We Can’t.

J. KYLE KEENER

Call 1-800-996-4100 to help. www.stjude.org

Photographer Stephanie Rhea

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Well-Versed Reflections of the South

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celebration of the South and many of the aspects that are distinctly Southern is what Ref lections of a Mississippi Magnolia is all about.

Penned by Tupelo native Patricia Neely-Dorsey, the book of poetry blends the author’s childhood memories, personal beliefs and fond musings about her home state.

“There are so many negative connotations associated with Mississippi and the South in general,” Neely-Dorsey says. “I want to show a flip side of the coin. There is much to love about this much maligned and misunderstood part of our country.”

Neely-Dorsey says the book was not easy to write, and points out that words from the song The Long and Winding Road might best illustrate her efforts.

But even though the project was difficult, most of the poems from the book were actually written within a span of six months – from February 2007 to August 2007.

“My mother gave me a passionate love for reading and writing, and my father gave me an appreciation for poetry and great literature,” she says.

As for her choice of subject matter, the author admits being “totally enamored with the Southern way of life.”

Patricia Neely-Dorsey can be reached at magnoliagirl21@yahoo.com.

questions

answers

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8 0 0 . A C S . 2 3 4 5 / c a n c e r. o r g

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Portfolio

Dr. Do-Much

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he passion of Dr. Ed Ivancic to help treat sick children from lowincome families has earned him national recognition.

Ivancic is a veteran pediatrician who has practiced medicine in Tupelo for several decades, and he received a 2008 Local Hero Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics Council for his work with the Tupelo chapter of Community Access to Child Health, or CATCH Kids, program.

The CATCH program was designed and introduced by the American Academy of Pediatrics to improve access to health care for children. Its mission is to support pediatricians who work with communities and local governments to ensure that all children have convenient places to go for their medical needs.

With the help of volunteer physicians like Ivancic, CATCH Kids treats sick children in 10 school-based clinics in Tupelo, Okolona, Lee County and Pontotoc County schools, as well as four weekly community clinics in North Tupelo, Haven Acres and Okolona. All of the clinics are open to any child under 18, but there’s a special focus on those children who encounter barriers to service, such as lack of insurance or transportation.

The program also works with pharmacies to fill prescriptions at discounted rates. A group of Tupelo dentists also offer volunteer services to CATCH Kids patients. In all, clinic volunteers in the Tupelo region annually serve an average of 800 children who need medical care, along with 60 children who have dental needs.

What’s Online e Read more about Tupelo’s health-care options at imagestupelo.com.

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Everything in Janitorial, Paper & Packaging Supplies 1616 7th Ave. S. Columbus, MS (662) 327-1467 (800) 844-1467 www.newellpaper.com

WHOLESALE Tennant Scrubbers & sweepers Hillyard products Mats of all kinds Rubbermaid Gym floor finishes Lysol Butchers Johnson Diversity

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MERCHANTS Roll foam Bubble wrap Carton sealing tapes Pallet wrap Poly bags Deb soaps Gojo soaps Retail packaging supplies Swimming pool supplies

Copy paper Bay-West paper products Kimberly Clark Bakery supplies Safety supplies Hotel/motel supplies Weed killers Liners of all sizes Memphis gloves

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Portfolio

Smart Deal for High School Seniors

C

ollege tuition can be expensive, but how does a tuition bill of zero dollars sound?

Beginning with the class of 2009, Lee County high school graduates from Baldwyn, Mooreville, Nettleton, Shannon, Saltillo and Tupelo will receive two years of free tuition to Itawamba Community College.

It is all a part of an initiative called the Lee County/Marchbanks Helping Hand Tuition Guarantee Program. The program was established by the local CREATE Foundation and the Lee County Board of Supervisors.

“The Lee County/Marchbanks program is named for John and Frances Marchbanks. John was a native of Shannon and along with his wife, Frances, envisioned a brighter future for all of northeast Mississippi,” says Jennie Hannah, CREATE Foundation director of communications.

“The Marchbanks left a gift of $8.5 million to benefit the region, and we believe they would be very pleased that their extraordinary gift is making a significant difference in our region.”

