Mississippi Economic Council
Leadership Mississippi

Quote of the Month

"Authentic leadership is revealed in the alignment of what you think, what you say and what you do." - Michael Holland


MEC's Leadership Mississippi celebrates its 
45th Anniversary!

Did you know?: 
MEC kicked off its inaugural class on  October 29, 1974. 

Leadership Mississippi has a long and storied history of bringing together leaders from across the state and equipping them with the skills needed to help grow their organization and communities. 

Be apart of the 45th anniversary celebration of the 2nd oldest leadership program in the country by sharing your story.

We want to hear about your fun memories and Leadership Mississippi experiences! This is your opportunity to be featured in this year's anniversary celebration.

Send your videos and stories to Courtnie Mack at cmack@msmec.com. 

The anniversary celebration will culminate with a celebratory event. Details to soon come.

MEC'S HOBNOB MISSISSIPPI
LEADERSHIP MISSISSIPPI VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY

Whether this will be your first-time at MEC's Hobnob event, or if you are a veteran MEC Hobnobber, you can help make MEC's 18th Annual Hobnob Mississippi one to remember! One of the best ways to stay involved with MEC is to volunteer at one of our events. Hobnob is a great opportunity to stay connected and learn more about our organization.

If you would like to contribute your time and energy to make MEC's Hobnob a success, the event is set for Thursday, October 31, 2019 at the Mississippi Coliseum. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m.

Let us know in which capacity you can help us by completing this brief form. 


We hope to see you there!
 
Mark Your Calendars!

In its fifth year, National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) is holding a nationwide celebration, established by the U.S. Department of Labor, to bring together leading business, labor, education and other critical partners to showcase the impact apprenticeship programs have on closing the U.S. skills gap for the American workforce. NAW gives employers, including sponsors and providers, the opportunity to showcase their apprenticeship programs, facilities and apprentices so that career seekers can learn more about the benefits of apprenticeships and the programs that are available in their communities.

For more information on the Mississippi Apprenticeship Program (MAP) and other statewide National Apprenticeship Week activities,

Follow MAP on Social Media:
Twitter ,  Facebook  and  LinkedIn
   
Your $100 Annual Alumni Contribution plays an important part in sustaining the life and legacy of Leadership Mississippi!

Don't miss your chance to make the list of contributors for the 
2020 Program Year!

