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Jerred Price is a general contractor and musical artist also known by his stage name Almost Elton John. He is the former president of the Downtown Neighborhood Association (DNA) and a former commissioner for the City of Memphis via the City Beautiful Commission. Early life Price was born in Anchorage, Alaska. His family moved to Leachville, Arkansas, and then to Memphis in 2012. Before moving to Memphis, Price ran for mayor of Leachville at the age of 18 and he lost by only 48 votes. Price began working at McDonald's in high school. Career He later became a manager at Lowe's, before moving to the insurance field, working first for Nationwide Insurance and then for Erie Insurance Group where he worked until 2021. Price is a self-taught pianist and singer who started playing piano at the age of three. In 2014, he hosted his first show at Hard Rock Cafe on world famous Beale Street in Memphis. He was the featured artist at Elton John's 60th birthday celebration in New York City on the Elton John AIDS Foundation's Lunch Around the World fundraiser cruise. As a musician his shows grew in popularity. And in 2021, Price's Almost Elton John show was voted runner up Best Live Act/Musician in the Memphis Most awards via The Commercial Appeal. In 2018, Jim Strickland, mayor of Memphis, Tennessee, appointed Price as a commissioner to serve the residents of the city. In 2019, Price spearheaded/founded the Rainbow Crosswalk Memphis project which installed the first rainbow crosswalk in Tennessee. The project made headlines throughout the city and state. The project was also supported by the Cooper Young Community Association. In 2019, Price wrote an opinion piece in the Daily Memphian about the renovations being planned for Tom Lee Park and advocated to restore the Mud Island River Park and its amphitheater. Price ran for Memphis City Council in 2019 to represent District 7. He placed third out of nine candidates, missing the run off election by one place (top two candidates go to run off). He was endorsed by the Memphis Fire Fighters Association, Memphis Police Association, Memphis Area Association of Realtors, and Planned Parenthood. Price was elected president of the Downtown Neighborhood Association in February 2020. while serving as Downtown Neighborhood Association president, he started advocating toward restoring the Mud Island Amphitheater and started a Save the Amphitheater campaign. Later that year, Price announced that Mayor Jim Strickland had announced $4 million toward the Mud Island Amphitheater's restoration. This same year Price also started a radio show called Keeping 901 Informed that airs weekly on Saturdays on KWAM Memphis 107.9FM or 990 AM.
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