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-It is a celebration of the contributions of West Tennessee women.

Hello, I'm Peter Noll.

Straight ahead on Tennessee is Talking we are on location at the United Way's 12th annual First Ladies' Luncheon featuring over 100 beautiful tablescapes.

We're giving you a tour and more.

It's Tennessee is Talking as I'm on location for the First Ladies' Luncheon and it starts right now.

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-West Tennessee PBS presents Tennessee is Talking on Location.

Let the conversation begin.

-Thank you for joining the discussion here on Tennessee is Talking.

I'm Peter Noll and we're on location at the United Way's 12th annual First Ladies' Luncheon.

We're at the Jackson Fairgrounds where this beautiful event is taking place.

Here to tell us more is the CEO and President of United Way of West Tennessee, Matt Marshall.

Matt, thank you for joining us.

-Thank you, Peter.

-Thank you for allowing us to bring our cameras into the event and share to television for the first time.

Give us an overview of the First Ladies' Luncheon.

-Absolutely.

Thank you guys so much for being here.

This is our premier annual fundraiser for United Way of West Tennessee.

We host it every April here at the Jackson Fairgrounds.

It really is an opportunity for us to celebrate the impact of women across our community.

The dynamic women who are serving in so many different areas, from leadership to volunteering.

It's a time that we come together.

You'll see behind us these incredible tablescapes.

They go all out in decorating.

There's no competition.

I get that question all the time, but it just makes it a beautiful, beautiful event, and we just love to have the opportunity to impact the community in this way and to be able to celebrate the work of United Way.

-This is an event that has really grown in popularity.

Every year it's like, "Do you have a ticket?

Do you have a ticket?

Are you going to be doing a table?"

How did this event come to be?

-It started a little over 12 years ago.

Anita Kay Archer had this idea -for a table-- -We'll be talking to her next.

-Yes, absolutely.

She had an idea for a tablescape event, and she brought it to United Way and to the leadership of United Way at that time, and they took off with it.

Our first event was held at the University of Memphis Lambuth.

It was probably about 150 people in attendance.

-Total?

-Total, but as you said, it's just grown by leaps and bounds ever since.

Now, we have over 1,200 people in attendance.

-Tables as far as the eye can see.

-As far as the eye can see, 135 tables.

Which I think puts us at the maximum capacity for the Fairgrounds.

-What's the one thing that really surprised you as this event has started growing in popularity?

-I think just the amount of enthusiasm for the event.

We sell out of tickets and tables about seven weeks in advance now.

By the time we're getting to February, March, all the tickets and tables are gone.

That's just amazing to see the enthusiasm people have for United Way and the support that they have for the work that we do, and the work that we partner with through other agencies all across the region.

The reality is we couldn't do any of that without them.

I'm just so encouraged to see the enthusiasm they have for this community.

-Matt, I think most people know about the United Way, but tell us about the United Way of West Tennessee's reach.

What areas do you serve?

You impact a lot of people's lives that may not even realize it.

-That's right.

We serve everywhere in West Tennessee west of the Tennessee River except for Benton and Obion counties which have their own small United Ways, and then also Tipton, Lauderdale, and Fayette, which are part of United Way Mid-South and Memphis, but everywhere else is in our territory.

We serve 15 counties total, population of almost 1 million people.

-A lot of those same counties are the ones that watch us.

-That's exactly right.

We're really privileged to be able to have that opportunity to be able to serve this community, and we do that through various different means.

Our financial empowerment center work, our Child Care West Tennessee work, which we have family champions that help families get connected to childcare, but other resources, our literacy work that we're doing all throughout the region with All-Star Readers, a partnership with UT-Martin and also with Rockabilly Readers, but so many other programs.

Again, it's really an honor.

-This year's event, the 12th annual, if people watching says, "My company wants to be a part of it, we want to help out with it," for the 13th annual, who should they reach out to?

What's that process like?

-They should probably start reaching out to us in October or November, as early as they can.

We'll start posting stuff online about it around that time, but they want to reach out specifically to Kristen Chambers on our team.

