Profile 2020 by The Oxford Eagle

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STAFF & CONTRIBUTORS

P W

REBECCA ALEXANDER,

DELIA CHILDERS,

ANNA GUIZERIX,

PUBLISHER

AD MANAGER

MANAGING EDITOR

RHES LOW,

LAUREN JONES,

JAKE THOMPSON,

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

STAFF WRITER

NATHANAEL GABLER,

BRUCE NEWMAN,

JOEY BRENT,

STAFF WRITER

PHOTOGRAPHER

This edition of Profile 2020 was published February 2020 by Oxford Newsmedia

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Oxford Newsmedia, LLC publishes The Oxford Eagle and Oxford Magazine. The EAGLE, Lafayette County’s only daily newspaper, is published Tuesday through Friday and a weekend edition. Oxford Magazine is a bi-monthly glossy lifestyle publication. For questions, email info@oxfordeale.com.

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A GUIDE TO PROFILE 2020 PEOPLE AND PLACES YOU WILL FIND ONLY IN OXFORD 4............................Sam Kendricks 9............................Jack & Claire’s 14 .........................Donald Cole 19 .........................Lyn Roberts 24 .........................Jeff McCutchen 29 .........................Rick Mize 34 .........................Winchester 39 .........................Peggy Myles 43 .........................OES Crossing Guards 48 .........................Jarkel Joiner 53 .........................Nicholas Air 58 .........................Linda Liggins

ON THE COVER Sam Kendricks is an Oxford native who is on the fasttrack to competing in the Tokyo Olympics. From his pole-vaulting beginnings at Oxford High School to his time at Ole Miss and beyond, Kendricks’ home town has always been there to keep the superstar athlete grounded. PROFILE 2020 • ONLY IN OXFORD 3

JUMP SAM JUMP

HOW A LIFE-ALTERING DECISION ALLOWED SAM KENDRICKS TO CONQUER THE WORLD •••

Every child growing up has that one dream; aspirations to one day become a movie star, a doctor, a lawyer... the list goes on. For Sam Kendricks, his dream was no different than millions of others when growing up and turning on the Olympic games every four years. He wanted to become an Olympic athlete. The challenge then becomes turning that dream or aspiration into reality, something achievable. It’s a task Kendricks has successfully done,

BY JAKE THOMPSON and he could reach the mountaintop of his profession this summer. Before Oxford’s native son reaches the 2020 Olympic games in Tokyo and steps onto that pole vault runway, he first reflected back to what got him to this point. His journey began back on the track of Bobby Holcomb Field at the former Oxford High School campus. There, Kendricks started working his way through the ranks of pole vaulting. First, it was the high school state

championships, which didn’t come easily to Kendricks in the beginning, but he went to becoming the odds-on favorite to take home gold that first weekend of May in Pearl. It was here that the proverbial crossroads lie in front of Kendricks: the decision to pursue his childhood dream or defer to take the path mostly traveled by those who tuck that dream away with the rest of their youth. He took the path less traveled. After graduating from Oxford High

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JUMP SAM JUMP

HOW A LIFE-ALTERING DECISION ALLOWED SAM KENDRICKS TO CONQUER THE WORLD •••

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School, Kendricks chose to continue his track & field career across town at Ole Miss and was able to stay close to home to find the tools to fine tune his skills. It was there that a harsh realization came to Kendricks, and where his story truly begins. “The truth was, I wasn’t good enough,” Kendricks said. “Even being the best that Oxford High School had to offer, even being the best that Mississippi had to offer in my particular event. Climbing, climbing, climbing even beyond where everybody had gone before, I still wasn’t good enough to be on a Division I track team.” Despite being told by everyone around town that he was the “best they’ve ever seen,” Kendricks said he knew he wasn’t the “best I’ve ever seen.” While many athletes do not fully embrace their family and let them into the inner circle of their professional life, Kendricks did the opposite and welcomed his home-grown support team with open arms. Kendricks’ father, Scott, is his coach and has been since his time at Oxford. The pair have been a winning combination on a global scale, but it was a meet during his sophomore year at Ole Miss where Kendricks said he

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realized this was the path he was meant to take and was finally good enough to belong on the podium. During the Texas Relays in the spring of 2013, Kendricks accomplished something nobody else at the collegiate level had achieved in 20 years up to that point. He cleared an attempt of 19-feet, ¾ inches. It shattered the Ole Miss record and was also the highest mark in the world that up to that point in 2013. From there, Kendricks won his first U.S. title month later. “You start to realize you scratched the ceiling,” Kendricks said. “You start working on your vertical and you touch the ceiling. But, once you figure ‘I wasn’t touching it before but now I’m scratching on the sky, (it becomes) can I go a little higher? Are we doing something right?’” With the sky within his grasp, it was on that day that Kendricks was faced with the biggest decision of his life, up to that point. Does he keep scratching that itch after setting the best mark in the world over the past two decades, or does he put that dream on hold to serve his country? Kendricks was a member of the ROTC at Ole Miss and has since been a member of the Army reserves. The Armed Forces was supposed to

be Kendricks’ path, with the ROTC scholarship and the short haircut to match. Instead, what originally was his backup plan overtook the military that spring day in Texas. “That whole shift came in one moment,” Kendricks said. “All of a sudden, when you realize you’re doing things right enough to get better, you wonder what you can truly do.” What Kendricks could truly do was take on the world. The 27-year-old has won six consecutive U.S. championships and will look for his seventh straight this summer while competing to earn his spot on the Olympic national team. This past fall, Kendricks put everyone on notice when he claimed his secondstraight world pole vault championship in Doha, Qatar in October. To the outside world, that unexpected run of dominance turned into expectations and has now turned into a forgone conclusion that not only will Kendricks find the podium – he will be standing on top of the podium. For Kendricks, the harsh reality of competing at the world-level is always lurking around the corner, keeping him humble and eager to continue to improve. “That’s kind of the theme of my career,” Kendricks said. “You go

somewhere, you think you’re going to do good and then you get whooped and then you go back again with all that experience.” The roadblocks of defeat only fuel Kendricks’ desire to be the best at what he does. Currently, he is ranked No. 4 in the world of all track & field male athletes, no matter the event. At one point, the only person who was keeping Kendricks from being the world’s top track & field athlete was the world’s fastest man. “I was No. 2 behind Usain Bolt for a year,” Kendricks said. “Usain Bolt in the twilight of his career and Sam Kendricks in the prime of his career were right there together.” The two are friends; Kendricks has even spent time at Bolt’s house. Accomplishments that lead to experiences such as that are not what drives Kendricks. The drive to become a celebrity is not on the forefront of his mind, which is probably why he is the best at what he does. Pole vaulting is not the sexy sport that people tune in to watch every four years, but Kendricks has made it appointment television in Lafayette County, and slowly across the nation. In February, Kendricks got his year

off to the right start by setting a new American record of clearing 6.01 meters in an indoor event. However, there are still several events the first half of this year that Kendricks must excel in and be better than his contemporaries before he can punch his ticket to Tokyo. The U.S. Olympic trials are later this summer, and once Kendricks secures his spot, all eyes will be set on Japan. Four years ago, he claimed the bronze medal in his first Olympics appearance. The expectation is to become the first Oxford native to win an Olympic gold medal, though Kendricks said he is aware how fleeting an opportunity such as this one is. “How do you find a way to make sure you don’t waste an opportunity, because they so seldom come?” Kendricks said. “The truth of our sport is, you’re only as good as your last meet. There are so many good athletes, so many.” From making that historic jump seven years ago to being presented with the opportunity to join an elite club of people to win multiple Olympic medals, Oxford will be watching her native son this summer and cheering for all to hear: “Jump Sam Jump.” PROFILE 2020 • ONLY IN OXFORD 7

