Meet Brian McCurry
Brian McCurry
Brian joined the City Leadership team in January 2024 as our Development Director.
Why Memphis?
My family and I moved to Memphis from North Carolina back in 2004. After 20 years of living here (aside from a 4-year detour back to NC where we missed our Memphis friends incredibly!) Memphis is our home. Being Memphians has become a part of who we are as a family - we love Memphis BBQ, the Grizzlies, and mostly the people of Memphis!
To quote Memphis media member, Chris Vernon… “If you love Memphis, Memphis will love you back.” We love Memphis and have felt the love of its people for all these years.
Community Investment
Throughout my entire time living in Memphis, I have been fortunate enough to be able to invest in the city full-time throughout my career. I have worked on campus with college students in Memphis and West TN (West Tennessee is the best Tennessee!), served in a local church, worked with one of our non-profit partners Memphis Athletic Ministries, and find myself here now on the staff of City Leadership.
In all of those seasons of community investment as my career, I have found these things to be true:
1. There are incredible people, from the city to the burbs, who care deeply about Memphis.
2. There are literally thousands of those same people who are tirelessly and generously investing every single day to make Memphis a great city.
3. We still need more!
Finding and unleashing that “more” is what I desire to see happen as my contribution to the City Leadership team. I believe that if we all contribute what we have in time, resources, and networks we can be a part of a thriving Memphis.
A Message to the Community
What message would I want to convey to the community? To those who are engaged in good work in Memphis, I would say, “Keep going!” The work we do to make a positive impact is like a seed. It takes water, sun, nutrients, and time for a seed to grow (We don’t always have the patience for the time element of growth do we?).
Don’t be discouraged when a seed you have planted is not a full-grown apple tree in a week, a month, or even a year. Keep tending to it and with time it will grow and produce fruit. (Mmm… apple pie!)
To those “not yet” engaged with one of the many great causes in the city, I would say, “We need you!” You don’t even have to dream up a great idea yourself to get involved. There are thousands of great people and great organizations making an impact in their little corner of Memphis. Ask one of those friends you know how you can get into the game yourself. You can even ask me! I would be glad to get to know you, learn more about a cause that you care about, and help you connect anywhere in the city.
It would be an honor to help you find a place to make an impact that is uniquely you. I have hope for Memphis and it is built on the diverse, gifted, and passionate people who live here!
