I was one of the judges decades ago of Memphis Press-Scimitar’s Teenager of the Year event. The late Hugh Frank Smith, Mary Allie Taylor, and I would pore over a year’s worth of Teenager of the Week recipients from the now defunct afternoon newspaper to come up with the winner. No small task.
During the award ceremony/luncheon, our editor, the late Milton Britton, referred to all the Teenagers of the Week assembled, as “the best and the brightest.”
I think of that each year when I look at the 20 young people who comprise Memphis Flyer’s 20<30 Class of 2023. They were featured in the January 25th Flyer and also honored at a reception that night in the Central Station ballroom.
The headline on the story says it all: “Meet the leaders who will be shaping our future.”
As Chris McCoy writes, “Every year, the Memphis Flyer asks our readers to tell us all about the outstanding young people who are doing their best to make the Bluff City a better place. This time, we had a record number of nominees, and narrowing it down to just 20 was more difficult than ever. Speaking to an immensely talented 20 never fails to fill us with hope …”
Oakley Weddle, 21, founder of Jubilant Communications, probably spoke for all the recipients when he says, “I am completely honored to be a 20<30. Being born and raised in Memphis, I just really love my city. I’m proud of its legacy and future, which I hope to be a part of both.”
The honor was “particularly special,” Weddle says, because of the work he has done on a foundation he started in 2020 to honor his brother, Peyton Weddle, who was killed in a car accident in 2016. Recipients of the PEY it forward foundation are people who “resemble the kind of person he was. A very kind person, very helpful to the homeless community of the city.”
His foundation raises money for scholarships to the University of Memphis. They prioritize “people who are active in their city and can’t afford higher education.”
The foundation’s goal is to “spread kindness to strangers and also on digital spaces.”
Their job as 20<30 recipients isn’t over after the accolades are given, the shrimp and other appetizers are eaten, and the ballroom is empty. “While this award is an incredible honor, I feel the pressure is on to live up to it,” Weddle says. “It honors achievement, but it’s also a prediction and a bet that these young people will be the future here in Memphis. And it’s time to get to work.”
