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.

Michael Synk, Owner of In-Synk, presented his popular “Business Book Club”. He discussed the book “The Ultimate Question: Driving Good Profits and True Growth” by Fred Reichheld.  The ‘Synk Notes’ are said to “be better than the book. You learn the book without having to read it.”  It is impossible to find the time to read all of the books on our to-do lists, so the In-Synk Book Club does the hard work for you- all you have to do is show up at the Book Club meeting and Michael will share the book highlights with you.

From Publishers Weekly

Almost everyone appreciates the importance of customer satisfaction in business, but this book takes that idea to two extremes. First, it claims that customer satisfaction is more important than any business criterion except profits. Second, it argues that customer satisfaction is best measured by one simple question, “Would you recommend this business to a friend?” Pressure for financial performance tempts executives to seek “bad profits,” that is, profits obtained at the expense of frustrating or disappointing customers. Such profits inflate short-term financial results, Reichheld writes, but kill longer-term growth. Only relentless focus on customer satisfaction can generate “good profits.” One unambiguous question, with answers delivered promptly, can force organizational change, he claims. Reichheld makes a strong rhetorical case for his ideas, but is weaker on supporting evidence. The negative examples he gives are either well-known failures or generic entities like “monopolies,” “cell phone service providers” and “cable companies.” When presenting statistics on poor performers, the names are omitted “for obvious reasons.” On the other hand, the positive examples are named, but described in unrealistically perfect terms. Believable comparisons of companies with both virtues and flaws would have been more instructive. (Mar.)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Charles D. McVean is Chairman and CEO of McVean Trading & Investments, LLC of Memphis, TN. McVean graduated with honors from Vanderbilt University in 1965. He began his trading career in the grain industry, first with Cook Industries of Memphis, TN,
and then with the Louis Dreyfus Corporation of New York City, both major international trading firms. Subsequently, McVean spent a number of years with Refco Inc., a large Chicago based futures trading organization. He was one of three principals of the firm.

McVean founded McVean Trading and Investments, LLC in 1986. The company conducts extensive research in three broad and interrelated areas: 1) livestock and meats, 2) grains and oilseeds, and 3) global macroeconomics. McVean is a global organization with foreign operations centering in Beijing, Osaka, and Geneva. In the U.S., McVean Trading is nationally recognized as a leading authority on the beef cattle industry. The company manages investments for over 5,000 clients.

Based on breakthroughs in lithium battery technology, a new McVean company is now introducing its Aerobic Cruiser Hybrid Cycle. The patented Cruiser is billed as “The World’s Most Sophisticated Electric Bicycle,” and “The First Truly Capable Human/Electric Hybrid Vehicle.”

McVean founded what is now The Peer Power Foundation in 2004. The organization’s mission is to prepare socioeconomically challenged youth to be professional, productive, and competitive contributors to our society. The concept is to create and implement new processes based on personal accountability, discipline, competition, and incentives, very much like that of the American Free Enterprise System. Peer Power now operates in eleven schools, employing, for pay, over 150 college and high school honor students to tutor and mentor over 1,000 students a day. The improvement shown by foundation “Scholars” is truly exciting. McVean was also instrumental in the founding of The McVean Learning Center at Christ Methodist Day School.

McVean is particularly proud of two recent developments. The Memphis City Council recognized him with its Humanitarian of the Year award in 2007 for his successful efforts to improve public education. Very recently, in September 2009, the Peer Power program in Shelby, Mississippi was awarded a $600,000 competitive grant from the 21st Century Foundation.

Dr. Scott Morris, founder and executive director of the Church Health Center, will receive the title of Master Entrepreneur from the Society of Entrepreneurs, the organization’s highest honor.

As a baseball-loving and devoutly religious kid growing up in Georgia, Dr. Scott Morris figured one day he’d either wind up as a pitcher for the Atlanta Braves or enter the ministry.

But there were a couple obstacles to those early career ambitions.

First, Morris wasn’t that talented at America’s pastime, acknowledging, “Well, Atlanta never called, which I guess says a lot about my ability and at this point, I don’t expect to be recruited.”

Second, while he was drawn to the ministry, he wasn’t entirely convinced it was the right career path.

“I always liked church, but the thought of preaching 52 sermons a year sent shivers down my spine. I knew that wasn’t my true calling.”

Fortunately for Morris and subsequently for Memphians, he discovered that calling while in seminary at Yale Divinity School.

