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Announced
Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway will partner with the Gameday Sports Park and Campbell Clinic Orthopaedics in planning “Penny Hardaway’s FastBreak Courts.” The 100,000-square-foot facility will be incorporated into the Gameday complex to provide a championship basketball court and six more regulation size courts. The renowned Campbell Clinic, one of the nation’s most recognized orthopedic practice and research organizations, will join the project to operate a sports rehabilitation program on-site. The youth multi-sport facility, located next to Shelby Farms and planned to connect with the Memphis Greenline, will be able to utilize Hardaway’s courts for activities such as volleyball, wrestling, and cheering as well. Hardaway’s division will operate as a part of the Gameday Healthy Kids Foundation, dedicated to encouraging youth sports participation and reducing childhood obesity.
Appointed
Joseph P. Hagan, principal of Memphis-based firm Architecture, Inc., was appointed to the Memphis and Shelby County Office of Sustainability’s Advisory Committee. The group was formed to monitor progress of the Sustainable Shelby Implementation Plan and recommend potential policy changes and legislation to local elected officials, in order to foster Memphis and Shelby County’s sustainability agenda. The committee is comprised of grassroots leaders, experts, university researchers, and private citizens appointed from each municipality within the area. In this active role, Hagan looks to the considerate handling of resources and decisions made as a community to impact future generations. He founded Architecture, Inc. in 1994 with David M. Schuermann as a full-service architecture and planning firm downtown.
Completed
IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. has completed a $13.5 million expansion of its Memphis reference laboratory and distribution center, now North America’s largest for the Maine-based innovator in animal health diagnostics and information technology. The majority of the expansion was completed by local contractors, with most construction materials acquired through area vendors. The final stage will have added 90 new jobs to the site by the end of 2012. With 55 laboratories over five continents, IDEXX is the market leader in diagnostics and technical solutions for animal health as well as water and milk quality around the globe. Memphis’ reference lab currently employs about 116 pathologists, technicians, and specimen processors who provide services like diagnostic tests, panels, and profiles that help detect disease states and monitor pet conditions. In addition, the distribution center employs more than 40 people to process and ship orders, as the worldwide hub for IDEXX products.
Granted
Dr. L. Yu Lin, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Christian Brothers University (CBU), and Dr. Paul Indeglia of Peak Development Consulting, Inc., received a $15,000 grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the organization’s P3 program, a nationwide student competition for designs focused on people, prosperity, and the planet – recognized as the three pillars of sustainability. CBU is one of 45 universities to receive the grant, and will investigate, develop, and implement various technologies to improve energy efficiency in existing residential structures within low-income Memphis communities with a team of six civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering students. Upon completion of the project, the design will be presented at the 8th Annual National Sustainable Design Expo in Washington, D.C., and judged by a panel of experts. The EPA will grant up to another $90,000 to further the project and bring it to the marketplace if CBU’s work is selected. The EPA P3 program was developed in order to foster the research and design of practical solutions to real world challenges involving the overall sustainability of society.
Indie Memphis has been awarded a $10,000 grant by the Academy Foundation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Oscar organization’s educational and cultural committee awarded a similar grant for Indie Memphis’ 2010 festival. The 14th annual film festival which took place in November was the most successful in the organization’s history, with a record crowd of more than 8,000 and special guests such as native Memphian Chris Parnell, who plays Dr. Leo Spaceman on NBC’s 30 Rock, and Jason Baldwin of the newly freed West Memphis Three. The Academy awards grants to festival programs with proposals intended to make events more accessible to the public, provide better access to minority filmmakers, and connect filmmakers with the greater community. The festival program has distributed 277 grants totaling $4.85 million since its establishment in 1999. Indie Memphis also works year-round, bringing independent films to the city through partnerships with organizations such as the Brooks Museum of Art, the Global Film Initiative, and the Gandhi-King Conference on Peacemaking.
Hired
Erica V. Jones has been named director of human resources at Gold Strike Casino Resort in Tunica, Mississippi, bringing more than 14 years of experience in the field with 10 of them focused on management and leadership. Jones formerly held various positions in human resources for the Isle of Capri Casino, Inc., Horizon Casino and Hotel, and Tioga Downs Gaming and Entertainment. In this new capacity she will act as the first point of contact for the property, in charge of day-to-day human resources operations. Jones received a bachelor of administration degree in marketing and business from Jackson State University and a master's of science degree in business management from Belhaven University.
