Amy Daniels

Young Memphis Honoree: Derravia Freeman Rich

December 10, 2020 by Amy Daniels

Get to know Derravia Freeman Rich, Digital Agronomy Work Based Learning Coordinator for Tennessee College of Applied Technology in Covington and Greater Memphis Chamber 2020 Young Memphis Honoree.

What event or accomplishment has been the most impactful for your career so far?

Living outside of Memphis for over a decade has made a huge impact on my career pivot. I lived in Nashville for about 12 years and when I moved back home to Memphis in 2015, I wanted to be apart of a collective force whose vision was to improve the living conditions of residents , reimagine Memphis as a mecca for innovators and entrepreneurs, and to create better opportunities to promote economic and social growth. Moving back home allowed me to see my city in a different perspective. That new perspective has influenced me to be active in creating environments and opportunities for local Memphians.

Young Memphis Honoree: Sebastiaan de Kok

December 7, 2020 by Amy Daniels

Get to know Sebastiaan de Kok, Vice President of HealthLink International Inc, US Operations and Greater Memphis Chamber 2020 Young Memphis Honoree.

What event or accomplishment has been the most impactful for your career so far?

In 2013 I seized the opportunity to move to the United States and setup a US branch of our then parent company, HealthLink Europe. What started out as a small 2,400 square foot warehouse grew to our current operation with more than 75 team members, in a 108,500 square foot distribution center that fulfills over 150,000 critical medical device shipments each month.

Young Memphis Honoree: Kelsey Duckett

December 3, 2020 by Amy Daniels

Get to know Kelsey Duckett, PPLC as an Associate Attorney in Harris Shelton Hanover Walsh and Greater Memphis Chamber 2020 Young Memphis Honoree.

What event or accomplishment has been the most impactful for your career so far?

Working with Baptist Hospital to secure a multi-million-dollar bond transaction and also working with a group of investors to help erect Union Row Memphis has been the most impactful for my career so far.

Young Memphis Honoree: Marcus Cox

December 1, 2020 by Amy Daniels

Get to know Marcus Cox, Director of Community Relations for Playhouse on the Square and Greater Memphis Chamber 2020 Young Memphis Honoree.

What event or accomplishment has been the most impactful for your career so far?

I am the most excited now for my role at Playhouse on the Square, connecting our professional and community organizations to our mission of telling the stories that represent the heart and soul of our community. In that role, representation matters. I have recently begun connecting our theatre with theatre programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities as well and colleges with majority Latinx populations. It is our goal to create pipelines with young professional artists with a worldview that may be different from our own. As a theater charged with telling the story of our community, I want that story to be told in a way that is organic and real.

Meet the Chairman’s Circle: Anthony Clark

November 25, 2020 by Amy Daniels

Anthony Clark is the Managing Partner of Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP for the Memphis, Dallas, and Los Angeles offices. Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP is the largest certified public accounting firm headquartered in the Southern U.S. and the 17th largest in the United States.

With more than 30 years of public accounting experience, Clark has served both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. His primary focus at DHG is hospitality, including hotels, resorts, and management companies. Hospitality companies seek his guidance on potential property acquisitions, strategic growth plans, and operational accounting practices.

After graduating from Ole Miss in 1983, the Ripley, Mississippi, native moved to Memphis, and began his career as a CPA at Rhea & Ivy, one of the oldest public accounting firms in Memphis. He was Chief Manager of Rhea & Ivy, P.L.C. when it joined DHG in 2008.

DHG recently launched new branding that is future-focused and places an emphasis on creating the ultimate client experience. “We want our brand to resonate and emotionally connect with our clients, prospects and people. A connection that is supported by a modern, fresh, sophisticated visual approach,” Clark says. “I tell our team, that it’s not always about having an answer. Often, it’s about having all of the right questions that lead you to THE answer.”

When he’s not working, he enjoys spending time with his wife, five children, and his grandson. And while he doesn’t get to do it as often as he would like, the sports enthusiast enjoys golfing and duck hunting.

One of his guiding principles is “You can’t change without changing” and when it comes to marketing the Bluff City, he says “We need to learn how to be cheerleaders for Memphis. We have a lot to be thankful for, and a lot to be proud of, and I think we need to learn how to articulate that clearer and louder.”

Young Memphis Honoree: Chessie (Biggam) Hayes

November 24, 2020 by Amy Daniels

Get to know Chessie (Biggam) Hayes, Director of Development at Meritan, and Greater Memphis Chamber 2020 Young Memphis Honoree.

What event or accomplishment has been the most impactful for your career so far?

