Brooke Wyatt Kuhne
When she was a young girl, Brooke Wyatt Kuhne says she was one of the USA International Ballet Competition's biggest fans but she never thought her passion for the arts would someday lead her to becoming the competition's artistic administrator.
Buck Abbey
Buck Abbey says he coined the phrase "green laws" in the '70s, although he did not know what a White Pine tree was before going to college. As a matter of fact, he happened upon landscape architecture and urban design by flipping through a Michigan State University catalogue and randomly opening to a page.
Alyssa Wolpin Silberman
Alyssa Wolpin Silberman considers herself a fighter. When she moved to Jackson Florida in the early '90s, she started volunteering as an escort at a woman's clinic at a time when bomb threats and violence were a common occurrence throughout the country.
Alexandra Franklin
When she was 8 years old, Alexandra Franklin's mother tried to separate her from her love of reading. After Franklin's math grade started to slip, her mother came into her bedroom, trash bag in tow, and began to pack up her books.
Sean Saville
Since the BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico April 20, the entire Gulf Coast region has experienced environmental threats to human and animal populations. Many organizations and individuals have stepped up to help in the cleanup efforts. Among them is Sean Saville, the National Audubon Society's national field director, who is supervising bird clean-up efforts along the Coast for the society.
Katrina Byrd
While walking home from her job at the YMCA on Farish Street as a teenager, Katrina Byrd noticed a man in a truck following her. Moments later, the man attempted to abduct Byrd by forcing her into his car.
Dave Wetzel
To say that Dave Wetzel is a morning person would be an understatement. At a humid morning at the Jackson Zoo, Wetzel has already been awake for approximately five and a half hours.
John Uzodinma
When John Uzodinma first walks on stage at the Mississippi Public Broadcasting studio, he is calm, reserved and maybe even a little shy. But once he begins to speak the words from Langston Hughes' "Theme For English B," he straightens his shoulders and his voice grows more intense. Uzodinma doesn't just say the words, he performs them; he becomes them.
David Powe
As chief administrative officer for the University of Mississippi Medical Center, David Powe oversees the daily operations of an economic powerhouse. The center represents 10 percent of the Jackson metro area's economy, and its clout is only growing. Six years ago, when Powe took over as CAO, UMMC reported annual revenues of $686 million. This year, the center is on track for $1.2 billion in revenue.
Juanyce Taylor
Being first is a designation many people desire to possess, although most aren't always that fortunate. But Juanyce Taylor, director of diversity assessment and programs for the University of Mississippi Medical Center, has a history of originality.
Beverly Scurlock
Of all the ways one could begin to describe Beverly Scurlock, it is hard to believe that "quiet" would be one of them. Yet, that's what Mark Scurlock first noticed about her when the two met at the student union grill at Coahoma Junior College in 1983.
Mi Isha Lowe
Mi Isha Lowe still remembers her high school's summer reading program. She explains that while all the books she was required to read were good, her favorite was "Gifted Hands," the story of Dr. Ben Carson's journey from growing up in Detroit's inner-city to becoming a professor of neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University.
Lottie W. Thornton
Poised and graceful, Lottie W. Thornton settles into a white oak rocking chair her father made. The walls of her home are lined with awards from Jackson State University's Alumni Association, and from service and teachers organizations. She points to two plaques on her dining room table.
Kathy Elam
Balloon artist Kathy Elam believes that all it takes is a balloon and a smile to brighten someone's day.
Marilyn Blackledge
Mississippi Food Network's Director of Development Marilyn Blackledge has had to work hard to raise additional funds this year after the organization's member agencies reported a 30 percent increase in demand for food across the state. Blackledge raises money to keep more than 100,000 people in central Mississippi from going hungry every month.