CREATE Foundation’s Commission on the Future of Northeast Mississippi hosted its 21st annual State of the Region meeting last week at the BancorpSouth Conference Center.
The State of the Region meeting featured two speakers, Dr. Lee Childress and Jack Hess. Dr. Childress is the Superintendent of the Corinth School District. He led the development of a plan that was approved by the Mississippi Board of Education, in effect naming Corinth as a District of Innovation. The plan was implemented during the 2016-17 school year. It represents a very comprehensive and innovative approach to education. Corinth, Vicksburg, and Gulfport earned District of Innovation status during the first round of selection last year. Jack Hess is Executive Director of the CivicLab, which is headquartered in Columbus, Indiana. It is an organization that helps communities build coalitions to address their issues and solve their challenges. Mr. Hess is a former successful chamber of commerce professional, who led the Columbus Chamber to earn the National Chamber of the Year Award in 2009 from the American Chamber of Commerce Executives.
In addition, the first Jack Reed, Sr. Northeast Mississippi Community Leadership Award was presented to Dr. Gloria Kellum. This new award is supported by an endowment at CREATE, which was funded by a special dividend from Journal, Inc. It will be presented on an annual basis to an individual who has demonstrated extraordinary leadership in helping improve the quality of life in his or her community and in the northeast Mississippi region.
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