The tuition program has actually been around since 1996 when the CREATE Foundation’s Commission on the Future of Northeast Mississippi came up with the goal of providing two years of tuition-free education at a community college for each high school graduate in the region. CREATE is the leading regional community foundation and the state’s oldest.

In 1997, Meridian Community College implemented a tuition guarantee program for all high school graduates of Lauderdale County. Twelve years later, the same holds true for seniors in Lee County.

“By getting a high school diploma and two years of college, seniors obviously can increase their potential for a higher paying job as well as a better quality of life,” Hannah says. “They now have that option thanks to the tuition guarantee program.”

– Stories by Kevin Litwin TU PE LO

Building Tupelo and Lee County Since 1941

2020 McCullough Blvd.

Tupelo, MS 38801 (662) 842-3240

The Largest Industrial Contractor in the South

I M AG E S T U P E L O . C O M

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Business

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An

Industry Sitting

Pretty TUPELO REMAINS REGIONAL HUB OF FURNITURE MANUFACTURING

STORY BY MICHAELA JACKSON PHOTOGRAPHY BY J. KYLE KEENER

T

he who’s who of furniture and upholstery know that no one climbs to the top of the industry ladder without a stop in Tupelo.

Twice a year, furniture manufacturers and store buyers and owners descend on the city’s 2 million-square-foot market to collectively decide how consumers nationwide will decorate their homes in the coming season. The Tupelo Furniture Market, which gives manufacturers the chance to showcase their wares in hopes of getting into showrooms and, ultimately, into living rooms, is a two-decades-plus institution in the acknowledged upholstery capitol of the world.

The 10-county region surrounding Tupelo is a powerhouse of the furniture industry, from the timber companies that

supply wood for frames to fabric weavers to actual furniture manufacturers. The furniture industry employs some 25,000 statewide, and about 21,000 of those work in the northeast Mississippi region.

“We’ve got a vital role in doing what we can in this area to keep this industry sector thriving,” says Greg Giachelli, vice president of existing industry for the Community Development Foundation. “It is very important to the economic vitality of this area.”

Furniture first took root as an industry in the Tupelo area when Morris Futorian made his way south from Chicago with an innovative vision to build furniture the way cars were built in Detroit – on an assembly line. He was lured to the area in

One of the hundreds of lamps on display at the Vintage Verandah showroom in Tupelo’s Furniture Market

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Business

Home furnishings in the American Furniture Manufacturing showroom at the Tupelo Furniture Market

1948 by the Community Development Foundation, which touted Tupelo’s attractive labor force and enticing tax incentives. And the rest, as they say, is history.

“All the other companies started spinning off Futorian.

People that worked there would say, ‘We can do this.’ And then they would open their own company,” says Bill Cleveland, president of the Tupelo Furniture Market. “I think it has just evolved, and all the pieces of suppliers and expertise, all the pieces it takes to make furniture, all the support companies have matured here, and now everything you need to do it is here.”

Between 1950 and 2008, the number of workers in Tupelo employed by the furniture industry grew from just under 2,000 to roughly 12,000.

The industry was founded in upholstery, but as times have changed and much upholstery manufacturing has moved offshore, furniture players in the Tupelo area have adapted to the changing climate to build furniture frames, foam for sofa 68

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cushions and everything in between.

“That’s the one constant in any industry: change,” Cleveland says. “They’re starting to make more upholstery in China, but there’s still more upholstery manufactured in northeast Mississippi than in any other one location.”

As consumer spending patterns change and global competition stiffens, the industry as a whole – in Northeast Mississippi and beyond – is undergoing substantial evolution.

But no one expects to see the industry shutter its collective Tupelo headquarters altogether. The same available, skilled workforce that drew Morris Futorian to Tupelo in 1948 is still working hard today, still keeping the industry above water.

“That has probably been the key thing over the last 40-50 years that has made us the number one furniture upholstery area in the world, ” Giachelli says. “It’s in transition now, and it’s not going to be the same type of industry that we saw 15-20 years ago. But without a doubt, the furniture industry is here to stay.”

