RSVP Magazine November 2009

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CONT

ENTS

12CHEFS’ CELEBRITY GALA

Carol Prentiss and Jeff Morris

42 MERRY MARKETPLACE GALAHannah and Chris Wesson

24STREETSEENMark Davey

48 SIP AROUND THE WORLD

Keri-Gae Archer and Craig Woods

62BONE BASH

Jared Powelson and Veronica Russell

56LES PASSEES CABARET BALL

Emily and Jeff McEvoy

Cover PhotoElizabeth and Mike Rodriguez

atLes Passees Cabaret BallPhoto by John Hammer

ContentsDecember 2009

From the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Signature Memphis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10Joyce CobbThis Memphis singing legend takes RSVP inside the WEVL 89.9 studio.

Chefs’ Celebrity Gala . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12The Memphis Child Advocacy celebrated the 20th anniversary of its Chefs’ Celebrity Gala atthe U of M Holiday Inn.

Onsites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18, 40, 60 & 66Gatherings that have earned an honorable mention.

StreetSeens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20, 22 & 24After a year without an executive director, the Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby Countygladly welcomes its new leader. This auctioneer is all smiles about winning one of the indus-try’s most coveted awards. His penchant for realism leaves viewers standing in “awe” of hisart. StreetSeens highlight Carol Carlson, Terri Walker and Mark Davey.

Vox Popular . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26Q&A with restauranteur Karen Blockman Carrier.

RSVPeople . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30A trek across the city’s party landscape.

Merry Marketplace Gala . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42Holiday shoppers flocked to Agricenter International for the Junior League of Memphis’ annual Merry Marketplace preview party.

Sip Around the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48The National Kidney Foundation of West Tennessee served up plenty of wines from aroundthe world during its fund-raiser at the Memphis Botanic Garden.

Les Passees Cabaret Ball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56One hundred years later, the city’s oldest women’s volunteer organization is still going strong,as evidenced at its annual ball at Hilton Memphis.

Bone Bash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62The Arthritis Foundation hosted a spooky benefit, complete with a costume contest, at CentralStation.

RSVPhillippi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68You Do the Math, SeriouslyDennis Phillippi makes a good argument about why algebra isn’t his thing.

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Volume XV Number III

December 2009

P U B L I S H E R

Roy Haithcock

E D I T O R

Leah Fitzpatrick

C O N T R I B U T I N G W R I T E R S

Ruth CassinKelly Cox

Jonathan DevinDennis Phillippi Lesley Young

A R T D I R E C T O R

Patrick Akers

P H O T O G R A P H E R S

Roy HaithcockJohn HammerDon Perry

Steve Roberts

S E N I O R A C C O U N T E X E C U T I V E

Libby Huff

A C C O U N T E X E C U T I V E

Chris Pugh

A C C O U N T I N G

Ruth Cassin

RSVP Memphis is published monthly byHaithcock Communications, Inc. First class

subscriptions are available for $55.00 per year.Send name and address with a check to:

Haithcock Communications, Inc.2282 Central AvenueMemphis, TN 38104

For advertising information contactRoy Haithcock

Phone (901) 276-7787, ext. 101Fax (901) 276-7785

e-mail [email protected]

W E B

www.rsvpmagazine.comFor editorial information or to request

coverage of an event, pleasecontact RSVP Magazine

one month prior to the event. Call 901-276-7787, ext. 105 or fax to 901-276-7785.

e-mail [email protected]

Copyright 2009 Haithcock Communications, Inc.

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I’ll never forget theChristmas that my sisterand I decided to go for a

walk after our family’s bigfeast. Not only was I amazedthat we opted to get up andmoving, but I rememberstumbling across two younggirls, presumably sisters,who were proudly paradingtheir holiday gift, a corgipuppy. The girls appearedtotally enamored with thetiny creature, and their newpet seemed equally aspleased to be in their com-pany. When I inquired as totheir canine friend’s name,my heart immediately melted as they shouted, “Jingle!” Imean, is there anything cuter than the name Jingle “TheChristmas Puppy?”

If you’re a dog lover like me, you’ll be happy to see thepicture accompanying my StreetSeen article of Carol Carlson,the new executive director for the Humane Society of Memphisand Shelby County. In the pic on page 20, Carlson’s grinningfrom ear to ear as she holds Jellybean, a black puppy whoobliged our photographer, Steve Roberts, just long enough forhis first photo shoot. This was another moment I won’t forgetany time soon.

It doesn’t take much effort on a puppy’s part to makesomeone smile, however an owner might not always feel thesame. All too often, owners neglect and/or abuse their petsonce they grow out of their “cute stage” or require a littleextra care for health reasons. That’s when organizations likethe Humane Society step in and say, “Enough is enough.”Most recently, the Humane Society stepped in to take care ofnine dogs recovered from the City of Memphis Animal Shelterraid. Though the event was an unfortunate one, Carlson saysshe’s glad the raid has brought awareness to what it means fordogs to live in a shelter like that one.

For those of you thinking of purchasing a dog or catfor someone special this holiday, please consider at least stop-ping by the Humane Society or any other rescue facility in thearea. Just about everyone in our RSVP office has adopted adog, and the bug spread to me last February. I now have twoprecious cocker spaniels, who really are more like childrenthan pets.

Okay, I’ll step off my soapbox, so you can get on yourmerry way. Please have a blessed holiday, and see you back in2010!

Leah [email protected]

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Chefs’ Celebrity Gala20th Anniversary EventE

V E N T

Matthew and Betsy Kamler David and Mary-Marsha Riley

Cathy and Tim Dalfiume Robin Schieber and Rena Booth

Susan Glassman and Jackie Fishmer Dr. Susan Murrmann Price and Melanie Dewane

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David Shotsberger with Sandra and Lynn McCorryChaz and Heather Jones Bobby and Amy Martin

See all the party photos atrsvpmagazine.com Password: RSVP

The Memphis Child Advocacy Center (CAC) has found a recipe forsuccess when it comes to putting on a benefit. Just take note ofthe 600 patrons who turned out to contribute more than $226,000

at the recent Chefs’ Celebrity Gala held at the U of M Holiday Inn.The secret ingredient? Getting local “celebrity” servers, or companyCEOs, VPs and representatives, to rally hard for big tips, which go tothe CAC, an organization that helps children at risk for abuse.

Now in its 20th year, the Chefs’ Celebrity Gala has also provenits staying power. Carol W. Prentiss is the brains behind this functionand created the event prior to the CAC opening. She continues todemonstrate her commitment to the CAC as the gala’s event chair,bringing in chefs from the American Culinary Federation, GreaterMemphis chapter, to prepare a five-course gourmet dinner with foodsupplied by Sysco Memphis. This year, guests first got a taste of themenu during a cocktail hour that featured Asian curry shrimp marti-nis and spinach and goat cheese mini pizzas. The dinner menu includ-ed sweet potato and pumpkin bisque, Caesar cornucopia salad, anintermezzo of champagne sorbet and a surf and turf duet of beef ten-derloin and striped bass, all topped off with a dessert of chocolatewhiskey cake with raspberry coulis. Hungry yet?

Other than the delectable creations and eager-to-please servers,another key component is the “Teddy Bear Surprises.” Donning pricetags of $250, $500 and $1,000, the bears aren’t cheap, but gifts likejewelry, catered dinners, artwork, travel vouchers and weekend vaca-tions, which are identified on slips of paper inside envelopes attachedto the bears, far outweigh the costs. The bears were particularly popu-lar at this gala, with a record number of more than 100 bears pur-chased. Breaking records always calls for a celebration, as if the 20thanniversary didn’t!

Story by Leah FitzpatrickPhotos by Don Perry

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John and Heather Maki

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Phil and Mary Anne Reed

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ONSITE

Sherry Townsend and Mary Glennat Standing in the Gap4 Breast Cancer

Carmen and Dion Greyat Standing in the Gap4 Breast Cancer

Onsite

Marsha and Carly Fields and Lucie Calvinat Germantown Garden Club Tea

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Jim Wallace, Carissa Hussong and Michael Chmielewskiat Metal Museum Repair Days

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Metal Museum Repair Days Germantown Garden Club TeaStanding in the Gap4 Breast Cancer

Broken pieces were reunited, dents were dispelled andclocks ticked again as Mid-Southerners racked theirkitchens, closets and front yards for anything metalthat needed mending and then toted the broken hard-ware to the NNaattiioonnaall OOrrnnaammeennttaall MMeettaall MMuusseeuumm’sannual RReeppaaiirr DDaayyss. Metalsmiths from all throughoutthe country volunteered their skills for the fund-raiser,which included free estimates, an auction full of donat-ed artwork, demonstrations and hands-on activities,including a kids’ tent. Featured artist EElliizzaabbeetthh BBrriimmfrom the PPeennllaanndd SScchhooooll ooff CCrraaffttss was on-hand for anexhibit, gallery talk and demonstration, and visitorsenjoyed not only dinner, but also the “passing of thefruit jar,” a tradition involving adult libations. RepairDays is the museum’s primary fund-raiser, and thisyear marked the institution’s 30th anniversary.

Tea parties aren’t just for little girls or child-ren’s stories, but for grandmothers, mother-and-daugh-ter teams and ladies who just enjoy dressing up andnibbling on cakes, as was demonstrated by theGGeerrmmaannttoowwnn GGaarrddeenn CClluubb at its SSiimmppllyy EElleeggaanntt TTeeaaheld at the home of MMiikkkkii DDuuffffeeyy. One of the club’smany fund-raisers for the numerous charities the non-profit supports during the year, the old-fashioned gath-ering included not only finger foods, but close to 100tea sets on display. More than 70 ladies graced the two-story home to view the tea sets, peruse the antiqueitems and handmade jewelry and purses available forpurchase, and visit over plates of canapés and demitass-es of drinkables. “It was just beautiful,” said clubmember PPaamm OOtttt. “The home was beautiful. The tablewas beautiful. It was truly elegant.”

