Herman Morris, Jr.
November 30, 2006 MEMPHIS, TN
Alan and Susan Graf graciously hosted this year's United Way of the Mid-South Alexis deTocqueville Dinner at their home (Mr. Graf is EVP Chief Financial Officer of FedEx Corporation), where members of the society celebrated the success of their philanthropic effort and celebrated the volunteer service of Herman Morris, Jr., recipient of this year's Alexis deTocqueville award.
The Society is made up of philanthropists who give $10,000 or more to United Way of the Mid-South in a single year. Robert B. Carter, EVP Chief Info Officer of FedEx Corporation, is Chairman of the United Way of the Mid-South Alexis deTocqueville fundraising effort.
Alexis deTocqueville Society member Ron Belz, President and C.O.O. of Belz Enterprises, is United Way of the Mid-South's Chairman of the Board of Directors. Belz shared some historical observations about the man the Society is named for and saluted Herman Morris' accomplishments as a United Way volunteer before presenting the Alexis deTocqueville Award.
Remarks from Ron Belz's presentation:
"As members of the Society, your philanthropic gifts to United Way set the highest standard for charitable giving in the Mid-South. Your continued support helps United Way impact people’s lives individually and improve the well-being of our entire community.
"Our Society is named after Alexis deTocqueville, a man who came to America as a writer and traveler in 1831 with the unlikely task of studying our prison systems. While he was here, he was touched by witnessing acts of charity and generosity unlike anything he’d seen in his native country of France. When he returned home, he wrote two volumes entitled Democracy In America where he attempted to record the unique American attitude toward volunteerism and charity.
"This unique American attitude toward volunteerism and charity is alive and well in the hearts of our Society members, and is very much alive in the heart of this evening’s honored guest.
"Herman Morris, Jr. is a graduate of Rhodes College and Vanderbilt University School of Law, and is proud to proclaim that he is a life-long Memphian and a product of the Memphis Public Schools system.
"He and his wife of twenty five years, Dr. Brenda Partee Morris, MD, are the proud parents of three children, Amanda and Patrick, who are students at UT Knoxville; and Geoffrey, a middle school student in City of Memphis Schools.
"He is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division, one of the nation’s largest municipal utilities. He also served as General Counsel for MLGW, and has testified before the United States Congress on several occasions on behalf of national and regional utility organizations. He is an attorney who concentrates his practice in areas of business, litigation, employment, energy, utilities and public policy. He has been twice-honored by Woodward and White as one of the Best Lawyers In America in the area of energy law.
"Mr. Morris has a long history of civic and community leadership and involvement here in the Mid-South area. The list is very extensive, but some of the highlights include his service as Chairman of the Memphis Regional Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the Memphis Branch of the NAACP, and Chairman of the Tennessee Supreme Court Board of Professional Responsibility which provides discipline and ethical guidance for Tennessee attorneys. He has also served on the Tennessee Judicial Selection Commission and the Memphis and Tennessee Bar Foundation Boards. He served as the Chairman of the Shelby County Home Rule Charter Commission, which was responsible for the redrafting of the Shelby County charter.
"Herman has also been a champion of our region’s nonprofit sector, and many of us here this evening remember when he served as United Way’s General Campaign Chairman for the fundraising drive in 2002. I had the unique honor of filling that role just the year before, so I was very happy to see Herman do a fantastic job, giving our community yet another all-time fundraising record.
"Some of you might find it interesting to learn that during Herman’s time as United Way’s Campaign Chairman, he received a first-hand example of how United Way impacts the lives of our co-workers, friends and family members. During that year’s Day of Caring event, Herman was visiting a United Way partner agency working when suddenly, he heard his name being shouted from a distance by a very familiar voice. He turned around, and saw that a water exercise therapy class was taking place in the pool behind him. Searching further, Herman realized that his mother was in the pool, calling his name! Herman knew his mother was part of an exercise program, but did not know that it was held at one of United Way’s partner agencies. The experience gave him even more resolve to support United Way’s work in our community.
"Each year the Alexis deTocqueville Society recognizes an individual who inspires people to help others and directly impacts his or her community. We can think of no one who better demonstrates these qualities than this year’s recipient of the Alexis deTocqueville Society Award, Mr. Herman Morris, Jr.
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