- This month on The SPARK, our theme is "Love and Breakthroughs".

We'll learn about an organization offering hope and healing through affordable, accessible, high quality professional counseling and educational resources, a nonprofit with multiple centers that's building community and enhancing lives through the sport of tennis, and a nonprofit teaching and training bioskills facility, supporting essential medical training for the greater good.

We'll also share a special moment from our Spark Awards 2025.

- From Higginbotham's founding in 1948, our insurance agency has been built on the values of customer service, leading with integrity, and supporting our community.

We believe in promoting the positives, encouraging engagement, and leading by example to power the good.

Higginbotham Insurance and Financial Services is honored to be the presenting sponsor of The SPARK.

- (male announcer) Additional funding for The SPARK is provided by United Way of the Mid-South, EcOp, the Memphis Zoo, and by the Medical Education and Research Institute.

- Have you ever been excited by a new idea, inspired by watching someone lead by example?

When we talk about creating change, we start by sharing the stories of everyday heroes who are making a difference in their own way so we can learn and do the same.

I'm Jeremy Park, and this is The SPARK.

They're an organization offering hope and healing through professional counseling services and educational resources.

We're here with the executive director of Samaritan Counseling Centers of the Mid-South, Kristin Fox-Trautman, and let's start out, give us some background on Samaritan Counseling Centers of the Mid-South.

- Absolutely.

Well, first of all, thanks, Jeremy, for having me on today, it's an honor, and Samaritan has been serving the Mid-South since 1981, so almost 45 years, I guess.

Yes, right around 45 years.

And we serve children, teens, adults, couples, and families with high quality, accessible, affordable counseling, assessment, and educational services, and we do that through five locations from downtown to Germantown in partnership with local churches who provide in kind space for us, and we also offer telehealth services.

We have an annual Mental Health Lunch & Learn Series that helps to raise awareness of the importance of mental health and seeking care when we need it, and supporting our neighbors.

And we are here to break down the barriers for people seeking mental health care.

- You are a nonprofit, and as you alluded to, accessible, affordable, high quality, professional, all of those go together when you talk about the counseling services and what you provide.

Talk about that model, though, especially being a nonprofit.

- Absolutely, great question.

So, there are three main tenants of our kind of business model, our nonprofit model that allows us to provide high quality and affordable services, and the first is that we accept most major insurance plans, including TennCare.

And I learned there was a report that came out last year that Tennessee ranks 49th in the nation for the number of psychotherapists that would accept insurance for payment.

I think only 51.5% do, which means nearly half do not accept insurance, which for most Tennesseans who do have some type of coverage, some type of plan, who need to use that to offset the cost of their care, so by doing that, that is a core aspect of providing accessible services, so insurance coverage.

And then also, our partnerships with churches and other organizations in the community that provide in kind services for us allow us to pass those savings off to our clients.

And thirdly, as you mentioned, as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, we do raise charitable contributions that we use for our client assistance fund, which goes directly to subsidize the care for people who are coming, who are either uninsured or underinsured.

- Talk about the importance of your work, the importance of focusing on mental health for our community.

- So, just a few statistics just to kind of give context of what the need is, which sadly has been steadily on the rise.

About one in five adults is experiencing a mental health challenge at any given time.

The suicide rate has increased by about 30% over the past couple of decades, and sadly, now suicide is the second leading cause of death for our children aged 10 to 14.

And so, this is not a fringe issue.

You know, this is a core thing that any of us and all of us face, right?

We all have either experienced a mental health challenge in our life or we have a loved one or a neighbor that is maybe experiencing anxiety or depression, is grieving the loss of a loved one, and it's been hard to get back to kind of their normal daily living.

And so, those are a lot of the core things that we see in our community, especially people who have experienced trauma.

In Memphis, we know that many of our neighbors have experienced trauma in some way, and that impacts our mental health.

And so, because the need is so great, it's so important that nonprofits like Samaritan are making care more accessible.

And there are lots of studies that show that when we are not taking care of our mental health, it impacts every aspect of our life, right?

It's hard to show up for work.

It's hard to show up for your family.

It's hard to be a good neighbor when you're suffering with a mental health challenge that is untreated.

And on the flip side, the good news is, that studies also show that when you get care, when you have a high quality professional mental health provider who can support you in gaining hope and healing, then people can get back to their lives, back to being the parent that they want to be, you know, the coworker, you know, the person that's doing great in their job and can be an engaged community member.

So, I think from the need side, and then also when you do receive care, what people can, you know, do as a result of that is so important.

- So, how can the community support Samaritan Counseling Centers of the Mid-South?

