Big Things are Happening at the Orpheum

The Orpheum is such a jewel! Not only is it beautiful and brings in great shows, but it hosts a variety of other events year round that are a lot of fun.

For example, the Orpheum is hosting Orpheum Star Search - which is exactly what it sounds like. Folks will compete to be one of ten amazing regional finalists vying for $15,000 in savings bonds and recording time at Ardent. If you think that you're the next big thing and just need to be discovered, the Orpheum might be the right place for you.

If you are looking for a family event, check out the Orpheum's Family Series starting with "If You Give a Pig a Party" and "Thomas and the Library Lady".

Check out these fun events and more at:

http://www.orpheum-memphis.com/

The Memphis Film Scene is Strong

Memphis may not be Hollywood just yet but there have been a string of movies shot here and there is a growing community of filmmakers here, most notably Craig Brewer -- Hustle & Flow, Black Snake Moan.

In addition to local filmmakers, big time Hollywood productions are increasingly being based here. Going back over the years: The Firm, The Client, The People Versus Larry Flint, Great Balls of Fire, Walk the Line, Elizabethtown, 21 Grams, Forty Shades of Blue, Castaway, Hustle & Flow, Black Snake Moan and The Rainmaker have all been shot here in Memphis.

The latest movie to be shot in Memphis is Nothing but the Truth. Shooting is set to begin here in Memphis in mid October. Nothing but the Truth is a political thriller and stars Matt Dillon, Kate Beckinsale, Alan Alda, David Schwimmer and Vera Farmiga. It will be directed by Rod Lurie, who's latest film is Resurrecting the Champ. According to published reports, many of the actors for the film will be local and the production will hire mostly local folks.

Memphis is a creative town full of creative people. We're best known for our musicians but our film industry is also there and growing. As a kid I stood in line for hours to be an extra in Great Balls of Fire. Nothing but the Truth gives Memphians to be extras, speaking parts and production crew members. Plus, there's a great chance of running into Matt Dillon or Kate Beckinsale around town!

Here's to seeing you at the movies (making them or watching them)!

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2007/aug/30/30movie/

http://www.memphisfilmcomm.org/

Time to Get Back Outside - October Weather is Almost Here

A lot of people talk about the great weather in Memphis in May but I actually think that the best month of the year weather wise in Memphis is October. Just based on personal experience, October tends to be drier than May. The summer heat finally breaks around the end of September and so in October you get a lot of 70 to 80 degree days with 50 to 60 degree nights and blue clear skies. The leaves start to turn. it's just a beautiful time of year here.

It's a great time of year to get outside and go running, play tennis, go camping or hiking. frankly, this is the best time of year to do anything outdoors. October is a big golf month here.

Here's the best weather of the year and getting outside to enjoy it.

Memphis is for the Dogs!

Okay, if you know me and how much I love Memphis, you know that I'd never really say that Memphis is for the dogs. However, in this case I really mean it -- well sort of. this past weekend my family took our dog Keeper out to the dog park at Shelby Farms. I've lived here most of my life and had no idea that there was a dog park anywhere in Memphis but sure enough there is. It's on the North side of Shelby Farms (I think that's Raleigh-LaGrange) on the east side right where Trinity curves and becomes Raleigh-LaGrange. It's a huge area that's gated and has walking trails and at least two ponds. You can bring your pooch out there and let them off the leash to run free.

This last Saturday the weather was beautiful. there were tons of dogs running and playing with their four legged buddies. There were plenty of people out at the dog park as well. If you're a family guy like me, there were plenty of other families. If you are single, there were plenty of good looking single men and women out there as well.

That may have been the first time that I've been to the dog park at Shelby Farms but it won't be the last time that Keeper and I are out there. Hope to see you there soon.

Memphis College of Art Invests in South Main

Memphis College of Art has long had a gallery in the South Main Arts District. The college rented the space. It has now purchased a gallery at 338 South Main. For more information about the purchase or Memphis College or Art go to:

www.mca.edu

The South Main Arts District is located just south of downtown Memphis and has more than 21 different galleries. You can see everything there from water colors to photography and everything in between. One of the really fun things to do in Memphis is to take in the galleries when they have their open houses. Basically, the galleries provide wine and folks gather in the area to appreciate the art and to come together and socialize. For more information about the South Main Arts District and the gallery open houses, go to:

www.southmainmemphis.org

New Plans for the Pyramid?

Memphian Greg Ericson is pushing a new/old plan to redevelop the Pyramid. He wants to build an indoor theme park in the Pyramid complete with an indoor roller coaster. Before you scoff at the idea, consider Space Mountain at Disney World. That's exactly what that is -- an indoor roller coaster.

