The Paper Source To Join Saddle Creek

The Paper Source, a gift retailer offering fine paper, custom invitations and announcements and stationery, is the latest store to join the Shops of Saddle Creek.

Set to open summer 2016, the 2,391-square-foot store will be located at Saddle Creek South near Brooks Brothers.

Chicago-based Paper Source has nearly 110 locations in 30 states. It currently operates one Tennessee store in Nashville.

“The momentum we’ve created will carry into 2016 with more leasing announcements, store and restaurant openings and the completion of property enhancements,” saidTerry Montesi, CEO of Trademark Property Co., the operating partner for Saddle Creek.

– Madeline Faber

Graceland Resort Hotel Starts Taking Reservations

The Guest House at Graceland started taking reservations Thursday, Dec. 17, for late October through December 2016.

The $90 million, 450-room resort hotel is under construction north of the Graceland mansion on Elvis Presley Boulevard. It is scheduled to have its grand opening celebration Oct. 27-30 with events and appearances by members of the Presley family as well as musicians and actors who worked with the late Elvis Presley.

– Bill Dries

TVA Gives $10,000 Grant To Mid-South Food Bank

Mid-South Food Bank is one of seven Tennessee food banks to receive a $10,000 grant from the Tennessee Valley Authority. The funds are designated to provide additional food distribution to people living in rural counties through a Tennessee Rural Mobile Pantry initiative.

The program’s funding goes directly toward the purchase and provision of highly nutritious food, program capacity building efforts and corresponding educational initiatives of the mobile food trucks in both densely populated and rural areas.

Mid-South Food Bank’s mobile pantry program is designed to target mostly rural areas where food insecurity is especially high and food supplement is especially low. In 2014, the mobile pantry program distributed 2.4 million pounds of food.

Tennessee’s food insecurity rate is 17.1 percent, and of the 12 West Tennessee counties in Mid-South Food Bank’s service area, the rate is 19.8 percent.

The Tennessee Valley Authority is a corporate agency of the United States that provides electricity for business customers and local power distributors serving more than 9 million people in parts of the seven southeastern states. In the original TVA Act, it was charged with the responsibility to ensure the economic, environmental, social and physical well being of the people it serves.

– Don Wade

Cardinals Caravan Returns To Memphis Jan. 15

The annual St. Louis Cardinals Caravan will roll into Memphis and AutoZone Park on Friday, Jan. 15. The night’s activities are slated to begin at 6:30.

In the days ahead, the Cardinals and Memphis Redbirds will announce list of current and former Cardinals/Redbirds scheduled to attend.

The Cardinals are coming off a 100-win season. They lost to the Chicago Cubs in the postseason and have since lost outfielder Jason Heyward and pitcher John Lackey to their rivals via free agency.

– Don Wade

Sycamore View Hotel Sold for $3.9 Million

An Extended Stay America hotel at 5885 Shelby Oaks Drive has sold for $3.9 million, according to a Dec. 8 warranty deed.

ESH TN Properties LLC sold the Sycamore View property to Dallas-based DW CL IV LLC.

In conjunction with the sale, the partnership of DW CL IV LLC and CL Opco LLC filed a $2.7 million mortgage loan. The former organization signed as borrower and the latter signed as borrower and operating tenant.

Connecticut-based SPT CA Fundings 2 LLC signed as lender. The loan is set to mature Dec. 7, 2018, but can be extended up to 2020.

The hotel was built in 1996, is 41,820 square feet and is appraised for $1.9 million, according to the Shelby County Assessor of Property.

– Madeline Faber

City Council Votes On Graceland, Liberty Bowl

The Memphis City Council approved the Graceland West planned development Tuesday, Dec. 15, the third phase of Graceland’s expansion to a 120-acre campus on both sides of Elvis Presley Boulevard.

The 45-acre Graceland West development is an expansion of the plaza area across the boulevard from Graceland mansion. It’s where visitors board buses to take mansion tours.

The plans call for an entertainment complex that includes restaurants, new Elvis-related exhibits and performance space.

The council voted down an appeal of a two-lot subdivision on the northeast corner of Williamsburg Lane and Village Road that it had approved earlier this year. Neighbors were seeking the appeal and Memphis Heritage and the Memphis Landmarks Commission joined them in the push.

The council again delayed a vote on a hotel with retail on the northeast corner of Jackson Avenue and North Front Street across from The Pyramid. The delay follows the council’s rejection two weeks ago of a gas station with convenience store in the same general area, at A.W. Willis Avenue and Third Street.

