- (male announcer) The 10th Annual SPARK Awards is made possible in part by the following.

- 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 a presenting sponsor of the SPARK Awards.

- Delta Dental of Tennessee is committed to improving the overall wellness of the people in the communities we serve through our products, advocacy, ed ucation, and philanthropy.

That's why Delta Dental and our Smile 180 Foundation are honored to be a presenting sponsor of the SPARK Awards.

- On behalf of the entire Champion Promotion team, we're honored to be a presenting sponsor of the SPARK Awards.

Champion is proud to have he lped design the customer award given to each of the honorees and to be a presenting sponsor since the very beginning.

We'll continue to support this wonderful tradition.

For over 50 years, Champion has been helping companies and the organizations in Memphis and the Mid-South grow and expand their brands with branded products.

We can provide everything from printed and embroidered apparel, to promotional items and custom awards, such as the SPARK Awards.

Our commitment to our customers extends from being on brand, on everything to being a catalyst in our community.

We want to congratulate all of this year's honorees and thank them for making a huge impact in our great city.

Have a great holiday season.

[upbeat music] - (male announcer) Additional funding for the SPARK Awards 2023 is provided by United Way of the Mid-South, EcOp, the Memphis Zoo, My Town Movers, My Town Roofing, and by Meritan.

[upbeat music] - 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.

This truth is the power behind this show.

I'm Jeremy Park and this is the SPARK Awards.

[audience applauding] And here are your hosts, Tracy Bethea and Rob Grayson.

[audience applauding] - Greetings and welcome everyone to the 10th Annual SPARK Awards, our 10th year of honoring the spirit of community engagement, leadership and service throughout the Memphis area.

I'm Tracy Bethea.

- I'm Rob Grayson.

And in the decade since the first SPARK Awards, we've honored businesses, organizations, schools, and individuals who've made a difference in the Mid-South.

- In the next hour, we'll present 13 awards, our four categories plus our legacy award, which honors a lifetime of service.

And behind each and every one of these awards, there's a story.

- But before we begin sharing those stories, let's hear from the man who keeps the spark shining all year long, the CEO of cityCURRENT and host of the TV series, The SPARK, Jeremy Park.

- Let me start by saying thank you and welcome to the 10th Annual SPARK Awards.

It's been an amazing journey over the last decade as we've been able to recognize and honor well over a hundred organizations and individuals who are leading by example to power the good and make a difference here in our community.

As we look back, The SPARK Awards grew out of the success of our monthly television series, The SPARK here on WKNO.

The SPARK focuses on sharing positive stories, empowering the good news, so we can see the good taking place in our city, Be inspired and learn how to make an even greater difference.

The goal has always been to showcase the heart of the Mid-South and to get more people engaged in our community, knowing that the more we work side by side, the more we strengthen and lift our city together.

Your support of The SPARK is what led to the creation of this annual televised award special, The SPARK Awards.

It's an expansion of our efforts an d allows us to recognize and honor those who are doing the hard work and the heart work to make a difference.

Because every day in the Mid-South, there are countless organizations and individuals rolling up their sleeves, giving back and helping others.

These everyday heroes are doing things like mentoring, supporting our veterans, removing litter, teaching our children, and serving those among us who need food and shelter.

We rarely see these efforts showcased during a newscast, because the do-gooders don't seek attention.

But these community champions are working hard every day and we're a better city thanks to their efforts.

It's also important because we deserve and need to see the good that is taking place in our community.

So we know we're surrounded by people who care and have hope for the future we're building together.

Before we start the ceremony and introduce you to this year's honorees, let's learn more about the Midtown Memphis Rotary Club and how the honorees were selected.

- The Midtown Memphis Rotary Club's motto is service above self, and our mission is to improve the quality of life for everyone in Memphis and in the Mid-South.

We meet on Tuesday evenings at 5:15 PM at the Southern College of Optometry on Madison Avenue.

Guests are always welcome.

It's been our pleasure over the years to participate in the SPARK Awards and we're honored to select this year's recipients for the 10th anniversary presentation.

Before selecting the honorees in each category, we considered the nominees philanthropic leadership, volunteerism, activism, and impact within our five county Memphis metro area.

We congratulate not just the winners, but every nominee who makes Memphis and the Mid-South a better place for us all.

- Businesses play a crucial role in the life and health of a local community.

They contribute to its economic vitality, social wellbeing, and its overall character.

Businesses that give back play an outsized role in keeping the Mid-South moving forward and improving the lives of all residents.

And we are happy to thank them for their leadership.

- (Rob) Shanda Tucker of Delta Dental is our awards presenter for the corporate category.

- The first award in the corporate category is for companies with 100 or fewer employees.

Our first honoree is a company that partners with organizations that champion women of all ages, supporting these outstanding nonprofits, with their time, pro bono marketing, and PR services and leadership.

This award goes to Campfire Collective.

- Campfire Collective is a Memphis based marketing firm that seeks to ignite creativity with community-focused organizations.

So we believe in uplifting communities through our work with those small businesses, and nonprofits, and community-based organizations.

So our focus in our community service is to empower those future female leaders of tomorrow, specifically within Memphis.