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FAMILY FIRST

JACK AND CLAIRE’S BOUTIQUE WANTS TO GIVE BACK TO THE LOU COMMUNITY •••

BY ANNA GUIZERIX When Jack and Claire’s Boutique opened last year in a quiet corner of the Oxford Galleria I shopping center, owner Josh Ivy had one goal in mind: making a difference. The Oxford native, who is the oldest of six children, said several things led him and his wife, Shannon, to open a children’s clothing store, but nothing – especially the store’s name – would have been possible without the help from two very special people. The store is named for Jack Ivy, Josh Ivy’s youngest brother, and Claire Ivy, Josh and Shannon’s daughter who passed away at 6 months gestation. The two have more in common than family ties, however: both sport the gift of an extra chromosome.

“My brother Jack was born with Down syndrome, and has really been a blessing to our family. (Prior to Jack’s birth) we hadn’t had any exposure to that,” Ivy said. “We’d helped out, and volunteered and whatnot, but we’d never had a family member with special needs. We’ve learned a lot over the years.” Jack, who is also nonverbal and on the autism spectrum, displays intelligence far beyond what they’d ever expected early on, Ivy said. To communicate, Jack uses sign language and other means, and he’s especially skilled with technology and math. “They do the state testing at the schools, and they had a math section where they had to do a bunch of

addition and subtraction, stuff like that. It was all on the computer, so we were like, ‘Does he really have to do this?’” Josh said. “Of course, he proceeded to answer almost every one of them correctly. Just from being at school and being around it, all that. ... He hadn’t really been taught that, but he still knew how to do it. “In a way, some of the traits from autism help him, because he gets really focused on things and can be a bit of a perfectionist.” While Jack continues to be a blessing in the Ivy family’s lives, Claire’s story takes a more solemn turn. Ivy and his wife married 12 years ago, when she had two daughters from a previous relationship. The couple

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had their daughter, Sarah Brooke, 11 years ago, and in 2013, found out they were expecting another blessing. “Early on, we did all the tests, and found that she was showing signs of Down syndrome. But having Jack in our family already, we weren’t worried, we weren’t scared,” Ivy said.

“If anything, we felt chosen. Like, I’ve been entrusted with this. I remember my dad (Oxford Police Capt. Alan Ivy) telling me, ‘You wouldn’t be asked to do this if you weren’t able to handle it.’” However, at approximately six months gestation, a sonogram showed

Claire no longer had a heartbeat. It was a heartbreaking time that took a great toll on Ivy and his family, but it’s one that inspired hope for things yet to come. Not long after losing Claire, Ivy and his wife welcomed their son, Cullen, who is now 5 years old and frequents

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the store with his dad. Ivy worked in the tech industry for several years, first at FNC and then at NextGear Solutions in Oxford. However, he said, he wasn’t as fulfilled as he wanted to be. “I want to create something for my children, something that will create options for them in the future, if they want that. Another thing is, setting an example for my children. (Before opening the store) I was in a job that paid well, I was treated pretty well,” Ivy said. “On the surface, I had no reason to leave it, but I wasn’t happy doing that. I had some goals with my life that I wanted to achieve, and how could I sit there and tell my children to do what they wanted to do, when I wasn’t doing that myself?” The decision to go into the children’s clothing business was one borne out of recognizing a need, Ivy said. While Oxford boasts several options for children’s clothes, he said, there was still a niche for midrange boutique items – clothing children can wear every day, that doesn’t break the bank. So, after months of research, Jack and Claire’s was born. Providing items for parents and children is just one part of the battle, however; a couple

goals still needed to be met. “We’re huge on family here. One of our taglines is, ‘Come Join our Family.’ If you come up here, you’ll see my sister or my wife or mom working here; you’ll see my kids playing in the store,” Ivy said. “Another big part of our mission is that we want to be heavily involved with the special needs community. We’ve done some things already, with 21 United and the Buddy Walk, and Night to Shine.” The greatest effort made by Ivy and Co., however, has been the decorated shopping bags that adorn a display next to the store’s checkout counter. While they may seem simple at first, the brown shopping bags are there with a purpose: supporting special needs classrooms in Lafayette County. “Our shopping bags are decorated by children in special needs classes here in Oxford,” Ivy said. “When we first started looking at bag options for the store, everyone else wrapped things perfectly. I knew there was no way we could beat them, so we decided the best we could do is match what they’re doing.” The special-edition bags are available for $5 with purchase. In the future, Ivy said, he’d like to expand the idea to include all of Jack and

Claire’s packaging, as well as partner with other businesses. For now, Ivy said, he's content to keep working to make Jack and Claire’s a place where children and parents love to be. Jack and Claire’s, located at 2305 Jackson Ave W Suite 201, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. To learn more, visit their Facebook page.

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WITNESS TO HISTORY

ONCE EXPELLED, DONALD COLE WELCOMED OXFORD BACK WITH OPEN ARMS •••

BY NATHANAEL GABLER

University of Mississippi professor emeritus Donald Cole has seen his fair share of confederate protests on the Ole Miss campus, and the events of last February sent him back in time. He’s been involved with his fair share of protests fighting for civil rights, one of which actually led to his expulsion from the University back in 1970. Cole arrived at the University of Mississippi in 1968, six years after James Meredith and integration at the University. What he didn’t realize, however, is how slowly integration was moving. Growing up in Jackson, Cole said he wasn’t used to being around the sort of

social justice movement that was happening around the Ole Miss campus at the time. So, showing up to Oxford in the late 60s was a bit of a shock. “The whole University was fully integrated, or so I thought. That was a lot of naivety on my part,” Cole recalled. “I was really surprised that there were still individuals on campus that had vowed that they would never teach an individual like myself, associated with an individual like myself. It was something I did not understand and was not prepared for.” One of eight children growing up, Cole’s older siblings had taken

place in sit-ins and other protests around Jackson when he was younger. However, they sort of sheltered young Cole from those actions, he said. That quickly changed when he arrived in Oxford. It took Cole little time to get assimilate himself with the underrepresented AfricanAmerican student population within the University at the time. Pushing for more rights for the African American and other underserved communities became just about an everyday thing. “It was a daily routine, in terms of protesting. We would go to class, go get some work done, then

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we’d have some meetings,” Cole said. “We didn’t think anything we were saying was abnormal or out of context with what it should be.” However, fate would soon intervene for Cole and his cohorts, forever cementing them in the University’s history. “That night, we rallied as many people as possible. It was going to be a big protest and it was going to be televised and make the University change the way in which we wanted it to change. The events leading up to that were kind of mill-of-theday events that we had been doing every day for months.” “That night” referenced by Cole is the night that would lead to the events surrounding his expulsion. A special international group was on campus, and their standard protests had a larger audience. Their normal group of protestors was larger and more organized. The goal? To try and embarrass the University into changing their ways. The group compiled what they called “acts for the administration.” Essentially, it was a list of actions

