VOL. 130 | NO. 28 | Wednesday, February 11, 2015
NEWSMAKERS
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Wade to Lead Southern College of Optometry's Hayes Center
By Kate Simone
Dr. Lisa Wade has been named director of the Hayes Center for Practice Excellence at Southern College of Optometry, which focuses on teaching business principles to help optometrists succeed in independent practice.
Wade, who is an SCO graduate herself, served on the college’s faculty for 20 years before retiring in 2005 to become the dealer/principal owner of Southern Thunder Harley-Davidson. At Southern Thunder, she oversaw a $20 million enterprise with 50 employees and took on a $9 million expansion of the dealership before its sale in 2013.
Company/position: Professor and director, Hayes Center for Practice Excellence at Southern College of Optometry
Hometown: Beckley, W.V.
Experience: Education: Doctor of Optometry (1984) and residency in pediatric optometry (1985) from Southern College of Optometry, Master of Public Administration (1987) from the University of Memphis; Experience: Faculty member (1985-2006), director of continuing education (1985-1994) and vice president, international advancement (1994-2006) at Southern College of Optometry; dealer/principal owner (2006-2013) at Southern Thunder Harley-Davidson
Family: Husband, Martin, and children, Marshall and Meredith
Favorite quote: “The harder I work, the luckier I get.” – Thomas Jefferson
How has your business experience with Southern Thunder shaped your return to academia? I sense it most in how I teach practice management courses. The dealership gave me firsthand experience of the demands and joys of being a successful sole proprietor. In my role at SCO, managing the “business” of the college was a “team” effort. It’s a different emotional and physical experience when all decisions, failures and successes land on your shoulders. I have tremendous empathy for the anxiety students have as they prepare to enter the “business” of optometry, and I share the nuisances that can mean the difference between owning a good business and a great business.
What’s the No. 1 thing students need to know before starting a practice? Success is not a mystery. I’m a firm believer that you do well by doing good. If you provide exemplary patient care and service, generously care for your family and your staff, and strive to make a positive impact in your community, you cannot help but be successful in practice and in life.
If you could give one piece of advice to young people, what would it be? It is as easy to dream a BIG dream as it is a small one. They shouldn’t let fear limit their goals or expectations for their professional or personal lives.
Alexis Amorose has joined Mid-South Spay & Neuter Services as executive director. Amorose previously served as executive director of the Humane Society of Memphis & Shelby County for three years. During her time there, she led the organization to achieve record-setting goals, including the highest intake numbers and adoption numbers in the agency’s history.
Ahsaki E. Baptist and William S. Parks have become partners in Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs LLP. Baptist concentrates her practice in commercial litigation and commercial real estate and is a member of the firm’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution Service Team. Parks concentrates his practice in intellectual property and is a member of the Property Protection & Litigation Service Team.
Mercedes-Benz of Collierville has announced six recent hires: Kimberly Derrick, receptionist; Doris Merritt and Chris Millington, service advisers; and Bert Rankin, Angie Salas and Bruce Wilson, sales consultants.
Evelyn McDonald has joined the board of directors of Catholic Charities of West Tennessee. McDonald is a past employee of Catholic Charities, but has spent most of her career since 1974 with Christian Brothers University, from which she retired in 2013.
Ann Carson has joined Unity Hospice Care as director of professional services. Carson, who will work at UHC’s Germantown corporate office, will oversee training and staff development and support corporate compliance for the Unity Corp.
Dr. Brian McKinnon has been affirmed as a member of the American Otological Society, the oldest otologic society in the world. McKinnon is the only board-certified neurotologist in the Mid-South. He is also an associate clinical professor of neurotology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
Jason Herrington of Shoemaker Financial in Germantown has been awarded the Gold Managing Director of the Year recognition for 2014. The award is presented annually to the leading directors in the national Securian network.
BRIDGES has added six new members to its board of trustees: John Aitken, superintendent, Collierville Schools; Nancy Averwater, chief executive officer, Baptist Trinity Hospice; William Derwin, president, Terminix; Dan Hatzenbeuhler, chairman of the board, E. Ritter & Co.; Thomas L. Williams, senior resident director and senior vice president of investments, Merrill Lynch Memphis; and Kevin Woods, executive director, Workforce Investment Network.
Memphis Theological Seminary has named the recipients of the 28th annual Dr. Henry Logan Starks Awards: The Former Prescott Memorial Baptist Church, Legacy Award; Rev. Pearly Mae Stone, senior pastor of Gethsemane Gardens Christian Center, and Dr. Jerry L. Christian, senior pastor of Kirkwood Temple Christian CME Church, Outstanding African-American Alumni Award; JoeAnn Ballard, Neighborhood Christian Center (retired), Henry Logan Starks Distinguished Service Award; and Rachel Shankman, Facing History and Ourselves (retired), President’s Humanitarian Award.