MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2004 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Chaney, Michel, Posey, Morgan, Hyde-Smith, Harvey, Ross, Frazier, Kirby, Thames, Butler, Carmichael, Clarke, Gollott, Harden, Hewes, Jackson (11th), Lee (35th), Little, Pickering, Thomas, White, Williamson, Jackson (32nd)
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING THE LIFE, CAREER AND LEGACY OF CHARITABLE AND PUBLIC SERVICE OF JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI, BUSINESSMAN WARREN A. HOOD.
WHEREAS, Warren A. Hood, a Jackson, Mississippi, businessman, civic leader and friend to many charitable organizations, died on Tuesday, March 2, 2004; and
WHEREAS, in his day, he was the leading businessman of the state, and he will be remembered for his industrial expertise, his involvement with the redevelopment of downtown Jackson and the innumerable charities he helped; and
WHEREAS, former Governor William Winter, one of Warren Hood's personal friends and a fellow church member at Fondren Presbyterian Church, called Warren Hood one of Mississippi's greatest citizen leaders. He never held public office, nor did he aspire to public office, but he left a mark on this state that has not been exceeded or even equaled by most of the public leaders of this state; and
WHEREAS, Warren Hood, 87, began his career in 1940 at a small sawmill near his home in Copiah County and went on to acquire numerous lumber and diversified manufacturing plants under the umbrella of Hood Industries, Inc. Before the company's merger with the Masonite Corporation in 1970, Hood Industries was the largest producer of southern yellow pine east of the Mississippi River; and
WHEREAS, Warren Hood served on Masonite Corporation's Board of Directors and Executive Committee until 1982, when the lumber and woodlands operations were spun off to form Timber Realization Company. He served as a general partner until the partnership was liquidated in 1987. He worked with local economic development officers for about two years to find a buyer for the DeSoto Corporation that made furniture primarily for Sears and had announced plans to close in 1983. When no buyer came forward, Hood joined with family members and purchased the facility in Jackson and operated Hood Furniture Manufacturing Company until it closed in 1986; and
WHEREAS, Warren Hood held a major stake in about 50 businesses that ranged from Southern Bag Corporation in Yazoo City to Ole Diz Charcoal Briquets in Pachuta; and
WHEREAS, Warren Hood, who did not graduate from college but received honorary doctorates from Belhaven College and Millsaps College, contributed to numerous universities and schools and raised funds for countless charitable organizations. He enacted a policy at Hood Industries of paying the tuition for any child of an employee who wanted to attend community college. Hood served for 26 years on Belhaven College's Board of Trustees, and the college's library is named in his honor; and
WHEREAS, one of Hood's greatest legacies is the Warren Hood Scout Reservation which he donated to the Andrew Jackson Council of Boy Scouts of America. The camp opened in 1987 and covers 1,700 acres about 12 miles west of Hazlehurst in Copiah County; and
WHEREAS, survivors include daughters Kay Adams and Peggy Louis of Jackson, and sons Warren A. Hood, Jr., of Hattiesburg and James W. Hood of Jackson. Hood's wife, Elsie Meadows Hood, died in 2002; and
WHEREAS, Warren Hood worked tirelessly to improve the City of Jackson and headed civic organizations such as the Jackson Metro Chamber of Commerce; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Hood was a self-made man who was kind, generous and could be trusted implicitly, and it is with sadness that we note the passing of this model businessman and Mississippi citizen:
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, career and legacy of charitable and public service of Jackson businessman Warren A. Hood, and express to his surviving family the sympathy of the Legislature on his passing.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the surviving family of Warren A. Hood and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.