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they wanted the University to take. The list contained things such as disassociating themselves from the Rebel flag, hiring faculty members who were persons of color and recruiting black athletes (of which there were none at the time). Cole said he saw their goal as a means of pushing the University in the right direction. “I’m sure they were getting tired of us, but I’m also sure they recognized that our strategy could possibly work,” Cole said. “Part of our strategy was embarrassing the University into a better way of operating. But certainly, that wouldn’t have been any desire on their part. I’m sure when we protested that afternoon at Fulton Chapel, they wanted it more controlled than we wanted it to be. That was an event that was particularly important for both sides because of the publicity that could’ve been generated.” Events surrounding that individual protest would land Cole in jail for two nights. Along with seven others, Cole was expelled from the University on that day,

Feb. 25, 1970. However, Cole said he has no regrets. Cole would go on to get a bachelor’s degree at Tougaloo College in Jackson, and two Master’s degrees from the State University of New York and the University of Michigan. Eventually, the University of Mississippi actually welcomed him back, and he completed coursework to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1985. Then, he moved to Texas working in the aerospace industry. In 1993, Ole Miss welcomed him back for good, this time as faculty. All this prompts an obvious question: why come back after being expelled and disgraced back in 1970? “I’ve asked myself that so many times, and I never could give myself a great answer to that. The most honest answer I can give is that I don’t know,” Cole said. “What idiot would leave Oxford to go anywhere else?... The opportunity to come back here, to come to Oxford, we took without hesitation. It’s kind of telling about the special part

of this Oxford community and how warmly that I was received within the community.” After a 25-year career at Ole Miss, where he served as everything from a math professor to the Assistant to the Chancellor for Multicultural Affairs, Cole retired in 2018. He’s still on campus all the time, serving as a professor emeritus. – he even still has an office in the math department. And yes, he was in Oxford in February 2018 when a confederate rally and march brought national eyes to Oxford. It was a weird way to reminisce, he said. It was something he lived through, happening again over 40 years later. This time, however, the reaction to the protest did nothing but impress him. “This was far from the first confederate rally I’ve seen on

campus. I’ve seen my share and I have all types of thoughts about that,” Cole said. “But really, I was pleasantly surprised by the campus reaction. You don’t want to stop free speech on a college campus unless it’s going to lead to danger. But I was so proud of the reaction by the students, the faculty and the administration. The administration let free speech happen, regardless of if they agreed with it. The students who rose up and said, ‘This is my university and the hate you bring does not define us.’ Their reaction impressed me.” The old saying goes ‘Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.’ In a way, Cole knows this chapter of Ole Miss history better than anyone. Yet, he’s had to relive it up close and personal unlike many ever will.

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BOOKSELLER AND BEYOND

LYN ROBERTS KEEPS THE SQUARE BOOKS MACHINE RUNNING •••

BY JAKE THOMPSON

When people hear Square Books, most immediately think of Richard Howorth, but for most of the past two decades-plus, there was someone else who helped make Oxford’s bookstore machine run. Lyn Roberts came to Oxford after graduating college with the intention of going to the University of Mississippi’s Law School. What happened instead was, she found herself still living in Oxford three decades later as the general manager at Square Books. During her last semester of undergrad, Roberts took a contemporary literature class and read “Airships” by Barry Hannah. She then discovered Hannah was from Oxford, which eased her hesitations about being someone

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from the coast who relocated to north Mississippi. “I thought, ‘Okay, I’m not going to worry about it. Oxford can’t be that bad if this guy is here,” Roberts said. Roberts began working parttime as a bookseller in 1988 while she was in law school. When she graduated, she realized her current career path was not what she wanted to do. Knowing that becoming a lawyer was not going to make her happy, Roberts spoke with Howorth about working full-time at Square Books in 1990. During that same year, Salman Rushdi’s fourth novel, “The Satanic Verses,” was released – a book that wasn’t carried by many booksellers due to the

potential violence it may cause by having it in their store. The book was partly inspired by the life of Muhammad. “Richard was like, ‘No, we’re going to carry the book and we’re not going to let that fear scare us into censoring the book,’” Roberts said. “So, that was like my first year that I worked here and that happened. It really sort of informed how I felt about bookselling and the importance of it.” From that moment on, Roberts has molded how she navigates running Square Books and Off Square Books through Howorth’s guidance and beliefs towards bookstores. In September 2019, Square Books celebrated its 40th anniversary.

Roberts has been a part of Oxford’s beloved bookstore for three quarters of its existence. She has also witnessed the relationship between the bookstore and the community, and the love Oxonians have towards it grow stronger with each passing year. When Square Books initially opened it was not in its current location, though Roberts began working at the bookstore when it did move to where it resides today. “It’s been exciting,” Roberts said.

“It’s been great. … This was all brand new (when I began working here). It’s been a great experience and I don’t know if it’s possible in any other place or to even have started at any other time than it did.” In July 2001, Howorth was elected mayor of Oxford, and he served two terms from 2001 to 2009. This led to him having to turn the reigns of the bookstores over to Roberts, as being mayor required the majority of his time.

Roberts began shifting into what her role is today during this time period. With Howorth spending his days at City Hall, she was tasked with making sure the bookstores continued chugging along. “I’m probably a way slow learner than I should be at this point,” Roberts joked. “Richard is always very engaged as a community member of Oxford, Lafayette (County) and Mississippi community. … I think that’s one of the lessons I’ve learned is to

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participate and be involved.” The ability to adapt in an everchanging world of bookselling has also been a lesson Roberts has taken from her time studying under Howorth. Some of the evolution Roberts has dealt with did not even involve bookselling. When she began working at Square Books 32 years ago, the store used an actual cash register, which was nothing more than a glorified calculator with cash in a drawer. The inventory system consisted of writing the title of a book they sold down on a yellow legal pad, and then going back to see how many were still on the shelf. Now, the inventory is digital and book orders can take place with a click of a button and arrive at the store a couple days later. “Adaptability and changing with the times, but not losing what’s important. Bookstores are still very important,” Roberts said. “When e-books came out, everybody was worried that it was the end of real books. Now, e-books sales are sort of on the decline, but basically pleasurereading people tend to prefer

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real books. So, recognizing what’s important and to have actual booksellers who actually read books actually talk to you.” Roberts’ story is one of many who find themselves in Oxford with one intention of how their life is supposed to go and then seeing that plan completely torn up and creating a new plan as they go along. The “Velvet Ditch,” as William Faulkner famously described Oxford and Lafayette County, can strike at any moment. Roberts happened to be a willing participant, though she is not quite sure when it began. “People ask me all the time, ‘When did you become the general manager or the CEO?,’ and I have no idea,” Roberts said. “I started off as a bookseller, and I think maybe a few years later, I was making a schedule and kind of gradually doing more and more. So, I’m not really sure.” Running one of Oxford’s most successful local businesses was not what Lyn Roberts came to Oxford to do, but it will eventually be her lasting legacy.

