Economic downturn stokes home-cleaning services

Feature story for The Memphis Daily News

Aug. 2, 2010

For many people, having someone else to sweep floors and mop bathrooms might be considered a luxury, and possibly the first item crossed off any budget when the economy spirals downward and times get tough.

Kip Uhlhorn, co-owner of 2 Chicks and a Broom, has a different take, however. “If you’re working a lot more, I guess your personal time becomes more precious.”

“People are working two jobs or more hours, so instead of me going home at lunchtime to let the dog out, could you add that to the time allotted,” Kip’s wife, Kelly, said people ask her. “Also, people don’t want to spend their time on weekends cleaning their house.”

The Uhlhorns purchased the eco-friendly home-cleaning business 2 Chicks and a Broom, where Kelly had worked in the past, from Candace Mills in September 2008. They have managed in nearly two years to grow their client base to about 2,000 clients and have expanded their reach further east.

“We tripled the client base,” Kip said. “Everything is pretty comfortable now, as far as the flow of new clients, but for a while there we were just too slammed for the amount of people we have.” ... (read more)

A new trail, and a path forward

Feature story for the Summer 2010 Memphis Crossroads magazine

Long-awaited greenline links city neighborhoods with parks - exactly the type of asset employers say they need to make Memphis more attractive for workers.

Jurex's Rudolph unites nursing and legal professions

Memphis Standout story for The Memphis Daily News

July 16, 2010

Elizabeth Rudolph used her training as a nurse and an attorney to found Jurex, a Memphis-based company that trains nurses to be expert witnesses, review medical records in legal cases and become legal nurse consultants.

She developed the course in four formats: live, which is usually two full days of instruction, and by video, audio or an online e-course.

“What the course teaches is the legal and the marketing knowledge, and that’s combined with the nurse’s nursing knowledge,” Rudolph said. “The course comes with 15 accredited continuing education credits.” ... (read more)

Jim's Place East finds new home on Perkins

Spot news story for The Memphis Daily News

(with Eric Smith)

July 15, 2010

Jim’s Place East – a Memphis tradition since its founding nearly 90 years ago – is opening a location at Poplar Avenue and Perkins Road, having signed a 10-year lease for the 5,900-square-foot space that recently housed Harold’s women’s boutique.

The restaurant, a popular site for events such as wedding receptions, parties, business meetings and intimate dinners, has operated at 5560 Shelby Oaks Drive since 1976.

The move is a relocation from Shelby Oaks, yet the current location will remain open until the doors open this fall at 518 Perkins Road Extended.

“We want people with special memories to know that we’ll continue to operate the current location and that people should come back and visit,” said Sam Taras, son of co-owner, Dimitri Taras ... (read more)

Development partners reunite on Midtown project

Spot news story for The Memphis Daily News

July 13, 2010

Community Capital and Architecture Inc. have teamed up again, this time to build Community Capital’s new headquarters at 1708 Monroe Ave. between South Belvedere Boulevard and South Evergreen Street.

Located just behind Outdoors Inc. and half a block from Idlewild Presbyterian Church, the area is zoned commercial, although the new office space of Community Capital is designed to look like homes in the area and will keep the integrity and feel of the Midtown neighborhood.

“It’s primarily commercial use in there, but many of the buildings are converted residential structures, so in talking to OPD (the city-county Office of Planning and Development), they felt that going into that area with an office-type building would be inappropriate and they asked us to design a building that would be more residential in appearance, so that’s what we did,” said David Schuermann, lead architect on the project and co-owner of Architecture Inc.

Community Capital, whose president is Archie Willis III, is a boutique firm offering real estate financing, development prospectus packages, financial and affordable housing advising to municipalities and private companies alike. The firm also develops real estate ... (read more)

A lasting legacy: Body-donor program helps MERI train doctors in new techniques

Feature story in The Commercial Appeal

July 11, 2010

The next time you or a loved one is to undergo surgery, consider that the performing physician may have been trained on that procedure or the procedure itself may have been developed right in the heart of Midtown Memphis.

Located near Union Avenue and Cleveland, the Medical Education & Research Institute — MERI — is conducting hands-on teaching and training for physicians who travel to Memphis from across the country and around the world. At the forefront of this education is the use of cadavers donated through the Genesis Donor Program for the express purpose of furthering medical know-how.

"Our mission is to impact patient safety and ensure that physicians have a way to learn the new procedures," said Diana Kelly, manager of institutional development at MERI. "They are able to come here and practice on an uninvolved cadaver before they work on us. That's a much-preferred method."

The old adage "practice makes perfect" applies to sports and the arts, but possibly no place is it more apropos than in the medical field with those who take our lives in their hands on a daily basis.

