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Williams honored as
'Woman of Distinction'
Published Friday, Sept. 25, 2009
By L.A. Story
Staff Writer
TUPELO - Rosemary Williams' renowned passion for Corinth led to her being named a 2009 Woman of Distinction by the New Expectation for Women in Mississippi organization.
Williams received the honor, along with five other distinctive Mississippi women - and a Mississippi women's organization - during a luncheon and a tribute hosted by the NEWMS and held at the BancorpSouth Conference Center in Tupelo on Thursday afternoon.
NEWMS Treasurer Juanita Gambrell Floyd presented tributes about the chosen honorees that included biographical information. For Williams, Floyd spoke about how Williams began on her quest to preserve Corinth's history and what appeared to have been the event that lit the fire which continues to fuel her today.
Floyd said that Williams had come to Corinth in the spring of 1960. One day Williams was driving through downtown Corinth and found herself charmed by the architecture and the old houses. Williams came across a structure being torn down.
Floyd's narrative - which is part of a biographical story written by Joseph Williams and published in NEWMS Magazine's "2009 Women's Resource Guide" - said "She [Williams] was pained to see the finely carved detail of the antebellum building being disposed of like common waste. To her it felt like history was being dispensed with, that a town's collective memory was slowly being dismantled."
Williams' first preservation job in the form of a position on the Corinth Library Board in 1963. She was given management of the Verandah Curlee House. Williams also took an interest in restoring and utilizing the circa 1924 Corinth Coliseum-Civic Center and eventually helped organize the Corinth Symphony Orchestra.
The bio, written by Joseph Williams, went on to describe how she purchased Waits Jewelry after learning that the family that had owned the business since 1865 had run out of heirs in 2006.
The biographical information went on to detail what is perhaps her most renowned project - heritage tourism. Among the most famed achievements of that project - thus far - is the Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center, a project which led to Corinth's receiving the Presidential Award for historic renovation.
All the honors Williams has received, and the many civic board positions from which she has served, are "evidence she [Williams] loves the community and the city of Corinth," said Floyd.
Others chosen for the Women of Distinction honor Thursday were Sharion Aycock, Mississippi's first female federal judge; Lisa Hawkins, whose outstanding charity work won her the honor; and Margaret Anne Murphey, who was recognized for her extraordinary efforts to promote the arts in Tupelo. Minnie Jamison was also honored for her the fact that she has "built her life around community involvement and volunteer work." Jamison was unable to attend the luncheon due to being in the hospital.
Sandra Morris, was a surprise honoree for the day. Morris was said to be the "drive and force behind NEWMS." Her bio included a long list of charitable achievements.
Finally, the Women's Organization of Distinction honoree was the Sisters Network - Tupelo Chapter. The organization consists of breast cancer survivors and advocates and offers information and encourage to African American women, among whom breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer.
NEWMS is a non-profit foundation established in 2004 as a special project of the CREATE Foundation. NEWMS encourages and empowers Mississippi women of all ages and backgrounds to reach their full potential by sponsoring workshops, conferences and funding scholarships that address the challenges faced and by serving as a networking system and resource center. For more information about NEWMS, visit the web site at www.newms.info.
