Senate Concurrent Resolution 625

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING THE OUTSTANDING CAREER OF CHIP MORGAN AS LONGTIME EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE DELTA COUNCIL ON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT.

WHEREAS, Delta Council Executive Vice President Chip Morgan's long career at the Council will come to a close at the end of this year. He has been in his current position for 39 years, and with the Council for 44 years. Morgan said that one of the highlights during the nearly 50 years he has been employed by the Council is the State Four-Lane Highway System, approved and funded by the Legislature in 1987, which he said put a four-lane highway no more than 30 minutes away anywhere in the state; and

WHEREAS, a native of Oxford, Chip Morgan graduated from Oxford High School in 1969 and earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Public Administration from The University of Mississippi in 1974; and

WHEREAS, Morgan was named Executive Vice President of Delta Council in 1982 and is one of only two individuals to have served as the Chief Executive Officer of the 65-year-old organization. Prior to this position, Morgan served for seven years as Director of the Industrial and Community Department of Delta Council; and

WHEREAS, Morgan's leadership has helped advance the Delta's 18-county region in the areas of agriculture, transportation, higher education, river management, tourism, literacy and health care. He expanded the leadership role of Delta Council to include funding for higher education, adult literacy, and the improvement of access to health care. Morgan has confronted critical teacher shortages and helped forge a plan for a higher education curriculum to train high school administrators in the Delta; and

WHEREAS, during his 39 years of service to Delta Council, Morgan has developed strategies for the organization's input into national farm policy, major four-lane highway legislation for the State of Mississippi, and the successful completion of important flood control projects which have brought 100-year flood protection to communities throughout the region. As a result of his efforts, the Delta region now has the new Mississippi River Bridge in Greenville, the Delta Health Alliance, four lanes of Highway 61 running through the Delta, and the Mississippi National Heritage Area; and

WHEREAS, Delta Council Executive Vice President Chip Morgan was bestowed with one of the university's highest honors, an Honorary Doctor of Public Service Degree, as 422 Delta State University graduates received their degrees during the 2013 Spring Commencement Ceremonies held Saturday, May 4, 2018, in the Walter Sillers Coliseum; and

WHEREAS, Delta State University confers the Honorary Doctor of Public Service Degree to individuals who have made significant and meritorious contributions to the university, higher education generally or other areas of society. Expected areas of achievement included, but are not limited to, outstanding creative and scholarly work, distinguished leadership or service, significant accomplishments or exceptional philanthropic support; and

WHEREAS, the Delta Council is an area economic development organization representing the 18 Delta and part-Delta counties of Northwest Mississippi. Started in 1935 by a group of farsighted citizens, they provide a medium through which the agricultural, business and professional leadership of the area could work together. Delta Council now pioneers the effort to solve common problems and promote the development of the economy in the Mississippi Delta; and

WHEREAS, Chip Morgan resides in Leland and is a member of the Leland United Methodist Church. He is married to the former Connie Rodgers of Belzoni and they have two children and three grandchildren; and

WHEREAS, we pay tribute and cherish fondly the legacy of a most public-spirited citizen of Mississippi who has made lasting contributions to the Mississippi Delta:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby recognize the outstanding career of Chip Morgan as longtime Executive Vice President of the Delta Council on the occasion of his retirement, and extend our best wishes to Chip and his family for future success.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Chip Morgan, forwarded to the Delta Council, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.