"These techniques and improvements are coming at us very quickly, and there's constantly a new and better way to do a surgical practice, so that's where we come into play," Kelly said.

MERI is a nonprofit, state-of-the-art facility begun 15 years ago through the inspiration of Dr. Kevin Foley and as a joint venture of Baptist Memorial Healthcare Corp., Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare Corp. and Semmes-Murphey Neurologic and Spine Institute ... (read more)

For the Kids of Cooper St. in Midtown, business as usual all in the family

Feature story for The Commercial Appeal

July 1, 2010

While many kids spend their summers vegging out poolside, at camp or in front of the television, a group of children, let's call them the Kids of Cooper Street, are chopping vegetables, greeting customers and shelving inventory at some of Memphis' favorite haunts.

At 4 years old, she will probably change her mind on careers dozens of times before adulthood, but right now Ayden Smith, daughter of Ben and Colleen Smith, owners of the Cooper-Young restaurant Tsunami, has a goal.

"Ayden has decided that she wants to be a chef," Colleen said, "and with that Montessori upbringing, she's very hands-on and literally can sit down with a very sharp knife and chop things up without cutting herself."

She's too young to run her own restaurant just yet, but the environment of a small business is a good one to spend time in, according to her mother. It keeps her engaged and entertained.

"She's very interested in that (cooking), and when she's here and just bored out of her mind, we can send her into the kitchen to peel some potatoes or slice bananas." ... (read more)

In social networking, 'unfriending' is popular option when coversation turns unfriendly

Lifestyle feature for The Commercial Appeal

June 5, 2010

Virginia Ivy, former Memphian and current resident of the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas, was raised with true Southern manners to believe that it is in poor taste to discuss politics, religion or money in social situations that are not specifically geared to those conversations.

"I started out on Facebook posting my political positions, but have since weaned off of it since I do not appreciate others' opinions opposite of mine when I am logging on for social stress relief," said the 39-year-old virtual manager for a New York corporate travel agency. "I un-friend people who post or link to hateful things."

Debate swirls over privacy concerns and information sharing on Facebook, but navigating the social network also leads to other questions, including those of etiquette -- what to talk about and how much to talk about it.

Certainly there is a decorum to be followed in face-to-face social situations, whether a dinner party, play date or actual date, but what of the fairly faceless medium of social media? Do the same rules apply and to what outcome? ... (read more)

Flying high

Memphis in May festivities end with air show

Spot news story for The Memphis Daily News

May 21, 2010

Airplanes seen flying through the skies is a part of the daily tableau for Memphians. Odds are they are FedEx or Delta planes lining up for landing or beginning an ascent into the clouds at any hour of the day.

But anyone who looked closely this weekend might have seen the bright red stunt plane of Fagen Inc. turning loops and performing corkscrew maneuvers over the Downtown skyline.

Saturday’s Memphis in May Sunset Symphony and air show this Saturday ended the month-long festivities.

The air show has been part of the Sunset Symphony, the longest-running program for Memphis in May, since 2007. Diane Hampton, executive vice president of Memphis in May, said it usually draws some 25,000 spectators.

“It’s part of a whole day of family entertainment,” Hampton said of the air show ... (read more)

Cockadoos brings southern spirit to downtown

Small business spotlight for The Memphis Daily News

May 31, 2010

Between John Bradley Wells and his wife, Lana, the two have nearly 40 years of experience in the restaurant business.

He owned Como Steak House in Como, Miss., for 10 years, worked for B.B. Kings for six years and has been general manager of Huey’s Downtown for the past four years. Lana was a nationwide corporate trainer for Ruby Tuesday and general manager of the Wolfchase location.

Their latest foray into the restaurant business brings them to the intersection of Union Avenue and Second Street, just steps from the Huey’s John Wells managed, and a place called Cockadoos.

“Being Downtown for the last 10 years or so, I always had people asking me where they could get breakfast and with nothing right here on this main drag that did breakfast, we just felt like it was a great opportunity,” he said.

Breakfast at Cockadoos includes Belgium waffles, Texas French toast, buttermilk pancakes and, of course, grits, as well as cathead biscuits and gravy, and catfish and grits. In addition to the traditional fare, a coffee bar is also on site for caffeine fiends.

“We have the full array of the lattes and cappuccinos,” Wells said. “We wanted to make sure that we covered the whole gambit as it pertained to breakfast, so we wanted to offer all the coffees as well. Our coffee is a small roaster out of St. Louis called Mississippi Mud Coffee.”

