The Society of Entrepreneurs has elected five (5) new members to the organization; the new members are Gary Shorb, Methodist LeBonheur HealthCare; Bob McEniry, Jr.,
NexAir; Ronnie Randall, Kele, Inc.; Chip Dudley, Independent Bank and Susan Stephenson, Independent Bank. The new members will be officially inducted into The Society of Entrepreneurs at the 20th Annual Dinner and Awards Banquet, which will be held at the Holiday Inn at the University of Memphis on Saturday, April 14, 2012.

The Society of Entrepreneurs was formed in 1991 to recognize the historical importance of the contributions of individuals who have over a prolonged period, demonstrated a gift of entrepreneurship and used this gift to not only create or build a successful business but have also used their gift in service to the community.

Gary Shorb
Methodist LeBonheur HealthCare

Since October 2001, Gary Shorb has served as president & CEO of Methodist Healthcare. Shorb joined Methodist in 1990 as executive vice president. Before his tenure with Methodist, he served as president of the Regional Medical Center in Memphis for four years. His community service is extensive, serving on the boards of Memphis Tomorrow, the National Civil Rights Museum, the Memphis Regional Chamber of Commerce – where he served as 2005 Board Chairman – the Memphis Bioworks Foundation, the University of Memphis Board of Visitors, the Foundation of Evangelism, and St. John’s United Methodist Church Administrative Council.

In November 2004, Shorb received the Corporate Leadership Award from Volunteer Memphis’ Corporate Volunteer Council, and in 2005, received the Alexis de Tocqueville leadership award from United Way of the Mid-South. Under Shorb’s leadership, Methodist Healthcare was named a 2004 Corporation of the Year during Minority Enterprise Development Week, an event co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce and Small Business Administration and locally hosted by the Memphis Business Development Corporation.

On October 25, 2007 at the Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare Board meeting, Shorb was honored with the Meritorious Service Award by the Tennessee Hospital Association. The award was presented by Craig Becker, president and CEO, THA. The award recognized Shorb for his leadership, inspiration and commitment to the faith-based mission of building a culture of patient care excellence at Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare.

Prior to his health care career, Shorb was a project engineer with Exxon and a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from Clemson University and a Master of Business Administration from Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis).

Bob McEniry, Jr.
NexAir

Bob McEniry, Sr. grew up in the industrial/medical gases and welding supply business. In 1942, McEniry purchased Standard Welders and sought to make Standard a major player in the welding and Supply industry. In 1963, “Young Bob” McEniry came to work for his father and was appointed President in 1971. Bob McEniry saw the company through tremendous growth, acquisitions, and transitions. Bob implemented an employee succession plan to ensure that all of the company’s leaders would progress through the ranks under the mentorship of a senior executive. This plan resulted in well trained and committed employees with very little turn over. In 1996, two family-owned Memphis-based companies combined operations to form nexAir. By merging Mid-South Oxygen Company and Standard Welders Supply/Standard Oxygen Service, nexAir became the second-largest privately owned distributor of gases and welding supplies in the United States. From 1996 until 2007 (when McEniry passed the reigns to his son, Kevin) McEniry was Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. Bob remains as nexAir’s Chairman. In their latest fiscal year which ended in September, nexAir had gross revenue of $101.1 million and employed 266 people.

Bob is active in the Memphis community. He is the current Chair of Christian Brothers University’s Board of Trustees, has served as Chairman of the Board of Junior Achievement, on the boards of United Way, MidSouth Minority Business Council, SCB Computer Technology, and the Memphis Chamber of Commerce Advisors. He was inducted in the Christian Brothers High School Hall of Fame in 2009.

Ronnie Randall
Kele, Inc.

