Tran Bui is indeed a woman who makes a difference.  An active and contributing member of our community, Tran has made herself an accomplished woman, professionally and personally.

Tran came to the United States as a refugee of Communism.  Her family had nothing when the U.S. Navy plucked them from the ocean off Vietnam .  But during her upbringing in Northwest Arkansas she excelled in school eventually choosing a career in broadcast journalism.  

That career, on hold now for her family, is a decorated one.  Tran has been recognized with many awards for excellence in reporting and in audience appeal.  Among these awards are six Associated Press awards of excellence in four states and four awards from viewers as their favorite news personality. 

Tran has not let work get in the way of volunteering.  She feels compelled to volunteer her time to pay back kindnesses her family received on their flight from oppression to freedom.  From Arkansas and Oklahoma to the Florida panhandle and then the Memphis area, Tran has left evidence of her commitment to helping others.  Here in the Mid-South, Tran is a member or officer of five different organizations. She has been actively involved in organizations to better every community in which she has lived. 

Tran now serves as the President of the Board of Directors of The Commission on Missing and Exploited Children in Memphis .  She is also mother to Jackson (10 months) and the wife of Scott Smith.  I am proud to call Tran Bui my friend.  To recognize her as a “Woman Who Makes a Difference” would be a credit to Memphis Woman Magazine.

Kristen Terrell
Television host, producer & writer
50 Women Who Make A Difference Award
Memphis Woman Magazine April 2006