The link to the full story can be found in the Sunday, September 9, Commercial Appeal:

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2007/sep/09/b9pyra/

The plans also call for a refurbishment for the carousel from Libertyland, completion of the inclinator (finally!) and a major retail component that could include either Bass Pro Shops or its competitor Cabella's. The sense that I got reading through the article is that Ericson included Bass Pro Shops as a matter of political expediency. Bass Pro currently has a letter of intent with the City to redevelop the Pyramid into a giant Bass Pro store. If that happens, that would be great but Bass Pro has an out in the letter of intent and has not in the two years that it has been studying the Pyramid given any real sign that it is going to move forward with its plans anytime soon. Erickson may or may not have the real ability to pull off this plan but the fact that ambitious plans are being proposed as alternatives to a Bass Pro Shop that may never materialize is a great sign. My uneducated guess is that time is beginning to run out on Bass Pro to make a final decision. The City seems like it will be patient with Bass Pro for a little while longer but we now have another option should Bass Pro decide that the Pyramid is not right for it. Then again, this proposal may be exactly what Bass Pro needs to make a decision. Either way, exciting things appear to be planned for the Pyramid. We'll all have to be patient with this because the redevelopment of the Pyramid is enormously complex but we're farther along today than we have been. Memphis has a bright future ahead of it and so does the Pyramid.

What would you rather see in the Pyramid? A giant Bass Pro or an indoor amusement park?

MATA Goes Green -- At Least in Part

According to the Sunday, September 9, Commercial Appeal, Memphis Area Transportation Agency ("MATA") has purchased four hybrid buses. The buses are far more expensive but are cheaper to operate and create far less pollution. The City has more than 200 buses but these are a start and a step in the right direction. According to the article, MATA plans to purchase additional hybrid buses in the future. Here's the link:

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2007/sep/09/e9fleets/

This is a bigger deal than it might otherwise seem because one impediment that Memphis and the surrounding counties face to new economic development is attainment status with federal air quality standards. Using hybrid vehicles especially for buses will certainly help cut down on emissions that negatively impacts air quality. Memphis has some of the best water in the country. It's time that we worked on having our air quality match our water quality.

University of Memphis Announces Campus Expansion

Every great city is linked to one or more great universities. I happen to think that we're already there or knocking on the door of being a great American city and we're lucky to have the University of Memphis, Christian Brothers University, Tennessee - Medical Sciences Center and Rhodes College here. These are all critically important to the future of our city.

This past week, news broke about the University of Memphis announced plans for expansion of its existing campus. The full plans can be seen by going to the following:

http://bf.memphis.edu/cpd/mp/Master_Plan_Presentation_2006.pdf

In essence, the University will get approximately $7 million a year for the purpose of purchasing land to expand the current campus. The University will look to purchase land to the West of its current main campus to eventually push its campus all the way over to Highland Avenue. The new plans are specific, well thought out and exciting not only for the University but for the entire area around the University. the Highland Avenue strip has long been an off collection of businesses, restaurants and bars with no coherent plan to unify them. This new plan could be exactly what the area around the University needs to really take the University of Memphis and the area around it to a new level.

One of the most exciting things about the plan is its inclusion of new and improved University housing options including an honors student housing complex. One of the complaints that is often heard about the University of Memphis is that it feels less like a college campus and more like a commuter school. Some of that is just the reality of all urban universities but this plan should add real life to the University and bring and keep more people on campus even when classes are not in session.

The plans call for a realignment and upgrade of Central and for a pedestrian underpass under the railroad tracks. Both are sorely needed for safety and aesthetic reasons.

One thing missing from these plans is any area to build an on-campus football stadium. The inclusion of such a stadium would have taken an already fantastic and exciting plan and made it almost perfect. However, the lack of a stadium on the plans shouldn't be seen as a sign that one couldn't be located on campus or right next to it. First of all Harold Byrd and those who support an on campus stadium contend that there is room on campus for a stadium right now. Second, even with the planned expansion of the campus over to Highland, there are still areas adjacent to the campus that could be sites for a future stadium. The University hasn't run out of room to grow even with these planned expansions.

As the University of Memphis grows and expands, all Memphians will benefit! Go Tigers!

The Delta Fair and Music Festival -- Fun on the Redneck Side

Last night my family and I along with our good friends went to the new Delta Fair and Music Festival. Overall, I'd say it was a lot of fun and a very family friendly event.

www.deltafest.com

I definitely felt like I was getting in touch with my inner redneck by being there. There was a decided "country" flair to this version of the fair. For example, I saw more versions of camouflage in a hundred yards there than any other place that I've been in a long time. One little girl had an inflatable camo blow up assault rifle! Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition! They'll pry that gun from her cold dead hands.

