3 Coast residents named to Mississippi state flag redesign commission
House Speaker Philip Gunn, Gov. Tate Reeves and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann have announced their appointees to the nine-person commission that will redesign the Mississippi state flag, and two of them hail from the Coast.
Gunn has nominated Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College president Dr. Mary Graham, Oxford mayor Robyn Tannehill and a staff member for Gunn, T.J. Taylor.
Hosemann chose Gulfport resident Sherri Carr Bevis, former Mississippi Supreme Court justice Reuben Anderson of Jackson and J. Mack Varner of Vicksburg.
Reeves appointed Choctaw Tribal Chief Cyrus Ben of Neshoba County, retired school teacher Betsey Hamilton and GXS Insurance vice president Frank Bourdeaux, who lives in Gulfport.
Graham has served as MGCCC’s president since 2010.
“Dr. Graham has proven herself to be a visionary leader for the entire Mississippi Gulf Coast region,” Gunn said in a statement. “Her dedication to preparing our students for jobs in the 21st century through focusing on and growing workforce development initiatives is exemplary. Everyone admires the work of Dr. Graham and she will be a great voice for Mississippians on the commission.”
Graham, who has served in the past as the chair of the American Association of Community Colleges, is a Biloxi native who grew up in Perkinston.
Bevis was recently named community relations liaison to the Singing River Health System. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Mississippi State University and a master’s degree from George Washington University.
She previously worked as assistant secretary of state for external marketing for the Secretary of State’s Office, and as a public school teacher in the Bay-Waveland and Hancock County School Districts.
Bordeaux currently has been involved with civic and nonprofit organizations over the years, including serving on the Gulfport Youth Sports Association, as a past Board Member of Feed My Sheep Soup Kitchen and as a past Board Member of Lynn Meadows Discovery Center. Bordeaux and his wife, Jacqueline, have four sons, Miles, Hudson, Jack Fisher and Frank.
The commission chair will be chosen by a majority vote of the members of the commission.
Members have until Sept. 14 to submit a recommendation for the new state flag that will be voted on by Mississippians on Nov. 3.
This story was originally published July 15, 2020 at 12:28 PM.
