Carnival was founded in 1931 to promote the commerce of the Mid-South. Each year the Business & Industry Salute Luncheon salutes and recognizes civic leaders and businesses that help make the community a great place to live.

Each year Carnival salutes an individual who has made an enormous impact on the Mid-South thru not only their business success, but also their charitable and community endeavors.  The Cooke Halle Award is appropriately named for Carnival Memphis' visionary founders, Everett R. Cook and A. Arthur Halle.

This year’s salute commemorates the 80th Anniversary of Carnival Memphis, and honors the Health Care Industry.

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Past Cook Halle Award Recipients

1987	William B. Dunavant	Agribusiness
1988	Fred Smith	Transportation & Distribution
1989	Jack Blair	Health Services
1990	Dick Trippeer	Financial Services
1991	Robert Buckman	Manufacturing
1992	Kemmons Wilson	Tourism & Hospitality
1993	Jack Belz	Real Estate
1994	Herbert Rhea	Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Insurance)
1995	Robert Wang	Wholesalers
1996	Pitt Hyde	Retail
1997	Norfleet Turner	Communications Technology
1998	Rev. Colenzo Hubbard	Non-Profits
1999	Kristi & Dean Jernigan	Arts & Entertainment
2000	Kenneth B. Hood	Agribusiness
2001	B. Lee Mallory III	Transportation & Distribution
2002	Allen Morgan, Jr.	Financial Services
2003	Thomas Farnsworth, II	Real Estate
2004	John Pitts, Sr.	Insurance
2005	James F. McGhee, Jr.	Aviation
2006	O. Mason Hawkins	Mid-South Industry
2007	R.E. Linkous	Construction
2008	Isaac Hayes and Davis Porter	Music
2009	Dr. Scott Morris	Non-Profit and Community Service
2010	John H. Dobbs, Sr.	Private Equity and Venture Capital
2011	Dr. Ralph Hamilton	Health Care