Business News for the Mississippi Delta

Feature & Special Section Archives

Colleen Buyers

By Lyndsi naron Colleen Buyers, Founder of Shared Experiences in Clarksdale, is changing the way the world looks at the agriculture industry. Raised in both

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Illusions & Accessories LLC

Computer Service, Security Equipment and Much More  By Catherine Kirk For the past twenty-five years, Illusions and Accessories LLC in Greenwood has grown into a

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Boss Fox Estate Sales

Delta Couple Have Become Known As Experts By Jack Criss Cleveland residents and husband and wife, Bob and Wilma Wilbanks, are pharmacists by training and

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Courtney Phillips

By Becky Gillette Growing up in Moorhead, one of nine children of the late Dr. A.M. Phillips and his wife Jaquie, Courtney Phillips, South Sunflower

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Candi Stone

Reporter and Anchor at  WABG in Greenville By Faith Strong When Candi Stone started with WABG in Greenville ten years ago, she did weekend weather.

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Sprout 

Greenwood Boutique Offers a Great Selection for Babies, Toddlers and Tweens By Leanna Miller Sprout, Greenwood’s newest Childrens’ store, opened its doors this past March. 

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Lusco’s to Open in Taylor 

Long-Time Greenwood Establishment to Begin New Chapter By Becky Gillette Lusco’s in Greenwood is one of the oldest restaurants in Mississippi continuously owned and operated

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Young Ideas

Serving the Delta for Fifty Years By Mark H. Stowers They both came from families with a long tradition of retail and customer service in

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Hickock-Waekon

Long-time Manufacturer of Diagnostic Equipment  By mark h. stowers For the past 100 years, Greenwood-based Hickok Waekon has been in the business of developing and

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Hugh Warren IV

By Mark H. Stowers • Photography By Johnny Jennings Hugh Warren IV is making a difference in the Delta.  The fourth generation Greenwood native, Cruger

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Amazon Wind Farm

Major Economic Boost for Tunica County By Becky Gillette The new Amazon wind farm under construction by AES in Tunica County is not only the

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Hopson Hospitality

Longtime Clarksdale Entity Under New Ownership By Catherine Kirk When Clarksdale natives Tate and Chelsea Antici graduated from college and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, it

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Justin Burch

By Mark H. Stowers South Mississippi native Justin Burch was named the Executive Director of the Washington County Economic Alliance this past May. The nationally

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Onward and Upward 

By Brad White Your Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) starts the new state fiscal year strong thanks to the hard work of the men and

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Joe Stinchcomb 

Successful Businessman and Equitable Entrepreneurship Advocate By Becky Gillette Joe Stinchcomb got into the food and beverage industry after graduating from the University of Mississippi

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AccelerateMS Serves the Delta

By Jack Criss Kimberley Jones-Gatewood Heads Ecosystem 3 “Mississippi will have a world-class workforce with unlimited, quality career opportunities to create sustained individual, community and

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Douglas Freeze

New regional leader in workforce training, economic development by Jack Criss DBJ Contributing Writer Mississippi Delta Community College (MDCC) named Douglas Freeze as its new

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Lisa Cookston

Lisa Cookston, a native of Greenwood, was named Executive Director of the Museum of the Mississippi Delta this past January.  Cookston spent her youth visiting

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Tornado Relief

Rolling Fork Tornado Devastation Brings Massive Government and Private Help By Becky Gillette The images of Rolling Fork before and after the EF4 tornado that

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Train Derailment

Leflore County Farm Still Contaminated Eight Years After Event  By Becky Gillette The February Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, released hundreds of

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Entergy’s Cook-Nelson 

Oversees Nuclear Operations for Three States By Jack Criss Kimberly Cook-Nelson was named Executive Vice President of Nuclear Operations and Chief Nuclear Officer of Entergy

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New Cyber Unit

Bobby Freeman Named Director By Jack Criss Director Bobby Freeman was selected as director of the Mississippi Cyber Unit within the Mississippi Office of Homeland

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Dodie McElmurry

Delta Native Working to Make a Difference in Rural Healthcare  Dodie McElmurray, RN, MSN/ MBA, grew up in rural Belzoni, got a nursing degree from

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MVSU Highlights

University Supports Students on Multiple Career Paths  By Becky Gillette The eighth president of Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena, Dr. Jerryl Briggs, Sr.,

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Cook Coggin Engineers, Inc.