We launched our Carrying the Torch program this year in January of 2023, and that is our official community impact program as an organization.

And it's our vision and our plan on how we chose to give back to the Memphis community and DeNeuville Learning Center for Women was a huge piece of that.

DeNeuville Learning Center for Women is a nonprofit here in town that focuses on giving educational services to those women in need.

So whether it's ESL, GED, it's citizenship test, whatever it is, they provide the classes to help those women get those certifications.

And the coolest thing about them, which is why I'm on the board, is because they also do it with free childcare.

So as we know, childcare is one of the biggest boundaries when it comes to women elevating their career.

DeNeuville seeks to remove that barrier.

We have been doing a lot of work with Restore Corps for many years.

So even before Carrying the Torch launched, we provided pro bono marketing services for them for over a decade.

With Junior Achievement of Memphis and the Mid-South, it all goes back to, you know, empowering those future leaders.

So we participate in their bowl-a-thon.

We were able to raise a lot of money this year and I have to brag on one of my team members, Ariana, who went above and beyond, we kind of created a little internal team competition for fundraising, and she posted on her social media that she would wear a shark onesie and bowling in it at bowl-a-thon if she reached a certain amount of money.

And I think she ended up raising double what she had committed to.

So she did, she bowled in a shark onesie all Saturday.

So that's the type of fun environment we have when it comes to volunteerism at Campfire Collective.

By creating this, Carrying the Torch program and helping our team see the importance of this, I no longer think that it's all on my shoulders, essentially.

I do have my part, I serve on boards, I donate my time, we donate pro bono services, but giving our team away to give back too just increases the amount that we're able to commit to, you know, making Memphis a better place.

When it comes to volunteerism, it really is in our mission and at the core of what we do at Campfire Collective.

So knowing that my team is just as invested in giving back to the community as I am, it really shows that we're all on the same track and we all have the same line of thinking.

[upbeat music] [audience applauding] - (Rob) That's Shannon Briggs, collecting the award for Campfire Collection.

[audience applauding] - Our second award in the corporate category is for companies with 101 to 499 employees.

Our honoree is a medical tech company that has given back to the community through donations of its products and sponsorship of arthritis fundraising, as well as through its support of employee volunteerism.

The award goes to Bioventus.

- Bioventus is a medical device company that has a base here in Memphis.

We focus on active healing through a surgical instruments as well as the rehab products, and then also the ultrasonic, and ultrasound devices.

We do have also bone substitutes, so for patients that have a need to heal faster to the substitutes of the bo ne, we provide those as well.

We are 166 people strong, team members strong.

It's been a growing for us.

Just last year we were 110.

Since then, we hired about 40 to 50 people and we continue to grow.

One of the biggest things that we contribute to the community is to the arthritis organization.

Obviously that plays along with our mission.

It's something that we are actively healing, actively working with those kind of patients.

At least once a year, if not multiple times, we donated both financial support as well as our time.

Just this year alone, between combined time and money, we donated in excess about $40,000 and we also had a largest fundraiser and attendance for the arthritis organization this year during the walk at Shelby Farms.

One event that really galvanized a lot of our folks was Dress For Success.

That was a huge success for us.

The employees had most probably fun.

The site had fun, and of course the organization benefit from it.

The the food bank drives were primarily driven by our site leadership team, and then Rise Against Hunger was one that was promoted and individually who wanted to go and participate.

That is eight hours every year for every employee is paid to give to community.

Sometimes that's self-organized within employees themselves get to pick an organization and support it, volunteer, and some cases is on their own individually.

So you may find yourself that you have opportunity through your, with your family, or through your faith organization to contribute and you need to take four hours, eight hours, six hours to go through to do so.

All we ask you to do is make sure that you're properly documented and then, so that we can continue to show that we contribute to the organization, to the organizations in the Mid-South.

So any opportunity you can give to folks to do more, than just come to work and do their minimum, let's say right, they tend to jump on.

And for that reason, I believe we have a success in contributing to the community because of that drive towards just our mission as a medical device company, but also for the mission outside, why we call it mission in motion, or mission in action.

[audience applauding] - (Rob) That's Kimberly Miller, Ray Edwards, and Jasmin Nuhic accepting the SPARK Award for Bioventus.

[audience applauding] - Our final award in the corporate category is for companies with 500 employees or more.

This honoree is a school system promoting excellence in all categories for its employees as well as its students.

Taking care of those who nurture the minds of tomorrow.

This award goes to DeSoto County Schools.

- DeSoto County Schools is the largest school district in the state of Mississippi.

We have over 34,000 students.

We're the largest employer in DeSoto County.

We're very proud of our academic achievements of our students, and our teachers, and administrators.

Recently, DeSoto County Schools was named as an A school district by the Mississippi Department of Education.

We're one of only nine school districts that has received that award every year since the new accountability model came out in 2016.

We have the most A rated schools that we've ever had at one time.

We have 25 of our 42 schools are A schools now.

We also have the highest graduation rate that we've had in the history of our district.

We've got the highest English language proficiency rate that we've had and same with math.

And also Lewisburg Elementary School was recently named as a National Blue Ribbon School.

