The freshly painted walls of Arnold Perl's new office are barely visible thanks to nearly a dozen awards and plaques carefully placed a few inches apart.

Perl is continuing to settle in as a member of legal firm Glankler Brown’s East Memphis offices, but he’s had time to get a few memories placed on the wall.

"These are all memories," Perl says, stopping to admire a photo taken with former Gov. Phil Bredesen.

Each memento helps Perl recall a remarkable law career that has been augmented by almost as many leadership titles on Memphis community boards as professional accolades.

But what sent the attorney and current Memphis and Shelby County Airport Authority chairman down a path to become one of the city’s most influential leaders?

“My college debate team,” Perl says without hesitation. “Debate changed me, and I still remember that to this day. It made such an indelible impression upon me, and it absolutely changed the course of my life.”

After pursuing both his undergraduate and law degree at the University of Illinois, Perl left the Midwest in 1963 for a job with the National Labor Relations Board, a position that brought him to Memphis for a two-year stint.

It was long enough for him to meet and marry his wife of 45 years, Mary Lynn, and the pair eventually made it back to Memphis in 1969 after stops in Washington, D.C. and Chicago.

“I really took a liking to Memphis the first time we were here, and I married a Memphis bride,” Perl says. “My wife's parents actually tried to discourage me, but we convinced them that we wanted to do this and it turned out great.”

In Memphis, Perl grew his family to two daughters, Stephanie and Laurie, and eventually received the opportunity to be mentored by former Airport Authority chairman, Jim McGehee, who encouraged him to get involved in the community.

“Jim taught me the four pillars — faith, family, your profession and community,” Perl says. “He also said that people who get to indulge in the community are very privileged, because some people don’t have the freedom. So I took that to heart.”

The plaques adorning Perl’s office today are proof of that, recognizing him for years of service with organizations such as Temple Israel, the Airport Authority and even the Memphis Public Housing Authority, where Perl helped the city complete its largest building project in Memphis’ history, the FedExForum.

“As my rabbi says, ‘When people talk about your date of birth and date of passing (at your death), it’s what between those dots (on your grave) that we will be remembered by,” Perl says.

As chairman of the Airport Authority, he and airport leaders have helped develop the “aerotropolis” concept at Memphis International Airport, helping identify the cargo and passenger hub as a key to Memphis economic development.

Greater Memphis Chamber president and CEO John Moore was reminded of Perl’s value when, as an executive with Northwest Airlines, the air carrier hired a consultant to help find one of the nation’s top labor attorneys.

“When they came back, Arnold’s name was on the list,” Moore said. “I chuckle at that story because here (Perl) is working for free at the airport all this time -- and we (were) spending money to find someone like him.”

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