Celebrate America
YWCO - 428 W Oak St. 10:30 AM
You are invited to the YWCO’s annual Celebrate America event on Tuesday, June 30th. Guest Speaker for this event is retired judge Charles Pickering. Music for the program will be provided by Derrick Meador, Director of Music at St. John’s Episcopal Church of Laurel. Laurel High School’s ROTC will perform as Color Guard. This event is FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED. No pre-sold tickets or reservations will be taken. Groups are welcome, however, no seats may be reserved in advance. Doors open at 10:30. Barbeque lunch service starts promptly at 11:00. Program begins at Noon. Tickets are $10. Ample parking is available. No carryout or curbside service is offered this day.
About Charles W. Pickering, Sr.
Charles W. Pickering, Sr., is a retired judge of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. He is a Gideon, a member of the Boards of Trustees of William Carey University and Mission Mississippi. He is a former president of Mississippi Baptists. He began his private law practice in 1961, and in October 1990, former President George H.W. Bush appointed him U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi, where he served 13 years. After retiring from the bench Pickering was senior counsel with Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz law firm for five years, after which he opened a solo mediation practice.
Pickering was the county prosecuting attorney for Jones County, Mississippi, for four years, served in the Mississippi State Senate for eight years, was chairman of the Republican Party in Mississippi, and emerged as the Republican nominee for attorney general of the state. He also became the first chairman of the Jones County Economic Development Authority, and co-chaired the governor’s commission to establish a civil rights museum in Mississippi. He is a graduate of the University of Mississippi, and in 1999 helped create the Institute for Racial Reconciliation at his alma mater. Pickering graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Law, and received an honorary doctorate from William Carey University. Pickering also serves on the Boards of Trustees for the Foundation for the Civil Rights Museum in Mississippi, Wildlife Mississippi, and Magnolia State Bank.