They're one of only three schools in the state that received that designation this year and they will become our fourth National Blue Ribbon School in DeSoto County.

We have lots of student leadership groups on campuses and they do quite a bit of community service work.

At the district level, we have the Superintendent's Youth Leadership Council and we give those students ideas to take back to their campuses to where they can lead from that level.

We've had tornado relief and different things of that na ture in DeSoto County before.

And when those happen, our students, and our teachers, and schools always jump in and do all that they can to help.

In DeSoto County, one of the things that makes me really proud is when it's time for the St. Jude Marathon weekend.

We have several groups who run in that race.

Also, Habitat for Humanity is another 5K that takes place in DeSoto County.

And just to see everybody get together in those efforts and actually participate in the events, that really means a lot.

We have over 2,500 teachers.

We have around 4,000 employees.

We are very diligent in our teacher retention and recruitment.

We wanna make sure that we attract the best employees that we possibly can to DeSoto County Schools.

But keeping those is very important, especially in today's day and time.

When we have a new employee, or a new teacher orientation at the beginning of the school year, we bring all the new teachers together and we try to provide resources to them that will keep them involved.

We want our parents and the community to know that we want our students to receive the best education they possibly can and to be prepared for that next step of life.

And so when they graduate from high school, that they're prepared to either go straight into the workforce, to military, college, whatever career path that they choose.

And we wanna make sure that they have plenty options along the way, so they'll be as prepared as possible.

[upbeat music] [audience applauding] - (Rob) That's Cory Uselton, Jerald Wheeler and Michele Henley accepting the award on behalf of DeSoto County Schools.

[audience applauding] A nonprofit is an organization with a mission, staffed by people who are passionate about making a difference.

These organizations play a vital role in providing essential services, advocating for vulnerable populations and promoting positive change.

- (Tracy) Johnny Pitts of Lipscomb and Pitts, a Higginbotham partner, is presenting awards in the nonprofit category.

- Our first award is for nonprofits with an operating budget under a million dollars.

This year's honoree is an innovative organization that helps mobilize volunteers and resources to get the people they serve the services they need.

This award goes to Destiny Center of DeSoto County.

- Destiny Center of DeSoto County is a nonprofit organization located in DeSoto County in Olive Branch, Mississippi.

We serve people, we bring resources to people that can't get to the resources.

We serve seniors, we do transportation.

There are transportation insecurities, there is food insecurities and we work with those people.

There are so many people that are forgotten, our seniors are forgotten and the kids are busy.

They forget about their parents, they forget that, you know, that they're not able to do and to get out and do like they used to.

The doctor's appointments to get medicine, just to go to the grocery store.

And so we go into homes twice a week, every Tuesday and Thursday and we feed 'em lunch and we have a relationship with them.

We go in, we just don't say, here's your meal, go on, unless they require that.

We feed 'em, we talk to 'em, we love on 'em, we see what they need.

You know, we know all about their grandchildren, and all about their children, and their church, and everything.

So they're friends, they're part of a community.

We love them.

I guess I've always loved social services and helping people and when Doug, my pastor and our CEO asked me to, you know, take on as the director and I thought, yes, 'cause we can serve people and we've had, you know, the monies have come in and been able to, and it's just, it's made an amazing impact on my life.

My volunteers encourage me when I get down and I get so tired, 'cause people do call all the time.

You know, when you get tired of it, you gotta put it back in perspective.

What are we doing this for?

We're doing it for love and we're doing it to help people.

The Destiny Center, I think you should know that you can change people's lives.

You can make an impact on one person and that impact can extend their life.

At least let 'em die in peace.

At least let 'em feel like they're loved and cared for.

And our organization is our volunteers.

I mean, we have, our oldest is 88 and he's still driving and delivering meals, he's phenomenal.

And I think our youngest is maybe 63, and they love it because they know what how important it's to give back, and they know how they feel and it's changed their lives as well.

We have an individual that was on hospice, one of our volunteers is was on hospice.

And I mean he was like in bad shape and he started serving.

He started getting out and serving and he's changed lives, and now he's one of our best volunteers.

He goes in these homes and he's encouraging other people to get up and go.

If you're sitting at home and you're retired, and you're "poor me", you need to get out and serve, 'cause that's gonna change your life.

[inspring music] [audience applauding] - (Tracy) Accepting the award for Destiny Center of DeSoto Co unty is Director Debbie House.

[audience applauding] - Our second award in the nonprofit category is for organizations with an operating budget between 1 and $5 million.

Our honoree has raised funds for crucial projects for local schools, promoting STEM education, early childhood literacy and outreach to displaced and homeless students and more.

This award goes to SchoolSeed Foundation.

- My name is Vincent McCaskill and I am the founding Chief Executive Officer, President of SchoolSeed Foundation.

SchoolSeed Foundation was formed as a funding intermediary to support public schools in Memphis, and we have worked very closely with traditional and non-traditional schools.

Over the years, our efforts have broadened.

We want to work with not only schools, and classrooms, and teachers, but we're also now working with organizations in the community that impact our kids, our families, and so forth, which gives us a much larger footprint in Memphis.