Kristen is one of the masterminds behind all of this, alongside Anita Kay.

She does a lot of the behind-the-scenes work and helps coordinate with all the tables and sponsorships and those things.

She does a fantastic job.

Yes, probably around October, November start reaching out to us.

Would love to have you at this next year's event.

-Sounds great.

Thank you.

-Thank you so much, Peter.

-We're now joined with The Bank of Jackson's, Anita Kay Archer, who is actually the chairperson of this event, but also it was her brainchild.

-Anita Kay, congratulations.

-Thank you so much.

-The 12th annual and this event is growing more popular every year.

I've been in Jackson since 2018, -this is the event that everyone has- -I love it.

-talked about, "Do you have tickets?

Are you going?

Are you doing a table?"

It just grows in popularity.

Tell us how this idea came to be.

-This idea came to be, I love tablescapes myself and do them all the time, and so that was my dream child.

We started out with 334 women, 12 years ago at Lambuth University.

-How many tables?

-I don't know, because we had to put them outside.

We had to put them in the hallways, we couldn't get them in the dining area.

Now, we've grown to 1,200 because it's the 12th annual year, and next year I'm going to have to find room for 1,300.

-Because you're turning people away.

-Yes.

-Tell us what this event means to you personally and to the United Way and community.

-I love to bring women together and talk about their strengths, what they love, and how they're involved in the community.

That is so important to me.

Especially with our First Lady of West Tennessee Healthcare this year, Tina Prescott, I was with a group of women when she was selected to be CEO of West Tennessee Healthcare.

I said, "Y'all, Tina Prescott is the new CEO," they said, "Who is that?"

Next day, I was at Tina's office saying, "Would you be our keynote speaker?"

Of course, she is, and I look forward to that because she is certainly the first lady of healthcare here.

It's just wonderful to see all of these women.

Y'all, they spend so much time on these tables.

They're so creative, bringing them together, and they spend a lot of money on these tables decorating.

That is wonderful, and it means so much for United Way because United Way serves 15 counties in West Tennessee.

That's so important because all of the things they do for people in need in those 15 counties.

-You don't have to pick a favorite, but what are some of the more elaborate beautiful of your favorite tablescapes that you've seen over the years?

-Oh, y'all, they get more elaborate every year.

Look at these here.

Beauty to the bone right behind you, ho..

I couldn't pick out one because they're all 135 so elaborate, wonderful.

To see the women work on them during the week, they've been here since Monday setting these tables up, it's wonderful.

-You said you've always loved tablescapes.

-Yes.

-What is the key to a great tablescape?

-Flowers.

-What are your favorite flowers -on a table?

-Oh, I couldn't pick one flower.

I've done seven tables here today.

-You've decorated seven tables.

-Yes.

-You got to be tired and it's- -I am.

-not even noon.

-I know it.

I love hydrangeas, some of the most beautiful roses here today.

It's just wonderful.

-Anita Kay, congratulations- -Thank you.

-on having, I would say -one of premeire events in Jackson- -Thank you.

-in West Tennessee all year long.

-Thank you so much.

-Congratulations.

Thank you for allowing us to be here- -Absolutely.

I'm so glad you're here.

-to share this with all of our viewers.

-You bet.

Good luck.

Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Let me introduce to you our keynote speaker, my friend Tina Prescott.

Let me tell you something about her.

Tina is the president and the CEO of West Tennessee Healthcare.

Before she was named president and CEO of the hospital, she served as the chief operating officer.

Over the whole flagship hospital.

Not only do we have Jackson community, we have six community hospitals.

Tina's career started in West Tennessee Healthcare as a registered nurse in the surgical intensive care.

Beyond her professional responsibility, she's so engaged in the community in many, many areas.

She's a local girl at heart, believe you me, she grew up in Middleton where she developed a strong work ethic, resilience, and community spirit that continue to drive her today, but most of all, she's the mother of three children.

Tina, thank you so very much for being our keynote speaker for the First Ladies' Luncheon.

Thank you.

