MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2007 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Representative Martinson, Baker (74th), Coleman (65th), Denny, Smith (27th), Akins, Blackmon, Fleming, Stevens, Brown
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING, COMMENDING AND CONGRATULATING CELLULAR SOUTH AND ITS MISSISSIPPI EMPLOYEES, FOR PROVIDING MISSISSIPPI ANOTHER HOMEGROWN SUCCESS STORY IN THE HIGHLY COMPETITIVE TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND WIRELESS INDUSTRY, WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY EMBRACING AND EXPANDING A SPIRIT OF INTEGRITY, DEVOTED CUSTOMER SERVICE AND UNWAVERING CIVIC MINDEDNESS.
WHEREAS, Cellular South has grown from a small rural telephone company in Southwest Mississippi in the early 1950s, Franklin Telephone Company, to the largest privately held cellular company in the United States today, with more than 850 employees; and
WHEREAS, Cellular South's success has been driven overwhelmingly with people in and from Mississippi, just as was the case when Franklin Telephone Company, under the ownership and management of the late Wade H. Creekmore, Sr., served the people of Meadville and Bude and other rural communities; and
WHEREAS, Cellular South, in its approach to provide unmatched personal service, unparalleled wireless coverage and innovative products has become, not simply an industry competitor, but a leader in the wireless industry with which other wireless companies must compete; and
WHEREAS, being a Mississippi-based and -focused company with which others must compete, Cellular South has benefited Mississippians by raising market standards in coverage density, products and pricing; and
WHEREAS, the economic impact of Cellular South is felt not only in its direct employee payroll and benefits, but in its secondary economic impact, which, as estimated by Mississippi institutions of higher learning, includes hundreds more additional jobs and millions of dollars in taxes; and
WHEREAS, following the worst national disaster in the history of the United States, Hurricane Katrina, and because of longstanding and close personal ties with individuals and, in general, the community in which it was started in 1988, the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Cellular South preplanned and was able to restore 60 percent of its service on the coast one day following the hurricane, 80 percent two days after the storm, and 100 percent after nine days, as so recognized by the Mississippi Senate in Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 538 in 2006; and
WHEREAS, instead of finding satisfaction with its service restoration following Hurricane Katrina, Cellular South and its employees from Mississippi and the Gulf Coast, in preparation for future disasters, has installed a permanent primary and microwave transmission system around the Gulf Coast and South Mississippi, and thereby, will no longer be reliant on land line connectivity, which sometimes is subject to malfunction especially during storms and tidal surges; and
WHEREAS, Cellular South, in addition to providing over $1.5 million, in scholarships and endowments to Mississippi universities, being a generous sponsor of community and charitable events, and making major sports awards for college athletes, this year implemented a program, the Cellular South Gameplan, which is designed to educate, motivate and inspire student athletes at the high school and junior high level to become eligible to attend college; and
WHEREAS, it is the policy of this Legislature to recognize and commend the success, accomplishments and contributions of Mississippians, whose dedication, foresight, and diligence in telecommunications affords Mississippi the great honor of being home to the nation's largest privately held wireless provider:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend the success and accomplishments of Cellular South and its Mississippi workforce, as innovators, visionaries, but above all as a home-grown major wireless corporation, and express sincere appreciation for choosing to call Mississippi home, and extend warmest wishes for continued success in all of their future endeavors.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to the owners and managers of Cellular South, and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.