MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2002 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Little, Burton, Gollott, Gordon, Smith, Farris, Carmichael, Huggins, Horhn, Hamilton, Frazier, Jordan, Harden, Dearing, Lee, Moffatt, Harvey, Kirby, White (29th), Posey, Furniss, Jackson, Chaney, King, Ross, Hewes, Robertson, Minor, Mettetal, Nunnelee
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF PUBLIC SERVICE OF FORMER STATE SENATE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE GLEN DEWEESE OF MERIDIAN, MISSISSIPPI, AND EXPRESSING THE SYMPATHY OF THE LEGISLATURE.
WHEREAS, few business, civic and political leaders have left more significant footprints across the sands of Mississippi history than did former State Senate President Pro Tempore Glen Deweese of Meridian, Mississippi, who died Thursday, September 27, 2001; and
WHEREAS, Senator Deweese served in the Senate from 1976-1992; he was Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman from 1980-1988 and Senate President Pro Tempore from 1986-1992, a position denoting both his legislative ability and the esteem in which he was held by his colleagues; and
WHEREAS, his legislative legacy is one of fiscal responsibility and support of economic development, highway construction and the state's community college system; the highlight of his political career was the Education Reform Act of 1982, which he had said was a vehicle steering education in a new direction in the state; and
WHEREAS, Senator Deweese was Chairman and CEO of the Superstop! convenience store chain, with 72 stores in Jackson, Meridian, Greenville and Birmingham, that employ some 500 workers; he was re-elected last month to a second consecutive term as Chairman of the East Mississippi Business Development Corporation in Meridian; he was a backbone of church, civic, scouting and economic development efforts across the state; and
WHEREAS, his life story is compelling: Deweese's father was a sharecropper who later served 12 years as a county supervisor and 12 years as a Philadelphia City Alderman; Senator Deweese, a Neshoba County native, graduated from Philadelphia High, married, served in the Army and went to work as a salesman; while supporting his family, Deweese enrolled in then-Hinds Junior College in 1956 and used the G.I. bill to earn his degree through three years of night school; in 1993, he was named Hinds Community College Alumnus of the Year; and
WHEREAS, former Governor William Winter delivered the eulogy at the services: "Of all the men and women that I served with over 40 years in politics in Mississippi, he was one of a half dozen that I consider to be most effective in getting really meaningful public policies adopted in the State of Mississippi; he understood the state, the needs of the state, and he had that rare ability to combine his vision for the state with the consensus-building capacity that got people to agree with him"; and
WHEREAS, Senator Deweese was a man of honesty, integrity and vision for Mississippi's future; as a powerful, influential State Senator, he served the taxpayers of Mississippi ably and well; as a business and civic leader, he gave of his resources to leave this state far better than he found it; and
WHEREAS, Mississippi will long remember this good, decent man, with whom we recall countless memories as a politician and friend:
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 life and legacy of public service of former State Senate President Pro Tempore Glen Deweese of Meridian, Mississippi, and express to his family the sympathy of the Legislature on his passing.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Senator Deweese's wife, Janice, and members of his family, and that copies be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.