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JEFF MCCUTCHEN, OXFORD’S EVER-ADAPTING CHIEF OF POLICE •••

BY JAKE THOMPSON

Jeff McCutchen knew growing up he wanted to do something outdoors, that required being active. It could have been coaching or teaching, but deep down, there was always this “lean” toward law enforcement. The decision was ultimately made for McCutchen while working a landscaping job during a summer in college. The brother of a friend of McCutchen’s was a deputy at the Tippah County Sheriff ’s Department who told him they were in need of jailors at the county jail. McCutchen took the advice and called the jail administrator. That was the gateway to here he is today, serving as Oxford’s police chief. “What I really think about, what stuck out to me in that moment, was being 21 and not having a single clue about law enforcement and what it really means,” McCutchen recalled. “You see what you see. (The deputy) asked me, ‘Are you sure this is the job you want to do? You’re committed to this?’ I said ‘absolutely,’ knowing I had no clue what that meant.” Everybody has their own preconceived notions of what being a police officer or a sheriff ’s deputy means, either through the hundreds of television shows that have portrayed cops through the years or from seeing family members patrolling the streets and hearing stories around the dinner table. McCutchen was no stranger to those same notions, but it wasn’t until he began working at the Tippah County jail and sitting down with his superiors, did he fully grasp what it meant to be an officer of the law. The lessons learned while working at that jail went beyond having a badge or a patrol car and the power that comes with it. McCutchen learned being a law enforcement officer is about the

people and the community and how you treat them day-to-day. “The only thing that you have when you leave this earth is your name and the way you treated people,” McCutchen said. “That just stuck with me from that moment and the time I spent in Tippah in the jail, you learn how to talk to people and you have an opportunity to hear people’s stories and how it impacts their life.” From there, McCutchen went from seeing the end result of breaking the law to how the process begins, taking a job as a patrol officer with the Batesville Police Department. The full-circle perspective of life on the job did not hit McCutchen until he became an investigator. “You sometimes wonder, ‘Hey, am I making a difference? Am I doing a service to our citizens?’” McCutchen said. “The first time you knock back on that victim’s door and you give them answers, you give them closure and you give them peace, and you see their eyes change. It’ll change you forever as a law enforcement officer.” Every officer’s path is different, but for McCutchen starting on the inside, after the crimes have been committed and experiencing people who are dealing with those choices proved instrumental in his development as an officer of the law. To survive working in a jail, talking is key. It’s something McCutchen learned early on. “You’re in a confined area. There’s multiples of them and one of you,” McCutchen said. “You can’t go in there with an ego and an attitude and you run the show. There’s a lot of give and take. You have to understand people are in tough situations or they wouldn’t be there.” The time in Tippah provided “growth” for McCutchen, which he applied to being a beat cop in Batesville and then applied his PROFILE 2020 • ONLY IN OXFORD 25

experience there to when he was hired at Oxford Police Department. Through the early years of his career, McCutchen said he went through what he called “phases” and it took him roughly five years to fully work through those phases of what you think he thought he knew, to realizing he didn’t know anything and then going to through training. “You have to merge all of that because it’s never just one thing,” McCutchen said. “It’s everchanging. You’re three, four or five years into it before you begin to shape who you are and see multiple facets of law enforcement.” Even 18 years into his law enforcement career, McCutchen continues to mold himself. Last year brought an unexpected phase to McCutchen when thenpolice chief Joey East announced his bid to become the next sheriff of Lafayette County. That pushed McCutchen into the role of Oxford’s interim police chief. After navigating through one of Oxford’s toughest years to date with crimes that received national attention, McCutchen received the best on-the-job training to be in

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charge of a city whose population fluctuates from 50,000 people to 200,000 on seven Saturdays in the fall and other times throughout the year. McCutchen was officially hired as the new permanent chief of police in the fall of 2019. While most who enter the law enforcement profession, reaching the rank of police chief or sheriff is the ultimate goal. That was not necessarily the case for McCutchen, but his is now ready to serve his family and neighbors. “It never crossed my mind,” McCutchen of eventually becoming chief. “I loved being in criminal investigations. If I ever did anything outside of this again, it would be that. … I’ve learned so much during those six years. You’re not a chief. You’re kind of up the food chain, but you’re not making all the decisions. So, you’ve got to bring in feedback and absorb and understand, ‘Hey, (the chief) has decisions he’s got to make, which preps you for this moment.” Despite being in the head chair at the department, McCutchen still has that investigator mentality and community-first approach. Mostly

that is due to how his priorities are at home. Life is family-first for McCutchen, who can often be seen sitting in the stands at Lafayette High School’s William L. Buford stadium cheering his daughter and the Lady Commodores soccer team. He even runs the team’s official Twitter account, posting updates with gifs, whether he’s at the game or sitting in the hallway at City Hall. “Some of the best advice I’d gotten coming up in law enforcement is never lose your identity,” McCutchen said. “You’re not officer McCutchen, that’s not who you are. You’re Jeff McCutchen. You were that when you came in the world and you’ll be that when you leave no matter what your rank was. … I feel like I was put on this earth to serve people. Currently, it’s in a law enforcement capacity, but if they fire me tomorrow, I’ll probably be serving you at the landscaping department at Home Depot.” Whether it’s with a uniform that includes a badge or a uniform that includes an orange apron, McCutchen is prepared to do what is best for his community at a moment’s notice.

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RICK MIZE

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RICK MIZE’S PASSION IS KEEPING LOCAL RADIO ALIVE •••

BY JAKE THOMPSON

Rick Mize has several accolades to his name, including a Country Music Association award, but no accomplishment means more to him than running a local radio station. In 2020, the idea of locallyowned radio stations seems

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increasingly antiquated, as they are slowly falling to the wayside of music being made available by streaming sites and even YouTube. For Mize, it’s a labor of love that has spanned his entire adult life and beyond. His

foray into the radio world starts with the stage. When Mize was a student at Lafayette High School, he decided to turn to theatre. “I was never the class clown, per se, but I was always trying to be creative,” Mize recalls.

“So, it led me to decide to get into theatre.” A gift from his father when he was a child also helped plant the seed to find a job behind a microphone. Mize had asked for a cassette recorder when he was around 11 years old. “I was recording everything,” Mize said. “I was recording conversations with the family. I was recording things, skits you would make up with friends.” Mize even used the recording to recreate races with the help of his cousin’s truck. The truck had glass packs installed, and they would speed down the road while his cousin was the driver and Rick was the one interviewing him. From there, Mize’s theatre teacher approached him, along with classmate and friend David Kellum, with the idea to do a radio show for the school. Radio was something Mize always enjoyed while growing up and listening to many of the big Memphis radio personalities of the time, including Rick Dees during Mize’s junior year at Lafayette in 1975. Dees’ wacky on-air personality and his cult-hit creation “Disco Duck” lit a fire for Mize. “I was really taken by (Dees’) morning show and his fast-paced presentation, with his off-the-cuff, spontaneous humor that I thought that would be exactly what I want to do,” Mize said. So, Mize, Kellum and Jim Martin began emulating