- Yes, we love the support of our community, and couldn't do our work without you.

And so, of course, as a nonprofit, we rely on charitable contributions from the community.

People can make a donation at samaritanmidsouth.org.

We also have several volunteer opportunities.

We have three Mental Health Lunch & Learn events during the year, and we have several volunteers that come out and help us set up for those events and greet our guests and help us make those successful.

We have other opportunities where people can come in and help us do some of the administrative stuff on the back end that's really important for a successful nonprofit as well.

So, people can reach out to us through samaritanmidsouth.org or our phone number, 901-729-3900, and get in touch with us.

We'd love to have more people engage with us on our mission.

- Well, Kristin, thank you for all you and your amazing team do to power the good.

Thank you for coming on the show.

- Thank you so much for having me.

[upbeat music] - They're a nonprofit building community and enhancing lives through the sport of tennis.

We're here with the CEO of Tennis Memphis, John Borden.

And tennis starts with fundamentals, so let's start with some fundamentals on Tennis Memphis.

[John chuckles] Give us some background, John.

- Jeremy, thanks for that.

Tennis Memphis, we're a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based here in Memphis, Tennessee.

We're entering into our 25th year as Tennis Memphis.

We service a majority of the tennis courts and facilities here in Memphis, and we are uniquely connected to the city of Memphis through the Memphis Parks.

We have our campuses, include the Bellevue Tennis Center, Eldon Roark Tennis Center, Raleigh, Frayser, Leftwich.

And we have 11 in total that we service.

And we are committed to transforming communities through tennis and education with an emphasis on lifting the excellence that exists in the communities, right?

So, I think it's fun to have tennis, it's great to be supportive of education and educational opportunities, but it's another thing entirely to say, "We're gonna take both of those and you're going to be excellent in your pursuit."

- You and I both know the power of tennis to transform lives.

One of the other thing that's really powerful that you do is you actually take tennis pros, teaching pros and teachers, and you go into schools and you have afterschool programs.

And so, you really take a very collaborative approach to teaching tennis, opening up doors for tennis, but also, too, for education.

Talk about that program.

- So, what you're referring to is Tennis and Tutoring program.

So, that is an academic enrichment program in which we have students spend an hour with us working on their homework and getting individualized support, and then an hour on the tennis court.

And the goal is to both give them the tools that they need on the tennis court, and in many regards, introduce them to the sport, but also to say, "Because there's no barrier to play "or we don't want any barriers to play, we'll make sure that you are academically sound as well."

And then we also send some of our coaches into schools, specifically following a similar format.

So, our goal is really, as I mentioned before, it's about resourcing the community, expecting to find excellence in our community, and making sure that we draw that excellence out.

- When you look at a facility like Leftwich, which is nationally winning awards, and it's become the home for adult leagues, national tournaments, really bringing in all of these players from around our nation to Memphis, so when you talk about tourism and the power of Tennis Memphis to create powerful opportunities, share a little bit of that side.

- Yeah, so first off, the tennis courts, generally speaking in Memphis, have a rich history of bringing people in.

Even before Leftwich was built, Tennis Memphis and its facilities, or the new Leftwich was built, it's a destination for people from all over the state, all over the country, to come and play just because of the interconnected nature of the facilities.

Leftwich, obviously, it's our newest facility, it is fantastic, but it fits into the general scheme of how Tennis Memphis can serve the community, both locally, nationally, or excuse me, locally statewide and nationally.

I mean, as you said, it's truly unique in that it's 36 courts, it's 24 outdoor, it's 12 indoor.

It's the home of the Tigers men's and women's tennis team, but it is also unique from an architecture perspective.

When you come in here, there's a bit of drama when you come in the doors in a good way.

It truly feels like a destination, which is what I also think that the city deserves.

You know, like, Memphis is a destination, and our tennis facility should feel as such.

And personally, I want that same to hold true for all of our campuses.

When you come to Memphis, you know, Leftwich is nice, but the campuses and the communities that they serve, they're also just as much a destination.

- Touch on to clinics, workshops.

You do so many things, you have a great team of tennis teaching professionals.

Touch on that aspect.

- We have a great team, you're right.

We just have a great staff in general.

I recently told our team in a meeting that what distinguishes them from most people is that they truly care about teaching, they truly care about the community.

So, if you wanna experience that, you can sign up for a lesson, you can sign up for a clinic, you can just come by and watch our kids compete, train, et cetera.

So, again, there's so many different ways that you can get involved in the organization.

- So, you've recently held sectionals, you've got nationals, a lot of big things on that side, including upcoming professional tennis, so give us a little teaser on the plans ahead for professional tennis.

