Story by Lyda Kay Ferree, The Southern Lifestyles Lady. Photography by Kristina Only.

Dr. Mechelle Taylor Moragne is an established family practice physician with over 18 years of experience in Jackson, Tennessee. She is highly regarded in the community, earning numerous accolades for her stellar patient care. She has been awarded a total of four Silver Stevie Awards from the 2021 American Business Awards Division of the Stevie Awards Program for Minority Owned Business of the Year and Frontline Hero of the Years and 2020 International Women in Business Division of the Stevie Awards Program for Female Entrepreneur of the Year and 2020 Frontline Hero of the Year.

She recently received a proclamation from Mayor Scott Conger from the City of Jackson which recognized her for receiving Frontline Medical Hero of the Year from the Stevie Award Program and serving the Jackson community. She has been honored by the Jackson-Madison County NAACP for her community partnership to provide free COVID testing to uninsured and underinsured citizens of Jackson, TN and Denmark, TN. She was presented the Trailblazer Award by Rose Hill Middle School, awarded National Top Doctor in Family Practice in 2020 and 2021, and inducted into the Continental Who’s Who of Physician Professionals. Moragne received the Ruby Award from the Jackson African American Chamber of Commerce, and she was awarded the 2019 Physician of the Year by the National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa Incorporated and recognized for her years of service to the Jackson community during the Do the Right Things Challenge 2019 by Councilman Ernest Brooks.

She is a graduate of the 2017 Leadership Jackson class in which she was awarded a Jewel Award. She is very passionate about her medical service to the Jackson community. She worked at the East Jackson Family Medical Center and West Tennessee Medical Group for 16 years providing excellent medical care to an underserved and underrepresented community. While at East Jackson, she participated in many outreach programs including the Kid’s Health Fair and Breast Cancer Awareness for many years.

Dr. Taylor is a native of Memphis, Tennessee. She graduated from Memphis Central High School. After high school, she moved to Nashville, TN to attend and graduate from Fisk University. She earned both her PH.D. and M.D. from Meharry Medical College. She was the first female student to obtain both the M.D. and PH.D. degrees from Meharry Medical College. Her passion for community service began while a student at Meharry.

She completed her internship and residency at Rush University and Illinois-Masonic Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. While in residency in Chicago, she volunteered at the Pilsen Homeless Shelter to provide free medical care to their homeless population.

In addition to her work with Links, Incorporated Dr. Moragne serves in many leadership roles in other organizations. Currently she is secretary of the Gamma Alpha Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated; Chair of the Health Committee of the Jackson-Madison County branch of the NAACH; board member of A Step Ahead Foundation; and a member of the Jackson, TN Exchange Club.

Her professional memberships include the American Medical Association, American Academy of Family Practice, National Medical Association, and M.V. Lynks Medical Society. Through her involvement with these organizations, she has organized many breast screens for uninsured women, heart health programs such as “Pink Goes Red for Heart Health,” the Relay for Life team to raise money for the American Cancer Society, and a team for Alzheimer’s Awareness, and she participated in numerous Health Fairs. She has also been a speaker for numerous organizations to talk about Breast Cancer Awareness in the African American community, Heart Health, and recently the impact of COVID-19 in the African American community. She is a member of Love and Truth Church in Jackson, TN.

Dr. Taylor has opened her own medical practice—Taylor Medical Center, PLLC in Jackson, TN. She continues to provide excellent medical care. She is very dedicated to her patients. Her current mission and vision for her clinic is to empower her patients to achieve their best health. Dr. Taylor has two handsome sons—Reuben and Dallas Moragne, who are students at the University of Memphis in Memphis, TN.

VIP: Please share a short history of The Links.

Mechelle Taylor Moragne: The Links, Inc., was founded in 1946 by two young Philadelphia visionaries and has a long tradition of engaging in educational, civic and inter-cultural activities in communities it serves. It is one of the nation’s oldest and largest volunteer service organizations of extraordinary women with a membership of over 16,000 professional women. I have been a member since 2008. We call ourselves a friendship chain. The Links represent that chain.

VIP: What are some things that the local Links chapter has done for our community?

MTM: The Jackson, TN Links, Incorporated has long served the Jackson community by providing scholarships for college bound males through its Beautillion Scholarship Program, raising money for Lane College, and bringing the Colgate Bright Smiles Bright Future van for oral health screening for elementary students. This chapter has provided a cumulative total of over $500,000 in scholarships to local students.
Also, I am the first physician to serve as president of our local chapter. With my medical background, I secured a grant from Baxter International, a global medical products company, which has a focus on chronic kidney disease.

VIP: Who may join, and what are the qualifications for membership? How many current local Links members are there in Jackson?

MTM: Membership is by invitation only. We look for women who are active in the community and want to make a difference and an impact in the community. We have 27 local members. These women are business owners, nurses, doctors, retired educators who were school principals and members of the Board of Education. We meet monthly, and we convene in the summer with our national organization.

VIP: Describe current Links projects.

MTM: Currently we develop our projects through our 5 facets: National Trends and Service, International Trends, Health and Human Service, the Arts, and Service to Youth. We have received a grant from Baxter International, a global company that works with kidney disease. This year our project brings awareness to chronic kidney disease in the African American communities.

Through the Health & Human Service facet, we provide our signature program, a Walk for a Healthy Lifestyle every year in September. We look at cardiovascular diseases and their impact on the community. Also through this facet, we focus on breast cancer awareness. Through our Services to Youth facet, our signature Beautillion program provides opportunities to young black males. Through workshops, these young men (9th grade to 12th grade students) are taught principles of entrepreneurship, given guidance on applying for college and encouraged to volunteer in the community. The end of the program culminates in a pageant in which three scholarships for colleges are awarded.

VIP: What are the benefits of being a Links member?

MTM: The joy of helping in the community and developing a lifelong friendship bond with like-minded women in the organization and being a small part of a greater organization that is affecting change worldwide.