Dees and creating their own personas for the morning show, which aired weekly across classroom speakers at Lafayette. Those shows during his high school years propelled Mize into forming characters of his own while a personality on FM 98 by molding his humor from comedians he enjoyed through the years, including Mississippi’s own Jerry Clower. From there, Mize got a job doing an overnight DJ’ing gig at a Memphis station, which provided a unique outlet to work on an assortment of ideas and characters. One of those characters was an alter-ego named “Ernie” where Mize would play himself but also this character and banter back and forth throughout the night. “Overnights was a fun thing to do and I don’t know how many do it anymore,” Mize said. “Your audience was insomniacs, truck drivers and security guards. That was pretty much your audience, but it was a kind of a fun thing to do.” Mize returned home to Oxford to help Kellum start up J107, and continued doing what he successfully created in Memphis. The homecoming lasted only 10 months. Mize found his way to the Mississippi coast, where he got a job at the station 93Q. There, he was tasked with replacing a DJ who was extremely popular with the loyal listeners. “He was very difficult,

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stressful time, quite frankly,” Mize said. “Because he was hard to replace and I didn’t do it how I was expected, because he was on the air for many years doing his schtick and I was a different guy.” The stint at 93Q lasted for about 18 months, and came to an end due to a management change. Eventually, Mize hit his stride when he became the manager and a popular morning show co-host on the Biloxi country station K99 in Pascagoula. It was during his time there that Mize won the CMA award in 1991. “That was probably one of my greatest accomplishments in radio,” Mize said. “We had a really good run there for

about 10 years. Dominated the market. … It was a well-oiled machine.” After seven years on the coast, Mize decided to return back to his roots in Lafayette County and has been a fixture ever since, both as a radio personality and as general manager of what is now Q105 and Supertalk North MS 93.7. Mize got the band back together when he began a successful morning show with Jim Martin. The second homecoming marked the end of Mize using his characters and the pair strictly relied on their chemistry with one another to provide the entertainment. “I very much admire anybody who does it on a national or local level and can keep up

the spontaneity and make it compelling and entertaining,” Mize said of creating personalities. “It’s three hours a day. It’s a big task.” In 2019, Mize made the decision to step away from his morning show host duties to spend more time running the two radio stations. It marked the end of a 30-plus year run where Mize sat behind the microphone entertaining people on their way to and from work. While not coming across the airwaves as people travel through Lafayette County, Mize is still fighting the fight of keeping local radio alive in the place he first fell in love with radio all those years ago.

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BORN HERE, BUILT HERE

HOW WINCHESTER REVITALIZED THE LOU WORKFORCE •••

Over the last 15 years, one name has become synonymous with industrial workforce employment in the LOU Community: Winchester. When the Emerson Electric facility and the Whirlpool and Toro factories closed in Lafayette County, many ablebodied workers found themselves in need of a job. While Oxford is known for its excellence in the hospitality and academics field, there weren’t many options available for the skilled worker. In 2005, that all changed, thanks to a productive national search conducted by Winchester. “I was part of the team that was traveling around the United States to find a location for our rim fire business at that time,” said Kevin Watson, general manager of the facility. “Lo and behold, Oxford came up on

BY ANNA GUIZERIX the radar, that there was an existing facility that was for sale. So, we came and checked it out.” While Winchester now encompasses two facilities within the Max D. Hipp Industrial Park, located off Old Highway 7, the company’s presence in Oxford began rather humbly by comparison. Housed in the old Emerson Electric facility, Winchester’s rimfire ammunition facility boasted 135 employees when it first opened. Today, Winchester employs more than 10 times that amount between its rimfire and centerfire operations. “Over the last 15 years now, we’ve gotten to 1,500 employees,” Watson said. “That includes both our rimfire facility and the relocation of the centerfire operation, which we built in 2011.” Winchester’s centerfire facility,

located behind its original rimfire site, is a flagship operation for the company. All of Winchester’s operations, aside from primer and shotgun shell manufacturing facilities, are located in Oxford. It’s a vision Watson said he didn’t anticipate during the company’s initial search in 2004 and 2005, but something he’s proud to be a part of in the long run. After the initial success of the rimfire facility, in 2008 Winchester moved its military packing business to Oxford. In 2011, the newly built state-of-theart 500,000 square-foot facility that houses all of Winchester’s centerfire operations opened its doors. “When you think about that in terms of quantity, we’re producing billions of rounds per year at the Oxford location. It’s pretty incredible,

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the amount of volume that comes out of here,” Watson said. “Another thing that Winchester is very proud of is our relationship as a trusted supplier to the military and law enforcement community. “We have a long history of supporting the U.S. military and were already the largest non-government owned supplier of small-caliber ammunition to the government. Recently it was announced that Winchester would also take over management of the government owned Lake City Army Ammunition plant near Kansas City, MO. Between Lake City and the large amount of military production in Oxford, we’re now basically the sole provider for all of the armed forces.” In addition to providing ammunition to the U.S. military and law enforcement agencies across the country, Watson said Winchester wouldn’t be what it is today without shooting sport enthusiasts and hunters, who use their products every day. Mississippi has long been hailed as a veritable sportsman’s paradise, something Watson said initially drew Winchester to the area and has encouraged them to stay for over a decade.

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“One thing that helped draw us to Mississippi is, it’s such a prohunting, pro-shooting sport climate,” Watson said. ”The other piece (of Winchester’s presence in Oxford) is, the sponsorship of the community and the sponsorship we had through the state were big drivers. Haley Barbour was governor (when Winchester came to Oxford), and he was impactful in helping us make that decision.” It wasn’t enough for the people of Winchester to boost the economy, however. As the largest employer in Lafayette County outside of the University of Mississippi, Watson said Winchester makes it a point to give back and enhance the quality of life

for which the LOU Community is famous. “We’re involved with the Fourth of July fireworks for the City every year, as well as the United Way, local Boys & Girls Clubs and local schools’ booster clubs. This area is our home too, and we hope to make a lasting impact on the community we serve every day.” Another example of how Winchester has given back in a big way was through a generous donation to help fund a new recreational shooting facility near Sardis, MS. The newly built McIvor Shooting Facility, owned and operated by Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks (MDWFP), includes shotgun, rifle, pistol and

archery ranges. The McIvor Shooting Facility opened to the public in 2019 and provides a much-needed shooting destination for residents across Northern Mississippi.

Another area of focus for Winchester is the constant search for additional workers to join their team. “From the standpoint of building relationships with the community, we are still actively hiring,” Watson said. Winchester employs a diverse workforce across many professions including machine operators, maintenance, transportation, human resources and engineering to support their business. Not only

do they manufacture in Oxford, but much of the testing and new product development that will drive future innovation in the ammunition industry happens right here in Oxford. Through partnerships with the University of Mississippi and others, its research facilities are staffed with the brightest minds the community has to offer. As skilled workers become more in-demand, however, Watson said the best thing Winchester can do is cultivate relationships with institutions that provide future employees at a variety of skill levels. “I’ve had the opportunity to talk with some of our state leaders about the feeder pool for the future of the workforce,” he said. “While Oxford is certainly a university town, not all of those kids belong in a university setting. (Vocational programs) can give them the skills that we’re looking for, where you can come find a job at Winchester and support your family. You can have a meaningful career here. There’s another path, and Winchester can play a part in that.” Winchester’s slogan, “Born here. Built here,” is something Watson said resonates with him personally, as well

as with the thousands of people whose lives are touched by Winchester’s influence every day. “We hope that when our employees, or anyone in the Oxford area, see a box of Winchester Ammunition on a retail shelf or at a range, that they feel proud knowing that they had a part in getting it there.” “From a personal standpoint, it was really nice for my wife and I to go out into the community in the evenings for dinner or something, and I’d have a Winchester branded shirt on. I can’t tell you how many people would come up and say, ‘You’re with Winchester? We’re so glad you’re here,’” he said. “Thanks! We’re glad to be here.”