During the month of October, individuals andgroups gather for events held in conjunction withNNaattiioonnaall BBrreeaasstt CCaanncceerr AAwwaarreenneessss MMoonntthh. ThisOOccttoobbeerr, for the third year, SSttaannddiinngg iinn tthhee GGaapp44, aChristian community outreach organization, assembledto implement its particular tool in the fight against thedisease—prayer. Survivors, along with their friends, fam-ily and organization supporters, donned pink pullovers,pants and pinafores for a Sunday lunch, presentationsand several invocations to honor survivors and lostloved ones and pray for a cure. Supporters walked awaywith encouragement in the form of a booklet of inspira-tional words, memorials and testimonials, as well as asmall gift-wrapped box with a symbolic healing kit withthis year’s theme, “TThhee GGiifftt ooff HHeeaalliinngg.”

Story and photos by Lesley Young

Marcus Stafford and Tatia Johnsonat Metal Museum Repair Days

Kathryn Koban, Latasha King and Christy Kobanat Standing in the Gap4 Breast Cancer

Kent and Madelyn Gordonat Metal Museum Repair Days

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Carol CarlsonFinding Aninmals Forever Homes

Though the Humane Society of Memphis and ShelbyCounty might be closed on Mondays, dogs and catsstill glare out from behind windows with longing

eyes in search of willing owners, and executive directorCarol Carlson is there to witness the animals’ hopeful-ness. She knows just as much as anyone that matchinga dog or cat with a new owner takes time and patience,which is why she’s making a big effort now to push forholiday pet adoptions. And as you can see in the pic-ture at right, Jellybean, whom Carlson refers to as an“LBD” or little black dog, is ready to show off for hispotential family.

However, Jellybean is just one of hundreds ofadoptable pets at the Humane Society, which currentlyhouses roughly 340 cats and dogs and has another 72in foster care. Carlson says the ideal number of animalsfor the facility is around 250, but she hasn’t seen thecanine and feline population that low since assumingher new role a few months ago. To save space, stafferspair up roommates and family groups, who also helpwith socialization skills. Despite this remedy, room forfuture animals remains limited since animals can stayat the Humane Society for an indefinite amount oftime until they are adopted.

“Our universal need is adopters, but most ofthe time people don’t think to come here,” Carlsonrelays. “Statistically, only 17 percent of pets come fromshelters or rescue facilities.”

So far this year, the Humane Society has placed500 animals in homes. In order to keep these numbersrising, Carlson has worked hard with her staff to raisethe bar on the level of customer service and helpedimplement a new behavior assessment program thatshows whether simple training techniques are neededto make a dog more adoptable. For those who assumethat mixed breeds are only available, she points outthat many pure breeds come through the doors.

She adds, “Please think about your lifestyle andlevel of care you’re willing to provide, and rememberthat babies are more time consuming.”

Carlson would also like to clarify that theHumane Society doesn’t receive any government fund-ing since it’s a private, nonprofit organization, and itonly accepts abused or injured cases. After an animalhas been taken in, the Humane Society provides med-ical care and treatment and works to ensure it is adopt-able once healed. A huge volunteer base helps socializeand exercise the animals while at the society.

“People need to know they can get good ani-mals here,” she says.

Ready for a furry friend? Stop by the “Take MeHome for the Holidays” kick-off at the Humane Societyon November 28. You just might find the gift that keepson giving.

Story by Leah FitzpatrickPhoto by Steve Roberts

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Terri WalkerAuctioneer With Attitude

“You can’t win if you’re not in it,” Terri Walkerremembers her husband and business partner,Lance, saying as he signed her up for the

2009 International Auctioneer Championship inOverland Park, Kansas. Determined not to revisither prior eight losses, Walker wanted nothing to dowith the competition, but she good-naturedly partic-ipated in the event. As luck would have it, sheswept the women’s division this July, taking homethe coveted grand champion trophy.

In years past, she always tried to analyzewhat the judges were looking for, but not this time.Her tactic this year was simple: Be yourself.Competing against 27 other women, Walker was thelast contestant to take her stab at the title. Aftergetting through the preliminary round of bid call-ing, Walker became one of seven women chosen toadvance to the interview portion. For the interview,she says the judges basically wanted to know abouther auction experience and knowledge of theNational Auctioneers Association, but allowing herpersonality to shine through was a big part as well.Then came the next round of bid calling with higherdollar amounts.

Of her winning chant, Walker says,“Ultimately, it’s the judges’ opinion, so I feel luckyto have had top scores all the way across the board.”

One of the criterion in bid calling is sales-manship, a skill Walker has perfected through theyears, first working for her auctioneer father inMissouri and then with her husband at WalkerAuctions in Memphis for 27 years. Her area ofexpertise is benefit and real estate auctions, and hasgrown to include online estate auctions. She hastraveled to almost every state for jobs, even toCanada and the Virgin Islands, and last year alone,the company helped charitable groups raise $12 mil-lion.

She adds, “I work with Lance as my ring-man a lot, so I can pick up on his signals if some-thing’s ready to close. I also have an ability to watchpeople in an audience and make them feel comfort-able about what they’re buying.”

Walker also conducts seminars about howto put on the most effective benefit auction and isplanning a seminar in December at Walker Auctionsto help the elderly and their children make informeddecisions when it comes to downsizing.

As if selling things like cars, tickets to“Oprah” and even walk-on parts to TV showsdoesn’t keep her busy enough, Walker clears herschedule for a daily three-mile jog and piano andharp practice. And every other Monday night, youcan find her at Dan McGuinness Pub playing withthe Memphis Harp Ensemble.

She’s already sold us on being able to do it all!


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Mark DaveyMaster of Tricking the Eye

When Mark Davey was a kid, he remembershis mother painting a Charlie Brown muralon his bedroom wall, and years later, he’s

found himself painting his children’s walls withtheir favorite characters. Outside of his house-hold, Davey has gathered a following for portraitsand murals, which often highlight trompe l’oeil,a style of painting that makes images appearthree-dimensional. Perhaps you’ve seen the dal-mations he painted for the Budweiser mural atAutoZone Park or the O’Reilly Auto Parts store-front mural at the former Memphis MotorsportsPark?

“I’ve always been drawn to realisticpaintings and fooling people into thinkingthey’re real,” he says. In fact, one viewerthought his mural at a Vesta Home Show was soreal, she kept trying to touch it.

His latest project includes making amural and marquee for Colonial Middle Schoolthat students will be able to change out withinformation. Once that project is complete, hewill shift his attention to finishing up some ren-derings for a mural he’ll paint on a wall in theCollierville square next spring. He estimates theCollierville mural, which will depict many of thetown’s historical elements like a cannon, train,and its first church and school, will take about200 hours to design and create.

“People often think a mural is a job thatcan be done fairly quickly, but they forget I haveto pressure wash the wall, prime it and put onan ultraviolet clear coat,” Davey explains. “I alsowork sun up ‘til sun down to get a project doneonce I start.”

Behind the scenes, his wife, Megan,assists with Davey Studios, freeing Davey up sothat he just has to paint. Megan also helps withthe creative side and laughs that she often climbsup scaffolding to bring her husband lunch, sincehe doesn’t like to leave in the middle of painting.Just watch out when the couple sees a wall devoidof imagery.

“It’s really hard for us to walk by a blankwall because the ideas start spinning for what wecan fill it with, and the bigger the wall, the bet-ter,” Davey says.

As for his favorite subject to depict, hesays that’s a loaded question. He does admit toenjoying painting when there’s a crowd becausehis ultimate goal is to create art that people willstop and linger at for a while.

He smiles, “It’s really nice to be able toshow kids that you can do something with artbecause a lot of people think you can’t…I wasone of those people until a layoff forced me to doit full-time.”


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Vox PopularQ&A with Karen Blockman CarrierVO

X PO

PULA

R

RRSSVVPP:: Can you share one of your early experiences that shaped yourlove of cooking and/or food in general?

CCaarrrriieerr:: I was raised as an Orthdox Jew, very religious, and neverhad catfish, shrimp, oysters or bacon until I moved out of the housewhen I was 17 and went to the University of Oklahoma. I came backafter a year and went to the Memphis Academy of Art, which is nowthe Memphis College of Art, and I remember going to BerkelsBakery in Overton Square, which did these plate lunches. I wentthere my first week at the Art Academy, and there was this ladythere with painted eyebrows who said, “Hey Sug, whatcha want forlunch?” and I said, “What’s catfish?” She proceeded to tell me thatI wasn’t from here, but I told her I was. Then, she got this womanin the back and told her,“She don’t know what cat-fish is and says she’s fromMemphis, but I don’t quitebelieve that.” They thentold me all about catfishand brought some out. Nextthing I knew, I was eatingthe tails and the fins, and itwas great.

RRSSVVPP:: How difficult was itto open your first restau-rant, Automatic Slim’s, inNew York City?

CCaarrrriieerr:: It wasn’t that diffi-cult. There were nine guysand me, and we openedAutomatic Slim’s in 1986.What happened was I had acatering business therecalled Lunch Catering. Istarted off with SusanaTrilling, but she left thecity about a year later. In the mean time, I had met a guy fromTexas, and he wanted to start a catering business where we did allthese lunches for his friends in the fashion world. We would doabout 10 to 15 lunches, and we’d have all these big name photogra-phers, like Steven Meisel, eating our lunches. You have to under-stand, they loved Southern food, and it was a novelty at the time.About a year into Lunch Catering, these friends who I had met atthe Jazz Festival in New Orleans called me up and told me they’dlike to do a restaurant and wanted me to do the menu and be apartner. I went and talked to these guys, and I said, “Sure.” It tookabout $100,000 to open, so everyone only had to contribute $10,000each. I called my father and told him what we were doing, and he

thought it was some big restaurant.So, the night we opened, my fatherflew to New York, walked in and said,“This is it?” I was like, “Oh, yeah!”We had three tables and a bar that sat 15. He kept wondering how Iwould make a living at this, but I told him, “No problem.” Then wemoved the catering business to Automatic Slim’s during the day,since we weren’t open at that time. Fortunately, the restaurant wasalways packed and became this hip scene. To this day, we are stillopen. It’s now an NYU hangout, but we still play James Brown andall the Memphis Stax artists, always have and always will. It’sbecome an institution, and I go back three of four times a year. Imiss New York.