Niklas Rytterstrom has been named general manager for Gold Strike Casino Resort as a part of MGM Resorts International. He began his career with MGM at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1996 and later moved to San Francisco, working at the Mark Hopkins Inter-Continental Hotel. Rytterstrom returned to MGM as the assistant hotel manager at the Bellagio and also held positions as front office manager and hotel manager at the Mirage. Since 2005, he has acted as the vice president of hotel operations at Mississippi’s Beau Rivage Resort and Casino. In his new position, Rytterstrom will be responsible for business operations, team development, and collaboration with the MGM Resorts Mississippi Operations regional leadership. He earned a bachelor of science degree in hotel administration from the University of Nevada.
Andrew Jeter has been hired as director of assurance and accounting services at Cannon Wright Blount, and will assume all aspects of the firm’s audit services. Jeter formerly spent 12 years with one of the largest local CPA firms, most recently as a senior manager in audit and assurance. He is a native Memphian and received bachelor's and master's degrees in accountancy from Rhodes College.
Erin O’Dea has joined the Rice, Amundsen and Caperton Law Firm as an associate. She is a recent graduate of the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, where she was chosen by faculty to serve as a student ambassador and member of the leadership council. O’Dea was also elected by peers to serve as bar governor and later treasurer of the student bar association, and served as co-chair for the school’s Race Judicata 5K with proceeds benefitting Memphis Area Legal Services. She began clerking for the firm in April 2010.
Jessica Farmer has accepted an associate position at Rice, Amundsen and Caperton, PLLC for 2012. She graduated with honors from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 2009 and is currently in her third year as a student of the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. Farmer is an active member of the Association of Women Attorneys and a recipient of the Joseph Henry Shepherd Scholarship.
Micah Duke, CPA, has been hired as a manager in tax services at Horne LLP’s Memphis office. With more than 10 years of experience with an international firm, he will provide federal, state, and local income tax services to clients in manufacturing, service, banking, and retail industries. Duke received a bachelor's degree in accountancy and a master of science degree with a concentration in taxation from the University of Memphis. He is an active member of the American Institue of CPAs and the Tennessee Society of Public Accountants.
David B. Latham has joined Butler Snow Advisory as senior vice president and chief financial officer to spearhead the company’s efforts in the West Tennessee market. Formerly chief financial officer and chief operating officer of SergeMD, he has more than 25 years of experience in venture capital, operations, strategic planning, and business development. Latham is a board member of the Mississippi State University Research Technology Corporation and serves on their Entrepreneurship Advisory Board. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for Briarcrest Christian School. Latham graduated from Leadership Memphis in 2005 and the Venture Capital Institute in 2001. He received a bachelor of science degree in petroleum engineering from Mississippi State University and a master of business administration degree from the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University.
Lisa Williams has been hired as an administrative assistant at the Pickering Firm, Inc., with more than 15 years of experience in administrative support. The firm has also hired Brandon Yan-Hamby, AIA to their Memphis office’s Buildings Group. Yan-Hamby is a registered architect in Louisiana and received a bachelor of environmental design degree from Texas A&M University and a master of architecture degree from Louisiana State University. Timothy C. Ogburn, AIA, LEED AP, BD+C has also joined Pickering as an architect. He received both bachelor and master of science degrees in architecture from the University of Illinois, and is registered in the state of Tennessee.
Andy Belew, John Carter, and Kenneth Nazor have joined the Crump Firm, Inc. as architects certified through the American Institute of Architects (AIA), skilled in the planning, design, production, and management of major projects.