The council also delayed, to the first meeting in January, a vote on a tractor-trailer yard at Brooks and McCorkle roads.

The move to increase rates at the city’s on-street parking meters from $1 to $1.25 in the Downtown entertainment district, the Central Business District and the Medical Center will be one of the first issues the new council takes up.

The ordinance starts anew in January at the first of three readings after council members Tuesday effectively reversed its passage on first reading at the Dec. 1 council session. They took back the first reading vote because the item didn’t go through the council’s committee system.

City engineer John Cameron told council members in committee sessions that the rate hike was necessary to make up for revenue from the meters that is $176,000 short of projections.

The council also approved $4.8 million in city funding to put backs on more seats at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. The funding for 4,000 new seats with backs is to be reimbursed by the University of Memphis under a contract agreement with the city.

And the council approved $2.2 million in city funding for public infrastructure around the Tennessee Brewery, which is being converted to apartments.

– Bill Dries

One Commerce Garners LEED Gold Certification

One Commerce Square’s renovation is both green and gold as it has achieved LEED Gold Certification, a green building accreditation through the U.S. Green Building Council.

The energy-efficient renovation spearheaded by Looney Ricks Kiss has resulted in a 45 percent energy reduction. This translates to a cost savings of $138,000 per year that is passed directly on to One Commerce tenants.

“Frequently, we hear a misconception that sustainability is an ambiguous, feel-good affair,” said Tony Pellicciotti, principal of Looney Ricks Kiss. “As a counterpoint, we achieved a tremendous energy savings for One Commerce Square that has a compelling 18-month payback, which in turn paints an indisputable financial benefit for both the owners and the tenants.”

Notable updates to the building’s core and shell include:

• 98 percent of regularly occupied spaces have direct views to the outdoors and 82.25 percent of regularly occupied spaces receive natural daylight.

• 33 percent water savings over the LEED baseline.

• A 20 percent parking rebate is offered to building patrons who have a qualified low-emitting or fuel-efficient vehicle.

– Madeline Faber

Athletic Retail Company Plans Sixth Memphis Location

Alabama-based athletic retail company Hibbett Sports Inc. is planning to open its sixth store in Memphis, the company announced this week.

It will employ about eight full- and part-time workers.

Hibbett and its subsidiaries operate more than 1,000 athletic retail stores in small to mid-sized markets, mostly in the South, Southwest, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions of the U.S. The company’s main retail format is a 5,000-square-foot store. Hibbett offers a large selection of athletic equipment, footwear and apparel. Stores in each market also specialize in localized apparel and accessories.

– Andy Meek

Cancer Society Seeking Road to Recovery Drivers

The American Cancer Society is seeking Memphis-area volunteers to help cancer patients on their journey to recovery.

The Road to Recovery program drives cancer patients to and from their local treatment appointments. Anyone with a car and insurance, safe driving skills and the ability to drive as little as one morning or afternoon a month can participate.

Germantown resident Wanda Vallin, a cancer survivor who’s been volunteering with Road to Recovery for four years, points out the importance of appointments and the need to get there.

“One cancer patient requiring radiation therapy could need anywhere from 20 to 30 trips to treatment in six weeks,” Vallin said in a statement. “A patient receiving chemotherapy might report for treatment weekly for up to a year.”

Interested drivers can visit cancer.org/roadtorecovery for more information. To volunteer, contact the society’s 24-hour cancer information center at 800-227-2345, where a live representative can match individuals with Memphis-area opportunities.

– Kate Simone

Cotillion to Benefit Community Projects

The Memphis Chapter of The Links Inc. is preparing for its 26th Holiday Cotillion, which doubles as the organization’s signature fundraiser.

The chapter is expecting 450 guests for Saturday’s event, which marks the culmination of a nine-month program designed to develop leadership, social and personal skills for young women. The program includes experiential workshops, community service projects and activities that include business etiquette, financial literacy and a leadership awards luncheon.

During the six decades of its existence, the Memphis chapter has sponsored numerous community service projects and special events and has contributed to service agencies and educational institutions.

The local group sponsored its first debutante cotillion in 1988. Through the program, it has been able to sponsor a number of community projects, with gifts that include a $50,000 donation to the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library and a $100,000 endowment to Lemoyne-Owen College Scholarship Fund.

– Kate Simone

New Trampoline Park Opens Friday in Collierville

Get Air Trampoline Park is bringing its high-flying activities to the Memphis area.

The company is opening 27,000 square feet of indoor trampolines in Collierville.

