Seven Pull Petitions For City Council Seat

Seven prospective contenders for the Memphis City Council’s open Super District 9 seat have pulled qualifying petitions from the Shelby County Election Commission. The petitions are to run in the special election on the Aug. 2 ballot.

None of the seven with petitions out had filed as of Wednesday morning, May 16. The filing deadline is June 21 at noon.

Those with petitions out include outgoing Probate Court Clerk Paul Boyd, who lost his re-election bid in the May county Republican primaries, and former Memphis City Schools board member Stephanie Gatewood, who ran unsuccessfully for Shelby County Commission in the May Democratic primaries.

Also weighing the race is Charley Burch, a music producer and Realtor who has run for several local offices over the years; Joseph Ford Canale, a golf coach at Christian Brothers High School; Tyrone Franklin; Erika Sugarmon, a Shelby County Schools teacher; and Tim Ware, an education consultant, educator and former executive director of the Achievement School District.

Meanwhile, the deadline for candidates to apply for the interim appointment to the seat vacated earlier this month by Philip Spinosa is Thursday, May 17, at noon. Council members will decide May 22 who will fill the seat until the results of the August special election are certified.

Many of those with petitions out to run in the special election are expected to be among those vying for the council appointment.

– Bill Dries

Memphis-Cancun Flights Return May 19

Vacation Express is launching its nonstop weekly service between Memphis International Airport and Cancun International Airport on Saturday, May 19.

The Memphis-Cancun service will continue until Aug. 4, with flights departing MEM on Saturday and returning Friday as part of six-night packages offered by Vacation Express. The weekly flight to Cancun will be operated by Volaris and will feature 180-seat Airbus 320 aircraft.

The Saturday flights leave Memphis at 8:30 a.m. and arrive in Cancun at 11:25 a.m., while the return flights depart Cancun at 5:45 p.m. and arrive in Memphis at 8:55 p.m.

“Hundreds of passengers take advantage of Vacation Express’ annual service between Memphis and the popular vacation destination of Cancun,” Pace Cooper, chairman of the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority board of commissioners, said in a statement. “This is a great option for vacationing families.”

Flights and vacation packages are offered through vacationexpress.com or by calling 800-309-4717.

– Daily News staff

Stafford Named Interim Dean Of U of M’s Fogelman College

Dr. Marla Royne Stafford has been named interim dean of the University of Memphis’ Fogelman College of Business & Economics. Stafford has been with the U of M since 2001, and previously served as chair of the Department of Marketing & Supply Chain Management for 13 years.

Stafford replaces Dr. Rajiv Grover, who is returning to a faculty position to continue his research. Grover has served as dean since 2007 and emphasized forging relationships between the college and local businesses during his tenure.

Stafford received a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia, an MBA from Rollins College and a B.A. from the University of Arizona. Prior to joining the University of Memphis, she was on the marketing faculty at the University of North Texas.

Before entering academia, Stafford held positions with Tupperware Worldwide, Cardinal Industries and Philip Crosby Associates.

Since joining the University of Memphis, she has held the First Tennessee Professorship and the Suzanne Downs Palmer Professorship. Most recently, she was designated the Great Oaks Foundation Professor of Marketing.

She is a two-time recipient of the Alumni Association Award for Distinguished Research in Social Sciences, Business and Law, and is a senior research fellow for the Methodist Le Bonheur Center for Healthcare Economics. She is also past president of the American Academy of Advertising and past editor in chief of the Journal of Advertising.

In 2016, she was awarded the Ivan Preston Award for Outstanding Contribution to Advertising Research by the American Academy of Advertising.

The University of Memphis has finalized search committee members for the next dean of the Fogelman College.

– Don Wade

WalletHub: Memphis 159th Best City to Start a Career

A report from personal finance website WalletHub suggests Memphis is not one of the better places in the United States to begin a career.

WalletHub compared the relative market strength and overall livability of 182 U.S. cities to help recent college graduates find the best locales for their budding careers. Memphis finished at No. 159, just behind Albuquerque, New Mexico, and just ahead of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The top three cities were Salt Lake City, Utah; Orlando, Florida; and Atlanta. Nashville ranked No. 49, while Santa Clarita, California, was the worst at No. 182.

The study examined each city based on 27 key metrics that range from the availability of entry-level jobs to monthly average starting salary to workforce diversity. According to the report, employers plan to hire 4 percent more college graduates in 2018 than they did in 2017.

– Don Wade