{"id":358,"date":"2006-11-29T10:56:35","date_gmt":"2006-11-29T10:56:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/2006\/11\/29\/delta-state-honors-area-leaders-with-3rd-annual-community-recognition-luncheon-continue-to-celebrate-new-theme-health-wellness-in-the-delta\/"},"modified":"2013-09-03T12:56:25","modified_gmt":"2013-09-03T12:56:25","slug":"delta-state-honors-area-leaders-with-3rd-annual-community-recognition-luncheon-continue-to-celebrate-new-theme-health-wellness-in-the-delta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/2006\/11\/delta-state-honors-area-leaders-with-3rd-annual-community-recognition-luncheon-continue-to-celebrate-new-theme-health-wellness-in-the-delta\/","title":{"rendered":"Delta State honors area leaders with 3rd Annual Community Recognition Luncheon, continue to celebrate new theme \u2018Health & Wellness in the Delta\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/P><\/TD><\/TR>

Calvin Johnson of the Delta Regional Council of the Mississippi Hospital Association, \u201cDelta Region Champion;\u201d Ned Mitchell of SouthGroup Insurance, \u201cCollege of Business Person of the Year;\u201d Ricki Garrett of the Mississippi Nurses Association, Keynote Speaker; William Ray of The Asbury Foundation of Hattiesburg, Inc., \u201cSchool of Nursing Visionary;\u201d Robert Smith of Cleveland, \u201cHometown Champion;\u201d and Dr. John M. Hilpert, President of Delta State University. <\/TD><\/TR><\/TABLE>

\u201cToday is a day to recognize those that have made significant contributions to the economic and social well being of our community,\u201d heralded Delta State University President, Dr. John M. Hilpert at the start of the 3rd<\/SUP> Annual Community Recognition Luncheon. \u201cWe are privileged to work with them; we are privileged to live with them.\u201d<\/SPAN><\/P>

\u201cThey\u201d are those men, women and agencies recognized Tuesday inside the State Room of the H.L. Nowell Union on campus, including Ned Mitchell, William Ray, Robert Smith, Dean Spradling and the Delta Regional Council of the Mississippi Hospital Association. <\/SPAN><\/P>

All those that spoke or were recognized \u201cfocus on, maintain or carry on in the spirit of advancing\u201d <\/SPAN>Delta<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>State<\/SPAN>\u2019s current theme for the year, \u201cHealth and Wellness in the Delta.\u201d Ricki Garrett, Executive Director of the Mississippi Nurses Association, returned to the <\/SPAN>Delta<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>State<\/SPAN> campus to deliver the day\u2019s keynote address. <\/SPAN><\/P>

As director, Garrett represents nursing at regulatory meetings of the State Health Department, the Board of Nursing and the Board of Medicine. Further, she represents nursing interests to legislators and other public officials, while advocating for the best interests of the nursing profession and the health care of Mississippians. <\/SPAN><\/P>

\u201cThere is no single, more important issue in this country, right now, than healthcare,\u201d she opened declaratively and emphatically. Citing nursing shortages nation-wide and state-wide, along with instances of declining patient care, Garrett painted a very real picture, but reminded, \u201cwe have enormous capacities at our disposal to deal with the problems facing this country.<\/SPAN><\/P>

\u201cTo many times, people get caught staring at the door closing when there is a window opening. We cannot make that mistake. We mustn\u2019t stare at the closing door,\u201d Garrett urged. \u201cNow is the time to do something, do anything.\u201d <\/SPAN><\/P>

And, the luncheon\u2019s honorees are \u201cdoing something.\u201d <\/SPAN>Delta<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>State<\/SPAN>\u2019s <\/SPAN>College<\/SPAN> of <\/SPAN>Business<\/SPAN> recognized Ned Mitchell as its \u201cOutstanding Business Person of the Year.\u201d A <\/SPAN>Delta<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>State<\/SPAN> graduate, Mitchell serves as managing partner of SouthGroup Insurance Services in <\/SPAN>Cleveland<\/SPAN>. He has served as President of the Cleveland-Bolivar County Chamber of Commerce, the Bolivar County Industrial Foundation, the Cleveland Arts Council and the Delta State Foundation. Previously awarded as the \u201cDistinguished Statesmen of the Year, 1993\u201d and the \u201cOutstanding Alumnus of the Year, 1998,\u201d Mitchell started his insurance career in 1963, buying his first agency in 1973, The Mitchell Group. <\/SPAN><\/P>