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Business

Biz Briefs BUSINESSES – BOTH LARGE AND SMALL – THAT HELP DEFINE TUPELO’S ECONOMIC CLIMATE

Scorecard BUSINESS AT A GLANCE

3,627 Total number of firms

$1,028,908 Retail sales ($1,000)

$29,488 Retail sales per capita

$93,475 Accommodation and food services sales ($1,000) Source: QuickFacts, census.gov

TOM’S AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE CENTER Biz: automobile repair center Buzz: At a time when locally owned businesses are fading, Tom’s Automotive Service Center is a prime example of what customer service and loyalty can accomplish. Run by Jeff Robertson, the shop, which offers diagnostic services and repair as well as fleet maintenance, employs some 10 people and has been a Tupelo staple since 1952.

317 Magazine St. 70

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THE COTTON BOLT & RUG GALLERY Biz: retail and wholesale fabric company Buzz: Ask interior designers in Mississippi for the place to go for highend drapery fabrics, handmade rugs and custom upholstery, and theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll point you to The Cotton Bolt, a family-owned and -operated company specializing in custom and hard-to-find items, including furniture and drapery hardware. www.magnoliaco.com DESIGN BY TRACY PROCTOR Biz: floral artist Buzz: Recognized as one of the premier floral artists in the country, Tracy Proctor has been wowing clients with his floral creations for more than 15 years. Proctorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work has been featured at all types of events, from weddings to church homecomings, and his work has taken him around the globe from Europe to Australia. www.designbytracyproctor.com

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Business | Chamber Report

60 Years and Counting CDF MARKS ANNIVERSARY BY LOOKING BACK AT CONTRIBUTIONS TO COMMUNITY

A

s birthdays go, the big 6-0 is not only a major milestone but also a time to reflect on past accomplishments.

But for Tupelo’s Community Development Foundation, which celebrates its 60th anniversary (1948-2008), this milestone means looking forward to the future.

“We determined that the anniversary would be about our 60 years of service to the community, and we would reflect that through our normal networking programs and also different events,” says David Rumbarger, president and CEO of the Community Development Foundation. “I think the highlight was the Habitat for Humanity house which we built in August and September 2008.

We were very pleased to build a home for a needy and deserving family.”

A sign that hard work doesn’t go unnoticed, the foundation was named by Site Selection magazine as one of the top 10 development organizations in the country. This was the second straight year for the recognition, and it is something Rumbarger points to as an indicator of the organization’s as well as the city’s growth and success over time.

“For [the Site Selection] list, we compete with the likes of Chicago, Dallas and Denver, so we’re very honored to be in the same league,” Rumbarger says.

“But it also shows that Tupelo is holding its own, even in this economy, because of our diversity. That’s what the CDF has worked on for the past 60 years – growing our health care, manufacturing, customer service and other sectors around town while keeping our other industries healthy.”

The foundation’s membership of 1,450 has helped the organization to reach out in several different ways, including collaborating with industry leaders to hold business roundtables, which can serve as both early-warning indicators of potential trouble as well as offer practical advice for businesses experiencing a rough patch. And then there’s the new business incubator, which opened in 2007 and is expected to launch new companies into the local business market.

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“It’s our foray into developing the next generation of businesses and technology,” Rumbarger says. “It lets us partner with our colleges and universities, work with them to identify the newest trends. We realize that a lot of new technology companies grow from small seeds, and we’ve got to put them to work in our incubator and then graduate them into the community and help grow

them into full-size organizations.”

Being a catalyst for forward-thinking growth has long been a hallmark of the community organization.

“We [CDF] really are the troops in the community,” Rumbarger says, “taking those hills. It’s an inspiring, awesome task – not a sprint, or a 400-yard dash, but a marathon. And we’ve done well with it.”

– Joe Morris

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Business | Economic Profile

TUPELO BUSINESS CLIMATE As one of the most rapidly developing micropolitan areas in the state, Tupelo/Lee County has consistently ranked in the top 10 for population growth, new business development and personal income generation. The primary economic sector is manufacturing, which employs more than 25 percent of the county’s workforce.

