The Jackson Exchange Club hosted the 78th Annual Jackson Man of the Year Award dinner on Tuesday night at the Doubletree Hotel by Hilton.
Nominations for the award are open to outstanding men across the city with the winner chosen by anonymous judges.
Dr. Frank McMeen is the 2023 Man of the Year.
“Last night was the most pleasant surprise,” McMeen said. I was there to honor who I was told was going to be the recipient of the Man of the Year.”
But when Keli McAlister began reading information about the award, that’s when things got interesting for Frank.
“Those nice things were right in line with the person that I was told was getting the award . . . but when Keli mentioned a birthdate, I thought I heard my birthdate,” McMeen said, “Not being sure if I heard that right, I started paying more attention to what she was saying.
“Then she mentioned that the recipient was born in the small town of Lewisburg, TN. “Who in the world, other than me, would have been born in Lewisburg, TN?”
Frank said when he saw family and friends come into the banquet hall, he realized Keli was talking about him.
McMeen grew up on a World Championship Walking Horse Farm in Columbia, Tennessee, and earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Freed-Hardeman University and a Masters and Doctorate from The University of Memphis.
Dr. McMeen has served as a member of the adjunct faculty at the University of Memphis, teaching classes on non-profits and public administration as well as at Freed-Hardeman University teaching doctoral classes on leadership.
He has served in many roles at Freed-Hardeman including Vice President of University Advancement, Director of Development, Assistant Director of Admissions, and Assistant Director of Student Services.
The 2023 Jackson Man of the Year has served on and off as president of L.A.N.A. (Lambuth Area Neighborhood Association for 11 years and is past president of the Jackson Rotary Club, former president and member of the board of the Jackson Downtown Development Commission, has served on the board of Aspell Recovery, the Jackson Symphony, as Chairman of the board of Helping Hands of Tennessee in Jackson, and has served on numerous non-profit boards in the city of Jackson.
McMeen is currently the President of the Community Foundation of West Tennessee and an elected member of the Jackson City Council. He also serves on the Tennessee Dental Association Foundation and is past president of the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities.
“I love Jackson,” McMeen said, “We are blessed with things that other cities wished they had. We have a Symphony that has been here for more than half a century. We have our own baseball team, three TV stations, talk radio stations, three colleges/universities, our own airport, facilities that can hold thousands of residents at a time.
“Being able to live anywhere in West Tennessee, I have chosen Jackson . . . more correctly, I have chosen Midtown Jackson as my home for more than 30 years.
Dr. McMeen enjoys traveling and writing. He is the author of the books “Let Me Tell You a Story, Finding Hope in a Hopeless World” and “It’s All About a Story”. He has restored 12 residential and commercial buildings in Midtown Jackson.
“Jackson is such a cool, yet progressive city that even the Ford Motor Company has decided to place the largest manufacturing plant in the history of our country at our back door,” McMeen said, “I am so proud to be a Jacksonian and extremely honored to be selected as Jackson’s Man of the Year.”
(PHOTO: Dr. Frank McMeen learns he has been named the Jackson Exchange Club’s Man of the Year)
