15 years after Lockheed tragedy, community fosters peace through reconciliation

Published 4:32 pm Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Fifteen years after the tragic shooting at the Lockheed Martin facility in Meridian, the community is gathering this week to remember the victims by fostering peace and reconciliation.

In 2003, a worker at the plant fatally shot six of his co-workers – DeLois Bailey, Sam Cockrell, Micky Fitzgerald, Lynette McCall, Thomas Willis and The Rev. Charles J. Miller.

The 11th annual Reconciliation Celebration, which started Sunday, helps bring people together despite the tragedy, according to Reconciliation Committee Chairman Stacey Miller, a daughter of Miller. This year’s theme is “Celebrating the Impact of Positive Change.”

That theme resonated as the community gathered on Wednesday at Union Station in Meridian for the Rev. Charlie J. Miller Memorial Luncheon.

“I think sometimes we forget it was God himself who brought about reconciliation,” said The Rev. Sam Thompson, a close friend of the Miller family and the event’s guest speaker. “He wants us all to be one … He wants us to be reconcilers with others.”

During the luncheon, two local students, Alaysia Hedgemon and Terrell Thompson Jr., were honored with The Rev. Charlie J. Miller Memorial Scholarships. Receiving the Reconciler Award were Tim Walker, the general manager of WTOK-TV and Eddie Kelly with Mississippi Power Company.

The celebration continues on Friday with the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast at 6:45 a.m. at Meridian City Hall, with featured speaker Phil Reed. Donations will be accepted at the door. Following the breakfast, Mission Mississippi, a group that focuses on racial reconciliation, will hold a panel discussion at 8:30 a.m. in city hall.

The celebration concludes on Saturday, July 14 with the Memorial Motorcycle Ride led by the Queen City Cruisers at 10 a.m.