Weekly Update

Friends,

Let me start by saying that I hope you and your families had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday yesterday. We are now officially right in the middle of the holiday season, and as such, it's important to take time to reflect and to be thankful.

When I sat down to write today’s update, one of the main things I wanted to convey is how thankful I am for our City of Memphis employees. Day-in and day-out they work hard to deliver City services to our community, and I’m lucky to work alongside them. I want to highlight just a few examples of some of those great employees.

Recently, our Chief Human Resources Officer, Alex Smith, was recognized by HRD America on its 2022 Global 100 HR Leaders list. As part of the 2022 Global 100 awards, HRD conducted thorough research into the sector, examining the challenges of the past year, HR’s trajectory and how organizations can be better prepared. Congrats, Alex! Thanks for all you do!

Additionally, the City’s IT division was recently honored with a number 10 spot in this year’s Digital Cities Survey from the Center for Digital Government. Honorees on this list elevated their municipalities’ resilience, while bolstering services and prioritizing engagement with their residents. Thanks to our director, Wendy Harris, and her team for all their work!

Lastly, Memphis Parks was honored recently by the Tennessee Recreation and Parks Association. The division was announced as a recipient of the Association’s 2022 Four Star Awards in the Special Events and Public Relations categories. Congrats to director Nick Walker and the entire Memphis Parks team!

Corey Brown of Memphis Parks was the recipient of Maynard Glenn Award. This award recognizes an individual who planned, conducted and/or was responsible for the most outstanding recreation program of the year. Also, Mike Flowers of Memphis Parks was the recipient of the Award of Excellence. This award recognizes an individual that has demonstrated outstanding achievement in the field of resource management.  Congrats Corey and Mike on your individual awards!

Now, this is by no means an exhaustive list of the great employees we have working for the City. These are just a few who were honored this month for their work. Your City government is full of great employees just like the ones mentioned above, and I’m thankful to have the opportunity to work with them every day.

Enjoy your weekend!

Yours,