Rick James, Dwayne Spencer, Anna Traverse, Pat Mitchell Worley, and Boyden Moore
Since 2012, Memphis Magazine has been honoring leadership. From small businesses to large corporations, we recognize the chief executive officers at various institutions who have been leading the way in not only running their businesses and nonprofits, but have been working to improve the community.
The list is impressive, and this year we honored four CEOs who have been setting records and forging new relationships. We asked for nominations from both the public and members of our team. Like most years, we received plenty of names worthy of being recognized here today; but that’s always a good problem to have. It speaks to the volume of talented leaders and executives who uplift their organizations and, by extension, our community.
The 2024 honorees are Rick James of Castle Retail Group; Pat Mitchell Worley of Soulsville Foundation; Boyden Moore of Orgill; and Dwayne Spencer of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis.
On April 16, 2024, we hosted a breakfast honoring the recipients of the award at Hardin Hall at the Memphis Botanic Garden. Presenting sponsors were ProTech Services Group and eBiz Solutions, both longtime supporters of the recognition.
The keynote speaker was Ted Townsend, president and CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber, who presented an encouraging picture of developments going on in the region that are improving what's going on in the city on several levels. The editor of Memphis Magazine and CEO of its parent company, Contemporary Media, Anna Traverse, gathered the honored CEOs for a panel discussion that reflected the various challenges and triumphs encountered in their organizations.
Profiles of the 2024 CEOs of the Year are in the April issue of Memphis Magazine and are also in our online edition. Below, a gallery of images from the breakfast event at the Botanic Garden. ALL PHOTOGRAPHS BY STEVE ROBERTS.
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A gathering of CEOs. From left: Pat Mitchell Worley of Soulsville Foundation, Ted Townsend of the Greater Memphis Chamber, Rick James of Castle Retail Group, Boyden Moore of Orgill, Anna Traverse of Contemporary Media, Inc., and Dwayne Spencer of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis.
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Pat Mitchell Worley of Soulsville Foundation.
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Boyden Moore of Orgill.
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Dwayne Spencer of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis.
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Rick James of Castle Retail Group.
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Contemporary Media CEO Anna Traverse led the panel discussion with (from left) Boyden Moore of Orgill, Dwayne Spencer of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis, Traverse, Pat Mitchell Worley of Soulsville Foundation, and Rick James of Castle Retail Group.
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Handing out the 2024 CEO of the Year awards.
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Master of Ceremonies Jon Sparks presents Pat Mitchell Worley with her CEO of the Year award.
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CEO Dwayne Spencer of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis with the Habitat team.
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Dan Weddle of sponsor ProTech Services Group.
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Ted Townsend of the Greater Memphis Chamber.
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Sridhar Sunkara of sponsor eBiz Solutions.
