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…
Category: The 901
From an Academic to a President: How Dr. M. David Rudd is Driving the University of Memphis to Succeed
He did not want to be president. He was an academic. Why would an academic want to be president of a university? When Dr. M. David Rudd, provost at the time, saw the deficit the University of Memphis was facing in 2014, he wanted to help his colleagues stop the financial bleeding, so he took…
Whether Teaching or Consulting, Dr. Mary McDonald is Called to Educate
Education was the furthest thing from her mind. Dr. Mary McDonald worked in a management firm. One day, she stepped into a classroom as a substitute math teacher at a large inner-city school in Philadelphia and was hooked. “The kids needed me,” says McDonald. “I was called to be there.” By the time the Philadelphia…
Joe Cool Entertained Memphis Children and Dennis Phillippi was Along for the Ride
It was supposed to be a one-time thing. There was never supposed to be a television show, a kids’ club or multiple appearances around the community. He was not supposed to become an idol for Memphis children in the late 1980s and early 1990s. All Joe Cool was supposed to do was promote a contest…
Andrea LeTard Brings Her Passion for Cooking to Life in New Book
She did not cook. Andrea LeTard hardly stepped foot into the kitchen in her twenties. Her grandmother gave her a cookbook with some family recipes, but she never looked at it. Now, in her thirties, LeTard makes a career out of cooking. “I started cooking and loved it,” says LeTard. “I had this cookbook with…
Football Gives Mike Singletary and Memphis Another Chance
He thought he was done. Mike Singletary, former NFL Hall of Fame linebacker for the Chicago Bears and head coach for the San Francisco 49ers, worked on developing his skills as a head coach, but could not find a job. “I made some phone calls trying to get on a team, but no one was…
Woody’s World: How Woody Paige went from a local writer to one of America’s most colorful sports personalities
Forget six degrees of Kevin Bacon. Woody Paige’s life is six degrees of Elvis Presley. “I was born in Memphis and lived in Lauderdale Courts a few doors down from the Presley’s and then we moved behind Graceland in a subdivision called ‘Graceland.’ I would play flag football on the grounds of the (Elvis’) house….
We Are Memphis
We all know someone who does live in, has lived in, has a relative or friend that lives in, moved to or moved away from (and sometimes moved back to) Memphis. All these people have a story. They all are or were part of a movement, and that movement is Memphis. Our great-grandparents told us…
The 901 Connection 