Stumbling across a pamphlet that offered tips on how to start a health clinic, something in Morris clicked.

“That was it. I knew what I wanted to do,” Morris said. “After seminary, I went to medical school with the specific motivation of starting a clinic in an underserved area. When I finished school, I came to Memphis and that’s what I did.”

In recognition of his wide-ranging achievements and contributions to the community, Morris will be honored as a “Master Entrepreneur” at the annual Society of Entrepreneurs black-tie gala on April 9. He was inducted into the society in 1999 and this recognition is the organization’s highest honor.

These days, the multivocational Morris serves as an associate minister at St. John’s United Methodist Church in Midtown on Peabody, which is situated across the street from the Church Health Center that he founded in 1987 and where he is a general practitioner.

He’s also a columnist for The Commercial Appeal, contributes to the CHC’s website hopeandhealing.org and has just released “Health Care You Can Live With” ($19.99/Barbour). The book is available at area retailers and online.

Proceeds from book sales will benefit the CHC, and Morris will sign copies at Costco, 3775 Hacks Cross at 1 p.m. on March 5. For details, call 214-0054.

“I know of few people who have so totally redefined the industry of health care as much as Scott has,” said friend Bob Buckman, retired CEO of Buckman Laboratories. “He’s taught his ideas to others and freely shared his concepts of affordable health care, which has resulted in similar clinics being replicated across the country.”

For Morris, that’s precisely the point.

“If this type of health care is only available at the corner of Peabody and Bellevue, then it’s not that great of an idea,” Morris said. “It needs to be reproduced in clinics all over the country, and I’m glad to see that happening.”

From the first dozen patients who walked through the doors of the Church Health Center when it opened in 1987, today more than 70,000 are treated by CHC staffers and volunteers each year. The facility’s wellness center logs more than 120,000 annual visits.

With its yearly budget of $13.5 million, the CHC is sustained through income-based sliding-scale fees and by donations from individuals, organizations and businesses.

The model of providing affordable, low-cost medical care to the working poor has been adopted by other clinics and religious organizations throughout the country.

By encouraging medical personnel to donate time to treat the underprivileged and by training church members to promote wellness programs in their congregations, supporters say the CHC concept continues to improve community health and welfare.

“Scott is a remarkable human being who’s led by a passionate, heartfelt desire to heal,” said SOE member Mike Bruns. “So often, people want to protect their ideas, but Scott is concerned with protecting people, and that’s why he shares his concept with anyone who’s interested. His insistence on taking care of patients who otherwise might not receive adequate health care is as commendable as it is inspirational.”

– James Dowd: 529-2737

Dr. Scott Morris

Age: 56

Occupation: Associate minister at St. John’s United Methodist Church, founder of the Church Health Center and author of newly released “Health Care You Can Live With”

Address: CHC at 1210 Peabody; St. John’s at 1207 Peabody

Phone: 272-7170 (CHC); 726-4104 (St. John’s)

Employees: CHC has nine medical providers and 220 workers on staff, and counts more than 600 volunteer physicians throughout the area

Online: churchhealthcenter.org and healthcareyoucanlivewith.com

Honor: Morris will be celebrated as a Master Entrepreneur, along with four 2011 SOE inductees, during a black-tie gala April 9

Robert Wilson’s love of aviation led him to found Wilson Air Center, consistently rated as the nation’s top fixed-base operator.

This is the last in a four-part series on the 2011 Society of Entrepreneurs inductees, who will be honored during a black-tie gala April 9.

Growing up as the son of the man who transformed the hospitality industry, young Robert A. “Bob” Wilson learned plenty about customer service early on.

And to this day he credits his dad, Holiday Inn founder Kemmons Wilson, with instilling in him a sense of civic pride and the drive to be the best in every pursuit.

As founder and president of Memphis-based Wilson Air Center, Wilson is nationally renowned and his company is consistently ranked as the top fixed-base operator in the country.

He also serves as vice president of his family’s Kemmons Wilson Companies, where he focuses on hotel construction, warehousing and time-share operations.

In recognition of his innovations in the hospitality and aviation industries, Wilson is being honored by the Society of Entrepreneurs. He will be formally inducted into the organization April 9.

“Pop said we had a family business, and so I never really thought about doing anything else. It was always my desire to grow this venture and see it thrive in different areas,” Wilson said. “I love this city, I love this area, and it’s been great for my family. I never wanted to work anywhere else.”

After graduating from East High School, Wilson headed to Dallas to attend Southern Methodist University. While there, he studied business and finance, and after graduation returned to Memphis to work for his father.