Ronnie Randall is the retired president/CEO of Kele, Inc. (formerly Kele & Associates). Ronnie became a partner of Kele & Associates in 1985. Previously, Mr. Randall was a branch sales manager and Vice-President of G. H. Avery Co., where he started as an application engineer during his college years at Memphis State (now the University of Memphis). The idea for Kele was formed many years before Roger Johnson actually opened shop in the den of his house in early 1983. As principals in the G.H. Avery Company, a Mid-South temperature controls contractor, both he and business partner Ronnie Randall had personally experienced the birth of the building automation industry. Roger led the transition from a conventional temperature controls contractor to a building automation specialty firm in the Memphis, TN, area while Ronnie was doing the same in the Nashville area. The idea for a single source supplier that could offer a carefully crafted product selection, innovative product designs and convenient customized service for everything input/output grew into Kele, Inc., the first to offer an all-inclusive package. Kele’s customers embraced the concept and Kele has enjoyed nearly 30 years of continuous growth in both the domestic and international market arenas.

Ronnie is a facilitator of Steven Covey leadership and effectiveness principles. He also has served on the board of the Bartlett Chamber of Commerce, the Bartlett Arts Council, Inc., the Bartlett Performing Arts Center Fundraising Committee, the Bartlett Education Foundation and is vice chair of the Youth Villages Board of Directors and serves on numerous committees.

Chip Dudley and Susan Stephenson
Independent Bank

Chip Dudley and Susan Stephenson are the Co-Founders and Co-Chairmen of Independent Bank in Memphis, Tennessee. Established in 1998, Independent Bank now has over $800 million in total assets and over $100 million in capital. It is the second largest bank headquartered in Shelby County with 10 branches and 180 employees.

Stephenson and Dudley have forged a remarkable and unique synergistic partnership. Both strong leaders in their own right, each believes their partnership is the reason Independent Bank has been so successful. Together they designed and executed the unusual denovo strategy to build and position I-Bank as the next great Memphis based banking organization. This year, Independent Bank was recognized by SNL Financial as one of the top 100 community banks in the United States based on its growth, superior profitability, excellent asset quality and strong capital position.

Prior to starting Independent Bank, Chip Dudley was Chairman, President and CEO of Boatmen’s Bank of Arkansas, the largest bank in the state. He was named to this position after producing extraordinary performance results in the same role for the bank’s Tennessee operation. Susan Stephenson was the Chairman, President and CEO of Boatmen’s Bank of Tennessee. When named to the position in 1995, the 37-year-old Stephenson was the first female Chairman and CEO of a Tennessee bank.

Based on their lifelong commitment to improving the communities where they live and work, both Susan and Chip have served on and led numerous civic organizations in Tennessee and Arkansas. Stephenson is the current Board Chair of the Leadership Academy, a past Chair and member of the Executive Committee and Board of the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis, Treasurer and Trustee of historic Elmwood Cemetery, a member of the Baptist Women’s Hospital Advisory Board, board member of the University of Memphis LEAD program and was recently elected to the St. Louis Federal Reserve Board. Dudley currently serves as the Board Chair of the Family Safety Center, is Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Advancement Chair of Christian Brothers University, serves on the Board of Directors of the National Civil Rights Museum and is Chairman of the Endowment Corporation for the West Tennessee Episcopal Diocese.

Phil Coop’s passion for environmental preservation is the foundation of his company, EnSafe. He is a 2011 inductee into the Society of Entrepreneurs.

From the early years spent on his family’s farm in Bell Buckle, Tenn., through studies at The Webb School and Harvard University, Phil Coop always loved one subject above all others: science.

That fascination eventually evolved into a passion for environmental preservation, which Coop later used as the foundation for his company, EnSafe.

The Memphis-based consulting firm, which started as a one-room operation and today counts some 15 offices across the country, specializes in environmental safety procedures at sites around the world.

More than three decades after establishing his global operation, the Memphis businessman’s achievements are being recognized by the Society of Entrepreneurs. Coop will be formally inducted into the organization April 9.

“In the beginning, we were winging it because there was no business model in the industry for what we were doing,” Coop said. “It’s wonderful to have succeeded on this level, and being honored for that by the society is humbling.”

Arriving in Memphis in 1973 to attend medical school, Coop soon realized his interests were elsewhere, so he changed his career path to concentrate in environmental testing. After a few years of working for other firms, Coop branched out on his own in 1980 and founded EnSafe with Wendell Knight and James Speakman.

Because of increasing government regulations regarding environmental policies, Coop managed to get in on the ground floor of what was then a relatively nonexistent industry.