Longtime Company Opens Delta Office By Jack Criss  Cook Coggin Engineers, Inc., a well-respected professional firm with a long, firmly-established base in Northeast Mississippi, has

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Mortimer Funeral Homes

Second Generation of Service By mark h. stowers The Mortimer family were once in the agricultural business, farming catfish, cotton, and soybeans. But in the

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Dr. Butch Caston

Interim President is DSU Through and Through By Jack Criss •  Photography by Campbell Saia Dr. E. E. “Butch” Caston began serving as the interim

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Inflation Reduction Act 

Legislation Opposed by All Senate Republicans By Becky Gillette Agriculture is taking a huge hit from drought, extreme heat, flooding and other impacts that scientists

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Dynamic Washing Solutions

A True new business opens in Clarksdale By Jack Criss Dynamic Washing Solutions, started by entrepreneur Ford True, just recently began operations in True’s hometown

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Indianola Electric Company

40 Years of Electrical Knowledge and Skill By Angela Rogalski For forty years, Indianola Electric Company has been ensuring that customers in the Delta have

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Delta Row Crop Update

Harvest Well Underway and Looks Promising By mark h. stowers Delta row crop farmers have had their usual battles with mother nature, insects and the

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Luke Chamblee

Taking the Hospitality Industry to Another Level By Jack Criss • Photography By Holly Tharp Luke Chamblee has become somewhat of a hotel magnate, with

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Gary Worsham

By Mark H. Stowers • Photography By Beverly Thompson When the crappie are biting, Gary Worsham’s job gets easier. As the Executive Director Grenada Tourism

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Skelton Photographie

Creating Those Perfect Wedding and Family Memories By Angela Rogalski Since she was a child, Elizabeth Skelton has always loved taking pictures. However, she became

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Fuller Center for Housing

Clarksdale Organization Provides for Those in Need  By Jack Criss • Photos courtesy of The Fuller Center Gramm Phillips, Affiliate/Covenant Partner Coordinator for the Clarksdale

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Tunica Voice

Veteran Journalist Launches Newspaper By Jack Criss A longtime newspaper journalist has brought local news back to a Delta community that had been without a

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Joe Azar

By Mark H. Stowers  Joe Azar has mixed the best the Delta has to offer to create sweet economic development across the Magnolia State. These

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Betsy Alexander Realty

Greenville Agency Has Been Serving the Delta Since 2007 By Angela Rogalski  Betsy Alexander Realty, located in Greenville, is a full service real estate agency

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Proposed Bike Trail

A Dream Could Create an Economic Boost  By Jack Criss • Photography by Johnny Jennings Greenwood native and current Vicksburg-based attorney, Wilson Carroll, is an

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MS Teacher Pay Raise

Compensation Will Aid Retention By Becky Gillette The historic teacher pay raise approved by the Mississippi Legislators in mid-March is something that educators, economic developers

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Charles Finkley Jr. 

By Mark H. Stowers  Born, raised and educated in Alabama, Charles Finkley Jr. has made a home in North Mississippi helping bring jobs and opportunity

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Bank of Anguilla

Small bank making a big difference By Jack Criss Andy Anderson has been with the Bank of Anguilla since 1983. He is now the CEO

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Mississippi Day

Inauguaral event to be held at the University of Mississippi in April By Jack Criss On Saturday, April 9 from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.

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Childcare Challenges

The “Workforce Behind the Workforce” By Becky Gillette The first obligation of parents is to make sure their children are taken care of. But when

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Dudley Barnes

By Mark H. Stowers  A career spent helping Delta folks successfully plan for their financial future has kept Dudley Barnes busy. The Clarksdale native, Coahoma

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Yazoo Backwater

EPA Decision Halts Construction of Pumps By Becky Gillette There was light at the end of the tunnel. Now it is dark again. That is

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John Murry Greenlee

President of BankPlus in Yazoo City What was your first job? I farmed with my father for three years after graduating from Mississippi State University.

