‘Spirit of Coast’ winner is a champion of business development and progress in Mississippi
He’s helped South Mississippi weather storms and championed business development on the Coast. And on Tuesday, Anthony Wilson was presented with the 2022 Pat Santucci “Spirit of the Coast” award.
The award was presented at the annual meeting of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce at Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi. About 600 people attended the event.
Wilson is president of Mississippi Power and a native of D’Iberville.
“I’m very proud of my Mississippi roots,” Wilson said in a 2015 opinion piece in the Sun Herald when he was named president of Mississippi Power. “This is home.”
He challenged others, saying, “Together, we can move our region forward, attract new business, grow our economy and make this place we call home even better.”
He developed a program for utility lineman at each community college in Mississippi Power’s service territory and established an internship program with the state’s historically Black colleges and universities.
As chairman of the Gulf Coast Business Council, he worked to ensure the Coast counties were the primary recipients of hundreds of millions of BP Settlement Funds.
While he was chairman of the Mississippi Economic Council, the organization spearheaded the campaign to support legislation that changed the divisive state flag.
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Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Mississippi State University, an MBA from the University of Southern Mississippi and is a graduate of Oxford University’s Advanced Management Program.
He joined Southern Company in 1984 and worked at Georgia Power before returning to the Coast to take over leadership of Mississippi Power.
“Anthony Wilson is the epitome of the community leader,” said Adele Lyons, CEO of the Coast Chamber of Commerce. “Though his plate is full of many corporate responsibilities, he continues to give his time and expertise to many organizations in Mississippi.”
The Spirit of the Coast award is given to a person who has made “outstanding and enduring contributions” to improving South Mississippi.
Past winners are:
2021: Angie Juzang
2020: Arturo Barajas
2019: Dick Wilson
2018: Wes Fulmer
2017: Jerry Levens
2016: John Hairston
2015: Linda Watts
2014: Dorothy Wilson
2013: Elizabeth Joachim
2012: John McFarland
2011: Jon Lucas
2010: Gerald Blessey
2009: Duncan McKenzie
2008: Ricky Mathews 2
007: Anthony Topazi
2006: Chevis Swetman
2005: Janice Young
2004: Mike Garrett
2003: Jim Williams
2002: Tim Hinkley
2001: Dwight Evans
2000: Ron Peresich
1999: Gene Warr
1998: George Thatcher
1997: Lucimarian Roberts
1996: George Schloegel
1995: Alton Bankston
1994: Bill Peden
1993: Bruce Stewart
1992: Jerry O’Keefe
1991: Pat Santucci
1990: Roland Weeks Jr.
1989: Walter Williams
This story was originally published February 1, 2022 at 1:31 PM.
