The
famous quote from historian David Cohn is that the Delta
begins in the lobby of Memphis’ Peabody Hotel. Today’s
Memphis is still very much a gateway to the Delta—for
commerce, for culture, for tourism. By the same token,
thousands of Deltans come to Memphis for its entertainment,
shopping, and dining options, its world-class medical
capabilities, its educational and employment opportunities.
As they speak of positive economic developments in the
River City, Memphis civic and business leaders are also
quick to point out that the city and Delta complement
each other, with economic growth in one area providing
benefits to the entire region.
The traditional image of chambers of commerce pursuing
heavy industry and manufacturing is increasingly rare
in today’s economy, says Ken Hall, VP of Communications
with the Memphis Regional Chamber. “Chambers have
learned to diversify their prospecting to a variety of
sectors. One of the areas of focus for the Memphis Regional
Chamber at the moment is the biotech industry. We’re
working to bring together existing medical device manufacturers
and distributors, hospitals, research entities, and other
health and science-related businesses in the city.”
The Census Bureau has recently expanded the scope of Memphis’
standard metropolitan statistical area from five counties
to eight, Hall reports, including the addition of three
more counties in north Mississippi (for a total of four.)
“Significant portions of our workforce commute into
Memphis from Mississippi and Arkansas,” he comments.
“Some Memphians commute to these states for work.
The economies are intertwined and interdependent in a
good way.
“Our government and chamber officials in various
cities throughout the region work together,” he
continues. “We know that getting a company to move
to Tunica or Senatobia still aids Memphis more than having
it move to someplace like Utah or Massachusetts. We believe
in and support regionalism.”
The Memphis Center Commission is responsible for coordinating
the redevelopment of downtown. Jeff Sanford reports that
over $2 billion in construction projects are underway.
“Our view of downtown is that it’s a unique
neighborhood that belongs to everyone in the region—not
just those that work there,” he states. “We’ve
got a full range of programs and activities aimed at revitalization.”
The Commission’s staff members range from urban
planners to the Blue Suede Brigade, on-the-street ambassadors
who provide information and directions to downtown visitors.
Sanford cites the Fed Ex Forum, the $250 million new home
to the Memphis Grizzlies which is currently under construction,
as a major catalyst for continuing downtown growth. “Residential
development, as well as retail and entertainment venues
which the Forum will spark, is a very important component,”
he says.
Alexandra Turner, Director of Media Relations for the
Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau, says downtown
revitalization has impacted tourism growth dramatically
throughout the region. “The Delta and Memphis do
complement each other, and even with the economic turmoil
of recent years, we’ve seen fabulous growth,”
she says.
“We’re seeing growing interest in Memphis
and the South as a destination, not just a place to pass
through. Memphis, like Clarksdale and Indianola and other
towns throughout the Delta, realizes and capitalizes on
the great asset of our music heritage.”
August is annually one of the area’s biggest tourism
months, with all the activities surrounding Elvis Week.
“We had over 30,000 people here this year, from
all over the world,” Turner reports. A recent ground-breaking
marked the beginning of construction of a new visitors
center on Elvis Presley Boulevard near Graceland—a
facility which Turner says will feature interactive multi-media
presentations featuring well-known musicians connected
with Memphis.
“I’m very excited about downtown growth,”
states Thomas Boggs of Huey’s Inc. “The Peabody
Hotel’s rejuvenation some years ago has really strengthened
Memphis’ connection with the Delta, and thousands
are attracted to Memphis from all over the region because
of all the city has to offer. Our new Convention Center
is already booking events for several years out, and Beale
Street is even stronger than people ever thought it would
be. I don’t think tourism here is likely to peak
for several years.”
Huey’s is a popular and growing chain of bar/grills,
with six locations in the Memphis area, including one
in Southaven.
Boggs is a past president of the Convention and Visitors
Bureau, so it is not surprising that Huey’s, Inc.
is also very well known for its community involvement.
