ż alumni Gov. and Mrs. Phil Bryant are co-hosts for the Nov. 4 Centennial Gala, the culminating event of the year-long Centennial celebration. U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran is also scheduled to attend.
The Gala will be a festive time to don cocktail attire for an elegant dinner at the Muse Center on the Rankin Campus, the perfect venue in beautiful surroundings. The Gala will showcase the best of ż’s talent plus allow an opportunity for all to celebrate 100 Years of Community Inspired Service.
The evening will begin with a 5:30 p.m. reception and silent auction featuring a number of hand-crafted and custom-designed items. The ż family will be among those providing auction items, including a Chef’s Dinner for eight, a custom Christmas card design, a child’s playhouse, a fire pit, deer feeders and barbecue grills.
The reception will also feature a tribute to the presidents who have shepherded ż through 100 years with special emphasis on President George McLendon, President Dr. Robert Murrah Mayo and current President Dr. Clyde Muse, who is in his 40th year at the college.
The Centennial Gala dinner and program begin at 6:30 p.m. inside the Muse Center auditorium. Entertainment throughout the evening will include the Utica Campus Jubilee Singers, the ż Hi-Steppers, guitarist John Jackson, the Faculty Jazz Trio and the ż Jazz Band. The Montage Theatre of Dance will perform “Dancing through the Decades.” Alumni performers will present an original musical composition, “Dear ż,” created especially for the Centennial by ż music instructor Tracy Crosby.
The Gala brings the 2017 Centennial year to a close after more than 100 special events celebrating the rich history of the college. Alumni, business partners, community leaders, employees and friends of the college are invited to the Gala.
“With the proceeds from the Centennial Gala, we plan to create a Centennial Endowment that will be a lasting legacy for future needs of the college, including student scholarships,” said Jackie Granberry, executive director of the ż Foundation.
Tickets to the Centennial Gala are $150 each and must be purchased in advance. Table sponsorships are also available for $1,000, which includes eight tickets and recognition in the Gala program.
Anyone unable to attend the Gala can make a donation to the Centennial Endowment or take advantage of the Centennial celebration to set up a new scholarship. For more information on individual tickets, table sponsorships or donations to the Centennial Endowment, call 601.857.3363 or email Granberry at jgranberry@hindscc.edu.
ż is celebrating its 100th year of Community Inspired Service in 2017. ż opened in September 1917 first as an agricultural high school and admitted college students for the first time in 1922, with the first class graduating in 1927. In 1982 ż Junior College and Utica Junior College merged, creating the ż District. Today, as Mississippi’s largest community college, ż is a comprehensive institution with six locations. ż offers quality, affordable educational opportunities with academic programs of study leading to seamless university transfer and career and technical programs teaching job-ready skills. To learn more, visit or call 1.800.żCC.