TAX STRUCTURE

0.25% City Sales and Use Tax

7.25% County Sales Tax

7%

GOVERNMENT OFFICES

INDUSTRIAL SITES

Tupelo City Hall 71 E. Troy St., 38804 (662) 841-6487 www.ci.tupelo.ms.us

www.cdfms.org/ed/

Public Works Department 38801 (662) 841-6457

North Mississippi Health Services, 4,286

Department of Planning and Community Development 38804 (662) 841-6510 Lee County Government P.O. Box 1785 Tupelo Mississippi 38802 (662) 841-9110 mississippi.gov

State Sales Tax

MAJOR EMPLOYERS

Lane Furniture Industries, 2,080 Cooper Tire and Rubber Co., 1,520 Tupelo Public School District, 1,200 JESCO Inc., 1,000 Walmart/ Sam’s Club, 979 Lee County Schools, 931 BancorpSouth, 800

7.25% Total Sales Tax

TRANSPORTATION Tupelo Regional Airport 2704 W. Jackson St., 38801 (662) 841-6570 flytupelo.com

ECONOMIC RESOURCES Community Development Foundation 300 W. Main, 38804 (662) 842-4521 (800) 523-3463 www.cdfms.org Tupelo Chamber of Commerce 300 W. Main St., 38804 (662) 842-5421 (800) 523-3463 www.cdfms.org/chamber

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MORE EO ONLINE imagestupelo.com

DayBriteCapri-Omega, 800 MTD Products, 800 H.M. Richards, 670 Tecumseh Products, 670

More facts, stats and community information, including relocation tools and links to resources.

COST OF LIVING INDEX

86.5% Tupelo

94.2% Gulfport-Biloxi

92.5% Huntsville, Ala.

89.1% Jackson, Tenn.

National Average is 100% Source: 2008 Year-end Average Council for Community & Economic Research

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Health & Wellness

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Health & Wellness

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Full range of Urologic procedures including robotic surgery, testing and treatment for both male and female urinary incontinence, no scalpel vasectomy, erectile dysfunction, infertility, and treatment for prostate and kidney problems.

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Health & Wellness

Fitness Is a Snap at New Center TUPELO’S FIRST 24-HOUR GYM OFFERS CONVENIENCE AND AFFORDABILITY

F

itness has no closing time in Tupelo, where a center with stateof-the-art equipment is available for its members 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Convenience, affordability and topflight Cybex workout machines at Snap Fitness have great appeal for exercise buffs, says Thomas Cain, general manager of the Tupelo location, which opened in June 2008. Another perk is that members don’t have to sign a contract, he adds.

“One of the things Snap Fitness boasts is its no-contract option. People can come here and join without signing a contract. And they can cancel at any time with 30 days’ notice,” Cain says.

Snap Fitness is headquartered in suburban Minneapolis, with about 1,000 franchises in the United States and

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Canada. Owners of the Tupelo operation, located at 549 Coley Road, also opened a center in Saltillo in June 2008.

In addition to being accessible anytime with a key card, members can take advantage of online training, nutrition and meal planning at www.my snapfitness.com, Cain says. Members may also work out at any other Snap Fitness center.

Response to the Tupelo franchise – the company’s second largest – has been excellent, Cain says.

“We have all aspects of body building and fitness equipment. We have treadmills with televisions, bicycles with programs where you steer the bike on a course and free weights. We cater to every type of fitness guru,” Cain says.

Tanning booths are available for $20 extra per month, and the center also

sells dietary supplements.

The 7,000-square-foot facility is staffed Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. with five employees who offer personal training and a boot camp for members, as well as orientation on the equipment and a personal fitness assessment.

As for security, the center has 24-hour surveillance, and members can wear a necklace with an emergency button, if they choose.

Cain says the key to the fitness center’s success is its convenience and affordability.

“People aren’t spending as much money in other areas, but with what money they do have, they [can] get out and go to the gym, and that’s recreation on top of fitness.”

– Anne Gillem

I M AG E S T U P E L O . C O M

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Arts & Culture

Lights, Camera … Tupelo!

FILM FESTIVAL CONTINUES TO GAIN PROMINENCE WITH REGIONAL, NATIONAL FILMMAKERS

I

t isn’t easy being new, or being small, but don’t tell that to organizers of the Tupelo Film Festival.