There were pig races, lawn mower races, a giant rat (which i think was a capabera), a miniature mule, a pretty cool petting zoo and of course all the usual fair rides and food. I'm not sure if it's accurate or not but all of the prices seemed to be just a notch below what are charged at the venerable old Mid-South Fair.

The Delta Fair seemed to be a little smaller than the Mid-South Fair. Then again this is the first year of the Delta Fair and the Mid-South Fair has been going for 150 or so years. I can see in a few years when the Mid-South Fair moves from the Fairgrounds to Millington or North Mississippi, the Delta Fair taking over and becoming larger. The crowds over Labor Day weekend were certainly impressive and by all newspaper accounts, the organizers of the Delta Fair have been pleased by the crowds. I'd say that the Delta Fair is a great new addition to the long list of fun things to do in Memphis and will likely be here for years to come.

The University of Memphis -- 10 Reasons to Be Opptomistic

I am not an alum of the University of Memphis. I graduated from the University of Tennessee and then to law school at Vanderbilt. But I do pull for the University of Memphis in many ways. The more the University of Memphis succeeds, the more we all succeed. There is quite simply a direct correlation between the economic health of a city the health of its universities.

I recently attended a breakfast at the University of Memphis and was pleased and surprised to learn some good news about the University of Memphis. Here are ten reasons to be opptomistic about the success of the University of Memphis.

(1) The U of M is the only institution of higher learning in Tennessee with five Centers of Excellence, state designated academic centers that receive special funding and attract the country's top scholars.

(2) The U of M has 26 Chairs of Excellence, more than any other university in Tennessee. A Chair of Excellence is a state-designated, definitive authority in his or her field of study.

(3) Four U of M students have been awarded the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship, a national award in the fields of math, science and engineering.

(4) The U of M's University graduate program in discrete mathematics and combinations was ranked one of the top 15 programs nationally by U.S. News and World Report in 2006.

(5) Two U of M professors were awarded Fulbright Scholarships in 2007 to conduct further research in their fields.

(6) The U of M Institute of Egyptian Art and Archeology recently unearthed a tomb in the Valley of the Kings, the first discovery of its kind in the Valley of the Kings since 1922.

(7) The U of M's audiology and speech-language pathology programs are nationally ranked by U.S. News and World Report.

(8) The U of M faculty includes Peabody, Grammy and Emmy award winners.

(9) The nursing school and the law school both boast the highest licensure passage rates of their peer Tennessee schools.

(10) The U of M is the safest metropolitan campus in Tennessee with a safer record on campus crime than Vanderbilt or the University of Tennessee.

See http://www.memphis.edu/tigerpride.htm

Note: Dr. Shirley Raines, the President of the University of Memphis, is a great ambassador for the University and for Memphis. She's the right person for job and we're lucky to have her. She made it clear in her remarks at the breakfast that she's open to a new on-campus stadium (which would be great for the University) but that she is not open to using new student activity fees to pay for the stadium. Rather, she said that her first priority is for funding for a new research building on campus. I applaud her for that position. A new stadium on campus would help give the college feel to the campus that at times lacks it -- because relatively few students live on campus. But, for the long haul and the health of our city, a new research facility is far far more important. I, for one, am grateful for Dr. Raines' clear and thoughtful leadership.

Blue Ridge Paper Announces Move to Memphis

This past week, another company announced that it is moving its company headquarters to Memphis. According to the Asheville Citizen-Times, Blue Ridge Paper Company will move its company headquarters to Memphis from the Asheville, North Carolina area.

http://citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200770827080
www.blueridgepaper.com


Based on the information that I have been able to learn, it looks like Blue Ridge Paper is being acquired by The Rank Group which owns a former unit of International Paper and that the new combined entity will be headquartered in Memphis and run under the name of Evergreen Packaging Group. The combined companies will own and operate plants that employ more than 1,000 people in nearby Pine Bluff, Arkansas and in Concord, North Carolina.

This announcement is especially good news because it means that many of the high paying executive level jobs that International Paper brought to Memphis twenty years ago will stay in Memphis even as International Paper transforms its business and divests itself of a number of subsidiaries. For example, earlier this year, West Frazier, a successful and large Canadian forestry and sawmill business, purchased a large portion of International Paper's forest lands and sawmill divisions. Rather than relocate those jobs elsewhere, West Frazier chose to locate its United States corporate headquarters here in Memphis. With the move of Blue Ridge Paper to Memphis and the merger into Evergreen, the trend continues of companies choosing Memphis as their headquarters and the trend continues of keeping those valuable International Paper jobs here in Memphis.

