Tigers’ Lindsay Crowdus Earns Regional Recognition

University of Memphis senior outfielder Lindsay Crowdus has become the fifth player in school history to earn an NFCA All-Region selection.

Crowdus, a second-team pick, is the first Tiger since 2014 to receive the honor and first since 2011 to be named to the second team.

Crowdus broke multiple school records in her senior campaign including batting average (.451), hits (83), stolen bases (34) and triples (9). Multiple times throughout the season, Crowdus led the nation in batting average and triples per game.

After her successful senior season, Crowdus leaves Memphis as the all-time batting average leader, hits leader, triples leader, and stolen bases leader. Crowdus hit over .300 all four seasons of her career and never had a season with less than 45 hits. She started in all 209 games she played in, including all 56 games this year in centerfield.

The previous Second-Team All-Region selections for Memphis were Leila Dolfo in 2006, Vanessa Walle in 2010 and Heather Mott in 2011. Ellen Roberts was a third-team pick in 2014.

The NFCA announced a total of 667 student-athletes from 175 programs to the All-Region teams. The awards honor softball student-athletes from the association’s 10 regions with first-, second- and third-team selections. NFCA member coaches from each respective region voted on the teams, and all the honorees now become eligible for selection to the 2017 NFCA Division I All-American squads.

The 2017 NFCA Division I All-America teams will be announced May 31.

– Don Wade

KISS Costumes Added To Graceland’s ‘Icons’ Exhibit

Elvis Presley’s Memphis has added stage costumes from the rock band KISS to the entertainment complex’s “Icons” exhibit.

The exhibit includes items from 30 musicians and entertainers influenced by Elvis Presley.

The KISS items were added this week to the exhibit in the 220,000-square-foot entertainment area across Elvis Presley Boulevard from the mansion.

“Elvis is King. Period,” said KISS co-founder Gene Simmons in a written statement.

“No one name says more than his,” added co-founder Paul Stanley. “It roars while others whisper.”

Also added to the Icons exhibit recently is an Elvis-style jumpsuit worn by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in a 2016 “Rock The Troops” television special.

– Bill Dries

Eden Square Development To Add Rugby Field

The Power Center Academy rugby team recently got new uniforms and Thursday, May 18, the team learned the charter school’s Hickory Hill campus will include a new rugby field.

The field in the Eden Square mixed-use development on Winchester Road east of Mendenhall Road is a collaboration between Republic Services and its National Neighborhood Promise Initiative and Habitat for Humanity.

The academy was founded in 2011 further east on Winchester, but didn’t have room for a football field, the sport most students of the school indicated they wanted to play. The alternative was rugby. By 2014, the academy’s rugby team was competing in the state championship.

Several Power Center Academy rugby players have become national All-Stars and the team recently was featured in “The Rugby Boys of Memphis,” a short film shown at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.

The rugby field will also be available for use by others in the Eden Square development, which was built on the site of the old Marina Cove apartment complex.

– Bill Dries

Fred’s Pharmacy Donations To Heart Association Grow

Fred’s Pharmacy awarded another check to the American Heart Association this month, and through its in-store free blood pressure screenings the past four years, has donated a total of $130,703 to AHA, the company announced.

The free blood pressure screenings are an early detection tool for heart disease, which is diagnosed in more than 27 million Americans each year, according to Fred’s.

Fred’s gave $1 for each free blood pressure screening in its pharmacies during American Heart Month, resulting in a $38,244 donation to the AHA. Fred’s offers the free screenings every day.

Memphis-based Fred’s Pharmacy has reached 98,000 people through its Heart Disease Awareness and Colorectal Cancer Awareness campaigns.

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. for cancers affecting both men and women, the company said.

For the fifth consecutive year, Fred’s Pharmacy recognized March as Colon Cancer Awareness Month by giving 60,000 customers free at-home EZ Detect screening kits that can detect signs of colon cancer and rectal cancer in the early stages, when they are most treatable.

– Daily News staff

Major Violent Crime Rate Up in City and County

Major violent crime in Memphis and across Shelby County during the first four months of the year increased 4.4 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively, compared to January-April 2016, according to numbers released Thursday, May 18, by the Memphis-Shelby Crime Commission.

Major property crime took a bigger jump – up 12.9 percent in Memphis and 11.2 percent countywide for the four-month period compared to a year ago.

“Any way you look at them, these latest numbers are not acceptable,” said Bill Gibbons, president of the crime commission. “The city is making good progress in increasing the number of police officers. And a number of steps to tackle gun and gang violence are in the works.”

Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich pointed to the Community Prosecution plan that is moving court proceedings on some crimes into the communities where they occur.

“While the overall numbers are not what we would like them to be, there are some encouraging signs from the Community Prosecution program in two Memphis Police Department precincts, where serious crime has dropped for a number of reporting periods,” she said.

Among the major violent crime categories, murders were at the same rate – citywide and countywide – as they were for the first four months of 2016, a year in which Memphis set a new record for homicides with a count of 228.

Reported rapes increased 22.4 percent in Memphis and 22.6 percent countywide from a year ago.

In the major property crime categories, auto theft continued a surge seen earlier in the year, increasing 47.5 percent in Memphis and 47 percent countywide from a year ago. Theft offenses were up 13.2 percent citywide and 11.6 percent countywide over the same period.

Domestic violence reports, a separate category from the major violent crime categories, rose 9.1 percent in Memphis and 6.4 percent countywide during the four-month period compared to a year ago.

– Bill Dries

St. Jude’s Downing Wins Sloan Kettering Award

The Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center has announced that Dr. James Downing has been named the 2017 recipient of The Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering Prize.

The award, created in 2016, recognizes an individual who has made “exceptional and significant contributions” to the field of pediatric oncology. Downing will receive the prize at the cancer center’s academic convocation ceremony this month.

Downing, president and CEO of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, is a world-renowned leader in the field of pediatric cancer research. He’s focused his career and research on understanding the genetic basis of cancer to improve treatment for children with the disease. Among his accomplishments, he’s had a major influence on defining the genetics and genomics of pediatric cancers.

Downing was also instrumental in launching the Pediatric Cancer Genome Project, which has sequenced the normal and cancer genomes of more than 800 young cancer patients with some of the least understood and most aggressive tumors.

Additionally, Dr. Charles Mullighan, a member of the St. Jude Department of Pathology, recently was named a recipient of the National Cancer Institute Outstanding Investigator Award. The prize provides seven years of funding to give cancer researchers time to break new ground or extend previous discoveries.

Mullighan and his lab have used genomic profiling and experimental modeling to make significant advances in identification and understanding of high-risk and relapsed leukemia.

– Andy Meek

Warehouse Portfolio Sells for $8.6 Million

Huntington Industrial Partners, doing business as Artemis HIP Corporate Park LLC, has sold three warehouses in Southeast Memphis to a pair of West Coast investors for a combined $8.6 million.

The buyers are Colorado-based JB State LLC and California-based La Paz Viejo Co. LLC, which will split the undivided interest 75 percent/25 percent respectively as tenants in common.

The first parcel in the portfolio is a 68,866-square-foot Class B warehouse located at 3605 Knight Road that was built in 1986. Meanwhile, the second parcel is a 68,492-Square-foot Class A warehouse built in 1991, and the third parcel is an 81,720 square foot Class A warehouse that was also built in 1991.

The three parcels were appraised for a combined $6.5 million in 2017 by the Shelby County Assessor.

– Patrick Lantrip

Hanover College Class Visits City on MLK Tour

Hanover College president Lake Lambert is bringing a class from the private Indiana institution through Memphis this week as part of a nine-day trip examining the life, ministry and leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The trip – which began May 12 and includes stops at museums and sites in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee – delves into the personal, social and theological influences on King’s leadership, theology and ministry, as well as the history and foundations of the modern civil rights movement.

Lambert, in his second year as Hanover’s president, also serves as professor of theological studies at the college and has a personal interest in King’s life. He previously worked for the National Park Service doing research for the Selma-to-Montgomery, Alabama, National Historic Trail.

A reception for the Hanover students was held at The Peabody hotel Wednesday, May 17. They then visited Clarksdale, Mississippi, and return to Memphis Saturday, May 20, where it will wrap up the trip with an afternoon visiting sites such as the National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum, Sun Studio and the Stax Museum of American Soul Music.

– Daily News staff

IDI Gazeley Adding Two Spec Buildings

IDI Gazeley, Memphis’ leading industrial developer, has announced it will be adding two new buildings totaling nearly 2 million square feet to its Crossroads Distribution Center in Olive Branch.

Construction is already underway on the 829,920-square-foot Building I, with a November expected completion date. Once Building I is complete, IDI plans to begin construction on the roughly 1 million-square-foot Building J in mid-2018.

“Crossroads Distribution Center is a proven distribution location and a logistics asset for companies seeking the highest quality, state-of-the-art buildings to serve their supply chain needs,” said Tim Moore, senior vice president and regional director for IDI Gazeley’s Midwest Region. “With approximately 200 acres remaining in Memphis, as the demand continues to grow, so will our presence in this competitive market.”