[applause] -Thank you so much.

It's such an honor to be asked, and you .. [laughs] For sure.

No, truly an honor.

Good afternoon.

She did a great job of a little bit of who I am and what I do, and so thankful that she recognized my family.

I'm going to touch on a few things, but the first thing I want to do is thank a lot of you.

I am, she said as a nurse by background.

To all those that designed the tables that created these beautiful tablescapes, you did an amazing job.

Thank you for that work that we're all enjoying today.

I'm a nurse.

I'm not that creative, and so I'm in awe of everything that you've designed today.

We love it.

Thank you to Anita Kay, of course, and the United Way.

Thank you for what you do.

Serving communities across West Tennessee, the impact of the United Way is so profound and does such a good things in our community.

Thank you for that.

I do also want to thank the servers, we are blessed with a lot of guys taking care of us today.

Thank you for that.

[applause] Anita Kay told you a little bit about who I am, who I am as a mom, first and foremost, I'm a nurse, of course, and I have the honor and privilege of serving as the leader of our health system.

That is truly an honor and privilege that I don't take lightly.

I get to stand on the shoulders of leaders across that health system that will be 75 years old this August.

We're celebrating our 75th birthday.

We need to celebrate like we've done here today.

One of the greatest leaders that I've gotten to work with is James Ross, and I'm so glad to have his wife, Cindy, with us today, and to recognize her for that.

[applause] All right, so as we just take a deep breath, I don't know about you, but in the hustle and bustle of life, every once in a while, we girls just have to sit down and take a deep breath every once in a while.

I hope that you're able to do that today for ju.. One of the first things I wanted to talk to you about is a couple of things that I hold dear and near to my heart.

I want to talk about faith.

As a president and CEO, I have a wonderful board of trustees, and my chairperson of the board, the chairwoman of the board, Vicky Birch, is also here today.

I'm blessed with a wonderful board, like I said, but one of the things that wisdom comes to me-- all the wisdom that comes, one of the most impactful things I was told very early on by one of our board members is God first, family second, and then the rest.

To have a board that touches you is just at your heart of what you do, and have them aligned with your life is a blessing to me.

Faith.

Faith's been a central part of my life.

I was very blessed to be raised in a Christian home.

Very thankful for that and in Middleton, but I will tell you that faith is something personal.

It's not just about being raised in church, which I'm thankful I was, but it's about a personal relationship.

What I wanted to share with you today is some things that matter to me and some things that have touched me.

I do feel like there's certain divine intervention that happens across our lives, and we look back even on the difficult times, and we see divine intervention.

We might've been in a difficult situation, but when you look back, you really see yourself being grown and put in places and circumstances that help you down the road.

Even in those difficult times, there's thankfulness for the storms that build you up for the rest of your life.

One of the songs, I like music, I can't sing, my daughter just verified that for the whole table that I'm not a singer.

One of the things, I do love music, and one of the songs that touches me and I wanted to share with you, it's a song called Made For More.

It says, "I know who I am because I know who you are."

Speaking of, for me, God.

I should have brought my reading glasses.

"The cross of salvation was only the start."

I think that speaks to all that God's done for us.

We're here to do more for Him.

It says, "Now, I am chosen."

I think that's a neat thing, as we celebrate this season, the Easter season that we're in, to know that we were chosen not only by God to live on this Earth, but to do what we are called to do.

I know I have a future and it's worth living.

Called by name is another part of those lyrics.

I feel like I'm very blessed to be as a nurse in a profession where I do feel called to take care of others.

I've always enjoyed caring for others, whether it was an animal when I was little, or now the patients that I get to serve and that I get to-- and the people that I get to support across the healthcare system in taking care of all the patients that we serve each day.

I do believe we're called by name and we're made for more, and I know each one of you we're all made for more.

The next thing for me, like I said, it's faith and it's family.

My mom just retired after 40-something years as the First Baptist Church of Middleton secretary.

Yay.

[laughs] [applause] That's a picture of my dad.

I struggle with that still.

