I recently had family visit that do not often frequent Memphis. My family took a day to show them some of the sights: Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid, the Peabody and Beale Street. As we were driving downtown, my father showed them all the new developments and renovations of the former abandoned warehouses. While we were looking over the city on the observation deck of the Pyramid (which is an awesome view and definitely worth the price of admission) I could see the new and current wonders of the city: Crosstown Concourse, St. Jude, the renovated Tennessee Brewery, the University of Memphis, Big River Crossing, construction on buildings and new dwellings and countless other Memphis marvels. However, while looking over the city, I could not help but think of Phil Trenary.
Trenary, president of the Memphis Chamber of Commerce, was murdered walking home downtown from a Chamber event on September 28. I met Trenary in 2014. He asked where I worked and at the time I was teaching high school. I also had recently received my masters degree at the University of Memphis. We talked about education and the importance of keeping students in Memphis because he believed we had the best and the brightest talent in the country. We said our goodbyes and he left the event. Two years later, I was at another event and Trenary was there. He walked up to me and asked, “Mr. Bilbrey, how are we doing keeping our great students in Memphis?” He remembered me. He remembered I taught high school. This man probably made small talk a million times a day, and two years later, he remembered our previous conversation and me.
Trenary was a visionary and a man who truly loved our city. Unfortunately, it was our city’s biggest stereotype and worse statistic that took his life.
Crime. It is almost like Memphians are desensitized to the word and the action. We hear about it every day; on the news, in the paper and in other people’s conversations. Memphis has great things to offer, yet we are always overshadowed by crime. Have you ever been to another city and when you tell them you are from Memphis, their first reaction is “ooh?” It is usually in a derogatory tone, almost like we are about to rob them just because we are from this city. I lived in Nashville for almost two years. My apartment was on 16th and Broadway, right in the heart of the tourist area. Guess what? They had crime too. People were robbed and shot weekly blocks from my apartment, all while bachelorette parties and vacationing couples were next door enjoying their country music.
Every city has crime, but not every city had a Phil Trenary. He worked for Memphis every day of his life. He was working for Memphis the night he died. Trenary did not deserve to be killed on the night of September 28. No one deserved to be murdered in our city, or anywhere else. As citizens, it is time to come up with a solution on how to stop violent crime in Memphis. It is time for our elected officials to put aside their political differences and work together as Memphians to remove the stigma of a crime-ridden city because we are much more than that. We are a city with heart and soul, grit and grind. That is what Trenary would want. That is what all victims of crime would want. That is what they all deserve.
The 901 Connection 