The two new buildings will add to the 11 buildings that total more than 6 million square feet in Crossroads Distribution Center. IDI has developed more than 27 million square feet in the Memphis area market.

As a portfolio company of Brookfield Asset Management, IDI Gazeley has more than 50 million square feet of assets under management worldwide with additional land sites to develop another 45 million square feet of distribution facilities.

Building I will be located at the northwest corner of Kirk Road and Forest Hill-Irene Road in Olive Branch, and include a Ductilcrete floor slab and paving, 36-foot clear height and R-19 roof insulation.

Jones Lang LaSalle will be the listing agent for Crossroads Building I.

– Patrick Lantrip

Collierville Retail Building Sells for $2.5 Million

A Collierville retail center at 1204 W. Poplar Ave. has sold for $2.5 million.

Bryan Evans with NAI Saig Co. represented the buyer, TH Magnolia Sands, in the purchase of the 7,562-square-foot building. Patt Bullock with Gill Properties represented the seller, Gill Retail GP.

Built in 1986, the Class A shopping center sits on 1.2 acres on the north side of West Poplar between Bray Station Road and Poplar View Parkway, according to the Shelby County Assessor of Property, who appraised it at $1.9 million this year.

Evans will become the leasing agent for the property; however, the building is currently 100 percent occupied with a Plato’s Closet and Once Upon a Child.

– Patrick Lantrip

Eyewear Retailer SEE Opens at Saddle Creek

National eyewear retailer SEE is opening its first Germantown location at the Shops of Saddle Creek at 7535 Poplar Ave.

The new location joins the lineup of 39 existing SEE stores across the country.

SEE is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5:30 p.m.

The Memphis area has been on the retailer’s radar for several years, according to founder Richard Golden.

– Andy Meek

West Breast Center Earns National Accreditation

The Margaret West Comprehensive Breast Center, part of West Cancer Center, has been awarded a full three-year accreditation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, a program of the American College of Surgeons.

Based on a lengthy application and audit process, the NAPBC board found the MWCBC at West Cancer Center demonstrated proficiency in center leadership, clinical management, research, community outreach, professional education and quality improvement.

In addition to excellence in patient care, the MWCBC received the accreditation, in part, based on the volume of research and clinical trials offered and the active pursuit of professional education. Qualifying MWCBC patients have access to West Cancer Center’s large portfolio of clinical research, including the Mid-South’s only phase I oncology research program.

The MWCBC also plans to launch the Breast Surgical Oncology Fellowship in July 2018 under the leadership of director Dr. Richard Fine, educating the next generation of breast care leaders.

– Daily News staff

Tenn. CPA Society Seeks Scholarship Applicants

The Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants Educational & Memorial Foundation Scholarship Program is accepting scholarship applications for the 2017-18 academic year.

Individual awards range from $1,000 to $25,000 each, with a total of $250,000 in funds available for undergraduate or graduate accounting students across the state this year. Recipients are selected based on their commitment to pursue an accounting degree, academic achievement, letters of recommendation and financial need in some cases.

The TSCPA’s Education & Memorial Foundation has awarded over $3.5 million to more than 3,000 accounting students over the past 25 years.

“The foundation strives to identify future CPA candidates and assist them in completing the educational requirements for CPA licensure,” TSCPA president and CEO Brad Floyd said in a statement.

Applications must be received by June 15. Visit tscpa.com/education/college to learn more about the scholarship program.

– Daily News staff

GTx Reports Loss For First Quarter

Memphis-based biopharmaceutical company GTx Inc. reported a net loss for the quarter ended March 31, as progress continues on the development of its lead product candidate enobosarm, among other highlights.

The net loss for the quarter was $6.3 million, compared to net income of $2.1 million for the same period in 2016. The company generally held the line on research and development costs and general and administrative expenses, with both categories relatively unchanged from the year-ago period.

Research and development expenses for the quarter were $4.2 million, compared to $4 million a year ago. General and administrative expenses held steady at $2.1 million for both the quarter ended March 31 and the same period last year.

GTx has two ongoing clinical trials of enobosarm, its lead product candidate, as a potential treatment in women with advanced breast cancer as well as one ongoing trial with enobosarm as a potential treatment for stress urinary incontinence in postmenopausal women.

During the quarter, the company added more clinical sites to its phase 2 trial of enobosarm to treat stress urinary incontinence. It expects to report topline results from that trial in the third quarter.

