ANPH Golf Classic Promotional Pieces

American National Palmer Home Golf Classic Press Kit

Select Financial Group, LLC Tees off to benefit Palmer

Home for Children

Memphis, TN – As the mid-south welcomes fall, some Memphians are preparing by polishing their clubs and cleats to join Select Financial Group in the Second Annual American National Palmer Home Golf Classic which will take place at Windyke Country Club on October 28th, 2010 with a 12:30p.m. shotgun start.

“Last year was our first attempt, but it rained and many players were unable to finish their rounds. This year we are hoping to double the money raised for Palmer Home so that those children in need can continue to be in a loving and safe environment,” said Mike Washburn, agency manager of Select Financial Group (SFG).

This year, there will be many more perks to look forward to. Players will be treated to a luncheon and wine & cheese reception, golf alongside local celebrities like the Mississippi Riverkings, enter to win over $2,500 in prizes from The Butcher Shop, Folk’s Folly, Memphis Auto Center, AM 690, Need a Sitter and the University of Memphis Tigers Athletic department.

Select Financial Group of Memphis, TN has long been a supporter of Palmer Home for children as well as the Germantown Charity Horse Show and the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure just to name a few. SFG believes that giving back is an essential part of being a community-oriented business.

Palmer Home for Children and SFG invite you to play in the tournament or support the tournament with a sponsorship, prize or financial donation.

For the latest information about the Second Annual American National Palmer Home Golf Classic, visit our blog at http://ANPHgolfclassic.blogspot.com. There you can download our registration form and see who else will be at the Golf Classic. You may also register via phone by calling 901-756-7557.

Tune in to AM 640 at 3:00P.M. on October 12th, 2010 to hear our Midsouth Viewpoint interview with Byron Tyler.

Select Financial Group, LLC consists of a group of agency owners that are exclusive agents for the American National Family of Companies. By developing long term relationships, Select Financial Group provides clients with superior insurance and related products and services to protect and enhance their quality of life.

The mission of Palmer Home for Children is to reflect the hope and love of Christ by providing a stable, long-term Christ-centered home for children who lack an adequate family structure. For more information, visit www.palmerhome.org .

Need A Sitter News- 12/2008

Need A Sitter News 12/2008

Godspell playing at White Station High School

Godspell the musical will play at White Station High School on Monday April, 12th and Tuesday April, 13th at 7:00pm. Visit White Station High School Theater on Facebook for more information.

The Jaywalking Epidemic on Central Avenue

Getting to class can sometimes be a deadly gamble; the lack of appropriate safety measures and sufficient parking availability has lead to a dangerous jaywalking epidemic at the University of Memphis.

Dangerous by Design: Solving the Epidemic of Preventable Pedestrian Deaths (and Making Great Neighborhoods) ranked Memphis as the fifth most dangerous city in the country for pedestrians in November of 2009.

“All day long you see people darting across Central like they're playing frogger,” said senior, Lena Wallace.

Unknown Student Jaywalking on Central Avenue

In 1995, a student pedestrian was struck and killed by a car on his way to class. This was the last reported death on Central, but not the first- there have been a total of five deaths. At that time, there was no traffic light at Zach Curlin and Central. The Fed-Ex institute along with the Wilson School of Hospitality and Resort Management were not yet built.

“A car turning left onto Central leaving the parking lot between the crosswalk and Zach Curlin struck a pedestrian in the median who was waiting to cross the street; most of the deadly accidents occur in that same way,” according to Bruce Harber, director of campus safety.

By the new millennium, the University of Memphis faced a new breed of parking problems; overcrowding. In 2001, the university had a mere 8,000 spaces available for it’s 19,000 students. Crossing Central became more difficult as the student population grew larger with each passing year.

Tennessee law defines jaywalking as “a pedestrian crossing the street between two controlled intersections.” Until the lights at Innovation, Deloach, Central and Zach Curlin streets were built; students crossing to campus weren’t guilty of jaywalking. Now it’s as deadly as it is illegal.

Today, out of 21,424 students enrolled, 19,500 attend class in a given week and vie for one of only 9,041 spaces. Currently, a large majority of general permit parking spaces require crossing Central or Southern and the railroad tracks.

