MERIDIAN —     Meridian Community College Board Vice-Chairman Alex Weddington and President Dr. Scott Elliott were among those recognized during the annual State Community College Trustees Conference held in Tunica last weekend.

    Weddington was presented with a plaque in commemoration of his 10 years of service on the MCC Board, while Elliott was honored for his two years service as chairman of the Mississippi Association of Community & Junior Colleges (MACJC).

    Owner of General Supply and Machine Company in Meridian, Weddington has a history of community service, including a long tenure on the City of Meridian Zoning Board.

    "Alex has been a very dedicated trustee for MCC," Elliott said. "Along with his fellow board members (Tommy Dulaney, Ralph Young, John Johnson and Dr. Ronnye Purvis), Alex has provided astute leadership for the college during some challenging economic times. He has served MCC during a time of growing enrollment, the addition of several Career & Technical programs, the reaffirmation of our regional accreditation, and a major expansion of the college's physical facilities. None of those things would have occurred without the board's support, especially given the economic conditions which have prevailed in recent years."

    Elliott said MCC is "very fortunate" to be led by such a cohesive board that is philosophically aligned.

    "Our board members have only one agenda — to improve the quality of life for the college's constituents through exemplary and equally accessible higher education opportunities. It's a blessing for those of us at MCC to work for such devoted community servants."

    Beginning his 15th year as the college's chief executive officer, Elliott was presented his plaque by Dr. William Lewis, president of Pearl River Community College, who is succeeding Elliott as MACJC chair.

    "Dr. Elliott did an outstanding job as our chairman," Lewis said. "Our community college system was able to accomplish some worthy goals despite some pretty tough economic conditions across the state, and that was in no small part due to Scott's leadership."

    In accepting his plaque before dozens of college trustees from across Mississippi, Elliott said: "During the last two years the community college system probably fared as well or better than any other public education unit in terms of the percentage of growth of our system's raw dollars state appropriations. We also experienced record-breaking enrollments, and continued to develop what I feel are the nation's model virtual college network and workforce education training programs. None of those such things were attributable to me as an individual, but I was proud to be a part of a team effort that included 14 other presidents and the Mississippi Community College Board, led by Dr. Eric Clark."

    Elliott characterized the community college system's future challenges as "formidable" because, "expectations on the colleges' productivity is ever-increasing while ours remains a grossly underfunded system on a state level despite whatever gains we've achieved. Also, recent and prospective changes in the federal Pell Grant program pose an additional threat to the colleges' abilities to meet their missions."

    "A prevalent theme in the highest levels of American government today seems to be the redistribution of wealth," Elliott told the crowd. "I don't think that's what our focus should be as a community college system. To me, it's not about the redistribution of wealth; it's about the creation of wealth. We can accomplish that for our nation’s people by providing them with the contemporary job skills that will enable them to pursue the American dream, and to achieve that dream through each individual's own merits."