On May 11, GTx announced an abstract on preliminary findings from the phase 2 trial was accepted for a podium presentation at the annual meeting of the International Continence Society in Florence, Italy, in September and that principal investigator Dr. Kenneth Peters will present “encouraging data” from the first cohort of patients enrolled in the study.

– Andy Meek

Shadyac Earns Prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor

Richard C. Shadyac Jr., president and CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, received the 2017 Ellis Island Medal of Honor on Saturday, May 13, at New York’s Ellis Island.

The prestigious award recognizes individuals who have embraced America’s ideals of patriotism, tolerance, brotherhood and diversity.

Presented by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor recognizes “individuals who have made it their mission to share with those less fortunate their wealth of knowledge, indomitable courage, boundless compassion, unique talents and selfless generosity; all while maintaining the traditions of their ethnic heritage as they uphold the ideals and spirit of America.”

Past recipients include six presidents of the United States, as well as esteemed Americans such as Frank Sinatra, Lee Iacocca, Quincy Jones, Muhammad Ali, Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, Louis Zamperini and Rosa Parks.

Under Shadyac’s leadership since 2009, the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities (ALSAC) has become the largest health care charity in America, generating more than 75 percent of funds needed to operate and sustain St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Shadyac isn’t the first St. Jude/ALSAC executive to receive the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

His father, Richard Shadyac Sr., received the award in 1999 when he served as ALSAC CEO. Shadyac Sr. was personally tapped by St. Jude founder Danny Thomas from the beginning to help with fundraising for St. Jude, which opened in 1962.

Thomas’ daughter, Marlo Thomas, national outreach director for St. Jude, also received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 1999, following in the footsteps of her father, who received the honor in 1990.

– Daily News staff

NCAA Releases U of M Academic Progress Rate

The University of Memphis reports all 17 of its athletics programs scored a 950 or higher in the NCAA’s 2016-17 Academic Progress Rates and won’t incur any penalties from the NCAA.

The APR is a team-based metric that holds institutions accountable for the eligibility and retention of its student-athletes. Data are collected annually, and teams are rewarded for high academic performance and penalized if they don’t meet certain academic benchmarks. The current APR is based on the multiyear period from 2012-13 through 2015-16.

This marks the 13th consecutive year that all 17 Tigers programs did not incur APR penalties, according to the university.

Memphis’ institutional average of APR scores was 980.4, and it had six programs with perfect 1000 scores for the 2015-16 year. Those programs are baseball, men’s golf, men’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s cross country and women’s golf. Three other programs – men’s basketball, women’s basketball and women’s track and field – had scores of 980 or higher for the 2015-16 year only.

The Memphis women’s golf program was honored by the NCAA for posting an APR among the top 10 percent nationally in its sport. It was the seventh-straight year Tigers women’s golf received an NCAA Public Recognition Award for its APR score.

Football’s 965 score was the second-highest in program history; last year football had a 968.

– Don Wade

Withers Collection Gets Sign on Beale

The Withers Collection Museum and Gallery, 333 Beale St., now has a lighted sign on the block of Beale Street between Fourth Street and Rufus Thomas Boulevard.

The archive and gallery of photographer Ernest Withers’ works had the lighted sign installed last week, adding more notice to the eastern end of the district, which doesn’t have as many of the signs or neon lights as the block between B.B. King Boulevard and Second Street.

The gallery opened in 2011 in a location that includes what was one of Withers’ offices and workrooms during the photographer’s lifetime.

– Bill Dries

Arch 2 Arch Opening Midtown Location

Spa/salon Arch 2 Arch plans to open its eighth location at Loeb Properties’ Belvedere Collection shopping center at corner of Union Avenue and Belvedere Boulevard.

Owners Sherry Sarfani and Laila Dharani, opened their first salon at Hacks Cross Road in 2010 and have subsequently additional locations in Memphis, Southaven and San Antonio, Texas.

The salon specializes in eyebrow threading, facials, waxing, and classic henna design – techniques the owners said they learned growing up in India.

Arch 2 Arch also offers permanent makeup, micro-blading, eyelash extensions, micro-needling, microdermabrasion, skin tag removal and broken capillary reductions.

– Patrick Lantrip

59th Liberty Bowl To be Played Dec. 30

The 59th AutoZone Liberty Bowl will kick off Saturday, Dec. 30, at 11:30 a.m. and be televised on ABC and broadcast on ESPN Radio.

The AutoZone Liberty Bowl has had a long partnership with ABC, which telecast the first AutoZone Liberty Bowl in 1964.

Tickets to the game are already on sale. Call the AutoZone Liberty Bowl at 901-795-7700 or visit autozonelibertybowl.org for tickets or more information.

– Don Wade