Talon, The

48 Pages·2001·6 MB·English

by  University of Southern Mississippi Alumni Association

THE MAGAZINE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
\
GOLDEN EAGLES CLAIM
28-21 BOWL VICTORY
SHOWS MAKING MARK
IN NATIONS CAPITAL
JOINES: A BROADWAY
ORCHESTRA STANDOUT
DEAR FELLOW ALUMNI,
It's a great time to be a Southern Miss alumnus.
Armed with our "Southern" memories, friendships and
ninety-one years of tradition, we look forward to 2001
and beyond. Our alumni are optimistic about the
direction in which the University is headed. We truly
are the university for south Mississippi and beyond.
There is no other and we will advance where opportu-
nities allow.
Our past students are proving their success nation-
wide and their contributions are noticed around the
globe. Southern Miss academics continue to be hon-
ored nationally and scholastic excellence is pursued
throughout the University. Athletics are strong as be provided a scholarship by your Alumni Association?
always. It was an exciting holiday bowl win in Mobile The Legacy Fund will eventually provide scholarships
andJeff Bower is staying in Hattiesburg. Our men and for children of Southern Miss alumni. Twenty thou-
women's basketball teams are having winning seasons sand dollars have been contributed to date from the
and the baseball team is ranked in the preseason polls. Southern Miss Alumni Homecoming Scholarship Golf
We are anticipating the new athletic center project, Tournaments.
which has now begun. Southern Miss is on the threshold ofits potential.
The physical changes at our Hattiesburg and Gulf With your continued loyal support and involvement, our
Coast campuses are profound, with new buildings beloved Alma Mater will only prosper. It has always been
going up quickly. The campuses surely look different a good time to be a Southern Miss alum. As we look for-
than when we went to school there! There have also ward, we know that golden opportunities await us.
been aesthetic improvements. Along with this progress, Sincerely,
our University will continue to have its share ofchal-
lenges, such as severely threatening budget cuts. Under
the leadership of Dr. Horace Fleming, we will eventual-
ly prevail, and our devoted alumni will no doubt aid in Donald W Benefield, M.D.
enduring these and other obstacles to come. Southern Miss Alumni Association President, 2000-01
Bob Pierce, Mark Boyles and our alumni staff con-
tinue to do a top-notchjob for us at the Alumni Asso-
ciation. We have continued with the implementation of Dr. DonBenefield, anopthamalogistinGuljport, comesfromastrong
a strategic plan to help guide us into the future. The SouthernMissandConferenceUSAbackground. He, hisbrotherandsister
plan not only positions our Alumni Association with followedtheirfather'sfootsteps tothe University, andall threemenkept
leading alumni organizations around the country, but theireducationin the C-USAfamily, receivingtheirdoctoratesinmedicine
fromTulane University. Don, a1982biologygraduate,andhiswife, Patricia
also continues the development of our alumni in their '82, aremembersofthe USMHonorClub. Inaddition tohiscurrent term
important role in this institution of higher education. as USMAApresident, hehasservedontheexecutiveboardandas president
Did you know that in years to come your child might oftheGulfCoastchapteroftheAlumniAssociation.
ALUMNI STAFF THE
EXECUTIVEDIRECTOR ROBERTD. PIERCE, 11,'91 r
DIRECTOROFOPERATIONS MARKBOYLES73
MANAGEROFCOMMUNICATIONS RAYMONDREEVES'86
ri
MANAGEROFPROGRAMS TIMBRELAND77,'82
COORDINATOROFCHAPTERSERVICES CHRISMOORE'99
ADMINISTRATIVEASSISTANT MONAREEVES
INFORMATIONmaSiElRVCILCEERSKSPEEDCIWAALRISDTWMAELLILSASCAEBLACKBURN VOLUME 54. NUMBER 3 • WINTER 2001
RECEPTIONISTMIKEDANIELS
DATAENTRYCLERK TAWANAWALKER FE ATU RES
COMMUNICATIONSGRADUATEASSISTANT
CHARITYMOSELEYWALLACE
SAAGRADUATEASSISTANT TREYTRU1TT 99 4 CAPTURING THE IMAGE
CONSULTANTINRESIDENCE RICHARDCRAIG'86 Whetherit's the newest NFLteam or the local
DIRECTOREMERITUS POWELLOGLETREE'48,'51 hospital, Rodney Richardson's RARE
Design is makingits mark.