While some cities take years to grow a film festival into a national and international draw, Tupelo has managed to do so in under a decade. And since the festival’s 2004 beginning, the city is becoming more of a destination for filmmakers not only during the event itself but also throughout the year as they scout locations and look for a place to put down permanent production roots.

“We have become a very reputable film festival nationally and internationally,” says Pat Rasberry, director. “Our submissions were up 85 percent in 2009; we got close to 200. And we’ll screen 41 films in competition, which is also an increase over previous years.”

The festival’s inception really dates back to 1989 with the establishment of the Tupelo Film Commission. The group works with local organizations such as the Tupelo Convention and Visitors Bureau as well as the Mississippi Film Office. Its goal is to elevate Tupelo’s profile as a filming location.

The commission also works to develop homegrown talent, and in 2009, added a category to the festival’s roster of competitions for student filmmakers.

“The Mississippi High School Competition is for any schools who want to compete against each other,” Rasberry says. “We had one from Starkville enter this year, and they TU PE LO

entered two films. We think this is something that will grow quickly and be very exciting for student filmmakers.”

Additions such as this one help keep the festival fresh while opening it up to more opportunities and exposure, Rasberry says.

“We were featured in Every Day with Rachel Ray and are the only film festival to be featured in her magazine,” she says.

“And even with all the new activities, we’re still able to screen all the films in the Lyric Theatre downtown. We get a lot of comments from the filmmakers about how nice it is that they can see everything in one location.”

Keeping everyone in a central location also allows for more networking opportunities between filmmakers and city officials who want to tout the area’s positive attributes.

“We showcase the city and let [filmmakers] know how we can help them if they come and film here,” Rasberry says.

“We had one attendee win for best short in 2004, and she filmed a short while she was here. She came back in 2007 and stayed three months to shoot a feature and now is looking at setting up her production company here. And others who have screened here have made it on to Sundance and other major festivals. That’s the amazing thing about the ripples this festival has; you just don’t realize what all it can do.”

– Joe Morris I M AG E S T U P E L O . C O M

81

Sports & Recreation

Sinking Sensations TOP-RANKED COURSES HAVE TOURISM OFFICIALS SEEING GREEN

N

eal McCoy, sports development director for the Tupelo Convention and Visitors Bureau, doesn’t just spend his time touting the virtues of the city’s golf courses; he actually takes time to practice what he preaches.

“We certainly have some good golf courses at a great value, and I have played my fair share of holes in Tupelo,” McCoy says. “Whether you’re a good golfer is relative to who else is around, but I enjoy playing the game.”

Ranking as a top-quality tract is Tupelo Country Club, which built its 18-hole course in 1970 in Belden, just outside Tupelo. At 6,887 yards from the

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back tees, the course is a northeast Mississippi treasure, with six lakes and 300 native trees planted in 2005 and 2006. Groundskeepers plant 10,000 summer and 8,000 fall annuals, which thrive in Tupelo’s Southern climate.

“It’s an absolutely amazing course with some challenging holes. It has some opportunities for you to pull out your driver and challenge yourself with the length of the course, and it makes you shape your shots,” McCoy says.

In 1998, the greens were replaced with champion Bermuda grass, which is why the country club’s greens are notorious for their fast roll, McCoy says.

In June 2009, Big Oaks Golf Club

replaced all its bent grass greens with Bermuda, thus improving on an 18-hole course that McCoy calls “a dynamic golf facility.” Opened in Saltillo in 1996, Big Oaks is semiprivate, offering memberships while also open to the public. Also in Saltillo is Natchez Trace Golf Club.

“It’s probably the hardest golf course in the area,” McCoy says. “It has rolling hills, and you have uneven lies most of the time. They keep their greens fast, and they have a lot of older, established trees that really come into play. It’s very humbling.”

Natchez Trace is home to the Butch Lambert Invitational, an annual event TU PE LO

Over 100 classic automobiles from the 1880s-1990s!

1 Otis Blvd.

Tupelo, MS 38804 (662) 842-4242 www.tupeloauto.com

Hours: March-October Tues.-Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Sun. 12 p.m.-5 p.m.

November-February Tues.-Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Sun. 12 p.m.-5 p.m.