He passed away in 2020, but I learned so much from him.

Work ethic for sure, hardworking all the time.

When my mom was-- even when she was home, she was still taking those calls for the church.

Let me tell you, I think when y.. and how you're prepared for life, well, I do a lot of political stuff now that I'm going to tell you, First Baptist Church of Middleton can prepare you for the political stuff when your mom's a church secretary, right?

[laughs] Often, my dad was chairman of Deacons, and she was the church secretary.

The phone calls would come in.

What I learned from that, I saw them pray about things, about decisions that needed to be made for that church.

I saw them really pray tirelessly and really be consumed with what was best for the church and what it was doing in that community.

I saw the political stuff go on, but what I saw was at the central part of it is their integrity and how they live their life.

That changes you as you grow up.

I'm very thankful for that with my family, and of course, a lot of grace.

They had a lot of grace for me growing up.

I just recently was talking to my kids, and they informed me that I might not have been the perfect first child that I thought I was.

I really wasn't, but they did tell me grandmama will talk smack about you when you get her to talking.

[laughs] Evidently, my mom's been telling stories as I grew up, so I was not the perfect child.

No one is.

I do hope that as life has gone on, that I've made them proud and they've, hopefully, raised me well.

That most important role for me is doing the same thing to follow in my parents' footsteps and raise good kids.

That is my most important role in life.

I'm so thankful to get to do that with three great kids that make me proud every single day.

I want to talk about family.

It's also the community you grow up in.

Middleton was a wonderful place to grow up.

I had wonderful schools right there.

I give credit to those teachers that put up with us, and I tell people that I'm a nurse and I love taking care of patients, but if I was a teacher, I would lose my religion by [?].

[laughs] My daughter has been called into that.

I feel like she's been called into teaching, and so I told her that I'm very proud because I look back and the math teachers and the science teachers and all the people that invested in me at Middleton really shaped me in my academic career right as I grew in the academics.

She's going to have the opportunity to do that and has a real heart for that.

Very excited for elementary education to be part of what she does.

Proud mom moment.

She's rolling her eyes, but family's important.

I encourage you to focus on family and cherish those times.

We get so busy as women taking care of everything else.

Managing the schedule for everyone, managing our own schedule.

Sometimes it's nice just to sit with that family and cherish that time.

Hold onto that because when we're gone, I think people won't remember me probably a couple of years, but my kids will.

My kids will be there.

That's what's important.

Then a focus, having a good focus.

That's like a passion.

Definitely, my passion after my family has been the healthcare system.

For 29 years, I've been a nurse, and I'm still a nurse at heart.

Every once in a while they'll let me hang out in the ER, and I'll offer to help.

I've offered in our clinic.

Sometimes, I think it's a little harder now.

Some people don't think I'm competent to do that anymore, Theresa, [laughs] but we have to come together.

I will tell you that Western Sea Healthcare has been such a blessing to me from the moment I started.

I fell in love with West Sea Healthcare early on because I remember being told, you just take care of the patient, we'll worry about all the business stuff and the insurance later.

We take care of everyone regardless of their ability to pay.

That touched me as a nurse coming out of nursing school.

I was nervous enough.

I was trying to take care of patients for the first time without my nursing instructor and from union and to know that my job's to take care of the patient and somebody else is figuring out how we make this work.

Well, 29 years later, here we are, we're figuring that out.

Love the business side of healthcare too, and trying to put that puzzle together.

It's a true blessing to be able to be in that role.

I do stand on the shoulders of James Ross, and I would not be here if I could not cherish the friendship, the personal friendship that JR and I shared, but we also worked together in leadership roles for about 17 years.

I know that he kept me from getting fired a few times, and I kept him from getting fired a few times because we're so passionate about what we do.

Really JR would really focus and help our team focus number one, press on.

That was a favorite phrase of his.

Then he really focused on perseverance and endurance in those hard times that we all face.

We've faced some hard times as a health system with the loss of JR, and we constantly hear him say, "Perseverance, endurance, you press on."