Of the recognition, Dr. Billy C. Moore, Dean of the <\/SPAN>College<\/SPAN> of <\/SPAN>Business<\/SPAN>, offered, \u201cNed Mitchell has a made a difference, he has contributed to success of his industry and he is committed to business excellence. That is why we recognize him today.\u201d<\/SPAN><\/P>

Also being recognized was William Ray as the inaugural <\/SPAN>School<\/SPAN> of <\/SPAN>Nursing Visionary<\/SPAN>. Currently, Ray is President\/CEO of The Asbury Foundation of Hattiesburg Inc. His healthcare administration career first began in <\/SPAN>Clarksdale<\/SPAN> as the President\/CEO of <\/SPAN>Northwest<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>Regional<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>Medical<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>Center<\/SPAN> from 1964-1977. <\/SPAN><\/P>

It was during that time Ray became instrumental in launching the <\/SPAN>School<\/SPAN> of <\/SPAN>Nursing<\/SPAN> at <\/SPAN>Delta<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>State<\/SPAN>, an institution he attended in 1954 and 1955 as a member of the championship football squad and track program. <\/SPAN><\/P>

Just as Ray did, the day\u2019s third honoree \u201csaw a need and filled it,\u201d according to Hilpert. Robert Smith, retired rice and soybean farmer and philanthropist, saw the need for highly qualified and well trained nurses in <\/SPAN>Mississippi<\/SPAN>, and to that end, endowed five scholarships at <\/SPAN>Delta<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>State<\/SPAN>\u2019s <\/SPAN>School<\/SPAN> of <\/SPAN>Nursing<\/SPAN>.<\/SPAN><\/P>

His generosity and genuine concern for his community earned the <\/SPAN>Cleveland<\/SPAN> native recognition as this year\u2019s \u201cHometown Champion.\u201d Tuesday\u2019s praise comes on the heels of his recent selection as the Gladys Castle \u201cFriend of Delta State\u201d Service Award winner. <\/SPAN><\/P>

Smith is a former board member of the Delta State Foundation and currently serves on the Wesley Foundation Board of Directors. An active member of the <\/SPAN>First<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>United<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>Methodist<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>Church<\/SPAN>, Smith supports numerous charitable causes and outreach ministries. <\/SPAN><\/P>

Recognized as this year\u2019s \u201cDelta Region Champion,\u201d Dean Spradling of <\/SPAN>Clarksdale<\/SPAN>, is the founder and president of InfoLab, Inc. The business involves the sale and distribution of laboratory equipment and supplies, while employing over 220 people in 20 different states. <\/SPAN><\/P>

Hilpert acknowledged, \u201cHis success is a testament to his hard work, and he has never overlooked, nor forgotten his earliest roots at <\/SPAN>Delta<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>State<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>University<\/SPAN>.\u201d<\/SPAN><\/P>

A native of <\/SPAN>Itawamba<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>County<\/SPAN>, Spradling earned his bachelor\u2019s of science degree from <\/SPAN>Delta<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>State<\/SPAN> in 1953. To this day, he still cites the impact the Biology and Physical Sciences department has had on his career.<\/SPAN><\/P>

The day\u2019s agenda closed with the final recipient being recognized, as the Mississippi Hospital Association\u2019s Delta Regional Council earned \u201cDelta Region Champion\u201d honors. <\/SPAN><\/P>

In <\/SPAN>Mississippi<\/SPAN>, there are over 100 hospitals with approximately 50,000 employees serving the healthcare needs across the state. The Mississippi Hospital Association is the statewide trade organization that represents and serves hospitals, their employees, patients and communities. Founded in 1931 MHA provides education for state healthcare leaders and is a source of data and information on healthcare issues and trends. The association is a strong voice advocating healthcare legislative and regulatory issues at a state and national level. <\/SPAN><\/P>

Within the hospital association, the Mississippi Delta has a regional council of hospital chief executives that meets quarterly to address key issues facing hospitals in the Delta. Members of the MHA Delta Regional Council work together to address challenges related to the financial viability of hospitals in the region, the adequacy of the healthcare workforce, the importance of collaboration across sectors of the healthcare industry and the role of hospitals in assuring access to quality health care. <\/SPAN><\/P>

The 3rd<\/SUP> Annual Community Recognition Luncheon was an official \u201cHealth & Wellness in the Delta\u201d event. <\/SPAN><\/P>

 <\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Calvin Johnson of the Delta Regional Council of the Mississippi Hospital Association, \u201cDelta Region Champion;\u201d Ned Mitchell of SouthGroup Insurance, \u201cCollege of Business Person of the Year;\u201d Ricki Garrett of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":4197,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-general"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=358"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40241,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358\/revisions\/40241"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}