Effective January 1, Richard Word was named the new Director of the Greenville Port after a unanimous vote by its’ Board of Commissioners. Word replaces longtime director, Tommy Hart, who stepped down from the position at the end of 2025 after many years of service.
Word comes to the new position having spent the past eleven years as Operations Manager at Wepler Marine in Greenville, where he says he often worked alongside Hart on several projects which led the latter to approach Word to assume the role of Port Director.
A Delta native, who spent his childhood in both Leland and Indianola, Word is a Delta State University graduate who received his B.S. degree in Fashion Merchandising.
“My first job after graduating was as Area Sales Manager for Dillard’s Department Store in Ridgeland,” says Word. “I spent a number of years there before taking another job in Alabama. Eventually, I returned to the Greenville area where my high school sweetheart and wife, Maria Sanders, grew up.”
That return entailed his taking the position at Wepler Marine where Word helped run a fleeting service and tug assistance for the Greenville Harbor. “This including fueling mainstream, as well as transportation in the river near Greenville,” he says. “That’s when I really got to know Tommy.”
Word says he realizes he has big shoes to fill.
“Tommy was a mentor in many ways and just a great man to work with, so it was an honor for him to talk to me about becoming Port Director,” says Word. “I love living here in Greenville and was excited about a new challenge, a once-in-a-career opportunity actually.”
Word says his plans in his new role as Port Director include carrying on his predecessor’s successful track record.
“Like Tommy, my number one goal is to make sure the people of Washington County that use the port get as much access and opportunity to do commerce as is humanly possible. There are needs for dredging in the harbor and other issues that are on the table with the Corps of Engineers. I want to take what Tommy has done for so many years and run further with it. We have a great opportunity for tremendous growth here—both in commerce and in recreation —and I will do all I can to increase that with all of the available resources we have at the port.”