MPA/MPS Summer Convention

Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann will appear before the MPA membership during a general session at the group’s 142nd Annual Convention this month in Biloxi.

Elected last November to succeed three-term Secretary Eric Clark, Hosemann, a Republican, is a Vicksburg native. He attended Notre Dame, earned his law degree from Ole Miss and studied taxation at NYU. He is a business attorney and former partner at Phelps Dunbar LLP.

In 2006, Hosemann received the George L. Phillips Community Service Award from the US Department of Justice in appreciation for his unfailing and distinguished service as Project Safe Neighborhoods steering committee chairman and for leadership in the districts Anti Gang Initiative and Hurricane Katrina First Responder Assistance Project. He was also named one of the Best Lawyers in America by his peers for 18 consecutive years, elected President of the Jackson Young Lawyers in 1977 and Secretary of the Hinds County Bar in 1980. He is a member of the Mississippi Bar Taxation Committee, the Hinds County Bar, and the American Bar Association.

Hosemann ran for Congress in 1998, served on the US Electoral College in 2000 and chaired the Capital Foundation of the Mississippi Republican Party. He also chaired the US Department of Justice’s Safe Neighborhood Project for the Southern District of Mississippi.

Some terrific items have been donated for the 2008 Silent Auction to benefit the MPA Education Foundation. But we’re still in need of donations, so plan to bring a gift item from your newspaper that represents your community and interests. Download the donation form.

Items donated thus far include an Ole Miss football autographed by Archie and Eli Manning (courtesy of the Rankin County News); a night’s stay and dinner for two at the Beau Rivage (courtesy of Beau Rivage); a Viking blender (courtesy of Viking Range Corp.); and an iPod Shuffle (courtesy of American Profile).

Proceeds from the auction help underwrite the internships and grants for services awarded each year by the Foundation. For more information, contact Kimberly Haydu.

Blues-rock sensation Hootie and the Blowfish will perform at the Hard Rock Casino on Thursday, June 26 at 8pm. A limited number of tickets are available for the show. The group burst on to the scene in 1995 with hits from their first album “Cracked Rear View.” Some of the groups notable hits include “Only Wanna Be With You,” “Hold My Hand,” and “Let Her Cry.”

A few tickets are also available to members for Tom Jones in concert at the Beau Rivage the evening of June 26 at 8:00. To reserve a ticket through MPA’s block, contact Kimberly Haydu.

Mark Williams, publisher of the Bolivar Commercial in Cleveland, has been nominated for a three-year term on the MPA/MPS Board of Directors. His nomination will be voted on by the Board and the general membership during its 142nd Annual Convention June 26-28 in Biloxi.

Williams began his newspaper career with the Commercial in 1983 as circulation manager. In 1989 he took on additional duties as assistant to the publisher and in 1999 assumed to role of advertising manager.

He was named editor and publisher of the Commercial in 2001 following the retirement of Norman Van Liew, former MPA president and a member of the Association’s Hall of Fame.

Williams from Delta State University in 1983 with a degree in business. He currently serves as president of the Cleveland-Bolivar County Chamber of Commerce and Vice-President of the Bolivar County Literacy Council. He currently serves as a member of the MPA Education Foundation Board of Directors.

An active member of Morrison Chapel Baptist church, Williams and his wife Beverly have 2 children, Jennifer, 21, and Reed, 19.