Closed: Mondays, New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day

in memory of Holcut native A.C. “Butch” Lambert Sr., Southeastern Conference officiating great. Players in the event are “the who’s who in golf in north Mississippi. When it comes to golf tournaments, they all look to the Butch Lambert,” McCoy says.

Other courses in the area include Pontotoc Country Club and River Birch Golf Club in Amory, both 18 holes, and nine-hole Meadows Golf Course in Pontotoc and Bel Air Golf Course. Bel Air, built in 1936 and now owned and operated by the city of Tupelo, was once the Tupelo Country Club before construction of the new course.

– Sharon H. Fitzgerald TU PE LO

I M AG E S T U P E L O . C O M

83

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Education

Bringing a Little Class to Tupelo SATELLITE CAMPUS EXPANDS COURSE OFFERINGS, INCREASES ENROLLMENT

I

administration. That’s a far cry from the few courses taught in the four-room downtown office building that housed the campus in the early 1970s.

Today, UM-Tupelo calls the 85,000-square-foot Advanced Education Center home. The campus, which opened in fall 2000, also houses Itawamba Community College and the Mississippi University for Women, which offers a bachelor’s degree in nursing.

“Our regional community colleges are critically important to us,” Pate says. The campus’s fall 2008 enrollment included students from 23 different two-year institutions – 12 of those being Mississippi community colleges. The average age of UM-Tupelo students is 28, highlighting the critical niche the school plays for nontraditional students.

Pate says the “meat and potatoes” of UM-Tupelo’s undergraduate programs are education and business, but applied-science programs such as criminal justice and social work are gaining in popularity.

As for the future, Pate foresees UM-Tupelo’s enrollment approaching 1,200 students in the next five years, with the potential additions of a master’s degree program in accountancy and a traditional MBA program taught on campus to answer the demand from Tupelo’s and Lee County’s business community.

“There are going to be more opportunities for us to serve this region,” Pate says.

– Sharon H. Fitzgerald

J. KYLE KEENER

n today’s lean economic times, students are discovering the affordability and convenience of attending college closer to home.

For the University of Mississippi-Tupelo, that means record enrollment and expanded course and degree offerings.

“A number of our students have actually attended senior institutions, even the main campus of our university in Oxford, and simply found that it was not what they were looking for, so they chose to come back home and attend our branch campus here,” says UM-Tupelo Dean Jim Pate.

“Nationally, there’s a real strong trend for students seeking to complete their degree programs closer to home, and the economy is driving some of that for sure.”

UM-Tupelo’s fall 2008 enrollment was the highest ever at 717 students, representing a 16.4 percent increase over fall 2007. Pate also attributes the branch campus’s growth to its strong partnership with the region’s community colleges and an aggressive recruitment program. In 2005, UM-Tupelo employed just one recruiter. Today, three recruiters work on the Tupelo campus, and a fourth works at UM-Booneville, where students can take many of the prerequisite courses needed for their degree.

With the number of classes up to about 150 each semester, the branch campus offers junior- and senior-level undergraduate studies, plus several master’s degree programs in education and an online master’s degree program in business

Elementary education students listen to a lecture at the University of Mississippi’s Tupelo campus.

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Community Profile

TUPELO SNAPSHOT Tupelo combines small-town charm with urban accessibility.

The relatively low cost of living here makes the city attractive to newcomers. Tupelo has a thriving arts and cultural community and is home to a symphony and ballet. The cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s close proximity to professional sporting events and major universities adds to its appeal.

CLIMATE Tupeloâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s climate offers four distinct seasons. Mild winters make outdoor activity possible year-round.

32 F

Oxford, which is home to the University of Mississippi and a devoted Southern literary community, offers many higher education and continued learning opportunities. For a list of schools and other information, visit imagestupelo.com.

health-care system that extends into northwest Alabama.

HEALTH CARE

Tupelo Water & Light Department (water) 38804 (662) 841-6470 www.ci.tupelo.ms.us/ water-light Atmos Energy (gas) 38801 (662) 842-2441 www.atmosenergy.com

January Low Temperature

50 F January High Temperature

71 F July Low Temperature

91 F July High Temperature

Tupelo arguably offers the finest health-care services in the state. North Mississippi Medical Center is the largest non-metropolitan hospital in the nation and the largest hospital in the state. It serves as the hub of a 22-county

For a breakdown of medical services, visit imagestupelo.com.

