Couple Expects to Give Men's Salon Customers the 'Royal' Treatment

     Cedric the Entertainer portrays the character Eddie in the movie "Barbershop" and refers to the barbershop as a black man's country club.
     "This is the barbershop - the place where a black man means something!" he says in the film. "Cornerstone of the neighborhood! Our own country club!"
     He goes on to add that something as simple as a haircut can change the way a man feels on the inside.
     That notion was part of the motivation for Reginald and Karmeisha Johnson when they were naming their business.
     The Johnsons own a new salon for men that will open the first week in April and will be called Royal Country Club for Men.
     
Man power
     The full-service salon will open April 3 at 1105 N. Houston Levee Road, Suite 112, in Cordova. A ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house will be held there April 8.
     Reginald Johnson currently is a barber at Chopper City near Yale and Coleman roads. Once the construction is complete on the new 1,200-square-foot facility, he will work full-time at Royal Country Club.
     Reginald already has a loyal clientele at Chopper City, and he anticipates some, if not all, of his clients to follow him to Cordova.
     Two clients, for sure, will follow. When asked how he'd rate Reginald as a barber, Mandrill A. McLaughlin Jr. had this to say: "When you get out of Reggie's chair, you don't need a mirror. He is very professional at all times."
     
For women and kids, too
     Another longtime client of Reginald's, Pamela Mazzone, summed up her feelings in three short phrases: "Great barber, great service and like his quality of work."
     Professionalism and an upscale environment are part of what will set their shop apart from more traditional shops, said Karmeisha.
     While the staff at Royal Country Club will cater to businessmen, the environment also will be geared toward families.
     "It's going to be family-oriented where children can come and there won't be a lot of loud, crazy talk," she said.
     A play area will not be set aside for children, she said; it's just more about atmosphere.
     Besides haircuts, Royal Country Club will offer a station for pedicures and manicures.
     That area will be sealed off behind French doors to offer privacy for both male and female clients.
     The Johnsons are looking for a licensed manicurist as well.
     
Beauticians and clinicians
     Other little "extras" that will be offered at Royal Country Club include complimentary beverages, soothing jazz music and wireless Internet service.
     As Reginald and Karmeisha have been working to open the shop, they've been getting advice from their "sister salons" owners about everything from the name to identifying potential customers.
     When they open their doors April 3, there will be four chairs, and they're hoping to have four barbers.
     So far, two master barbers are in place, Reginald and Mario Curry. Curry works with Reginald at Chopper City and also will be leaving there once the new shop opens.
     Karmeisha will serve as the receptionist and office manager. But Karmeisha, who previously worked as a respiratory therapist, plans to start her own business in the near future.
     "My career is on hold 'til we get all this situated," she said.
     In the meantime, she's taking online courses to obtain her bachelor's degree in business administration.
     "Eventually, I'm going to get my own," she said. "That was our plan: get the salon for men (going) and next we're going to work on my thing, which is a pulmonary rehab (clinic)."

Family Medicine Partners Buys Collierville Office

     Family Medicine Partners PLLC has bought a medical office building at 491 W. Poplar Ave. in Collierville from Real Practices Inc. for $890,000, financing it with a $712,000 mortgage through BancorpSouth Bank.
     The 5,450-square-foot, one-story office was built in 1963 and sits on 1.26 acres on the south side of West Poplar Avenue west of Kelsey Street. The Shelby County Assessor's 2006 appraisal was $1 million.
     Family Medicine Partners was started in 1999 by Dr. Fidel Makapugay, according to the practice's Web site, www.familymedicinepartners.com. The practice provides adult, pediatric and geriatric health care, among other things, according to the site.
     Calls to Family Medicine Partners were not returned by press time.

Memphian to Head State Pharmacy Board

     Memphian Sheila Mitchell has been elected president of the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy.
     Mitchell is director of pharmacy services at Methodist Le Bonheur Hospital Germantown. She has been with Methodist Healthcare for more than 20 years.
     Mitchell also is an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center's College of Pharmacy and has served on several committees for the National Association of Board of Pharmacy.
     In 2002, Mitchell was honored in the Tennessee House of Representatives for her contribution to Shelby County and the pharmacy profession.