RRSSVVPP:: What motivated youto move back to Memphis?

CCaarrrriieerr:: My husband, whowas still just my boyfriendat that time, had movedback to Memphis two yearsbefore we got married, andI thought that was the endof that relationship. Then,he started flying me backevery three weeks and even-tually asked me to marryhim. We set a date, gotmarried and I got preg-nant, and I was still flyingback and forth. They knewme so well at NorthwestAirlines, and when I beganwearing big coats, theymade me open up my coatand saw that I was preg-nant. They asked how faralong I was, and I told

them I was seven months along. Finally, they told me I was crazyand would have to pick where I was going to live. To this day, I tellpeople that Northwest made me choose where I had to get settled. Ipacked it up and came back to Memphis, and Carol Coletta gotwind that I was coming home and offered me the catering job of theclosing of the Brooks before their renovation. I took it, and that’show Another Roadside Attraction was born. From there, Roadsideboomed. I thought I’d open a little catering business, but I neverthought it would be anything huge. It was huge!

RRSSVVPP:: Why did you decide to open up an Automatic Slim’s inMemphis?

Restauranteur Karen Blockman Carrier has not only introduced Memphians to masterful culinary creations,but she has excelled at bringing them into her world of innovative dining concepts. When she openedAutomatic Slim’s Tonga Club back in the early ‘90s, no local had seen an eatery look more like an art

gallery than a restaurant, and no one could get enough either. And just like that, Carrier found herself settingup the city’s first communal dining table at the Beauty Shop Restaurant, turning her former house in VictorianVillage into Cielo, which is now Mollie Fontaine Lounge, and tackling Asian cuisine at Do Sushi, a dinner spotalso open up for lunch under the name Noodle Doodle Do. Carrier admittedly gets bored every few years andgoes in search of other projects, with thoughts of opening a New Orleans restaurant in the future and a cook-book in the works. Luckily, RSVP editor Leah Fitzpatrick caught up with Carrier moments before the dailylunch rush at the Beauty Shop, where the woman of the hour took off time from her role as “Super Chef.”

Photos

by Do

n Pe

rry

Joining Morgan Keegan shortly before graduating with honors from Christian Brothers

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VOX

POPU

LAR CCaarrrriieerr:: I had built this great clientele with Roadside, and after five

years, I felt I had enough of a base to start a restaurant. I startedlooking around for space downtown because I wanted an area wherepeople walked. You have to understand that downtown was the cen-ter of our universe growing up. It’s where we went shopping andwhere all of our high school dances were.

RRSSVVPP:: Do you feel that Memphians were as receptive to your firstrestaurant here as they were to your catering business?

CCaarrrriieerr:: Absolutely! I think that what happened with Slim’s is…I hadstarted looking for space downtown back in 1988 or 1989. I was actu-ally looking at all of these spaces on South Main. I found a pool halldown there that I thought was just unbelievable. My friends con-vinced me that I was too ahead of my time because nothing wasdown there—this was way before South Main is what it is today. I waslike, “Okay.” I then found a space down on Second Street andopened up Slim’s there in July of 1991. It was wild because the cityhad never seen a restaurant that looked like Automatic Slim’s. It wasa labor of love. It was built by Wayne Edge, who was a sculptor andone of my best friendsfrom my Memphis ArtAcademy days. It had tilesbehind the banquet byCarol DeForest, who Ialso knew from the acade-my. The tables were doneby my friends in NewYork City, who were sculp-tors. The light fixtureswere done by my hus-band. The bar was doneout of a poplar tree thathad fallen on Poplar dur-ing a big storm. We hadto build a mezzanine andstairs to the basement. Ijust pulled together allthese people, and therewas not one contractor.We did have to hire aplumber and electrician,but back then I couldactually pull the permitas a contractor. When weopened and people start-ed coming in, not onlyhad they not tasted food like that, their heads were going like 360degrees going, “What is this?” And when I sold Slim’s a year ago, wehad been open 17 years. Those years were magical.

RRSSVVPP:: Were there any stigmas with Automatic Slim’s location youhad to overcome?

CCaarrrriieerr:: Well, I have been told I took a chance on downtown, and Ithink people thought I was going to fail. When we opened on SecondStreet, there were no street lights, and not much was going on otherthan The Peabody and Rendezvous. Five, six, seven years into it,people realized I wasn’t going anywhere. Then, people started look-ing at the viability of downtown. We put an ad out for our 13-yearanniversary that said, “It’s 13 years later, and they built a neighbor-hood around us.” That’s basically what happened.

RRSSVVPP:: You have since opened up several other restaurants, so justwondering how you come up with unique concepts for each?

CCaarrrriieerr:: I think that’s the painter or artistic background in me. It’s

funny, Jeff Nesin from the Memphis College of Art told me that theschool wanted to give me the first Distinguished Alumni Award in2003. I said, “Why me?” and he said, “Because in our minds, you’vetaken what you learned here as a painter and carried it on into thedesign of your restaurants.” I never really had thought of the two asa connection before that.

RRSSVVPP:: What’s the experience you want diners at any of your restau-rants to have?

CCaarrrriieerr:: I don’t want it to be just normal. I want them to come inand experience not just a great overall culinary experience as far astrying things they’ve never tried, but, you know, in a traditional way.So, they might have a steak frites, but it might have a spice dust onthe steak and provide a burst of flavor they’re not quite sure of. MyFrench fries have truffle oil, parmesan, black pepper and star anise,so I’m always pushing that limit. I do a lot of candied lemon zestand spice nut dusts, which are enhancers to the food. I’ve realizedthat people are sort of going back to normalcy in their food, butwhen they taste something that they’re comfortable with and it sort

of bursts in their mouthsso that they think it’sawesome, that for me isreally important. I’m notmaking them feel uncom-fortable with the food,but I’ve given themsomething to go homeand talk about. My foodis bold, it’s not dainty.When you see it, youknow it.

RRSSVVPP:: If you had one“go-to” dish to recom-mend to people, whatwould it be?

CCaarrrriieerr:: Cinnamon sugarroasted chicken. It’s soeasy. I have a few otheringredients in the recipe,but cinnamon sugar isthe main thing, and youjust dust it all over thechicken and slow roast it.It’s comforting, like cin-

namon sugar toast when you’re a kid. I like to make brown rice withit and smother it in the gravy that comes off the cinnamon sugardrippings.

RRSSVVPP:: Any word on when your cookbook will be out?

CCaarrrriieerr:: I joke I had a deadline 12 years ago. Now, I have until April1 to finish the proposal. I’m just boxing everything up to ship it offto Martha Foose to decipher through it because I’m too close to it.For me, I have too many restaurants and too many stories, so some-one else needs to figure out which are the best ones.

RRSSVVPP:: Looking back on your career, would you have done anythingdifferently?

CCaarrrriieerr:: Not one thing. It’s been a great ride. Don’t get me wrong,there’s been sweet and sour success, you know, when your husbandpasses and your kids are really young. My success didn’t come witheverything good all the time. My first year at Slim’s I struggled, butas soon as I started getting nervous, business would pick up.

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EOPL

E

Palmer Home for Children

Fall Fashion Luncheon

The PPaallmmeerr HHoommee ffoorr CChhiillddrreennrecently hosted its 10th annual FFaallll FFaasshhiioonnLLuunncchheeoonn at the UU ooff MM HHoolliiddaayy IInnnn. Thisyear, the luncheon paired with the firstAAmmeerriiccaann NNaattiioonnaall GGoollff CCllaassssiicc, making theFFaaiirrwwaayyss aanndd RRuunnwwaayyss fund-raiser a two-dayevent benefiting the Palmer Home.

This event marked the debut of the“Palmer Vintage” store, which featureddonated goodies like Christmas ornaments,designer handbags and Palmer Home cook-books for purchase. For those who preferredto try their luck with bidding, the silentauction was back again, but the highlight of

the luncheon was, of course, the fashionshow. First, Palmer Home President DDrr.. EEddWWaallddrroonn took the podium and proved to bea charming raconteur as he related somefavorite stories from life with the kids.Then, the fashion show’s emcee arrived,

and he was none other than a very hilariousElvis. Most of the young models on the run-way were themselves Palmer Home resi-dents. They wore fashions from 222255 DDeellttaa,SSaacchhii, IIttttyy BBiittttyy, DDiillllaarrdd’’ss, CCoottttoonn TTaaiillss,

PPaaiisslleeyy, WWhhaatt’’ss HHoott and JJaanniiee RRoossee, toname a few retailers.

Among the more than 200 people atthe luncheon were Palmer Home executivedirector RRoobbeerrtt FFaarrrriiss, vice-president ofdevelopment JJoonnaatthhaann AAhheerrnn, KKrriissttiinnGGrraanntt, LLiissaa SSaannffoorrdd, LLoollaa TTiinneerr, CChheerryyllPPaarrkkeerr, CCeecciill SSoowweellll, MMaarryy FFrraanncceess PPiittttss,NNiinnaa TTaayyllooee, BBrreennddaa WWrraatthheerr, KKiirrbbyy FFllooyydd,JJeennii SStteepphheennss, LLiissaa LLaanngglleeyy, RRiittaa SScchheellllyy,JJeennnniiffeerr AAddaammss, RRhheeaa CCrreennsshhaaww, MMaarrcciiaaBBaakkeerr, KKeellllyy PPrroouudd, SSuussaann HHoorrnneerr,CCoouurrttnneeyy SSmmiitthh, CCiinnddyy DDoobbbbss, CCaammiilllleeBBrraannttlleeyy, JJaanniiee LLoowweerryy, KKeellllyy NNeellssoonn andSSuussaann GGrreeeennee.

The Palmer Home for Children was

founded in 1895 and today comprises threecampuses in Mississippi. A Christian organ-

ization, the Palmer Home’s mission is toprovide a stable and loving home—and apositive future—to “social orphans,” thosewho lack a safe and nurturing family.

Story and photos by Kelly Cox

Friends For Life Halloween Party

“Under the Big Top”

All Hallow’s Eve is a night rich intraditions, and around here, one of thosetraditions is the FFrriieennddss FFoorr LLiiffee HHaalllloowweeeennPPaarrttyy. This year’s venue, the eye-catchingBBRRIIDDGGEESS CCeenntteerr, normally hosts a ropecourse for youth, so the soaring ceilingsand trapeze-like hangings were a great fitfor the party’s look.