We're thankful for his legacy and definitely thankful for the things he's done for that healthcare system.

Just really, like I said, very much a personal friend, he just showed up when everybody needs him.

If you knew JR, you were a friend to JR, thankful for that.

The health system is a passion of mine, of course, and we love taking care of patients across this region.

We reach out with our hospitals and our clinics and our outpatient services to try to serve the needs of communities.

We want to improve the health and the well-being of our communities.

We've been focused on that for a long time.

We live in the south where we like a lot of fried foods and a lot of sweet foods and so we try to educate people about being healthier.

The epitome of, hey, what would be the best case scenario for a patient to meet West Tennessee Healthcare?

That's in our primary care clinics for annual well visit where you're just getting that checkup.

We would love that, but we know that that's not how we all live.

It's not how I live either.

It's hard to do.

We want to be that choice for you.

We want to be chosen by our communities as that best place to receive that care.

We are constantly striving towards that.

when the quality and safety across the organization.

I'm passionate about the people.

I'm very passionate about the over 8,200 people that we get to serve with each day.

We lay aside a lot of personal stuff that's going on in our lives to just pour in to those patients, families, visitors that are in front of us.

I don't lose sight of that with the team.

I truly believe after 29 years I've seen it, if we focus on the people aspect of healthcare, meaning the team that's giving that care and that patient in front of us, the rest of this stuff takes care of itself.

It is about the people.

We're blessed with over 8,200 people who come to work every day, want to do great things.

We're not perfect and I want to apologize when we're not because it's humans taking care of humans, but we don't stop trying to be perfect.

That's to the credit of all 8,200.

I'm blessed with a great team.

I have a lot of the team here across this room that are servers and getting to attend and enjoy this meal.

Our executive leadership team, our group of directors and supervisors and all the employees really, we are just arm in arm go after this, especially over these past six months.

Very proud of everyone in that.

Thankful for my people.

This is an acronym that I use.

It takes a lot to do everybody.

It takes a lot in life.

Whether you're doing a job as a president and CEO of one of our organizations across these communities or whatever you're doing in life, this is needed.

As a mom, I use this acronym as a mom, but I'm continually pushing for growth, personal growth.

One of the things that I'm very proud of in the healthcare system is that we focus on growing from within and career mapping and just passionate about giving people a chance and educating them and helping them.

Personal growth I think is a key factor in success in life, resilience, how to handle it when it doesn't go as expected.

We got to get back up.

We got to persevere, we've got to endure.

Integrity for me is about being real.

You learn a lot of things in life, and I've had a couple of situations, one particular in my life where you learn that real is rare.

It really is.

Real is rare.

When I find that group of people, that person that is real, who you can be real with, and they're real with you, that's a rare friendship, a rare connection that you find.

I do thank God for those people in my life that are those real connections and real people.

I'm blessed with a great team that I get to work with every day.

My work family's real.

We're like brothers and sisters.

We may not always agree, but nobody's going to come after the family.

We got this.

That realness is valued to me, and I think that drives an integrity that we can have when we're real with people.

It establishes trust and integrity.

That last one's teamwork.

Nothing in life is an individual sport.

Even raising children, I've been blessed with parents that helped me, stepped in any time I had a seven o'clock meeting, and rolled up from Middleton, Tennessee to help me get kids to school or daycare or whatever it was.

I'm very thankful for that.

It was a teamwork to raise children.

It is teamwork to do healthcare and do a healthcare system, and like I said, we got the best team right here with Western City Healthcare.

-Well, that does it for this special edition of Tennessee is Talking on Location from the United Way's 12th Annual First Ladies Luncheon.

Our thanks to the United Way team for allowing WLJT to bring this beautiful event to television for the very first time.

You can share this episode with friends or family members.

All of WLJT programs are available on demand on the PBS app, our YouTube channel, and our website.

I'm Peter Noll, thanking you for joining us for this special edition of Tennessee is Talking on Location.

Remember, keep on talking, Tennessee.

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Please visit westtnpbs.org and make a donation today so that we can continue to make local programs like this possible.

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