The restaurant is only three doors south of Union on Second, in the building that used to house Café 61. The walls have been painted a light yellow, with some left bare brick, and bright floral patterns adorn the tablecloths and throw pillows in the two seating areas filling the two large bay windows looking out on the foot traffic. A mezzanine balcony overlooks the main floor of the dining room ... (read more)

Technology takes Ridgeway Middle music to new level

Spot news story for The Memphis Daily News

May 21, 2010

The walls of a cinderblock city school classroom in East Memphis are hung with posters of John Coltrane, King Oliver, Otis Redding, Elvis Presley, Billie Holiday and a 78-inch interactive whiteboard called an ActivBoard.

In a medium whose foundation is built on the bar chords of the blues and sound of the sax, technology has been introduced to engage children and introduce them to those a world away in Ken Greene’s music class.

Greene, music teacher and choir director at Ridgeway Middle School, recently demonstrated how technology is used to teach students and connect with other programs.

“Do you mind if we jam with you?” Greene asked his counterpart from Weyanoke Elementary School in Fairfax, Va ... (read more)

'Change is inevitable'

Spot news reporting for The Memphis Daily News

May 14, 2010

Expo encourages job seekers to adapt -- even when discouraged

“They aren’t making buggy whips anymore.”

That’s what Tom Wilson, career counselor for careerhands.com, tells people who have lost or left jobs and are looking for something else in the workplace.

He then brings it around to the 21st century: “They aren’t making electric typewriters anymore, either.”

The message he conveyed at Thursday’s Second Annual Opportunity Expo at The Pink Palace Museum was one conveyed throughout the day-long event’s seminars and by speakers and company representatives on hand to talk to job seekers about potential opportunities.

OppCity.com, a job-listing site for the Memphis area currently attracting 250,000 hits a week from all over the country, put on the expo, which was sponsored by the local Talent Trust Foundation ... (read more)

Hutchison 8th-graders get long-distance lesson in global awareness

Feature profile for The Commercial Appeal

May 11, 2010

John Stephany traveled nearly 7,000 miles to teach his eighth-grade students at Hutchison School a lesson.

Stephany, a world history teacher, recently visited South Korea with the Group Study Exchange, a program aimed at promoting cultural awareness for 25- to 40-year-old professionals.

The four young professionals chosen for this trip by the sponsoring organization, Rotary International district 6800 of Germantown, include an auditor, logistics manager with Smith & Nephew, a publicist with Le Bonheur Children's Hospital and Stephany, who used the experience to teach his students back home about life in other cultures.

"Rotary is about trying to encourage communication, cultural awareness and things of this nature," Stephany said.

Even before Stephany was chosen for the trip, the world history curriculum at Hutchison was being expanded farther east from China and India to Korea and Japan. "I applied for this trip before I knew this was happening."

Stephany is no newcomer to travel; he has spent the last five summers teaching high school seniors at the School of Public Service at St. Albans School in Washington. He has also "bummed around Ireland," spent time backpacking around western Europe and visiting Germany, Prague and Poland. He visited China in 2008 on a trip sponsored by the Columbia University National Consortium for Teaching About Asia that also acted as a teaching tool for his students back home. He sees his time in Korea as an extension of that trip and an addendum to any textbook he might quote ... (read more)

A career of service for United Way's Harry Shaw

Feature profile for The Commercial Appeal

May 1, 2010

Harry Shaw never did work for an airline.

The president of United Way of the Mid-South retired in April having begun his tenure with the organization in 1969 when a friend suggested he apply for a job with United Fund, as it was then called.

"I'm thinking it had something to do with United Airlines," he said. "So I take the interview and I come home that day and tell my wife 'I never saw any airplanes on anybody's desk' and I don't know quite what this job is, but it did sound fascinating."

In his 22 years as president of United Way of the Mid-South, Shaw has seen donations rise from $11 million upon his arrival to just over $25 million now, partly by becoming more aggressive with grant writing. The needs of neighbors cut through politics, finance and celebrity, and Shaw, with his staff of 52, is reaching one-third of the population in eight counties within three states.

"Harry Shaw has done God's work -- striving to improve all segments of the community," said congressman Steve Cohen. "He has been an untiring leader. His compassion and drive will be difficult to replace. The Mid-South certainly has a stronger sense of community and is better off because of his efforts."... (read more)

Ritchey, MED Foundation get gritty for hospital

Memphis Standout Profile for The Memphis Daily News

April 30, 2010

When Memphians and those in the surrounding areas are faced with the trauma of a gunshot wound, life-threatening burn or car crash, chances are good that they’ll end up at The Regional Medical Center at Memphis.

For most of them, that visit is the difference between life and death.

Because of this, there is a scant degree of separation between most Memphians and The MED, said Tap into millions of public records, notices and articles on The Daily News.

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“There are not too many people who haven’t been touched by The MED in Shelby County,” she said.