They are one of the original sponsors of the King Biscuit
Festival in Helena, and also sponsor the Rendezvous at
The Zoo, a large fund-raiser for the Zoo Society. The
company also supports a wide range of tourism and other
activities throughout the Delta.
Founded in 1916, the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is the
oldest and the largest in the state. It features what
director Kaywin Feldman calls “an encyclopedic collection—from
antiquity to yesterday”. In addition to its permanent
collections, the museum offers fifteen traveling exhibitions
each year and ongoing educational programs.
“Our current special exhibition is entitled ‘In
The Spirit of Martin: The Living Legacy of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr.’,” Feldman reports. “It’s
the first major museum exhibition to highlight Dr. King’s
life, and features over 100 works by prominent and emerging
artists.”
Like many institutions, the Memphis Brooks Museum is addressing
the challenges of volatile economic times, Feldman says.
“Seventy-five percent of our operating budgets comes
from donations or earned revenue. We are having to be
more creative in finding funding,” she comments.
“It’s both good and challenging that there
are so many arts organizations to support in the Memphis
market.”
Soulsville, USA reached a major milestone and generated
a great deal of publicity with the opening this spring
of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. The week-long
celebration included a celebrity golf tournament, a lecture
series featuring various aspects of the music industry
and Stax’ role, a gala at the Gibson Guitar factory
in downtown Memphis, and an entertainment event at the
historic Orpheum theater—which was videotaped for
PBS and recently featured as a pledge special.
Soulsville executive director Deanie Parker says just
as important to her is the success of the Stax Music Academy.
“With the Academy, we’re working to improve
the life skills of children who are growing up in a very
poor area,” she says. “This spring, we had
250 children in our summer music camp, and we’ve
registered many kids for our fall after-school program.
Music is a very effective tool to teach these children
the fundamentals, such as reading and writing.”
With Grace magazine, publisher Tina Birchett of Birchett
and Associates has created a very successful vehicle for
information aimed at improving the lives of African American
women. The magazine came about as an extension of a popular
event that Birchett had earlier launched.
“I saw a real need to motivate women and inspire
them,” Birchett explains. “The result was
the Sisterhood Showcase, a two-day expo which now attracts
over 20,000 people and features over 300 companies. We
provide health screenings, financial planning, information
on raising children, and much more.
“People liked the event so much, they wanted me
to do it more often. That wasn’t practical, but
a magazine gave us a way to extend the mission of providing
this kind of information and support. Grace focuses on
positives for women of color in the area. I see it as
a responsible way for the media to give positive information—I
believe it’s still cool to showcase success stories,
and Grace is a voice for this.”
Memphis continues to expand its reputation as a medical
hub, offering the newest technologies, the latest forms
of treatment, and sophisticated research capabilities.
The services provided by Memphis hospitals are of a caliber
comparable to any major metropolitan area.
From its main campus in East Memphis to its major facilities
throughout northern Mississippi, Baptist Memorial Health
Care System provides a broad and expanding ranges of services.
The Women’s Breast Center in Memphis, for example,
focuses on all health care needs relating to the breast,
and concentrates all the needed specialists in one central
location.
A serious issue, especially for Baptist’s Mississippi
operations, is the liability insurance climate in the
state, says Jim Ainsworth, vice president and Mississippi
market leader. To address the crisis, which has hindered
recruitment efforts, Baptist recently created a malpractice
financial assistance program.
“The program is designed to offset the extraordinary
premium increases some physicians are facing in Mississippi,
due to several companies which have stopped offering coverage
to Mississippi physicians,” says Ainsworth. “Baptist’s
program will provide financial assistance to these physicians
for the difference between what they have been paying
and what they will have to pay with their new insurance
companies.
One of the newest developments at the University of Tennessee
Cancer Institute is the implementation of an adult allogenic
transplant program. “This blood and marrow transplant
system is the first in Memphis,” says Fuad Hammoudeh,
CEO of the Institute. “The program is in conjunction
with the Methodist University Hospital.”