CONTRIBUTINGWRITER SHARONWERTZ
CONTRIBUTINGWRITER YVONNEARNOLD 8 GOLDEN EAGLES IN GOVERNMENT
CONTRIBUTINGWRITER MATHEWCOX Part 3: Ronnie Shows carries his Southern Miss
spirit inWashington, D.C.
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OFFICERS
10 GOING MOBILE
PRESIDENT DR. DONBENEFIELD The GMAC Mobile Alabama Bowl experience,
PRESIDENT-ELECT SHARONHERR1N captured in photos.
VICEPRESIDENT EDLANGTON
PASTPRESIDENT RANDYPOPE 14 BUILDING THE BEAT 4
HowardJoines has taken Broadway page
BOARD OF DIRECTORS bystorm, bothin and in front ofthe 10
%
LANTCREAVAIDSAMNSO,RMPAAING,ETHOOMWEPLOLT,TELRA,WPRAEMNCREOUJSOEI,NER, orchestra pit. ?& *S*k *,fVt*, J\+lr-A ¥^ y
STACYBUSBY,DR.JOHNGU1CE,DR.JAMESHUTTO,
RAYMONDMcMULLAN,TOMO'SHIELDS, BOBPOSEY,
DR. PHILLIPTERRELL,RICHARDYOUNG, STEVEFLOYD,
EDHATTEN, PATRICKJACKSON,TRACYPOWELL, ^
CHARLOTTERAHAIM,DRTERRELLTISDALE,SAND1VECCHIO WmL »i < ft
EXOFFICIOBOARDMEMBERS:DR. HORACEFLEMING, j ?"-
*«
CURTREDDEN,DR. BEN CARM1CHAEL,
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BILLPACE,JOYPOOLE """""t^r^
TheTalon(USPS652-240)ispublishedquarterlyby
DEPARTMENTS
TheUniversityofSouthernMississippiAlumniAssociation,
Box5013,Hattiesburg,MS39406
Activemembershipduesof$35 7 ADMISSIONS UPDATE
(singlemembership)or$40(couple) 16 FROM THE ARCHIVES
includesubscription 18 NEWS AROUND CAMPUS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:USMUniversityRelations, 22 ATHLETICS UPDATE
USMTeachingLearningResourceCenter(TLRC),USMSports 25 EAGLE CLUB NEWS
Information,HedermanBrothersPrintinginRidgeland,Miss.,
andthestaffoftheSouthernMissAlumniAssociation 28 GULF COAST UPDATE
PeriodicalpostagepaidatHattiesburg,MS39402 29 COLLEGE REPORT
(ApprovedJanuary20, 1955) ALSO INSIDE 30 FOUNDATION NEWS
POSTMASTER: 33 CUASSNOTES
Sendaddresschangesto STAR STUDENT 18 46 UPCOMING EVENTS
Box 5013,Hattiesburg,MS39402 SOUTHERN MISS MEMORIES 38
[phone]
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? 39
E-MAIL:[email protected] ALUMNI PROFILES 41, 42,43
WEBSITE:www.southernmiss.org
ONTHECOVER:
RodneyRichardson,ownerofRAREDesign,hasbuiltastrong
reputationassomeonebehindthecreationofsuchidentities
astheDenverBroncosandthenewHoustonTexans.
BACKCOVER:
SOUTHERN
CoachJeffBowerspentsometimevisitingwith ESPN's
MISSISSIPPI MikeTirico, KirkHerbstreit,Dr.JerryPunchandLeeCorso
•ALUMNI- priortotheGMACMobileAlabamaBowl, SouthernMiss
AA/EOE/ADAl claimed the bowlchampionship 28-2]
—
c r
/ p r; f
r r
— — —
BY
RAYMOND
REEVES
ho are you? What do Currentlyknownas the lead designer ofthe overall picture.
you do? Why do you ofthe team that developed the logo pack- "Design is more about solvinga busi-
do it? Why do you do it age forthe HoustonTexans, the NFLsnew ness problemwith aesthetics. You are
that way? Howwould expansion team that willbegin play in hoping to position a company for a prod-
you want people to 2002, Richardson does more than come up uct, a brand, and it's about managingand
perceive you and what with catchyartwork to slap ona helmet or imaging that brand," Richardson said. "I
you do? How does it all tie together? print ona sweatshirt. That'swhere the try to do whatever isbest foreach specific
No, it'snot a flashback to psychology above questions - and many others - come client. Good design is good design; it's all
classes, but the basis forRodney Richard- into play. Whetherit's a major playeron a about trying to nail downwhat's needed
son'sbusiness, RARE Design. Richardson, a national stage, like anNFLteam, ora suc- for each client."
