The Greater Memphis Chamber and Ford will partner to bring the auto company’s City:One mobility innovation competition to West Tennessee, providing funding to help explore community-developed ideas to address regional transportation challenges.
As a two-year challenge, Ford will provide grants and expert advice to those who come up with the best ideas to solve West Tennessee’s transportation challenges. The challenge was announced Tuesday at the chamber’s annual chairman’s luncheon.
“The mobility solutions we’re looking for here will connect urban and rural communities through sustainable electrified transportation,” said Jack Gray, co-founder and team leader at City:One for Ford Motor Company.
This is the ninth time Ford has hosted the challenge. According to Ford’s website, the challenges “are designed to address systemic mobility inequalities while providing safe, sustainable, accessible and equitable solutions for the future.”
Essentially, it aims to connect residents in the community who see a transportation need with funding to initiate a solution. Previous winners include a mobility hub developed by a group of high school students in Detroit, a simplified pickup solution to reduce traffic around Miami schools, and wayfinding technology for those with cognitive disabilities.
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Some programs have gone on to win additional funding from state and federal government agencies.
Chamber President and CEO Ted Townsend said one of the most frequently asked questions since announcing the $5.6 billion BlueOval City project is how Memphis can make the most of its proximity to electric vehicles and battery manufacturing. advantage of the factory.
Townsend, who took over the organization on Tuesday, said solving the traffic problem is one way. He said the Chamber and Ford want to hear every idea Memphisans have about how to solve the mobility challenges around them.
“Be bold. Because we’re in a bold age of revolutionary technological advancement. We know there are some incredible ideas that can bridge the divide between rural and urban,” he said. “We want to take all the ideas and guide them, provide resources and support and basic scaffolding so they can see a dream, technology or idea become a reality.”
Anyone, regardless of age or business experience, can submit a proposal, Gray said. Details on how and when this will be done and how much of the grant will be awarded will be announced at a later date, he said.
Acknowledging Beverly Robertson’s legacy
The annual luncheon is also an opportunity to honor Beverly Robertson, who resigned this week as Chamber president and CEO. FedEx Express president and CEO Richard Smith called her a “dynamo” and praised her work guiding the organization amid protests following the death of Phil Trenary, the COVID-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd.
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“You know, you left a legacy in the Chamber as a trailblazer, the first black or female CEO,” Smith said. “You contributed to your greater legacy in Memphis. .”
Her husband, Howard Robertson, joked that the National Civil Rights Museum and later the Chamber of Commerce lured her out of Trust Marketing (the business they co-founded) through hypnosis, and warned others to stop trying to lure him out of his business and life The partners leave – though he admits he understands why they want to.
“She’s fierce, she’s fearless, she’s a change agent,” he said. “She’s definitely someone you want to go into a foxhole with.”
Howard Robertson also cites his wife as an example of how opening positions to different candidates can lead to many successes.
“If you want to hire people who look like us … just because they haven’t done the job, doesn’t mean they can’t do the job,” he said.
Beverly Robertson said she will never forget her chance to chair the chamber.
She also took a moment to reflect on what she considers to be some of the biggest accomplishments of her tenure and past year. Robertson talked up the deal to relocate a Ford factory to West Tennessee, launch a campaign to build a third bridge across the Mississippi River and open job training centers in some of Memphis’ most underserved neighborhoods.
Highlights for 2022 also include attracting a USFL franchise to the city, said Doug Browne, chairman of the chamber’s board of directors.
Corinne S Kennedy covers economic development, real estate and health care for The Commercial Appeal.She can be reached at Corinne.Kennedy@CommercialAppeal.com