And even since 2009, we have expanded our work to include so many other things, including working to support and help with the homelessness situation, eighteen to twenty-four year olds through the Opportunity Youth program that we have.

We work with school pantries.

There's just so many things that the community wants to support, and SchoolSeed Foundation has been tested.

It's proven and trusted so that when individuals who want to support various causes, they can trust the SchoolSeed name because we've been there, we've done that.

Well SchoolSeed is the only source for raising funds for the construction of the future.

Jim Herbert STEM building in Whitehaven.

We just finished a capital campaign raising far above our initial goal, which initially was like $6.2 million and we were able to raise now $8 million.

Right now when students from that school and other schools enter college and they are exposed to a college-level STEM lab, they are 40 years behind in terms of having that sort of exposure to their counterparts who might have come from private schools, who have access to 21st century STEM labs.

So we know that that will instantly be a game changer for them and also put them in position to be able to get a degree in a STEM-related field and stay in Memphis and create wealth for themselves, and also to enhance the community.

If we want our children to succeed, if we want our children to dr eam big, they have to see it.

But we know that the sort of work that takes place by giving kids exposure to STEM, giving kids exposure to other things may not manifest for several years.

When I think about impact, I just think about the kids being exposed to these opportunities and what that may look like in 10 years in their individual lives and for their children's children.

[upbeat music] [audience applauding] - (Tracy) That's Vincent McCaskill accepting the SPARK Award on behalf of SchoolSeed Foundation.

[audience applauding] - The final award in the nonprofit category is for organizations with an operating budget over $5 million.

This honoree does the hard work of addressing the affordable housing shortage in our area by working with first-time homebuyers and home builders, as well as helping senior homeowners stay in their homes.

The award goes to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis.

- Habitat for Humanity has been around for 40 years in Memphis, so that's from 1983 to today, helping to create home ownership opportunities for families who otherwise would not have the possibility of buying a home.

That's because they can't afford a house with an interest rate of any amount.

And in today's market where the interest rate is 7%, it would really be out of their ability to afford it.

So we make it possible by providing a zero interest mortgage for families to be able to buy a home for the first time.

So Habitat works with the applicant for more than 13 weeks to get them ready for home ownership.

That means 13 weeks of financial literacy, budgeting, planning, all of the elements that would make them understand what it means to be a homebuyer for the first time.

And so we put them into a situation of affordability and creating an opportunity for children to have maybe a bedroom for the first time, a quiet space to study.

And we see often that ed ucational attainment improves because a child is not bothered by noise, and other activities in the household, they have a quiet place to study.

So we're excited that Memphis Habitat is building its 600th house, that's hard to say, this year.

And it just means a lot of significant impact.

And we've built all over the county in many communities from north to south.

And it means that we are helping hundreds of families have an opportunity to change their lives for the better.

And we're providing an opportunity for the community, for volunteers, members of congregations, and corporations, and universities, to come out and touch the work by volunteering.

Without Habitat, the 600 families that we've served would not be homebuyers.

There is no other program that would serve them.

We are building taxpayers with every homebuyer and that's contributing to the community.

And we're taking vacant and abandoned lots and we're making them viable again.

And we're helping build up the community because these buyers for the first time can consider that they are in a place to actually build wealth.

There's some debate about home ownership really generating to wealth building, but when there is no interest rate, we absolutely know that every mortgage payment, because it is principal, taxes, and insurance, no interest, that we are helping low to moderate families build wealth for the first time.

[upbeat music] [audience applauding] - (Tracy) There you see Gerre Currie and Jerome Franklin accepting the award for Habitat for Humanity.

[audience applauding] Education is key to unlocking individual potential and creating a thriving community.

So if we value quality educational opportunities, what could be better than honoring those educators with a legacy of success?

- (Rob) Felicia Peat, WKNO's Education and Outreach Manager is our presenter for the education category.

- Our first award in the education category is the school award.

This year's honoree is a school founded on the proposition that success in college begins in kindergarten.

This award goes to Aurora Collegiate Academy.

- So Aurora, we're a K-5 public charter school located Summer and Mendenhall, 350 students.

So we're always looking for staff members that can both kind of relate to our students, but also meet the academic needs that our students have coming into the school.

In the past couple years, we've been rated a reward school by the state of Tennessee.

So that means we were some of the highest, both in terms of our student growth as well as our student achievement.

And this past year we actually received a level five, which is the highest you could receive for students growing.

So we started over 12 years ago in a one modular building, kind of schoolhouse with 50 kids K-1.

We ended up buying a building that was originally built in the '60s, a USDA cotton grading facility.

And we were able to go in and basically from the ground up, renovate it.

So if you walked in there, it looks like a brand new building.

One of the really neat things that we have is what we call our parkway.

It's a large hallway that runs the entire scope of the building.

We have our library in that space with thousands of book titles.

In addition, it's just a collaborative learning space where you'll see kindergartners, an d third graders, and fifth graders working, and you'll see teachers meeting.

What makes a school successful?

It's hardworking, dedicated teachers, it's engaged students, and then it's parents who are invested in the work.

And then we bring that all together by developing relationships with the community that we serve.

The work is very, very challenging.

