Howley Is Elected By Main Street To Serve On Statewide Board

JACKSON – Mickey Howley of Water Valley has been elected by fellow Main Street Managers and Members to the Mississippi Main Street Association (MMSA) Board of Directors. Howley will serve a two-year term as a Managers’ Representative to the statewide board.

MMSA has traditionally designated two positions on the Board of Directors for Managers’ Representatives. Howley replaces Kay Miller of Biloxi Main Street, who has served two terms on the board, and joins Lynn Ryals of Tunica Main Street, who was elected in 2009.

A native of New Orleans, Howley has lived in North Mississippi for 11 years, eight of them in Water Valley. Howley was a founding member of the Water Valley Main Street Association (WVMSA) and is a member of the Water Valley Arts Council. He has helped facilitate two WVMSA projects that have won state Main Street awards – a Chair-ity Auction where artist-decorated chairs were auctioned off to raise funds for a summer youth camp, and the Better Back Street Project where volunteers worked to clean up the back street and rear entrances of downtown buildings.

“Being elected to the MMSA board by my fellow managers is a distinct honor that says as much about what the members of Water Valley Main Street have accomplished as what this program can do in general for Mississippi towns,” Howley said. “I hope to be a strong, positive voice on the board representing my fellow managers and an advocate for the ideas and energy of Main Street volunteers.”

Howley’s career path is well-rounded, suiting him for the diverse tasks of a Main Street Manager, and includes being a shrimper, technician, teacher and business manager. He currently owns and manages Bozarts Gallery in a building that he and his wife restored in downtown Water Valley.

 Howley is married to Annette Trefzer, professor of English at the University of Mississippi. They are currently in the process of restoring a 1880’s building in downtown Water Valley that will include a residential component.

The 2011 Board of Directors are as follows: Board President Randy Burchfield, BancorpSouth; Immediate Past President Chuck Ueltschey, Mississippi Power Company; Board President-elect and Treasurer Barry Plunkett, B. Plunkett and Associates; Leland Speed, EastGroup/ Parkway Properties; Suzanne Smith, Renasant Bank; Steve Kelly, Entergy; Bill Andrews, Viking Corporation; H.T. Holmes, Mississippi Department of Archives and History; Hibbett Neel, Neel-Schaffer Engineers; Jim West, College of Architecture, Art and Design at Mississippi State University; Billy Wiseman, Board Member Emeritus; Bill Scruggs, St. Dominic Health Services; Kenneth Ross, Port Gibson Main Street; and Lynn Ryals, Tunica Main Street.

Designated Representatives to the Board are Ken P’Pool, Mississippi Depart-ment of Archives and History and John Poros, The Carl Small Town Center at Mississippi State University. Ex Officio Members include Gray Swoope, Joy Foy and Alex Thomas of the Mississippi Development Authority.