Released July 20, 2005

Hattiesburg- Dr. James Thompson Sr., chairman, president and CEO of Healthmark Corp., serves a second term as vice president of the board of directors of The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation in Hattiesburg, Miss. He will also serve as chair of the board's Current Giving Committee.

An owner and manager of health care facilities, Thompson graduated from Southern Miss in 1958 with a Bachelor of Science in business administration with a major in marketing. He also has earned a master's degree in hospital administration and a doctorate of philosophy in health facilities management.

Thompson's past involvements in the health care field have been in ownership, development, consulting and management of health care facilities. A recipient of many honors and awards for leadership ability and management accomplishments, Thompson is a Life Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and a Fellow in the Royal Society of Health (England).

The USM Foundation operates under the direction of a 39-member board of directors, who are all volunteers. Thirteen new board members are selected each year, while 13 end their three-year term. The USM Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation that serves as a fiduciary of private funds donated to Southern Miss, which is the only dual-campus university in the state, with an enrollment of more than 16,000 students.

Thompson is married to the former Mary Margaret Boone, a Hattiesburg native, who is a 1960 secretarial science graduate of Southern Miss. They reside in Milton, Fla., and are the parents of three children and have four grandchildren.

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