The turning of the year is a time of reflection for many, and as 2024 draws to an end, I find myself reflecting on the many people from all walks of life across Mississippi that we at the Mississippi Free Press have had the chance to learn about over the past year.
Whether they’re small business owners, homemakers, hobbyists, artists, athletes, community leaders or volunteers, these fine people are making their mark on the Magnolia State and helping or inspiring the people around them any way they can while leading interesting lives and following their passion. As the holidays are also meant to be a time to help your fellow man, it seems only appropriate to reflect on the deeds of Mississippians we’ve reached out to and featured this past year—people you usually don’t see in the headlines.
Nancy Gaynor of Jackson founded Grandparents Really Do Matter to support fellow grandparents who are the primary caregivers of their grandchildren. She also hosts an annual Grandparents Really Do Matter banquet where elected officials and law-enforcement officers act as celebrity servers.
Misty Logan, owner of the Ville in Coffeeville in northern Mississippi, runs one of the only major businesses in a town of 900 people that lacks a bank or grocery stores. In addition to offering her own brand of comfort food, Logan does everything in her power to support her community and to provide essential services to its residents as a member of the Coffeeville Volunteer Fire Department.
Simpson County graduate Renjah Brimage of Jackson produced the short film, “Mississippi Roots,” this year, debuting the project in October. She now serves as director of the Magnolia Independent Film Festival. The premise originally centered around an animated talking tree before she transformed it into a live-action film.
Biggersville High School Head Coach Case Ingram, who learned the value of hard work from Kossuth High School Head Coach Scott Grey as a teenager, led the Biggersville Lions to their first MHSAA 1A State Championship victory in 2023 from their North Mississippi town near Corinth. Ingram says the most important lesson he works to impart to his athletes is that while their actions on the field are important, they do not define them as people.
Jackson native James Hayes has meticulously kept the 2000 GMC Sierra he inherited from his late father in 2005 in peak condition and made it the centerpiece of his business, Hayes Mobile Auto Repair. Hayes drives his father’s truck, loaded up with all the tools he needs to perform diagnostics and repairs, out to assist customers within cities and even out on freeways and more remote areas when needed.
As a researcher, University of Southern Mississippi graduate student Shihab Hossain Saran models how conditions within the Mississippi Sound may change in response to extreme freshwater inflow events. His work is part of a concerted effort to revitalize the Mississippi Sound in response to its changing climate. Saran’s models will aid engineers in understanding how temperature and salinity conditions within the Sound are changing.
Kenneth and Janice Williams launched Skenny Burgers as a pop-up burger vendor in Jackson in March 2024, specializing in smashburgers. In the future, they hope to have Skenny Burgers locations across the state, starting with a brick-and-mortar location in the Jackson metro area.
Vicksburg native Sissy Hudson, who has worked for the Army Engineer Research and Development Center in Vicksburg since 1994, has had the chance to compete in the New York City Marathon two separate times in 2022 and 2023. While she didn’t take part in the 2024 event, she has signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., in October and is already getting her training regimen in order.
The Rev. Dorothy Sanders Wells was elected bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi in February and has been in the leadership role since May. She is the first woman and first Black person to hold the post. Wells succeeds former Bishop Brian Seage, who was elected in 2014 and had been in the role since the 2015 retirement of his predecessor.
Julia Mortyakova, a member of the Mississippi University for Women faculty since 2012, leads the university’s Piano Ensemble and founded its annual Music by Women Festival. Mortyakova also published her own college level textbook for teaching piano, “Class Piano,” in collaboration with her mother, composer Olga Harris, as well as a book titled “Existential Piano Teacher, The Application of Jean-Paul Sartre’s Philosophy to Piano Instruction in a Higher Educational Setting.”
Biloxi native Caleb Crabtree says he wears many hats as human-resources coordinator for Harrah’s Gulf Coast Hotel & Casino in his hometown, managing everything from paperwork, nametags, swipe badges and employee insurance questions to making sure that Harrah’s gaming license remains up to date so that the casino can remain operational. He also runs two Dungeons and Dragons groups together with his girlfriend, Amy Le.
Jackson middle-school student Jordyn Sledge placed second in the international ARTEFFECT competition with a work honoring unsung Black hero Dr. Vivien Thomas. Sledge created an artistic representation of Thomas using paint, embroidery and woodburning elements.
Destiny Redd, a mother of three from Columbia remodeled a Marion County farmhouse built in the 1940s into her ideal hobby farm alongside her husband, Mitchell Redd. The one-acre plot of land has since become home to not only the Redds and their children, but also to a large flock of chickens, goats, turkeys, pigs, a pitbull and two formerly stray cats. When Redd isn’t taking care of either the animals or her kids, she especially enjoys taking advantage of her remodeled kitchen.
Bolton-based fashion designer Elizabeth Keyes launched the first line in her House of E. Keyes fashion collection on March 18, 2024. She describes her debut collection as being for the modern-day influencer and woman who needs the perfect outfit to match their swag.
Emily Liner opened her own bookstore, Friendly City Books, in Columbus in November 2020 shortly after the closure of a local Books-A-Million. She has since taken to promoting reading and literacy through a new event called the Possum Town Book Fest. Her store also partners with the Mississippi Book Festival to host “Reading the Room,” an event that allows visitors to mingle and read together before taking home free books.
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians sixth grader Nylah Wilson earned two gold medals in 2024, first in Texas and then in Mississippi. She was crowned Princess during the 2024 American Indian Day Princess and Brave Pageant.
Michael Bishop started out volunteering for Choctaw County Food Ministry in Ackerman before taking over as operations manager in 2017 after former manager Roger Griffith retired. Today, his ministry receives roughly 56,000 pounds of food per year from retailers, the Mississippi Food Network and individual donors, which it uses to assist roughly 400 people in Choctaw County per month as well as people outside of Choctaw County if they seek it.
The late Arthur Crudup wrote the song “That’s All Right,” which Elvis Presley later recorded for his first single. But Crudup received scant songwriting royalties because a record contract funneled the money to his original manager. Crudup died in 1974, leaving behind one of the starker accounts of Black-artist exploitation in the 20th century.
As we head into 2025, be on the lookout for plenty more interesting stories to come. Remember, no matter who you are, where you live or what you do, you can make a difference and leave your own mark in the year ahead. And please submit recommendations for Person of the Day from all corners of Mississippi to nate@mississippifreepress.org and support the growth of our journalism through all 82 Mississippi counties with a donation at mississippifreepress.org/donate.
Happy new year!
This MFP Voices essay does not necessarily represent the views of the Mississippi Free Press, its staff or board members. To submit an opinion for the MFP Voices section, send up to 1,200 words and sources fact-checking the included information to voices@mississippifreepress.org. We welcome a wide variety of viewpoints.
