MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2010 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Representatives Peranich, McCoy, Akins, Bennett, Bondurant, Broomfield, Brown, Compretta, DeLano, Dedeaux, Fredericks, Gadd, Guice, Ishee, Martinson, McBride, Moak, Monsour, Palazzo, Patterson, Reed, Reynolds, Stevens, Upshaw, Zuber
A RESOLUTION COMMENDING THE CIVIC CONTRIBUTIONS OF GULF COAST VOLUNTEER LEADER, CAROLE LYNN MEADOWS, AND CONGRATULATING HER UPON RECEIVING THE ANNUAL BILLY CREEL TOURISM AWARD.
WHEREAS, Carole Lynn Meadows, a native of Lucedale, Mississippi, and longtime resident of Gulfport, Mississippi, received the 2009 Billy Creel Tourism Award for her outstanding contributions to tourism on the Mississippi Gulf Coast; and
WHEREAS, a community activist who possesses an incredible passion for the City of Gulfport and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Mrs. Meadows serves as the first woman executive committee member of the Gulfport Chamber of Commerce, Chair of the Gulfport Redevelopment Commission and as a board member of Gulfport Main Street; and
WHEREAS, further contributing to her community and state, Carole Lynn presently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Mississippi Council on Economic Education, having previously served as Vice President for Communications; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Meadows served as Codirector of the Business and International Education Grant with the United States Department of Education from 2003 to 2005, helping to provide training for K-12 teachers in international business, facilitate international business education trips to Japan and Brazil for students and community college teachers and assist with in-house international business education training for community college teachers; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Meadows was the cofounder of the impressive Lynn Meadows Discovery Center in Gulfport named in memory of her daughter, which was the first children's museum in Mississippi and is ranked in the top 50 of children's museums in the United States and was awarded the 1999 Mississippi Attraction of the Year Award, the 2008 Coming Up Taller Award from First Lady Laura Bush and the 2009 Governor's Award for Arts in Education; and
WHEREAS, further evidencing her widespread community involvement, Mrs. Meadows served as Chair of March of Dimes, Cochair of the American Cancer Tennis Tournament for four years, 1969 President of the Junior Auxiliary of Gulfport, 1974 President of the National Association of Junior Auxiliaries and was president of parent-teacher associations throughout her children's school years; and
WHEREAS, she was the first woman President of the National Alumni Association of the University of Mississippi in 1994, she is a 1999 University of Mississippi Alumni Hall of Fame inductee and received a second induction to the Hall of Fame in 2008 for outstanding alumni service; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Meadows earned a master's degree in business education from the University of Mississippi in 1963 and she has 25 years of teaching experience at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, where she was awarded Outstanding Teacher of the Year for the Jefferson Davis campus; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Meadows is lovingly supported by her husband, Joseph R. Meadows, and they both serve as Sunday School teachers at First Baptist Church of Gulfport; and
WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we recognize the contributions of such an exceptional citizen as Carole Lynn Meadows, who is the epitome of a true volunteer and who brings 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 commend the civic contributions of Mississippi Gulf Coast volunteer, Carole Lynn Meadows, congratulate her upon receiving the coveted annual Billy Creel Tourism Award to be presented at the Beau Rivage Resort in Biloxi, Mississippi, on May 3, 2010, and extend best wishes for continued success in all of her future endeavors.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Carole Lynn Meadows and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.