In 2002, the state of Tennessee issued a $775,000 grant to the University of Memphis. Those funds were combined with city funds to create a solution to the consistent danger faced by pedestrians. The plan called for a lowering of Central and the construction of two overhead pedestrian crosswalks.

“One crosswalk will lead to the Herff College of Engineering, at the northeast corner of the campus near the intersection of Central and Zach Curlin. The other, which will be several hundred yards to the west, will lead to the plaza area near the College of Communications and Fine Arts,” According to a University of Memphis press release.

In 2003, the Fed-Ex Institute of Technology and the Kemmons Wilson Holiday Inn and School for hospitality and resort management opened their doors. Those construction projects interfered with the original Central improvement blueprints. The construction of the hotel took away a significant amount of parking spaces from the Central parking lot. As adjustments were being made to account for the University’s newest additions, the city of Memphis denied the application to lower Central. Those blows proved fatal for the first plan to protect pedestrians.

In 2005, the University was chosen to receive a $10 million grant from the federal government to finance a new transportation program and pedestrian bridge on campus. New funds brought a revitalized attention to the growing problems created by the Fed-Ex Institute and the Holiday Inn.

“Congestion problems at the intersection of Patterson and Walker, and the railroad crossing on Southern Avenue will… be studied in hopes of relieving problems there," said Kevin Roper, former U of M executive assistant to the president.

After intensive research, the plan for those funds was revealed. It called for the addition of a pedestrian walkway covering the distance from The Fogelman Executive Center on the south of Central and the Kemmons Wilson School of Hospitality and Resort Management on the north side. The walkway would use $3 million of the $10 million earmarked to the U of M, and will join two other walkways already planned to be constructed by the city of Memphis and the U of M.

Similarly to the plans of the past, this renovation was scrapped before it started. Improvements were made to the area in question, but no overhead pedestrian walkway was ever constructed.

The University added the Conlee parking lot and a parking garage next to the Fogelman executive center to alleviate overcrowded parking lots and side streets.

“With the opening of Conlee Lot, I have seen a much improved situation of parking space availability,” former parking services manager Sandra Barksdale said.

Though more spaces are currently available, those who remember the aftermath of the pedestrian who was killed by a car in 1995 while trying to cross Central, complain the University has not done anything to make Central safer for students to cross. The Conlee lot sits north of the Central lot, meaning that any student utilizing that lot must still cross Central.

“I don’t [jaywalk across Central] because I fall too often,” said Whitney Schlafer, nursing student.

Once again, in 2008, The University of Memphis was awarded one million dollars in enhancement grants from the state of Tennessee to make northern side of the campus safer for students crossing. The city of Memphis agreed to support the plan with an additional $1.3 million for the project, and another $1 million in state capital maintenance funds.

“I’m extremely glad to hear they are finally fixing the problem, but unfortunately, I will never see the benefits of it,” said senior Catie Amsden.

Artist's rendering of Central Improvement Plan, courtesy of University of Memphis

The new plans call for Central to be reduced to four lanes, and a median will be added in the current turning lane from Patterson Street to Zach Curlin Street. Fences will be installed to direct pedestrian traffic to crosswalks and a new entrance will be added to the Central parking lot at Zach Curlin. There will also be an elevated walking bridge connecting the Kemmons Wilson Hotel to the Fogelman Executive center. According to the vice president of Campus Planning and Design, construction will begin in the summer of 2010.

To get the project started, a new four-way red light at Central and Innovation Drive was installed.

“The light has helped to increase the safety for pedestrians needing to get to the Holiday Inn and the west side of the Central parking lot,” said Bruce Harber.

Until construction is completed and those elusive pedestrian bridges are built, it is important students stay vigilant while crossing the street to campus.

The new stoplight at Innovation and Central Avenue

Out of 21,424 students, 19,500 attend class in a week and vie for one of only 9,041 spaces

There are only 4,750 general permit parking spaces

Most parking for students requires crossing either Central or the train tracks on Southern

Getting a jumpstart on your career with the Meeman School of Journalism

Good Afternoon! Many name is Aerin Ellis and I am here with Ashley A. She works here at the University of Memphis in the job and internship placement office of the Meeman School of Journalism.

Today I am interviewing Ashley A. on all the opportunities available to the Journalism students.

Q: Please tell us a little about your college experience and what led you to the University of Memphis.