Special Thanks to All of Our 2019 Alumni Contributors
  • Linda R. Aldy (Class of 1982) Aldy & Company
  • R. Mark Alexander, Jr. (Class of 2008) - Balch & Bingham, LLP  
  • David L. Allen (Class of 1983) - Mississippi Blood Services, Inc.
  • Sidney Allen, Jr. (Class of 2010) - Butler Snow, LLP
  • Robert J. Barnes (Class of 1994) - PriorityOne Bank
  • Carlos Bell (Class of 2010) - Mississippi State Port Authority At Gulfport
  • Michael Bellipanni (Class of 2015) - Northcentral Electric Power Association
  • Heather Farris Bennett (Class of 2017) - W.G. Yates & Sons Construction Company
  • Russell Bennett (Class of 2014) - Entergy Mississippi, Inc.
  • Leonard Bentz (Class of 2012) - Southern Mississippi Planning & Development District
  • Paul Bertucci (Class of 2008) - F. E. B. Distributing Company, Inc.
  • Christa Bishop (Class of 2017) - Cooperative Energy 
  • Steven Blaylock II (Class of 2017) - North Mississippi Health Services
  • Dianne Bolen (Class of 2011) - Retired
  • Barry Bouchillon (Class of 1980) - State Farm Insurance Companies
  • Mark S. Bounds (Class of 1983) - NAI/Mark S. Bounds Realty Partners
  • Jerome Brown (Class of 2014) - The First Bank, A National Banking Association
  • Greg Burks (Class of 2017) - Renasant Bank
  • William L. Burle, Jr. (Class of 1990) - W. L. Burle Engineers, P.A.
  • Odean Busby (Class of 1985) - PriorityOne Bank
  • Augustus L. Collins (Class of 2012) - MINACT, Inc.
  • Martha C. Cooke (Class of 2016) - MISSCO
  • Goerge P. Cossar III (Class of 2007) - Entergy Mississippi, Inc.
  • James Covington (Class of 1984) - First Bank
  • Richard Cowart (Class of 1974) - Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz
  • Angela Curry (Class of 2007) - Greenwood-Leflore Industrial Board
  • William Daly (Class of 1980) - The Personnel Department
  • John M. Dean, Jr. (Class of 1974) - LANDMART/ Dean Land & Realty Company
  • Dave Dennis (Class of 1993) - Specialty Contractors & Associates, Inc.
  • J. Kane Ditto (Class of 1975) - StateStreet Group, LLC
  • Portia B. Espy (Class of 2010) - The William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation
  • Jan Farve (Class of 2016) - Merchants Foodservice 
  • Keith Ferguson (Class of 2009) - LogoStoreUSA, Inc
  • Robert Gibbs (Class of 1982) - Gibbs Travis, PLLC 
  • Allison L. Graves (Class of 1997)
  • Thomas G. Gresham (Class of 1987) - Double Quick - Gresham Petroleum
  • Walton Gresham, III (Class of 1976) - Gresham Petroleum Company
  • Rodney L. Grogan (Class of 2003) - MMC Materials, Inc. 
  • Rodney Harris (Class of 2014) - Mississippi National Guard
  • John Hatmaker, Jr. (Class of 1990) - Tronox
  • Jamie Higdon (Class of 2013) - TempStaff, Inc.
  • William Hodges (Class of 2017) - Hancock Whitney Bank
  • Jamie Holder (Class of 2009) - Hol-Mac Corporation
  • Ryan Holmes (Class of 2015) - Dungan Engineering, P.A.
  • Rosalyn Howard (Class of 2016) - Mississippi Nurses Foundation
  • Edmond Hughes (Class of 2012) - Ingalls Shipbuilding
  • Susan Hunt (Class of 2008) - Retired
  • Elizabeth Corso Joachim (Class of 2009) - Corso, Inc.
  • David Johnson, Sr. (Class of 2000) - BankPlus
  • Samuel Jones (Class of 2010) - Jones County Junior College
  • Rex Kelly (Class of 1979) - Strategic Communication
  • Carmen Kyle (Class of 2018) - Southaven Chamber of Commerce
  • Amanda Lott (Class of 2018) - Irby Construction Company
  • Robert Luke (Class of 1988) - LPK Architects
  • Nora Miller (Class of 2008) - Mississippi University for Women
  • Charles L. Morris (Class of 1987) - Morris Petroleum, Inc. 
  • Deanne Mosley (Class of 2016) - The Mississippi Bar
  • Barbara Ousby (Class of 2007) - C&B Enterprise, Inc.
  • Rebecca Phipps (Class of 1988) - Rebecca Phipps Law Office
  • Jack Reed, Jr. (Class of 1976) - R. W. Reed Co.
  • Dr. Michael Robbins (Class of 1975) - Robbins Research & Planning, Inc.
  • Paige Roberts (Class of 2010) - EPIC Enterprises, LLC
  • Ginger Robey (Class of 2012) - Daniel Coker Horton & Bell, P.A.
  • Robin Robinson (Class of 1988) - Retired
  • Jason Siegfried (Class of 2009) - Southern Pine Electrical Power Association
  • Ed Simmons (Class of 2015) - Benefit Administration Services
  • C. D. Smith (Class of 2010) - AT&T
  • Deidre D. Smith (Class of 2018) - Mississippi National Guard
  • Mark Smith (Class of 2004) - The CPI Group, LLC
  • E. Gregory Snowden (Class of 1984) - Mississippi State Representative
  • Honorable Keith Starrett (Class of 1979) - U. S. District Judge
  • Belinda Stewart (Class of 1993) - Belinda Stewart Architects, PA
  • Dr. Jennifer Sutton (Class of 2018) - Gulf Coast Veterinary Services
  • William A. Taylor, III (Class of 1979) - The Taylor Group of Companies
  • Denny Terrell (Class of 2007) - Ivey Mechanical Company 
  • Pat Thomasson (Class of 2007) - Thomasson Company
  • Amanda Tollison (Class of 2008) - Butler Snow, LLP
  • Clay Wagner (Class of 2016) - Hancock Whitney Bank
  • Amy Walker (Class of 2017) - Ergon, Inc.
  • Anthony Webb (Class of 2011) - Community Bancshares of Mississippi, Inc.
  • Lewis Whitfield (Class of 1974-1975) - CREATE Foundation
  • Rebecca Lee Wiggs (Class of 1994) - Butler Snow, LLP
  • Kenneth W. Williams, Sr. (Class of 1974-1975) - Butler Snow, LLP 
  • Anthony Wilson (Class of 2000) - Mississippi Power
Special Thanks to All of Our 2019 Corporate Sponsors

American Medical Response
Atmos Energy
Balch & Bingham LLP
Chevron Products Company
Corso, Inc.
Delta State University
Eley Guild Hardy Architects, PA
Gulf Coast Veterinary Emergency/Beach View Veterinary Hospital
Hancock Whitney Bank
FEB Distributing
Ingalls Shipbuilding
M&M Bank
Machado Patano
Mississippi Department of Marine Resources
Mississippi Power
Batson Children's Hospital
Irby Construction Company
Port of Rosedale
Raytheon
Roy Anderson Corp
Samuel L. Jones - Life Changing Presentations
Sid Davis, Collaborative Lawyer and Mediator
Southern Mississippi Planning & Development District
The Leland Progress
Yates Construction

We Have Great News to Share from Our Alumni!
Join us in congratulating these individuals on their outstanding achievements. 

