STATE OF THE REGION
Wednesday, May 8
9:30-11:30 a.m.
Coffee hour begins at 8:30 a.m.

Join us for our annual State of the Region meeting! Attendees will hear from regional leaders, community affiliates pouring into their communities, and a school district that is setting the standard for school accountability in Northeast Mississippi. Featured speaker is Oxford Public School District’s superintendent, Bradley Roberson who will present his ideas for accountability in public schools and Oxford’s plan to serve its children. CREATE’s 16 community affiliates will be highlighted, with three community affiliates setting the stage as a panel: Alison Buehler (Starkville Community Foundation), Gus Clark (PACE), and Amanda Angle (LEAD)

CREATE Foundation has a distinguished history of highly effective community engagement as the leading regional community development organization in northeast Mississippi. Capitalizing on those strengths, in 1995, CREATE formed the Commission on the Future of Northeast Mississippi to strengthen regional unity and cooperation.  The purpose of the Commission is to strengthen regional cooperation and unity by engaging in regional community development.

Through regional representation, Commission members mobilize their communities on key issues related to the economic, educational, and health initiatives.

Regional goals

Education Initiatives*

REGIONAL Initiatives*

Regional Reports

Click on the map below to open the report for each county.
RegionMap Alcorn Benton Calhoun Chickasaw Clay Itawamba Lafeyette Lee Lowndes Marshall Monroe Oktibbeha Pontotoc Prentiss Tippah Tishomingo Union

2022 Northeast Mississippi Regional REport

Click on the map below to open the report for each county.
RegionMap-431 Alcorn Benton Calhoun Chickasaw Clay Itawamba Lafeyette Lee Lowndes Marshall Monroe Oktibbeha Pontotoc Prentiss Tippah Tishomingo Union

2022 Northeast Mississippi Regional REport

Click on the map below to open the report for each county.
RegionMap-323 Alcorn Benton Calhoun Chickasaw Clay Itawamba Lafeyette Lee Lowndes Marshall Monroe Oktibbeha Pontotoc Prentiss Tippah Tishomingo Union

2022 Northeast Mississippi Regional REport

Commission Members

Alcorn

Ray McClellan
John Mercier
Lane Williams Yoder

Benton

Jack Gadd
Bill Renick-Chairman

Calhoun

Sheila Freely
Rita Talford

Chickasaw

Patsy Gregory
Millette Nabors

Clay

Kevin Flurry
Eddie Longstreet

Itawamba

Dr. Jay Allen
B.J. Canup

Lafayette

Kurt Brummett
Randy Leister
David Magee
Jon Maynard

Lee

Lindsay Brett
Kim Jeffares
Paul Mize, Jr.
Tommy Scott
Kenneth Wheeler

Lowndes

Matt Bogue

Katie McCrary

Rob Winklepleck

Stephanie Woodard

Marshall

Dr. Gemma Beckley
Riley Bennett
Justin Hall

Monroe

Chelsea Baulch
Jim Edwards
Marilyn Sumerford

Oktibbeha

Nicole Thomas
Lee Ann Turner
Chuck Ware

Pontotoc

Phyllis Ford High
Matt Koon

Prentiss

Dr. Ricky Ford
Ronny Rowland

Tippah

Chris Lewellen
Kyle Smith – Vice Chairman

Tishomingo

Beth Davis
Harold Lomenick

Union

Suzy Bowman
Phil Morris
Billye Jean Stroud

At Large

Denotee Martin
Eddie Prather
Bill Stone

Emeritus

Kenny Dill
Dr. Gloria Kellum
Sandy Williams
Hassell Franklin (1935-2023)
Bobby Martin (1933-2020)
Jack Reed, Sr. (1924-2016)

University

William Nicholas
Jim Martin

STATE OF THE REGION
Wednesday, May 8
9:30-11:30 a.m.
Coffee hour begins at 8:30 a.m.

Join us for our annual State of the Region meeting! Attendees will hear from regional leaders, community affiliates pouring into their communities, and a school district that is setting the standard for school accountability in Northeast Mississippi. Featured speaker is Oxford Public School District’s superintendent, Bradley Roberson who will present his ideas for accountability in public schools and Oxford’s plan to serve its children. CREATE’s 16 community affiliates will be highlighted, with three community affiliates setting the stage as a panel: Alison Buehler (Starkville Community Foundation), Gus Clark (PACE), and Amanda Angle (LEAD)

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

State of the Region Meeting 2023 RECAP