Class Notes

1970s

Lynn Phillips-Gaines (B.A. communication, ’78) was ranked in the 2021 Barron’s Top 1,200 Financial Advisors list, her sixth consecutive year on the list. She is a certified financial planner and registered principal at Phillips Financial in Starkville.

1980s

David Pittman (B.S., M.S. civil engineering, ’83, ’88) was chosen for the 2021 Director of the Year award by the Federal Laboratory Consortium. He is director of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center in Vicksburg. Director of ERDC since 2017, he previously received the Director of the Year honor in 2011 while serving as director of the center’s Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory.

John W. Hester Jr. (BBA, ’85) was named office director for the Office of Prevention and Therapeutic Services of the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services.

Jon Carr (BBA, ’88; MBA, ’90; Ph.D., ’01) was elected to the leadership track of the Entrepreneurship Division of the Academy of Management, a professional association for management and organizational scholars. He is the Jenkins Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship and head of the Department of Management Innovation and Entrepreneurship at North Carolina State University.

1990s

As director of the National Hurricane Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Kenneth Graham (M.S. geoscience, ’94) was announced in May as a finalist for the 2021 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals. His nomination falls into the safety, security and international affairs category and recognizes his impressive coordination of the national response to the most active hurricane season on record, which also hit during a global pandemic. Camille Young (B.A. communication, ’94; M.S. agricultural and Extension education, ’96) was named to the Cal-Maine Foods Inc. board of directors as an independent director and part of the audit, compensation, nomination and long-term incentive plan committees. She is principal and director of Cornerstone Government Affairs, a bipartisan consulting firm, and serves as the organization’s co-chair of the diversity and inclusion working group. She previously worked as a government affairs representative with Watkins Ludlam Winter and Stennis, P.A., and for the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation.

Brian W. Meredith (M.S. leadership, ’96) has returned to his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, to serve as associate dean of the Graduate School at the University of Memphis. He previously spent eight years at Western Kentucky University as the associate vice president for enrollment management.

Matt Wyatt (B.S. sports communication, ‘99) was named the 2020 Mississippi Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. A former Mississippi State quarterback who led the Bulldogs to the SEC championship game during the 1998-99 season, he is currently host of “the Matt Wyatt Show” for ESPN's The Zone.

2000s

Rhoshunda Kelly (BBA, ’01) was appointed Mississippi’s Commissioner of Banking and Consumer Finance by Gov. Tate Reeves. She succeeds former commissioner Charlotte Corley, a fellow MSU alumna, in leading the department that “touches every pocket of the state.” Kelly started her career with the state’s Department of Banking and Consumer Finance as a bank examiner soon after her MSU graduation.

Aimee Kilpatrick (B.S. international business, ’03) was named chief operating officer of BXS Insurance Inc., a subsidiary of BancorpSouth. In this position she leads BSXI’s marketing and communications teams; resources, recruitment and retention team; international education and talent development programs; and will works closely with the organization’s regional operational leaders.

Lt. Col Jeremy R. Parker (B.S. civil engineering, ’03) was appointed commander of the Mississippi National Guard COVID-19 Task Force by Gov. Tate Reeves. Parker is responsible for approximately 1,200 Mississippi National Guard service members supporting this operation by serving on the Governor’s Task Force Team.

Brook Balducci (BAAC, ’04; MTX, ’05) was named to the Memphis Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list for 2020. She is the managing director for the Memphis tax services practice for CBIZ MHM. She is on the board of directors for the Mid-South Food Bank. Part of the board since 2015, she is currently treasurer.

Jessica Campbell Hart (BBA, ’08) was promoted to vice president of the Bank of Holly Springs. She serves as the chief compliance officer and holds the designation of Certified Community Bank Compliance Officer. She has been with the bank since high school and has served in various capacities.

2010s

Don McCartney (BBA,’12; MBA, ’14) has been hired as a commercial lender for Providence Bank in Alpharetta, Georgia. He served in various commercial analysis and lending roles prior to joining the bank.

U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Rachel West (B.S. chemistry, ’17) was selected and commissioned into the U.S. Space Force Feb. 1 while stationed in Qatar. She was commissioned into the Air Force through the ROTC program at Mississippi State.

2020s

Donielle Allen (B.S. microbiology, ‘20) was named a finalist for a Critical Language Scholarship from the U.S. Department of State. This is her second time being named a finalist, having also earned the honor in 2020. A former MSU Presidential Scholar in the Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College, Allen was named the university’s first Boren Scholar in 2018, which helped enable her to study abroad in China.

Scott Burchett (B.S. meteorology, ’20) was named chief meteorologist at WNKY-TV in Bowling Green, Kentucky. He previously served as weekend meteorologist and a multimedia journalist.

Two Bulldog alumni receive promotions with the Taylor Group of Companies

CEO Lex Taylor (B.S. general business administration, ’77) and the board of directors of the Taylor Group of Companies, announced in January the appointment of Brittney Luke (B.S. accounting, ’03; MBA, ’08) as chief financial officer of the Taylor Group of Companies, which is headquartered in Louisville. Luke previously served as manager of the Accounting Division II for 17 years and, in 2016, was one of the Top 50 Under 40 Business Women as selected by the Mississippi Business Journal. In April, Zach Taylor (BBA, ’17) was named general manager for both Taylor Power Systems and Taylor Metal Fabrication. He will be based in Clinton and follows the 94-year legacy of the Taylor family business as part of the fourth generation of the family to move into senior management within the organization. He previously served as operations supervisor for Taylor Power Systems.

Birth Announcements

Emma Reed Mercer was born Nov. 23, 2020 to John and Robin Rae Burns Mercer (’06) of Madison. Theodore George Nicholson was born April 19, 2021 to Dr. Austin Chandler Nicholson (’07) and Dr. Julie Tierney Nicholson of Seattle, Washington. Ruth Allen Poindexter was born April 1, 2019 to William G. Poindexter IV (’10, ’14) and Bailey Owens Poindexter (’09, ’15) of Starkville.