And so we purposely find really good partners who are doing similar work to us that we can collaborate.

One of those you mentioned is Arise to Read.

So they're supporting our second and third graders who may need a little additional su pport during the day.

And so twice a week, they're getting 30 minutes of one-on-one tutoring with a community member.

And it's really great because not only are they getting that individualized support, but they're also building a really great relationship with a person that they may have never met before.

And so it allows our students to really grow in a lot of different ways.

We have about 95% of our students returning year over year.

And in a city like Memphis where there's high mobility, that's not always the case.

So it's really awesome to be able to go and see a kindergartner and year over year see them developing and growing all the way to that fifth grade.

So it's fun to see them doing phonics and just like learning basic words all the way to being able to, you know, in fifth grade writing five paragraph essays.

And I think that's what really roots me in the work is being able to see those students succeed year over year.

[audience applauding] - (Rob) That's Executive Director Grant Monda accepting the award for the Aurora Collegiate Academy.

[audience applauding] - Our next award is the Educator Award.

This honoree is a professor at Memphis Theological Seminary, who's writing on the ideals of hospitality is reflected in real world action.

This award goes to Dr. Peter Gathje.

- I'm Dr. Pete Gathje.

I am the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Academic Dean and also Professor of Christian Ethics at Memphis Theological Seminary.

You know, I'm really interested in how does faith shape our lives as a church, but also as a broader community.

And biblically what's crucial is how we are in relationship and working with those who are on the sort of on the bottom of society, those who are really struggling, those who have been marginalized.

And so my interest professionally and personally has been in learning from people on the streets, people in poverty.

One of my main textbooks is a place where I work and help to start a place of hospitality called Manna House here in Memphis.

So I've learned a great deal from people on the streets.

They're really my professors, but I'm also, I'm hoping through the work that I do with my students, that they get to know those professors, but also that together we can work for systemic change to build a more just society with Dr. King called the beloved community.

What's really been gratifying is seeing students who I've had in the churches called Radical Hospitality go back to their own communities and start ministries for people on the streets.

While my personal commitment comes out of a scripture.

Hebrews chapter 13, verses 1 to 3, it says, that we're called to welcome pe ople to practice hospitality.

And that in doing so, some have welcomed angels unawares.

I see that all the time at Manna House.

Not that our guests are always perfectly behaved, but they bring to us the very presence of God.

They're messengers from God, which is what angels are.

The reason people are on the streets, they're homeless, is they don't have a home.

And what Room in the Inn does, is provide a temporary home in the form of shelter.

It's a coalition of churches, really here in the city of Memphis.

So it brings together people of faith, organizations of faith with a real need in the city, which is for emergency shelter.

The SPARK Awards means to me is the honoring and ratification of the work of a lot of people, both at Memphis Theological Seminary and at Manana House, that the work that we've been doing together is being recognized as significant in some way.

And that's really exciting for me because I share this award with my students, with my fellow faculty members, and with the volunteers at Manna House who are really doing significant wo rk on a daily basis.

I'm just kind of the catalyst, but I'm not the person who's doing all the work.

Obviously, it takes a community to do good education and to do good work in the community.

[gentle music] [audience applauding] - (Rob) That's Dr. Peter Gathje, accepting the Educator Award from WKNO's Felicia Peat.

[audience applauding] - Now for our final award in the education category, the Leadership award.

This year our leadership honoree is the principal of one of the most diverse and award-winning charter schools in Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

The Education Leadership award goes to principal Noah Gordon of MBA Elementary.

- I'm Noah Gordon, the principal of Memphis Business Academy Elementary.

I'm also the pastor of Faith Heritage Church of God in Christ as well.

Memphis Business Academy Elementary is a very unique and diverse place.

We build heavy on culture, we build heavy on diversity.

And one of the major things that I look at as relates to our school is that we have a large Hispanic population.

And having that population along with our African American population, it help breeds culture, and it builds community beyond the schools to whereas we're bringing everybody into our world because it's all about student achievement and student growth.

And if we can get everybody on board, then we can make an impact.

Being the principal at Memphis Business Academy Elementary, one of the things that I love about the organization that we work for is that we try to eliminate any barriers that may hinder a student from moving or advance even learning.

We hire some of the best teachers.

We go out and research some of the best resources that we can provide students with the opportunity in order so they can be engaged with what we're putting out in front of them.

Whenever we notice a barrier as an organization, we try to eliminate those barriers to the best extent possible, so that there is no restriction.

And so doing it that way, students are able to get the best quality of education that we can give them.

It doesn't matter, race, background, whatever.

You know, our goal is that we look at the student as those are our future leaders.

And we don't even call 'em students, we call 'em executives, because we believe that we are transforming them, that we are birthing something that is so special that goes beyond, you know, what they can even see at this particular point in their lives.

So it is all about just exposing them and just making sure that as an organization, making sure as a school leader that I'm moving barriers, that's restricting them from getting access to what they really need.

What puts a smile on my face as pastor and principal is to see the transformation and to hear the transformation, to see that you're transforming lives and to hear how you are impacting lives that you don't even know that you are impacting.

