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The Co-Lin Foundation inducted six new members into its Hall of Fame at a banquet held March 31 at the Thames Center on the college’s Wesson Campus. Those inducted for the 2021 class were James Larry Greer of Ridgeland, Dr. Jane Hulon Sims of Wesson, Marion and Carolyn Vance Smith of Natchez, Drs. Robert and Dianne Watson of Brookhaven, Dr. Robert Williams of Hattiesburg, and Gwyn and Velesta Young of Wesson.
James Larry Greer
Larry Greer was honored for his contributions to the Lura M. Greer, James Larry Greer and Robert Dale Greer Family Scholarship as well as the Back the Pack Capital Campaign for Co-Lin Athletics, in which he has served as campaign chair.
Greer, a native of Wesson, graduated from Co-Lin High School in 1965. He was a member of the Co-Lin Band, the high school chorus and numerous other organizations during his high school experience. He graduated from Copiah-Lincoln in 1967. He continued his participation in the band and chorus during community college in addition to his involvement in the Co-Lin drama group. He graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1970 with highest honors in mathematics. In 1978, he graduated with a Masters in Business Administration from Mississippi College.
He invested over 35 years in his telecommunications work with South Central Bell and BellSouth. His efforts allowed him to serve in varied and challenging assignments running the gamut from public relations, engineering and strategic planning to commission regulation of the business. After retiring from BellSouth in 2006, he was asked by the Mississippi Public Service Commission Staff to assist in oversight of Mississippi telecommunications functions. Simultaneously, he served on the adjunct faculty of the Mississippi College School of Business for five years teaching economics and marketing.
Aside from his work place activities, he served for 17 years on the Co-Lin Foundation Board of Directors in several capacities including past president. Additionally, he has assumed an active role on the Co-Lin Band and Colette Alumni Board.
Greer is a member of First Baptist Church-Madison where he serves as a deacon and choir member. He is also involved in the Alzheimer’s ministry at St. Catherine’s Village in Madison. He has two sons, Jeffrey Lawrence Greer (Lori) and James Brian Greer (Carra), and five grandchildren.
Dr. Jane Hulon Sims
Dr. Jane Hulon Sims was honored for her contributions to the Back the Pack Capital Campaign for Co-Lin Athletics, the Faculty Development Fund, and the General Fund.
Dr. Hulon Sims is serving in her fourth year as president of Copiah-Lincoln Community College. For the previous 10 years, she served as vice president of the college. She has served as the vice president of instructional services, academic dean of instruction, and director of planning and research. Dr. Hulon Sims has also held instructional, research, and administrative positions at several locations including East Mississippi Community College’s Golden Triangle Campus, Mississippi State University, Mississippi Department of Education, Jones County Junior College, and Jones County Schools.
Dr. Hulon Sims attended Jones County Junior College and received both a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Education degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Southern Mississippi. She earned her doctorate in higher education administration from Mississippi State University.
She is a member of numerous organizations including the Mississippi Academic Officers Association (past president), the Mississippi Association of Colleges, Southern Association of Colleges with Associate Degrees, American Association of University Women, Wesson Chamber of Commerce (past-member, Board of Directors), Brookhaven Rotary Club, Delta Kappa Gamma, and Wesson Garden Club.
She was recently selected to serve on the Board of Trustees of the Southern Association of College and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). She has participated in the Education Policy Fellowship Program, Leadership Jones County, and Mississippi Community College Leadership Academy (MCCLA).
She is a past recipient of Co-Lin’s High Performance Award, the Phi Theta Kappa Go Getter Award, the Phi Theta Kappa National Distinguished Administrator Award, Phi Theta Kappa Paragon Award, and Wesson Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Educator Award.
Dr. Hulon Sims is the proud mother of two sons, Will and Drew, whose father was the late Jim Hulon. She is married to Dennis Sims.
Marion and Carolyn Vance Smith
Marion and Carolyn Vance Smith were honored for their contributions to the Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration and the Carolyn Vance Smith Research Center on the Natchez Campus.
The Smiths have had a lifelong love of education. Marion holds a Bachelor of Arts and a law degree from the University of Mississippi, and Carolyn holds a Bachelor of Arts from Mississippi University for Women and a Master of Arts from Vanderbilt University. Both have taught in higher education; Marion at the Ole Miss Law School, and Carolyn at Louisiana State University and Co-Lin’s Natchez Campus.
Marion later practiced law in Natchez, and for 12 years, created the law as a senator and President of the Senate in the Mississippi Legislature. He retired recently from the law firm of Truly, Smith and Latham. His practice focused on oil and gas law and government law. He was the attorney for the Adams County Board of Supervisors for many years, and he has been the top leader of the national University of Mississippi Alumni Association, the Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association, the Mississippi Historical Society, and Trinity Episcopal Church.
Carolyn has a strong connection to Co-Lin, beginning with being the first person hired when the Natchez Campus opened 50 years ago. She taught English, was public information director, founded and chaired the Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration for 26 years, and founded and chaired the Road Scholar educational travel program for 30 years. She, too, has been president of many groups, including the national MUW Alumnae Association, Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters, Educational Travel Associates, First Families of Mississippi, and the Women of Trinity Episcopal Church. In addition, she is author of numerous books about Natchez and is currently chairman of Trinity Church’s year-long Bicentennial Celebration.
The Smiths have two children, Emily Smith Wright and William M. Smith, Jr., and four grandchildren.