1994 graphic communication graduate of cessful localbusiness, Richardsonwants to Agood example ofRichardson'swork
Southern Miss, opened his Hattiesburg- designan image, a package, that sums up is the inaugural season logo for the Colum-
based company afterworking as a graphic that client effectively. Inaddition, consis- busBlueJackets, the newestmemberofthe
designer for Nike. tency is a major factorin the plan; anyone National Hockey League. DougMacLean,
piece should be able to stand alone on its the president and general managerofthe
ownmerit, butalsobe awell-fittingpiece team, praised Richardson as the principle
THE TALON
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designer. "Whenwe were lookingat ideas interestin Nike.
for aninaugural logo, we wanted some- "Nike gets about 40,000 unsolicited
thing that would continue to build on the resumes ayear," Richardsonsaid. "Iwas
identitywe're establishingwith the CBJ talkingto one ofmybuddies (at Fossil),
logo that appears on the front ofourjer- andhe said 'you should reallylookinto
seys," said MacLean. "I think this inaugural this; you'dlove it.'And, ofcourse,who
season logo captures that and at the same wouldn't? Itwasright up the alleyofthe
time symbolizes and celebrates the begin- style Iwas designing. I said, Find me a
ning ofa newera in Columbus, Ohio with name,' andhe found me the name ofthe
the BlueJackets' first seasonin the Nation- headhunter. I contacted andwent through
al Hockey League." her. There were three interviewtrips to
The logo was created forthe Blue Portland - the entireprocess, frombegin-
Jacketsby RARE Design, a year-old com- ningto end, tookright atayear. I gothired
panybased in Hattiesburg, Mississippi that forTeam Sports, whichis a divisionofNike
specializes in corporate identityand imag- that outfitsandworkson the identityof
ing. Rodney Richardson, owner and cre- teams. Istarted out inNBAbasketball. We
ative director ofRARE Design, started the worked onalot ofapparel graphics; outfit
company after a successful stint with Nike the team, decide whatwent to retailand
Global Basketball. "In creatingthe inaugur- howitlooked - it wasprettycool to come
al season logo for the BlueJackets, we home forChristmas andseeyourstuffin
wanted to staywithin the context ofthe thestore."
rest ofthe teammarks," said Richardson, In addition, he and his NBA "team-
who designed the on court elements of mates" worked on the identityside ofthe
newuniformsworn this yearby the NBA's teams, suchas the hometown Portland
LosAngeles Lakers, Toronto Raptors and Trailblazers, the Dallas Mavericks and the
Miami Heat. "We wanted the logo to con- TorontoRaptors. In fact, the Raptors' current
tinue to help define the identity ofthe Blue uniforms are a direct result ofthe work of
Jackets, and 1 think this logo does that." Richardson's team.
Before delvinginto projectslike the However, before he hit the hardwood
DenverBroncos'newimage and uniforms, circuit, the McComb native was first put to
Richardson stayed close to home aftergrad- workonwhat canbe considered one of
uation, workingat Bice Advertisingin Hat- the biggest team identity overhauls in
tiesburg. Unlike many graduates, Richard- recent memory: the DenverBroncos.