A: I went to the University of Tennessee and graduated from there 5 years ago, and I’d been living in Nashville for the last 4 years, and moved here to get my Masters degree in Journalism. I am a graduate assistant and in Graduate school here.

Q: How would you describe an average day in your shoes here at the job placement office?

A: For the most part I’ll go through our website, which is on the journalism website, and get rid of any old job postings, and then look through everything the teachers, alumni and professors send me for any job or internships to put on the website. I also contact people in the community that might have an opportunity coming up. There are a lot of local people that know this is the place to get journalism or PR people.

Q: What prospects does the field of Journalism hold for students about to graduate?

A: There’s a lot of stuff. The majority of things I’ve seen, especially locally, are in the public relations field. So the newspaper/magazine things are a little bit more difficult to find, so you’d probably have to move elsewhere to get a starting level position in those. The PR industry especially is just booming.

Q: What advice would you give those students about to graduate?

A: I would say to start making contacts as early as you can, even if it’s just submitting some of your things to places you might be interested in. And if you haven’t already, get an internship somewhere, to have one under your belt, which our website can help you do. That’s very important. People are looking for someone who isn’t starting from scratch.

Q: For those who are just starting with the department, what activities do you recommend so that they are experienced and job ready when the time comes, obviously beside internships?

A: You can also join the PRSSA, I know a lot of public relations students do that, you should take advantage of that. [Those student groups] in combination with internships helps you make the connections you need, and then if you’re in the Journalism fields, submit the work you do for classes to publications so you can put on your resume that you were published somewhere. And also, create your own blog. It’s easy now and you can out your stuff on the Internet to be searched and read. Just getting your name out there in any way possible.

Q: Can you please describe the internship process, like how exactly students apply and what they need to do to get one going?

A: Well, the first thing is you want to have a good resume. You can look online [for examples], or if you want to, you can come and give me what you’ve got after it’s in a form and I will edit it and make sure everything looks good. Then, you apply to each internship individually; there is no blanket process. You want to make sure you are actually interested in the organization in particular. We update in website every Wednesday, so there’s always current postings up there.

Q: What are some internships that the department offers?

A: I don’t think there are any with the department specifically, there are some that happen on campus, I know we had one for the M magazine, the sports magazine, that was a great paid internship. It’s really just a matter of keeping on checking. It changes moment to moment. Even places that don’t have them, you can send someone and email if you are really interested and they will usually keep it on file. That’s how I honestly got my first job. I just sent resumes over email to everyone in the industry I was looking at, eventually, three months later they called and that’s how it works. Persistence, I’d say.

A: Okay, great. One last question, How can students stay informed on everything the office has to offer?

Q: Well, we’ve got our website, if you go to the Journalism Department off the UM website, it’s on the home page. On the right side there is a tab that will say employment, and under that there are tabs for jobs and internships. Also, I post any helpful tips or anything on the Facebook page. You can join and follow us to get updates that way, with posts 3-4 times a week. There’s a team of people constantly get things up there. And we have the boards, one across from my office, which is Meeman 318, where we keep the newest stuff posted.

Aerin: Alright, well I think that the students here in the Journalism Department will definitely have a leg up on getting out in the world and starting their careers.

Ashley: Yep, use it! Come see me! I’m around.

Aerin: Thank-you Ashley A., have a great day.

One Act Play Festival News Release

Students at White Station High School are trimming costumes and creating sets for the annual One-Act Play Festival which will run February 3 – 5, 2010.

All performances will take place on the auditorium stage and admission is five dollars. Shows begin at 7:00pm Wednesday and Thursday and 6:00pm Friday.

A student-produced one act play festival has been a part of the theater culture at WSHS for over 20 years, but this year’s performance promises to stand out from the past.

“This festival features two original script debuts and a larger line up than the past few years,” said Paulette Regan, a 19-year veteran of the WSHS theater department.

Join all the promising young directors of WSHS and support the theater department by attending the annual One Act Play Festival February 3-5, 2010.

The One Act Play Festival is a production of the honors play production class. In the course, students are given the unique opportunity to cast, direct, debut, refine and compete with one show.

Mr. Mansfield, White Station principal claims, “It’s three nights of magic more thrilling than watching the Spartans win a State Title.”