MemphisED
The Chamber > MemphisED
Memphis Fast Forward
Memphis Fast Forward is the most ambitious plan for accelerating economic growth and prosperity that Memphis and Shelby County have ever seen.
Spearheaded in 2005 by Memphis Tomorrow, Shelby County, the City of Memphis, and the Greater Memphis Chamber, the initiative was informed by expert research and the views and voices of more than 3,500 community leaders and citizens.
To position Memphis/Shelby County as a vibrant economic center of the southern United States requires aggressive and simultaneous action in four inter-related areas: economic development, public safety, K-16 education, and government efficiency with overall guidance provided by a Steering Committee comprised of public and private-sector leaders.
Memphis Fast Forward Steering Committee Members
Co-Chairs
- Gary Shorb, President/CEO, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare – Managing Co-Chair
- A C Wharton, Mayor, City of Memphis
- Joseph Ford, Interim Mayor, Shelby County
Initiative Leaders
- Kriner Cash, Superintendent, Memphis City Schools; Chairman PeopleFirst!
- Bill Gibbons, Shelby County District Attorney General; Chairman Operation Safe Community
- Tom Schmitt, Vice President, FedEx Corporation; Chairman MemphisED
- Mayors Wharton and Ford, Co-Chairs, City/County Efficiency
Other Steering Committee Members
- Joyce Avery, Chairman, Shelby County Commission
- Martha Perine-Beard, Sr. Branch Executive, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis-Memphis Branch
- Charles Burkett, President, First Tennessee Bank
- Harold Collins, Chairman, Memphis City Council
- Sharon Goldsworthy, Mayor, City of Germantown
- Charles Gulotta, Executive Director, Memphis/Shelby County Office of Economic Development
- G.A. Hardaway, Tennessee State Representative, Chair of Shelby County Legislative Delegation
- Pitt Hyde, Chairman, The Hyde Family Foundations
- Keith McDonald, Mayor, City of Bartlett
- Joseph Pepe, President/Publisher, The Commercial Appeal
- Stephen Reynolds, President & CEO, Baptist Memorial Health Care Corp.
- Bill Rhodes, Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer, AutoZone
- Blair Taylor, President, Memphis Tomorrow
- Phil Trenary, President & Chief Executive Officer, Pinnacle Airlines Inc.
Staff Support: Memphis Tomorrow
MemphisED
MemphisED Scorecard
MemphisED is a partnership of 16 local organizations, working on 15 specific strategies to help Memphis/Shelby County achieve 5 important goals:
- Develop a Culture of Innovation & Entrepreneurial Activity
- Market Memphis and Shelby County
- Pursue Key Target Industries — Bioscience, Logistics, Tourism, Music and Film
- Grow Existing Firms
- Make Memphis a “Place of Choice” for Knowledge Workers
MemphisED Downloads
MemphisED Brochure
MemphisED Plan
MemphisED Status Report
Your Chamber at Work
The Chamber is proud to be a member of the MemphisED Partnership, tasked with attracting new companies, retaining and growing existing firms, and building our logistics and Aerotropolis assets in Memphis/Shelby County. The Chamber is also responsible for supplying administrative and fiscal support for MemphisED.
MemphisED Investors
The Greater Memphis Chamber is pleased to recognize the investors whose leadership and vision make the MemphisED program possible.
Download Investors listed by category here.
Public-Sector Investors
Private-Sector Investors
- Memphis Tomorrow
- ACH Food Companies
- Accredo Health, Inc.
- ALCO Properties, Inc.
- Allen & Hoshall
- American Residential Services
- APAC - Tennessee, Inc.
- Archer/Malmo
- AT&T
- AutoZone, Inc.
- Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz
- BancorpSouth Bank
- Baptist Memorial Health Corporation
- Bass, Berry & Sims, PLC
- Belz Enterprises
- BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee
- Boyle Investment Company
- Burch, Porter & Johnson, PLLC
- Butler, Snow, O'Mara Stevens & Cannada
- Carlisle Corporation
- CB Richard Ellis Memphis
- Chris Hill Construction
- Colliers Wilkinson & Snowden, Inc.
- Comcast
- Commercial Advisors, LLC
- CommercialAlliance Management
- Commercial Bank & Trust
- Contemporary Media
- Cricket Communications
- Crump Commercial, LLC
- Deloitte
- Dixon-Hughes, PLLC
- Dunavent Enterprises, Inc.
- Duncan-Williams, Inc.
- Elvis Presley Enterprises
- EnSafe, Inc.
- Ernst & Young, LLP
- Farnsworth Holdings
- FedEx Express
- First Horizon National Companies
- Fisher & Arnold
- Fleming / Associates / Architects, PC
- Flintco, Inc.
- Ford & Harrison, LLP
- Frazee Ivy & Davis, PLC
- General Truck Sales and Service, Inc.
- Glankler Brown, PLLC
- Hnedak-Bobo Group, Inc.
- Independent Bank
- Industrial Developments International, Inc.
- Inman Construction Corporation
- International Paper
- Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance
- Mallory Alexander International Logistics
- Medtronic Sofamor Danek
- Memphis Area Association of Realtors
- Memphis Business Journal
- Memphis Radio Group
- Memphis/Shelby County Airport Authority
- Memphis Tomorrow
- Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare
- Metropolitan Bank
- Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc.
- Montgomery Martin Contractors, LLC
- Morgan Keegan, Inc.
- Brad Champlin
- NovaCopy, Inc.
- Oden Marketing & Design
- Ozburn-Hessey Logistics
- Panattoni Development Co., LLC
- Parkway Realty Services
- Peabody Hotel
- Pickering Incorporated
- Pinnacle Airlines, Inc.
- Poag & McEwen
- Power & Telephone Supply Co.
- Regions Bank
- Saint Francis Hospital
- Sedgwick Claims Management Services, Inc.
- Smith-Doyle Contractors, Inc.
- Smith & Nephew
- Southeastern Asset Management
- Southern College of Optometry
- Southern Steel Supply Co.
- Southwest Tennessee Community College
- SSR Ellers, Inc.
- Standard Construction Co., Inc.
- St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
- SunTrust Bank
- Tag Truck Center
- The Commercial Appeal
- The Daily News
- The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
- The Hyde Family Foundation
- The Plough Foundation
- The ServiceMaster Company
- Thomas & Betts Corporation
- Trustmark National Bank
- University of Memphis
- Valero Energy
- Waddell & Associates, Inc.
- Weintraub Stock, P.C.
- W. G. Yates & Sons Construction
- WHBQ Channel 13 TV
- WMC Channel 5 TV
- WPTY Channel 24 TV
- Zellner Construction Company, Inc.
MemphisED Partners