To do the work the doctors and nurses of the trauma unit perform, tending to patients in what is known as “the golden hour” – those 60 minutes when critical care is at its most urgent – a certain “grittiness,” as Ritchey put it, is needed ... (read more)

Skate park competes for $250,000 grant

Metro news story for The Commercial Appeal

April 25, 2010

Pepsi contest rewards community projects

A Memphis grassroots organization that advocates public skate parks is backing the Binghampton Development Corp.'s bid to win $250,000 for a park in the neighborhood.

Pepsi, through its site refresheverything.com, is awarding two organizations, people or businesses grants of up to $250,000 every month for one year for ideas that will have a positive impact on their communities.

"Memphis is two places from the bottom among the U.S. for the amount of money spent per person for parks and recreation," said Dr. Aaron Shafer, founder of the nonprofit Skatelife Memphis and a researcher at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. "This is an incredible opportunity for churches to cooperate together and bring in some funds for their communities."

On Saturday, the Binghampton Development Corp. -- under the headline "Get our kids Moving! Build a skate park for inner-city Memphis youth" -- was ranked No. 16 among "Current Leaders" in the $250,000 category. Voting ends April 30 ... (read more)

Restaurateurs find opportunities in new technology

Feature story for The Memphis Daily News

April 22, 2010

Nowadays there’s a cell phone app for nearly everything – and restaurant reservations are no exception.

That’s not been lost on local restaurateurs, who are embracing online reservations and finding that they are weathering the struggling economy better as a result.

“In an economy like this, we can’t leave any stone unturned, especially when people are cutting costs on dining,” said Josh Spotts, catering sales and conference service manager for The Madison Hotel, which operates Grill 83.

“You can get full off a hamburger at McDonald’s, but is that the experience that you want?”

Among the most popular apps available is OpenTable.com, a Web-based program offering reservation and table management services in real time for more than 12,000 restaurants worldwide.

Founded in 1998, OpenTable now seats about 4 million diners per month and has done so for more than 130 million since its inception.

The mobile app was launched in November 2008, and has been used by more than 2 million, a number that represents about $100 million to restaurant partners, according to OpenTable ... (read more)

Autism center provides intense therapy to transform childrens' behavior

Business news story for The Commercial Appeal

April 9, 2010

Tracy Palm, executive director of Transformations Autism Treatment Center, simply wants the parents of children with autism spectrum disorders to have hope.

"I get so many families that come into my office who have completely lost their hope that their child will ever be able to do anything, even speak," she said.

"What I want them to know and understand is that these kids make progress ... they just need the right therapy to be happening in their life at that time."

Palm, a board-certified behavior analyst, began Transformations in 2007 and moved into a new facility on the edge of Bartlett in Memphis last January. The center, at 2535 Whitten Road, is just off Interstate 40 and is accessible to clients who come from as far away as Forrest City, Ark. The one-story, brick building is 2,500 square feet sectioned into rooms for group activities such as music and art, as well as private rooms where counselors can work with clients one on one ... (read more)

Firm wants to bring top talent to Memphis

Small business spotlight for The Memphis Daily News

April 5, 2010

Chris Chotard sees himself as a coach recruiting members to business teams throughout Memphis.

He founded his company, Top Notch, last year to bring the brightest college students to Memphis to spend eight weeks working for some of the most well known mid-level companies in the city.

“Some of the best marketers, best recruiters out there are college football coaches and their staff, or college basketball, and they’re selling very similar things,” Chotard said. “They’re trying to sell the city of Memphis as a place to live for a short period of time and they’re trying to recruit the best talent from cities around the country as well as locally.”

Chotard employs the same tactics to get the best to Memphis. And the mid-size businesses are his bread and butter ... (read more)

Cody named co-chair of Society of Attorneys General Emeritus

Law Talk profile for The Memphis Daily News

April 1, 2010

Michael Cody of Burch, Porter & Johnson PLLC was recently named co-chairman of the Society of Attorneys General Emeritus (SAGE).

SAGE is an organization formed in 1990 as a compliment to the National Association of Attorneys General, the 50-member group of active AGs. Cody was attorney general of Tennessee from 1984 to 1988. His co-chair is former attorney general and governor of New Hampshire, Stephen E. Merrill.

“What we (SAGE) do is a nice relationship, because current attorneys general can use our group as sort of a resource to talk with, we help them with programs,” Cody said. “It serves the purpose of us actually being a helpful part of their organization and giving us an opportunity to get together twice a year.”

Cody began his career with Burch, Porter & Johnson in 1961 under Lucius Burch, whom Cody considers a mentor. Except for his years in public service as attorney general, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee (1977-1981) and Memphis City Council (1975-1977), his entire law career has been spent at the law firm housed in the old Tennessee Club building overlooking Court Square ... (read more)