- They're big things in the works.

That's all I can say right now, so stay tuned.

Make sure you follow us on social and just keep your ear to the ground for news from Tennis Memphis.

- Talk about the ways the community can support Tennis Memphis.

- For us, for me, it's really about time, talent, and treasure.

Community building is more than just financial support.

Now, with that said, I'm not doing my job if I don't shake the tin can.

You know, your financial support does go a long way to support the work that we do, the community development that we do through tennis, but also, our doors are open.

Come check us out.

There are other ways that you can contribute, and we truly want community engagement beyond just what you can do financially.

You can certainly support us financially by going to tennismemphis.org, but you can also, again, just pick up the phone.

You know, you can use Google, call us, and ask how you can get involved.

- So, wrap up with website, social media, where do we go to learn more and get involved with Tennis Memphis?

- You can go to tennismemphis.org, it's our website.

You can find us @tennismemphis on Instagram.

And again, you know, if all else fails, just Google Tennis Memphis, and you can find us.

- Well, John, thank you for all you and your amazing team at Tennis Memphis do to power the good.

Thank you for coming on the show.

- Thank you.

[upbeat music] - The SPARK Awards annually recognizes and celebrate individuals and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to the community.

The 2025 Education Educator Award went to Dr.

Colby Taylor.

[gentle piano music] - My name is Dr.

Colby Taylor, I'm an associate professor of psychology at Christian Brothers University.

I have one of the coolest jobs, something I've always dreamed of.

So, I get to work with undergraduate students, I get to teach psychology, which is my passion.

I'm also a practicing psychologist, so one day a week, I see patients, which tend to be younger individuals.

I tend to see kids.

And then I get to translate sort of my clinical work into teaching at Christian Brothers University.

We have this organization here at CBU called STARS.

which is Students Tackling Autism-Related Syndromes.

I served on their board of directors.

One of the things that I noticed in working with college students was, there were so many college students that stayed in their dorm room.

Whether they're autistic or not, they were playing Xbox or PlayStation 5 and not really getting out and doing stuff.

In my own undergraduate experience, I found that exercise was really therapeutic to me, it was a way to clear my head, so I said, "You know, what if I started an exercise program within STARS where I taught students how to exercise?"

So, we started what was called the Inside Out Program.

Once a week, we meet and we exercise together.

And I'm not a professor necessarily in that role.

I'm not a personal trainer.

I'm just a guy that is sort of their friend.

And we talk about how the week's going, we exercise together, and hold each other accountable.

And it's been a really great program.

In my clinical work, I diagnose with autism.

That's the number one thing that I do.

And a lot of times, I'm talking with moms of 2, 3, 4-year-olds and I'm delivering heavy news.

But when I can tell them, "Hey, look at these students that I'm working with "that are 18, 19, 20 years old, 'that are just killing their college classes, "that are getting great jobs out of school, autism can be a strength."

And I think sort of having the continuity there, where I can talk with parents of younger children and give them these success stories that I see every day at Christian Brothers, I think it's been really cool, too.

My words of encouragement to the autistic community and people that work with the autistic community in Memphis would be just do it.

Put your neck out there and volunteer, even if you don't quite know what you're doing at first.

It will evolve into what you want it to evolve.

Sitting back and doing nothing is not gonna get you anywhere.

Sometimes you just have to take the risk and, you know, put yourself out there and try to make a difference.

[soft music] - They're a nonprofit teaching and training bioskills facility, supporting essential medical training for the greater good.

We're here with the manager of operations and development with the Medical Education and Research Institute, MERI and Genesis, Tony Bernil.

Tony, let's start out, give us some background on MERI.

- Thanks, Jeremy.

Thanks, I appreciate being here, sharing this time with all of you guys.

So, the MERI, the Medical Education Research Institute and Genesis, this was an inspiration of our medical director back in 1992.

Before Dr.

Kevin Foley, our medical director, decided to come to Memphis, he had an understanding agreement with Semmes Murphey, a neurosurgery group, to build a bioskills facility or a training facility for postgraduate surgeons.

He saw the need back then that the laboratory space for the chains he had for, or that he came into and also grew into and was trying to teach other surgeons was not to his standards, and he wanted to grow it in order to advance medical device, research, development, et cetera.

From those small humble beginnings, we have blown up into a worldwide recognized, respected organization.

And I can honestly say I've been a part of this whole blessed scenario for about 30 years.

- Touch on the facility in Memphis and why this work is so important.

- Okay, so, our main lab is in the Medical District, right off of Cleveland, across the street from Memphis University Hospital.

