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-Author, city councilman, home restoration expert, and newly named Jackson's Man of the Year.

Hello, I'm Tom Britt.

On this edition of Tennessee is Talking, we're sitting down with Frank.. who has a lot to talk about, from his new book to what it's like to be Man of the Year.

Let's begin the conversation.

-That's so cool.

-Then that's when I said that-- -The problem with that idea is-- -Wow, that was amazing.

-Then I came up with a solution.

[music] -What was that about?

-Here's what I think about it.

-Now, we're talking.

-West Tennessee PBS presents Tennessee is Talking.

Let the conversation begin.

-Thanks for joining the discussion.

I'm Tom Britt.

Today, we're honored to be speaking with Jackson City .. who just released his latest book, and he was just named Jackson's Man of the Year.

Welcome to Tennessee is Talking.

Let's start and see how it feels to be Jackson Man of the Year.

-Frank, thanks for joining us.

-Oh, my pleasure.

Thank you.

-Well, surprise, being named Jackson Man of the Year.

I know it's a big secret because they do keep it secret, and they kept it a good secret from you because I saw you the night of the event, and you didn't know, and you told me you thought it was somebody else.

-[chuckles] -Yes.

In fact, I was trying to get people.

When I'd see people, "You need to come," and trying to get more people to come to honor him.

It's funny that that night, I still was thinking it was Ron Kirkland.

[laughter] -What was the first clue that it wasn't Ron Kirkland?

When they started reading the bio information, or what?

-I was trying to take a picture of the room and things for Ron, and then I thought I heard my birthday.

It's like, "That was odd."

Then when they said something about Lewisburg-- I was born in a little town of Lewisburg outside of Columbia, and I'm going, "Ron surely wasn't born in Lewisburg."

-You didn't know that about him, did you?

-No, I didn't.

It didn't take me long when they said my parents' names, it's like, "Uh-oh, this is not Ron."

-I have no remarks, right?

[laughter] -Exactly.

Then you start thinking, like, "Oh, what do I do here?"

It's a wonderful honor.

Then you think, "Don't do anything stupid here.

Don't trip and fall."

-Well, tell me a little bit about the things you have done outside of the things we've seen you do in the City of Jackson.

I know you've helped a lot of organizations, helped a lot of groups.

You work with a non-profit, and then you're also involved in a lot of other things like your personal interest of renovating beautiful homes, right?

-I'm working on my 13th home.

I was looking at it yesterday with the contractor that's helping me do that.

I get excited when I say this because they're just really well-built homes.

This one is stuck in the '40s.

It was built in the '20s, and it's stuck in the '40s.

We're gutting it and starting all over.

It'll be a grand place once again.

It's nice to have these homes in Midtown and then to have some fun-- I look at it as fun, in trying to bring that back to where families will be living there.

The kitchens will be a fun place where families gather, where for a long time, it hadn't been that.

It had been neglected.

-This one you're currently working on then, is it going to require extensive renovation, or do they all require extensive renovation?

-This one requires extensive.

There's very little plaster still left because we've taken so much of it down, taken out some walls.

It turned the master bedroom into a very large, really cool master bedroom upstairs, another smaller master bedroom downstairs if needed.

Anyway, it's just a fun thing to be able to take the shell and then turn it into something.

That's something cool.

-How important is it to save those old homes like that?

-The history of our leadership of a city a hundred years ago.

They raised their families right there.

They built this city.

This was the area to live in, by the size of the homes -when the rest of the world was living.

-The way they were built, right?

-The way they were built and the size.

It was different than smaller houses that were nearby, perhaps.

Every time you lose one, -They're gone.

-they're gone forever, and you can't replicate how those are made.

I'm buying a house that's next door to my house.

It's almost too big to do anything with, but the foundation is giving in and it's been neglected for decades.

There's not really a way to salvage that.

That one, as much as I-- having redone 13 of them, -this is the one-- -You know, right?

-[chuckles] -Yes, this one, it would take a [?]

to redo.

-Well, thank you for saving some of those beautiful homes,- -Thank you.

-so people will have a chance to go and look at them and enjoy those.

Back to the Man of the Year.

