The Greater PineBelt Community Foundation has named new officers and directors for 2011. New officers include:
· President: Hayden Mitchell, Executive Vice President, The First – A National Banking Association
· Vice President: Iris Easterling, Department of English, William Carey University
· Secretary: Paul Laughlin, First Vice President & Trust Officer, Trustmark Bank
· Treasurer: Richard Topp, Partner, Nicholson and Company, PLLC
· Immediate Past President: Ed Langton, Chairman and CEO, Grand Bank
New Directors include:
· Alex Agnew, CFO, Hattiesburg Clinic
· Mike Axton, ChFC, CLU, Corporate and Endowment Solutions, Inc.
· Jim Compton, General Manager & CEO, South Mississippi Electric Power Association
· Dr. Frances Karnes, Director, The Frances A. Karnes Center for Gifted Studies
· Michelle Mabry, CFP®, AIF®, Senior Financial Officer, Wealth Management Consultants
· Joshua Mars, JD, LLM, Copeland, Cook, Taylor and Bush, P.A.
· Dr. Steve Ramp, JD, Pastor Westminster Presbyterian Church
· Jon Mark Weathers, JD, University Council, The University of Southern Mississippi
The new officers and board of directors are joined by current board members: Dr. Ben Carmichael, Retired Cardiologist with Hattiesburg Clinic; Mike Collins, Mississippi Power; David Fortenberry, Stewart Sneed Hewes; Drew Foxworth, Foxworth & Shephard, P.A.; Bernard Green, Bernard Green Insurance, Inc; William P. “Phil” Hanberry, Hanco Corp; Dan Kibodeaux, United Way of Southeast Mississippi; Edward J. “Ed” Langton, Grand Bank; Morgan McCarty, Regions Bank; Stace Mercier, USM Foundation;Gene Owens, Owens Business Machines, Inc; Lucy Parkman, Community Leader; Michael Shemper, Michael J. Shemper, PLLC; Ralph Simmons, retired Vice President, Sunbeam-Oyster Corporation; Sheila Varnado, R3SM, Inc; and Benny Waddle, Hancock Bank.
Board of Directors who have served since the inception of the PineBelt Foundation and who will be rolling off the Board of Directors include: Robert Jackson, Sr., Gwen James, Andy Leslie, Dr. Aubrey Lucas, Andy Mercier, and Wanda Simpson.
Other Board of Directors rolling off include: Dr. Richard Clark, Skippy Haik, Bob Pierce, Lou Ann Poynter, Mike Ratcliff, Andy Stetelman, Dr. Christy Thornton, Larry Watson, and Jim Yelverton.
The mission of The Greater PineBelt Community Foundation is to build better communities through philanthropy. The PineBelt Foundation, a 501(c)(3), manages numerous charitable funds set up by compassionate donors who want to leave a legacy and make a difference. Some of the endowed funds include United Way, The Domestic Abuse Family Shelter, The Association for the Rights for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities (ARC), The DuBard School for Language Disorders, The Family YMCA and The Southern Pines Animal Shelter.
For more information about the PineBelt Foundation, please visit www.PineBeltFoundation.org, www.Facebook.com/PineBeltFoundation or call 601.583.6180.