sonhadno trouble findingajob after "cap "I came in probably about a third of
and gown." He firsttook ajob with Bice as the way through the Broncos' process, and
a student, thenmoved to a full-time posi- worked on that project to completion," he
tionafterreceivinghis degree. said. "I've also worked on Florida State,
Acouple ofyears later, he had the the University ofOregon, among others. RICHARDSON'SWORKWITHTHE NEW1
chance to move to a designers dream "We had such really good teams of THENFL'SDENVERBRONCOSAND HO
job-Nike. Three ofhis Southern Miss people to workwith. It was a campus HAVERECEIVEDMUCHATTENTION,BU"rHEHAS
friendshadhired on with FossilWatch environment, with a lot ofyoung people WORKEDWITH THEMERCHAND
aftergraduation, and Nike, through an from all over the country. The world head- NHL'SMINNESOTAWILD NIKES
outside company hired several oftheir quarters there is built like a campus, with ANDTHENHL'SWASHINGTONCAPITALS
fellow employees. They told Richardson a lake, a gym, and things like that, It was a NUMBEROFNONSPORTS-RELATEDAREAS
about it, and he contacted the company fun environment; really laid-back, a foster-
who had done the hiringto express his ingenvironment great for creativity They
B
WINTER 2001
really understand thatwhat got them to project and hunghis RARE Design shingle Nike" and aren't looking forthat style of
where theyare is creativity so theyreally in downtown Hattiesburg. work. This was something that he faced
encourage that." He had built good relationships, both especiallywhenhe first openedhis doors
After a few seasons focusing on the company-wise and client-wise, while at and began buildinga local clientele. He
NBA, Richardson was shifted to the Nike, and he took those relationships with hasworked to assure people thathe is not
Nike Basketball division, which designs him ashe branched out onhis own. These a "one style" kind ofguy, and the local
basketball apparel to represent strictly connections have served himwell ashe inroads continue to grow strongeras his
Nike in the global market, as opposed builthis company - in fact, his firstjobs work is seenaround the area.
to different teams. with RARE Designwere Nike referrals. His goalwhenhe openedhiscompany
As much ashe loved the working "Movingbackto Hattiesburg, Iknew was to maintain an approximatebalance of
environment ofNike, somethingcame inalotofways, wasgoingto be more diffi- 50 percent local and 50 percent out-of-
along to give himthoughts about moving cult thanifwe had decided to move to a areabusiness, and he said he has basically
on - he and his wife, Christy, havingtheir largermarket. Iwas reallyrelyingonbuild- maintained that goal. Ofall ofthe work he
first child, a daughter. This life-changing ingon existingrelationships that I had has done, though, his most recognizable
RARE Design project would have to be the
Houston Texans.
"Originally theywerejust looking for
a temporarylogo for retail merchandise
before theyunveiled the biglogo," he said.
"Theybrought me and three or fourother
shops in to do a wide variety ofwhat these
temporarylogos mightbe. They decided
not to go that route, but, fromworkingon
that project, as the process for the naming
and the true mark evolved, theybrought
me in to work as art directorforthe team.
"The setup was that NFLProperties'
in-house designgroup was working on the
identity, and the teamwanted a group that
solelyrepresented the interests ofthe team.
I workedwith the league, went to focus
groups, presented ideas and made sure the
team's interestswere there. The hope was
thatwe wouldboth endup workingas a
team, andit didendup workingout that
way; it worked better than expected, I
believe."
Although the unveiling ofthe primary
RICHARDSONHASKEPTHISCONNECTIONSTOTHEGOLDENEAGLEFAMILYSTRONGAT RAREDESIGN,UTILIZING
THETALENTSOFSOUTHERNMISSSTUDENTSADRIENNEHICKS ANDJEREMYSMITH.WHOCAMEFROMTHE logo and the name is considered the pin-
nacle ofthe project, the work thatwent
INTERNSHIPPROGRAMHESETUPWITHTHE UNIVERSITY.
into it to make sure a true identitywas
developed took time, works and reworks,
experience got both to thinking about their made out there," he said. "I reallyenjoyed and advice and opinions from many people
new future with a child involved. As much what I was doing, I lovedit and wanted to - especially those in Houston.