How does it make you feel to be named Jackson's Ma.. Because there's a long line ahead of you of very distinguished people who have won that award.

-You don't really think about it when you're not Man of the Year, but then when you're done, it's like it's a seal of approval, perhaps, that somebody-- you really don't do the things you love to do, like home restoration, or working with non-profits.

You do that because you believe in what those non-profits do or the importance of saving the history of our city.

You go home, and you go, "That is the highest honor that a city could give someone."

At least, that's how I feel about it, that this just doesn't happen every day.

I took pride in calling my dad who's 90 years old.

We were talking about the cows.

We were talking about his gardens that he's preparing.

Then to say, "One more--" I get emotional here.

-It's okay.

-"Dad, I just need to let you know that I was just named Man of the Year."

He goes, "Named what?"

I said, "Jackson's Man of the Year."

He got quiet for a moment, and then he laughed and said, "Jackson's Man of the Year?"

I said, "Yes, sir."

He didn't say that's cool.

He said something that a 90-year-old would say, but he got emotional that his son was selected.

-That's great.

-It was a neat thing for me to be able to tell dad and then to take this award.

This is a beautiful award and let him see it.

Once again, he got emotional, and I got emotional.

It was just the neatest thing to tell your dad.

-I bet it was.

Of course, most folks probably don't know, but your dad was a world champion horse trainer for Tennessee Walking Horses.

-You grew up helping with that, too.

-Yes.

Here's your dad who did all these things and perfecting his career and being able to build furniture.

He built the barn.

He kept his farm going.

-Still runs a chainsaw at 90.

-At 90, yes.

To try to be at a level where-- he's a world champion trainer.

-Right.

-Having done that twice.

It's like, "How do you show your dad that you're trying to live up to his standard that he's put out there for you."

-I think he told you with his reaction, -didn't he?

He really did.

-Yes, he did.

Well, listen, you're also a writer- -I am.

-in addition to all the other things that you do.

I don't know how you find time to do that.

It's your second book.

Tell us the title and about it.

-This one is It's All About a Story.

-You love telling stories.

-I love telling stories.

The greatest storyteller was Jesus.

He got his message across to the world for generations by telling stories.

The most loved stories in all the Bible are stories that he told about the prodigal son.

The son coming home.

Wasn't worthy to come home, but Jesus told a story of a father loving a son, -and- -Welcoming him back, right?

-welcoming him back.

The reason we love it is beca..

The Good Samaritan.

The reason that story has been loved for years is because of the story that it tells to us is that the most unlikely person bestowed kindness to someone that he should be hating.

Jesus said we ought to be doing that.

All these stories that Jesus told teaches great life lessons.

My efforts with this book and the one before is to let people know that there is a God that loves them.

The reason I wrote it is that we live in a time where there's so much hate.

We have churches that hate on people they should be trying to reach and love.

I kept hearing that.

It gets involved in politics in church that we hate on groups of people and I run into people who churches have rejected just because they went through a divorce.

It's like this is not what God had in mind.

God is a God of love and so every story in both of the books and the third one I'm working on is about there's a God that loves you and just as the prodigal son tells a story of coming back to God we have run people off and taught them that God doesn't like you.

These stories are designed to go I don't care what people have told you.

God loves you.

He loves you so much even when you were not worthy.

He came because he was worthy.

If people tell you that you're not worthy, God doesn't like your kind or you look at the last 50 years that we've grown up in it was a sin at one time to marry a person of color if you're white and you were rejected and if you go back far enough you might be killed or that person might be, there were laws against that and sermons were preached against it.

Slavery was preached that's a God plan.

It's like we have taught so many things that are improper and here we have a God that loves us and people that should be knowing the love of God are telling people you're not welcome.

When I go to church I'll go to Facebook and usually, the first thing that I'll post is whoever you are, wherever you've been and whatever you've done, you're welcome here.

-I was going to say your story's in your first book and I haven't read the second one yet.

I hate I haven't.

I was intending to never and got to it but .. You tell a story it draws you in and then you have a teaching moment at the end.

-Yes and whatever the story is it starts usually with a story about me or my family or my encounter.

the story of Barbara Bush -coming to Jackson to speak for the-- -Paul Harvey.