In keeping with this year’s theme of“UUnnddeerr tthhee BBiigg TToopp,” the fete had the feelof a circus as soon as one neared the

A Trek Across the City’s Party Landscape

Kelly Nelson and Susan Greene

Robert Farris and Jonathan Ahern

Venita Marie Martin, Florence Johnson-Rainesand Kimkea Harris

Rita Schelly and Jennifer Adams

Kirby Floyd and Jeni Stephens

Camille Brantley and Janie Lowery

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MEMPHIS MID-SOUTH OB/GYN ALLIANCE, P.C.

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entrance, where MMaaggiicc MMrr.. NNiicckkand his glamorous assistant,KKeelleeiigghh KKllaarrkkee, lit up the nightwith fire-eating. Although Elviswas there—and even Cary Grant(complete with the North ByNorthwest airplane)—most of thepartygoers had chosen carnival-themed costumes. There wereringleaders, snake charmers,stilt-walkers, bearded ladies anda pair of sideshow-worthySiamese twins. There wereclowns, and an organ-grinder’s

monkey so sinister it’d give younightmares. CChhrriiss HHeeiimmaannnn cuta fine figure as a mustachioedstrongman hoisting a 500-poundweight. All the while, “carnies”passed circus concessions, likepopcorn and hot dogs with rel-ish.

On the panel of costumecontest judges were some famil-iar faces in masquerade. Theywere humorist and actor DDeennnniissPPhhiilllliippppii, JJaassoonn MMiilleess of WMC-TV Channel 5 and SShhaauunnCChhaaiiyyaabbhhaatt and TToomm PPoowweellll,

both of WREG-TV Channel 3. Among the hundreds who

partied into November were JJoohhnnSSnnooookk, BBiillll BBuurrcchhtt, RRiicckk BBaarrttll,SShhaannnnoonn SSppaarrkkss, SShheelllleeyy MMccKKeeee,WWaarrrreenn GGrraanntthhaamm, LLaarrrryyDDeellaanncceeyy, TToomm CClliiffttoonn, VVeenniittaa

MMaarriiee MMaarrttiinn, FFlloorreennccee JJoohhnnssoonn--RRaaiinneess, KKiimmkkeeaa HHaarrrriiss, JJeeffffHHaallee, KKeevviinn WWiillssoonn, MMiicchhaaeellHHoooottss, CCaarrooll DDuuffffeerr, JJaannee DDeevvooee,RRiicchhaarrdd CCoorrmmeennyy, BBrruucceeBBeennttlleeyy, EErriiccaa MMoommrrooww, JJeennnnyyDDaarrsstt, BBrriiaann SSppiieehhtt and DDaavviiddBBaabbiiss.

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tion assistance to healthcare andhealthy life skills training.

Story andphotos by Kelly Cox

Chris Heimann

Brian Spieht and David Babis

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DECEMBER 2

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WKNO Preview Party

“The Art of Fine Living”

Nothing lights up anempty wall like a splendid new

piece of art, and in that case,WWKKNNOO could have lit up theentire city one night in lateOctober. “TThhee AArrtt ooff FFiinnee LLiivviinngg”preview reception gave artpatrons a sneak peek at the manywonders to be auctioned off insupport of WKNO.

Almost 150 pieces weredonated for this year’s event,which is part of WKNO’s manyannual fund-raising programs.Works on display included pot-tery, sculpture, photography, pen

and ink drawings and virtually allpainting media from oil to watercolor. Artists in attendance likeCCaarroollyynn MMoossss, EEllaaiinnee NNeeeelleeyy,PPeeggggyy BBiisshhoopp, BBoobb CCaannaaddyy, TToommCClliiffttoonn and JJaannee WWiilllliiaammss strolledamong their works and enter-

Mandy Pruett and Carolyn Moss

Dr. Shirley Raines and Bob Canady

For me, Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women means reassurance. I didn’t know what

to expect with my fi rst pregnancy, and when I gave birth to twin boys who needed

to be taken to the NICU, I was scared. But Baptist took care of everything. They made

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tained friends and guests,including FFaayytthh RRoowwllaanndd,MMaarrggiiee LLoouunnddyy, MMaannddyy PPrruueetttt,JJaacciinnddaa and SSaamm JJoohhnnssoonn, HHaallBBiisshhoopp, PPaatt and DDaavvee NNoorrrriiss andUniversity of Memphis presidentDDrr.. SShhiirrlleeyy RRaaiinneess.

Wine and an array ofcheese and hummus temptedeventgoers BBeecckkyy DDiicckkeeyy, MMiikkeeMMoossss, BBrriiaann WWeeeekkss, LLyynnnnMMoorrggaann, SShhaannnnoonn SSaalliibbaa and PPaattBBrroowwnn, many of whom arrived inbusiness casual attire hoping for

a good bargain. The grandestunveiling of the evening thoughwas not the art, but the art hallitself. WKNO recently opened itsbrand new, state-of-the-artDDiiggiittaall MMeeddiiaa CCeenntteerr in a wood-ed area off of Whitten Road inEast Memphis. Architect SStteevveeBBeerrggeerr and his wife CCaatthheerriinneewere on hand to watch the crowdenjoy the spacious interior withits two-story, vaulted ceiling.

AAmmyy MMccDDaanniieell, auctioncoordinator for WKNO, said thatproceeds raised from the art-

work, whose total value ran wellinto five digits, would supportthe operations of public radioand television in the Mid-South.She congratulated the efforts ofartists MMiikkee JJoonneess, HHeelleenn SSttaahhll,JJeeaannnnee SSeeaaggllee, DDeebb BBooaarrddmmaann,PPeeggggyy PPiippkkiinn, JJaann SSiinnggeerr, MMeeggaannand JJaassoonn CCoollee, KKaarreenn BBoottttlleeCCaappppss, SSaannddeeee SSaannddeerr, KKaattiieeDDaannnn, SSyyllvviiaa DDuukkee, JJuulliioo FF..RRooddrriigguueess, MMiillllyy MMoooorrhheeaadd WWeesstt

and DDaannnnyy BBrrooaaddwwaayy. Biddingfor the art took place online thefollowing week, but the smiles,enjoyment and celebrating tookplace very much in the moment.

Story and photos byJonathan Devin

Barkitecture 2009

Showcase of Doghouses

WWeeiimmaarraanneerr RReessccuuee oofftthhee SSoouutthh and MMeemmpphhiiss AArreeaaGGoollddeenn RReettrriieevveerr RReessccuuee pairedup for BBaarrkkiitteeccttuurree 22000099, ashowcase of architect-designeddoghouses held at WWooooddllaannddHHiillllss. While bringing high-enddesign to the lowly mutt hut isnot a new idea—in fact, “barki-tecture” events are popularfund-raisers from coast to coast—it always leads to surprising,playful and ingenious results.

Pat Brown and Tom Clifton

Lynn Morgan and Shannon Saliba

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Snoopy’s old A-frame it ain’t!As TTaammmmyy LLeeeetthh

explained, reinventing the dog-house can be a fun team-buildingexercise and an opportunity toshowcase talent...on a caninescale. And with proceeds going toanimal rescues, everybody wins!

Entries were submitted byAArrcchhiimmaanniiaa, CCllaarrkk--DDiixxoonn, CCrraacckkeerrBBaarrrreell, CCuussttoomm OOuuttddoooorrCCrreeaattiioonnss, DDeessiiggnneerr BBaatthhss &&KKiittcchheennss, HHaaiizzlliipp SSttuuddiioo, LLoooonneeyyRRiicckkss KKiissss, PPaatt and CCyynntthhiiaa EEcckk,SSAAMM SSttuuddiioo, TThhrreeee DDoogg BBaakkeerryyand the UUnniivveerrssiittyy ooff MMeemmpphhiissAArrcchhiitteeccttuurree DDeeppaarrttmmeenntt. Guestswere invited to drop their votesfor the People’s Choice Awardinto dog bowls by the door ofeach creation. Once the voteswere tallied, Designer Baths &

Kitchens took the prize for itshearth-inspired indoor doghouse.

The doghouse that

brought the most money in a live

auction, emceed by DDoonnnnaa DDaavviiss,

earned its designers the coveted

“Barkitect of The Year” trophy.

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That honor went to SAM Studio

for its polycarbonate, unhoned

marble and salvaged wood cre-

ation, with a tread plate alu-

minum roof and a natural branch

embellishment. As the architects

explained, they kept in mind how

their own dogs interact with the

outdoor environment, favoring

“airy cover in a spot to see all

their surroundings and cool earth

beneath them!”

Two of the “party ani-

mals” meeting and greeting on

leash were CCoollee, a weimeraner,

and CCaarrssoonn, a golden retriever.

Cole used to be paralyzed by a

spinal injury, but after a lot of

rehabilitation, he is now able to

walk with his foster mom, JJuuddyy

SShhoorree. Carson is an adoption suc-

cess story, having found a forever

home with SSuuee and GGuuyy HHeellmmeerrss.

Among the animal lovers in atten-

dance were TToonniiaa HHaannssoonn, SSttaacceeyy

and BBrraadd GGrreeiivveess, KKaayylleeee BBeellllee

GGrreeiivveess, SSaarraahh HHaaddsskkeeyy, MMaarrcciiee

Yvette and Wade Lewis

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ZZiinnkkuuss, SShheelllleeyy LLaawwrreennccee, CCaarrrriiee and SShhoonn

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DDaarraakksshhaannii and FFrraannkk MMeerreennddiinnoo.

Story and photos by Kelly Cox

A Taste of Playhouse

“Curtain Up!”

The stage was set, the lights were

shining and the excitement was palpable as

PPllaayyhhoouussee oonn tthhee SSqquuaarree (POTS) presented

an elaborate annual gala in three acts. This

year’s “CCuurrttaaiinn UUpp!!” event featured three

courses of music, food and libations.