Get Air opens Friday, Dec. 18, at 952 W. Poplar Ave., inside the Poplar Market Plaza.

The park will offer a variety of activities outside of the trampolines, including an obstacle course, archery tag, foam pit, “knocker-ball,” dodgeball and slam ball.

Get Air currently operates about 40 trampoline parks across the U.S. Visit getairmemphis.com for more information.

– Daily News staff

Altour Buys Controlling Interest in A & I Travel

Travel management company Altour International Ltd. has purchased a controlling interest in Memphis-based A & I Travel Management Inc.

A & I Travel is a professional corporate travel management company with roughly $65 million in annual sales. The company currently is ranked among the top 50 travel management companies in the country by Business Travel News. In addition to their Memphis headquarters, they have a number of corporate client onsite and rent-a-plate locations, and a small but growing entertainment business.

“We are confident we will be able to leverage the Altour assets to support and enhance A & I’s fast-growing business travel segment,” Altour executive vice president Lee Thomas said in a statement.

A & I shareholders Rebecca Martin and Vicki Rush will stay on as partners in the joint venture, and the local company will continue to operate under the name of A & I Travel Management, an ALTOUR company.

– Kate Simone

Blues Foundation Announces Awards Nominations

The Blues Foundation has announced the nominations for its annual Blues Music Awards, which the Memphis-based international organization will present at the Cook Convention Center May 5.

The annual Blues Music Awards ceremony is the premier event for blues professionals, musicians and fans from all over the world.

James Harman leads the list with five nominations, and Anthony Geraci and Sugaray Rayford received four nominations each.

Harman and Geraci will go head to head in three categories: Best Song, Best Album and Best Traditional Blues Album.

Harman also was nominated for Best Traditional Male Blues Artist and Best Instrumentalist-Harmonica.

Geraci received a Pinetop Perkins Piano Player award nomination. Rayford received nods for Contemporary Blues Album and Contemporary Blues Male Artist as well as Best Song and B.B. King Entertainer.

2016 Grammy nominated Cedric Burnside and Shemekia Copeland along with Doug MacLeod, The Cash Box Kings, Victor Wainwright and Wee Willie Walker each received three nominations.

The complete list of 37th Blues Music Award nominees can be found at blues.org.

ArtsMemphis and the Tennessee Arts Commission provide major funding for the event. AutoZone, BMI, Catfood Records, the First Tennessee Foundation, Jontaar Creative Studios, Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, the Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company and Sony/Legacy also sponsor the 37th Blues Music Awards.

Founded in 1980, The Blues Foundation has about 4,000 individual members and 200 affiliated local blues societies representing another 50,000 fans and professionals around the world.

– Andy Meek

State Urges Caution With Crowdfunding Efforts

The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance’s Consumer Affairs Division is warning Tennesseans about crowdfunding cons and charitable solicitation scams as they become increasingly prevalent during the holiday season.

Crowdfunding involves individuals and businesses funding a project or venture by raising funds from numerous people, often via online platforms such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or GoFundMe. In return they usually offer rewards like a sample of their product, a T-shirt or digital downloads.

Today’s creators, says TDCI Deputy Commissioner Bill Giannini, “are only as reliable as their promises – and those promises don’t always deliver. It’s crucial to investigate before you invest.”

In May 2015, the Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office and the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office jointly filed a federal lawsuit with law enforcement and the Federal Trade Commission against four charity organizations who allegedly scammed more than $187 million from consumers throughout the country.

The state recommends the public take steps like visiting sos.tn.gov/charitable to make sure the organization is registered with the Tennessee Division of Charitable Solicitations and Gaming. And attention should be given to the name of the nonprofit organization, as there are many with similar names.

– Andy Meek

Memphis Auto Show Cruises Into Cook Convention Center

Memphians looking to research their next vehicle will have a chance to preview many of the newest cars, trucks, SUVs and crossovers at the Memphis International Auto Show.

The event will be held at the Memphis Cook Convention Center, 255 N. Main St., Jan. 8-Jan. 10. More than 20 different vehicles will be available for test drives.

Admission is $8 for adults. Visit memphisautoshow.com for more information.

Motor Trend Auto Shows LLC is presenting the Memphis event.

– Daily News staff

Papa Murphy’s Adds Four New Locations

Take-and-bake pizza chain Papa Murphy’s has doubled its presence in the Memphis-area with four recently inked leases.

It is a new tenant at The Pointe shopping center in Cordova, taking up a 1,600-square-foot space at 465 North Germantown Parkway.

