Montague Appointed to Lead Southern Miss Alumni Association Executive Committee

On July 1, The University of Southern Mississippi Alumni Association installed its executive committee for the 2016-17 fiscal year. Individuals include alumni who are accomplished leaders in their communities who demonstrate strong commitment to the betterment of the University.

"Leadership is critical to the success of any organization, and we are fortunate to welcome these outstanding, dedicated alumni to the executive committee for the upcoming year,” said Jerry DeFatta, executive director of the Southern Miss Alumni Association. "The association and the University will benefit immensely from their expertise as they continue to assist the organization with alumni engagement, legacy recruitment and a host of other initiatives.”

2016-17 Executive Committee:

Becky Montague '94, President

Becky Montague is an honor graduate of the National Center for Paralegal Training. She graduated summa cum laude from Southern Miss and earned a master's degree in fiction writing at Johns Hopkins University. She served on the faculty of Jones County Junior College, is the author of Bringing the World to Mississippi: The University of Southern Mississippi Symphony Orchestra and is founding president of the Hattiesburg Alliance for Public Art.

A Life Member of the Alumni Association, Montague has previously served on the boards of both the Alumni Association and USM Foundation. She is a member of the Southern Miss Alumni Association Hall of Fame; a former chair of Partners for the Arts, which she continues to serve as a long-time advisory board member; and a former arts chair of the Southern Miss Centennial Committee. Montague has also served on the advisory board of the College of Arts and Letters, co-chairing the college's annual arts gala, and has been a member of numerous search committees across campus.

Montague has served on many community boards, including the Hattiesburg Arts Council, Hattiesburg Concert Association and Historic Hattiesburg Downtown Association (HHDA). Her dedication, through the Hattiesburg Alliance for Public Art, to purchasing and exhibiting large sculptural works in downtown Hattiesburg earned her the HHDA Promotion of the Arts Award in 2015.

Montague and her husband, Doug, are the parents of three adult children, all Southern Miss graduates, and are members of the Honor Club and Eagle Club.

Tracy Powell '86, President Elect

Originally from Petal, Tracy Powell graduated from Southern Miss with a Bachelor of Science in accounting. In 1989, he graduated from Vanderbilt Law School, where he was a member of the Vanderbilt Law Review and Order of the Coif. At Southern Miss, he was a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity.

Today, Powell is a partner at the law firm of Sherrard, Roe, Voigt & Harbison in Nashville, Tenn., with a practice that involves health care and corporate matters. He is actively involved in the ABA Health Law Section and is a regular author and speaker on health care legal matters. He is listed in Best Lawyers in America and recognized by Chambers USA.

This Life Member of the Alumni Association is a member of the Eagle Club and Hardwood Club and a season ticket holder in football and basketball. He was on the Association's board of directors from 2000-03 and served on the USM Foundation board of directors from 2011-13. He received the Alumni Association's Outstanding Service Award in 1993 and the Continuous Outstanding Service Award in 1997. He was inducted into the Petal High School Academic Hall of Fame in 2011.

Powell is married to Deana Dreary and is the proud father of three children, Alisha Powell Lay, Drew Powell and Patrick Powell.

Kim Bradley '86, Vice President

Kim Bradley owns Taylor Rental in Hattiesburg and is a lifelong Golden Eagles fan. In addition to being a business owner, he is serving his third term on the City Council as the representative of Ward 1, which includes the northwestern part of Hattiesburg and The University of Southern Mississippi.
 
Bradley was born and raised in Hattiesburg, is a graduate of Hattiesburg High School and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business from Southern Miss in 1985. While at USM, he was a member of the golf team and president of Kappa Alpha Fraternity.
 
His commitment to the University has continued over the years: he is a season ticket holder for every sport, has served on numerous committees and sponsored the legislation that created Go Gold Fridays in Hattiesburg. Bradley is a Life Member of the Alumni Association, a member of the Circle of Champions and the 2013 recipient of the Outstanding Alumni Service Award.
 
He is a member and former president of the board of directors of the Hattiesburg Country Club and attends Venture Church. He and his wife, Erin Pittman Bradley, have two daughters, Alex and Abby.

Sean McGee '90, Past President
 
While a student at The University of Southern Mississippi, Sean McGee was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity and employed with The Student Printz. As an alumnus, McGee has served as a member of the USM Foundation's board of directors, the Southern Miss Alumni Association board of directors and as president of the South Central Mississippi Alumni Chapter.

McGee and his wife, Missy Warren '88, '93, are both members of the Alumni Association and the parents of Patrick, a freshman Luckyday Scholar at the University, and Jackson, a freshman at Presbyterian Christian School.

Missy is currently serving on the USM Athletic Foundation board of directors and is the daughter of Lawrence Warren and her stepmother Bonnie Warren, who is a member of the Alumni Hall of Fame.

McGee has worked for BancorpSouth in Hattiesburg since 2003 and is currently serving as senior vice president and manager of the Premier Banking Department. In his community, he and his family are members of Main Street United Methodist Church, where he serves as the chairman of the administrative council.

Brett Cassell '00, '04, Finance Committee Chair

Brett Cassell graduated from The University of Southern Mississippi with a Bachelor of Science in accounting in December 2000 and a Master of Business Administration in 2004. While at Southern Miss, Cassell was a member of the Leadership Team at the Baptist Student Union, a SGA Senator, an officer in Beta Alpha Psi Accounting Honor Society and a member of the Southern Miss Rugby Club team.

Cassell grew up in Taylorsville where he attended Taylorsville High School. He then attended Jones County Junior College before transferring to The University of Southern Mississippi to complete his degrees. He worked at Southern Miss for nine years, including three years as the associate director for internal operations at the Southern Miss Alumni Association.

Cassell resides in Metairie, La., with his wife, Heather '01, '06. Cassell has served as the bursar at the University of New Orleans since 2010.

The mission of the Southern Miss Alumni Association is to build a feeling of pride and loyalty among the alumni of the institution while strengthening participation in alumni and University programs; to coordinate the efforts of alumni on behalf of the University as a whole; and to provide a unified voice for all alumni in the affairs of the University. To learn more about the Southern Miss Alumni Association, including membership benefits and rates, visit www.SouthernMissAlumni.com.