POTS development director WWhhiittnneeyy

JJoo took advantage of a seasonably warm and

pleasant evening in early November to wel-

come guests streetside with the help of

POTS staffers MMiicchhaaeell DDeettrrooiitt and DDaavvee

LLaannddiiss. Midtown legend and theatre innova-

tor JJaacckkiiee NNiicchhoollss of POTS mixed with the

crowd in the lobby as guests arrived to pick

up their tickets. Attire was “Midtown Chic,”

so guests LLiissaa and TToomm WWaattssoonn, PPaaddmmaa and

JJooeell LLyyoonnss, SSuuee and FFrraannkk GGuuaarriinnoo, NNiikkkkii

BBrriinnkkeerrhhooffff, DDoottttyy GGiiuussttii, SSuussaann SSccootttt,

KKaarreenn CCllaawwssoonn, RReeuubbeenn SSiimmoonniiaann and

EElliizzaabbeetthh AAllppeerriinn arrived in blue jeans, light

blazers and little black dresses.

In “Act I,” guests strolled from the

KKaattzz GGaalllleerryy, where they sampled from a

fountain-like grand fromage spread and

selections of red and white wine and cham-

pagne, to the MMeemmpphhiiaann RRoooomm, where

RReennééee KKeemmppeerr tickled the ivories. This room

also featured two martini bars and hors

d’oeuvres, such as bacon wrapped artichoke

hearts, shrimp satay, bousin tarts and mini

blue crab cakes.

A lingering crowd took its time mov-

ing on to “Act II” in the POTS scene shop.

In this space, the cover band formerly

known as MMoonnkkeeyy HHaattee CClleeaann played upbeat

pop favorites while guests KKaatthhyy and KKeellllyy

FFiisshh, JJaannee HHaannkkiinnss, KKaarreenn CClliiffttoonn, AAnnddrreeww

PPooppee, LLiinnnn SSiittlleerr, MMiikkee RRyyaann, JJuuddiitthh

RRuuttsscchhmmaann, EElliissaabbeetthh SSiillvveerrmmaann, CChheerryyll

PPaayynnee and MMiicchhaaeell VVeesseeyy enjoyed interna-

tional beers and a buffet dinner of grilled

chicken breast, haricot vert, sliced apple

salad and sweet potatoes and parsnips. The

band challenged guests to suggest a new

name for the band. WWaaddee aanndd CCoommppaannyy pro-

vided the catering.

The “Finale” took place in the the-

atre with more music by TThhee LLiivviinngg

DDaayylliigghhttss and dancing among the forested

set of “Narnia.” Desserts included assorted

“pick-up” sweets and after dinner drinks.

Host RRoonn CChhiillddeerrss of WMC-TV Channel 5

thanked guests for their support as well as

the evening’s sponsors: TThhee AArrtthhuurr FF.. aanndd

AAlliiccee EE.. AAddaammss FFoouunnddaattiioonn, SSoouutthhwweesstteerrnn

DDiissttrriibbuuttiinngg and MMaaccyy’’ss.

Story and photos by Jonathan Devin

Peggy Geer, Wendy Isham, Tonia Hanson,Terry Nichols and Donna Davis

Jane Hankins, Jackie Nicholls and Karen Clifton

Lisa and Tom Watson

Reuben Simonian and Elizabeth Alperinwith Padma and Joel Lyons

Dotty Giusti, Susan Scott and Karen Clawson

Judith Rutschman and Elisabeth Silverman

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DECEMBER 2

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ONSITE

Ann Lesley Elliott and Kimberly Crafton at Celebrate World Habitat Day

Lee Askew, Dwayne Spencer and John Webb at Celebrate World Habitat Day

Onsite

Brian and Julie Burns at “Taste of Red”

Susan Ewing and Jean Christensen at “Taste of Red”

Amy Poston, Baxter and Sarah Poston at Pumpkins & Paws

Kim Motschman and Ron Cribbat “Taste of Red”

Celebrate World Habitat Day“Taste of Red” Pumpkins & Paws

Haabbiittaatt ffoorr HHuummaanniittyy®® ooff GGrreeaatteerr MMeemmpphhiiss, theCCooaalliittiioonn ffoorr LLiivvaabbllee CCoommmmuunniittiieess and the MMeemmpphhiissRReeggiioonnaall DDeessiiggnn CCeenntteerr teamed up to bring MemphiansCCeelleebbrraattee WWoorrlldd HHaabbiittaatt DDaayy. The fund-raiser tookplace at AAsskkeeww NNiixxoonn FFeerrgguussoonn AArrcchhiitteeccttss, whereguests mingled amongst fellow supporters while savor-ing wine from WWiinnee MMaarrkkeett and tasty hors d’oeuvrescourtesy of JJuusstt CCaatteerriinngg. Local favorite VVaalleerriiee JJuunneeentertained attendees with her folksy sound. MemphisHabitat executive director DDwwaayynnee SSppeenncceerr said of thereception, “It was a first effort by local organizations towork collectively to create awareness about the issue ofdecent shelter and the global concern for human habi-tat.”

The MMiidd--SSoouutthh CChhaapptteerr ooff tthhee AAmmeerriiccaann RReeddCCrroossss hosted an event full of food and wine pairings atits “TTaassttee ooff RReedd” gathering inside BBrriinnkklleeyy PPllaazzaa. Theadjoining FFeelliicciiaa SSuuzzaannnnee’’ss served as a restaurant spon-sor, along with BBaannggkkookk AAlllleeyy, CCaafféé TToossccaannaa, CCoolleettttaa’’ss,FFrraatteellllii’’ss and IIttttaa BBeeeennaa. To make the task of balancinga plate and wine glass a little easier for guests, organiz-ers provided small plates that had cutouts for wineglasses to rest, which made sampling wines provided bySSttaarr DDiissttrriibbuuttoorrss all the more appealing. GGeerrrryy FFiinnnneeyyperformed throughout the night as the crowd bid onsilent and live auction items to raise funds for the serv-ices the Red Cross provides to residential fire and otherdisaster victims.

Pets had a reason to dress up for Halloween thisyear at the first ever PPuummppkkiinnss && PPaawwss at the HHuummaanneeSSoocciieettyy ooff MMeemmpphhiiss && SShheellbbyy CCoouunnttyy. First, second andthird place prizes were awarded for the best dresseddog, with the lone feline entry receiving a well deservedhonorable mention. Activities included bobbing fortreats, face painting and decorating pumpkins.MMoobbiilleeVVeett MMeemmpphhiiss, who recently celebrated its one-year anniversary, AAuussssiiee PPeett MMoobbiillee, OOnn DDooooddyy andMMaarrkk’’ss PPeettwwoorrtthh also participated in the event. Forthose individuals who applied to adopt animals fromthe Humane Society during the event, MobileVetMemphis offered one free clinic visit, giving the sevenpets who were adopted something to woof about.

Story and photos by Leah Fitzpatrick

Penny and Harley Chapman at Pumpkins & Paws

Ruby Bright, Ellen Klyce, Valerie June and John Gemmillat Celebrate World Habitat Day

Bobbie Middlebrook and Michelle Bates at Pumpkins & Paws

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DECEMBER 2

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DECEMBER 2

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Merry Marketplace GalaPreview GalaE

V E N T

Mimi and Jim Taylor Lauren Wiener and Ginger Collier

Cheryl Pellegra and Lindsey Dyer Bruce and Judge Camille McMullen

Russ and Maggie Henderson Chris and Jennifer Brunetti

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Bill and Chey Widdop with Chantal JohnsonTonya Wells and Michelle Gurley Bonnie Hollabaugh and Kit Chope


If Christmas is “the most wonderful time of the year,” then theJunior League of Memphis’ Merry Marketplace Gala is the perfectpredecessor to the most joyous of holidays. A private shopping

event and cocktail party traditionally held at Agricenter Internationalthe Thursday night before Merry Marketplace opens to the public, theoccasion serves as a fund-raiser for the league’s community outreachprograms.

Hundreds of Memphians relished the chance to fulfill theirloved ones’ wish lists at a venue that offered more than 140 vendors.The variety of giftables goes without saying, as merchants offeredeverything from jewelry cleaning solutions to Christmas ornaments tochildren’s toys. Others setting up shop were food vendors like BakersCookies, Toffee To Go, Inc., Pastamore Gourmet Foods and CakeBliss, a company specializing in 13 kinds of pound cake (Who knewpound cake came in flavors such as sweet coconut lime or lemon gin-ger?). And for those wary of flu season, The Shot Nurse was alsoonsite. Choosing where to start was the difficult part!

Silent and live auctions filled the agenda as well, but theoptions here were just as endless, with one Junior League memberpointing out that around 500 items were up for bids. Thankfully, theauction had been grouped into categories: clothing, jewelry, chil-dren’s, home, gift certificates, Christmas, sports and gifts.

As a majority of women wandered throughout the expansivespace with Christmas purchases in mind, their male counterpartscould be found in the Men’s Zone, an area boasting Boscos, Gus’sFried Chicken, Parmasters, Dream Outdoors and a bar. Many morearea restaurants and catering companies, including favorites Pete andSam’s, Central BBQ, Monkey Bread Bakery, Rendezvous andRestaurant Iris, to name a few, spread out signature eats at tablespositioned amongst vendors. Balancing tote bags of goodies and cock-tail plates became a juggling act for some, but bistro tables, whichwere decorated with small bouquets of red roses, saved the day asprime resting spots. The John T. McClure Jazz Trio supplied themusic while guests munched and chatted with friends old and new.

Tonya Wells chaired this year’s Merry Marketplace Gala, withthe help of vice-chair Katie Marks and Merry Marketplace chairJennifer Taylor. SunTrust, Baptist and Cellular South acted as present-ing sponsors for the unique holiday shopping mecca.