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Amanda Johnson

By Mark H. Stowers  Beginning her educational career in the Delta with Teachers Across America, Amanda Johnson found her calling. The Little Rock, Arkansas native,

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Lindsay Jones

Tunica County Prosecutor What was your first job? Working for Tucker, Selden and Tucker law firm in Tunica during the summers in college. Education  I

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Steve Azar

By Mark H. Stowers   It’s said that some folks sing the praises of the Delta, but Steve Azar has literally done this his entire

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Staplcotn Turns 100

Successful Cotton Marketing Cooperative for a Century By Becky Gillette Only one half of one percent of American companies survive to celebrate their 100th anniversary.

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Tunica Airport

Helping Grow the Area for Two Decades By mark h. stowers The Tunica Airport, a general aviation service airport with no national carriers, has been

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IRS Overreach?

Proposal would hurt community banks, has privacy issues By Jack Criss A recent IRS data collection proposal to increase tax information reporting requirements on financial

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Eola Hotel Set to Reopen

Delta developer takes role in Natchez project By Jack Criss Yazoo City businessman and developer, Hayes Dent, is part of a developing team–one of whom

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Battle Sod Farms

Providing Superior Customer Service By Aimee Robinette Tunica native Paul Battle IV knows just how much greener the grass is on the other side. The

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Delta Overland

Experience. Explore. Eat. The Mississippi Delta By jack criss Entrepreneur Stewart Robinson is passionate about creating memorable Delta experiences and sharing them with visitors from

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Bio Green Exterior Cleaning

Using Advanced Technology to Provide Superior Results By Aimee Robinette Bio Green Exterior Cleaning is an innovative company that utilizes a new concept of soft

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Workers Needed

Lack of Labor Greatest Concern for Catfish Growers By Becky Gillette Some people could be under the impression that cheap imports of fish that might

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Small Delta Towns

By Austin Barbour All of us are biased about “our generation” and “our childhood”, and candidly, I’m no different. From the time I was 10

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Ben Lewis

By Mark H. Stowers • Photography by Staci Lewis Growing up in Washington state, Ben Lewis didn’t know anything about the Mississippi Delta. But, when

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Dr. Curressia M. Brown

Chair of the Department of Business at Mississippi Valley State University Education I am an educational product of the Meridian Public Schools, Rust College in

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Webster Franklin

By Aimee Robinette To say Franklin Webster is an interesting transplant/native son would be an understatement.  Born in Bad Kreuznach, Germany, Webster, the president and

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Katie Tackett Mills

By Mark H. Stowers Growing up on a family farm in Sunflower County, Katie Tackett Mills never wandered too far from the Delta dirt.  A

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Gun Demand High

But Shortages Still Remain An Issue By Jack Criss With the ongoing pandemic, the election of 2020 and a new president, gun sales have reached

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Key Solutions

A Top-Notch Computer Business  Serving Customers Accross the Delta By Aimee Robinette The entire world has changed over the last year, incorporating more technology, and

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Best Hands Mobile Service

Keeping the Delta looking clean! By Jack Criss If you’ve recently spotted a sparkling clean office building, car or just about anyplace that looked particularly

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Zoe Coffee Co.

A perfect place to enjoy a sip and support ministry  By Aimee Robinette  It is jokingly said humanity runs on coffee, and while that may

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Richie Moore

By Charlotte Buchanan   Richie Moore is General Manager of the Public Service Commission of Yazoo City.  He is a native of Yazoo County. He

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Lisa Konupka

Interactive Marketing Manager, Tunica Convention & Visitors Bureau What was your first job? My first job was working as a cashier at Winn Dixie when

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2020 Port Update

Mississippi River Ports are a vital part of the region’s agricultural industry  By Mark H. Stowers  The Mississippi River remains an efficient and valuable means

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Danielle Morgan

By Charlotte Buchanan   Danielle Morgan, Executive Director of Visit Greenwood, was born and raised in Yazoo City. Her enthusiasm for the Delta shows in

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The Village at Madison

Major new development taking shape By jack criss The Village At Madison is a new $50 million, eighteen-acre development in Madison County containing forty-six residential

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Heaton Pecans

Family-Owned and Operated For Over Forty Years By Angela Rogalski Heaton Pecans in Lyon, started out as a peach stand, but in 1975 Bill Heaton,

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Medical Marijuana

Ballot Alternatives Could be Confusing to Voters By Becky Gillette Mississippi could join thirty-four other states in legalizing medical marijuana if voter Initiative Measure No.