Drs. Robert and Dianne Watson
Drs. Robert and Dianne Watson were honored for their contributions to the David Smith Memorial Scholarship which they established in memory of Dianne’s brother who was a Co-Lin graduate and longtime employee of the college.
Originally from Cleveland, Bob is a 1989 graduate of Delta State University and a 1994 graduate of Mississippi State College of Veterinary Medicine. Dianne, a Brookhaven native, is a 1989 graduate of Co-Lin and a 1993 graduate of Mississippi State College of Veterinary Medicine. They were married in 1996 and both practiced veterinary medicine in the Mississippi Delta until they opened Brookhaven Animal Hospital in 1998.
Bob was selected as Mississippi’s Young Veterinarian of the Year in 2004. He served on the Mississippi Veterinary Medical Association Board from 2006-2011, serving as vice-president in 2009 and as president in 2010. When not practicing veterinary medicine, he enjoys hunting and fishing.
Dianne practiced veterinary medicine full-time until she decided to home school their children in 2009. She practiced medicine part-time until 2012 until she began teaching physics, chemistry, and anatomy & physiology at Brookhaven Academy, where she is currently employed. In 2019, Dianne was selected as the Brookhaven-Lincoln County Educator of the Year, and she has twice been named Brookhaven Academy’s Star Teacher. Dianne was selected as Co-Lin’s Alumna of the Year in 1999 and serves on Co-Lin’s Athletic Alumni Association nominating committee, of which she is a past president. She also serves on the Mississippi Community College Board and the Mississippi Postsecondary Education Financial Assistance Board.
The Watsons are actively involved in Mt. Zion Baptist Church where Bob teaches Sunday school and serves as a deacon. They have four children, Colton, Cameron, Cade, and Carter.
Dr. Robert Williams
Dr. Robert Williams was honored for his contributions to the Robert Williams Aspiring Educator Scholarship which he established in 2021 to benefit students graduating from Crystal Springs High School who aspire to become educators.
Williams has worked in the Hattiesburg Public School System for over 20 years. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education, a Specialist in Education degree in education administration, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in education administration and supervision from the University of Southern Mississippi. Williams earned an Associate of Arts degree from Copiah-Lincoln Community College and a Master of Education in elementary education from William Carey University.
He has served as superintendent of Hattiesburg Public Schools since July 2016. Prior to his appointment as superintendent, he served as principal of N.R. Burger Middle School. Under his leadership, N.R. Burger Middle was transformed from a school labeled “At Risk of Failing” in 2008 to “High Performing-High Progress” in 2012. In 2012, N.R. Burger received the “Champion of Change” award from Mississippi Department of Education. Williams was selected as Hattiesburg Public Schools Administrator of the Year (2011-2012 & 2015-2016) by his peers. Additionally, he represented Mississippi Congressional District Four as a finalist for Mississippi Administrator of the Year.
Williams is married to Angela Givens Williams, an Assistant United States Attorney with the office of the United States Attorney, Southern District of Mississippi. They are the parents of Anna-Grace Williams and Louis Alexander Williams.
Gwyn and Velesta Young
Gwyn and Velesta Young were honored for their contributions to the Back the Pack Capital Campaign for Co-Lin Athletics.
Gwyn is a 1971 graduate of Co-Lin and received his bachelor’s degree from Mississippi College and master’s degree from the University of Southern Mississippi. Young has served as the women’s head basketball coach at Co-Lin for 46 seasons and is the winningest active women’s basketball coach in the National Junior College Athletic Association with a 988-296 career record. Young has won eight MACJC state titles, seven NJCAA Region 23 tournaments and been runner-up 11 times. His teams have made six NJCAA National Tournament appearances with the 1989 team finishing a school-best fourth in the national tournament.
Young is a seven-time Region XXIII Coach of the Year, and a six-time MACJC and MAC Coach of the Year. He is a member of the NJCAA Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, the Copiah-Lincoln Sports Hall of Fame, and the Mississippi Association of Community College Conference (MACCC) Hall of Fame.
Velesta worked at Kings Daughters Medical Center for 26 years as payroll manager before coming to Co-Lin, where she worked as accounts payable manager in the Business Office for 20 years before her retirement in 2016. She was recognized as staff member of the year in 2015. She is a graduate of West Lincoln Attendance Center.
The Youngs have been married for almost 49 years and are active members of Mt. Zion Baptist Church. They have two children, Lane Young (Audrey) and Jessica Hynum (Brandon), and five grandchildren.
The Co-Lin Foundation Hall of Fame includes individuals and businesses who have donated in excess of $10,000 to the efforts of the Foundation. Contributions can be made to Co-Lin Foundation, P.O. Box 649, Wesson, MS 39191, by calling (601) 643-8313, or online at www.colin.edu/alumni-foundation.
The Co-Lin Foundation inducted six new members into its Hall of Fame at a banquet held March 31 at the Thames Center on the college’s Wesson Campus. Pictured with Foundation Board President Dr. Donald Cotten (far left) were those inducted for the 2021 class. From left: Dr. Robert Williams of Hattiesburg, Dr. Jane Hulon Sims of Wesson, James Larry Greer of Ridgeland, Velesta and Gwyn Young of Wesson, Drs. Robert and Dianne (not pictured) Watson of Brookhaven, and Marion and Carolyn Vance Smith of Natchez.
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