Mississippi Today

The Jim Warren Scholarship: A perfect way to honor this guy

Published

2 years ago

December 12, 2022

Staff Editor

The Jim Warren Scholarship: A perfect way to honor this guy

by Rick Cleveland, Mississippi Today
December 12, 2022

Occasionally, but not nearly often enough, an item crosses your desk that seems perfectly appropriate.

Here’s one: The United States Tennis Association (USTA) and Southern Tennis Foundation (STF) have seen fit to create an annual college scholarship to honor the late Jim Warren, former president of USTA-Mississippi.

It is difficult to imagine a more appropriate way to honor Warren, a Ripley native and long-time Jackson resident. Warren, a graduate of Southern Miss and Ole Miss law, dedicated much of his adult life to tennis and higher education.

“That’s just perfect,” Southern Miss President Joe Paul, a close friend of Warren’s, said. “Jim donated so much of his adult life to the sport of tennis and in support of higher education. Jim would be tickled about this scholarship.”

Malinda Warren certainly is. Malinda and Jim Warren married in May of 2004 after a one-year courtship. Malinda was a devoted, competitive tennis player. Jim had never played. He took up the game at age 41.

“Because I was obsessed with tennis, Jim wanted to learn to play,” Malinda Warren says. “So he took up the game, took a lot of lessons and became skilled enough to enjoy playing. We played a lot of mixed doubles together. But he often joked that his skill set was such that he was much more adept at the administrative part of the sport than the actual playing.”

So, as Jim Warren was wont to do when he became involved with any pursuit, he dove head-first into the governance of the sport.

“Someone asked Jim to be on some committee and pretty soon he was running the committee,” Malinda Warren said. “He just kept moving on up.”

Boy, did he. When Jim Warren died suddenly at his home in August of 2021, he was serving on the USTA’s Southern Board of Directors. In 2015 and 2016, he served as president of USTA-Mississippi. He was a member of the USTA’s national Constitution and Rules Committee. He chaired the USTA Southern Constitution and Rules Committee. No telling how high he might have risen up the USTA’s administrative ladder. And all that is just touching the surface. He also served as a tennis official at various competitions.

The USTA also has honored Warren with a plaque on the Avenue of Aces, the walkway just in front of Louis Armstrong Stadium at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, where the U.S. Open is contested. The fully endowed Jim Warren Scholarship, worth $1,000 a year, will go to worthy students who have been involved in tennis during their high school years. Primary criteria will be academic achievement and promise, civic involvement and character. Selection will be made by the STF’s College Scholarships Committee.

Jim Warren’s friends – and this writer is one – are not at all surprised that he would take up a sport so late in life and then become a driving force within it. That was Jim.

One spring day as a high school senior at Ripley, he decided to visit Southern Miss, where he had never been. That’s a 550-mile round trip from the top end of the state to nearly the bottom. He went by himself, driving his little Toyota pickup truck. Once in Hattiesburg, he met a co-ed who showed him around the campus and he immediately took a liking to the place. Indeed, he liked it so much that he decided to go meet the president, who was then Aubrey Lucas. Warren had no appointment.

But Warren walked into Lucas’s office, introduced himself, shared his high school credentials and his vision for his future. He left Lucas’s office with a USM Presidential Scholarship, and, Lucas will tell you, “a friend for life.”

Warren became president of the student body and president of his fraternity (Kappa Sigma). He later would serve on the USM Foundation’s Board of Directors and as president of the Southern Miss Alumni Association.

