Vol. 12, Issue 1 | Winter 2026
Hidden Leaders
Sponsored by
Carroll Bank & Trust
Pick up a copy here starting Feb. 27:
DOWNTOWN:
Turntable Coffee Counter (300 E Main St.)
JMC Library (433 E Lafayette St.)
Havner’s Frame Shop (105 N Church St.)
Catbird Studio (2100 Pleasant Plains Extension)
Polished at The Walk (17 Jackson Walk Plaza)
Rock N Dough (16 Jackson Walk Plaza)
The Ned (314 E. Main St.)
Garner Blue (7 Jackson Walk Plaza)
theLOCAL (202 W Lafayette St.)
The Nine Oh Six (212 E Main St)
Franklin’s Little Bar (205 S. Shannon St.)
the Carnegie (305 E. College St.)
ComeUnity Cafe (218 E. Main St.)
MIDTOWN:
theCO (541 Wiley Parker)
Jackson Smiles Family Dentistry (276 Carriage House Dr)
EAST
Lane College (545 Lane Ave.)
SOUTH:
Jackson Green Frog (1649 S Highland Ave)
Complete Dental Care (2064 S Highland Ave)
NORTH:
Green Frog (1410 Union University Dr.)
Polished (1319 Union University Dr. Suite C)
Solace Skin & Laser (1363 Union University Dr. Suite F)
Premier Dental (80 Exeter Rd.)
Rejuvenate Wellness & Medspa (1348 Union University Dr. Suite C)
Flight Nutrition (1348 Union University Dr Suite H)
Picasso (10 Stonebridge Blvd)
East Main Salon (319 Vann Dr.)
Elite Dental Care (47 N Star Dr)
FMY Orthodontics (190 Murray Guard Dr.)
Premier Family Medicine (2062 Pleasant Plains Extension Suite E)
Lifetime Eyecare (2043 Greystone Square)
Jackson Chiropractic (3566 US-45 Suite A)
editor's note
“Leadership is an action, not a position or a title.”
I came across this quote in the process of receiving all our stories for this journal and it couldn’t have been more perfect timing. Some of the most influential leaders in our community don’t stand behind podiums or carry impressive titles. They show up early, stay late, pouring themselves into work that often goes unseen. While gathering stories for this journal, I was struck by how many of our subjects insisted they weren’t leaders at all, questioning why they were nominated as a hidden leader. They described their work simply as “what needed to be done.” And yet, their impact tells a very different story. These are the people who notice the gaps and step into them, not for recognition, but because someone needed to be cared for.
Reading and working on these stories has reminded me that leadership is holding a door, sitting with someone as they cry, showing a student that they are deeply valued, creating belonging in a new city, bringing back a lost art form, and seeing people who are in the margins. It is the small moments. The moments only seen by a few people. The moments when someone truly sees you.
I hope this journal gives you the opportunity to slow down, notice the quiet, yet impactful work happening around you, and maybe even notice the leadership qualities in yourself. Leaders are consistent in their everyday actions, showing up faithfully time and time again, and meeting needs in the mundane moments that most of life is made up of. Sometimes, that comes with recognition, but most of the time, the leaders that are weaving our community together remain in the background.
We wanted to highlight just a few of those incredible people in the next 66 pages, but we know there are so many more who are doing important jobs day in and day out. Maybe in reading these stories, you'll think of a leader who has impacted your own life. Go and thank them, tell them how they’ve changed you for the better, and ask them what wisdom they have to give. Let’s notice those around us more, and genuinely thank the people who are giving us a rich and relationally deep community.