University of Mississippi School of Nursing Alumni Board welcomed Dr. Tonya Moore (Class of 2015), current Administrator for Community Health Services at University of Mississippi Medical Center, as its newest School of Nursing Board President.
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Laura Smith (Class of 2015) has been promoted to Director of Treasury Solutions and Senior Vice President of Trustmark National Bank.
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Blue Delta Jeans, with its CEO and Founder Josh West (Class of 2011), partnered with Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) to be the official jean of the Ryder Cup team, which will compete in the 43rd Ryder Cup matches on Sep. 25-27, 2020. 

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Leadership MS would like to acknowledge the following alumni who were recognized as Top Influencers, leaders who raise the bar by their example and transformative work in their communities, at this year's SUCCESS Women's Conference.

Sherri Carr Bevis (Class of 2015) - Assistant Secretary of State for External Marketing
Lynn Frisby (Class of 2016) - Marketing Specialist, Boomtown Casino
Mary Graham (Class of 2007) - President, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College
Angela Juzang (Class of 2019) - Director of Marketing and Business Development, Garden Park Medical Center
Pam Moeller (Class of 2019) - Director of External Relations, The University of Southern Mississippi (School of Ocean Science and Technology)
Mary Cracchiolo Spain (Class of 2015) - Communications Director, MGM Resorts International

Congratulations to you all!

Happy Birthday 

Heather Farris Bennett - October 10
Robert Blakemore - October 2
Pennie Brogle - October 6
Adrian Brown - October 26
Jason Brown - October 30
Patrick Brown - October 15
Gaye Broyles - October 30
Tamara Butler - October 29
Sandra Bynum - October 11
Lofton Cox - October 19
Meta Danzey - October 5
Chad Davidson - October 7
Josh Davis - October 17
Jen Dearman - October 29
Jan Farve - October 5
Carrie Ford - October 5
Dr. Jacqueline Gibson - October 9
Alexis Harvey - October 9
Michael Highfield - October 28
Sandra Hodge - October 16
Les Howell - October 30
Edmond Hughes - October 7
Jennifer Johnson - October 22
Meagan Linton - October 14
Donald Matthews III - October 24
Deborah McCallam - October 25
Brent McCullouch - October 22
Chance McDavid  - October 8
Brooke McIngvale - October 26
Walter Moore - October 30
Deanne Mosley - October 24
Tonya Neely  - October 19
Albert Nylander - October 30
Fred Osing - October 15
Dr. Sebrina Palmer - October 12
Edricke Peyton - October 23
Sherry Rainey - October 8
Bradford Ray - October 19
Leigh Ann Ross - October 24
Lori Sanders - October 20
Nicole Shields - October 26
Deidre Smith - October 23
Wayne Spell - October 20
Alan Sudduth - October 1
Mike Todaro - October 26
Wesley Webb - October 13
Josh West - October 9
Chad Wicker - October 8
Daniel Wile - October 1
Edward Woodard - October 8

all other alumni celebrating  October  birthdays!

 
Sightings & Selfies

Whenever you're out and about and see an old friend from Leadership Mississippi, be sure to post it and tag us on Facebook @LeadershipMS

There's no reunion like a Leadership Mississippi reunion, so share your reconnections!


If you have any news you would like to share or see featured in next month's newsletter, let us know!

We hope to hear from you!
Our Mission

To build a strong diverse network of leaders from every corner of the state balanced with a broad variety of leadership abilities and career accomplishments creating a core of individuals committed to Mississippi's future.

MEC's Leadership Mississippi is a program of the 

M.B. Swayze Foundation 
Mississippi Economic Council - The State Chamber of Commerce

248 E. Capitol Street, Suite 940 - Jackson, Mississippi 39201

P.O. Box 23276 - Jackson, Mississippi 39225-3276

Phone: 601-969-0022 - 1-800-748-7626

Fax: 601-353-0247 - 1-888-717-2809

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