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PEGGY MYLES

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LIFE IN STITCHES

SEAMSTRESS PEGGY MYLES’ JOURNEY, FROM FLOUR SACKS TO FILM STARS •••

When Peggy Myles was a little girl in Abbeville, Miss., her grandmother let her pull the needle through the fabric of the flour-sack dresses she made. That small introduction was all it took to start a lifelong fascination with sewing, Myles said. Today, she owns her own shop, Peggy’s Alterations, an establishment that’s kept Oxonians perfectly tailored for over 20 years. Myles has fitted garments for the likes of local farmers and international celebrities, but she’ll admit being a seamstress was not what she wanted to do with her life at first. “I worked at Emerson Electric for 10 years, and I just decided I wasn’t going to work there anymore. In my mind, I always felt it was God’s plan for me to not be at the factory,” Myles said. “After 10 years, I left the factory and decided to go back to school. I left and went to Northwest to get a business degree, and my plan was to work at the University as a secretary, but that’s not what happened.” After completing her degree, Myles got a job at Rainbow Cleaners doing alterations. Although she’d never done it before, and wasn’t very good, she said she adapted

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BY ANNA GUIZERIX quickly. It wasn’t long before she opened her own business, Golden Spool Alterations, in 1986. Myles then worked from home for a year before being hired on by Virginia Blackwell’s Alterations. She spent a couple of years learning from Blackwell, whom Myles said was a great teacher. Then, she got the opportunity to become a seamstress to the stars. Her first brush with Hollywood came with the 1992 movie “The Gun in Betty Lou’s Handbag,” which filmed in Oxford. The film starred Alfre Woodard, and Myles still has a story she said she loves to tell. “I always have this joke I tell, because I did some of Alfre Woodard’s personal clothes and she left town without paying me,” she said. “So, every time I see her on TV I always say, ‘You still owe me money – plus interest.’” After her work was done with “The Gun in Betty Lou’s Handbag,” Myles got a phone call from the costume designer for a movie called “A Time to Kill.” Based off John Grisham’s best-selling novel, “A Time to Kill” filmed primarily in Canton, Miss. and starred Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Ashley Judd and Kiefer Sutherland. According to Myles, all

of them were good people to work with. Myles also traveled to the Delta to work on the set of “The Chamber,” which starred Gene Hackman, Chris O’Donnell, Bo Jackson and Faye Dunaway. Because it was wintertime, Myles said one of her main tasks was making sure Dunaway’s silk long johns were washed and dried before filming began each day. She also worked on “Ghosts of Mississippi,” with Whoopi Goldberg and Alec Baldwin. Although the actor has a famous temper, Myles maintains that Baldwin was a kind man who appreciated her work – even when she had to iron wrinkles into his shirts instead of ironing them out. While meeting celebrities was fun, Myles said the biggest takeaway she got from her experience was the knowledge she learned from the rest of the costume team. No one was stingy with their sewing secrets, she said, which made for an educational environment that prepared her to open her own shop. Peggy’s Alterations first opened its doors in May 1998, with encouragement from her husband, Willie, and a whole lot of prayer, Myles said. She employs women from all backgrounds in her shop,

some hailing from countries as far as India and Sri Lanka. One, she said, even learned English while sitting at her sewing machine with the other ladies there. “I want everybody who works with me to learn everything that I know. I’ve had people who’ve worked for me for years, and when they left town, they were able to go right out and get a job doing alterations,” Myles said. “It doesn’t matter where people come from. We’re all still willing to help each other. We’re a little family. We cook together and eat together.” On most days, customers at Peggy’s can walk into the shop and find women humming away at their sewing machines, listening to the latest news on daytime television in the corner, swapping recipes and deciding which stitches to use on which garments (or boat seats or slipcovers or curtains). Myles mans the front, handmarking each garment that enters the shop and tailoring each piece to her customers’ exact specifications. “When somebody comes in and brings a wedding dress, something special in their lives, or just a pair of jeans that has a hole, we want to

do our best,” Myles said. “There’s a ministry in doing what the good Lord wants us to do – the best-quality job we can. It shows our heart, our passion, the love for the people we’re doing this for. When they put the garment on and it fits just right, you feel like you’ve accomplished your mission.” When she’s not at the shop, Myles said she can be found visiting her daughters, relaxing with her husband at their log cabin off Highway 7 or in a pew at Providence United Methodist Church in Abbeville. Looking back on her life, Myles said

she never imagined the girl wearing flour-sack dresses in her school photos would go on to own her own business and work on movie sets. But through it all, she said, trusting God has never failed her. “It seems like there was always something inside me, and I attribute it to the Lord. That voice saying, ‘There’s something else. There’s something I’m meant to do. You’re here at this factory, and you’re going to use this to move on out,’” she said. “I just trust in God for whatever I need, because I know whatever I go through, it will help me to grow and move forward.”

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SAFETY FIRST

OES SECURITY, BUT WITH A LITTLE FLARE •••

Mid-January was icy. There was some snow, and mornings where temperatures were below 30 degrees. Early February brought brutal rainstorms. These conditions throw wrinkles into our daily lives and routines, but not into that of Robert Bradley and Russell Leslie. Standing out on Highway 30 near the intersection with Highway 7, the two are in front of Oxford Elementary School directing traffic every single morning. Rain or shine or sleet, they’re in that same spot every morning. Recently, though, it’s the way they do their jobs that’s drawn attention of parents, students and administrators alike. “They’re so animated. It makes a big difference when the kids are coming in or out,” said Patrick Wood, owner of Wood Security. “The kids

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BY NATHANAEL GABLER are rolling down the windows, waving saying ‘Hey, good morning! How are you doing?’ With Robert, part of his animation is that when he’s in the middle out there stopping one side of the traffic, he’s got to get loud and holler to let Russell know what’s going on. A lot of the kids hear him hollering, and now you got kids hollering as they’re driving through.” Bradley and Leslie are Wood Security employees. With 25 full-time employees, Wood Security handles all the traffic in front of Oxford schools as well as numerous other duties at schools and around town. Some of their connections date back decades. Bradley, 50, was childhood friends with Patrick Wood. They reconnected with Bradley moved back to Oxford a few years ago, and Bradley’s been working this gig since Wood Security started working with

the school districts back in the middle of the 2017-18 school year. Sitting down and talking with Bradley, one can tell how much he loves what he does and how seriously he takes it – despite the fact that his methods could be described as a bit goofy. “I enjoy doing what I do, and I know Russell enjoys working with me. I’d have to have him in order to do what we do,” Bradley said. “The main thing we focus on is safety. That’s the top of the line right there. We have to get the parents in and out of the school, the busses in and out of the school as safe as we can without getting hurt. So, everyone says I’m animated. And yeah, I throw my arms up in the air and maybe I’m dancing around, but it’s just having fun. But at the end of the day, it’s always safety.” Children and parents will wave