as theylovedbeingin Oregon, theybegan keep as manycontacts there (as I could). In "It's notjusta graphic treatment; it's a
thinkingabout roots - theirs and their the act ofdeparting Nike, I made sure that true problem ofidentifyingwhat this team
daughters. They wanted family involved in mymanagers, art directors and creative is," Richardson said. "We would talk with
theirlives and in the life oftheirchild. directors knew thatmyleavingwas totally the team and talkwith the fans and ask
They wanted theirrelatives to know their personal; it hadnothingto dowithmyjob. them questions - describe this area,
girl, andvice-versa. They didn't want it to My first threejobsas RARE Designwere describe this city, describe this team and
take two days forher to warm up to Nike projects. As soonas I got downhere what you want from this team, what you
Grandma because she onlysawher on andsetup shop, theyfunneled some work want this team to represent. Those are the
once-a-yearvisits. And so theireyes turned to me, whichwas ahuge reliefto me things that we used to design against, what
back to the South, to Mississippi where because 1 wanted to continue to workwith this team should represent. Thenwe'd take
theyboth spent theirchildhoods. them. That meant a lot, to know that those the words theyused and asked ifthe
Richardson examined severalwork bridgesweren'tburned." graphics represented that to them."
opportunities, butnone ofthem seemed to However, the stability ofthose rela- And with the unveilingofthe identity,
click. They thenlooked to past conversa- tionships and the work stemming from the NFLs 32nd team came to life, even
tions, where he discussed forminghis own them has led to some interestinghurdles before the first playerhasbeenselected.
company. After much discussion, planning as he builds his business. It is not uncom- The organization's personality and its
and organization, they moved to the Hub mon, he said, forhim to face a certain unique image is already known to the
City, and he dusted offthe name and logo amount ofstereotyping, as potential public. Unique - and also RARE. 5j>
he developed forhis Southern Miss senior clients try to emphasize that they're "not
_^___^__
wm 9- * Jubal Smith in Little Rock, Arkansas...
you are making an impact.
I will not harp on predicted budget
AN INSIDE LOOK AT this year. Not only have we gotten the cuts or our ability (or lack of) to pay for
WHAT'S HAPPENING continued individual student referrals and sponsor new and innovative pro-
WITH ADMISSIONS from alumni all over the country, but a grams like those previously mentioned.
number ofchapters and individuals on Our department has not had a budget
their own time and with their own increase in over five years but we have
BY MATHEW A COX
resources have attended and hosted major continued to take on more and more, so
DirectorofRecruitment Operations recruitment functions. I promise you that a cut certainly presents challenges.
&Alumni Liaison when folks like Ira Middleberg host a However, we do not believe that this
recruitment reception at his law offices in automatically translates into any sort of
It is hard to believe that it's time New Orleans and Ken Shearer does the negative enrollment trend. As long as
to give yet another update to our same at his home inJackson, there is no we continue to work harder and smarter
alumni. It seems like it wasjust last bigger impact made on prospective stu- than "the other guys" and continue to
week when we talked about the issues
dents anywhere by any university. Here is build our alumni recruitment base, I'm
involved with determining our recruit-
the kicker... these top-notch programs, confident that we will continue to move
ment market in the fall issue of The these "home runs" hit with students and in the right direction. Make no mistake,
aTanloenn.tirWeelflal,lwsee'mveestseirncaengdotnweo-tthhriorudgsh psaaryeinntgs,"tthhiissisdiSroecutthaenrdneMfifsesc,ti"vecowualyd onfot btheiesnisfoarbsettutdeernptlsacteo ltihvae,nlietahrans, aevnedr
ofour "recruitment travel season" is and would not have happened without the grow, and they recognize that. We must
over. Although spring semester enroll- support and dedication ofalumni like Ken ALL stay on task and support the ongo-
ment on the Hattiesburg campus is up and Ira. To the chapters like Huntsville, ing recruitment efforts ofthe University.
bcnoyenwatibsnotuuuetdseVntztospfeforoccruestnhtoe,ntfaohleulr2re0pa0rlo1wspocelrackstsi.ve Avwtioldraukna,tlasi,twaIiSntdhmoaHukotuisnatngonaa.l.du.imfnfkeiereecpnhcaeup.ptertT,hoeliihnkadeir-d Aae-snmdaailslwuagaygtse,mstaIitwohneeslwca.tocm(oe6x0@y1uo)su2mr6.c6eo-dm5um0e0vn0*t^osr by
Over the past four months our
recruiters have traveled extensively
throughout Mississippi, Alabama,
Louisiana, the Florida panhandle, and Think Southern Miss is worth a closer look!
