Heather Henson
When Heather Henson was a young girl, she would spend her time creating art projects inspired by her father Jim Henson's magical creatures and movie sets.
Mary Hill
When Mary Hill found out first lady Michelle Obama was coming to Jackson, she rolled up her sleeves and started getting ready.
Jason Goree
At first sight, Jason Goree looks as if he is all about business. As he flops in his brown executive chair, a picture of his wife, Khylah, and 3-year-old son Isaiah rattles on his desk. Goree, a real estate and business developer for 3G Management and Development Group, is involved in several projects to improve the city of Jackson.
Helen LaKelly Hunt
Women's activist Dr. Helen LaKelly Hunt believes that Christianity and feminism go hand in hand, and is using that idea to advance women's rights.
Bill Ellison
Bill Ellison remembers the excitement and energy he felt when he played trombone in the band at Bailey Junior High School. That passion propelled him to spend his career performing and broadcasting music.
Hal White
When Hal White was a child, the kitchen served as a gathering place for his family. After watching his aunt cook large pots of red beans and rice or gumbo, White remembers spending the day boating on Mary Walker Bayou in Gautier, Miss., with his family.
Andrew Young
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, Jackson State University today hosted Andrew Young, one of King's closest advisers during the civil-rights movement of the 1960s. Young 77, has a long career of public service, including terms as a U.S. Congressman from Georgia and as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations under President Jimmy Carter. Young was with King on the night of his assassination, April 4, 1968, in Memphis.
Linda Mann
Linda Mann always thought she would leave Mississippi after she graduated from college and never return. She moved to Jackson from Birmingham when she was 3 and by the time she graduated from Provine High School in 1964, she was ready to leave the city.
George Bishop
While George Bishop was on a camel safari in India, he went to sleep and had a dream about a mother who longed for her daughter. The next morning he woke up and started writing down his dream.
Charlie Maris
A few days before Assistant Attorney General Charlie Maris went into heart surgery, he left his Bible on his desk with a notation in Romans 8 that read "a mind controlled by the Spirit equals life and peace."
Sonia Sanchez
Sonia Sanchez stands with confidence, petite in stature with her natural dreadlocks hanging just below her shoulder. Her voice is strong, not in its volume, but in the passion and conviction that oozes from the words she speaks: "Our vision is our voice ... we are people made of fire ... give me courage so I can spread it over my face and mouth ..."
Rev. Eric Pridmore
Rev. Eric Pridmore, 38, hasn't let blindness stop him from hunting. The mounted antlers from a three-point buck he shot hang over his fireplace, a testament to his marksmanship. Pridmore's friend, Ted Kendall IV, helped him gain his trophy.
Stephanie Lacy
Stephanie Lacy is soft spoken and petite. When this single mother and student talks about her daughter--her butterfly--her face lights up with wisdom seldom seen in a 26 year old.
Lauren Smith
Whether she is setting up a karaoke birthday party or taking a child on a special outing, Lauren Smith, 24, goes out of her way for the children at Mississippi Children's Home Services.
Dr. Robert Pearigen
Dr. Robert Pearigen's ability to take on a $160 million capital campaign while remaining a passionate professor caught the eye of the presidential search committee at Millsaps College.