Papa Murphy’s also signed a 1,315-square-foot lease at 4287 Summer Ave. in Memphis and a 1,500-square-foot lease at 3874 Goodman Road in Olive Branch, Miss.

It also signed a 1,400-square-foot lease at 8390 Highway 51 North in Millington, Tenn.

The four new stores join Papa Murphy’s locations in Germantown, Lakeland, Olive Branch and Collierville.

Shawn Massey and Robert Sloan with The Shopping Group represented Papa Murphy’s in all four transactions.

– Madeline Faber

Kelsey Proposes No Parole For Especially Aggravated Burglary

State Sen. Brian Kelsey of Germantown will introduce legislation to bar parole for those convicted of especially aggravated burglary.

Kelsey, who is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced his intentions Monday, Dec. 14, as the Tennessee Legislature prepares to return to session Jan. 12.

He termed the category of burglary as “the worst type of burglaries.”

“This is when someone breaks into your home and beats you,” Kelsey said in a written statement. “The idea that these violent offenders could be eligible for release after a few years for a crime that will affect his or her victims for the rest of their lives is astounding.”

Kelsey cites statistics from the Tennessee Corrections Department showing the average sentence for the crime is 9.8 years, with those convicted serving only half of the sentence on average.

– Bill Dries

Memphis College of Art Expands Curriculum

Memphis College of Art has added three undergraduate and three graduate programs to its current curricula.

Undergraduate programs added include Bachelor of Fine Art degrees in graphic design, animation and illustration. These programs were formerly offered as concentrations and will now become freestanding majors.

A metals concentration in the undergraduate fine arts major, as well as a comics track within the undergraduate illustration major, also have been approved. The college will expand graduate programs by offering Master of Fine Arts degrees in illustration, metals, and painting and drawing.

The college received approval for the new programs from the National Association of Schools of Art and Design in November.

– Andy Meek

ArtsMemphis Gets $40K NEA Grant

The National Endowment for the Arts has given ArtsMemphis a $40,000 grant to help fund its Community Engagement Fellows Program.

ArtsMemphis launched the program in 2014 with the intent to address neighborhood problems through art. Projects include establishing a Family Resource Center at Dunbar Elementary, where parents and students can gain instruction with classes like Arts Too!, a multidisciplinary arts experience for parents, and O-MUSIC, an after-school music program in which older students living in the Orange Mound neighborhood instruct younger students in playing musical instruments.

Since its inception, the program has graduated 30 ArtsMemphis fellows associated with different nonprofits throughout Memphis. Each fellow is given a stipend to participate in the six-month curriculum.

The NEA grant is born out of the foundation’s livability efforts to support projects that use the arts to improve quality of life within local communities, especially those in urban centers populated by people of color.

“Supporting projects like the one from ArtsMemphis offers more opportunities for more people to engage in the arts every day,” said NEA chairman Jane Chu.

– Madeline Faber

Hard Rock to Mark 2016 With Annual Guitar Drop

Hard Rock Cafe Memphis is tuning up for its New Year’s Eve Guitar Drop on Beale Street.

For the eighth year, Hard Rock will mark the new year as a 10-foot guitar “drops” from 100 feet over Beale at midnight.

The event, which kicks off Dec. 31 at 7 p.m. at 126 Beale St., will feature Scott Madaus as emcee and an encore headline performance by Memphis-based R&B powerhouse The Bar-Kays.

Additional live performances throughout the evening include DJ Debonair, DJ Tree, Jerred Price performing as “Almost” Elton John, c’beyohn, The Andy T-Nick Nixon Band, Under the Radar and a dance performance by G Force Dance Company.

General admission tickets are $25 at freshtix.com/events/hardrockguitardrop2016, and individual and couple VIP packages are available starting at $150.

– Kate Simone

AAF Awards Russ Williams 2016 Silver Medal Award

The American Advertising Federation Memphis has announced Russ Williams, CEO of advertising agency Archer Malmo, as its 2016 Silver Medal Award recipient.

The annual Silver Medal Award stands as the highest form of individual recognition by the AAF. It is awarded to an exceptional industry leader for a career of outstanding accomplishment and advertising contribution. The Memphis chapter has recognized remarkable lifetime achievements annually since 1960.

Williams will be honored at a formal ceremony during the AAF Memphis luncheon Jan. 21 at 11:30 a.m. at the Westin Hotel, 170 Lt. George W. Lee Ave. Visitaafmemphis.org for more information regarding luncheon registration.

