MS Top 50 names 6th class of influential Mississippians

James Meredith and U.S. Senator Roger Wicker named to the MS Top 50 Hall of Fame.

The 6th Mississippi Top 50 Awards were held Thursday night at the Old Capitol Inn in Jackson. The awards were sponsored by Magnolia Tribune, WJTV, C Spire, Atmos Energy, Capitol Resources, Farm Bureau Federation and The Payne Group.

MS Top 50 is the annual list of the 50 Mississippians who are judged to be the most influential leaders in the state over the last year.

This annual bipartisan selection of leaders comes from the ranks of elected and appointed officials, economic development professionals, business, media, culture, sports, faith, government affairs and more.

This year’s honorees are (by category):

In addition, MS Top 50 annually names two Mississippians to their Hall of Fame. These honorees have left a significant impact on the state and its people and have used their lives to make Mississippi a better place to live, work, worship and play. Past honorees include former Governors William Winter, Haley Barbour and Phil Bryant, along with former U.S. Senators Thad Cochran and Trent Lott, former Judge Reuben Anderson, State Rep. Alyce Clarke, former State Representatives Robert Clark and Steve Holland, and businessmen Joe Sanderson and Wirt Yerger, Jr.

This year’s Hall of Fame honorees were civil rights leader James Meredith and Mississippi’s senior U.S. Senator Roger Wicker. Both honorees offered remarks before the sold out crowd gathered to recognize the Top 50.

In his remarks, Meredith said being named to the MS Top 50 Hall of Fame was perhaps the most important honor he’s received during this lifetime. He spoke about being the first black student at Ole Miss and shared his thoughts on the state of race relations in America today.

Senator Wicker expressed his gratitude for the honor, as well, recapping the many successes his office has been able to accomplish during his time serving the state. Although he was named to the Hall of Fame, Wicker said that doesn’t mean he’s retiring anytime soon. He said plans to keep working to move Mississippi forward every single day.

You can see all of this year’s honorees in the video below. To learn more about them and to read their bios, visit mstop50.com.