Welcome to Memphis, Blue Ridge Paper!

Memphis is the Home of the King -- The Lion King

My wife and I took our kids to see The Lion King at the Orpheum and it was a fantastic show. Having watched all three of the Lion King moves many many times over the years with my kids, I wondered how the musical could possibly convey the story, be entertaining and visually appealing. After all, this is a story that takes place on the grasslands of Africa with elephants, gazelles and all manner of animals. It's one thing to draw those in a cartoon. It's another to produce that live. Well, the musical pulls it off in what is quite simply visually stunning. It's colorful and beautiful. I wondered if my kids attention would be help throughout the musical because they have seen the story so many times. They were riveted until the very end. Having the Orpheum in Memphis and being able to take in musicals and plays like The Lion King, with or without children is just a great part of living in Memphis. We had dinner downtown before the show and it was great to see downtown a buzz on a Sunday night. Downtown Memphis is a fun place for many many reasons including the Orpheum.

The Lion King runs at the Orpheum through September 16, 2007. For tickets, go to the Orpheum website at: www.orpheum-memphis.com

Forbes.com Recognizes Memphis as One of the Best Cities for Singles

Those of who live here have long known what a fun city Memphis is. It now appears that others are starting to recognize that as well. According to the August 21, 2007, edition of Forbes.com, Memphis is one of the 40 best cities in America for singles. Memphis came in at number 23. The number one city for the 2007 list was San Francisco.

Memphis beat out other ranked cities such as Sacramento, Baltimore, St. Louis, San Antonio, Indianapolis, Portland, Tampa, Jacksonville and Cincinnati. Not ranked in the top 40 were Nashville, Birmingham, and Raleigh.

Memphis got high marks for the number of singles, and the costs of living alone. It also ranked in the top forty in: (1) culture, (2) nightlife, (3) job growth, (4) and online dating.

Memphis is a vibrant fun town for those single and those who are married. There's a lot to do here. The people are warm and welcoming and if you are single you can find that right person, build a career and having meaning here in Memphis. There's a soul to Memphis and it's a not a good "ole" soul but a young funky, cool soul.

Long Live the King!

Many Memphians don't truly appreciate our whole Elvis heritage but they should. We just had Elvis week here, which marks the anniversary of the death of the King. This years was the 30th anniversary. The crowds were huge -- about 75,000. Elvis week has a bunch of high points but the candlelight vigil on the anniversary of his death is something that everyone should do once. Thousands of people (mostly from places other than Memphis) line up for hours and hours to walk past Elvis' grave to pay respects. The first person in line often has to camp out for a day or more to get the "pole position". The procession lasts all night. While there are many events during Elvis week to have some fun at the fat Elvis image, the vigil is not one of them. People at the vigil are serious. The fun stuff includes the Elvis tribute artist contest. Some of those fake "Elvi" are really good. Others are terrible but there's some real entertainment in how bad they are. Then there are the Korean Elvi, the Indian Elvi, the little kid Elvi etc. Basically during Elvis week, you can see "Elvis" all over Memphis. It's a fun and funky time of year to be here. The tourists pump thousands of dollars into the local economy so that's always a plus as well.

Elvis was an incredibly generous man. he gave thousands and thousands of dollars to local charities and often anonymously. So you can literally find lots and lots of people in Memphis who have some personal connection to the King even thirty years after he passed away. His generosity was just one of the reasons he remains so popular all these years later and even in death keeps giving back to the city.

the owners of Graceland are in the planning stages of a major expansion of the Graceland area. They will spend several hundred millions dollars over the next few years to dramatically expand and modernize the facilities around the mansion. Graceland is the second most visited house in the United States after the White House so an investment of that kind is certainly warranted.

Elvis, Graceland and Elvis week are just a few of the many reasons that Memphis is a great place to live. Like the song says, "I'm going to Graceland, Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee!"