UTILITIES

EDUCATIONAL The Tupelo Public School District has been nationally recognized for academic excellence. Four of the 12 schools in the district are National Blue Ribbon Schools, each receiving the highest honor the U.S. government bestows on a school. Nearby

MORE EO ONLINE imagestupelo.com More facts, stats and community information, including relocation tools and links to resources.

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I M AG E S T U P E L O . C O M

(662) 844-6 6868 8 Call in & Bulk Orders welcome we e me m e at t 9 a.m.

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Tombigbee Electric Power Association 38802 (662) 842-7635 www.tombigbeeelectric.com Comcast (cable/internet) (662) 842-5625 comcast.usdirect.com/ ms-tupelo-comcast-cable.html

visit our

advertisers B&B Concrete www.bbconcrete.com BancorpSouth www.bancorp.com BBQ by Jim LLC

Johnson Bailey Henderson McNeil Architects www.jbhm.com Kellum Dental Clinic www.kellumdental.com

AT&T (phone/internet) (662) 557-6500, www.att.com

Cardiology Associates of North Mississippi www.cahm.com

Main Street Association www.tupelomainstreet.com

HOUSING COSTS

Cellular South www.cellularsouth.com

McCarty Company www.mccartycompany.com

Century 21 Sue Gardner Realty www.suegardnerrealty.com

Nephrology & Hypertension Associated LTD

Coldwell Banker Tommy Morgan Inc. Realtors www.tmhomes.com

Newell Paper Company www.newellpaper.com

$122,600 Average Home Price

19.51% Home Turnover Percentage

Community Development Foundation www.cdfms.org

ARTS AND CULTURE

Cook Coggin Engineers www.cookcoggin.com

The Cultural Alliance of Tupelo/Lee County 1800 W. Main St., 38801 (662) 620-2500 www.tupelo.net/things-to-do/ arts-entertainment.asp Birthplace of Elvis PresleyHome and Museum 306 Elvis Presley Dr., 38804 (662) 841-1245 www.elvispresley birthplace.com Tupelo Symphony Orchestra P.O. Box 474, 38802 (662) 842-8433 www.tupelosymphony.com Tupelo Ballet Inc. 775 Poplarville St., 38801 (662) 844-1928

RECREATION ACTIVITIES Tupelo Buffalo Park and Zoo 2272 N. Coley Rd., 38801 (662) 844-8709 (866) 27BISON www.tupelobuffalopark.com Natchez Trace Parkway 2680 Natchez Trace Pkwy.

38804 (800) 305-7417 www.nps.gov/natr

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Cooper Tire www.coopertire.com Create Foundation www.createfoundation.com Crye-Leike Realtors www.crye-leike.com Day-Brite Lighting www.dcolighting.com DB’s Floral Designs N’ More

North Mississippi Medical Center www.nmhs.net Obstetrics & Gynecology Associates Premier Dental Care www.premierdentalcareonline.com Renasant Bank www.renasant.com Sanders Clinic for Women The Mall at Barnes Crossing www.barnescrossing.com The Pampered Pooch www.clipswithlove.com

Digestive Health Specialists

TRI Inc. Realtors www.trirealestate.net

Dogwood Development www.dogwooddevelopmentcompany.com

Tupelo Auto Museum www.tupeloauto.com

Eli’s BBQ Grill Express Employment Professionals www.expresspros.com Heavenly Ham www.heavenlyham.com Heritage Obstetrics & Gynecology www.heritage-obgyn.com Hilton Garden Inn/BancorpSouth Conference Center www.tupelo.hgi.com Hunter Group Itawamba Community College www.iccms.edu Jesco Inc. www.jescoinc.net Jim Bain’s Pharmacy www.jimbainspharmacy.com

Tupelo Church of God www.tupelocog.org Tupelo Retirement Living www.ci.tupelo.ms.us TVA www.tva.gov University of Mississippi Tupelo www.olemiss.edu/tupelo Urology Professional Association & Continence Center www.urologypa.com Walmart Super Center www.walmart.com WCBI-TV-DT www.wcbi.com Woman’s Clinic

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Complete conference and meeting facilities On-site culinary experts Over 10,000 sq. ft. of flexible space

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Everything. Right where you need it.® Located in the heart of historic downtown Tupelo, The Hilton Garden Inn is the first choice for comfortable accommodations, memorable meals and successful events.