Honored
Dr. Art Graesser will receive the first Presidential Award for Lifetime Achievement in Research from the University of Memphis, as a professor of psychology and founding co-director of the Institute for Intelligent Systems (IIS) at the university. The award was established as part of the university’s centennial fundraising campaign to recognize the impact of research and is the highest level of research recognition granted to faculty. He established the IIS with Dr. Stan Franklin after coming to the university’s psychology department in 1985. The Institute was one of the first interdisciplinary research centers on campus, now involving approximately 60 students and faculty from the fields of computer science, mathematics, cognitive psychology, physics, neuroscience, education, linguistics, philosophy, anthropology, engineering, and business. Graesser is widely recognized as a leader in the learning sciences, with expertise in text comprehension and intelligent tutoring systems. His projects have received funding from such prestigious organizations as the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Office of Naval Research, and the Institute of Education Sciences. The award will be presented during the University’s Centennial Research celebration on February 28, 2012.
Bill Duncan received the Executive Leadership Award at the Corporate Neighbor Awards, presented by the Memphis Corporate Volunteer Council, as the global head of brand management for Homewood Suites and Home2 Suites by Hilton. The award is given to individuals who demonstrate the importance of volunteer work. Duncan guides both hotel brands’ efforts with a focus on literacy causes. Homewood Suites has partnered with Books for Kids, an early-childhood education and literacy advocacy group, to open four libraries in Memphis, Washington, D.C., Dallas, Texas, and Phoenix, Arizona. Its staff has also donated over 1,250 volunteer hours to literacy causes and 3,500 books to date. Duncan authored three books in Homewood Suites’ children’s series about the brand’s official mascot, Lewis the Duck, with the fourth installment planned for 2012. He is currently on the Board of Directors of the National Council for the Homeless and founded the Shelby County Race for Education along with his wife in 2001.
Leased
IDI, a full-service industrial real estate company based in Atlanta, Georgia, signed a lease with General Electric (GE) International, Inc. at the Crossroads Distribution Center, bringing the building to 100 percent occupancy. GE International, a subsidiary of General Electric Company, is relocating from another business park in DeSoto County to the expanded, LEED-certified space. The center, located at 9124 Polk Lane in Olive Branch, will distribute wind turbines from GE Energy’s Wind Services. The building is the newest facility in the area to receive LEED silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. IDI has also announced plans to build a 234,000-square-foot pharmaceutical facility for Watson Pharmaceutical’s Anda Distribution at Crossroads.
Promoted
Albert Throckmorton will become the next head of St. Mary’s Episcopal School. He originally came to the school in 2004 as assistant head and has taken charge of many signature programs and initiatives and coordinated curriculum in all grades during his time there. Throckmorton also led the school through its first dual accreditation and oversaw the design and construction of the Windland Smith Rice Building, the latest phase of the St. Mary’s Capital Campaign. He helped found the school’s knowledge bowl team and acts as their coach. Throckmorton currently serves as vice president of the Online School for Girls, a consortium founded in 2009 of which St. Mary’s is a charter member, and is an active member of the Task Force on 21st Century Curriculum and Technology for the National Association of Independent Schools. He was formerly the director of faculty development and also curriculum technology at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia, and before that coordinated the English department and academic technology at Episcopal High School in Houston, Texas. Throckmorton holds bachelor's and master's degrees in teaching from Rice University, and will begin official duties upon the retirement of Marlene Shaw on July 1, 2012.
Received
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Five local members of the Memphis Metro Chapter of the Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) Institute were awarded the CCIM designation during examinations held in Phoenix, Arizona. Max Hamidi of Re/Max on Track, Cathy Anderson of Crye-Leike Commercial, James Rasberry of Rasberry CRE, Ed Thomas of Colliers International, and Van Watkins of AmSouth Bank are now recognized experts in commercial real estate brokerage, leasing, asset management, valuation, and investment analysis. The designation is awarded to professionals upon successful completion of a graduate-level curriculum and presentation of a qualifying portfolio. The recipients were joined at the ceremony by officers of the Memphis chapter: President Tanis Hackmeyer of Hackmeyer Realty and Vice President Scott Andrews of Healthcare Realty, who both previously received the CCIM designation.
Remembered
Charles Bruce Hallmann, senior vice president of sales at Cornerstone Systems, passed away at his home in Germantown in November. He is warmly remembered as a mentor and friend to all at the company, and is survived by his wife, Kathy Walker Hallmann, three sons, and three grandchildren. Graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, Hallmann was retired from Illinois Central Railroad before assuming his position at Cornerstone.