So, it is a facility that we have 250 events a year, on a regular year.

COVID did kind of affect us, but we're ramping back up to those numbers.

Memphis has its challenges of having, you know, people come to Memphis, but the medical scene is still very viable, it's strong, and it's thriving.

And I think what happens is, a lot of folks don't see that happening because you're on the outside.

Now, what we bring to Memphis is not only the medical device companies in Memphis to a place where they can do research, development, and training, but also too the reach for the companies that are not in Memphis, that are international, that could come into Memphis.

So, what we do is we replicate operating rooms, so that's the best scenario for a surgeon or clinician to learn about new techniques, education, training, product development.

- Touch on the Genesis program.

- So, Genesis is our whole body donation program, so people will donate their bodies to science, hence to medical research and development.

So, we have people who have graciously donated themselves to our program, and we are very honored and grateful for their gift.

So, we work within 19 states, and so we have people from Arkansas, from here in Illinois, I'm in Chicago right now, Texas, Florida, et cetera.

So, we have a very large base of individuals who are dedicated to our program.

And in fact, there's certain areas that they have more people coming from, like Hot Springs.

We have a large contingent of individuals who've donated from Hot Springs, Arkansas.

- Give us a couple of things related to Genesis that you wish everyone knew, so when you talk about the importance and also to how you are respectful with the bodies, touch on those aspects that you wish everyone knew about Genesis.

- The greatest gift someone can give is of themselves.

And to me, the ultimate gift is giving your body to the advancement for medical education, health, for research and development, for the betterment of humanity, if you will.

So, we have people who will come to, and this is kind of astray, but we have people who come to Memphis to the facility, and kind of want to have a better understanding of what Genesis provides.

And I've had the honor and privilege of giving a lot of our donors tours and being able to meet them and see them face to face and talk with them and show them and explain my appreciation for, first of all, their visit, then ultimately their gift if they decide to do that.

And I think it's important for people to know that in order for us to continue to have better medicine, better understanding of how to treat individuals going forward, this is a program that needs to be sustained.

And I always say to people that the people, in explaining about the donors, people who are laying on that table are doing more after they've passed than most people will be doing when they're living.

And I let that sink into people because it is a very powerful statement that I just thought about one day thinking, "They are giving the ultimate gift of themselves after they've passed."

So, I want people to understand that and feel that if they have any thought of donating that, regardless if it's our program or another program, that they are giving the greatest gift, and that's to help better medical answers for, you know, the future of not only humanity or the city, but their families too as well.

- Well, the easy question is, where do we go for more information and to get to know MERI and Genesis?

- Perfect, thanks, Jeremy.

Our website is meri.org, and that's M-E-R-I, Medical Education and Research Institute, but just M-E-R-I dot org, and that will lead you to the Genesis program as well as more information about the MERI.

- Well, Tony, thank you for all you and your amazing team do to power the good.

Thank you for coming on the show.

- Thank you, Jeremy, I appreciate it.

[upbeat music] - As we kick off our 14th season and year of The SPARK, this episode shows us what happens when love fuels possibility, when our local organizations lift people up and create breakthroughs that change lives and strengthen our communities.

At Samaritan Counseling Centers of the Mid-South, love is a safe place to talk, to heal, and to rediscover hope.

Breakthroughs happen in quiet moments, one honest conversation at a time.

At Tennis Memphis, love shows up on and off the tennis court.

It's a coach's encouragement, a child's first win, the confidence and character built through play, the friendships formed during league play, or a tournament that builds and promotes our community.

Breakthroughs echo in every young person and player who realizes they can rise.

And at MERI-Genesis, love is the commitment to learn how to save lives.

Every trainee, every simulation, every skill practiced is an investment in a healthier, safer community.

That's a breakthrough with ripple effects across our city and across our nation and globe.

Three organizations, three different missions, one shared belief.

Breakthroughs happen where love shows up first.

So, where can you help power the good and become a spark?

Because together, we can spark even more love and more breakthroughs.

To learn more about each of the guests, to watch past episodes, and to share your stories of others leading by example, visit wkno.org and click on the link for The SPARK.

We look forward to seeing you next month and we hope that you'll continue joining with us to create a spark for the Mid-South.

- From Higginbotham's founding in 1948, our insurance agency has been built on the values of customer service, leading with integrity, and supporting our community.

We believe in promoting the positives, encouraging engagement, and leading by example to power the good.

Higginbotham Insurance and Financial Services is honored to be the presenting sponsor of The SPARK.

[upbeat music] [acoustic guitar chords]