Toney armstrong memphis police biography examples

Every year our staff faces one of its toughest challenges — looking back at the events of the past year and selecting those Memphians who played the largest role in our city’s present and future. It is no easy task narrowing the list down to 100 or so. We like to call these our city’s “movers, shakers, and other news-makers” (though we admit we’re not entirely sure what a “shaker” might be), but there’s no question that the people featured on the following pages  were prime movers and news-makers in their various fields — politicians, entrepreneurs, business leaders, athletes, musicians, and more.

We begin the list with our special “Hall of Fame” — those nine Memphians who have been named to every “Who’s Who” list since we began compiling them in 1984. The regular “Who’s Who” then begins on page 58, with a special “Out-of-Towners” section on pages 113 through 115.

Hall of Fame

Nine Memphians named to every “Who’s Who” list since 1984.

JACK BELZ

As chairman and CEO of Belz Enterprises, Belz heads one of the South’s largest real estate and development firms. A longtime booster, activist, and participant in downtown development, probably best known for bringing back The Peabody hotel. The driving force behind Peabody Place, a two-million-square-foot mixed-use development stretching for eight blocks downtown and one of the largest single historic renovation projects in the U.S. Has worked with the Memphis Housing Authority and Henry Turley Company to develop Uptown, including the demolition of the Hurt Village housing project and redevelopment of approximately 1,000 new single-family and multifamily units near St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Also partnered in downtown projects such as Harbor Town and South Bluffs. Total property holdings include more than 25 million square feet of developed property and more than 30 shopping complexes. Received the Leadership Memphis Community Leadership 2000 Award, the 2003 Master Entrepreneur Award of the

Sergeant Tim Helldorfer never planned on being a police officer. The University of Mississippi graduate, originally from the Northeast, had always wanted to be in the FBI. However, as a young man, he needed to gain some important job experience before applying to the Bureau. He says, “The Memphis Police Department was interviewing and, for the experience of a job interview, I went, passed all the necessary tests, and twenty-seven years later, I am still here.”

Before joining the Homicide Department, Helldorfer was in the TACT Unit, and describes it as, “numerous barricade situations (and) protecting several heads of state.” After spending six years “taking on the underworld that preyed on the weak,” he was called back as an instructor, where he spent eight years training the next generation of TACT officers.

After more than twenty-eight years of service, Sgt. Tim Helldorfer has retired from the Memphis Police Department.

Sergeant Helldorfer is married with four children.

By Kontji Anthony - bio | email

MEMPHIS, TN (WMC-TV) - Veteran officer Toney Armstrong has been named the new director of the Memphis Police Department.  Armstrong's promotion from deputy director was announced Tuesday by Mayor A C Wharton.

A Memphis native, Armstrong most recently served as second-in-command to Larry Godwin, who was police director for six years.  Armstrong, 44, has been on the force for 22 years, and is the youngest director to come from within the department in the city's history.

"I'm a true testament that if you do the right thing, God will bless you," he said.

Armstrong used Tuesday's announcement to make his first promise.

"We'll continue some of the crime initiatives we have, but I promise you one of the things we'll do is to enhance our community relations," he said.

Many know Armstrong as the man who got a confession out of Lester Street mass murderer Jessie Dotson, a confession that was televised on A&E's "The First 48." But the Magna Cum Laude Christian Brothers University grad worked his way to the top, from Organized Crime to Felony Assault, Missing Persons, Crime Stoppers, Uniform Patrol, Robbery and Homicide.

Armstrong thanked the mayor and Director Larry Godwin, who said he recommended Armstrong because he works hard.

"We both grew up in North Memphis," Godwin said. "He didn't have a father and I didn't have a father. I watched mine get murdered. Toney says he didn't know his. So we had a lot of similarities. I think at the end of the day the one thing I want to convey is it's going to be a smooth transition."

Wharton, meanwhile, said Armstrong would bring "toughness, fairness, sharpness and concern for people" to the job.

The Memphis City Council needs to approve the selection.

Godwin has been hired as deputy commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security.

Copyright 2011 WMC-TV. All rights reserved. The AP contributed to this story.