House Concurrent Resolution 88

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ACKNOWLEDGING AND COMMENDING THE EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE OF CHARLES HOLDER FOR HIS COMMITMENT TO DEVELOPING AND ENHANCING WORKFORCE TRAINING AND FOR HIS LAUDABLE SERVICE TO THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI.

WHEREAS, born on February 3, 1939, in Louin, Mississippi,

to parents, C.B. and Wilma Holder, Charles Holder, a 1956 graduate of Louin High School and a man wise far beyond his years, lived alone his last four years of high school after his parents passed away prior to his entering the 9th grade; and

WHEREAS, upon finishing high school, he enrolled at Jones County Junior College on a basketball scholarship and played for the Jones Bobcats both years, and later enrolled at Mississippi State University (MSU) in the School of Liberal Arts; and

WHEREAS, undeterred by the fact that he could not be admitted to MSU's Engineering School for lacking the high school prerequisite of plane geometry, he enrolled in a geometry class at Starkville High School at night after taking junior engineering courses at State, which allowed him to be admitted to the School of Engineering, from which he graduated in January 1961 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering; and

WHEREAS, while at MSU, Charles served as President of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and was chosen as a member of Pi Tau Sigma Honorary Engineering Fraternity, going on to acquire employment with Tennessee River Pulp and Paper Company, until making the decision with his wife to move back to Louin after the passing of his uncle who was raising his younger sister; and

WHEREAS, after gaining employment with Neco Electrical Products Corporation in Bay Springs, Mississippi, for whom he worked approximately eight years, Mr. Holder is credited with designing tools and dies as well as several special machines for the company's production process, which provided him a means of starting his own small machine and welding shop, Southern Welding and Machine Company, with partner, A.T. Land, in 1963 in a livestock sale barn; and

WHEREAS, invested with a proprietary and entrepreneurial mentality, Holder purchased his partner's interest shortly after joining the company, and by 1969 formed a corporation and changed the name to Hol-Mac Corp with two additional stockholders as investors, to help finance his endeavors before purchasing those stockholders' interest in 1972 to start a joint venture with another manufacturer, which ultimately proved unsuccessful but taught him a valuable lesson in business administration that could not be earned in attendance at Harvard or Wharton; and

WHEREAS, since going back to the drawing board, the "Old Barn" where it initially began, Hol-Mac has grown from one plant to include two additional plants in the Bay Springs Industrial Park, one of which was built in the early 1970s that caused him to reinvent himself and his success and later he was able to reacquire the plant by purchase in 1998; and

WHEREAS, in 1996 Hol-Mac purchased Anel Corporation in Winona, and expanded Plant #1 in 2003 with a new facility to produce heavy precision fabrications for large mining trucks, and again in 2007, adding a modern plate cutting facility and accompanying warehouse, and presently his three companies employ approximately 478 skilled workers who perform very sophisticated manufacturing; and

WHEREAS, a jack-of-all-trades, Mr. Holder started a consulting engineering firm, C.B. Holder and Associates, Inc., in the late 1960s, which provided various engineering services to the local area in road and bridge design, water and sewer system design as well as supervision of construction for nearly 40 years until his decision to close the doors of consultation in December 2008; and

WHEREAS, a servant by nature, Charles served as the County Engineer for Jasper and Smith Counties for 37 years, in addition to fulfilling his obligations to civic endeavors in the local area, as well as the State of Mississippi, to enhance the quality of life for his employees and others; and

WHEREAS, sought for knowledge and foresight in workforce training and development, Mr. Holder found favorable rapport with the state's executive leaders, including: Governor Ray Mabus, who appointed him to Chair a Commission for Workforce Excellence in 1990; Governor Kirk Fordice, who appointed him to the State Workforce Council in 1994-2001, which became the State Workforce Investment Board in 1998; appointed by Jasper County Board of Supervisors to the Jones County Junior College District Workforce Council in 1991-1995 and to the "Twin District Investment Board"; Governor Ronnie Musgrove, who reappointed him to the State Workforce Investment Board for the 2002-2005 term and also to the "Twin District Workforce Investment Board"; Governor Haley Barbour, who reappointed him to the State Workforce Investment Board at the commencement of the 2004 term and also to the "Twin District Workforce Investment Board" in addition to being appointed by Governor Barbour in 2007 to Chair the Steering Committee to establish Centers of Excellence in the 18 southeastern counties for Metal Working in Advanced Manufacturing and Construction, which comprises the districts for Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Pearl River Community College and Jones County Junior College; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of this Legislature to honor and commend the service of such an outstanding representative of workforce development and job creation as evidenced by Mr. Holder, whose life is a personal testament of success and perseverance over life's most challenging tests of will:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby acknowledge and commend the exceptional service of Charles Holder for his commitment to developing and enhancing workforce training and for his laudable service to the State of Mississippi and convey most sincere wishes for continued success in all of his future endeavors.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Mr. Holder and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.