Working primarily in construction, he took jobs as a roofer, electrician and framer on hotel projects in such far-flung sites as Monaco, Nigeria and Panama.

Along the way, he joined the Tennessee Air National Guard and entered the pilot training program. A lifelong aviation lover, Wilson had earned his pilot’s license at 16 and described the Guard program as “a paid vacation.”

It was that passion for flying that later led him to establish Wilson Air Center at the Memphis International Airport in 1996.

“It’s sort of like a big service station for airplanes, but with amenities for the customer to make the experience as positive as possible,” Wilson said. “Our policy is to never say ‘no’ to a customer and to treat them right so that they’ll keep coming back.”

The center has been rated as the top FBO in Aviation International News and received the Operational Excellence Award by AIG Aviation Insurance in 2002.

Since its early days in Memphis, the company has grown to include more than 200 employees and expanded to markets in Houston and Charlotte, N.C.

“I’ve known Bob for a long time and admired his ventures into all types of aviation,” said Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority president Larry Cox. “He revolutionized the FBO business with his attention to detail and focus on customer service. I’m a pilot myself and I’ve been in many airports, but his operation exceeds any I’ve ever seen.”

Wilson has been honored by numerous aviation organizations and was inducted into the Memphis Aviation Legends Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2006, he was inducted into the Tennessee Aviation Hall of Fame.

“Memphis is rich in aviation history, and Bob Wilson has carved out a special place for himself through his leadership and innovation in establishing Wilson Air Center here,” said Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority chairman Arnold Perl. “The model he founded here has been replicated across the country, which points to Memphis as a center of aviation innovation.”

– James Dowd: 529-2737

Robert A. Wilson

Age: 66

Occupation: President of Wilson Air Center, vice president of Kemmons Wilson Companies

Address: WAC at 2930 Winchester; KWC at 8700 Lake Trail Dr. West, Suite 300

Phone: 328-5050 (WAC); 346-8800 (KWC)

Employees: More than 200 at WAC, about 3,000 at KWC

Online:wilsonair.com and kwilson.com

Charles McVean, chairman and CEO of McVean Trading and Investments, is one of this year’s inductees into the Society of Entrepreneurs.

With keen insight and unwavering determination, Charles McVean remains focused on the future, whether he’s trading commodities or envisioning a healthier landscape for the city.

As chairman and CEO of Memphis-headquartered McVean Trading & Investments, he oversees a company that manages accounts for more than 6,000 clients worldwide. And as the innovator behind the Aerobic Cruiser Hybrid Cycle, McVean promotes state-of-the-art lithium battery-powered bicycles and touts the recently opened Shelby Farms Greenline as an attraction that could help Memphis leapfrog other cities as a tourist destination.

“There’s a growing desire to promote more environmentally friendly products, and the potential is here for unparalleled recreation and exercise along the Greenline,” McVean said. “I believe we’re in a position to define our destiny and create something special.”

For his varied contributions, McVean is being honored by the Society of Entrepreneurs. He will be formally inducted into the organization April 9.

A native Memphian, McVean graduated from East High School and later studied philosophy and economics at Vanderbilt University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1965.

After graduation, he accepted a job as a trader in the grain industry and subsequently worked with Cook Industries in Memphis and later in New York with the Louis Dreyfus Corp.

McVean moved back to Memphis in 1974, taking a job with brokerage firm Refco, where he focused on cattle trading and eventually became a principal. As a futures trader, he relied on advice that still guides him today.

“My grandfather was an old cattle trader, and he used to say that at the end of the day, if you’re going to be in a business like this, you have to know where legitimate business ends and where gambling begins,” McVean said. “I’ve based my career on knowing the difference between the two and making the right decisions for my clients.”

In 1986, McVean branched out and established McVean Trading & Investments, which today counts 80 employees and concentrates on livestock, grains and oilseeds, and global macroeconomics.

“Memphis has a terrific commodities history and Charles is a leader in that area,” said David Waddell, president and CEO of Waddell & Associates. “He’s got a tremendous business mind and has inspired countless others, encouraging them to create an even more robust community of entrepreneurship in Memphis.”

One way McVean does that is through education.

In 2004 he founded the Peer Power Foundation, which helps guide disadvantaged students toward academic success. The program is active in nearly a dozen schools, employing more than 150 high school and college students to tutor and mentor more than 1,000 younger students every day.

