House Resolution 56

(As Adopted by House)

A RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING PAT THOMASSON, CEO OF THOMASSON COMPANY IN PHILADELPHIA, MISSISSIPPI, AS THE FIRST FEMALE CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE MISSISSIPPI MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION AND COMMENDING HER BUSINESS AND CIVIC ACHIEVEMENTS.

WHEREAS, we join the membership of the Mississippi Manufacturers Association and the citizens of Central Mississippi in honoring the business and civic accomplishments of a greatly respected businesswoman, Pat Thomasson, CEO of Thomasson Company in Philadelphia, Mississippi, as she has been selected as the first female Chair of the Board of Directors of the Mississippi Manufacturers Association (MMA); and

WHEREAS, Pat Thomasson, a native of Philadelphia, Mississippi, received undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Mississippi in accounting, and upon leaving Ole Miss, she accepted a position with Arthur Anderson in New Orleans, Louisiana, and in 1988, she was licensed by the State of Mississippi as a Certified Public Accountant; and

WHEREAS, in 1989, Pat returned to her home state to work as a Senior Securities Analyst for the Mississippi Secretary of State's Office Securities Division, and while there, she established the agency's first auditing program, analyzed the financial records in securities fraud and embezzlement cases, testified in state and federal courts, and conducted numerous audits; and

WHEREAS, Pat also served on the North American Securities Administrators Association Uniform Examination Committee, helping to write and monitor examinations taken by financial advisors and stockbrokers, and in 1993, she was certified as a fraud examiner; and

WHEREAS, in 1996, at the request of her family, Pat returned to Philadelphia, Mississippi, to work in the family business, and as she wears many different hats in Thomasson Company, she currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board; and

WHEREAS, under Pat's leadership, Thomasson Company was awarded the 2012 Governor's Cup Award for Small Business, the 2016 Oncor Omnis Supplier Award, and was recognized as a Vistra Energy Supplier Diversity Gold Star Supplier, and she is also a recent recipient of the 2017 Volunteer of the Year Award from the Women's Business Enterprise Council South, and was named 2014 Business Woman of the Year by Mississippi Business Journal, and in 2015, Thomasson Company received the Neshoba County Large Business of the Year Award, and she received the Volunteer of the Year Award from the Neshoba County Literacy Council; and

WHEREAS, Pat is currently President of the Mississippi Lumber Manufacturers Association, Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Marty Stuart Center for Country Music, and Board of Directors Chair for the Mississippi Manufacturers Association, a member of the Mississippi Economic Council and the M.B. Swayze Foundation, and she is also the past president of several organizations including the Community Foundation of East Mississippi and the Philadelphia Rotary Club; and

WHEREAS, additionally, Pat is a Rotary Paul Harris Fellow, Past Honorary Chairman of the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, member of the University of Mississippi 1848 Society and Loyalty Foundation, graduate of Mississippi Economic Council's Leadership Mississippi and past treasurer and board member of the Business and Industry Political Education Committee; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of the House of Representatives to recognize and commend extraordinary Mississippians, especially those such as Pat Thomasson, whose exceptional dedication and outstanding contributions bring honor to her community and to the State of Mississippi:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby recognize Pat Thomasson, CEO of Thomasson Company, as the first female Chair of the Board of Directors of the Mississippi Manufacturers Association and commend her business and civic achievements.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Pat Thomasson and her family, to the Board of Directors of the Mississippi Manufacturers Association, and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.