Phoenix Club Summer Party Was A Blast

The Phoenix Club's Mardi Gras Party (held around Mardi Gras time) is legendary. Many consider it to be the best party of the year every year in Memphis. Well building on that success the guys of the Phoenix Club held a summer Hawaiian party at the Botanical Gardens. The entertainment was none other than Hollywood Raiford. The set up was great. The party was held beside the lake there on two good sized lawns. The D. Canale Bud truck was there and the partygoers managed to drain the truck by 12:30. Next year they'll have two Bud trucks. In addition to the Bud Trucks, they also had two cash bars and food. The night was surprisingly not that hot. They had plenty of fans out there that kept the air moving. Raiford was on hi game as usual. he made at least three costume changes and the fog machines were blowing all night. The party raised a lot of money for the Boys and Girls Clubs. More than 700 people attended the party and if you were 25 to 30, you couldn't possibly find a bigger collection of eligible bachelors and really good looking women.

The party originally started a few years ago as just a fun event put on by Ben Buffington, Randy Smith and others at a High Point Terrace. the party grew and grew to the point where it was ready to be moved to a bigger location -- the botanic gardens. The party is just another reason that Memphis is a great place to live. First of all, it was a lot of fun. Second, it shows that Memphis is the kind of place where people can make a difference and you can start new things here.

College Football is Back

Although it is hotter than a firecracker outside, college football players all over the South are reporting for fall two-a-days. Memphis is located close to some great college football. Tennessee is closer than you think. Tuscaloosa, Fayetteville and Baton Rouge are too. Of course just an hour from Memphis is Oxford, home to Ole Miss. Add to that mix the eternal optimism that exists at the University of Memphis (some years justified) and you will find a lot of really happy college football fans in Memphis this time of year.

Whether you are an Ole Miss fan or not, one of the things that all Memphians should do at least once is take in a football game in Oxford. "The Grove" is a relatively small wooded park in the middle of the University of Mississippi campus. For home games, the Grove is filled with tents, awnings, tarps, coolers, beer, bourbon, Little Abner's chicken, table cloths and all of the fixings that you'd need to have a great tailgate. The Grove is also filled with some of the most beautiful women that you'll ever see in one spot -- and they're not just college students. It doesn't seem to matter there how old the woman is, they are pretty much all stunning. It's well worth it to spend some time in the Grove just taking in the whole atmosphere. Memphis is really lucky to have the Grove just an hour away. Oxford is a great little town and is worth a day trip just about any time of year, but especially on football Saturdays in the fall.

University of Memphis games are a lot of fun as well. The Highland Hundred, the boosters of the Tigers often have a big tailgate in the parking lot of the Liberty Bowl on the south side of the stadium. Harold Byrd and the Bank of Bartlett frequently have a great tailgate as well. If you just go to Toby Park, near the stadium, you'll almost always find plenty of people tailgating and having a great time.

There has been a lot of press about the Liberty Bowl and renovations needed to it. Certainly, the Liberty Bowl needs a face lift and I'm sure there are some other things that need to be addressed. I'll tell you though that there really isn't a bad seat in the place. The sight lines in the Liberty Bowl are great. It's a fun place to watch a college football game.

Knoxville, Tuscaloosa and Fayetteville are all also special places to see a college football game. Trips to these places from Memphis are more than a day trip but all are within an easy drive.

College football is just another reason that it's great to live in Memphis.

Blue Dog Visits the Home of the Blues

Memphis is home to at least two world class art galleries, the Dixon Gallery and Gardens and the Brooks Museum of Art. From July 29 to October 14, the Dixon Gallery and Gardens will have a display of the work of George Rodrigue who is best known for his Blue Dog painting. The Dixon is a great venue to appreciate fine art and its gardens are beautiful.

While I'm not someone who regularly takes in fine art, I am someone who appreciates the Dixon and the Brooks. I've seen a number of shows at both that have brought world class art to Memphis. Certainly if you travel to New York or Paris or Rome fine art is widely available. For most of the rest of America, that's not the case. Memphis is lucky in that a number of the prominent cotton families from the last century used their wealth to purchase fine art and then left those collections and in some cases their homes to the public for their education and enjoyment. I have heard from others that do know fine art that Memphis has as fine a collection of art as any museum in Atlanta, Dallas and St. Louis. For a city of our size (approximately 1.3 million) we are blessed to have the art collection of somewhere much larger. Go check out the George Rodrigue exhibit at the Dixon and show the art world that we really are the home of the blues . . . or at least the Blue Dog!

Check Out the Orpheum Summer Movie Series

If you've been to Downtown Memphis you've undoubtedly been by the Orpheum Theatre. The Orpheum is best known for hosting broadway musicals such as the Lion King. But the Orpheum hosts a variety of other events such as concerts and movies -- that's right, movies! In fact, the Orpheum originally opened as the first Malco movie house. It opened in the era when movie houses were opulent, ornate buildings with balconies and taking in a movie was an event. If you take in one of the summer movie series, it still is.