“As a lifelong Memphian, Russ is completely committed to developing and fostering talent and contributing to moving Memphis forward as an attractive workplace for talented creatives,” said Gary Backaus, partner and chief creative officer at Archer Malmo. “He’s been a champion of advancing Memphis forward.”

Since joining Archer Malmo as CEO in 2000, Williams has led the agency to increase revenue by 180 percent and double in employee size from a 90- to 185-person shop in both Memphis and Austin, Texas. Under Williams’ watch, Archer Malmo was recognized by Advertising Age as one of the industry’s Best Places to Work in 2011, 2014 and 2015, and listed on the Inc. 5000, a list of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S., for the past three years. Williams also recently led Archer Malmo’s acquisition of Tocquigny in Austin.

Williams has served as the chairman of Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association, as well as on the board of Memphis’ Volunteer Odyssey.

– Don Wade

FDA Signs Off on Medtronic Infuse Bone Graft

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has signed off on new spine surgery uses for Medtronic’s Infuse Bone Graft.

Once the company gets final labeling approval from the FDA for its product, Medtronic expects to start marketing the expanded use cases early next year.

Infuse Bone Graft is used with certain Medtronic interbody fusion devices to treat lumbar degenerative disc disease. The condition can cause back and/or leg pain, as well as functional problems like tingling or numbness in the legs or buttocks or difficulty walking.

Infuse Bone Graft is FDA-approved for certain spine, oral-maxillofacial and orthopedic trauma surgeries. For those surgeries, it can offer benefits that include eliminating the need to harvest bone from the patient's body in a secondary procedure, shorter operating times and proven rates of fusion or bone formation.

– Andy Meek

University of Memphis Promotes Health Through Architecture

Five departments of the University of Memphis are now members of the American Institute of Architects’ Design & Health Research Consortium.

The partnership works to improve public health by drawing out its connections to lived environment and architecture.

The University of Memphis School of Public Health as well as the departments of Architecture, City & Regional Planning, Engineering, Criminology and Criminal Justice were chosen to be part of the consortium.

Over the next three years, the Architects Foundation, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, AIA and its partners will provide institutional support and capacity building to the new consortium members through local and national partnerships, events and funding opportunities.

The consortium’s six approaches – of environmental quality, natural systems, physical activity, safety, sensory environments and social connectedness – look to bridge the gap between physical environment and health opportunities that facilitate positive, healthy behaviors.

– Madeline Faber

Three New Deals for Collierville Shopping Center

The Shops of Collierville at Houston Levee is now 100 percent occupied following three new deals recently inked.

The Joint chiropractic clinic will take the 1,695-square-foot bay at 3592 South Houston Levee Road. Eric Furhman with Crye Leike represented the tenant.

ABC Phones of North Carolina will open a Verizon Wireless retail shop in a 1,683-square-foot bay at 3574 Houston Levee.

And the Nail Bar will take a 2,408-square-foot bat at 3574 Houston Levee. Brandon Buchanan with the Buchanan Realty Group represented the Nail Bar.

Robert Sloan and Shawn Massey with The Shopping Center Group represented the landlord in all the deals. The new shops are set to open in first quarter 2016.

The at-capacity shopping center also includes Pyro’s Fire Fresh Pizza, which opened in late November; Sport Clips, which opened early November and Five Guys Burgers and Fries, which will open in January.

– Madeline Faber

YMCA Holds Grand Opening for Renovated Davis YMCA

The Davis YMCA at 4727 Elvis Presley Blvd. and the YMCA of Memphis and the Mid-South held a grand opening for the recently renovated wellness facility Friday, Dec. 11.

The Davis Wellness Center will include state-of-the-art Matrix cardio equipment, a weight area, aerobic studio, expanded child watch and lockers to hold small valuables.

The original Davis YMCA was built in 1959 and later added the outdoor pool facility in 1968. In 1995, the Kemmons-Wilson Family Life Center was opened and will now serve as the wellness and program center for the Davis YMCA.

– Andy Meek

New Role Created for Baptist Vice President

Beverly Jordan has been named vice president and chief information and transformation officer for Baptist Memorial Health Care.

It’s a newly created role for Jordan, a longtime vice president who led the implementation of Baptist’s electronic medical record initiative. She’ll continue to oversee Baptist’s electronic medical record initiative, Baptist OneCare, and nursing and pharmacy informatics, but she will also lead Baptist’s information technology department.

Jordan first joined Baptist in 1977 and has held a number of leadership roles during her tenure, including chief nursing officer of Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis and the Baptist system.

– Andy Meek