LITE Wins $20,000 Renewal Award

Memphis nonprofit Let’s Innovate through Education (LITE) has been awarded a $20,000 Renewal Award – part of a national program by Allstate and The Atlantic to honor innovative nonprofit organizations solving some of their communities’ most pressing social and economic issues.

LITE was one of five winners selected from a pool of nearly 3,000 nominees from around the country through a public vote and panel of judges. Five runners-up were awarded $10,000 each. The Renewal Awards winners were honored Tuesday, March 27, at The Atlantic’s third annual Renewal Summit in New Orleans.

Judging criteria included the current and future impact of each nominee’s program and the program’s ability to be replicated in other communities. The honorees were then selected by public vote and a judges’ panel comprised of The Atlantic editors, past Renewal Award winners, and outside members.

LITE, which has grown from a single classroom to teaching 21st-century skills to more than 1,000 students in Memphis, aims to close the racial wealth gap by teaching African-American and Latinx students to become entrepreneurs themselves and/or secure high-wage jobs.

– Daily News staff

U of M Students Raise $201K for St. Jude

University of Memphis students raised $201,950 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital this year, making the U of M the nation’s top fundraising university for St. Jude for another year.

U of M students announced the fundraising total after wrapping up its 19th annual St. Jude Up ’til Dawn overnight event Saturday, March 24.

Up ‘til Dawn is a student-led, student-run philanthropic program, where college students across the country raise funds for St. Jude throughout the year, then celebrate their success with an all-night event.

Since its founding at the University of Memphis in 1999, students from more than 50 schools have joined in the fight by hosting St. Jude Up ‘til Dawn on their campuses and have raised more than $45 million for the patients of St. Jude. During that time, the U of M has raised more than $2 million for St. Jude.

– Daily News staff

Florida Investors Buy Apartments for $13M

New York City-based RCP General Inc., doing business as RCP Meadows LLC, has sold The Meadows of Memphis, an apartment complex near the Memphis-Bartlett border, to a Colorado investment company.

In the deal, Miami-based Stoneweg U.S., doing business as VP Meadows LLC, purchased the 13-acre parcel at 5580 Raleigh Lagrange Road from RCP for $13.5 million, according to a March 21 warranty deed filed with the Shelby County Register.

RCP president Jonathan Rosen signed that deed on behalf of his company.

In conjunction with that purchase, Stoneweg took out an $8.7 million mortgage through Cleveland, Ohio-based Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital that will mature on April 1, 2028.

Co-owner Tom Buckley signed the March 21 warranty deed on behalf of Stoneweg.

Built in 1986, the 100,000-square-foot complex was last appraised for $8.9 million in 2017, according to the Shelby County Assessor.

– Patrick Lantrip

Memphis Football Adds Senior Defensive Assistant

Kevin Clune, the former defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach at Oregon State, has joined the University of Memphis football staff as a senior defensive assistant.

Clune spent the 2016 and 2017 seasons at Oregon State as the defensive coordinator, following a season at Utah State. His final season at Utah State was one of two stops for Clune with the Aggies, as he helped the program to four bowl appearances and the 2012 Western Athletic Conference championship.

A former player at Fullerton Junior College and the University of San Diego, Clune returned to his juco alma mater in 1996 as the special teams coordinator and linebackers coach. He joined Occidental College in 2000 as a defensive line coach, then served at Utah for two years as a graduate assistant coach (2001-02).

Clune began his first stint as Utah’s defensive coordinator in 2003-04. In 2005, he became the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Weber State in Ogden, Utah. After two seasons, he added assistant head coach duties in 2008.

That championship season was followed up by Clune’s first stop at Utah State, working as a linebackers coach (2009-13). After a one-year hiatus in Hawai’i, where he also served as defensive coordinator, Clune returned to Utah State to serve as defensive coordinator.

Clune was named the defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach at Oregon State in January 2016.

– Don Wade

Tigers Softball Player Named AAC Player of the Week

University of Memphis freshman designated player Kendall Lee has been named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week after helping lead Memphis to a 4-1 week, including a 2-1 mark to open AAC play against Wichita State. This is the first-ever conference honor for Lee and the third time this season Memphis has had a player earn the title of Player of the Week.

Lee started her week off with a pinch-hit grand slam against Ole Miss last Tuesday, March 20. It was Lee’s first collegiate home run and it helped lift Memphis to a 9-3 victory. She backed up that pinch-hit homer with another home run, a three-run shot, in the win over UT Martin on March 21.

Against Wichita State, Lee earned a spot in the starting line-up and continued to produce for the Tigers. On Sunday, Lee’s single up the middle in the top of the eighth inning drove in what proved to be the game-winning run to give Memphis the series victory. Lee finished the week hitting .400 and led Memphis with five runs scored and eight RBIs.

– Don Wade