Jim was a partner with Haddox, Reid, Eubank, Betts PLLC certified public accountants and business advisers. Jim was responsible for the firm’s compliance with its system of quality control (practices and procedures) for the assurance and accounting practice of the firm. His extensive experience of over forty years included providing assurance and business advisory services to privately-held entities in the retail, wholesale, manufacturing, non-profit, and life, and casualty insurance industries. Jim retired in 2019.

Jim is a past president, board member and council representative for the Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants (MSCPA) to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). In addition, Jim is in his second term as a board member of the Mississippi State Board of Public Accountancy (MSBPA) and, as such, is also a member of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA). He is active in both organizations, having served as chairman of the board and chair of several committees for the MSBPA, and currently serves as a member of the Compliance Assurance Committee and National Regulatory Concerns Committee of NASBA. Jim is also a member of the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts.

His public service passion is the Magnolia Speech School which is dedicated to the oral education of hearing impaired children and children with language disorders where he has served as a board member for over thirty-five years and currently is serving as president of the Magnolia Speech School Foundation. Jim is an active member of the First Baptist Church of Clinton, Mississippi.

Dr. Weems is an Emeritus Professor of Surgery and a retired urologist who served as Director of Urology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center for many years. Subsequently he engaged in private practice with the Mississippi Urology Clinic. He is a graduate of Millsaps College and Baylor College of Medicine.

Dr. Weems is a Lifetime Board Member at Magnolia, where he has served since 1968, and was Board President from 1971-1976.

He is married to Nanette Weaver, also a Millsaps alumnus, and they have two daughters and four grandchildren. They reside in Jackson and attend Galloway Methodist Church.

Jean is a native of Hattiesburg, a graduate of Mississippi College, and a former music teacher. She is a lifetime Board member at Magnolia Speech School and received the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Volunteering for her generous work with the school. She is a member of the Board of Trustees at Mississippi College and has also been a recipient of the Goodwill Award for Volunteerism.

Jean is married to Kelley Williams, and they have 3 sons and 4 grandchildren. They live in Jackson and attend Northminster Baptist Church.

Donna Kaye Byrd, Interior Designer, spent 30 years with Navarro-McLean until the company closed in 2009. Since 2009, she has worked as a selg=f employed interior designer traveling the eastern United States.

Donna Kaye has served on the board of Magnolia Speech School since 1994, serving on many different committees, and is also past President. Donna Kaye is a lifetime member of the Madison Ridgeland Junior Auxiliary and has served on PTA Executive Boards at Madison Middle and Rosa Scott schools. In 2008, she started Hope Hollow Ministries, a camp for children and young adults with special needs in Madison, and currently serves as President of their Board of Directors.

Her daughter Amanda was born with a viral infection, CMV, resulting in profound hearing loss bilaterally, mild cerebral palsy, and developmental delays. She attended Magnolia Speech School for 5 years and is currently a budding, young artist. She is also proud of her daughter Melissa, a graduate of Mississippi State University.

Donna Kaye is married to Robert Byrd, and they attend Broadmoor Baptist Church.

Chuck Bell is a native of Belzoni, MS. , the founder of AIS (Advanced Infusion Solutions), now serves as President of AIS Healthcare. Chuck started in the home infusion industry in 1992. Since then, he has been involved in pharmacy and healthcare senior management, and owned multiple healthcare-related businesses as well as other businesses.

Chuck received his Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Louisiana at Monroe and his PharmD from the University of Arkansas. Licensed in multiple states, he has more than 30 years of pharmacy experience. Chuck also is actively involved with various industry and community committees and boards.

He and his wife, Cindy, have three sons, one that is a MSS graduate.

Grace Gore Sturdivant, a native of Grenada, MS is a graduate of the University of Mississippi (BS in Communicative Sciences) and Vanderbilt University (Doctorate of Audiology).  She was formerly Assistant Professor and Vice Chief of Audiology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center where she developed a clinical niche working with patients struggling with both cognitive decline and hearing loss.  This led to involvement in research studying the neurophysiology effects of untreated hearing loss on varying forms of dementia. Her work in this area has been nationally published.  It was this work that compelled Grace to create OtoPro Technologies in the Fall of 2018 to prevent and delay the neurological changes that result from auditory deprivation.

While her audiology practice has focused on the adult population, Grace is a long-time advocate for children with speech and hearing difficulties. In 2007, she founded Graceful Sounds, Inc. to provide hearing aids and audiology services to children whose families were in financial need.

Grace is married to Micajah Sturdivant and has three daughters; Eleanor, Garnett and Sykes.

Mac Deaver served as chief executive officer of the Mississippi Bankers Association for 27 years. He is the proud grandparent of a Magnolia Speech School student.

