Mississippi Business Hall of Fame Succeeds

in Supporting Junior Achievement of Mississippi

JACKSON – Junior Achievement of Mississippi and presenting sponsor The Clarion-Ledger hosted the 19^th Annual Mississippi Business Hall of Fame on Monday, May 12 at the Marriott Hotel in Jackson, Mississippi. 

Approximately 600 individuals from across the state were on hand to welcome six new laureates to the Hall of Fame: William H. Cooke, Jr. of Cooke, Douglass, Farr, Lemons; Wade H. Creekmore and James H. Creekmore of Telepak Networks/Cellular South; Martin D. Davidson of Southern Pipe and Supply Company; S. Bryce Griffis of Sturgis Timber Company; and Earle F. Jones of MMI Hotel Group.

Cellular South served as platinum sponsor for the event. “Having Cellular South participate as our platinum sponsor for 2008 is a wonderful asset for Junior Achievement and for the Mississippi Business Hall of Fame,” said Scherry Gilliland, president and chief executive officer of Junior Achievement of Mississippi. Along with the support of Cellular South, the Mississippi Business Hall of Fame boasted an outstanding list of gold sponsors: AT&T; BancorpSouth; Baptist Health Systems; Community Bank; Cooke, Douglass, Farr, Lemons LTD; Horne LLP; MMI Hotel Group; Regions; St. Dominic Health Services; Southern Pipe and Supply Company, Inc.; The Mississippi Business Journal; Trustmark; The University of Mississippi and University Medical Center.

“The support of our platinum and gold sponsors enables us to present the Mississippi Business Hall of Fame each year,” said Gilliland. “Each sponsor has a long-standing relationship with Junior Achievement.  The generosity of our donors and business partners has resulted in our being able to provide Mississippi’s students our premiere economic education material through business role models over our 45-year history. We deeply value those who are committed to our mission.”

The purpose of Junior Achievement is to impact the quality of young people’s lives by educating and inspiring them to value free enterprise, to understand business and economics, and to be better prepared for the workforce. For additional information about how you can make a financial contribution or to sign up to volunteer, contact Jenny Tate at jenny@ja-mississippi.org or 601-948-3997.