MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2008 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Gollott, Lee (47th), Hewes, Baria, Dawkins, Jackson (11th), Powell, Browning, Jordan, Albritton, Blount, Brown, Bryan, Burton, Butler, Carmichael, Chassaniol, Clarke, Davis (1st), Davis (36th), Dearing, Dickerson, Fillingane, Flowers, Frazier, Gordon, Harden, Hopson, Horhn, Hudson, Hyde-Smith, Jackson (15th), Jackson (32nd), Jones, King, Kirby, Lee (35th), McDaniel, Mettetal, Michel, Moffatt, Montgomery, Nunnelee, Simmons, Stone, Tollison, Turner, Walls, Ward, Watson, Wilemon, Yancey
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION TO RECOGNIZE AND COMMEND THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION OF THE C.F. GOLLOTT & SON SEAFOOD, INC., IN D'IBERVILLE, MISSISSIPPI, AND ITS CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST ECONOMY AND COMMUNITY.
WHEREAS, C.F. Gollott was born in Biloxi, Mississippi, in 1911, and he was married to Alice Diaz for 52 years and had two children, Arnie and Alice Mae; and
WHEREAS, in 1927, C.F. Gollott started buying fresh oysters from the Biloxi steamboats, shucking them himself, putting them in jars and peddling them from the cut-out back of a T-Model Ford Roadster to Wiggins and Hattiesburg, Mississippi; and
WHEREAS, in spite of flat tires and breakdowns along the red clay road, he made his biggest sale to Perkinston College for 3 gallons of oysters at $1.25 each; and
WHEREAS, in 1932, C.F. opened "C.F. Gollott Seafood" in d'Iberville, from which he shipped barrels of crabmeat at 18¢ per pound by train to Baltimore, Maryland, and merchandised the first Gulf Oysters in Memphis, Tennesesee, thus creating a new dimension in distribution for the seafood plants in Biloxi; and
WHEREAS, C.F. Gollott was well-known throughout the industry, and his seafood plant's cleanliness and quality products were copied by others even before the days of Good Manufacturing Practices and the National Shell Fish Sanitation Programs; and WHEREAS, in the 1940s, Arnie Gollott, Sr., started working with his dad selling and delivering crabmeat and oysters to North Mississippi; and C.F. Gollott Seafood came to be named C.F. Gollott & Son Seafood; Inc.; and
WHEREAS, after the Hurricane of 1947, and again after Hurricane Camille in 1969, C.F. and Arnie had to completely rebuild, using this as an opportunity to implement state-of-the-art automated oyster canning machines; and
WHEREAS, in the 1980s, Arnie, Sr., now joined by his 5 sons, Brian, Arny, Jr., Dale, Nicky and Ben, made C.F. Gollott & Son Seafood a leader in the seafood industry, being one of the first companies on the Gulf Coast to use automatic shrimp grading and peeling machines. These pioneering men, along with modern technological advancements, increased their market from shipping only to North Mississippi and Memphis to include all of the United States, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico; and
WHEREAS, in the 1990s, Arnie, Sr., and his 5 sons constructed d'Iberville Cold Storage to blast freeze and store the millions of pounds of Gulf shrimp they processed each year, and that facility allowed the family to better serve their loyal customers with the freshest quality product all year long; and
WHEREAS, in 2005, Arnie Gollott, Sr., his 5 sons, Brian, Arny Jr., Dale, Nicky, Ben and their children, Trulie, Arny III, Dale, Shawn, Christopher, Todd and Cody, which constitutes the fourth generation of C.F. Gollott's family in the Mississippi Gulf Coast Seafood Industry, came together in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath and resolved to rebuild their operation yet again, and the family designed and constructed a state-of-the-art plant that includes 6 Laitram peeling machines, as well as a Triangle fully automated packing machine; and
WHEREAS, this advanced machinery, coupled with the family's proud tradition and dedication to quality, have made their Mermaid Supreme Brand and Gollott Brand Shrimp products some of the most respected and revered in the industry; and
WHEREAS, the Gollott family prides itself by processing and distributing the world's finest seafood from the Gulf of Mexico, just as their founder, C.F. Gollott, had done 75 years ago; and
WHEREAS, the contribution to the economy of the Mississippi Gulf Coast and the community public service made by this respected Mississippi family business is a matter of pride to the d'Iberville-Biloxi community and to the State of Mississippi: NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby recognize and commend the 75th Anniversary celebration of the C.F. Gollott & Son Seafood, Inc., in d'Iberville, Mississippi, and its contributions to the Mississippi Gulf Coast economy and community and extend the best wishes of the Legislature to this family business on this auspicious occasion.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the current owners of C.F. Gollott & Son Seafood, be forwarded to the Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce, and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.