Architecture Firm Rebrands, Relocates

One of the city’s top architecture and interior design firms has made some big changes.

HBG Design has rebranded from Hnedak Bobo Group, in addition to having moved its 100 employees from Downtown’s Cotton Row to the 23rd and 24th floors in the One Commerce Square building.

According to the firm, the changes were part of a plan that had been in the works for two years.

The rebrand, for which the company worked with the creative firm Farmhouse, got started 12 months ago.

– Andy Meek

New Day Care Planned in Cordova

Contractor Grinder Haizlip Construction recently filed a $1.8 million building permit application with the city-county Office of Construction Code Enforcement to build a new day care near the intersection of Forest Hill-Irene and Bazemore roads in Cordova.

The permit calls for “site work, wood frame, concrete slab, asphalt, single roof, brick finisher, mechanical plumbing, sprinkler, and electrical for construction of day care.”

P and P Legacy LLC was listed as both the owner and tenant for the 190 N. Forest Hill Irene Road location.

Collierville-based WalkerArch LLC is listed at the architect.

– Patrick Lantrip

MATA Reopens Applications For Transit Advisory Group

The Memphis Area Transit Authority is again taking applications for its Transit Advisory Committee.

The 11-member committee is to include fixed-route and paratransit riders as well as college students, teenagers, those with disabilities, employers, neighborhood and civic groups, and social service agencies.

MATA felt the first round of applications did not produce a wide enough selection of candidates.

The deadline to apply is Wednesday, Feb. 1, at 5 p.m. Go to www.matatransit.com/aboutus/tac to apply online.

– Bill Dries

Collierville Gets Perfect Score In Water Quality, Management

The town of Collierville got a perfect score from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation on the state’s “sanitary survey” covering the quality of the town’s water and its water-management practices.

The survey is a detailed inspection and checklist of documentation, lab sampling and testing, water policies and the process the city uses for distribution.

The survey is done every two years and this year Collierville scored 100 percent after a 99 percent score in the last three state surveys.

Collierville’s Public Utilities Division maintains more than 250 miles of water mains as well as 3,400 fire hydrants, and provides meter-reading services that go toward the billing of customers.

In recent years, Collierville officials have developed a wellhead protection plan to limit, if not prevent, potential contaminants from entering the Memphis Sands aquifer near the town’s production wells.

– Bill Dries

Free Financial Workshops Offered at Church Feb. 4

Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church and the National Coalition of 100 Black Women Inc., Memphis Chapter, have teamed up to present a free financial literacy conference on Feb. 4 to enhance financial education and financial freedom.

The event at the church’s Southwind campus, 8220 E. Shelby Drive, begins at 9 a.m. and is open to the public and includes lunch. Early registration is requested.

The conference agenda includes presentations on generating income; credit and debt management; saving; investing and retirement strategies; insurance; wills and estate planning; and a workshop for teens/pre-teens (ages 12-17) on understanding money.

If you or your organization would like more information about this event, contact Pastor Brandon Woodard at 901-272-5647 or Bettye Boone at 901-831-8739 or go to freefinancialconference2017.eventbrite.com to register online.

– Don Wade

Running Pony Earns Two Emmy Awards

Memphis video production company Running Pony won two regional Emmy Awards at a ceremony in Nashville Jan. 21.

The winning entries were for a video that introduces the University of Memphis Tigers football team during their home games, and for the video editing skills of Running Pony’s Mitch Martin. The 31st Midsouth Emmy Awards were presented by the Midsouth Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences during a regionally televised gala at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville.

The Emmy Awards recognize outstanding achievements in television, and are intended to be an incentive for the continued pursuit of excellence for those working in the TV industry. A complete list of winners can be found at www.emmynashville.org.

Running Pony offers communication services including corporate image videos, sales and marketing presentations, commercials and public service announcements. Its clients include major broadcast and cable networks, national and international corporations, advertising and public relations firms, and local businesses and nonprofits.

– Daily News staff

College of Art Ranks High For Graphic Design Program

Memphis College of Art has been recognized by the Animation Career Review as having one of the top 10 collegiate Graphic Design programs in the South, surpassing 94 percent of schools in the analysis.

Animation Career Review conducted research on hundreds of colleges with Graphic Design programs in Southern states including Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas.

Animation Career Review is a leading source for animation, design and gaming professionals, and provides information on training programs, colleges, software and technology, career profiles, and profiles of the leading industry firms. The organization began ranking design schools and programs across the country in 2012, at the request of graphic design students, parents and representatives from colleges with graphic design programs.

Criteria considered in ranking each program included academic reputation, admissions selectivity, depth and breadth of the program and faculty, and value as it relates to tuition and indebtedness.

“It’s an honor for our graphic design program to be recognized by Animation Career Review, and is a testament to the curriculum we have developed,” Cat Normoyle, assistant professor for Design Arts at MCA, said in a release. “We constructed the graphic design program to teach our students a range of media – from print, digital, web and environmental – with a focus on many design concepts within the field, emerging technology and client-based/professional approaches to design.

“We incorporate a human-centered methodology, encouraging our students to research, empathize and think strategically within the design process. As a result, we have seen great benefits for our students and graduates in their internships and careers.”

Graphic design is one of nine Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees MCA offers. Other BFA degrees include animation, art education, design arts, fine arts, illustration, illustration with a track in comics, painting/drawing and photography.

Concentrations offered include drawing/painting, metals, photography and sculpture.

MCA boasts a 10-to-1 student-faculty ratio.

– Daily News staff