-Paul Harvey.

There are lessons that I learned from those folks and we end those stories with a story again it's about God's love.

I want people to find some hope when they read these stories and I want them to also go, that if they need a friend I can be a friend.

Not that I'm asking for anything else to do but there are people that love people who need to be loved.

In here there's that story about there are times when people-- I get emotional here, they want to end everything because they find no hope and that's when we need to be grabbing some people and loving on some people because that's not how life should be and that's not how we should be letting people feel.

People are important.

-Sure they are.

How do they get the book?

I know you have one usually -with you all the time.

-I do.

I try to.

-There's other ways too.

You don't have to.

-You can get them on Amazon both of them but they won't be autographed, they won't have a little note written with love and then I never see a dime from Amazon.

I don't know where that money goes but with this, I give all the money away.

They're $20 they're $35 if you buy both of them and I just put all that money back into our community.

-That's great.

I'm glad you do that.

Let's change gears a bit.

You threw your hat into the political ring.

-Yes.

-You got elected and you're on the Jackson City Council.

At a time when the city of Jackson along with all the West Tennessee is under a transition with many new bigger industries moving in, factories, and that sort of thing.

Tell me about your experience there and what you hope to do serving as a city council member.

-Let me talk about Jackson.

I get frustrated at times with people who are very critical.

They may be critical of potholes and they blame the mayor for potholes.

They may be critical of how JEA cuts trees that may fall on the lines.

-Then they may be mad because the power's out.

-We can't not do potholes.

Potholes happen by nature.

-Trees grow.

-Trees grow when you plant them under a power line.

I look at this city.

This city has been really a bright and shining star for..

I look at my hometown of Columbia.

I love Columbia.

It's a beautiful city.

We were the-- Jackson and Columbia were the same size, same distance from a major city.

Both of them had an interstate, but there was something unique about Jackson with its leadership that made it very unique because Columbia, they still don't have a place like our Civic Center.

They don't have a place like Oman Arena.

When we were chosen as America's most livable city, I went home and saw all my cousins from Nashville and Murfreesboro were all there and here I was, the lone representative from West Tennessee and that asked me to do the invocation for our prayer for dinner.

I said it's great to be back in Columbia, Tennessee, this beautiful town from America's most livable city.

My brother goes, "What are you talking about?"

I said, "Yes, we've been chosen as America's most livable city."

"By whom?"

"By the Chamber of Commerce."

"No."

I said, "Well, who should be?"

He goes, "Murfreesboro."

I said, "Do you have your own symphony?"

"No."

"Do you have your own baseball team?"

"No."

"Do you have your own TV station?"

-"No."

-Do you have a big theater gig that performs forever and ever?

-All these things, I went down this list, making my point that we have this wonderful city and we've had it for 50, 60 years.

That's been a standout to most cities in the state of Tennessee.

Why would Ford locate near us?

Because they like us.

They like cities like us.

We have this wonderful workforce and beautiful land.

They chose to be in our backyard.

Getting back to running for the city council, I love the city, chose to live here, chose to stay here.

Working with our midtown, been president of Atlanta for out of our 30 years, 10 years.

At times I had to deal with city council people.

-Now you are one of them.

-I decided that it's going to be easier to run for city council than trying to convince my city council person to do something that's best for the people that live here.

I put my hat in the ring and had the most fun knocking on doors, meeting people, putting signs in yards.

Luckily, I won.

We're knocking out problem after problem in my district because there are a lot of slumlords and there are a lot of people that do bad things to properties- -and neglected properties, are a big problem.

-They are a huge problem.

The city's working on how do we deal with these and working with the judge, city judge, Judge Anderson.

We're cleaning up our district and making Midtown continue to be a great place to live and East Jackson, a great place to live because I have a-- -Pretty big district.

-Yes.

One-third of it's in Midtown.

Two-thirds of it goes all the way to Jackson State.

It's two-thirds in the East Jackson area, one-third in Midtown.

I represent all kinds of people and we're going to help them have a great place to live and their neighborhoods will be a safe place to live and look out for their neighbors when their neighbors are.