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Julia McDonald and Margaret Chesney

Jane Gillespie, Brenda Grinder, Debby Phillips and Carol Woods

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DECEMBER 2

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Barbara Guyton and Caroline Williams

Palmer Smith, Laura Reynolds and Liz Parks

Susan Carr and Jennifer Taylor

Jesse and Caroline Conrad

Davina Jones with Mervyn and Janel Goods

Kim Turner and Missy Beyer

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DECEMBER 2

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SIP AR

OUND

THE

WOR

LDE V E N T Sip Around The World

Wine Tasting

Carrie Fehnel, Alanna Moore and Catherine Eaves

Sam Huddleston and Ekin Zafir

Stan and Arlene Weinrich

Brandon and Amanda Dill

Jerrell and Angela Rucker

Tricia Jones and Will Victor

Bonny Kinney and Scott Andrews

T.C. Johnson and Kay Shelton

Tanesha Matthews and Landrus Burress

For a city located far from a notable wine region, Memphis sure isa vino-friendly town. On any given day, a number of local restau-rants and nonprofits host wine tastings, but none are so large in

scale as that of the National Kidney Foundation of West Tennessee’s(NKFWT) Sip Around the World. For 15 years running, the organiza-tion has put on a remarkable sippers’ paradise that continues todraw impressive crowds of close to 1,000 people.

The Memphis Botanic Garden’s Goldsmith Civic GardenCenter took on a whole new vibe, as 31 tasting tables and countlessvolunteers inhabited the facility. NKFWT executive director MableBarringer welcomed all to the event and motioned guests to pick upa program of the participating wineries. Athens DistributingCompany once again supplied more than 250 wines, produced inCalifornia, Oregon, Argentina, Australia, Austria, France, Germany,Italy, New Zealand and South Africa, for starters. As samplers trieda number of reds and whites, some could be heard saying, “Can I goback for another pour if I really like the wine?” But, of course!

Amidst the flurry of activity, guests could be found nibblingon an assortment of cheeses, veggies, meats, breads, brownies, cook-ies and mini tarts, which were displayed on tables decorated withbeautiful fall arrangements from Holliday’s Florist. Bamboo Forestand Disc Jockeys etc. pumped in the background sound. Silent auc-tion items were set up in the larger Hardin Hall, with a live auction,conducted by Steve Miles, later taking place in GoldsmithAuditorium. Several lots catering to wine lovers were an in-homewine tasting extravaganza for 12 donated by Kirby Wines & Liquors,a Fleming’s wine dinner for six and a Napa Valley wine tour.

A big thanks goes to DaVita for its gold level sponsorship ofthe event, which enables the NKFWT to continue its mission ofhelping those affected by kidney and urinary tract diseases.


See all the party photos at rsvpmagazine.comPassword: RSVP

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DECEMBER 2

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DECEMBER 2

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SIP AR

OUND

THE

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Shannon Kloek and Alicia Miller

Anna Van Winkle and Gloria Dodds

Dipti Desai and Rashana Lincoln

Scott and Pam TupmanJessamyn and Sam Bradley

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Tiffany Adkins with Linda and Aspen Grissom Andrea Harano with Cindy and Patrick Funck

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DECEMBER 2

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Mike and Robin Harris with Shena Van Etten and Kyle Schultz

Elizabeth Rook, Keri Cruzen and Amie Harrison

Gail and Mike HueyNancy Imre and Al Owings

Amy Beth Dudley and Amy FarrisLisa Sloan and Casey Malone

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Lesley Kitts, Ashley Wallace, Dr. Allison Stiles and Jennifer DaCosta

Bob and Tami EisemanAngie Roberts and Marie Holliman

C.C. Myers and Charles BooneBrian and Riki Jackson

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DECEMBER 2

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Betty Jones, Phyllis Jones, Antoinette Holman, Louise Burks and Brittany Hyman

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DECEMBER 2

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DECEMBER 2

009

Les Passess Cabaret Ball“100 Years of Loving Memphis”E

V E N T

Krista Brewer and Bill Freeman Gina and Jeff Webb

Sally and Lyman Aldrich Julie and Kevin Stonebarger

Pam and John Campbell Julia and Tom Panagon

LES PA

SSES

S CA

BARE

T BA

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Lovie Raines, Lisa Geater, Judy Jones, Meg Glass and Libby HubbardLeeAnn and Todd Vanderpool Donna Wolf and Annie Taylor


Les Passes not only knows how to play hard, but this women-onlyvolunteer organization has built a reputation for working evenharder to provide advocacy and support for children and families

in Memphis throughout its 100 year existence. This amazing accom-plishment prompted a memorable bash, themed “100 Years of LovingMemphis,” at Hilton Memphis.

Elegance reigned at the affair, which explains the abundanceof sparkly oversize jewels found on tabletops and inside wine glassesgiven as party favors. Les Passes member Annie Taylor said, “Youshould have seen the invites sent out…they were these great faux dia-mond rings!” Tall flower arrangements of calla lilies, tulips andhydrangeas, which appeared in hurricane vases illuminated with LEDlights and topped off by black shades with crystal adornments, com-plimented the ambiance. Even the napkin designs had been given spe-cial thought and resembled black and white tuxedo jackets with smallred rosebuds on the lapels.

Prior to the actual program, some 250 formally clad membersand their dates mingled in the hallway outside the Tennessee GrandBallroom for a cocktail hour that featured violinist fiddler DonnaWolf. Several silent auction tables tempted guests to browse offeringsof makeovers, hand-painted Christmas wine glasses and U of M Men’sBasketball tee shirts signed by Coach Josh Pastner. Perhaps the mostcoveted item of all was a 1986 Honda Shadow in mint condition.

Around 7 p.m., guests took their seats in the ballroom for din-ner and the traditional presentation of “Living Ads.” This year, emceeJudge Kay Robilio announced nine living ads: Grace Forsdick, VirginiaHigginbotham, Alex Livesay, Jennifer McPherson, Madeline Rardin,Megan Schlitt, Mary Stevenson, Jeannette Walker and Caroline Webb.After the young ladies walked the length of the ballroom with theirescorts and pages, The Plaintiffs played “The Way You Look Tonight.”That song was followed by “What a Wonderful World,” which had thepages and escorts dancing with their parents.

On a serious note, Les Passees president Meg Glass mentionedduring the ceremony about the group’s latest achievement, the open-ing of the Harwood Center this past August. This facility aids childrenunder age 3 who have developmental delays. By night’s end, $45,000had been raised for this effort, in addition to Les Passees’ other pro-grams, such as Kids on the Block.

Story by Leah FitzpatrickPhotos by John Hammer

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LES PA

SSES

S CA

BARE

T BA

LLE V E N T

Kathy and Brian Swords Sam and Cindy Ettingoff

Douglas and Tracy Hubbard John and Christina Ogle

Bruce and Judy Young Judge Kay and Victor Robilio with Teresa Starnes

Taylor Huffman and William Green Cheryl and David Schlitt

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DECEMBER 2

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E V E N T

LES PA

SSES

S CA

BARE

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Kacie and Stephen Cooper

Joy Scott and Gerald Matthews Mary, Cleo and Prudy Stevenson Blake White and Courtnee McKim

Mickey and Judy McLellan Barret, Mary, Alex and Christopher Livesay Brian and Kristina Bennett

Joyce and Kevin Ruby

Amanda and Chris Cox

Pamela Williams and Susan Nicholas

Tim and Rene Booth

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DECEMBER 2

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LES PA

SSES

S CA

BARE

T BA

LLE V E N T

Davis, Dawn and Mike Goodwin Amy and Donnie Thweatt

Phyllis and Bill Allen Stephanie and Bill Barbour

Jeff and Mary Sexton Jeanne and Lawrence Fortney

George and Susan Wortham Jeff and Cathy Harris

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Providing over 20 years ofcompassionate care and service to the women of

Shelby County and Beyond.

• Annual Exams• Prenatal Care• Prenatal Counseling• Birth Control• Sexual Counseling• STD education• Menstrual problems• Heavy Periods• Weight Management• Treatment of Fibroids• Endometriosis• In Office Sterilizations

HAMPTON DESIGNSHAMPTON DESIGNAMPTON DESIGNAMPTON DESIGNSHAMPTON DESIGNAMPTON DESIGNAMPTON DESIGNS

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ONSITE

Rick and Debra Colter with Jeff Humber and Pamela Denlyat Ronald McDonald House Cocktail Party

Sandy Kindig and Rebecca Matthewsat “Mardi Gras on Main Street”

Onsite

Tom and Elizabeth Farrar, Marty Regan and Rev. John Geaneyat IRIS Orchestra Kick-off

John Staelin, Elizabeth Locke, Midori and Bob Mednikowat IRIS Orchestra Kick-off

Regina Giometti and Gerri Camuratiat UNICO Columbus Day Gala

Jean Mathews Crawford and Anne Kenworthyat IRIS Orchestra Kick-off

Ronald McDonald House Cocktail Party “Mardi Gras on Main Street”IRIS Orchestra Kick-off UNICO Columbus Day Gala

Partygoers toasted to charity during a cocktail partyhosted by LLiinnddaa and EErrnniiee MMaannnneerriinnoo at their hometo benefit the RRoonnaalldd MMccDDoonnaalldd HHoouussee CChhaarriittiieess®® ooffMMeemmpphhiiss. The occasion gave new supporters anddonors an opportunity to learn more about the assis-tance that Ronald McDonald House and HHeeaarrttss ffoorr tthheeFFuuttuurree, the nonprofit’s donor society, provide for fami-lies with seriously ill or injured children.

The CCoolllliieerrvviillllee TToowwnn SSqquuaarree resembled NewOrleans’ French Quarter for the 17th annual PPaarrttnneerrss iinnPPrreesseerrvvaattiioonn PPaarrttyy && TTaassttee ooff tthhee TToowwnn, themed“MMaarrddii GGrraass oonn MMaaiinn SSttrreeeett.” More than 20 arearestaurants participated in the gourmet portion of theevening by having food stations set up at “Fat TuesdayAvenue,” “Fleur de Lis Lane” and “King Cake Alley.”VVaann GGoogghh’’ss EEaarr supplied the party tunes while atten-dees poured over the selection of silent and live auctiongoodies, one of which included a New Orleans catereddinner package. Proceeds help MMaaiinn SSttrreeeett CCoolllliieerrvviilllleeput on gatherings held on the square each year, includ-ing the Sunset on the Square Concert Series and Magicon Main Street Movie Night, to name a few.

