DMC to Honor Downtown Visionaries at Street Party

The Downtown Memphis Commission plans to honor six individuals and companies for their contributions to the advancement of the district.

The 2015 Downtown Vision Awards will be presented Thursday, Sept. 24, at the South Main Street Party at The Chisca on Main, 272. S. Main St. The event runs from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. It’s free and open to the public. The Downtown Vision Awards presentation will take place in the gazebo at 5:30 p.m.

The recipients, which were selected by the Downtown Memphis Commission’s chairs and its affiliate boards, include:

• Organizational Achievement: Bass Pro Outdoor World
• Organizational Achievement: The Chisca on Main
• Lifetime Achievement Award: Gene Carlisle, Carlisle Corp. (posthumously)
• Individual Achievement: Jay Sieleman, The Blues Foundation and The Blues Hall of Fame
• Individual Achievement: Retiring city councilman Myron Lowery
• Individual Achievement: Retiring city councilman Bill Boyd

The South Main Street Party will have entertainment by the Memphis Grizzline and the Grizzlies Street Team, Opera Memphis, DJ Mark Anderson and Jason D. Williams, as well as beer and food-truck fare.

– Madeline Faber

3M, Subsidiary Sued in Shelby County Circuit Court

A machine used to warm patients in operating rooms is at the center of a $20 million lawsuit filed Monday, Sept. 21, in Shelby County Circuit Court.

John Forsythe, a FedEx employee who lives in Byhalia, Miss., is suing The 3M Co. and its subsidiary, Arizant Healthcare Inc., claiming a Bair Hugger forced-air warming machine used during his knee surgery at Saint Francis Hospital last year was responsible for an infection he developed after leaving the hospital.

Because of the infection, the lawsuit alleges Forsythe had to have the knee device in the original procedure replaced and undergo numerous other surgeries and procedures.

Forsythe, through his attorneys Timothy Holton, John Holton and Louis P. Chiozza, is seeking class-action status for the lawsuit, the removal of the devices from all operating rooms and the monitoring of those operated on with the warmers in the operating room.

The lawsuit also seeks $5 million in compensatory damages and $15 million in punitive damages for Forsythe.

Saint Francis Hospital is not a defendant in the civil lawsuit.

The device, used in operating rooms since the 1990s, forces warmed air into a blanket that covers patients during surgery.

Because the air is from the operating room and comes into contact with open surgical wounds, the lawsuit claims it is contaminated.

In 2010, Dr. Scott D. Augustine made similar claims to the New York Times in a dispute between him and Arizant in which the company denied that there was evidence of such contamination. Lawsuits similar to Forsythe’s have followed in recent years.

– Bill Dries

CTI Aviation’s FBO Takes Off in Millington

CTI Aviation Services’ new fixed-base operator at Millington Regional Jetport is now fully operational.

The FBO, the newest addition to the Memphis region’s aviation community, provides fueling and other services to military planes in Millington. Facilities include a dispatch tower with a 270-degree view of the airport, a pilot snooze room and free fresh-baked cookies.

“The military has always been an important part of life in Millington,” said CTI president and CEO Alan Mullen. “As a new FBO and as the winner of this into-plane fueling contract, we want to make sure that military aircraft feel at home here.”

Millington Regional Jetport is located about one-third of the way between the East and West coasts, which makes it a popular destination for military, commercial and general aviation aircraft.

“Our goal is to make our customers’ lives easier – whether that means giving the pilot some much needed rest, or making sure the passengers stay entertained and comfortable as they wait for their next flight,” said Joe MacDougall, CTI’s director of operations.

Companies under the CTI umbrella include: Crew Training International, a training and courseware development company with 13 locations worldwide; CTI Professional Flight Training, an FAA Part 141 flight training school with locations in Florida and Tennessee; and CTI Aviation Services, an FBO based out of Millington.

– Daily News staff

After 4,000 Votes, Memphis Zoo’s Red Panda Has a Name

The Memphis Zoo’s red panda cub finally has a name – Scout – though the 3-month-old wasn’t able to make his own naming party over the weekend.

The name Scout beat out four other finalists – Desi, Riley, Sullivan and Tenzing – via public voting on the zoo’s Facebook page and Instagram account. Sheila Goodman and 8-year-old Lauren Deer submitted the winning name.

Over the course of the three-week contest, 782 participants submitted around 300 names.

Zookeepers narrowed it down to their top five, and put it to a vote on the zoo’s Facebook and Instagram. More than 4,000 votes were cast, with Scout coming out on top.

The cub wasn’t able to make the Saturday, Sept. 19, naming party because he is still being mother-reared in the red panda night house. Scout was born June 3 at the Memphis Zoo to red pandas Justin and Lucille.

– Daily News staff

Saveur Names Peabody 'Hotel With the Most Character'

The Peabody Memphis has been named the “hotel with the most character” in Saveur magazine’s 2015 Good Taste Awards.

The Peabody was the only Tennessee location to be included on the publication’s list. According to Saveur editor-in-chief Adam Sachs, the publication polled readers and reached out across a network of experts and contributors to honor those in the fields of food, drink and travel who “continue to inspire and excite.”

– Andy Meek

Barristers’ Pancake Breakfast Set for Oct. 2

The 16th annual Barristers’ Pancake Breakfast, a signature event of the Memphis legal community that benefits Susan G. Komen for the Cure in the fight against breast cancer, is coming up next week.

Set for Oct. 2 from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., the event will see members of the Memphis legal field donning pink aprons to serve pancakes, eggs, sausage and bacon to hungry guests. The event takes place at Calvary Episcopal Church, 102 N. Second St., and all proceeds from sales of the $10 tickets benefit the Memphis-MidSouth Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Volunteer chefs will flip more than 850 pancakes, scramble about 50 dozen eggs and fry up to 100 pounds of bacon and 100 pounds of sausage patties. The 2014 breakfast netted $9,874.

– Andy Meek