I
Memphis making over 400 contacts Please send me more information.
and visits with high schools, coun-
selors, and students. We look to com- Date
plete the remaining travel portion of Name Social Security
this year's recruitment efforts by mid
MailingAddress,
March, at which time we begin to shift
our focus to on-campus events like our
Presidential Scholarship and Leader-
ship competitions, as well as our Home Telephone( Email Address.
@
spring festival, Saturday Southern High School Attended.
Miss. These are all still to come and Year of Graduation GPA _ACT Composite.
are major spring recruitment pro-
Sat Verbal Math
grams, after which we should begin to
Academic Interests,
see what our 2001 class will look like.
An important, even vital, part of Extracurricular Interests
our continued success in recruiting Did mother lather orotherrelative attend Southern Miss? Jleoselisttheirnames)
prospective students is alumni sup-
port, and in myjudgment we have
neverbeen given more support than
Please return form to: Southern Miss Office ofAdmissions • Box 5tc>c • Hattiesburg, MS $9406
BY CHARITY MOSELEY WALLACE
Imagine rising fromyourchair, of the Fourth District ofthe State of trying to to make extra money to make
steppingto the podium ofthe Mississippi elected Ronnie Shows to ends meet."
largest room ofthe U.S. Capitol, serve as their congressman. Shows felt at ease at Southern Miss
and addressingyourpeersin the Chamber Thirtyyears ago, Ronnie Shows was and developed friends in classes and
ofthe U.S. House ofRepresentatives. You preparingto graduate fromThe Universi- playingintramural basketball with the
speaknot as one person, but as one repre- ty ofSouthern Mississippi and entera BayRats. "I was intimidatedby the size of
sentative voice for a portion ofyourstate. careerineducation. He wasnot a typical the school, but itwas a good atmosphere
Ronnie Showsnot only imagined this college student. He wasjugglingschool and I felt comfortable with the faculty
experience, he lived itwhen the citizens and family life. He was a student, a hus- and friends," recalls Shows. Aftermuch
band, and a father to hiswifeJohnnie hard workand with the support ofhis
Ruth's three sons. At school, he wife, Ronnie Shows graduated in 1971.
attended classes and was a He served as a teacherand basketball
walk-on on the basketball coach at PrentissJunior High School,
team for a short time. He Lawrence Academy, Columbia Academy,
had played basketball in and Bassfield Elementary School before
high school and at making a decision thatwould lead to a
JonesJunior College, different path that proved to be successful.
but found it too hard Hisjump from education to politics
to keep playing on the wasnot one Shows had planned; the
teamwith schoolwork encouragement offamilyand friends
and a family. Outside sparked his new career. "Iwas on Christ-
ofschool, he worked to mas break from school in 1975, and 1
make extra money. was gettingready to go bird hunting. My
"When I was not in father-in-law told me I needed to get into
class, 1 was at home help- politics, that I needed to run for circuit
ing my father-in-law—fix- clerk." In the process ofbuying ammuni-
ing fences and bailing hay tion forhis hunt, two other men
approached Shows with the idea ofrun-
ning for circuit clerk. Within one hour,
three people convinced a manwho had
nevereven run for a class office in school
to enterthe world ofpolitics.
The year 1976 marked the beginning
ofRonnie Shows' public service as the
citizens ofJefferson Davis County elected
him circuit clerk. Discovering that his
current office was too confining and he
longed to furtherserve his fellow citi-
zens, Shows ran for a seat in the Missis-
sippi Legislature and was elected to the
Mississippi State Senate in 1980. Shows
became a strong figure around the state
Capitol and on the committees ofAppro-
priations, Rules, and Oil and Gas. He
enjoyed serving as a senator and after
SoLUgjJ E .,E2 JJ J GiOJE. 1J JY PA.Frr 3
one yearinJackson, he unveiled a new has developed inWashington, relation- Shows encourages citizens to take an
desire. "I told mywife I'd love to be a ships with people on both sides ofthe active involvement in their communities,
congressman," he recalled. aisle. He insists that "moderate Democ- and that begins with voting. "It doesn't
Shows served two full terms andwas rats and Republicans make the operations matter ifit's a mayors race, supervisors
elected to a third term. "I almost ran for inWashington work." race, or presidential election, each vote
Congress in 1988. Ijust didn't have the does make a difference, " said Shows.