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to the two coming in and out of the school. Children will roll down windows of their bus and shout at the two. It’s sort of just become the daily routine outside of Oxford Elementary. Before the school’s winter break, they had teachers and parents coming through and giving them gifts – anything from cookies to breads. It’s pretty clear they appreciate the work done, and it’s clear how gratifying it is to the two men working the job. “At first, it was very intimidating. Not just working with Robert, but it’s Highway 30,” Leslie said. “I remember the first thing Robert said to me was, ‘You only need to follow two commands: hold them up and let

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them go.’ I was like okay; I can handle that. It helped me out a lot early. The job is really rewarding.” Leslie, 28, is about half the age of his more experienced counterpart. Where Bradley started working with the schools a few years back, he just started at Oxford Elementary in October 2019. The two say they get stopped inside Walmart by parents and students. A few weeks back, Bradley said he was taking his child to the eye doctor and the receptionist recognized them. He’s quick to point out that the recognition isn’t why they do the job, but it’s a silly side perk. “It’s being out there on the road

that makes my days. It really does,” Bradley said. “It’s hard to explain. It makes you want to get up early in the morning and get out there. It can be thundering and lightning. I’ve been out there when you couldn’t even see your hand. I’m serious, it was raining that hard. But we got there in and out safely. That’s what it’s all about.” It’s 6:45 a.m. on a Monday morning. It’s cold and gloomy and the rest of us are still in bed or trying to pour coffee down our gullets, but these two are going to be dancing around, parading on Highway 30 and making sure Oxford’s children are getting to school safely, but with a little flare.



@j a n e _ o x f o r d m s

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HOMECOMING: JARKEL JOINER’S CALIFORNIA JOURNEY BROUGHT HIM BACK TO OXFORD •••

The opportunity was too good to pass up. Honestly, it felt more like a dream come true than an opportunity. When Jarkel Joiner decided to transfer colleges, when he decided to finish his basketball career elsewhere, when his hometown school came calling, there was never really a question. Jarkel Joiner was coming home to Oxford. A graduate of Oxford High School in 2017, Joiner took his basketball out west. A senior at Oxford, his 36.5 points per game ranked him fourth in the nation. Regardless, his undersized 6-foot1 frame didn’t draw much power-5 interest. Instead, he decided to reunite with an old friend. Joiner’s father, Stacy Joiner,

BY NATHANAEL GABLER had cut Rod Barnes’ hair back in Barnes’ Ole Miss tenure. Barnes left Ole Miss back in 2006, and has been the head coach of Cal State Bakersfield since 2011. With little power-5 interest, Joiner took his talents to California. “It was a little tough to get used to at first. But my dad and coach Barnes were close. Dr. (Thomas) Wallace, who was there, was one of my first basketball coaches and he was from Ole Miss,” Joiner said. “California was different. It took some time. The music and the food surprised me a lot. Some LA stuff, I don’t even know how to describe it. It was a big difference.” It took little time for Joiner to make an impact at Bakersfield. A true freshman, he started 27 games.

As a sophomore last year, he lead the Western Athletic Conference in scoring during league play with 18.6 points per game. Joiner had proved that he can play, and shine, at the Division I level despite being a little undersized. During his sophomore year, he says he began to seem like more of an option not just to transfer, but to return home. When Joiner put his name in the transfer portal after his sophomore season, the ball was then in everyone else’s court. “First thing I did is call Rod,” Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis said. “I know he meant a lot to Ole Miss, so I wanted to get Rod’s graces before we did it. So I talked to Jarkel, talked to his dad after

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OXFORD ENTERPRISE CENTER Office: 662.281.0720 9 Industrial Park Drive • Oxford, MS 38655 holly@northmiss.org • www.northmiss.org PROFILE 2020 • ONLY IN OXFORD 49

he entered the transfer portal. I brought him into my office and visited with him, and gosh you saw his passion about how badly he wanted to be at Ole Miss. And I wanted him bad. I told our staff, this guy here was built for us.” Joiner and Davis had never met before that first meeting. That trip to Davis’ office in the Tuohy Center off of Chucky Mullens Drive ended with a hug. For Joiner, much of the decision came down not just to returning home, but from a decisive promise from coach Davis that Jarkel Joiner could compete in the Southeastern Conference. It’s something that’s always been on his mind. Despite his excessive numbers in high school, finishing his senior year sixth nationally in scoring, Joiner was not ranked as a prospect by any major recruiting database. There were a small number of power-5 schools that looked into him – Florida and Georgetown expressed interest but didn’t offer Joiner a scholarship. He grew up in Ole Miss’ backyard, less than 100 miles from Mississippi State and Memphis, and none wanted him at the time.

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It still sticks with the junior to this day. “To have the hometown schools looking at me, not really believing in me. They didn’t think I could play at this level. I just took it to the chin and went to work every day, added it as fuel to my fire,” Joiner said. “I’m always playing with a chip on my shoulder. I always have to prove that I can play on this level. My hometown team, Mississippi state, other SEC teams didn’t believe in me… Now, being here, this is just a story to tell. It’s just another part of my story.” Having transferred, Joiner is currently redshirting this season. Kermit Davis is quick to point out that he’d love to be able to play Joiner right now, adding that he’s maybe the toughest practice player on the current Rebel team. A return home isn’t just a blessing for the Ole Miss team that could use quality practice players for the year Joiner is redshirting. Oxford High coach Drew Tyler can’t stress enough the impact Joiner has had on his current crop of high schoolers. “It’s great to have him back in

town. He’s around our players, which is a win-win situation for us,” Tyler said. “He worked out with a number of our players over the summer. I think Kylan Blackmon’s approach to the game has a lot to do with Jarkel and working with him this summer. So it helps a lot of my present players with their approach to the game… it’s great having him back in town because he has not forgotten where his high school is and he hasn’t forgotten about the high school players.” Joiner’s at just about every Oxford High home game he can get to. He’s in the locker room postgame. Blackmon, under Joiner’s tutelage, is having a senior season of his own where he’s averaging in the high 20s in points per game. Hell, Tykel Owens, another senior who is a key piece and starter on this Charger team, is Joiner’s cousin. According to Tyler, it’s been the competitive spirit of Joiner that’s rubbed off most on his team. With everything Joiner does, there has to be a winner and a loser. Sure, that goes for a game of one-onone, but it also extends to a game of Madden or 2K on the XBOX or

just putting up free throws after practice. In a way, Joiner had to leave Oxford just to come back. After a high school career matched by few, he still had to prove to the basketball world that he could perform on that level.

The chip will never leave Jarkel Joiner’s shoulder. He has the Ole Miss logo on his chest now and he can don it with a sense of pride – he earned it. But part of what makes him the player he is today was getting passed on by the hometown school three years ago.