Each year, the Orpheum runs a summer movie series. I recently had the pleasure of taking my children to the Orpheum to see Raiders of the Lost Ark for the first time. It was great. They showed an old black and white serial before the main attraction. They had a trivia contest and the Orpheum looked as beautiful as ever. We had a lot of fun.

If you haven't seen a movie there or haven't been there in awhile, it's definitely one of those really cool and essentially Memphis things that you just have to do. Go to www.orpheum-memphis.com for a list of the coming attractions including the movies. Some of the movies yet to play this summer are the Rocky Horror Picture Show, the Godfather, the Sound of Music, Goldfinger, Caddy Shack and the Wizard of Oz.

If you have a family, this is a great way to spend some time together. If you're single or don't have kids, go check out one of these movies and then head on over to Beale Street.

Memphis is Home to Two of America's Best Places to Live

The list of America's "Best Places to Live" is out and according to the July 17, 2007, edition of the Commercial Appeal Bartlett and Olive Branch, two Memphis area cities, made the list. Bartlett came in at number 95. Olive Branch made the list at number 89.

Bartlett was the only city in Tennessee to make the list. One other Mississippi city made the list, Ridgeland, at number 80. There were no Arkansas cities on the list.

Having two of its suburbs make the list is just a broader recognition that the Memphis area is a great place to live. While Bartlett and Olive Branch officially made the list, we know that there are a number of other cities and neighborhoods in Memphis that are great places to live as well including: Arlington, Lakeland, Germantown, Collierville, East Memphis, Chickasaw Gardens, Central Gardens, Vollentine-Evergreen, Cooper-Young, South Bluffs, Downtown, Harbortown, Marion, Hernando and parts of Tipton, Tunica and Fayette Counties.

Memphis is a great place to live, work, play, worship and raise a family.

Memphis is Home to One of the 50 Most Influential Churches

As reported in the Memphis Commercial Appeal on July 17, 2007, Bellevue Baptist Church was rated as one of the 50 most influential non-Catholic churches in the United States. Bellevue ranked 38 on the list which looked at 2,000 such faith communities.

This survey just recognizes what we've known for a long time in Memphis -- that Bellevue is a positive influence in this community and many other communities. The good (spiritual, social, charitable and otherwise) that Bellevue does for Mid-Southerners cannot be understated or fully appreciated. The political influence that Bellevue exerts in the Mid-South also cannot be understated.

Memphis is a better place to live because we have Bellevue. I can say that without bias because I'm not Southern Baptist and do not attend church there. It's just easy to see the good that they do. We're glad to have Bellevue and we congratulate them on their recognition.

You Can Get There From Here

No matter where "there" is, you can get there from here. One of the great things about Memphis is that its easy to get just about anywhere from Memphis. Northwest Airline anchors Memphis International Airport with its passenger hub. Between Northwest and the other airlines that service Memphis, there are non-stop flights from Memphis to more than 90 cities. (Source: www.memphisdelivers.com). The bulk of those non-stops are Northwest flights but Frontier just entered the Memphis market with non-stops to Orlando, Las Vegas and Denver. American has direct service to Dallas. United has direct service to Chicago. U.S. Air has direct service to Charlotte, Newark and Phoenix. Delta has direct service to Atlanta and Cincinnati. Memphis even has direct international flights to Toronto, Amsterdam, Cancun and Kingston, Jamaica. If you are flying for fun or for business, Memphis has tremendous options for you -- more so that many of our peer cities.

If you are driving, it's easy to get there from here too. The Tunica casinos are just thirty minutes away. Nashville is just three hours up I-40. Birmingham is three to four hours down U.S. 78 (which will be the future I-22). Jackson, Mississippi is three hours down I-55. Little Rock is two hours west on I-40. St. Louis is five hours north on I-55. The new transnational NAFTA highway (I-69) is under construction around Memphis and will run from the Mexican border to Canada. Atlanta, New Orleans, Dallas, the Smokey Mountains and the Gulf Coast Beaches are all within an easy day's drive.

If you are doing business and need to ship goods, Memphis is home to five class one railroads (BNSF, CN, CSX, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific -- Source: www.memphisdelivers.com). Of course, we also have the Fed Ex superhub from which you can ship letters or packages overnight to virtually anywhere in the world.

R.E.M. once sang that "You can't get there from here" and for many places, that may be true or, at least, it may seem like that is the case. That's not true for Memphis. In Memphis, you can get "there" from here.

