10s of Oxford Are Artists, Teachers, Athletes, Entrepreneurs

 

Noted Oxford photographer Susan Foust grew up in the city and shows a keen appreciation for the history, values and classic architectural legacy of Oxford’s structures.
Currently a resident with her husband, Gary, she received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi, with concentrations in art, art history and English.
Susan utilizes her background in Southern and Greek art and design as she photographs distinct buildings, architectural details, and landscapes. She shares the unique history and images of her hometown on her Facebook page, Susan Foust Photography—Oxford and Ole Miss in Perspective. Contact Susan at https://www.facebook.com/SusanFoustPhotography or email foustportraits@bellsouth.net.

Dr. Dupont and freshman journalism major Sudu Upadhyay spent winter intersession with the engineers in a hot African environment that couldn’t be further from wintry Oxford in so many ways
Eleven engineering students, led by Marni Kendricks, assistant dean of engineering, and Michael Costelli of Gulfport, professional mentor, are building the third room of a four-room school building in a village of Hedome in the Vogan region of Togo. Local villagers are assisting with what is know as “sweat” equity.
Dr. Dupont and Upadhyay tagged along with the engineers to produce various stories about the project, including print reports, a three-part television series and a documentary.
The ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open the school took place on Saturday, Jan. 11. The engineering team and the journalists returned to Oxford on Jan 19.

Despite 17 years of success in the publishing business, PMQ Pizza Magazine remains a mystery to many in Oxford.

“A pizza magazine? What, you write about pizza?” is the common refrain for those not familiar with the work of Steve and Linda Green.

The Greens publish a total of three pizza industry magazines in the U.S., China and Australia. The original American version has a national circulation of more than 40,000 pizza restaurant owners and operators.
However, publishing was not new to the Greens when they launched PMQ in 1997. Longtime Oxonians may recall their TV Tempo weekly guide, published in the 1970s and 80s, and the Oxford Green Pack, which provided coupons in the mail from 1991 to 1997.
Steve, a marketing whiz and former Domino’s Pizza franchisee in New York, California and Picayune, Miss. In 1996, he left his family in Oxford for a six-month consultancy in Seattle, where he helped set up Cyber Slice, the first online ordering company for the pizza industry. He was in Seattle when Steve Jobs, creator of the software used for the program, ordered the first pizza via the Internet. “Steve Jobs predicted that ordering online would be a big deal,” Steve Green said.
Steve knew that the pizza industry presented a big opportunity for an entrepreneur with the right idea. At the same time, the Greens were happy in Oxford. Steve earned his MBA at Ole Miss and didn’t want to move away.

Steve and Linda began to think about taking Steve’s pizzeria marketing expertise to the next level. Pizzeria operators often came to Steve for sales and marketing ideas, so he decided to share his thoughts with a small group of people who signed up for a newsletter. Although other publications already served the pizza industry, none of them focused on marketing. The Greens knew that many operators were hungry for moneymaking ideas. Before they knew it, PMQ Pizza Magazine was born.
While the magazine will continue to evolve, the Greens said they plan to keep working at it for a long time and hope that PMQ will outlive them. For now, though, they remain active publishers working every day at the office along with about a dozen local employees.

Ole Miss pole vaulter Sam Kendricks was named to a preseason list predicting who might qualify as the best collegiate track & field athlete in the nation.
Kendricks is also an honors student serving in ROTC at Ole Miss., and a volunteer for many charitable causes.
The reigning NCAA champion in the outdoor pole vault, Kendricks’ 10 points at the NCAA outdoor meet helped Ole Miss finish eighth in the final team standings, which was their best NCAA finish in program history. His school-record mark of 19-0.75 at the Texas Relays was the world leader for several weeks and one of the best vaults in NCAA history.
He also placed third at the NCAA indoor meet a year ago and was a gold medalist at the 2013 World University Games in Kazan, Russia.

In high school, Kendricks cleared a state meet record of 16-3 to capture the Class 5A state championship meet, leading Oxford High School to a second-place finish as a team in 2011.
He also won the 2011 indoor state championship and the 2010 outdoor championship in the pole vault, while lettering in cross country and soccer.
Kendricks volunteered locally on behalf of youth soccer programs and participated in fundraisers for both breast cancer awareness and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. He was honored as Most Outstanding Cadet for Oxford High’s Marine Corps Junior ROTC.
Sam is the son of Scott and Marni Kendricks, who both attended Ole Miss. His mother is an assistant dean in the Ole Miss School of Engineering and his father ran cross country at Ole Miss and is currently a volunteer assistant overseeing the team’s pole vaulters.
Sam has a twin brother, Tom, who also attends Ole Miss.
– Andy Knef is editor of Hotty Toddy.com. andy.knef@hottytoddy.com