IIRRIISS OOrrcchheessttrraa kicked off its 10th season bywelcoming back renowned violinist MMiiddoorrii for anencore performance. To help IRIS celebrate, theGGeerrmmaannttoowwnn PPeerrffoorrmmiinngg AArrttss CCeennttrree (GPAC) GGuuiillddhosted an opening night party following the concert for500 patrons and musicians. The orchestra’s next con-cert of the season will feature four-time Grammy® win-ner and Metropolitan Opera star DDaawwnn UUppsshhaaww onJanuary 9 at GPAC.

The UUNNIICCOO MMeemmpphhiiss CChhaapptteerr honored twoexemplary Memphians during its CCoolluummbbuuss DDaayy GGaallaaheld at the DDoouubblleettrreeee HHootteell. During the event, FFrraannkkNNaavvaarrrraa presented DDrr.. MMiicchhaaeell NNeeeell with the UUNNIICCOOMMeemmpphhiiss CCiivviicc AAwwaarrdd, and DDaann VVaaccccaarroo gave WWiilllliiaamm““BBiillll”” AA.. LLuucccchheessii the UUNNIICCOO MMeemmpphhiiss IIttaalliiaannAAmmeerriiccaann AAwwaarrdd. The presentations were followed by adelicious steak dinner and dancing, with music provid-ed by UNICO’s own MMiicchhaaeell SSppaannoo as the deejay.

Story Submitted and by Leah FitzpatrickPhotos Submitted and by Tran Bui and Steve Roberts

Ron Giometti and Michael Spanoat UNICO Columbus Day Gala

Danny and Jennifer Thompson with Gary and Terri Smithat “Mardi Gras on Main Street”

Linda and Ernie Mannerinoat Ronald McDonald House Cocktail Party

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BONE

BAS

HE V E N T Bone Bash

A Bewitching Fund-raising Gala

Steve West and Pamela Hauber with Emily and Jeff McEvoy

Shirley and Yi Lu

Glenn and Gina Wells

Mark and Pam Vaughn

Keevia Porter and Tiffany Gray

Kristi and Nick Pesce

George and Katherine Brown

Patty and Tom Schoelkopf

Mike and Dr. Vicki Jones

Not many parties on the social calendar allow adults the freedomto dress in head-to-toe costumes, but the Arthritis Foundationmakes an exception at its annual fall fund-raiser, Bone Bash.

Central Station housed the frighteningly fun festivities, where vam-pires, pirates and ever other imaginable Halloween celebrantappeared to support the organization’s local health and wellness pro-grams, local and national research efforts and education and aware-ness materials.

Rheumatology and Dermatology Associates presented thebone-chilling evening that had guests competing for the best cos-tume honors. Throughout the party, attendees gave tickets to thebest dressed male and female, and those with the most tickets at theend of the night were declared the winners. Choosing standout cos-tumes wasn’t quite so easy, considering the creativity couples optedfor in the form of Mayor A C Wharton and Jerry “The King” Lawlerand Donald Trump and Miss California, Tara Conner. A group offriends even made a showing as characters from Beetlejuice.However, the most votes went to Yi Lu for his Michael JacksonThriller get-up and to Dr. Vicki Jones for her Elle Woods hot pinknumber, complete with a matching purse and dog.

Guests also got in the Halloween spirit thanks to the spook-tacular décor worthy of a haunted house. A few of the highlightsincluded a graveyard of “RIP” tombstones at the entrance, a jar ofgooey eyeballs at the bar, a giant tarantula crawling on the candy barand neon bats hanging from the ceiling. Lots of pumpkins and pur-ple and orange lights were also thrown in the mix to help decoratethe bar and hors d’oeuvre table brimming forth with fruits, cheeses,veggies, meatballs, spinach dip and chicken skewers by DelectablesCatering. A chocolate fountain was another visual centerpiece initself and had partygoers coming back for a sugar rush, as if therewasn’t enough candy for one already. A silent auction and tunes byElmo and the Shades kept the crowd entertained until the witchinghour, when the clock struck midnight and Halloween officiallybegan.

Story by Leah FitzpatrickPhotos by John Hammer

See all the party photos at rsvpmagazine.comPassword: RSVP

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E V E N T

BONE

BAS

H

Jason Bowles and Leah Fitzpatrick BowlesMaurice Ward and Tara Austin

Butch and Kim InmanFrank and Sally Navarra

Beth Dailey and Scott KennethTroy and Kristin Norwood

Sally and Henry BrennerSamantha Gore and Kristin Hicks

Phentermine, Adipex, Ambien,and Other PrescriptionMedications Available

30-day supply of phentermineavailable in clinic for only $25

Cordova MedicalClinic

(1 block east of Corky's)

Walk-Ins WelcomeNo Appointment Necessary

Monday-Saturdaywww.cordovamedical.com

Free VIT B12 Shotfor new patients

Fastest Weight LossClinic In Town!

Lose Weight

Holiday SaleSelect Items 25-50%

AT REGALIAT RAT EEGALIA

y Salolidaay SaleHems 25-tSelect I

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AFTE

R HO

URS After Hours

A photo collage of the latestbusiness happenings

SERIOUSLY FUN! ANNIVERSARY PARTY

MEMBERS OPENING RECEPTION FOR THE

CARRY ME! LUCITE® HANDBAGS FROMTHE CARYN SCHEIDT COLLECTION ATDIXON GALLERY AND GARDENS(PHOTOS BY BAXTER BUCK)

FREDERIC SAGE AND MAURI PIOPPOTRUNK SHOW

AT PETER D. POOLE FINE JEWELERS

Burton Bridges and Karen Brandon at Dixon Gallery and Gardens

Jane Ezzell and Betty Hays at Seriously Fun!

Janet Burkett and Alla Olswanger at Seriously Fun!

Simon Ellis, Janice Berkson, Caryn Scheidt, Erin Riordan and Kevin Sharpat Dixon Gallery and Gardens

Julie and Ronald Pierotti at Dixon Gallery and Gardens

Bill Cowan and Kris Stewart at Doris McLendon’s Fine Jewelry

DORIS MCLENDON’S FINE JEWELRYCHRISTMAS OPEN HOUSE

Julie Krug, Doris McLendon and Rita Coots at Doris McLendon’s Fine Jewelry

Leigh Ann, Julie, Mary Avery and Peter D. Poole at Peter D. Poole Fine Jewelers

Allison Allen and Lauren Shaffrey at Peter D. Poole Fine Jewelers

Charlotte and Fred Hodges at Peter D. Poole Fine Jewelers

Katie Kalsi and Victoria Bromley at Doris McLendon’s Fine Jewelry

Of

Helen Akin

Steve Bearman

Beth Blumenfeld

Phoebe Burks

Bill Butler

Sheryl Cassibry

Robin Fauser

Gwen Flaniken

Jimmie Harder Fowler

Jan Gordon

Lynn Hammond

Lauren Harkins

Walker Hays

Carolyn Hooker

WendyRylee

CrissySmith

SusieSneed

TriciaSnider

CarolStout

JeffSullivan

LynnWalker

Sandra Charlton

Tom Iverson

Tom Kimbrough Broker

Mike Mills

CooperTurner

MichaelVarner

NorfleetWashatka

VivianWatson

MelissaWilbanks

MigWilliams

JudsonWilliford

AmyWoods

MandyWright

Sylvia Joure

Joy Kimbrough

Ali Benson Koch

Janet Lee

Nan Lee

Elizabeth Marchisio

Toni Martello

Christine McBee

George Merrifield

Jim Pascover

Claire Perkins

Nancy Perrine

Alice Newton

Our East Memphis f amily

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Bob Hutchins and Charissa Camp at The Architects Party

Kim Brukardt and Kelly Snodgrass at The Architects Party

ONSITE Onsite

Julie Johnson, Eric Robertson and Marcia Boyd at U of M Outstanding Alumni Awards Dinner

Dean Henry Kurtz and Meah King at U of M Outstanding Alumni Awards Dinner

Louise and Calvin Turley at Harvest Party

Dr. Shirley Raines and Dr. Thomas Appleton at U of M Outstanding Alumni Awards Dinner

U of M Outstanding Alumni Awards DinnerThe Architects Party Harvest Party

The UUnniivveerrssiittyy ooff MMeemmpphhiiss CCoolllleeggee ooff AArrttss aannddSScciieenncceess AAlluummnnii CChhaapptteerr hosted its 13th annualOOuuttssttaannddiinngg AAlluummnnii AAwwaarrddss DDiinnnneerr at TThhee RRaaccqquueettCClluubb ooff MMeemmpphhiiss. Festivities began with a welcomereception, followed by dinner and an awards ceremony.JJaammeess MMoorrssee (BS ’90, MS ’93), KKeeiitthh PPrreewwiitttt (BA ’81)and DDrr.. TThhoommaass AApppplleettoonn (BA ’71) were honored asOOuuttssttaannddiinngg AAlluummnnii, while MMeeaahh KKiinngg (BA ’02 MAT‘05) was recognized as an OOuuttssttaannddiinngg YYoouunngg AAlluummnnaaand MMaauurriiccee EElllliiootttt as an OOuuttssttaannddiinngg FFrriieenndd.

Everyone “in the know” is aware that TThheeAArrcchhiitteeccttss PPaarrttyy, held at AAsskkeeww NNiixxoonn FFeerrgguussoonnAArrcchhiitteeccttss and benefiting the IInntteerrnnaattiioonnaall CChhiillddrreenn’’ssHHeeaarrtt FFoouunnddaattiioonn (ICHF), is always among the hottestaffairs of the year. “KKeeeeppiinngg tthhee TThhrriillll AAlliivvee,” thisyear’s theme, was a celebration of ICHF’s 15th anniver-sary, as well as the 20th anniversary of MichaelJackson’s Thriller. Guests donned their most creativeHalloween attire to compete in the costume contest forthe grand prize of a trip for two anywhere in the conti-nental United States along with a free week’s condostay. Sponsored by 9944..11 KKQQKK and emceed by SStteevveeCCoonnlleeyy, party highlights included a big anniversary can-dle blow-out, live music, fortune telling, old silent hor-ror movies projected on walls and the pièce de résis-tance, a “Mass Thriller Dance” in which dozens ofattendees participated.