Mississippi Legislation Offers Filming Incentives

     "Lights, camera, action," might be a phrase heard even more regularly in Mississippi in the near future.
     Gov. Haley Barbour signed a bill Wednesday giving a boost to film industry incentives offered in the state, now making Mississippi competitive with and even more lucrative than some neighboring states. Under the new legislation, filmmakers have the opportunity for as much as a 20 to 30 percent rebate, depending on how much is spent in-state, and, on top of that, the bill creates a 10 percent rebate on wages for out-of-state workers. The availability of state funds is limited to $5 million for each project.
     A slew of major motion pictures have been filmed entirely or in part in Mississippi, including "A Time to Kill," "Walk the Line," "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and "Black Snake Moan."

State Buys Habitat For Endangered Plants

     Gov. Phil Bredesen and Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner Jim Fyke announced Wednesday that Tennessee has bought about 461 acres of land in Rutherford County for $552,087.
     The land is part of Flat Rock Cedar Glades and Barrens State Natural Area. It previously was owned by the Nature Conservancy and cooperatively managed under the State Natural Areas program.
     The sale was financed with a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
     The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service Recovery Land Acquisition Grants program provides funding for states to buy habitat for species listed as endangered or threatened with the goal of recovery and eventually the ability to de-list those species.
     Flat Rock is home to a number of state-listed rare plants and two species of federally listed plants.
     The newly acquired land is adjacent to 385 acres already owned by the state.

U of M Spring Series Spotlights College Sports

     College sports means big business in the United States, as evidenced by the buzz surrounding the NCAA men's basketball tournament, which began Thursday. So the timing of the University of Memphis Sports and Leisure Commerce Program's spring discussion series, "Issues in College Sports," couldn't be better.
     The series opens Monday and runs through April 20. The weekly panel discussions will feature experts from near and far discussing topics such as "The Business of NCAA Division I College Sports," "Division I College Recruiting: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" and "Congress, Intercollegiate Athletics, and Higher Education: Are College Sports a Tax-Exempt Enterprise or an Unrelated Business?"
     Monday's topic is "New Football Stadium to Replace Liberty Bowl: Pros and Cons." Speakers include Steve Ehrhart, Liberty Bowl executive director; Memphis City Council member Carol Chumney; Dr. Dan Rascher of the University of San Francisco; Dr. Charles Santo of the U of M; and Harold Byrd, Bank of Bartlett president and U of M supporter.
     The discussion will be held at 4:30 p.m. in the Michael D. Rose Theatre on the Memphis campus. U of M graduate students will serve as moderators, with a question and answer session following the discussion.
     The series continues March 26, April 6, April 13 and April 20. All events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Richard Southall at 678-3473. For a complete schedule, visit www.memphis.edu/releases/mar07/sports.htm.

Wright Medical Develops New Knee Implant Device

     Arlington-based orthopedic company Wright Medical Group Inc. announced Thursday the launch of its newest knee implant system. The Advance Stature Femoral Components features a tapered design to address the implant sizing needs of patients with a narrower knee anatomy or smaller skeletal frame.
      The new device also provides distinct sizing advantages for males or females who require more customized sizing.
     The device is the latest addition for Wright's Knee System designed to offer surgeons tools that can help restore the most natural knee function possible for their patients, said Cary Hagan, vice president of Wright's Ortho-Recon division, in a statement.
     Wright also announced this week its participation in the Lehman Brothers 10th annual Healthcare Conference Monday at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel in South Beach, Fla.
     Wright's president and chief financial officer, Gary D. Henley, and executive vice president and chief financial officer, John K. Bakewell, will present for the company at 3:15 p.m. A live audio Web cast of the presentation will be available at www.wmt.com/corporate under the "Investor Info" link.
     Wright Medical Group is a global orthopedic medical device company specializing in the design, manufacture and marketing of reconstructive joint devices and biologics.