Nyah Nile

City officials and constituents gathered Friday morning for City Councilman Myron Lowery’s 19th Annual New Year’s Day Prayer Breakfast. It was a chance to rub shoulders with politicians and for the VIPs to listen to Main Street crowds.

Councilman Lowery and his wife, Mary, served up a sizzling side of hospitality to many of Memphis’s most well-known dignitaries and guests as 2010 – doorway to a new year and a new decade – unfolded. Over 300 guests made their way into the Holiday Inn-Select ballroom.

The morning was billed as “A New Decade with Hope and Promise.” Mickell Lowery, son of Myron Lowery, guided the morning service like a true ambassador. The entertainment featured soul stirring goodness, as Blanche Reynolds and Deborah Manning Thomas, crowd favorites, brought songs of praise. The Tennessee Mass Choir rounded out the entertainment menu.

Congressman Steve Cohen – keynote speaker at City Councilman Myron Lowery’s 19th Annual New Year’s Day Prayer Breakfast – mingles with one of about 300 people who attended the event at the Holiday Day Inn-Select. (Photos by Lee Taylor)

“I do this because it’s the right thing to do starting off the New Year,” City Councilman Myron Lowery said of his annual first of the year breakfast gathering. “Plus it’s a good time to fellowship.”

Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. seemed happy and energetic throughout the morning.

“I think the thing that we need more than anything is not so much our budget plan or our building plans or our infrastructure. But, let’s rebuild our people. That’s what I look forward to in the decade to come,” said Wharton.

“We have done a good job in building our houses. Let’s give Former Mayor Willie Herenton credit. Just look at the face of public housing and how far we have come.”

Interim Shelby County Mayor Joe Ford reminded the crowd of the pain and suffering experienced by the jobless. His eyes, this morning, were focused on The Regional Medical Center, which is a large employer that provides a vital heartbeat for the health economy.

“My main objective as your County Mayor is to save The Med,” Ford said.

Saving The Med was high on the to-do list for 9th District Congressman Steve Cohen as well. Cohen, who is on a collision course with Herenton in his bid for re-election, was the keynote speaker.  Cohen touched on a range of topics, including foreign policy, security issues and domestic problems.

“We are working on a bill that will say that employers cannot use your credit rating to deny you employment,” Cohen said. “…Because you’ve lost your job for whatever reason in this economy or lost income doesn’t mean that you can’t perform a job,” he said.”

Cohen seemed excited about the future and expressed his gratitude, and support for Councilman Lowery. As a token of his appreciation, he gave Lowery a set of Congressional cufflinks.

Lowery, surveying the sea of smiling faces surrounding him, said it was a morning well spent.

“I do this because it’s the right thing to do starting off the New Year,” he said. “ Yes, it gets political and, yes, we have representatives from the county, state and federal government, but it also sets the tone to keep others informed. Plus it’s a good time to fellowship.”

(If you have questions or would like Nyah Nile at your next big event, e-mail nyah@tri-statedefender.com.)