Stephen Holder
After several of Stephen Holder's friends died from HIV/AIDS in the 1990s, he wanted to raise money and awareness about the disease to help save the lives of others.
Tara Richardson
It may seem unlikely to see smiles on the faces of patients when walking into a doctor's, dentist's or therapist's exam room.
Walter Young
There was a point in time when Walter Young, 26, wanted his music to be typical of "the band in the bar" style rather than improvised. After experimenting with his band in 2005, Young, a Jackson native, now appreciates and helps to promote improvisational art in the city.
Kynesha Williams
"You can dream it, or you can make it happen" are words Kynesha Williams lives by. Williams, 28, is the founder of BeanSprout Benefit, a foundation that raises money for rehabilitation of people with spinal cord injuries.
Lester Raymond Jones Jr.
Family and friends are searching for Lester Raymond Jones Jr., a Mississippi State University student with a promising future.
Bryan Eubank
Most guys love sports. No big surprise there. But only a few find a way to take that passion and turn it into a livelihood. Bryan Eubank is someone who has done just that.
Dorothy Stewart
Dorothy Stewart is putting the issues on the air. Education, health care, job opportunities, the proposed consolidation of historically black colleges and universities, the role churches play in African American communities and the Farish Street development project are all issues "that need to be addressed and understood" by the people of Jackson, Stewart says.
Kaye Carr
Selflessness is not a common quality, but it is embedded deeply in Kaye Carr. Carr, 37, serves on the board of directors at Hope Hollow Ministries, a Canton-based non-profit that provides opportunities for children and adults with disabilities to go to summer camp. Born and raised in Ridgeland, Carr now lives in Canton and got involved with Hope Hollow nearly a year ago through her 5-year-old son Sam, who has sensory issues similar to autism.
Amy Czajkowski
Amy Czajkowski's experiences as a facilitator in peacebuilding goes beyond countries devastated by war. As the program director of Coming To the Table, Czajkowski, 34, is bringing her skills to Tougaloo College for a round table discussion on the impact of slavery on today's society.
Israel Martinez
Israel Martinez, 24, wants to make a difference in his community. Martinez, owner of Oasis Spanish Learning Center in Ridgeland, believes that a Latin American Chamber of Commerce will help make that difference.
Richard Stowe
Richard Stowe, 43, might have his own office but is rarely found there-he'd rather be working with his hands: constructing buildings, restoring old cars, painting landscapes and creating monotype prints.
Matt Casteel
Matt Casteel may claim Mississippi as home, but it's his travel experiences to countries like China and Mexico that motivate him to feed those in need.
Larry McAdoo
Teaching adolescents to make good choices is what Larry McAdoo says he does best. McAdoo, 58, has been working since 2004 with Redemption Outreach Ministries International, Inc. a non-profit organization that he founded with the intention of teaching local youths about abstaining from sex until marriage. This month, the National Advisory Board of the National Abstinence Education Association appointed McAdoo to serve as a board member. In his new role, McAdoo will help promote abstinence-only education by lobbying for legislation and promoting strategic goals of the NAEA.
Rep. Adrienne Wooten
Rep. Adrienne Wooten, D-Jackson, is a woman of convictions, and she has no problem letting those convictions loose on the House floor. Wooten, 35, prevented the passage of a House bill yesterday that would allow persons convicted for the first time of illegal drug possession to petition the court to expunge their conviction from all public records.
Phil Reed
Phil Reed, 60, has spent the last 27 years helping people, and in the wake of a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that devastated the Haiti last week, he is spearheading local efforts to provide aid to the country.