Awards
McLean Award for Philanthropy
The McLean Award for Philanthropy is given to honor those individuals, families, and corporations that exemplify CREATE Founders George and Anna Keirsey McLean’s spirit in charitable giving. It recognizes the extraordinary leadership of people and organizations working to improve the quality of life in our community and our region.
George and Anna Keirsey McLean
CREATE Founder George McLean believed that by joining together, communities could cultivate leaders who would make a difference for us all. Whether through supporting early childhood education, granting scholarships, developing leadership training programs, or enhancing college and career readiness, promoting leadership in communities is key to the long-term success of a region. George McLean served as a great example of what exceptional leadership can accomplish. He believed that each of us has the responsibility to help raise the level of all people in our communities. This vision for a vibrant and growing Northeast Mississippi would not have happened without his persistent, tireless leadership.
McLean Award recipients
- 2001 - Phil Hardin Foundation
- 2002 - Carpenter Foundation
- 2003 - Frances and Jack Reed; The Hancock Foundation
- 2004 - Barbara and Bobby Martin; Kenny Dill and Family
- 2005 - Corinne and Benjamin Price; BancorpSouth
- 2006 - North Mississippi Health Services; Hassell Franklin
- 2007 - Brevard Family; William Raspberry
- 2008 - Jim and Claiborne Barksdale; Anne J. Stephens
- 2009 - Rosemary and Sandy Williams; Nancy Ann and Kenneth Williams
- 2010 - The Crane Family; Jane and Frank Spain
- 2011 - Christy and Milton Sundbeck; Renasant Bank
- 2012 - Ruby Kathryn and Aubrey Patterson
- 2013 - Babs and Mickey Holliman; BNA Bank
- 2014 - Toyota Motor Manufacturing MS
- 2015 - C.C. Clark and Company; Julie and Michael Waldorf
- 2016 - Dalrymple Family
- 2017 - Terry and Kathy Jackson
- 2018 - Mossy Oak
- 2019 - Ted and Lynn Moll
- 2020 - VM Cleveland
- 2021 - Ed and Becky Meek
- 2022 - Elizabeth "Betsy" Brown, Hull Davis Family, Larry and Judy Kirk, Jack and Lisa Reed, Heywood and Sue Washburn
James Hugh Ray
community affiliate Award
To recognize the efforts of community affiliates, Journal, Inc. established the James Hugh Ray Community Affiliate Award. James Hugh Ray was a community hero and made many valuable contributions to our region and to the CREATE Foundation. He was instrumental in CREATE’s establishment, serving as its legal architect and advisor. He was a loyal board member for many years.
Affiliate of the Year award recipients
- 2010 - Corinth-Alcorn Reaching for Excellence (CARE)
- 2011 - Union County/New Albany Initiative to Excel (UNITE)
- 2012 - Friends of Itawamba Responding to Secure Tomorrow (FIRST)
- 2013 - Lafayette Oxford Foundation for Tomorrow (LOFT)
- 2014 - Starkville-Oktibbeha Achieving Results (SOAR)
- 2015 - South Monroe County Community Fund
- 2016 - Tippah and Ripley Growing Excellent Together (TARGET)
- 2017 - Partners in Achieving Community Excellence (PACE)
- 2018 - Tupelo/Lee Community Foundation
- 2019 - Corinth-Alcorn Reaching for Excellence (CARE)
- 2020 - Lowndes Community Foundation
- 2021 - Friends of Itawamba Responding to Secure Tomorrow (FIRST)
- 2022 - Union County/New Albany Initiative to Excel (UNITE)
JAck Reed Sr. Northeast Mississippi Community leadership Award
In January 2016, we lost Jack Reed, Sr. – a special leader who achieved an unparalleled record of service to our region. Jack was a founding board member of the CREATE Foundation and served as its chairman. He was also one of the original members of the Commission and served as its chairman. As a way to perpetually remember this great regional leader, the CREATE Board established the Jack Reed, Sr. Northeast Mississippi Community Leadership Award. It is presented annually at our State of the Region meetings to individuals who have demonstrated vision, integrity, and a commitment to excellence over an extended period of time. Each recipient of the award will be given the opportunity to recommend the disbursement of $2,000 to charities of their choice from the Jack Reed, Sr. Community Leadership Endowment Fund at CREATE, which was established by a special dividend of $50,000 from Journal, Inc.
Jack Reed Sr. Award recipients
- 2017 – Dr. Gloria Kellum
- 2018 – Mike Staten
- 2019 – Nettie Davis
- 2020 – Aubrey Patterson; Hassell Franklin, Bobby Martin, Sandy Williams
- 2022 – Bill Renick
