Here's a look at promotions, hirings, movers and newsmakers in the Memphis area business scene:

David Mason, an associate professor in the Media Studies program at Rhodes College, is the recipient of a Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowship. The fellowship allows him to conduct research for his project, “Theatre In North India,” in affiliation with the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. Its aim is to provide U.S. faculty, researchers and professionals the opportunity to teach, conduct research or carry out a combination of teaching and research at an Indian institution. Mason has expertise in theater history, performance theory, theater in India, and religion and theater. He has focused on India where, according to him, theater and religion are often overtly participatory and where community dependence on theater is clear.

Financial expert and community leader Vicki R. Palmer of Atlanta was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree during the 173rd Commencement of Rhodes College on May 14. She is president of The Palmer Group general management consulting company, which she started after retiring from Coca-Cola Enterprises in 2009 as executive vice president for financial services and administration. Her career with Coca-Cola spanned more than 25 years. Palmer graduated from South Side High School in Memphis as valedictorian and was recruited by a professor to attend Rhodes.

The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) has elected Southwest Tennessee Community College President Tracy D. Hall to its board of directors to represent the National Council on Black American Affairs (NCBAA). Hall will serve a three-year term, effective July 1-June 30, 2025. AACC serves as the primary advocacy organization for community colleges across the nation and the board consists of 32-members, six of which are representatives of affiliated councils. AACC is a founding partner of Achieving the Dream, a leader in championing evidence-based institutional improvement that supports improved outcomes for all students and of which Southwest joined in 2016, a year after Hall took the helm as president.

Lehman-Roberts Co. and its sister company Memphis Stone & Gravel, a member of the highway paving, construction, asphalt and aggregate industry, announced the appointments of Matt High, Don Fletcher and Melanie Stinson to its Executive Leadership Team. Serving as a controller for the family of companies, High is responsible for supporting day-to-day company accounting operations along with overseeing financial reporting and compliance. Director of Quality Control Fletcher supervises incoming and outgoing materials that span across the companies’ entire operations. Human Resources Manager Stinson directs all aspects of HR practices and processes.

As part of its 91st anniversary celebration recognizing community leaders and businesses that help make Memphis a great place to live and work, Carnival Memphis saluted the Mid-South Accounting Profession during the 35th annual Business & Industry Salute Luncheon May 11. In addition, five individuals received special recognition. These organizations and individuals have been selected based on their success and commitment to their industry as well as the Mid-South community.

• This year’s recipient of the Cook Halle Award for outstanding contribution to the Accounting Profession and the Mid-South community was Robert S. Hester Jr. He has worked and managed two of the largest local CPA offices in Arthur Andersen and Deloitte & Touche.

• The King’s Award honored James Davis who taught accounting for more than 55 years at the Patterson School of Accountancy at the University of Mississippi. Davis has taught more than 12,000 students in classes ranging from auditing and tax to advanced accounting, and he is responsible for many entering the profession.

• The 2022 President’s Award was presented to Edith Kelly-Green. She studied accounting at Ole Miss, followed by a career of nearly 30 years at FedEx Corp., during which she was the first African American woman to hold the title of vice president at FedEx.

• The Chairman’s Award recipients were N. Gordon Thompson and Steve Dunavant who in 1997 merged their two accounting firms to create Thompson Dunavant. The firm grew quickly to become the largest accounting firm in the Memphis area before merging in 2011 with CBIZ/MHM.

• The businesses saluted were these Memphis-based accounting organizations, firms and schools: Banks, Finley, White & Co.; Frazee Ivy Davis; The Marston Group; National Association of Black Accountants, Inc.-Memphis Chapter; University of Memphis Fogelman College of Business Crews School of Accountancy; Reynolds, Bone, & Griesbeck; Rhodes College Department of Economics and Business-Accounting Department; and Watkins Uiberall.

NOTEWORTHY

The Section 14A of the Wolf River Greenway was honored with a dedication ceremony and ribbon cutting May 17 in recognition of the section featuring the longest pedestrian bridge over the Wolf River, a raised boardwalk trail through the Lucius Burch State Natural Area and the critical connection point to the Shelby Farms Greenline. The recently completed section includes a 270-foot-long cable-stayed bridge and a half-mile elevated concrete boardwalk (15-foot, 6-inch-wide) through the Lucius Burch State Natural Area at Shelby Farms Park.

— Compiled by Daniel Ginsburg

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This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis business news: Promotions, hirings, achievers and company news