The Memphis Chapter for the Society for Information Management Makes $19,376 Donation

May 19, 2008 For Immediate Release Media Contact: Diane Coons 901.419.7863 [email protected] or Rick Pride 901-853-4208 [email protected]

The Memphis Chapter for the Society for Information Management Makes $19,376 Donation to Benefit Stax Music Academy’s Mission of Mentoring Young People Through Music

Memphis, May 19, 2008 - You cannot imagine music today without digital technology. The Memphis Chapter of the Society for Information Management is helping make it possible for Memphis students at the Stax Music Academy to be educated in the technology of making music.

Highly regarded as the premier network for IT leadership, SIM is a community of thought leaders sharing experiences, applying rich intellectual capital, and exploring future IT direction. The Memphis chapter of SIM is a strong advocate for promoting and supporting the IT profession.

Simposium ‘07, hosted by the Memphis SIM Chapter and held last Fall in Memphis at the Peabody Hotel, attracted more than 750 IT leaders and featured a renowned list of speakers that included FedEx CIO Rob Carter and Harrah’s SVP of Innovation and Gaming & CIO Tim Stanley, along with many best-selling authors and industry thought leaders.

The event also coincided with Stax Records’ 50th anniversary and provided a great forum for SIM to auction a one-of-a-kind Gibson guitar made in Memphis and autographed by many famous artists, producers, and engineers of the Stax era – Memphis legends. Signatures on the guitar include such greats as “Soul Man” guitarist Steve Cropper, bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn, both founding members of the Stax supergroup Booker T and the MGs, Isaac Hayes, members of the Bar-Kays and a rare autograph of Stax founder Jim Stewart. Immediately after signing, Steve Cropper became the first person to actually play the guitar. He gave it a quick tune-up then strummed a few bars of "Soul Man," the song Steve played in the Aykroyd-Belushi movie Blues Brothers. The auction along with a portion of the proceeds from the event allowed the Memphis SIM Chapter to donate $19,376 to fund the renovation of the Stax Music Academy’s Recording Studio and Control Room. The renovated studio, located on the second floor of the Academy’s facility neighboring the Stax Museum, will allow students to learn more about the technology of making music, studio production, and basic engineering. The donation was presented to Marc Willis, President and CEO of the Soulsville Foundation, and Kerry Hayes, Development Manager for the Soulsville Foundation, by Memphis Chapter SIM president, Rick Pride, and Susan Caldwell, SIMposium '07 entertainment co-chairperson who came up with the idea of auctioning the guitar, worked with Stax to get the signatures, and coordinated the auction.

Featured left to right: Marc Willis, President and CEO of the Soulsville Foundation, Rick Pride, SIM Memphis President, Susan Caldwell, SIMposium '07 entertainment co-chairperson and guitar auction coordinator and Kerry Hayes, Development Manager for the Soulsville Foundation

The Stax Music Academy is one of the major programs of the Soulsville Foundation, a non-profit organization created to serve the south Memphis neighborhood of Soulsville, USA. The local SIM chapter is also working with the Soulsville Foundation to determine how it can provide support to the Academy’s students on a longer- term basis.

About SIM Established in 1968, the Society for Information Management (SIM) is the premier network for IT leaders. SIM is comprised of more than 3,600 members including CIOs, senior IT executives, prominent academicians, and foremost consultants. Through its 31 chapters, SIM provides resources and programs inspired by IT leaders for IT leaders that enable CIOs to further develop their leadership capabilities and those of the emerging leaders in their organizations. SIM provides the premiere collective voice to advocate policy and legislation on behalf of the IT profession.

For more information, go to simnet.org