And so that whole transformation, seeing the babies, seeing that light bulb go off in their head when they're learning, see the classroom loud and vibrant, seeing the people at the church, you know, as they're passing out food and blessing families, those things like that, you know, is really what puts a smile on my face.

It's not about me, it's what I can do to be a service to somebody else.

[intense music] [audience applauding] - (Rob) There you see Principal Noah Gordon accepting his Leadership Award.

[audience applauding] The power of the spark comes from one simple idea that one person can make a difference and one person can inspire others by starting small and working hard to make a positive impact in their communities.

That's what we learned from our individual award honorees.

- (Tracy) Jay Martin of Champion Awards and Apparel is presenting our SPARK Individual awards.

- Our individual youth award Honoree is a student at Soulsville Charter School and a participant in the LITE-Memphis Youth Entrepreneurship Program developing his own innovative micro-business.

This award goes to Terrell "Tjay" Fuller.

- My name is Terrell "Tjay" Fuller.

I'm a senior at the Soulsville Charter School, and I'm a business owner.

More Than a Flame focuses on using aromatherapy as a way to, you know, better yourself.

The scents are just scents that are made to fit aromatherapy.

So scents like vanilla, la vender, strawberry shortcake, lemon drop and passionfruit and on the candle is an inspiring message.

So when people look at it, they're like, oh, I'm smelling something good, I'm reading something good.

And where the cookie part comes in as, you know, eating something good, you know, you want to have all the components to make someone happy.

So that's what my business focuses on.

When I was about 11 years old, my god mom brought up the idea of, man you buy candles all the time and I feel like you should do something like this.

You know, just bringing it up, you know, but when you're a kid you're like, ah, nah, that's too much to a business.

I don't know if I can do it.

But I end up joining the program, it's called LITE-Memphis, you know, they're trying to break the wealth gap of, you know, minorities in Memphis.

And so I was like, well, let me do this.

I always had the ideas to become a business owner.

I did the program and I was able to go there and learn, and share my own thoughts on what I feel like it was to be a business owner.

And they helped me feel comfortable and they gave me ideas and I just kind of bounced off outta those ideas, and I grew from there.

I ended up winning first place, you know, thankfully.

And at school, I'm kind of like the cookie guy.

I bring cookies every day.

So I'm talking about people I don't even know they're following me.

Hey, I heard you got cookies, can I get some cookies?

I'm like, man, I'm trying to get to class and you know, it's a lot on me.

And other than that, I'm just pretty close with everybody.

You know, the students and the teachers, they feel like I'm a good component to the school.

You know, I'm always volunteering.

Like we do, sometimes we do community service, you know, outside of school.

And I just joined student council, so I'm trying to work on having more school spirit.

You know, so people always say, oh, the school is so dry, we don't really do anything, but student council, we're trying to focus on doing better as a community for the Soulsville Charter School.

I want to be that person that be like, oh yeah, he did that.

I want to be just like him.

I've always wanted that feeling, 'cause I do that to people that I don't even know, you know?

So shout out to them, shout out to those people, I really do look up to them, you know?

I would say follow your dreams, take every opportunity, you know, the world is yours, you know, so take that and use it to your greatest advantage.

I did that and I was able to kind of grow from that.

You know, I did things like LITE, look where I am now.

You know, I'm able to look back at them and be like, if I didn't take the opportunity, I don't know what I would've been doing.

[upbeat music] [audience applauding] - (Tracy) That's Soulsville Charter School's Tjay Fuller receiving his SPARK Award.

[audience applauding] - The second award in the individual category is the Collegiate award.

Our honoree is a Rhodes College student who has shown leadership beyond his years as an advocate for the needs of children in the foster care system.

This award goes to Brandon Washington.

- My name is Brandon Washington.

I'm a sophomore over at Rhodes College, majoring in Russian and International studies with a minor in politics and law.

So I was in foster care from 15 to 18 and around when I turned 18, that's when Youth Villages really noticed that I really loved advocating for myself, even though I wasn't able to, you know, do much as a young person.

But once I turned 18, they started inviting me to donor events and fundraising just to, you know, raise awareness of what foster care really is.

And that kind of translated into me doing advocacy work with them.

I went to DC on behalf of them to speak to the US Senate Caucus on Foster Care.

And while I was there, I spoke to senators and the Senate caucus about resources that aging out foster youth really do need, such as SNAP benefits, you know, our allowance that we get that need to be raised.

And that actually resulted in the Physical Responsibility Act of 2023.

SNAP benefits were expanded to include transitioning our foster youth, so that was really important for us.

So I worked with Youth Villages and their developmental team and I really helped them with volunteer events on their residential campuses.

And since I was always in foster care, I never experienced the other three levels of state custody.

So there was a good opportunity for me to, you know, interact with those youth and just give them a look at what they life could be if they, you know, stay on the right path and, you know, really keep that mindset of like, okay, this is what I want to do.

So with my advocacy work and work with nonprofits, I really try to bring the focus to helping our youth and actually talking to them and making sure we're giving them the resources they actually need instead of what we think they need.

The Posse program was built on the quote from a college dropout that said that he wouldn't have dropped out if he had his posse.

So it's really important for us to come into college with that community already established.