Maddie McMurry, Editor-in-Chief
details
64 pages | perfect bound | full color
Printed in Jackson, Tennessee, at Tennessee Industrial Printing, Inc.
featured writers
Lizzie Emmons
Hannah Gore
Cari Griffith
Trista Havner
Maddie McMurry
Shelby Tyre
Abbey Wilson
featured photographers
Mirza Babic
Cari Griffith
Hannah Gore
Maddie McMurry
Tamara Miller
Guest Photographers
Willette DuPree
The Main Event Photography
Thomas Brown
If You're Walking Alone, You're Just Going for a Walk
written by shelby tyre | Photos by Mirza Babic
Jazz foundation of west tennessee
Standing in the Gaps
written by lizzie emmons | Photos by Tamara MILLER, Willette DuPree, & the Main Event Photography
poem
the scaffolding
by miley rea
butterfly’s embrace
preserving the unseen
written & photographed by maddie mcmurry
jackson association of indians
The Quiet Cultivation of a Thriving Community
written & photographed by Hannah Gore
misha heglar
the Classroom That Taught Me More Than Spanish
written by abbey wilson | Photos by maddie mcmurry
essay & archive
Professor Hardy and the Quilting of Memories
by cari griffith
major danielle jones
leadership in the margins
Story by trista havner | Photos by cari griffith
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: carroll bank & trust
Carroll Bank & Trust has been serving West Tennessee communities for over 100 years, beginning in 1907 as the Bank of McLemoresville in Carroll County before expanding its reach across multiple markets including Carroll, Benton, Gibson, Henry, and Henderson counties, and starting this year, Madison County. The bank has weathered economic highs and lows, including remaining open during the Great Depression, and has grown steadily through a model rooted in personal relationships and local trust.
In 1972, the bank entered a new chapter as Carroll Bank & Trust (CB&T) when it was purchased by a group of local leaders who grew the bank by face-to-face conversations — meeting farmers in their fields, knocking on doors, and building trust one relationship at a time. That approach laid the foundation for decades of sustainable growth across multiple West Tennessee counties. Today, the bank operates nine branches, offering personalized financial solutions like checking and savings accounts, loans, mortgages, business banking, investments, and digital services.
The next big step for Carroll Bank & Trust is moving into the Jackson, Tennessee, market, bringing community-minded banking to our city. Their new branch will be located at 79 Stonebridge Blvd. and will open this spring, bringing banking services, mortgage services, investment guidance through Raymond James, and a culture of care that sets it apart.
CEO Mike Cary has been connected to the bank for nearly his entire life, beginning as a teenage teller and later returning full-time in 1997. Under his leadership, the bank expanded investment services through Raymond James, grew strategically across multiple counties, and maintained a model of high-touch, locally made decisions. Today, Carroll Bank & Trust manages over $600 million in assets while remaining intentionally nimble and relationship-driven.
“One of our competitive edges as we move into the Jackson market is how quickly we can return a lending decision to somebody,” Cary said. “You know, that’s something that will set us apart in the Jackson market because we're a small and nimble community bank, and we don't have layers of hierarchical, organizational structure before we can get you a decision.”
CB&T’s goal is a values-driven approach rooted in faith, stewardship, and service. Andrew Massie is leading the team as Jackson City President — he emphasizes that caring deeply for employees leads directly to caring for customers and the community, and that influence shapes everything they do, from how they solve problems to how they strive to support underfunded nonprofits.
“We’re not coming to Jackson because we hope to be profitable. We’re coming because we want to partner with the community in the way a community bank is meant to,” Massie said.
For Massie, community banking looks like partnering with their customers and community by keeping its resources as local as possible. He wants Carroll Bank & Trust to be a good community partner in Jackson, and he wants to ensure that it’s putting into practice what it’s preaching. The bank aims to provide solutions and guidance for the people and communities it serves.
When Carroll Bank & Trust chooses to walk with people through financial challenges, relationships often shift from challenging to fruitful. By believing in individuals during difficult moments and committing to help them regain stable financial footing, the bank builds long-lasting, meaningful partnerships.
“It’s about caring for people rather than just trying to do your job,” Massie explained as he spoke about the culture among the employees he would like to build.
“We hire from within the markets that we locate in. So for the most part, those people have roots and connections that are deeply embedded in the communities that we serve, and that will enable us to be more active and committed when opportunities to do things that would be beneficial to the community arise,” Cary said.
By hiring locally, supporting nonprofits, and investing time and resources back into the city, Carroll Bank & Trust hopes to offer Jackson something increasingly rare — the warmth of a true community bank paired with the tools and services of a modern financial institution.
You can learn more about Carroll Bank & Trust by visiting their website at www.carrollbank.com or following them on Facebook.