The seal of Millington depicts three things the city is known for in Shelby County. One of the illustrations is a young family. Dr. Janice Navario is the latest to prove Millington is an ideal place to raise a family. Along with her husband Todd Pope and their sons Alan Michael and Wesley, the family will be welcoming a new addition in April. In just 15 months of living in Flag City, Navario has been leaving her imprint on her new home. With her work as a family medicine physician seeing children all the way up to geriatrics at Saint Francis Medical Partners, Navario has won over several hearts of her patients with her style of care. Several of those patients and the staff of Saint Francis Medical Partners located at 8507 Highway 51 North Suite 107 rallied to vote Navario the 2016 Millington Star Readers’ Choice Woman of the Year. “Very humbling,” Navario said of her honor. “I was very surprised. I’m just honored. This community has really embraced and everyone has been so wonderful.” The New York City native grew up all over the United States with her father George a part of the U.S. Army. Navario graduated from Waynesville High School in Missouri and went on to attend The University of Memphis. She continued her medical studies at UT-Memphis. Navario, 39, spent 7 years in the military where she was named Airman of the Year, Resident of the Year and Intern of the Year just among a few of her honors. Her medical career took her to Jackson, Tenn., before moving to Millington. She quickly tried to get acclimated to her new home. “I try to attend Chamber meetings and I’ve done a couple of health fairs in the community,” she recalled. “ I would like to do more as things come up and time permits. I want to get more active in the community and hopefully start mentoring. That’s one of my main goals. I want to reach younger people.” Navario established a mentoring program in Jackson as a way of outreach to children. She said care of children is more than just medicine to the body. The lessons Navario learned from her parents George and Maria have motivated her to assist the youth emotionally and mentally as well. Her parents’ philosophies along with her work ethic have allowed Navario to become an accomplished doctor. “My father was prior military,” she noted. “He was Army. He taught me there’s no substitute for hard work. Everyday, I hear that voice. It’s in my head every time. “Same thing, my Mom taught me to shoot for the moon,”Navario added. “ She said if you fall short, you’ll still be among the stars.” Now Navario is shooting for the moon in Millington. She wants to make her new home a better place for her growing family. “I’m pregnant, so I plan to have a baby,” she said. “That might change a few things. I’m just trying to figure out how I can incorporate more mentoring and do a program. I used to do a program in Jackson call Girl Power. “The goal was to teach young girls to stay in school and not be sexually active,” Navario continued. “That would be a goal for this year to come up with some type of mentoring program. Not just for girls but for young people in general.” With the latest honor of Readers’ Choice Woman of the Year, Navario said the distinction will motivate her to make Flag City proud.
“I want to show them how grateful and thankful I am for this honor,” she concluded. “This is very unexpected and humbling. Anything I can do to improve the community I want to do. This is a huge responsibility.”