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Robyn Marlow

By Charlotte Buchanan   “Take me to Ruleville,” an advertising slogan for North Sunflower Medical Center has become one of the best known and often

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Laura Beth Strickland

By Charlotte Buchanan  •  Photography by Ashley Gatian Laura Beth Strickland is a native of Vicksburg and is Executive Director of the Vicksburg Convention and

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Crown, Cork and Seal

Unique Beverage Industry in Panola County By MARK H. STOWERS Food, soft drinks and shaving cream all have at least one thing in common—they come

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Scott Barber

By Charlotte Buchanan Scott Barber is a native of New York, has lived in Germantown, TN for the past eleven years, but spends each day

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Cheryl Thornhill

 By Charlotte buchanan Photography by Richard Beattie Cheryl Thornhill is a native of Hattiesburg but has lived in Greenwood for the last ten years. Thornhill

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Amtrak To Stop in Marks

The “City of New Orleans Route” passenger Amtrak service from Chicago to New Orleans hosted by Canadian National will soon be making­ daily stops in

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A Different Clarksdale

New Leadership, New Faces, New Businesses By Greta Sharp  •  Photos by Austin Britt If there is one word that characterizes today’s Clarksdale, it’s new.

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Henk van Riessen

Delta Precision Technologies, LLC By Susan Montgomery Henk van Riessen’s one of those lucky people who grew up understanding what his vocational field would be.

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Remembering Bill

By Scott Coopwood, Publisher, Delta Business Journal On Tuesday, (March 28), veteran Mississippi journalist, Bill Minor died. He was 93 years old. For those unfamiliar

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GreenTech Automotive

Future Looks Dim for Delta Plant By Becky Gillette The GreenTech Automotive (GTA) facility that has received about $4.9 million in state incentives has failed

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David Griffith

New President, Mississippi Association of Realtors Hales from Cleveland By Becky Gillette T he new president of the Mississippi Association of Realtors® is David Griffith,

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Sartin’s Soulshine

Spreading good vibes, one pie at a time     By Amile Wilson     Though not from the Delta, Mississippi restaurateur Chris Sartin spent

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Todd Donald

Welding together education at the Capps Center By Mark H. Stowers Photography by Roy Meeks   As a farm boy following his father, Todd Donald

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Delta Area Insurance

Agents work through regulations and technology to keep clients protected and happy By Mark H. Stowers   The need for insurance for business and home

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On The Horizon

Two new hotel developments will bring luxury and fun to Cleveland By Angela Rogalski Photography by Holly Tharp Two new destination hotels will be opening

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DSU Enrollment on the Rise

University boasts four percent increase Special to Delta Business Journal Photography by Rory Doyle The unofficial numbers, as of Sept. 8, were 2,763 undergraduate students

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Betty Lynn Cameron

Cameron recalls highlight of job as Greenville Main Street Director By Becky Gillette Betty Lynn Cameron recalls one of the highlights of her 18 years

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Ag Revenues

Most producers well-positioned to withstand decline in commodity prices By Becky Gillette •Photography by Greg Campbell A few years ago, ag was seeing glory days

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Incubator Network

North Mississippi enterprise centers help turn business dreams into success stories By Becky Gillette Just like baby chicks, sometimes entrepreneurs just need a little incubating.

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Haley Insurance Agency

A family owned and operated Clarksdale business By Randall Haley Photography by Randall Haley In 1973, Harold Haley set out to open his own insurance

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Boutique Air

Clear skies predicted with new carrier approved to serve airport in Greenville By Becky Gillette It has been a rocky road for the Mid-Delta Regional

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Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A Leader Academy Reimagining High School Leadership with Programs in Mississippi Schools By Angela Rogalski Photography by RJ Fitzpatrick Lance Reed is the owner/operator of

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