This week, the MRA formally submitted a letter to Downtown Memphis Commission President & CEO Chandell Ryan requesting a dedicated restaurant-sector seat on the DMC Board, filled through direct engagement with MRA membership. The letter was also sent directly to Mayor Paul Young and Mayor Lee Harris, the appointing authorities for the board’s private-sector seats, as well as the four DMC Board members who hold public office and public contact information: State Senator Raumesh Akbari, Councilman J.B. Smiley, Commissioner Mickell Lowery, and State Representative Antonio Parkinson.
Our letter is specific: we’re asking the DMC to formally establish one or more restaurant-sector seats, and to partner with the MRA in identifying and vetting qualified candidates from within our own membership. Memphis restaurants drive downtown foot traffic, visitor spending, tax revenue, and cultural identity — yet not a single current DMC Board member represents the restaurant sector.
The full 16-member board includes Board Chair Lauran Stimac, Vice Chair Victoria Young Robinson, Treasurer Ray Brown, Secretary Surayyah Hasan, Willie Brooks, Brent Hooks, Ashley Cash, Janice Banks, Dorcas Young Griffin, Ed Stephens III, and Karl Schledwitz, in addition to the members named above.
As an MRA member, your voice matters most in this push. Reach out to the leaders named above and let them know representation on this board should come from within our own restaurant community.
Thank you for standing with your fellow Memphis restaurant owners.
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