50 Years of Professional Sports In Memphis

This past weekend marked fifty years of professional sports in Memphis as the big boys on the PGA Tour made their annual stop here in Memphis for the Stanford St. Jude Championship. I think we Memphians tend to forget that we've been a "big league" city for many years -- not just since the Grizzlies and the NBA came here. I'm certainly grateful for the Grizzlies and root for them and support them. However, we need to be grateful for the golf tournament and all the great things that it's done for Memphis and for St. Jude. Many other cities would love to have a stop on the PGA Tour.

We've had fifty years of great golf. Giants like Nicholas, Palmer, Player and Trevino have all played here. In recent years Michelson, Sing, Scott, Garcia, Toms and other leading players have all played here. Of course, we can't forget Big John Daly. These guys have certainly entertained us.

We've had three different world class golf courses to enjoy the rest of the year: the old Colonial Country Club (where the Target in East Memphis is now), the newer Colonial with its two great courses and the TPC at Southwind. We'll likely have a fourth golf course to be thankful for in the years to come as there are certainly rumors that Spring Creek Ranch will host the tournament in the years to come. I have had the privilege to play Colonial North, Colonial South and Southwind. All three are amazing courses that will really challenge your game. I've been to but not played Spring Creek. The course there is amazing and the new golf house is spectacular. When you consider the residential development around all of those courses, the economic impact has been huge.

Of course, we can't forget the impact that the golf tournament has had on St. Jude. The tournament and its thousands of volunteers have donated millions to St. Jude and the life saving work that they do. Countless children are alive today or have grown up to have their own children because of the work of St. Jude and the financial support of the golf tournament.

This last year was the fiftieth year of the tournament but the first year for the Stanford Financial Group to be the lead sponsor. They did an amazing job and made the tournament even better than it has ever been.

The Standford St. Jude Tournament is just another reason that Memphis is a great place to live, work and play. I certainly have lots of fond memories from the tournament over the years. If you feel inclined, share your great tournament memories with us.

Roof top parties are another reason Memphis is a fun place to live

Roof top parties are a Memphis tradition. Starting in the spring and running to approximately Labor Day, the Peabody Hotel and the Madison Hotel in Memphis host live music parties every Thursday night. Both roof tops are the places to be if you are single and want to meet other singles or if you are dating or married and want to take your significant other out for a fun night on the town. Both roof tops offer fantastic views of the Mississippi River and spectacular sunsets. Both parties also wind up being places where folks gather and have fun before going out later in other groups.

In addition to the Peabody and the Madison Hotel Thursday night parties, downtown Memphis has numerous other buildings with great roof top decks. Number 10 Main Street, Brinkley Plaza, the Gibson Guitar Factory, Alfred's, AutoZone Park and numerous lofts in South Main, all have spectactular roof top decks. These places may or may not host regular parties but they are great for smaller more impromptu events.

The deck at Alfred's has one of the best views of the city skyline and sits right at the corner of Third and Beale in the heart of Beale Street. So you can sit up there, enjoy a beverage or two and take in all the sights of downtown and the night life on Beale.

AutoZone Park has two party decks that mimic the roof top feel. It's just another in a long list of reasons that AutoZone Park is so well built and a regional treasure. Those decks have city views and of course great views of the game. Plus, you can buy a keg (through the Redbirds) and throw a keg party while watching a baseball game.

Downtown Memphis is a fun place to work, live and play and one of the reasons that is so are the many roof top decks.

If you read this and want to share your favorite roof top stories from Downtown Memphis or to list out other great roof top options, we'd love to hear from you.

Memphis has a rich culture of business innovation!

One of the great things about Memphis is that we have a long history of innovation built into our culture. Every time that you turn on a radio, go to a grocery store, send a package overnight, or stay in a motel, you need to think of Memphis. Sam Phillips, Clarence Saunders, Fred Smith and Kemmons Wilson are all Memphians who not only changed their hometown -- they changed the world with their innovation.

Sam Phillips revolutionized the world from Memphis by being one of the first to understand that music that traditionally had been the exclusive province of African-Americans would also be enjoyed by masses of majority whites around the world. Sam Phillips gave us Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, B.B. King and others. Our radio is much richer and more diverse today because of Sam Phillips' innovation -- we call it rock and roll.

Clarence Saunders founded the old Piggly Wiggly grocery chain here in Memphis. He understood that American shopping habits were changing. No longer did Americans want to buy their food goods in a series of separate stores. They wanted a one stop shop to get all their produce, meat, dry goods and baked goods in one place. He revolutionized the grocery business and made and lost vast fortunes as a result of that. His home, the Pink Palace, now serves as one of our great museums. Modern grocery stores all over the United States can trace their ancestry to Memphis and Clarence Saunders' Piggly Wiggly stores.

