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Featured on today’s show are:
ZELL LONG, Chief Professional Officer, Boys & Girls Clubs of North Mississippi — It’s always good to catch up with Zell. Long time city employee, she recently left to lead the Boys & Girls Clubs. We caught up a little, talking about the BGC and about tomorrow’s fish fry! Zell and Co are doing an amazing job in a recessionary economy, raising funds for Mississippi kids and constantly developing new ways to develop them into leaders and solid citizens. DeltaTalk supports BGC, and host Mike Russell is a member of BGC's community advisory board.
JACK REED, JR, Tupelo Mayor — We featured the mayor three times on today’s show, getting his feedback on the Tupelo economy, on the horrific events in Japan and their connection to Mississippians, and on Tupelo neighborhoods and the city's proposal for revitalization.
NORMA COTHER, Crye-Leike Realtors — We invited Norma on the show to speak about events connected to Tupelo’s revitalization plan, called "Tupelo's Neighborhood Reinvestment Plan," just released this week. She's a member of a task force advising the city. She’s also been the managing broker of Crye-Leike Realtors for over 10 years -- and currently is on the Mississippi Professional Standards committee. And she serves as Northern District vice president for the Mississippi State Association of Realtors. Who better to understand that aspect of development than someone so invested in the front line?
THOM EASON & MIEKO KIKUCHI, Japan-America Society of Mississippi (JASMIS) — Thom and Mieko are helping to coordinate JASMIS’s Japanese relief fund in this area. Mieko’s story is one of pure determination! Years ago, she came to the U.S. from Japan without knowing a word a English -- and she earned a Master's Degree at the University of Southern Mississippi, then began work at a first-tier Nissan supplier near Jackson, MS. These days, she's the Japanese Liaison for Renasant Bank and works also with the Community Development Foundation (CDF). As if all that wasn't enough enough, she teaches Japanese language classes at the Tupelo campus of Ole Miss, and tutors Japanese children in English. Her husband Thom -- a software engineer and analyst by trade (advising large companies like AT&T) -- has been involved with JASMIS since 2004 when he was asked to document thew Sakura planting ceremony at the Mississippi state capitol grounds with Nissan and the Consul-General's office. Afterward, he began reporting directly to the board of directors as he worked to expand the JASMIS presence in Mississippi.
ELIZABETH TAYLOR tribute by PAUL NEWMAN — We said good-bye to a Hollywood icon with a stirring tribute by another movie legend, Paul Newman, recorded a few years ago. Elizabeth Taylor, described as perhaps the biggest movie star of all time by USA Today, died March 23rd. She was 79.