Hammoudeh reports that the Institute is finalizing plans
for two new cancer centers—one on the UT campus
is downtown Memphis and another in the Memphis suburb
of Germantown. There are twelve locations throughout the
mid-South, including four in Mississippi. A Corinth branch
opens in September, and the Desoto County branch will
be moving to a much-expanded facility by the end of the
year, Hammoudeh says.
“Memphis’ continuing growth and reputation
as a medical center are helped by the presence of UT,
which is a focus for medical and research capabilities,
as well as the research development at St. Jude,”
he comments. “Being a distribution hub also helps
the city attract medical device firms to the area.”
Memphis business leaders in various industries are reporting
increased activity and strong signs of economic turnaround.
“We’re seeing a lot more interest and proposal
requests from both owners and clients,” reports
Scott Dicus with the Askew Dixon Ferguson architectural
firm. “In part, it’s from pent-up demand,
or the reactivation of projects that had been cancelled
or put on hold. You can also attribute it to a general
economic turnaround and low interest rates.
Askew Nixon Ferguson retains a strong Delta connection
through its continuing projects for Viking range Corporation.
Completed or soon to be are Culinary Arts Centers in St.
Louis and Cleveland, Ohio, with another underway in Princeton,
New Jersey. In Destin, Florida, the firm is working on
a Viking Kitchen Center, which focuses on the retail side
of the business.
A look at the range of projects currently underway at
Burns Cooley Dennis, Inc. gives some idea of the infrastructure
and other construction work activity in the Memphis area.
The Ridgeland, MS-based geotechnical engineering consulting
firm is the largest in the state, specializing in site
preparation and design of dams, bridges, commercial/industrial
buildings and facilities, power plants, landfills, and
other civil work projects.
“We currently have a number of projects going in
the Memphis metropolitan area,” reports Tommy Dunlap.
“In fact, the current work load is high enough that
we are considering opening our first branch office in
the area.”
Among BCD projects are the Highway 304 interchange on
Interstate 55 and Desoto County power plants in Southaven.
Dunlap says they are also one of the firms working on
repairs at Mud Island in Memphis, which has suffered serious
landslide problems in recent years.
Shellie McCain, attorney with Butler, Snow, O’Mara,
Stevens & Cannada reports a busy year. A civil law
practice, the firm has offices in Memphis and Jackson,
MS and clients throughout the Delta.
“The litigation climate remains particularly heavy
in Mississippi,” McCain comments. “The December
tort reform actions resulted in a lot of filings, and
there is still a lot of litigation going on.
“Our Memphis office focuses on intellectual property—such
as trademarks and patents, etc,” he continues. “We’re
active in Memphis is estate planning and probate, biotechnology,
health care, and general tax and commercial law.”
Memphis is a river town, and commerce and travel along
the Mississippi River, and protection of its fertile land,
are crucial to the Delta’s continued economic health.
The Memphis District office of the U. S. Army Corps of
Engineers plays a pivotal role in maintenance and care
of the area’s natural resources, and thus significantly
and very positively impacts the region’s economy.
The district’s territory covers some 250,000 square
miles, including fifteen river basins, from the southern
tip of Illinois to near Rosedale, Mississippi. District
Engineer Colonel Jack Scherer says that two-thirds of
their $110 million budget is slated for projects related
to the Mississippi River. “Flood protection on tributary
streams is one of our big priorities,” he says.
“Also, our navigational mission provides tremendous
savings both to industry and to agriculture as relates
to shipping of commodities to market.”
Environmental protection and restoration is a growing
part of the Corps’ work, and the Memphis District
is currently involved in two groundwater protection projects
in Arkansas which directly affect the Delta, Scherer reports.
“There is a significant problem with groundwater
depletion because of agricultural irrigation in the Mississippi
Delta,” he comments.
“It’s important to point out that all projects
are locally-sponsored. Many involve cost sharing—it’s
not just the federal government coming in, finding the
problem and tackling it. We work with local partners to
find the right solutions.” DBJ
