MCC Foundation honors Purvis at membership celebration
Published 4:02 am Thursday, November 5, 2015
- Gerry Purvis is surrounded by his family before the Tuesday program of MCC Foundation Celebration. From left are his wife Betty, Gerry, daughter Jennifer Walton, son-in-law Jason and granddaughter Lily.
Meridian businessman Gerry Purvis was saluted for his contributions to the community and to Meridian Community College when the College’s Foundation hosted its annual membership celebration Tuesday.
An eight-minute video spotlighting Purvis’ accomplishments was a highlight of the program that was held in Northwood Country Club. In the video, details of his business, Purvis Business Machines, and the Purvis family were showcased.
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Kathy Brookshire, MCC associate vice president for development and executive director of the MCC Foundation, told the audience, “Gerry is honest, understanding and morally responsible. He’s good to the bone; I have had the privilege of working with Gerry for the last 15 years.”
“He has a smile on his face all the time,” MCC President Dr. Elliott said of Purvis. “His smile is genuine … it’s contagious.”
Purvis was humbled by the attention and praise.
“Wow, am I at a loss for words,” he said after the video presentation. “You make a lot a decisions in life to get to this place; I made two. The first great decision I made was to walk into Motor Supply and I met my wife Betty.
“The second was to go back to Meridian Junior College and get a degree. It empowered me to go to the next level. My thoughts go to educators, teachers and those who work with people … my hat is off to the educators. Basically, you put me where I am tonight.”
The evening also recognized MCC Foundation board of directors: Donnie Smith, president; Tim Hogan, vice president; Alan Lamar, treasurer; Kathy Brookshire, secretary; Pam Harrison, advisor. Board members recognized included Jimmy Alexander, B.B. Archer, Jonathan Bell, Jamie Cater, Doug Deweese, Tommy Dulaney, Scotty Elliott, Hardy Graham, Sr., Jerry Greene, Neil Johnson, Eddie Kelly, Jeff McCoy, Tommy McDonald, Mark McPhail, Tom Maynor, Tony Pompelia, Gerry Purvis, Joe Charles Sanders, Hayley Shirley, Tom Sikes, C.D. Smith, Jeff Smith, Robert Smith, Russell Thompson, Judy Warden, M.L. Waters, Alex Weddington, Veldore Young.
