Stephenson finds success in Memphis

Feature profile in The Memphis Daily News

March 29, 2010

Susan Stephenson grew up in East Tennessee and followed her heart to Memphis when a young man she knew decided to attend graduate school here.

She ended up falling in love with a city instead.

“You don’t get to pick where you start, but you get to pick where you end and this is the place where I chose to build my life and my family and my career, and it’s where I choose to end,” Stephenson said. “I really genuinely love this city.”

The CEO and co-founder of Independent Bank never intended to enter the world of banking. Her liberal arts education in history and English from the University of Tennessee suggested a different track altogether, one that might have included teaching had she not ended up in the corporate training program at First Tennessee ... (read more)

Memphian relishes writing role as second story hits the shelves

Feature profile for The Commercial Appeal

March 28, 2010

Memphian Molly Caldwell Crosby credits her career as an author in the narrative non-fiction genre to her time as a researcher for writers at National Geographic magazine and a "morbid attraction to tragic stories."

"It (narrative non-fiction) tends to be a lot of hurricanes and earthquakes and great fires," she said, "not exactly uplifting."

Crosby's second book, "Asleep: The Forgotten Epidemic that Remains One of Medicine's Greatest Mysteries" (Berkley Books, $24.95), was released earlier this month. It's the story of the sleeping sickness, or encephalitis lethargica, of the early 1900s, an epidemic that rode in on the wave of the Spanish flu outbreak of the time.

Falling into long sleeps for weeks or months, the victims totaled 5 million, with nearly a third of them dying. The disease would later be the focus for Oliver Sacks' book "Awakenings" and the movie of the same name.

Crosby, 37, grew up in Dallas and moved to Memphis to attend Rhodes College, where she graduated in 1995 with a degree in English with an emphasis in creative writing ... (read more)

Lexus nexus: Car dealer opens its showroom for nonprofits' special events

Corporate Giving story for The Commercial Appeal

March 19, 2010

Instead of a flower arrangement or ice sculpture at your next fundraiser, imagine a sleek black Lexus LS10 as the focal point.

Lexus of Memphis has been offering its two showrooms, with a total of 10,000 square feet of black marble tile and blond wood, located at 2600 Ridgeway Road for area nonprofits to host parties, banquets and galas.

"It's been an opportunity for us to do something that is an easy thing for us to do in the store," said Bryan Smith, general sales manager of Lexus of Memphis. "It's low cost to us, but can be a real benefit to the organizations that we partner with."

The building, in East Memphis just off Bill Morris Parkway on Ridgeway, making it easily accessible from all over town, was built six years ago for $12 million. In addition to the high end look of the tiling and wood interior, the space is well-lit and doors can be flung open in nice weather for guests to spill out onto a makeshift patio. There is a kitchen in the back for catering ... (read more)

Daddy's little flock is aflutter constantly

"Because I Said So" column for The Commercial Appeal

March 18, 2010

Our house is square like a doughnut.

In the center of the house is a courtyard, and that is where I have amassed a collection of feeders in the hopes of attracting birds.

All a tired father of four wants on some days is to sit quietly and watch the finches alight on the branches of the crape myrtle, enjoying a safe place to eat. It's the same principle behind my parenting; no one wants to see my kids foraging through their backyard for nuts and berries and Cheetos.

When it comes to communing with nature, though, my kids have other designs. They want to flit around and jump up and down, twitching and turning their heads this way and that like nervous mockingbirds.

And, oh, they mock me ... (read more)

Good news: Architect's passion for building goes beyond property to character, lives

Good News feature profile for The Commercial Appeal

March 16, 2010

Michael Walker builds houses and office buildings. He has built characters as an actor on stage and backdrops for those characters to move around. And he's helping build self-esteem and future success for a handful of young men at Manassas High School, both on and off the football field, as a volunteer coach and mentor.

Walker is the owner of Walkerarch LLC. Even as a child, the drawing, designing and creativity of his craft piqued his interest.

"We lived in a lot of new neighborhoods because of the moving (when his father was transferred for work), so I was always around construction and loved seeing things being built," he said. "As a kid, I was always building stuff or always had a project going of some sort, whether it was building a fort or models."

Born in Barrington, Ill., Walker attended DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind. On a break from school, his father, knowing his son's interests and creativity, took him to meet an architect friend.

"My father literally walked me to his office and I said, 'Yeah, I love that, the detail of a section and how you make it look like stone or wood or insulation.' " ... (read more)

My Profession: Health care administration

My Profession profile for The Commercial Appeal

March 10, 2010

George Hernandez is a man on the move.

As the new CEO of Campbell Clinic, Hernandez is charged with carrying the 100-year-old orthopedic clinic into its next century of operation. He took the reins from former CEO John Vines, who retired Dec. 31.

Hernandez, 57, now oversees an organization that is at the top of its field in orthopedic surgery in the Mid-South, produces the top-selling textbook on orthopedics in the world, Campbell's Operative Orthopedics, and facilitates research in its field and the training of physicians domestically and internationally.

In addition, Campbell Clinic works with orthopedic implant manufacturers such as Smith & Nephew to develop new implants and devices for use in surgery.

"The support staff and I are here to provide the framework that allows the doctors to practice their skill, and that's to treat patients with orthopedic problems," Hernandez said ... (read more)

Oscar un-worthy films can be more fun to talk about than the best flicks

Lifestyle cover feature for The Commercial Appeal

March 4, 2010

"You don't understand. I coulda' had class. I coulda' been a contender. I coulda' been somebody ..."

The line is from "On the Waterfront," and the film was certainly more than a contender. One of the greats, it garnered eight Academy Awards for 1954, including best picture, director, actor and actress.

But what of the others? In a year that saw 1,870 films released, according to the Internet Movie Database (imdb.com), they couldn't have all been great, they couldn't all be contenders.

Sure, there was "The Caine Mutiny," "Rear Window," "Dial M For Murder" and "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea," but not every movie would go on to become mainstays in popular culture. Some had to be bums.

In just a few days, film buffs will be abuzz with the winners from the 82nd Annual Academy Awards, where the best of the best will be honored.

While it is an honor just to be nominated, what of those that aren't? "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" isn't nominated for Best Picture. Neither is "Crank: High Voltage," "G-Force" nor "2012." Are these the worst films of last year, or will they one day be included on someone's list of the worst of all time? ... (read more)

Surprise! Not. Scheduled birth steals dad's big moment

"Because I Said So" column for The Commercial Appeal

March 4, 2010

My little sister is having a baby today. Probably as you read this over your Corn Flakes and coffee, she's having an epidural catheter inserted into her back to administer anesthesia into her spine.

Sorry.

This is actually her second baby, the first a girl almost three years ago. She knows she's having the baby today because, in the new tradition of the time, it's all planned out.

The appointment, whether inducement, C-section or natural, takes some of the guesswork out of the process, and that's fine because I've come to learn that everything after "It's a boy!" is guesswork. But it also removes that element of surprise, the midnight wake-up call that something is happening, something very exciting.

Get up! This is it! We have to go! ... (read more)