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NICHOLAS CORRENTI

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THE OASIS IN MISSISSIPPI

NICHOLAS AIR EMBRACING OXFORD AS NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS •••

BY NATHANAEL GABLER

If it’s good enough for the Manning family, shouldn’t it be good enough for us all? Playing in the Pebble Beach ProAm Invitational in early February, Eli Manning was sporting a Nicholas Air hat, very subtly showing support for a private Oxford-based company his family has been patronizing for some time. Founded in 1997 by Nicholas Correnti, Nicholas Air is now the nation’s fifth-largest private air travel carrier in the nation that owns and operates its own fleet. In 2018, the company brokered over 15,000 flights all over the nation with customers such as the Manning’s and Nicole Kidman. But this dream for Correnti, really

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started all the way back as a kid when he started flying at the age of 12. “Mom and dad told me I needed a hobby. I needed to get off my butt and stop playing video games. My grandmother always wanted me to play golf. I tried that and I tried the flying lessons, and the flying stuck,” Correnti said. “They were right there in my backyard. Just watching them take off and land, it was right there. It intrigued me. Something about it just intrigued me.” Growing up in Arkansas, Correnti’s family home backed up to a small airport. What he didn’t even know at the time, as flying became more and more awe-inspiring to him, was that a

grandfather whom he never knew flew planes in the Air Force during World War II. So, the flying gene was sort of in his family. Spending time over high school spring breaks and summer vacations flying, Correnti started up the business in 1997. It wasn’t until 2005, having since moved from Arkansas, to Charlotte, back to Arkansas and then to Columbus, Miss., in 2005 that he started really pushing to take the business seriously. “I kind of fell in love with this state when I moved here to Columbus,” Correnti said. “I had lived in big cities, in Charlotte. I love going back there, but that just wasn’t for me. But as far as doing business, Mississippi is a great

place to do business in. The quality of life for families, for employees and their families and the cost of doing business. There’s no reason we need our headquarters in Rockefeller Center.” At some point in Columbus, that headquarters became too limiting, Correnti said. They were simply tapped out of the recourses this city could supply. As the company was growing, he found it hard to find quality employees wiling to move to Columbus. That’s where Oxford comes in to the Nicholas Air story. “Oxford was always kind of on my radar,” Correnti said. “When we started advertising that the job was in Oxford, we started to get a much bigger pool of résumés, quality résumés. So many more people have been willing to move their families here.” Correnti moved Nicholas Air to Oxford in 2018. Soon, they’ll be moving into a new, state-of-the-art headquarters off of South Lamar Boulevard. The company now employs roughly 125 people, many

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of whom moved to Oxford from as far as Florida or Massachusetts. In a business that sees many companies come and go, Nicholas Air is growing in year 23. Correnti

credits that to the attention to detail. Over the years, he’s done just about every job within the company. He’s been the pilot, he’s done the accounting and

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the physical maintenance of the planes, just to name a few roles. More than anything, Correnti said he just paid attention, recognizing the small things that can improve a customer’s experience. If a specific customer mentions offhand his love of a certain bourbon or a type

of snack, you better believe that drink or food, no matter how hard to find, will be on that customer’s next flight. In an industry with so many ebbs and flows, that’s what he believes keeps them thriving. So, why Oxford? Sure, cost of business is simply cheaper here in

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Mississippi than, say, New York City. But it’s also one of the company’s most productive revenue streams. Nicholas Air has more than 25 members in Oxford alone, the largest number per-capita of any other city in the country. Just in and out of University-Oxford Airport, they’ll fly over 150 times per year. But simply put, it’s just an area and a town Correnti has grown to love. It’s simple for him, his family and his business. And as he’s learning from moving all of the business operations to town, it’s just a place people want to live. “We have families that moved here from Atlanta from Florida. They love the community, love the city,” Correnti said. “So many people don’t realize what Mississippi and a little town like Oxford have to offer. They think it’s flyover land and there’s nothing here. But when you bring them here and educate them, show them the hidden gems... let’s face it, Oxford is the oasis in Mississippi. Jackson is nice and Madison is very nice. But when it comes to country living and a clean, beautiful city, it’s Oxford.”

Call to inquire about an event or membership at The Country Club of Oxford. www.thecountryclubofoxford.com 300 Fazio Drive Oxford, Mississippi 38655 | 662.234.2866 PROFILE 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ ONLY IN OXFORD 57

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LINDA LIGGINS REFLECTS ON NEARLY 30 YEARS AT NORTH EAST POWER •••

Linda Liggins is a generational Oxonian. Much has changed in town since she was growing up in the 70s and 80s, yet at the same time, so much in her life has been consistently the same. Growing up as one of four children in a single-mother household, sports kept Liggins grounded and gave her an outlet. She knew the value of schoolwork and an education, watching her mother work multiple jobs to sustain her children, yet most of her time and attention went into athletics. Though she was active in everything from softball to track, it was basketball that allowed Liggins to continue her education at the collegiate level. A 1984 graduate of Oxford High

BY NATHANAEL GABLER School, Liggins went on to play two years of basketball at Northwest Community College before finishing her college career at the University of North Alabama. She’s still one of just 22 in school history to have scored 400 points in a single season at UNA. Yet, after graduation, it was back to Oxford. Originally, Liggins came back to help take care of her sick grandparents. However, she stuck around, and said she plans to be here for a while longer. “Once I started working here, I’ve never really had any intention of leaving Oxford. With my work at North East Mississippi Electric Power Association, it feels like a second family to me. As a matter of fact, it is a second family,” Liggins said. “I love the people I

work with and for. I couldn’t ask for better bosses than that of my manger Marlin Williams, CEO Keith Hayward, and our Board of Directors. They are so supportive of me.” This upcoming August, Liggins will be celebrating her 30th year with the company, a long journey that began not long after leaving UNA and returning back to Oxford. She still remembers distinctly her first few days on the job, nearly three decades prior. “I remember, the very first day was Aug. 30. The next couple of days, with people paying their bills, was the busiest part of the month,” Liggins said. “When I started, my first day they put me on the drive-in window taking

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payments. It was kind of like I was immediately thrown into the fire. I had very little training, pretty much no training at the time. I think I learned so quick, because I had to. I didn’t have a choice. From there, it kind of took off.” Liggins started as a cashier, a position she filled for nearly 10 years before being promoted to the supervisor role for the accounts receivable department. She still holds that very same position to this day after nearly 20 years. In that time, she’s seen the company transition from doing everything manually by hand into a modern system done on computers. Outside of her work, she’s done everything in her power to make sure her family had it easier than she did as a child. Through it all, Liggins credits that hard work growing up, having to help raise some of her siblings, to her dedication to basketball and later in life her work ethic at her job at North East. “Growing up, my older brother and I kind of had to take care of our younger siblings. I had to cook and make sure the others were fed and everything was okay until our mother made it home from work,”

Liggins said. “With my son, I wanted to be there for everything. I wanted to make sure he had everything that I didn’t have.” Just last year, Linda Liggins’ son, Darrius, graduated from Middle Tennessee State University. A 2014 graduate of Oxford High himself, Darrius Liggins played five years at MTSU as a defensive end on the football team, graduating

with a degree in Leisure Sport & Tourism. Through his coming and going in his childhood, Linda Liggins did her best to make sure her son had the advantages she didn’t have growing up. Yet those struggles, those hard nights of a teenager cooking dinner for the family, led her through college and into a career she can’t ever see herself leaving.

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