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.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Monday, June 11, 2007
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.
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.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
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.
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.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
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.
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.
Friday, June 1, 2007
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/
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/
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