The most impactful accomplishment of my career was achieving my Certified Fundraising Executive credential in May of 2019. I am one of the youngest fundraisers in the country to receive this prestigious credential. Recently, I presented at the Association of Fundraising Professionals St. Louis Regional Conference. My peer, Nick Kulik and I presented about “The Next Generation of Donors: Motivating Millennials to Give Now.” The most meaningful part of my job at Meritan has been working with donors and community members that want to push our mission forward and help us achieve our goals and vision. [Read more…] about Young Memphis Honoree: Chessie (Biggam) Hayes

Message fatigue: How to keep content fresh and audiences engaged

November 24, 2020 by Amy Daniels

We live in a busy world with messages flying at us constantly and from multiple channels – social media, emails, billboards, streaming platforms, direct mail and signage hanging in store windows and on office walls. The list goes on. Those channels are constantly evolving, too. From technology like smart watches to newer social platforms like TikTok, the ways in which we are communicated with are multiplying. Add a global pandemic to that, where you are seeing the same information hurled your direction multiple times a day, and you could end up with a recipe for confusion or at least a passive audience.

Young Memphis Honoree: Jeremy Calhoun

November 24, 2020 by Amy Daniels

Get to know Jeremy Calhoun, IT Project Manager, International Paper and Greater Memphis Chamber 2020 Young Memphis Honoree.

What event or accomplishment has been the most impactful for your career so far?

As a first-generation college student, the event or accomplishment that has been the most impactful for my career is landing my first internship with Memphis Light, Gas, and Water (MLGW). This opportunity was critical to my growth, confidence, and involvement in the City of Memphis. I joined MLGW in the summer of 2011 and interned in their Residential and Commercial Engineering division with my now mentor and big brother JT Malasri. JT introduced me to various programs that allowed me to become directly involved here in Memphis. Those activities included connecting me with New Memphis’ (Summer Experience) to introducing me to Mayor Mark Luttrell Young Professional’s Council, to serving on the Countywide Juvenile Consortium (CJJC). JT helped me realize that I could make an impact here in the City of Memphis. He also helped me convert my Summer Internship into a Co-op where I began to work full-time as a co-op for MLGW’s IT division. This was made possible by JT Malasri and City Council Chairwoman Patrice Robinson (during her time at MLGW). Over the next two years, I had the opportunity to work year-round for MLGW while learning from professionals in a comfortable yet challenging environment. This environment allowed me to hone my professional and personal skills. My work with MLGW eventually created an opportunity for me to travel to Indiana for an Internship opportunity with Cummins at their Global Headquarters in Columbus, Indiana, which ultimately helped me earn four Fortune 500 offers upon graduation. I eventually chose to return to Memphis and take a role at International Paper (IP), where I’ve now spent the last seven years working for one of the world’s best companies while also changing my family’s economic earning potential. I’m forever grateful for that opportunity with MLGW.

Chamber Investor Listing: Local Restaurants

November 20, 2020 by Amy Daniels

As you know, COVID-19 has greatly impacted businesses all over and particularly small businesses such as restaurants have suffered the most. To help mitigate some of the effects, we encourage you to safely patronize the following local restaurants that have invested not only in the Chamber, but in the Greater Memphis Region:

The Role of Technology in the Food Supply Chain

November 20, 2020 by Amy Daniels

The unprecedented economic disruption posed by the novel coronavirus has created opportunities for new technologies to change the game in most industries. The food supply chain is no exception. It remains ripe for new technologies to mitigate COVID-19-related disruptions and to improve the production, flow and consumer-friendliness of long-standing challenges.

Young Memphis Honoree: Sarah Jemison

November 18, 2020 by Amy Daniels

Get to know Sara Jemison, Acquisitions and Development Project Management at Alco Management, Inc. and Greater Memphis Chamber 2020 Young Memphis Honoree.

What event or accomplishment has been the most impactful for your career so far?

I spent the first two years of my career providing residents of government assisted housing (public housing and section 8 voucher holders) avenues to advocate for their housing needs within the federal government. This allowed me to see the disconnect between policy makers and those impacted by federal housing policy. While my current work has shifted away from policy formation to program implementation, the understanding I gained about the impact and causes of the lack of quality affordable housing forms how and why I choose to work to develop affordable homes.

Young Memphis Honoree: Ali Jaffery

November 16, 2020 by Amy Daniels

Get to know Ali Jaffery, Associate Manager of Grants and Innovation, Memphis Education Fund and Greater Memphis Chamber 2020 Young Memphis Honoree.

What event or accomplishment has been the most impactful for your career so far?

The most impactful accomplishment in my career would be the COVID-19 Response programming we have headed at Memphis Education Fund (MEF). The ‘MEF Family Grant Program’, a micro-grant program for Memphis families with school-aged children designed to encourage and support their students’ daily attendance in a virtual learning environment and the ‘South Memphis Tech Project’, a technology project for high school seniors from South Memphis via a cross-sector collaboration with schools, philanthropy and community organizations. These programs taught me about creating public policies, designing a large, multi-faceted process and so much more. I am honored to lead this work alongside Memphis Education Fund board, staff and leadership.