Local Business Leader To Head Up Conservancy During Start-up

When the Shelby Farms Park Conservancy takes over operations and management of Shelby Farms Park tomorrow, Memphis business leader Larry W. Papasan will be at the helm, serving as interim executive director for a 120-day start-up period.

“There is much to be done, and the Conservancy will hit the ground running,” he said. “ Shelby Farms Park is a tremendous opportunity for our community’s future, and I am excited to be part of it.”

There are priorities of all kinds during the start-up phase, according to Papasan, retired president of Smith & Nephew Orthopedics and former president of Memphis Light, Gas & Water, and they range from dealing with present operations and setting up “good systems and business process” to getting the master planning process under way and stepping up marketing.

“At the heart of everything we do is our commitment building good relationships with the people who have helped the park over the years, such as the Shelby Farms Park Alliance, which now merges with the Conservancy, Shelby County Government, Agricenter International, Wolf River Conservancy, and others. We want the Conservancy to be known for the way that it values its relationships with the community and for how it finds ways for the public to get involved in their park.”

Immediately, the Conservancy will begin the processes to develop a master planner “so that Shelby Farms Park becomes a great American park” and to hire a permanent executive director. “We expect that a permanent executive director will come on board by mid-November, and by then, we should also have the three finalists for the master plan for the park,” he said.

“As a result of the important mission of the Conservancy, the next 120 days is not just a time for getting organized and getting business systems set up. Rather, we have important things to do, and we’ve already begun to address them.”

For example, he said that the Conservancy is raising the level of Patriot Lake, which is about seven feet below normal, so the dock can be used by the public,” he said. “We want it all to be more like a park and to have a park-like atmosphere, and that’s something we’ll be working on immediately.”

At the same time, to pursue the Conservancy’s goal of more public involvement in the park, he said the nonprofit organization will start a voluntarism program. “We’d like to get more people involved in the park as volunteer rangers, as volunteers in maintenance and clean-up and in helping us have the safest, most welcoming atmosphere,” he said.

Drawing on his experience as head of Shelby County’s public utility, he said listening to park users is the top priority. “When I was at MLGW, I worked with public officials and with the general customers a lot,” he said. “I believed in being available and accessible and listening to customers, and that’s something we will do at the Conservancy.”

He commended Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton and the Board of Commissioners for the recent county funding for a new playground, new bathrooms and a Patriot Lake erosion project. “We’ll be raising additional money from the community, but this funding demonstrates the kind of working partnership that will make Shelby Farms Park like no other park in the U.S.,” he said.

In addition to Papasan, during the start-up phase, Laura Adams will serve as interim director of public engagement and development, and Jen Andrews will serve as office manager for the Conservancy. Both previously headed up the Shelby Farms Park Alliance, which has merged into the Conservancy.

“There is a strong foundation for the Conservancy to build on – a reservoir of good will, grassroots support and private sector and philanthropic interest – and we are poised to create a park that fulfills the exciting ambitions of our community,” said Mrs. Adams, former executive director of the Alliance and former president of Friends of Shelby Farms Park.

Papasan was president of Smith & Nephew Orthopedics from July, 1991, to December, 2002, and worked as a director and lobbyist until the end of 2005. Prior to joining Smith & Nephew, he was president of MLG&W – where he was employed 28 years - from 1984 until his retirement in 1991.

He is active in civic affairs, previously serving as general campaign chairman and chairman of the board of United Way, president of the Kiwanis Club and president of Junior Achievement. Currently, he is president of the board of the Biblical Resource Center & Museum, past chairman of the board of LeBonheur Hospital Foundation, member of the board of Memphis Bioworks Foundation and past chairman of the board of University of Memphis Board of Visitors.