Paul Matthews
President
Paul
Matthews is a partner at the Memphis law firm of
Harris, Shelton, Hanover, Walsh, PLLC, and the
author or editor of numerous published works on legal
and historical subjects, including Early Families of the
Memphis Area (2008).
He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the
West Tennessee Historical Society and the Mid-South
Public Communications Foundation (owner and operator of
PBS-affiliated WKNO-TV and NPR-affiliated WKNO-FM) and
on the Shelby County Conservation Board, the Mid-South
Greenprint Steering Committee, and the St. Mary’s
Episcopal School Council of Advisors.
An early organizer of events for the Memphis-in-May
International Festival and a graduate of Leadership
Memphis, Paul served as president of the Davies Manor
Association, the Duke Alumni Club of Memphis, and
Descendants of Early Settlers of Shelby and Adjoining
Counties, Chairman of the Shelby County Historical
Commission, Vice-Chairman of the Tennessee Historical
Commission (on which he served for 20 years), and on the
board of directors of the Memphis Bar Association and
Friends of the Tennessee State Library and Archives.
Paul and his wife Sue recently restored his family’s
place at Barretville, which is a Tennessee Century Farm
and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. |
Dr. Rita Hall
Vice-President
Dr. Rita
Hall serves on the faculty at The University of Memphis
in the Department of History as an
Adjunct Instructor in History/Museum Studies. She earned
a Master of Arts degree in Liberal Studies from The
University of Memphis, with her studies of kinship and
community in the South, after having earned a Bachelor
of Arts degree in Criminal and Justice and Criminology
from The University of Memphis.
Dr. Hall also currently serves as the Interim Executive
Director of the West Tennessee Historical Society, the
umbrella heritage organization for the Western Grand
Division of Tennessee, covering 21 counties. Since 2018
she has been the Editor of the Papers, a peer-reviewed
journal of the West Tennessee Historical Society that
invites authors to submit any paper that pertains to
historical events or people in West Tennessee, the
Mississippi Delta Region, or the South at large. Since
2010, she has contributed six articles for this esteemed
publication, which began its publishing in 1947.
In 2012, Dr. Hall authored the book entitled Images of
America: Millington in the Arcadia Publishing series.
Her interest in Millington history stems from her deep
roots in the area; her ancestors first settled in the
1830s near what would become Millington. She has also
served as President of Descendants of Early Settlers of
Shelby County and Adjoining Counties.
Dr. Hall is a graduate of Leadership Millington, class
of 2012. She has been a member of The Board of Directors
in Rural Heritage Trust since 2018 and serves as the
Chair of the Narrative and Interpretation Committee,
which oversees the research and development of topics
and texts for the graphic text panel series of Rural
Heritage Trust.
A Tipton County resident, Dr. Hall is a leading
historian, author, and genealogist in the portion of
Southwest Tennessee that we call “The Crescent.” |
Jimmy Ogle
Secretary
Jimmy Ogle worked in parks, recreation, and tourism
during his 40-year career in Memphis. Previous positions
included Deputy Director of the Memphis Park Commission,
General Manager of Mud Island River Park, General
Manager of the Memphis Queen Line, Vice-President of
Performa Entertainment (Beale Street), Director of the
Smithsonian Institution’s Memphis Rock’n’Soul Museum,
and Dockmaster at Beale Street Landing. He also served
as Duckmaster at The Peabody Hotel.
Jimmy was Shelby County Historian and served in
leadership positions on other local non-profit
organizations, such as the Shelby County Historical
Commission, West Tennessee Historical Society, Davies
Manor Association, Shelby County Public Records
Commission, Mississippi River Corridor Tennessee,
Citizens to Preserve Overton Park, Summer Avenue
Merchants Association, and Remember Libertyland.
Jimmy conducted over 200 talks or tours annually,
including a popular series of walking tours on streets,
parks, and historic buildings in downtown Memphis and
the riverfront, as well as presentations in schools,
senior living facilities, and civic meetings |
Alex Ivy
Treasurer
Alex Ivy is
a lifelong Memphian with childhood bonds and ancestral
roots in the Gallaway /Arlington area, as well as
surrounding portions of rural Shelby and Fayette
counties. He is a CPA with the Frazee Ivy Davis
accounting firm and devotes much of his free time to
family, church, reading, food, and learning. |