money to run, so I waited, but it was Shows expresses concern about the
always in the back ofmy mind," said lack ofsupport ofeducation and law
Shows. Meanwhile, Shows entered and enforcement and urges citizens to take an
won a 1988 special election to fill the seat active role in supporting them. "It does-
ofSouthern District transportation com- n't matter ifyou are a mechanic, secretary,
missioner. Shows served as transporta- orlawyer, one person can make a differ-
tion commissioner for 10 years, proving ence. People need to get involved to see
to the citizens ofSouth Mississippi his what we can do to help ouryounger gen-
leadership and hard work. eration with the tnbulations theyare fac-
When Mike Parker decided not to seek ing," Shows remarked.
re-election forhis seat in Congress, Ron- It is hardjugglingbetweenWashing-
nie Showswas the first to qualifyto run. ton, D.C., and his home in Bassfield, but
He campaigned hard and in 1998 defeat- Congressman Ronnie Shows has main-
ed Republican candidate Delbert Hose- tained a great presence in South Missis-
manwhen the citizens ofthe Fourth Dis- sippi. Citizens can find him, eager to lis-
trict ofthe State ofMississippi elected him THE CONGRESSIONAL BASEBALL GAME LAST YEAR. ten and help, at a local event one day, and
to serve inthe United States Congress. turn their television to C-Span the next
It is a longway from Mississippi to day and find him presenting a bill. Con-
Washington, D.C., and even greater is the stituents ofShows found his first term a
difference between the Mississippi State success and re-elected him for a second
Legislature and Congress, but it took little term in November 2000, defeatingchal-
time for theJones Countynative to learn lenger Dunn Lampton.
the ropes ofthe United States Capital. From circuit clerk to U.S. Congress-
His experience in government served him man, Ronnie Shows has servedwith
well. In his first term, he gained a seat as devotion and dignity, and always earning
the ranking freshman Democrat on the with him a love ofSouthern Miss. He
oldest and largest committee in Congress- attends football and basketball games
-the Transportation and Infrastructure when he gets a chance, and students and
Committee. He was also appointed to the patrons can often find him shooting
Veterans' Affairs Committee where he hoops or working out at the Payne Cen-
fights for a group ofcitizens he holds ter. In 1999, The University ofSouthern
Shows served as a celebrity referee for
dear—our nation's veterans and military the Delta Tau Delta/Heilig Meyers Cystic MississippiAlumni Association inducted
retirees. Fibrosis Corporate Challenge. The Fraternity him into the Alumni Hall ofFame.
'Whether helping an older person surprised him with a birthday cake at the Shows promotes his school spirit in
press conference.
with social security, helpingsenior citizens Washington when he gets a chance. He
get prescription medicine, helpingmilitary Shows finds partisanship the most donned a Southern Miss baseball uniform
servicemen overseas, orhelpingsomeone challenging part ofCongress and encour- at a congressional baseball game.
with housing, the most rewarding part of ages people to look beyond party affilia- "I developed good friends, had a
beinga congressman is the ability to tion and make judgements ofpeople, not great time in classes, and enjoyed playing
assist others," insists Shows. their party. 'When people ask me what basketball, as a walk-on and in intra-
Another aspect ofthejob that Shows party I belong to I tell them the American murals," said Shows of his Southern
enjoys is the relationships he has built. party. 1 believe in the same values most Miss experience. " I wouldn't takeanything
Rep. Shows values the friendships that he people in Mississippi do." forit."E£
B
WINTER200
TCU21
GMAC MOBILE
1 Seymourletseveryone knowwho's
Number 1 in hiseyes!
2 TheGolden Eaglescelebrateafterthe
game-clinchingtouchdown.
ApairofSanta's DixieDarlingspose
duringtheprebowlfestivities.
The Pride ofMississippi hitthestreets
duringthe pregameparade.
ricand DeQuincyScottshowoff
championshiptrophy.
Kelby NancebreaksthroughtheTCU
defenseforsome ofhiscareer-high 104
yardsrushing.
7 AMardi Grasparadewasjustone of
thepregameofferings.
8 Southern Missplayersvisita Mobile
children'shospital.
9 Jeff Bower atthe postgame press
conference afterthe bowl victory.
AllphotosbyDannyRawls