Senate Resolution 63

A RESOLUTION MOURNING THE PASSING OF LONGTIME PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE MISSISSIPPI ECONOMIC COUNCIL BOB W. PITTMAN OF RIDGELAND, MISSISSIPPI, AND COMMENDING HIS OUTSTANDING PUBLIC AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SERVICE TO OUR STATE.

WHEREAS, we join the members of the Mississippi Economic Council and the economic development community of our state in mourning the passing of Bob W. Pittman of Ridgeland, Mississippi, on August 8, 2020; and

WHEREAS, one of the leading voices for government in the State of Mississippi, Bob Pittman served as President and CEO of the Mississippi Economic Council (MEC) for 32 years. He was a leader who dedicated his life's work to strengthening the education system, improving county government, and developing legislation to create a robust business climate; and

WHEREAS, as a young 33-year-old, Pittman was hand-selected by M.B. Swayze, founder of MEC, as his successor as President and CEO to carry on the mission of the of the organization. He believed that leadership should be nurtured in others and it was his vision to train leaders throughout the state that led him to create the J.C. and Annie Redd Leadership Mississippi Program, the second oldest leadership program in the nation. Leadership Mississippi was developed to connect emerging leaders in and around the state and has done so for over four decades; and

WHEREAS, in 2012 MEC honored Pittman for his years of service with the creation of the Bob W. Pittman Leadership Mississippi Media Scholarship; and

WHEREAS, while at MEC he founded the Student Teacher Achievement Recognition (STAR ) Program. Through this program, thousands of Mississippi graduates and their teachers have been recognized for outstanding achievement; and

WHEREAS, Pittman's love of economic development began as a young journalist traveling the state for the State Times and later the Jackson Daily News; and

WHEREAS, he was born April 25, 1932, to Mr. and Mrs. James C. Pittman of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He attended Camp School and went on to Hattiesburg High School where he sharpened his talent on first base for the Hattiesburg Tigers. When the time came for Bob to enter his senior year of high school, his parents had made the decision to move the family to the small Town of Greenwood, Mississippi, in the Mississippi Delta; and

WHEREAS, he graduated from Mississippi College with a B.S. Degree in Education and he, along with his siblings, Jimmy, Jean, and Mippy, in 2000 received the Order of the Golden Arrow Alumna Award – the first time the award was presented to an entire family; and

WHEREAS, after college he entered the United States Army in 1954, where he served for two years as Editor of the Post Newspaper at Fort Lee, Virginia; and

WHEREAS, Pittman graduated from Jackson School of Law (Mississippi College School of Law). He traveled across the state reporting political. His travels as a Newspaper Reporter led him back to Greenwood, Mississippi, where he served as Director of the Greenwood-Leflore Industrial Board. In this role he was instrumental in bringing businesses such as Baldwin Piano, National Picture Frame Company and others to the Mississippi Delta. He was named "Leflore County Outstanding Young Man of the Year" for his work in economic development; and

WHEREAS, throughout his life he always returned to the pen. He authored numerous books, primarily biographies of community leaders such as businessman J.C. Redd (founder of Redd Pest Control); Dr. Frank Pollard (former Pastor of First Baptist Church of Jackson); Bobby Chain (founder of Chain Electric Company in Hattiesburg); Dr. Dick Field (a rural Mississippi physician); and Colonel George Hall (Hattiesburg resident and former Prisoner of War). His first book, At Home in America, was the story of the Colonel Nguyen family who fled communist Vietnam and with Pittman's assistance began a new life in Jackson; and

WHEREAS, Bob was a member of First Baptist Church of Jackson, Mississippi, where he was a lifetime Deacon and served in many leadership roles in the church. He faithfully taught the Chapel Bible Class at First Baptist Church Jackson for over 30 years, ministering to its members with wife Joanne at his side; and

WHEREAS, he was preceded in death by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. James C. Pittman; his wife of 58 years, Joanne Barrett Pittman; daughter, Emily Suzanne Pittman; son, Bob W. Pittman, Jr.; brother, James C. Pittman, Jr.; granddaughter, Holly Dianne Holbert; and sister-in-law, Nancy Pittman. Survivors include his daughter, Dianne Pittman Holbert (John); three granddaughters: Joanna Holbert, Sydney Margaret Holbert and Elizabeth Holbert Jonson (Adam); grandson, Bob Pittman, III; three great-grandchildren: Holly Elizabeth Jonson, Anne Margaret Jonson and William Calhoun Jonson; two sisters, Jean Pittman Williams (Kelley) and Charlotte Pittman Bledsoe (Randy); one brother, Milton Pittman; sister-in-law, Lillian Pittman; and a number of nieces and nephews; and

WHEREAS, we pay tribute and cherish fondly the memory of this most public-spirited citizen of Mississippi whose enormous civic energy will be missed:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby mourn the passing of longtime President and CEO of the Mississippi Economic Council Bob W. Pittman of Ridgeland, Mississippi, and commending his outstanding public and economic development service to our state;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the surviving family of Bob Pittman and forwarded to the CEO and Executive Director of the Mississippi Economic Council, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.