Blake Wilson, president of the Mississippi Economic Council, will address Mississippi University for Women graduates on Saturday in Whitfield Hall”s Rent Auditorium on the MUW campus.
There are approximately 600 degree candidates and 430 are expected to participate in the ceremony, which includes December 2009 and May and August 2010 graduates.
“We are excited and proud to have one of our largest graduating classes in years,” said Cay Lollar, MUW registrar.
One of MUW”s most-treasured traditions, the Magnolia Chain ceremony will be held at 8 a.m. on Shattuck Lawn. Conferring of degrees for graduates of the College of Nursing and Speech-Language Pathology and the School of Professional studies will be at 10 a.m. The ceremony for the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Education and Human Sciences will start at 1:30 p.m.
Wilson, who is the third executive of the state Chamber of Commerce in 60 years, will speak at both services. He came to MEC in 1998 from the Florida Chamber of Commerce where he served as executive vice president and where he developed the most sophisticated grassroots member legislative action program in the nation.
Previously, Wilson was executive director of Associated Builders & Contractors in Delaware and prior to that, spent nearly 10 years with the Delaware Chamber of Commerce. Before entering the association business, he spent nine years as a newspaper editor and reporter.
During his tenure, there has been tremendous growth in the membership of the Mississippi Economic Council. There are now more than 8,000 members from 1,200 member firms throughout Mississippi. Also, under his leadership, MEC has worked with state leaders and other organizations on public policy issues designed to improve Mississippi”s economic competitiveness.
Wilson lives in Brandon with his wife, Ann, a public school teacher. They have three adult children.
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