-Which is very important.

-It's how grew up in the country, right?

-Exactly.

-Look out for each other.

We've somehow forgotten that I know along the way, I guess.

Maybe some of the biggest problems facing Jackson right now as we continue to grow and expand, we have some big projects -on the forefront, too.

-We do.

We were involved in helping to build a new high school right there on the LambUuth campus and Madison Academic.

-When you go in there-- -A jewel.

-It is.

The kids, I went in there to look around because we're going to have an open house for Midtown for the Atlanta area.

Kids open the door, they spoke to you.

It was like not what I expected of a public school.

I was just so impressed.

I went to JCM one time and kids opened the door, they spoke to you, they're very courteous and kind.

Not what I expected.

I know we have people that are critical of public schools, and I'm a little scared at what the governor's wanting to do, but we have some great public schools and some great teachers.

We're trying to give them the best education.

I'm glad the city was involved with Madison Academic.

-Yes, public-private thing.

-Public-private, yes.

That's right there on the Lambuth campus.

We've had to deal with paving, and so you'll notice that almost every major intersection is nice and smooth.

Many of our major thoroughfares are nice and smooth, brand new pavement.

Dealing with those kinds of things, there's a new thing happening that goes back to like the '50s with very loud cars, but they're doing some things that are very unsafe.

They're doing donuts in intersections.

-Yes, I've seen those tire marks.

-They're very loud and disturbing to neighborhoods, so we're having to deal with the fact that traffic is sometimes not being, they're not caring about who's on the road and who lives around them.

That's going to be a problem, and we're trying to deal with that.

-Working with the other city council members so far, has that been a good experience?

-That has been the neatest thing, because we all come from different parts of the city, and it's like this class of city council people, we get along well, we work hard for our districts and things that we know that are important, and it's been a real pleasant experience.

-What do you look for in the future, the new arena?

-That gets exciting.

I went to talk to Stan Pallant in the planning department to get a better understanding of what his thoughts were, and he said, "Frank, this is not a Jackson project.

The city of Jackson cannot afford an arena.

This is a West Tennessee arena."

We're going to be looking at funding that arena, not on the city of Jackson.

It'll be by other means that it will find its funding, and it will be something that will draw people into Jackson.

It will change the dynamic of that area, where the shopping centers near there will probably have a lot more restaurants.

The mall may become something completely different and be more like downtown with housing and with quality housing and small businesses and entertainment venues.

-Walkable, livable neighborhoods, right?

-Walkable, livable, dog parks, people parks.

It gets exciting when you start looking at how that branches out and even bringing hotels into that area, it just changes the complexion completely.

-You have held meetings concerning other areas of the city, too, that are looking to change and transform.

-Yes.

When you look at what's happening at J.. we have that wonderful school building a new athletic facility out there next to Oldman Arena.

That will be a positive thing.

What we're doing with city parks, the city parks will be completely different.

They'll be upgraded.

There's more of a focus on public safety in a public park.

We're bringing some flock cameras into the park so that we'll be able to see if there's a problem person in there.

We will know they were there.

We'll have that documented.

We're doing some things to help bring safety to an all-new level.

Because not too far from us is Memphis, and it has become a problem city, and we're working very hard so that Jackson doesn't even resemble that.

-Almost out of time.

Once again, let's tell the folks about your boo.. and where you can get them and how they can contact you.

They need to solve that city problem.

-Yes.

Believe me, they find me.

It's All About a Story.

Be encouraged is that no matter who you are, and however religious people may make you feel at times, God loves you.

All He wants you to do, love Him, come back to Him.

You can get this, just find me on Facebook, find me at the foundation.

At the city council meeting.

-You'll have some in the trunk of your car, right?

-Yes, I'll have some in my car.

-I know I saw one time you had a stack in your house, I think, waiting to be signed or delivered on your first book.

-When people visit, I want them to see that it is available.

-Yes.

Sadly, we have run out of time, but we want to thank Frank McMeen for joining us on Tennessee is Talking.

Reminder, you can stream today's program and all your local Channel 11 programs on the PBS app, the West Tennessee PBS YouTube channel, and on westtnpbs.org.

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