La’Verne Edney graduated from Mississippi College School of Law in 1996 and was admitted to the Mississippi Bar in 1996. Ms. Edney has significant trial experience in state and federal courts and has tried to verdict numerous cases, including medical negligence, premises liability, legal malpractice, employment discrimination, and bad faith insurance cases. In addition to her trial practice, Ms. Edney is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, the International Society of Barristers, and the American Board of Trial Advocates. She serves on the following boards: Mississippi College; the Mississippi Bar Foundation; the Magnolia Speech School; Origin Bank; the Baptist Hospital Board of Regents; and the Greater Jackson Chamber. La’Verne is a member of Butler Snow Law Firm’s litigation department and practices within the Pharmaceutical, Medical Device, and Healthcare Group.

Prior to receiving her Ph.D. in Spanish from Louisiana State University, Anita graduated from Georgetown College (KY) and the University of Kentucky. She served Mississippi College as a faculty member for thirty-two years and as chair of the Department of Foreign Languages for twenty. During her tenure, she presented scholarly papers and served as an officer in regional and state modern language associations. Anita was also active in a number of civic organizations that included being a charter member of the Arts Council of Clinton and an officer in professional organizations, such as the American Association of University Women and the Mississippi Association of Women in Higher Education.

Scott Jones currently serves as a partner at Adams and Reese, LLP.  As a past parent of an MSS student, Scott experienced the life-changing education children receive at Magnolia Speech School.  He stated, “Magnolia Speech School changed my daughter’s life. After she graduated, I wanted to give back in a tangible way to help see this great school continue flourishing and accomplishing its mission to help children with communicative disorders.”

Scott is married to Maggie and they have two daughters (Lucy and Jane Helen).  Lucy and Jane Helen attend Christ Covenant School and are excelling both academically and socially.

James Robertson is a native of Jackson who graduated from Millsaps College and completed his Masters in Reading Education from Syracuse University.

Mr. Robertson spent 30 years with Jackson Public Schools, starting as a Reading and Social Studies teacher at Whitten Middle School and ending his career as the Executive Director of Human Resources. He also served in the U.S. Air Force, 172nd Military Airlift Group.

Mr. Robertson is very involved with New Stage Theater and Mississippi College’s Theatre and Music Departments doing set design and construction. He attended Capitol Street United Methodist Church until they closed and currently is a communicant of Galloway United Methodist Church, having served as a member of their administrative board and board of trustees.

Marcy Scoggins works for the State of Mississippi. She has two children, one of whom attended Magnolia Speech School. Marcy is married to Kirk, and they live in Madison.

Mitch joined Cooperative Energy as the Economic Development Manager in July of 2014. Cooperative Energy is a generation and transmission cooperative providing wholesale electric power to 11 member cooperatives serving members in 55 of that state’s 82 counties. In this position, Mitch oversees the recruitment and expansion of industrial projects by promoting the assets within the members’ service territories.

Prior to joining Cooperative Energy, Mitch was a Global Project Manager with the Mississippi Development Authority where he was responsible for recruiting new industrial clients to the state. Before joining the Mississippi Development Authority, Mitch worked as the Director of Business Development for the Madison County Economic Development Authority. Mitch holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Mississippi State University. He and his amazing wife Kelly have a daughter and son, Elizabeth and Harmon, and reside in Madison.

Rebecca Vaughan received her Bachelor’s and Master’s of Accounting from the University of Mississippi. She is a CPA and is currently employed at Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation. Prior to Farm Bureau, Rebecca worked in public accounting, internal audit for a publicly traded company, and was the Director of Finance for a non-profit organization.

In 2017 her youngest son, Barrett, was born with profound hearing loss. He received cochlear implants when he was 6 months old and started Magnolia Speech School when he was 15 months old. Barrett graduated from MSS in 2022 and enrolled in K-4 at Madison Ridgeland Academy. She states, “Without Magnolia Speech School, Barrett would not be where he is today. He is thriving both socially and academically which is a testament to the dedication of the teachers and staff at Magnolia Speech School.”

Rebecca lives in Madison with her husband Adam, and their two sons, Ethan and Barrett.

Thomas Woods was recently promoted to Senior Vice President and Senior Credit Officer at Trustmark National Bank, where he has been employed for 40 years. He attended Millsaps College and graduated in 1982 with a B.B. A. degree in Accounting.

Born profoundly deaf, he is an alumnus of Magnolia Speech School where he attended from 1960-1966. He has been on the School’s Board of Directors since 1992 and has been a Board President two times. He also served on the Board of Directors of VSA Mississippi from 2003 to 2013.

He is a lifelong resident of Jackson, and attends St. Andrew’s Episcopal Cathedral.