Released July 29, 2005

HATTIESBURG – The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation announces members of its board of directors who are affiliated with the Jackson area.

New board members include Carthage native J. Todd Gregory of Baton Rouge; Jackson native Rickey Jones of Hattiesburg; former Institutions of Higher Learning board President Carl L. Nicholson Jr. of Hattiesburg; and Southern Miss Legislative liaison Dr. T. Terrell Tisdale. Lamar Reynolds, formerly of the St. Paul Companies in Jackson, has been reappointed to serve a second term on the executive committee as chair of the Policies, Planning and Bylaws. He previously served as member at large of the board.

Gregory, vice president of the South Central Rental Group at Cintas Corp. in Baton Rouge, is a 1981 graduate of Southern Miss, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration in personnel management. He is a member of the Business Advisory Council for the College of Business and the College of Business Partnership Society at Southern Miss. He has also participated in the Eagle Club Golf Tournament.

In 2003 Gregory was appointed to serve on the Executive Advisory Council at Berry College's Campbell School of Business in Rome, Ga. He and his wife Ginger reside in Mandeville, La. They are the parents of three children.

Jones, branch manager for Trustmark Bank in Hattiesburg, received a bachelor's degree in coaching and sport administration from Southern Miss in 1992. He serves as a board member of the Southern Miss Alumni Association and is a member of the Eagle Club, the M Club and vice president of the Hardwood Club.

Jones is a trustee of Fairfield Missionary Baptist Church in Jackson, a graduate of the Area Development Partnership's Leaders for a New Century program, and a mentor and coach with the Hub City Basketball League and the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club.

Nicholson is a certified public accountant and president of Nicholson & Company, PA in Hattiesburg.

At Southern Miss, Nicholson serves on the Business Advisory Council of the College of Business and is a member of The USM Foundation Honor Club. He received the Alumni Friend of USM Award in 1993. He has served as chairman of the Area Development Partnership in Hattiesburg and is a board member with Mississippi Technology Alliance. Nicholson's company was ranked as the 13th largest CPA firm in Mississippi by the Mississippi Business Journal in 2005.

A Mississippi State University graduate, Nicholson and his wife Martha reside in Hattiesburg. They are the parents of five children -- Jeffrey Nicholson, Matt Morgan and Courtney Morgan Gregory all are Southern Miss graduates.

Reynolds is retired from St. Paul Companies in Jackson and The Reciprocal Group based in Richmond, Va. He is a 1966 graduate of Southern Miss with a Bachelor of Arts in history and German. While at Southern Miss, Reynolds was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha, a dean's and president's list student and named Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities.

An avid Golden Eagle football supporter, Reynolds has served as president of Jackson's Big Gold Club and Eagle Club's district director. He is a member of The USM Foundation Honor Club and received an Outstanding Service Award from the Southern Miss Alumni Association in 1989 and Continuous Outstanding Service Award. He was inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame in 1994. Reynolds served as past secretary, vice president and president of the Jackson Claim Managers Council.

Reynolds and his wife Janet, live in Hattiesburg.

Tisdale, Southern Miss' Legislative liaison, is president emeritus of Jones County Junior College in Ellisville, where he served for 37 years before retiring in 1997.

Tisdale earned a bachelor's degree in history and both master's and doctorate degrees in educational administration and supervision from Southern Miss. He is a life member of the Southern Miss Alumni Association, where he served on its board for four years. He serves as an advisory board member with the College of Education and Psychology and is a member of the Golden Eagle Advocacy Network.

Tisdale is a member of Phi Theta Kappa, Phi Delta Kappa, Omicron Delta Kappa, the Mississippi Junior College Association, the Mississippi Association of Educators, the American Association of Junior Colleges and the Southern Association of Junior Colleges. He is also an active member of several civic organizations.

He and his wife Martha, a Southern Miss graduate and retired assistant professor, have one son, James, who is also a Southern Miss graduate.

The USM Foundation operates under the direction of a 39-member board of directors, who are all volunteers. Thirteen new board members are elected each year, while13 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.

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