The SPARK Awards Nominations Open Until

August 31, 2024

Nominations open August 1 for our 11th Annual WKNO televised awards show recognizing and celebrating organizations and individuals who are leading by example and making a difference in the Mid-South. 

You can nominate your company, nonprofit, school, child, teacher, principal/education leader, an adult, and/or someone who has dedicated many years of service to our great community. 

Overall, there are 13 categories covering individuals (youth, college student, adult, teacher, education leader, and legacy award), nonprofits of various sizes, corporations of different sizes, and schools. It is a totally FREE, public nomination-driven honor; and nominations are open August 1 through 5:00 PM CDT on August 31, 2024. 

Once the nomination phase is complete, all nominations will be given to The Midtown Memphis Rotary Club, which will ultimately select the winners in each category to be recognized during the special televised broadcast of The SPARK Awards later this year.

Nominations for The SPARK Awards 2024 open 

Thursday, August 1, 2024 — Saturday, August 31, 2024, at 5 PM CDT.

Here are The SPARK Awards 2023 honorees in each category:
 

Corporate
100 Employees or Fewer – Campfire Collective
101-499 Employees – Bioventus
500+ Employees – DeSoto County Schools

Nonprofit
Budget under $1 million – Destiny Center of DeSoto County
Budget $1-5 Million – SchoolSeed Foundation
Budget Greater than $5 Million – Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis

Education
Leadership – Noah Gordon
Educator – Dr. Peter R. Gathje
School – Aurora Collegiate Academy

Individual
Adult – Janet Boscarino
Collegiate – Brandon Washington
Youth – Terrell “TJay” Fuller

Legacy
Cordell Walker

The SPARK Awards is an extension of our WKNO-TV series, The SPARK. The SPARK is a monthly 30-minute show, executive produced and hosted by cityCURRENT CEO Jeremy C. Park, about business and community leaders who are fueling change and giving back to the Mid-South. The SPARK airs on the third Friday of each month at 7:30 PM on WKNO/Channel 10. It is a collaborative production between cityCURRENT and WKNO-TV.

Major funding for The SPARK and The SPARK Awards is provided by Higginbotham Insurance & Financial Services, with Champion Promotion and Delta Dental of Tennesseeas an additional major funder for The SPARK Awards. 

Additional funding is provided by United Way of the Mid-South, Economic Opportunities, LLC (EcOp), The Memphis Zoo, Meritan, and My Town Movers/My Town Roofing.