October 4, 2019
East Central Community College alumna Linda Kelly Shepard of Carthage will be recognized as the college’s Alumna of the Year during Homecoming activities scheduled Thursday, Oct. 17, on the Decatur campus.
Shepard spent four decades as a leader in community and economic development for her native Leake County before retiring in 2009. She began her career as secretary of the Leake County Chamber of Commerce in 1969. Beginning in 1976, she simultaneously served as Executive Director for both the Chamber of Commerce and the Leake County Industrial Development Association until 2001. From 2001 to 2008 she was Executive Director for the Leake County Development Association.
Paul Chamblee of Carthage, who nominated Shepard for the award, said in a written nomination, “Linda’s work was never defined by time, finances or other possible limiting factors. She has been a driving force for community development giving of herself both professionally and personally. Over her 40-year career, she has been known as Leake County’s best cheerleader.”
During her tenure, Shepard developed the Leadership Leake and Career for a Day programs.
“We had five classes of Leadership Leake,” she said. “Part of that program was to talk about various projects or situations in Leake County and then ask the class participants ‘What, if anything, can be done about this particular issue?’ Then we would let them come up with ideas. There were lots of topics covered during that time. Some were more controversial than others, but it was always a good discussion and was a great way to develop local leaders who were invested in the needs of our community.”
The Career for a Day program was a joint effort with the Leake County School System which would pair high school seniors and local businesses.
She said, “After writing an essay on their chosen career and being paired with someone already working in that field, students were able to spend a day at that particular job and then we brought in a speaker in the afternoon. It was a way to give them a firsthand look at what their future career might be like and was a very successful program.”
Shepard was also instrumental in beginning “Oktoberfest,” an annual event sponsored by the Chamber and held in the Carthage Coliseum.
“James ‘Slick’ Turner came to me and wanted an event that would allow people to bring in their arts and crafts to the area,” she said. “So, we came up with the idea of Oktoberfest. Being able to have it in the coliseum allowed us to plan without having to worry about the weather or anything like that.”
In addition to her everyday work tasks, throughout her career Shepard also served on various boards and councils. She was president of the Square County Jaycettes, president of the Carthage High School Athletic Boosters, president of the East Central Tourism Council, two terms as president of the Carthage Business and Professional Women, president of the Mississippi Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, member of the Mississippi Economic Development Council Board of Directors, and member of the St. Dominic Advisory Council and the East Central Community College Workforce Development Council.
She was honored many times during her career including Carthage Business and Professional Woman of Achievement in 1986, Leake County Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year 1986, Carthage High School Athletic Booster of the Year 1988, Honorary Chapter Farmer Degree Carthage High School Future Farmers of America Chapter 1993, Lifetime Membership in the Mississippi Economic Development Council upon her retirement in 2009, and Lifetime Dedication Award Leake County Chamber of Commerce 2016.
Shepard is a graduate of Carthage High School, attended East Central Community College from 1968 to 1969, and is a graduate of the Institute of Organizational Management at Southern Methodist University.
She said she has fond memories of her East Central days and the special people she met on campus, including faculty and staff.
“I remember Mr. Lee. He was the cafeteria manager and would always spoil me with extra food. Mrs. Hull was my home economics teacher. Of course, Mr. (Tommy) Thrash taught history. After one particular test, Mr. Thrash asked me how I had made such a good grade. It just so happened that my boyfriend, Dwight (now her husband), had taken his class the year before, so I knew just what to study!”
She also had fond memories of being in Mr. (Bruce) Peterson’s speech class.
Although Shepard spends most of her time these days enjoying her grandchildren, she continues to remain active in her community as a member of the local garden club and can sometimes be found volunteering at the chamber office answering the phones.
Shepard and her husband, Dwight, reside in Carthage and have one son, Jamie (Carrie) Shepard, a 1990 graduate of East Central Community College, and three grandchildren.