Although it may be hard to imagine, there once was a day when it was difficult to send a letter or a package from city to city overnight. You used to have to use the airlines to accomplish that end. Fred Smith forever changed that by founding Fed Ex here in Memphis and the rest is a not so overnight success. Today, Fed Ex is probably the most important factor in the Memphis economy and one of the most important companies in the world. Fed Ex and Fred Smith's innovation led to millions of jobs and is critical to our modern economy.

Kemmons Wilson also revolutionized American life and business from right here in Memphis. He founded the first Holiday Inn right here on Summer Ave. He knew that families and business travelers did not have uniform hotel options as they traveled. The beauty of his innovation was that he gave us all a clean, affordable and predictable lodging option as we traveled. Most national hotel chains today trace their roots to that first Holiday Inn right here in Memphis.

There are numerous other examples of Memphis innovation that have changed the way we live and work. Medical advances at St. Jude have meant that certain forms of childhood leukemia are now very survivable when twenty years ago such a diagnosis was a death sentence.

Whether it is our openness to those not originally from Memphis, a necessity borne out of poverty, a willingness to try new things or something simply "in the water", Memphis has a long standing culture of innovation in business. We can and should be proud of that culture. We can and should help build on it by acting on that next great idea and starting or expanding a business right here in Memphis.

Memphis Italian Fest is Further Proof of our Rich Diversity

The 18th Annual Memphis Italian Festival will take place this weekend (June 1-2) in Marquette Park in East Memphis (basically the corner of Park and Mt. Moriah/Mendenhall). While some often think of diversity only in terms of black and white, diversity means more than that. One of the great things about Memphis is our diversity. We're blessed to have such a cool, funky and eclectic mix of people. That mix is the base from which our world famous music and BBQ comes. It's a source of strength, not a problem.

In addition to being racially diverse (in terms of a strong African American community here), Memphis has long had sizable populations from a number of different backgrounds. One of those sizable populations is the Italian-American community here. This is their weekend, and much like St. Patrick's Day when we all claim to be a little Irish, this weekend is also for anyone who "claims" to be a little Italian or wishes they were.

Having grown up attending Holy Rosary church and school (which the festival benefits), I can remember its roots. I could be mistaken about this but I think the festival sprang out of an international food bazaar that was held for several years in the school's gym. Basically, the families in the parish that had some strongly identifiable ethnic background would cook the dishes from their families' homelands and folks would show up and pay a few dollars to eat good food and get a little education on the foods of the world. I don't remember when or how but I seem to remember the Italian families dominating that event and it morphed into the first festival which I think was held on the ball field at Holy Rosary. It just grew and grew from there to the point that they needed to move the festival somewhere bigger. So they moved to Marquette Park and it has grown each year since then. They probably need to move again to somewhere bigger but I wonder if they will because the location is so central to East Memphis and is near the church and school.

We can thank the Italians of Memphis for great produce (M. Palazola Produce Co.), many great restaurants (all of the Grisanti restaurants, Lucchesi Pasta Co., Ciao Bella, Brooklyn Bridge, Pete and Sam's etc.), some of our original supermarkets (Montesi's), specialty markets (Mantia's), business leaders and many many other contributions to our city.

The festival is also a perfect example of another reason that Memphis is a great place. Memphis is the kind of place in which a small group of people can make a real difference. You don't have to have been from here for a hundred years, go to school at a certain place or even belong to a country club to succeed here. (Those things help but are not necessary.) Part of the Memphis culture is our openness to anyone with a good idea, who loves Memphis and is willing to work hard to make a difference.

Having the strong Italian-American community here and their rich heritage is part of the reason that Memphis is a great place to live, play, work and raise a family. So go check out the festival this weekend and while you are at it, start thinking of that next great thing that you can start here!

Here's a link to the festival: http://www.memphisitalianfestival.com/

Tired of all the negative news about Memphis?

If you're like me and love Memphis, then you probably dread turning on the nightly news. It seems that all the news can broadcast is negativity. You probably also cringe when you hear Memphians talking poorly about our own town. Well there is another side to the story of Memphis. There are a lot of great things going on here. There are a lot of people that love Memphis, appreciate it and see the good things happening here. If you're one of those people, then this blog is for you.

All that I ask is that you leave the negative news at the door and only share/post positive things about Memphis. Leave the negativity for those in the professional media, for those that want to rubber neck at every unfortunate event and those that want to live in the past. If you want to hear the "rest of the story" . . . this blog is for you.