MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2020 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Blackmon, Simmons (13th), Blackwell, Blount, DeBar, Frazier, Jackson (11th), Jackson (32nd), Jordan, Norwood, Simmons (12th), Thomas
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING THE PIONEERING ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF RETIRED UNITED STATES AIR FORCE LIEUTENANT COLONEL DR. WILLIAM "BILL" COOLEY, ACKNOWLEDGING HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO THIS NATION AND TO THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI AS A PATRIOT AND SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR, AND CONGRATULATING HIM UPON THE MOST AUSPICIOUS OCCASION OF HIS 90TH BIRTHDAY.
WHEREAS, birthed on the fertile soils of the Mississippi Delta on January 5, 1930, the greatness that was to be fashioned in the life of retired United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and acutely shrewd entrepreneurial genius, Dr. William "Bill" Cooley, who celebrates the most auspicious occasion of his 90th birthday; and
WHEREAS, a decorated Vietnam War Veteran with 21 years of upholding the banner of allegiance to the democratic sovereign that is the United States of America due his honor, Dr. Cooley is the poster child of success, having overcome being subjected to a fate of cotton picking in the rolling delta plains of Hollandale, in what was his first lesson of entrepreneurial trial and error, as an enterprising undergraduate student on summer break; and
WHEREAS, that critical lesson, proved instrumental in igniting the flame of inspiration upon which all of the accomplishments Dr. Cooley has experienced are premised, and planted the perpetual seeds of hope to pay it forward in every individual he would encounter along his remarkable journey of 90 years; and
WHEREAS, with a wisdom based on experience, education and passion for his causes, "Doc," as he is respectfully known in both the business and collegiate arenas, earned a bachelor's of science degree in chemistry from Tuskegee Institute, and after completing his meritorious military service in Vietnam, where he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with Five Oak Leaf Cluster, returned to his native Mississippi, earning a master's degree from the University of North Dakota in industrial management and later accepting a teaching position at Jackson State University, while also studying and teaching management at Mississippi State University, where he earned a doctorate in business administration; and
WHEREAS, during the early years of his tenure at Jackson State, before scaling the ranks of institutional hierarchy to become Dean of the College of Business, Cooley founded Systems Consultants Associates in 1977, largely to advise people in the minority community on how to integrate principles of business into their enterprises, and for seventeen years, he single-handedly made inroads within Jackson's inner city to build a reputable business and business model by which other minority entrepreneurs could pattern their operations; and
WHEREAS, in 1994, Dr. Cooley's daughter, Toni, a Stephens College graduate, campaign worker for the historic election of Robert G. Clark to the Mississippi House of Representatives, former Congressional Aide to United States Representative Wayne Dowdy, and well-versed arbiter of law, resigned her post as a Contract Administration Lawyer with Atlanta-based Turner International, to join her father in transforming his vision into a thriving consulting firm, which was recognized in 2003 by Inc. Magazine as one of the nation's Top 100 fastest-growing, inner-city companies, and which boasts consistent multi-figure annual revenues; and
WHEREAS, a natural-born leader, upon the shoulders of whom, many have stood, Doc, while on a consulting assignment for the Mississippi Development Authority, was compelled to develop an instrument to select minority-owned businesses as suppliers for Nissan North America Inc., Canton, after overhearing a company executive discuss the need for such a tool, which the automotive giant would eventually utilize; and
WHEREAS, in 2001, Cooley founded Systems Electro Coating, a tier-one supplier to Nissan North America, Inc., Canton, which was tapped for a joint venture with PPG to rustproof the frames for all trucks and SUVs produced by Nissan, as well as with Toyota, and with more than 80% ownership of the venture, it stands to reason why Systems Electro Coating has been among the Black Enterprise's Top 100 largest African American companies in the nation, having ranked 32nd in 2014; and
WHEREAS, with 50-plus years of managing diverse organizations in academia, the military, industry and small business to his credit, the now retired Dean Emeritus of the Jackson State University College of Business, and current Chairman Emeritus of the Board for all of Systems' enterprises, which include Systems Consultants Associates, Systems Electro Coating and Systems IT, Doc's curricula vitae is a robust compilation of accolades, tributes and honors, all testamentary to the investments of knowledge, time, human capital and financial resources into the communities he so fervently maintains an unwavering hope in the promise of its youth, including the establishment of the William "Bill" Cooley Endowment Fund in his honor by the Jackson State University College of Business in 2015; and
WHEREAS, for 62 years, Doc's greatest champion was embodied in the essence of life shared with his wife, Lillian Naomi McKinney Cooley, a native Jacksonian and educator par excellence who, like her beau, devoted the entirety of adult life pouring into the lives of society's greatest asset, the human mind, first as a Music Teacher in Savannah, Georgia, and Columbia, South Carolina, and subsequently as a Librarian in the public and private library systems of Massachusetts, North Dakota, and New Jersey, even briefly at Jackson's Blackburn Middle School before retiring her file of Dewey Decimal Classification after serving Jackson State University, Millsaps College, Mississippi College School of Law and Tougaloo College to join the Mississippi Consortium for International Development, and ultimately serving as Vice President of business development for Systems Consultants Associates, Inc., where she worked to improve the lives of the underserved and unserved people prior to her death on July 28, 2017; and
WHEREAS, a man of great stature and esteemed rapport preceding his presence, Dr. Cooley is poised to leave a legacy that will be heralded in the annals of history for generations to come, not only as an astute businessman, but as a purveyor of life presented in the form of empowering opportunities provided to those who strive to achieve a life of success tantamount to that which he has experienced; and
WHEREAS, it is the policy of this Legislature to pay homage to those individuals of Dr. Cooley's caliber, who have served as trailblazing pioneers, and whose contributions merit the same measure of recognition as that experienced by the State of Mississippi as a result thereof:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend the pioneering accomplishments of retired United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Dr. William "Bill" Cooley, acknowledge his contributions to this nation and to the State of Mississippi as a patriot and successful entrepreneur, and congratulate him upon the most auspicious occasion of his 90th birthday.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the surviving family of Lieutenant Colonel Dr. William "Bill" Cooley and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.