In part because of that initiative, in 2007 McVean was named Humanitarian of the Year by the Memphis City Council for his efforts to improve public education.

“Through his work with clients, his presence in the community and his advocacy for students, Charles exemplifies a positive role model in our community,” said Pearson Crutcher, executive director of the SOE. “He’s a wonderful example for all of us.”

– James Dowd: 529-2737

Charles McVean

Age: 68

Occupation: Chairman and CEO of McVean Trading & Investments

Address: 850 Ridge Lake Blvd., Suite One

Employees: 80

Clients: More than 6,000 around the world

Phone: 761-8400

Online: mcvean.com

Mary McDonald, superintendent of schools for the Catholic Diocese of Memphis, had an interest in business from childhood, but made her career in education. “That I’ve ended up combining the two . . . is the best of all possible worlds for me,” she says.

In Dr. Mary McDonald’s compact office at the headquarters for the Catholic Diocese of Memphis, a framed motto offers this motivational nugget: “The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it.”

That’s a message McDonald takes literally and spiritually as she goes about the job of overseeing the educational and theological formation of thousands of young people.

As head of schools for the Catholic Diocese of Memphis, McDonald serves as chief cheerleader for parochial education and tireless fundraiser for the system that operates on a $20 million annual budget.

For her innovative approach to education and her impact on the local community, McDonald is being honored by the Society of Entrepreneurs. She will be formally inducted into the organization April 9.

“From the time I was a child I wanted to be in business, but I veered toward education at the beginning and that’s where I made my career,” McDonald said. “That I’ve ended up combining the two, education and business, is the best of all possible worlds for me.”

The Philadelphia, Pa., native grew up as the only girl in a house with four brothers, an experience she said proved useful years later. She drew strength from that foundation in her early years as a teacher and in subsequent posts as she steadily climbed the educational ladder.

“Growing up with all my brothers, I had to be persistent and I learned how to communicate in order to be heard,” McDonald said. “That served me well years later and helped me deal with leaders in Catholic schools throughout my career.”

After moving a half-dozen times with her husband to advance his career, the family eventually settled in Memphis in 1976 and opted to stay. McDonald taught at Holy Rosary Elementary School and later at St. Agnes Academy, where she taught high school religion courses before she became principal and dean of the elementary school.

From there she became principal at St. Benedict at Auburndale, which paved the way for her current career post. In 1998, McDonald was selected to run diocesan schools, a post she has held ever since.

“She’s one of the important people fighting day in and day out to improve educational opportunities for children,” said Jim Pohlman, president of Memphis Catholic High School. “She has a tremendous ability to see the big picture and to work tirelessly to help that vision unfold.”

During McDonald’s tenure, the diocese has witnessed the creation of the Jubilee Catholic Schools, which were previously closed facilities in inner-city neighborhoods that educate underprivileged children. And she instituted the “Education That Works” program at Memphis Catholic High, a work-study program that pairs students and local businesses.

In addition to numerous educational and civic honors, McDonald is an author and was the 2002 recipient of the Humanitarian of the Year Award given by the National Conference for Community and Justice, which is now Diversity Memphis.

“The future of this city rests with our young people, and she’s helping so many to reach their potential,” said Laura Fox Ingram, Diversity Memphis executive director. “It’s hard to find a better person in the world.”

– James Dowd: 529-2737

Dr. Mary C. McDonald

Age: 66

Occupation: Secretary of education, superintendent of schools, Catholic Diocese of Memphis

Address: 5825 Shelby Oaks Drive

Phone: 373-1219

Schools: 29 in the Catholic Diocese of Memphis

Students: 8,600, highest enrollment since 1976

Budget: $20 million

Online: cdom.org

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

Thursday, April 21, 2011
Entrepreneurs Roundtable Lunch and Discussion with Art Seessel, Former CEO, Seessel’s Supermarkets
Napa Cafe – 12:00 noon

Art Seessel is a founding member of the Society of Entrepreneurs, and he is someone who understands well the concept of entrepreneurship. “A true entrepreneur is simply one who has a vision and the tenacity to pursue that vision.”  The Seessel legacy in Memphis began in 1858, when Henry Seessel opened a meat stall on Market Street in downtown Memphis. The steadily growing operation was passed down through the family, who opened the first Seessel’s Supermarket on Union Avenue in 1941. In 1961, Art Seessel, III became the fifth generation of Seessels to join the firm. Art Seessel sold his supermarket to Alabama-based Bruno’s in 1997.