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This Week, We Begin a Powerful Journey, Side by Side With FedEx
This week marks the beginning of a powerful partnership designed to deliver results for the residents of our city.
While our community is still grieving the loss of Fred Smith, his wisdom, values, and commitment to innovation continue to guide us. Through our new partnership with FedEx, the company he built, we are taking steps that reflect his enduring legacy—one of excellence, service, and civic pride. While Smith’s impact on Memphis is immeasurable, his legacy teaches us to measure, measure, measure.
This week, we officially launched a hands-on partnership with FedEx to rebuild our 311 system. This revamp is not just about data or delivery metrics. It’s about mentorship. FedEx leaders are walking alongside us, sharing their deep expertise in quality improvement, customer experience, and operational excellence, to help build a city government that serves with precision and heart.
 FedEx didn’t become a global leader by accident. They did it by constantly asking: How can we do this better, faster, smarter, and with more care? Now, they’re helping us ask the same questions. Their philosophy, Quality Driven Management (QDM), is not just a toolkit. It’s a discipline. A belief system rooted in curiosity, teamwork, and data-backed decision-making.
We’re leaning into the processes that will help us deliver better results, like:
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Asking “why” to find real answers
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Tracking what matters, and acting on it
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Viewing failures as fuel for improvement
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Involving the end user in every step
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Testing rapidly and often to get it right
Together, we’re rolling up our sleeves to study how calls flow, how problems are solved, and how we can ensure every Memphian gets the response they deserve. We’re applying the ABLE method, Assess, Build, Launch, Evaluate, and integrating core practices like “Plan, Do, Check, Act.” The lessons we’re learning aren’t abstract. They’re showing up in the ways we listen, respond, and improve.
 This isn’t a one-and-done consulting visit. It’s sustained mentorship. Real partnership.
Already, our teams are discovering how to build systems that serve with greater precision and care. And as we work to reimagine 311, we’re looking beyond it. What might this model mean for permitting, emergency response, solid waste, and other frontline services?
FedEx is helping us see 311 not just as a help desk, but as the city’s nervous system, where data, listening, and responsiveness converge. We're benchmarking against leaders like New York City, Philadelphia, Sacramento, and Kansas City, asking: how can Memphis go further?
We believe this partnership will yield:
- Improved service delivery
- Stronger employee engagement
- Cost savings
- Increased resident satisfaction
- Long-term sustainability
- Recognition for civic innovation
To our neighbors at FedEx: thank you for bringing your wisdom to the table. To our residents: thank you for your feedback, your calls, and your courage to demand better. We hear you. And together, we are building a city that delivers, with excellence, empathy, and pride. And to Fred Smith, we hope to honor your legacy with results.
Good News!
   Do you have good news to share? We would love to share it! Send us a note at goodnews@memphistn.gov
Track Our Progress
The linked reports below provide evidence to support our public safety strategy and our work to ensure municipal fiscal responsibility. These dashboard provides a quick overview, with the ability to dive in deeper to neighborhoods and divisions. Both dashboards updates daily.
 SAFER COMMUNITIES: For more info on how to use the safer communities dashboard, go here. Or for the whole dashboard, go here. FINANCE TRACKER: For more info on how to use the finance tracker dashboard, go here. Or for the whole dashboard, go here.
Our Blight Strike Team worked in the following zip codes this week: 38103, 38109, 38114, 38115, 38116.
To report concerns related to property violations, potholes, and trash, click the link here or call 311 to speak to a live agent.
In the Know:
Riverfront Master Plan Community Input Session. Join the City of Memphis for a community input session to inform Mayor Young’s Riverfront Master Plan. The first session will be Thursday, August 14 at 5:30pm at The Kent located at 61 Keel Avenue and will cover assets from Greenbelt Landing to the Visitor Center at Riverside Drive. See more here.
Community Engagement:
Apply for Memphis Academy of Civic Engagement. The Memphis Academy of Civic Engagement (MACE), is a FREE multi-week course designed to deepen your understanding of local government and empower you to serve your community. Applications for the Fall 2025 cohort are now open through August 12. Learn more and apply here.
Sow Project Earns State Recognition. Congratulations to the Sow Project, a free culinary apprenticeship program for unemployed and underemployed individuals! The Tennessee Department of Labor has officially recognized the program as a registered apprenticeship provider. Learn more here.
Youth Mentoring Program. Registration is NOW OPEN for the Memphis Public Libraries START HERE Youth Mentorship Program that will teach teens and young adults skills from job readiness to financial literacy! See more details and register here.
Professional Networking Mixer. Join the Office of Community Affairs for the Professional Networking Mixer for Memphis area non-profits on August 18 from 6pm to 8pm to connect and share resources. See more and RSVP here.
Westwood Neighborhood Blight Code Zero Tour:
Today, Mayor Paul Young and other city officials joined Westwood residents to tour locations for upcoming stops on the Blight Code Zero initiative.
Residents had the chance to share their concerns directly with the Mayor and division heads — leading to immediate fixes for some issues and concrete plans for others.
Together, we’re working toward a cleaner, safer Memphis — block by block.
#StrongerSaferMemphis #BlightCodeZero #CityofMemphis #Westwood
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