EEaarrnneessttiinnee aanndd HHaazzeell’’ss was the site of TThheeCCoottttoonn MMuusseeuumm’s third annual autumn fund-raiser,HHaarrvveesstt PPaarrttyy. A large turnout of supporters crowdedthe floor to listen to great tunes by the EEaarrnneessttiinnee aannddHHaazzeell’’ss BBaanndd and to bid on silent auction articles,including two nights at Charleston Place in Charleston,South Carolina, a ride in a Piper J-3 Cub departingfrom the Wolf River Airport in Fayette County, a guidedduck hunt at Frenchman’s Bayou in Arkansas, ticketsto the 51st Annual Liberty Bowl and gift certificates formany restaurants. Upstairs, LLeexx BBoonnnneerr led the party-goers with a sing-along around the piano. Event spon-sors were SSyyggeennttaa, TThhee SSeeaamm, TTeettrraa TTeecchh, AAmmeerriiccaannCCoottttoonn SShhiippppeerrss AAssssoocciiaattiioonn and VV.. AAlleexxaannddeerrCCoommppaannyy.

Story Submitted and by Ruth CassinPhotos Submitted and by Roy Haithcock

Grace Swaney and Gil Uhlhorn at Harvest Party

Rosa Valdez, Christina Baggett and Yashi Monzon at The Architects Party

Honey and Rudi Scheidt at Harvest Party

´

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AFTE

R HO

URS After Hours

A photo collage of the latestbusiness happenings

DERMATOLOGY REALM CHRISTMASOPEN HOUSE

PPAALLLLAADDIIOO CCHHRRIISSTTMMAASS OOPPEENN HHOOUUSSEE

MINDY LAM TRUNK SHOWAT KITTIE KYLE

Collin Peel, Emily Ozier and Calvin Ozier at Palladio

Teresa Wilkes, Denise LaForce and Dr. Adam Baker at Dermatology Realm

Sherry Bramucci and Christy Prewitt at Dermatology Realm

Nancy and Rodgers Menzies at Palladio

Brenda Medling and Steven Hickman at Palladio

Mindy Lam and Cindy Gambrell at Kittie Kyle

Rob Joyner, Mark Goodfellow and Sonya Dunn at James Davis

JAMES DAVIS HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE

Dan Mullally, Josh Pastner and Alan Graf at James Davis

Herb O’Mell, David Porter and Johnny Pitts at James Davis

Van and KK Weinberg at James Davis

Mayor A C Wharton and Penny Hardaway at James Davis

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By Dennis PhillippiRSVP

HILL

IPPI

YOU DO THE MATH, SERIOUSLYSometimes when I can’t think of any-thing for a column, I just look at sur-veys on the Internet. Last month, in a

similar jam, I stumbled onto one poll thatshowed women’s disturbing trends infootwear. This month, I found one thatwas much more reassuring: More than 90percent of students at one university inNew York can’t do basic algebra. That onemade me feel a lot better.

Why would a lack of simple mathe-matics knowledge among college studentscheer me? Because I can’t do it either.Honestly, I can barely do addition. Myeducation, or more accurately, “educa-tion,” was affected by the ‘60s. You see,back in the ‘70s, when I was supposed tobe learning the three misnamed R’s, theschool system I was in had somehow beentaken over by a bunch of glassy-eyed hip-pies who didn’t believe in the traditionalapproach to education. Or hygiene. Insteadof a steady diet of meat and potatoes infor-mation, we were allowed to learn at ourown pace, finding our own direction.That’s why I can’t do math. My own pacein that area has been very, very slow. Myown direction where numbers is concernedhas been away.

We were encouraged to call ourteachers by their first names, read whatmoved us and generally given what they, intheir best-meaning way, considered free-dom. I’m a big fan of freedom. I admirethose brave men and women who fightevery day for freedom. People all through-out the world should be free. Except, ofcourse, children.

Another study I stumbled ontodoing what passes for research in my worldwas one that explained why children can-not resist candy. This study came aboutbecause the scientist doing work on adultswith damage to the frontal lobe of theirbrain noticed that his subjects often actedjust like children. They had little impulsecontrol. They had very short attentionspans. They couldn’t handle math.

That’s right, children behave inmany ways exactly like brain damagedadults…or comedians.

Giving children options seems likea positive thing. The schools I went towere even called “Optional Schools.” Buthere’s the thing, if you give someone whois brain damaged, or a child or a comedian

options, he or she will almost alwayschoose the easiest one. I can prove it. Thepoint of this was supposed to be aboutalgebra, but I’ve already drifted into theeasier option—telling you how to raise yourchildren.

I’m sure that algebra is important,or eggheads wouldn’t be so dismayed thatso many of us can’t do it. It seems likesomething that you’d need if you were

going to work in, say, the Space Programor the Defense Department, or facilitatingteenaged girls being able to have horriblesongs as their ringtones. It seems likesomething that would come in really handyif you had to figure out where to dam ariver or build a wind farm. The problem is,I don’t actually know what algebra is. Theonly reason I passed algebra 1 on the thirdtry in high school, and believe me I wish Iwas making this up, was because theteacher was also the head of the cheerlead-ers, and I agreed to draw a big picture ofthe school’s mascot in exchange for a D.Luckily, that teacher’s name has been lostto history, or this would be the next bigscandal for the fake news to chew on.

Nancy Grace, Did one teacher tradea passing grade for a drawing of a lion?More on this disturbing story after I scareyou about some other stuff that has noth-ing to do with you.

I called a friend of mine who has adegree in math and asked her to definealgebra. She was very disappointed. Shewas also unable to give me any kind of sat-isfactory definition. Granted I put her onthe spot because she was at her job, whichmay involve the use of algebra, and there

were apparently people in her office, butall I heard was a lot of words like integersand vectors and binary operations. It wasall jibber jabber to me. I then called mywife, who is a CPA, and works with bignumbers all day every day. She was evenless help. Sure, she was on an airplane onthe runway in Detroit, and there was ascreaming baby beside her, but still, she’sa CPA.

Then I looked it up, just like mymom would’ve told me to do. You knowwhat I found? Vectors, integers and binaryoperations.

This is not an effort to justify mylack of knowledge, my weird education orthe general laziness of children and collegestudents…oh wait, that’s exactly what it is.I’ve been looking for this kind of thingsince 1981. If 90 percent of an entire col-lege can’t do algebra, maybe the hippieshad the right idea. If these college stu-dents haven’t learned it, maybe I’m notsuch a numbskull. Maybe algebra is a spe-cialized area that only needs to be taughtto people who are going to be putting it tosome kind of use, such as for chemistry,foreign languages or geography, which areother areas I know virtually nothing about.

Once again, I bugged my friend ather job and defied her to tell me oneinstance in my like when I might use alge-bra. She said that if I were planning aparty and needed to calculate how muchhooch to have on hand for X number ofpeople, that’s algebra. I explained that Ialways have tons of hooch on hand. Shesaid, growing increasingly exasperated, if Iwere choosing between two cars to buy andwanted to figure which would give me bet-ter mileage and save me money, that’salgebra. I told her I would ask the guy. Atthis point, because I was apparently inter-rupting a “meeting,” she just called melazy and stupid.

Yeah? Me and 90 pecent of collegestudents.

RSVP’s humor columnist ends 2009 feel-ing another year savvier for stumping hisCPA wife and friend who has a degree inmath about the importance of algebra. Wehere at the office must admit that evenour sound minds might be perplexed tocalculate a satisfactory answer for ourfavorite know-it-all.

TThhaatt’’ss rriigghhtt,, cchhiillddrreennbbeehhaavvee iinn mmaannyy wwaayysseexxaaccttllyy lliikkee bbrraaiinn

ddaammaaggeedd aadduullttss……oorrccoommeeddiiaannss..

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Celebrate this once-in-a-lifetime Black-Tie Gala, featuring “Best of Memphis” cuisine and beverages presented by renowned area restaurateurs. Entertainment provided by the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music and several local legends.

Building tours will be conducted throughout the evening, followed by the formal program and a late-night party for students and young lawyers.VIP reception presented by SunTrust - Tickets $350. Single Tickets $250. Tickets are limited.

Order yours today to reserve a place in Memphis and law school history!To purchase tickets, please call 901.678.1562 or visit www.memphis.edu/alumni/lawgala.

Member Sponsors: Askew Nixon Ferguson Architects / Fleming Associates Architects Joint Venture, Sedgwick CMS Associate Sponsors: Alpha Reporting Corporation, Baptist Memorial Health Care, Classic Party Rentals, The Marston Group, PLC,

Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, Metro 67, Parkway Realty, Regions Bank, The Stern Cardiovascular Center , The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Wright Medical Technology, Inc.

Special thanks to RSVP magazine for its support.

i t ’ s j a z z !

Visit us online at wumr.memphis.eduFor underwriting information, call 901-678-2560

or underwriting information, call 90or underwriting information, call 90isit us online at

Fisit us online at V

c l a s s y

or underwriting information, call 90

c l a s s yor underwriting information, call 90

c l a s s y.memphis.edu


c l a s s yisit us online at wumrwumr.memphis.eduisit us online at

c l a s s y

.memphis.edu

c l a s s y j a z z !c l a s s y j a z z !c l a s s y j a z z !c l a s s y j a z z !j a z z !j a z z !c l a s s yor underwriting information, call 90

c l a s s y1 6058-27-6

c l a s s yor underwriting information, call 90


c l a s s y.memphis.edu.memphis.edu

c l a s s yc l a s s y

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What a Milestone!RSVP

AST

1920s

Campbell Clinic staff and fellows (front row) Spencer Speed, Willis Campbell, Joseph Mitchell and Joseph Hamilton and (backrow) clinic residents pose for a photo taken beside Campbell Clinic in the 1920s. Now celebrating its milestone 100th year ofservice to Memphis and the Mid-South, Campbell Clinic is recognized as a world leader in orthopaedics.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CAMPBELL CLINIC

If you have a past photo you would like to share with RSVP readers, please contact Leah Fitzpatrick at 276-7787 ext. 105or e-mail the photo and caption to [email protected]

All photos will be returned promptly.

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Documents

RSVP Magazine November 2009