Karen Parker
I met Karen Parker on a warm December afternoon with the sound of wind chimes drifting through the open door of New Vibrations, her Fondren book and gift store "for the evolving spirit." She was unpacking necklaces when I arrived. "They have stone gems inside the vials, and each little stone represents an emotional benefit, like allowing you to de-stress or feeling like your energy is protected," Parker explained.
Candy Cain
"I shipped off a pig to Hot Springs earlier this week. I shipped off mermaids to Montgomery. … That was huge. I shipped off crosses to Biloxi," Candy Cain. A prolific and versatile visual artist, Cain was born in Jackson 49 years ago, and has been gracing the walls of our offices and homes with her artwork for almost as long. And, yes, that is her real name.
Tobie Tomlinson
"Being a shooter," Sgt. Tobie Tomlinson says, "allows for focus." Tomlinson, 35, knows a thing or two about focus. A service rifle shooter with the Army Marksmanship Unit, based in Fort Benning, Ga., he spends half the year training for and competing in national shooting competitions, and the other half teaching marksmanship to new soldiers. He captained the AMU's 2006 and 2007 championship rifle teams and, in 1995, won the individual National Service Rifle Championship.
Gwendolyn Magee
Gwendolyn Magee, 64, first started making quilts in 1989 during a six-week quiltmaking class at a local Jackson quilt store that no longer exists. She only planned to make a quilt for each of her two daughters before they went to college, but by the time she finished their quilts, she was hooked. "Eventually, I really started becoming dissatisfied with just taking a pattern and following it, making things that were just pretty," Magee says. She wanted to make quilts with more meaning, and she tapped into her roots as an African American growing up in segregated High Point, N.C., for her inspiration.
Carlton Reeves
"I believe in the rule of law and in using it to achieve justice across the board," Carlton Reeves says.
Vanessa Barry And Kembral Barrera
"You feel it, and you live it!" Vanessa Barry says as she rises from the table at Borders to demonstrate. Barry and her best friend, Kembral Barrera, are coincidentally both wearing pink shirts, black pants and heels. They turn slowly to face each other, arms outstretched, hands working and feet stomping in time to imaginary castanets. Jackson's only two flamenco dancers come from very different backgrounds, yet their passion for Spanish culture—and particularly this ancient dance—has brought them together.
Don London
At 10:30 on a Saturday morning, Don London, 62, is already hard at work in his basement office at Stewpot Community Services on Capitol Street. Volunteers and service recipients come and go through his office with friendly hellos and practical questions.
Saidamirkhon Rakhimov
"In my country," Saidamirkhon Rakhimov begins, then stops himself, smiling. "My friends are always making fun of me for saying 'in my country,' he says, leaning back into his chair, momentarily distracted by the muted soccer game playing above my head. Said's country is Uzbekistan, a former Soviet republic just north of Afghanistan. Said grew up in Tashkent, the capital city, and earned a master's degree in international law from Tashkent State University of Law.
Fred Hammond
Fred Hammond understands changing careers; his call to church ministry is the third major shift in his life. At 51, "Reverend Fred" is the Unitarian Universalist Church of Jackson's new minister, and a novice to the profession.
Shandra Wilson
Between her son, her full-time job and life coaching, Shandra Wilson, 35, says her biggest challenge is "having time to do everything."
Ed Blount
Ed "The Prezs" Blount, 38, wants to form a new type of neighborhood association. Working as a bartender at the Upper Level by night, and driving a Head Start school bus by day, Blount recognizes the need for direction and unity in neighborhoods. To jumpstart his community movement, he and the Dalton/Deerpark Neighborhood Association are holding the first Neighborhood Homecoming.
Jim Kopernak
As I approach the industrial-looking Old House Depot on Monroe Street, I hear the robust sound of Ella Fitzgerald's voice. Jim Kopernak, 61 (but looking 10 years younger), emerges from a small office and wipes away the sweat just above his salt-pepper-and-cinnamon eyebrows. Behind him are what seem like hundreds of vintage and antique pieces of architecture, which Kopernak and his wife, Ann, collect through deconstruction of old homes.
Dexter Morton
After 14 years of driving trucks and training other people to drive trucks, Dexter Devon Morton left the road with a 46-inch waistline and weighing 360 pounds. Today, Morton, 38, is the wellness director for the downtown YMCA in Jackson, and at 6-feet-5-inches tall and 242 pounds, he has no problem fitting into his size 36 pants. With a small staff of trainers and fitness counselors, Morton helps members of the Jackson community reach their wellness goals and is an inspiration to those who know and love the "Rev."
Larry And Dee Nixon
Shortly after relocating to Jackson from South Carolina, Larry and Dee Nixon established the Cure Sickle Cell Foundation to raise awareness of SCD and support families affected by the disease.
Sabir Abdul-Haqq
When Sabir Abdul-Haqq puts his story in digital format, the soundtrack will be hip-hop. Not the stuff that gives the genre a bad name, though. It will probably sound a lot like Jurassic 5. Bright young faces beaming with potential will surround him, and you'll almost surely see his mother, Rosa Shareef, and 17-year-old brother, Ahmed Shareef—the two people he admires most. His digital story will leave viewers impressed: Abdul-Haqq is a man with passion and an inspiring sense of integrity.