I'm a part of the virtual program, which was born out of COVID.

It brings students from all over the US to one college.

So it's 10 of us in each cohort.

And my cohort is the second one to go to Rhodes and it's only three of us that are even from Tennessee.

Everyone else is from like Virginia Beach, Arizona, different parts of the US, so it really helps us is coming to college with a community.

Right now, my goal for the future is getting elected to Memphis City Council, but going beyond that, I want that to go and eventually work my way up to Secretary of State, which is where my, you know, Russian studies and International studies major comes in.

But if we actually learn about these people and learn their language, then we can really break the barrier of, you know, these stereotypes and actually get to know the individual people and their culture.

[gentle music] [audience applauding] - (Tracy) Here you see Allison Carson of cityCURRENT accepting th e Individual Collegiate award on behalf of Brandon Washington.

[audience applauding] - Our individual adult honoree this year is the executive director of a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to educating youth, involving leadership and empowering communities to uphold a cleaner environment in Memphis.

This award goes to Janet Boscarino of Clean Memphis.

- Hi, I'm Janet Boscarino.

I've been in Memphis since 1986, I guess, so a long time.

Love the city.

Spent about 20 years in business development and then really wanted to find a way to give back to the city.

And so in 2008 I worked with a few other partners to launch Clean Memphis, an environmental nonprofit organization.

We've been around 15 years now and that's grown into now a really, what I would consider impactful organization, no longer at a grassroots level, but really advancing some initiatives in the city that are really important.

I'm really proud of that work.

One of the things that, you know, everyone was concerned about and still concerned about is litter.

And what we found is that it is really hard to change behaviors of adults and it's more important for us, or we have more success if we can target children at a young age and really incorporate environmental education in the early days of their education and throughout their education lifecycle.

And when we bring environmental education, STEM education to students, it gives them a way to engage in real life experiences in their environment and gives them agency to make change.

And so there's a lot of research around how environmental STEM education improves critical thinking just at student outcomes across the board, including their own self-esteem.

So it's really a big focus for us.

I'm really proud of our education team and the work that we're doing there.

So in 2015 we merged, or brought Project Green Fork under our umbrella of Clean Memphis, and Project Green Fork's a fabulous program that has worked with restaurants since 2008 to build more sustainable practices in restaurants.

Many people do not know that across the country, every year we spend $230 billion growing and transporting food that never is eaten, it's wasted.

Almost 40% of our food is wasted in the US.

Meanwhile we have one in six people that are food insecure and that's more like one in four in Memphis and Shelby County.

And last year alone, we rescued and connected more than 16,000 pounds of food.

This year we have spent more time engaging new organizations.

We just helped Mempho in October do a, make sure that they were donating, had a food donation partner, and we're working with Memphis Shelby County Schools as well.

We've done food waste audits with the students there to better understand why they're no t eating a certain thing and working really closely with them to implement waste reduction strategies and making sure good food gets to people who can use it and it's not being wasted.

I think Memphis is a wonderful city with many opportunities for people to plug in.

And I think when you come to the table with a willing heart, everyone is gonna welcome you.

Whatever your idea is, whatever your passion is, they're gonna find a way to put you, you know, put you in the game and get you going.

There's so many areas whether you want to be part of something big or you wanna be something that's one-on-one as an individual, tutoring, mentoring, or being something serving on a board.

There's just so many opportunities and there's so much need.

We welcome volunteers all the time, whether it's at a project or at a board position or advisory.

There's just so much need that I would encourage anyone.

You will be welcomed, you'll get the resources that you need and you will be rewarded for sure.

[gentle music] [audience applauding] - (Tracy) There's Nefertiti Orrin of Clean Memphis accepting the Individual Adult Award on behalf of Janet Boscarino.

[audience applauding] The final award of the evening is the Legacy Award.

This is given to an individual who has served others and made a significant lifelong contribution to the betterment of our community, creating a positive legacy in Memphis and the Mid-South.

- For over 30 years, our honoree has worked on behalf of the most vulnerable American veterans living in the Memphis metropolitan area.

He's helped homeless vets access the services they need, starting with food, shelter, clothing, and mental health care.

- As the executive director of Alpha Omega Veteran Services, he has grown his organization from its bare bones origins to a firmly established nonprofit, and most importantly, he has given hope to over 15,000 veterans on their path to a better life.

- This year's Legacy Award is presented to Cordell Walker.

- Well, I'm Cordell Walker and I'm a servant, and I have served as the executive director of Alpha Omega Veteran Services for going on 36 years now.

And Alpha Omega Veteran Services is a private, nonprofit charitable organization that serves homeless and disabled military veterans.

We were established in January of 1987, and from 1987 until current, we have served nearly 16,000 homeless and disabled military veterans.

Of those nearly 16,000 that we have served, over 90% have totally re integrated back into society.

We're pretty proud of that because a lot of our veterans have had a pretty rough time.

And to think that we've been able to work the miracles through the grace of God that we have and our 36, 37 years of having worked with our heroes, it just speaks volumes for my staff, for my board, for the city of Memphis and for the hard work that we put into making this all happen.

