Handy
McElmurray
1996
Gathings
Dr. Titus Hines, of Greenville, was named superintendent of education for the Lawrence County School District. He had been school administrator at Perry Central High School.
Shane Handy, of Pleasant Garden, NC, was named head football coach at Clayton High School. He had led Randleman High School’s football team for 12 seasons.
2002
1997
Dodie McElmurray, of Belzoni, was named CEO of the University of Mississippi Medical Center Grenada and its sister hospital, UMMC Holmes County in Lexington. She had been chief operating officer at West Jefferson Medical Center that serves New Orleans’ West Bank. She earlier worked at UMMC from 2003 until 2016 in several administrative capacities.
1998
Cedric Gathings, of Columbus, was named associate dean of instruction at East Mississippi Community College’s Golden Triangle campus. He most recently served as vice president for student affairs at Marshall University in Huntington, WV, and as interim assistant vice president for multicultural affairs at Mississippi State University.
George Miller, of Southaven, was appointed vice president for institutional advancement at Southern College of Optometry in Memphis. He worked there a decade ago as director of development. Miller previously served as senior account director at the Gabriel Group. Other jobs include vice president for Operation Smile and The Pursuant Group, plus director-level positions at the Pi Kappa Alpha Foundation and Delta State University Foundation. Doug Robertson, of Reidsville, NC, was named varsity football coach at Page High School. Previous head coaching jobs include Thomasville High School and Eastern Guilford High School, both in NC.
2001
2008
Patrick “Chase” Carmody, of Madison, became head football coach at Pass Christian High School. He had been defensive coordinator at Pearl High School.
2010
Donald (Donny) Sims, of Kosciusko, was named Holmes Community College 2019 Veteran of the Year. He completed a 30-plus year career with the U.S. Air Force and the Mississippi Air National Guard; received the Legion of Merit, two Meritorious Service Medals, and three Air Medals; retired from the Air Force as a colonel and was awarded a State of Mississippi promotion to brigadier general. He serves as a Department of Defense/Air Force contractor with the Air National Guard in Jackson.
Emily Childs, of Hollandale, started a new position as director of sales marketing at Cotton House, a Tribute Portfolio hotel in Cleveland.
Matt Jones, of Cleveland, became senior associate director of athletics for external affairs at Samford University. He held a similar positon at Delta State since 2011; Jones began working at DSU in 2001.
2004
Stephen Cocilova, of Auburn, AL, was promoted to district sales manager of the Southern Alabama district with Sherwin-Williams. He had been sales representative for metro Jackson.
2005
Lisa Steiner, of Lake Cormorant, principal of Lake Cormorant Middle School, was named DeSoto County Schools Administrator of the Year.
2006
Christopher Hodges, of Franklin, TN, opened his own State Farm office in Cool Springs, TN.
2007
Brian Eads, of Nashville, TN, is musical director and conductor of a national tour revival of the musical Les Misérables. He studies orchestral conducting as a doctoral candidate at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
Powell
Larkin Simpson, of Alexandria, LA, became executive vice president at Central Louisiana Economic Development Alliance. He had been vice president, major employers division.
2003
2000
Hines
Russell Woods, of Hernando, MS, started a new position as vice president of customer success at Parachute Health in Manhattan, NY. He had been a regional manager at Lincare Holdings.
Jimmy D. Fly Jr., of Charleston, was elected sheriff of Tallahatchie County.
2013
Tim Lampkin, of Clarksdale, was appointed to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Consumer Advisory Board. He is CEO of Higher Purpose Co., an economic justice nonprofit that builds community wealth with black residents across Mississippi.
2014
Brittany Prowell, of Vicksburg, a seventh-grade math teacher at the Academy of Innovation, was nominated for Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce’s Teacher of the Year. Sarah Shepherd, of Cleveland, started a new position as drug and alcohol therapist at Delta Health Center Inc.
2016
Elizabeth Long, of Decatur, AL, was named Middle School Band Director of the Year by the Southeast Mississippi Band Directors’ Association. Upon graduation from Delta State, she spent three years in Quitman as the junior high band director and assistant high school band director. Long now teaches at Clara School and assists at Wayne County High School.
2017
Jessica S. Johnson, of Clarksdale, a first-grade teacher, was named Teacher of the Year at Kirkpatrick Health & Medical Science Magnet Elementary School.
FUTURE STATESMEN & LADY STATESMEN Chelsey Bradshaw ‘13, and Christian Bradshaw, of Denver, CO, welcomed Baker McKenzie Bradshaw on Feb. 26, 2020.
Rebecca Wiggs McCreary ’12 and Blake McCreary, of Boyle, welcomed Mildred Blake McCreary on Oct. 29, 2019.
Morgan ‘10 and Amanda Robinson ‘10, assistant alumni director at Delta State, of Cleveland, welcomed Polly Morgan Robinson on Nov. 10, 2019. Winter/Spring 2020 • Delta State Magazine • 27