Also Featuring: Hotel Facilities

Guest Room Features

Full-service Great American Grill® restaurant

Microwave, mini-refrigerator and coffee brewer

Indoor pool and whirlpool

Large work desk with Herman Miller Mirra® ergonomic desk chair

24-hour fitness center and Stay Fit Kit® Complimentary newspaper Pavilion Pantry convenience market Fully equipped business center Complimentary HSIA throughout hotel Banquet and meeting space

Remote printing to the business center Phillips® 26” inch HD flat-screen television

Hairdryer, iron and ironing board

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Two telephones with voice mail and data ports

WWW.TUPELO.HGI.COM

Innovative MP3 compatible clock/radio

Ad Index

5 5 B & B Co n c r e t e

C 3 Ba n co r p S o u t h

24 Day- B r it e Li g h ti n g

8 4 B B Q by J i m L LC

75 C a r d i o lo gy Ass o c i at e s o f N o rt h M i ss i ss i p p i

8 4 D B ’ s Flo r a l D e s i g n s N ’ M o r e

7 7 D i g e s ti v e H e a lt h S p ec i a li s ts

5 5 D o gwo o d D e v e lo p m e n t

8 6 Eli ’ s B B Q G r i ll

7 3 E x p r e ss E m p loy m e n t P r o fe ss i o n a ls

8 0 H e av e n ly H a m

76 H e r itag e Obs t e t r i cs & Gy n eco lo gy

8 8 H i lto n Ga r d e n I n n / Ba n co r p S o u t h Co n fe r e n c e C e n t e r

4 C e llu l a r S o u t h

9 C e n t u ry 2 1 S u e Ga r d n e r R e a lt y

7 Co l dw e ll Ba n k e r To m m y M o r ga n I n c . R e a lto r s

6 Co m m u n it y D e v e lo p m e n t Fo u n dati o n

8 0 Co o k Co g g i n E n g i n e e r s

6 4 Co o p e r Ti r e

52 C r e at e Fo u n dati o n

1 C ry e- L ei k e R e a lto r s

Ad Index (cont.)

52 H u n t e r G ro u p

1 2 Itawa m ba Co m m u n it y Co ll eg e

6 3 U n i v e r s it y o f M i ss i ss i p p i T u p e lo 76 U r o lo gy P r o fe ss i o n a l Ass o c i ati o n & Co n ti n e n c e C e n t e r

6 5 J e sco I n c .

7 7 J i m Ba i n ’ s P h a r m ac y

6 0 Wa l m a rt S u p e r C e n t e r

8 J o h n s o n Ba i l e y H e n d e r s o n McN ei l A rc h it ec ts

8 4 WC B I -TV- DT

75 Wo m a n ’ s C li n i c

62 K e llu m D e n ta l C li n i c

8 4 M a i n S t r e e t Ass o c i ati o n

6 1 McC a rt y Co m pa n y

78 N e p h r o lo gy & H y p e rt e n s i o n Ass o c i at e d LTD

6 4 N e w e ll Pa p e r Co m pa n y

C 4 N o rt h M i ss i ss i p p i M e d i c a l C e n t e r

8 3 Obs t e t r i cs & Gy n eco lo gy Ass o c i at e s

78 P r e m i e r D e n ta l C a r e

C 2 R e n a sa n t Ba n k

78 Sa n d e r s C li n i c fo r Wo m e n

45 T h e M a ll at Ba r n e s C r oss i n g

7 1 T h e Pa m p e r e d P o o c h

7 1 TRI I n c . R e a lto r s

8 3 T u p e lo Au to M u s eu m

2 T u p e lo C h u r c h o f G o d

3 3 T u p e lo R e ti r e m e n t Li v i n g

7 2 TVA