Memphis -- An Office profile;

              The key is people/ it's always people
Memphis. The name conjures up
images of bales of cotton stacked high
on piers, of steam-driven paddle-wheelers
lazily plying the Mississippi.
But if you're looking for a typical
example of the sleepy ol' South, you
won't find it in Tennessee's largest
city. Indeed, there are those in
Memphis who, pointing to the contin­uing
migration of business and
people from the north to the Sun Belt,
say Memphis is another Atlanta on
the verge of happening.
Memphians, however, have not been
content to sit back and wait for things
to happen. For years now the city's
center of gravity has been shifting to
the east, along the Poplar Avenue
corridor, reflecting the expansion of
established businesses and the influx
of new ones. Today the city stretches
from the Mississippi River to its
eastern anchor, the Ridgeway Center
complex of condominiums, office
buildings, shops and hotels.
Memphis has long been a leading cot­ton
market; indeed, it remains even
today the largest spot cotton market in
the country. It is an agricultural center
for soybeans and hardwoods, as well
as a major distribution center, with one
of the country's most extensive air,
rail and road networks serving what
may well be the most comprehensive
system of warehouses and related
distribution facilities in the United
States. Memphis' description of itself
as Mid-America Headquarters makes
sense when one looks at a map and
sees how many key cities and market
areas lie an hour or less away by air.
Indeed, one of the country's largest
airlines advertises Memphis as its
"Gateway to the West."
In an effort to attract a larger volume
of conventions and trade shows,
Memphis recently constructed the
Everett R. Cook Convention Center,
which boasts two auditoriums,
one seating 2,424 and the other seat-
R el axing after work in T.G.I. Friday's in
Overton Square are (I. to r.) tax accountants
Bill Brown and Pant Vaughn, tax manager
Bill MaGee, office secretary Debbie Sigman
and tax accountant Sandy Blockman.
Overton Square, a collection of shops,
theaters, restaurants, entertainment
and drinking places, is one of the more
popular sections of Memphis on week­ends
and in the evening.
ing 4,331, and two major exhibit halls.
The Cook Convention Center is
located adjacent to the Civic Center
Plaza, a striking open area and fountain
surrounded by city, county, state and
federal government buildings. The
convention center and the plaza are
located at one end of Mid-America
Mall, said to be the largest pedes­trian
mall in the country. Plans for a
nearby convention hotel complex are
presently under consideration.
At the present time work is progress­ing
on Volunteer Park, which will
stretch along Mud Island in the
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