“Public policy was driving stronger environmental protection laws, but the scientific community was behind the curve and we felt there was an opportunity to step in and fill that void,” Coop said. “There was a big need for companies to adhere to increasing compliance issues and we managed to tap into that developing market.”

And that they did.

Helping companies address and resolve environmental issues proved successful, so much so that by 1994 EnSafe was named by Inc. magazine as one of the 500 fastest-growing companies in the country.

“Phil is truly a remarkable story of innovation and inspiration, from modest beginnings to overseeing a company with global outreach,” said Pearson Crutcher, executive director of SOE. “He continues to improve our community and those throughout the world, and his emphasis on education ensures that new generations will focus on environmental issues.”

Coop received the 2004 University of Memphis Herff Award for distinguished service to engineering and currently serves as chairman of The Webb School board of trustees.

In addition, he has been an integral part of advisory boards for the engineering schools at the U of M and at Christian Brothers University, and has active roles in a wide-ranging spectrum of community organizations.

“Phil is dedicated to environmental improvement and preservation, and he’s creating opportunities for others to continue in that work,” said Dr. Eric B. Welch, dean of the school of engineering at CBU. “His impact on our school, our community and our environment has been substantial and he’s incredibly deserving of this honor.”

Phil Coop

Age: 62

Occupation: President and CEO of EnSafe

Company Address: 5724 Summer Trees Dr.

Phone: 372-7962

Employees: 260 in 15 offices across the country

Online: ensafe.com

Following that excursion, the then 20-year-old college student switched her major from journalism to nursing and embarked upon a journey of healing that has continued to this day.

“During my time in Kenya, our group toured hospitals and I got to see up close what nursing was all about,” Burnett said. “When I got back home, I changed my course of study and never looked back. It was the best decision I could have made, and it’s a field I’m much better suited for.”

Now, more than three decades later and as the owner of a successful business, Burnett is being honored by the Society of Entrepreneurs. She will be formally inducted into the organization April 10.

Burnett is president of OR Nurses Inc., which she joined in 1988, a month after it was established by her late business partner Carol Paterson. Following Paterson’s death from ovarian cancer in 1990, Burnett assumed ownership of the company and guided it to a national presence.

“It’s overwhelming and a huge honor to be part of the Society of Entrepreneurs,” Burnett said. “It still hasn’t sunk in. I just got into business doing what I love, and over the years it’s just grown.”

From simple beginnings — she and Paterson started as a two-person operation, offering supply nursing staff to area hospitals — the business has expanded to 20 Memphis-based corporate employees and more than 360 medical personnel working in nearly two dozen states.

Burnett’s ability to see the big picture has proved significant to her success, said mentor Dr. Scott Morris.

“Denise has what it takes to be an entrepreneur. She had a great idea, worked hard at it and now, 20 years later, she’s an overnight success,” joked Morris, founder of the Church Health Center. “But not only is she an incredible entrepreneur, Denise is an even better person. That’s the real key to her success.

“Her unique vision, coming from a medical perspective and combining that with a knack for business, has made this whole concept work. Denise is very humble about her accomplishments, but she’s known throughout the country, and hers is a really big operation.”

In addition to leading one of the area’s largest female-owned businesses, Burnett is also a trailblazer within the Society of Entrepreneurs itself. When inducted, she will become the first member to achieve that honor by rising through the organization’s ranks, having started as a member of an Insight Group.

Those groups, typically consisting of a dozen participants, pair emerging entrepreneurs with more established business executives. A variety of programs and mentoring opportunities is designed to promote the success of future generations of entrepreneurs.

One of Burnett’s mentors, Mike Bruns, praised her upcoming induction.

“Denise has done a remarkable job, and it’s special to us on the board to see her come up through the organization and join the others on this list,” said Bruns, founder of Memphis-based trucking company Comtrak Logistics. “It’s a proud moment for all of us, and Denise is exceptionally qualified for the honor.”

– James Dowd: 529-2737

Denise Burnett

Age: 56

Business: OR Nurses Inc.

Founded: 1988

Address: 1364 Cordova Cove

Phone: 682-2900

Employees: 20 corporate, more than 360 medical personnel

Presence: Places staff in 21 states

Web site: www.ornursesinc.com