We started out in a duplex building in south Memphis and it was a dream of a young lady that had two sons that went to Vietnam and both of them came back, not able to get themselves together, complications from PTSD, couldn't hold on to jobs, you know, poor work histories, drug and or alcohol problems.

And we just nurtured relationships from that day until current, to where we continue to move and grow, and move and grow, and move and grow.

And the good thing about it is, because Memphis has always been one of the, if not the most benevolent city in the United States, we were able to tap into that ministry of Memphis.

And we just kept asking and wo rking and asking and working.

And it's turned into the entity that it has today.

It's all been a fellowship of love.

It's been a ministry.

You know, none of our employees come to work.

We all have missions that we're on.

We all look at ourselves as saving souls.

We all love each other no more than, you know, a team of individuals could love each other in regards to saving our veterans.

And the veterans know that.

I think individuals have to look at themselves and they have to be strong within themselves in regards to their mission, their purpose, and how they can share that, and embrace others with that, and let others see the light in them, and how we can all be better individuals, and how we can all help our village or the people that we touch.

And as the antennae go out to help the people in your village and then the next person in their village, et cetera, and then, you know, the community all gets better.

You know, and I think that pe ople should not be discouraged by the day-to-day news that we see about, you know, all of the negativity that goes on, because goodness prevails and it will prevail.

I think that, you know, anyone that has been connected with Alpha Omega fills the spirit of the agency and the spirit is to be the best person that you can be to give back and to walk in the light.

And we all do that, you know, we're all servants, we're all here to help our fellow man, and we think we do that and we do that to the max.

You know, when we wake up in the morning, we're praising the Lord and we're, you know, putting our shoes on and pulling up our, you know, boots and tying, lacing 'em up and saying, okay, who can we save today?

How can we do it?

And how can we make it better, you know?

And that's basically our philosophy and it's worked.

You know, we go beyond the food, shelter and clothing, but we make sure that our clients have all of the rehabilitative services necessary to get back on their feet.

And we're pretty excited and proud about what we've been able to do over the past 36 years.

[gentle music] - Ladies and gentlemen, the SPARK Awards 2023 Legacy Award winner is Cordell Walker.

[audience applauding] - It's a pretty humbling experience.

I wanna thank all the people that have forged a trail for us to be here.

All the giants, three giants that I wanna mention in particular are my mother, grandmother, and my grandfather who all migrated to what was the promised land back in the day to make a better life for myself and my generation.

They respectively came from Memphis, Tennessee, Helena, Arkansas, and Redwood, Mississippi.

So we all hit the Tri-state area.

So I grew up in Chicago in the '50s, returned to Memphis in '77.

I've been at Alpha Omega since 1988, and I've been there for 35 years.

I'll be retiring at the end of this year.

And as was mentioned, we have served over 15,000 veterans.

We've worked hard.

We continue to praise the Lord, we continue to fight for what is right.

I want to thank my God for lifting me up when I didn't have the strength to do it myself.

I want to encourage all of you to continue to stand a light and do what you can for our community.

Because if it were not for you, this would not be the dynamic community that it is both locally and nationally.

Albeit most of what you hear is not the things that go on in this room and go on respectively in regards to saving souls and helping individuals.

So with all of that said, I am deeply humbled and honored to stand before you today.

All of you should be a part of this award.

And there took a lot to get here, and a lot of people, and a lot of prayer.

And I want to accept this award on behalf of all of us who care.

And on behalf of all of those that we care for, thank you.

[audience applauding] - Cordell Walker.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

[audience applauding] - Thank you for joining us for the 10th Annual SPARK Awards.

On behalf of the SPARK Team, cityCURRENT, WKNO, Tracy Bethea, Rob Grayson, we want to thank all of our honorees, our guests, our nominees, and everyone who submitted nominations.

Thank you for being a SPARK.

[audience applauding] [upbeat music] - (male announcer) The 10th Annual SPARK Awards is made possible in part by the following.

- 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 a presenting sponsor of the SPARK Awards.

- Delta Dental of Tennessee is committed to improving the overall wellness of the people in the communities we serve through our products, advocacy, ed ucation, and philanthropy.

That's why Delta Dental and our Smile 180 Foundation are honored to be a presenting sponsor of the SPARK Awards.

- On behalf of the entire Champion Promotion team, we're honored to be a presenting sponsor of the SPARK Awards.

Champion is proud to have helped design the custom award given to each of the honorees and to be a presenting sponsor since the very beginning.

We'll continue to support this wonderful tradition.

- For over 50 years, Champion has been helping companies and organizations in Memphis and the Mid-South grow and expand their brands with branded products.

We can provide everything from printed, and embroidered apparel, to promotional items and custom awards, such as the SPARK Awards.

Our commitment to our customers extends from being on brand, on everything to being a catalyst in our community.

- We want to congratulate all of this year's honorees and thank them for making a huge impact in our great city.

Have a great holiday season.

[upbeat music] - (male announcer) Additional funding for the SPARK Awards 2023 is provided by United Way of the Mid-South, EcOp, the Memphis Zoo, My Town Movers, My Town Roofing and by Meritan.

[upbeat music] [acoustic guitar chords]