Joe Birch is an anchor for Action News 5. This is a special interest article he wrote for WMC-TV's Your Neighborhood. 

 

Summer beckons. School’s out.

The fun factor rises as we plan to enjoy our favorite outdoor activities. But all the action sometimes leads to accidents as I found out the hard way last July 17.

This electronic town crier broke his neck in two places in a freak Union Avenue car wreck. While I didn’t need a blood transfusion after an unfortunate collision, I easily could have found myself facing that scenario. We just never know the day or the hour when we’ll count on the forward thinking people who take time out to donate blood on a regular basis.

 

The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church of Memphis is hosting the 30th National Oratorical Festival for teenagers June 7 - 9, 2013.

This year the festival will be coming to Memphis for the first time and will be held at the church facility. The event is called the "St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival" and is sponsored by the Department of Religious Education of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

The parishioners are exciting to be welcoming all of their out of town guests, including His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, as well as Metropolitan Nicholas- Metropolitan of Detroit.

The Oratorical Festival is a program that invites youth in middle and senior high school to speak about their Faith, their Church and their heritage.

While many of us are preparing for the long Memorial Day Weekend, Memphis-based band, Agori Tribe, is preparing for their second appearance on an international stage.