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Delta State University will host the 75th Annual Delta Council meeting Friday, May 28, with events beginning at 9 a.m. on the University Quadrangle.
U.S. Senator Thad Cochran will deliver the keynote address for theannual meeting of the Delta’s regional business and agriculture organization at 10:30 a.m. in the Bologna Performing Arts Center.
“It is supremely fitting that Thad Cochran is the featured speaker as we celebrate seventy five years of progress in the Mississippi Delta region through the work of Delta Council,” said Travis Satterfield of Benoit, president of the Stoneville-based organization. “There has been no one who has impacted the landscape of the Delta region more than Thad Cochran during this generation and perhaps in our current history.”
Satterfield said that picking a speaker for this noteworthy anniversary was easy.
“If a person is from the Mississippi Delta and he is interested in higher education, they should thank Thad Cochran; if you are a Delta citizen who is interested in recreational hunting, fishing, clean lakes, and national parks in the Delta, you are indebted to Thad Cochran; if you are a veteran or if you currently are part of the American Armed Services, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or even the space programs of this country, and you are from the Delta, you need to be proud of the fact that Thad Cochran is your friend; if you believe that cultural and heritage tourism is an important part of the rich story of the Mississippi Delta, you should know that he is the primary Congressional advocate of the arts, the history, the culture and literature; and, if you grow sweet potatoes, catfish, make farm loans, or sell seed, equipment, or fertilizer in the Mississippi Delta, you can thank your lucky stars that Thad Cochran has placed a priority on agriculture since the day he arrived in Washington, in 1972.”
“The footprint of Thad Cochran stretches across every single county in the Mississippi Delta and as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of Delta Council, we look forward to hearing Senator Cochran’s keynote address. More than anything else, on behalf of Delta Council and all of the citizens of this 18-county region who call the Delta their home, we want to thank him for all that he means to us, our communities, and our livelihoods.”
Cochran’s keynote address will follow a full morning’s activities, including a salute to Delta Honor Graduates by Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant, and an annual report on the region’s activities and priorities. Delta Council will also recognize those who have made significant contributions in other critical areas of Delta life. Also, Washington political pundit Stu Rothenberg will speak in the Quadrangle earlier that morning to members of Delta 1000 about the outlook for the Senate and House races in this watershed election year.
Cochran’s address is scheduled to conclude at noon, when the Delta Council members and guests will move to the University Quadrangle for a fried catfish luncheon.
This year’s meeting is sponsored by BankPlus, Land Banks of Mississippi, Jimmy Sanders., Inc., WABG, and five organizations representing “Voices of Mississippi Agriculture;” Catfish Farmers of Mississippi, Corn Promotion Board, Cotton, Inc., Rice Promotion Board, and Soybean Promotion Board.
