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5 things to know about Edmund Ford Jr. s involvement with Shelby Co. grantee Junior Achievement
Ford said he sold the group computers from his business. His pitch came before introducing a grant benefiting the group, the nonprofit s former president said.
Katherine Burgess and Sarah Macaraeg, Memphis Commercial Appeal
Published
12:17 pm UTC Dec. 16, 2020
In 2019, Shelby County commissioners approved a $450,000 grant to Junior Achievement of Memphis and the Mid-South Inc., a nonprofit that offers work readiness and entrepreneurship programs for Shelby County students.
The leading sponsor of the grant resolution, Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr., owns a computer business. After advocating the organization receive government funds, Ford sold computers to Junior Achievement, he said creating a potential conflict of interest. A former head of the nonprofit said Ford approached him about buying computers early on in the grant process.