He was a do-er and a leader, Jim Warren was. Besides his law firm, he also held leadership positions in the Mississippi Bar Association, River Hills Club and his church and Sunday school. You see, if Jim Warren was going to be involved in anything, he was going to have a say and an influence.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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UMMC holds free cancer screenings

Published

1 day ago

April 30, 2025

Staff Editor

mississippitoday.org – @EricJShelton – 2025-04-30 12:00:00

by Eric J. Shelton, Mississippi Today
April 30, 2025

Resident physician Claire Babin, right, performs an oral cancer screening on Ella Holmes during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Physicians prepare for oral, head and neck cancer screenings during a free screening event at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Resident physician Brooks Lampkin, center, screens Diane Carter for oral cancer as medical students Mason Nodurft, left, and Eva Kiparizoska observe during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Educational giveaways advocating against smoking are available during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Sharon Terry, senior tobacco treatment specialist, waits for patients during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Skylar Robinson, medical office assistant, left, and Kiandria Bruce, registered nurse, review materials at the patient sign-in table during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Head and neck cancer literature is available during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Dr. Alex Brooks and registered nurse Angela Noble talk during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Nina Brown, clinical manager, helps Ned Bostic with paperwork during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Resident physician Brooks Lampkin performs an oral cancer screening on Ned Bostic at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Ned Bostic receives a neck cancer screening during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Resident physician Brooks Lampkin, center, and medical student Hanna Watson examine Ned Bostic during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.

The University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery hosted a free oral, head, and neck cancer screening Wednesday at the Jackson Medical Mall as part of Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week.

The event featured quick, noninvasive screenings aimed at catching cancer early — when treatment is most effective. Onyx Care provided free HPV vaccinations, while the ACT Center for Tobacco Treatment, Education, and Research offered resources on smoking cessation and free services.

“These screenings take about 10 minutes and can save lives,” said Dr. Gina Jefferson, head and neck surgical oncologist at UMMC. “The earlier a cancer is diagnosed, the better chance we have of curing it.”

Tobacco and alcohol use remain major risk factors for these cancers. However, physicians say an increasing number of cases are linked to HPV, especially among younger adults with no history of smoking or drinking. Dentists are often the first to spot early signs, which can include persistent sores, lumps in the neck, or difficulty swallowing.

Oral, head and neck cancers are among the most common globally. When found early, survival rates can exceed 80 percent.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post UMMC holds free cancer screenings appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

This article presents factual information about a free cancer screening event without showing a clear ideological stance. It primarily focuses on the health benefits of early cancer detection and the availability of free resources, such as HPV vaccinations and smoking cessation support. The language used is neutral and the content is centered around public health education rather than promoting a political viewpoint. The inclusion of factual statistics, such as survival rates and risk factors, adds to its informative and objective tone. There are no signs of bias or advocacy for a particular political agenda, making this a centrist piece.

Crooked Letter Sports Podcast

Podcast: What next for Mississippi State baseball?

Published

1 day ago

April 30, 2025

Staff Editor

mississippitoday.org – @rick_cleveland – 2025-04-30 10:46:00

by Rick Cleveland and Tyler Cleveland, Mississippi Today
April 30, 2025

Mississippi State didn’t even wait until the end of the season to fire Chris Lemonis, who brought the national championship to Starkville not quite four years ago. Where do the Bulldogs go from here. Robbie Faulk who covers the Bulldogs more closely than anyone else joins the podcast to discuss the situation.

Stream all episodes here.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post Podcast: What next for Mississippi State baseball? appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Mississippi Today

Mobile sports betting users: We want to hear from you

Published

1 day ago

April 30, 2025

Staff Editor

mississippitoday.org – @MSTODAYnews – 2025-04-30 10:21:00

by Mississippi Today, Mississippi Today
April 30, 2025

Mississippi Today is looking to speak with current and former mobile sports betting users. We’d like to speak with people who spend considerable amounts of time and money betting on sports through online gambling sites.

We’re interested in hearing the experience of people who have suffered from gambling addiction or problems, or friends and family members of people who have. We also would like to talk with people who believe legalizing mobile sports betting would benefit Mississippi and its residents.

We want to hear from you. Please take the survey below or contact Political Reporter Michael Goldberg by email at mgoldberg@mississippitoday.org

TAKE THE SURVEY:

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This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post Mobile sports betting users: We want to hear from you appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

This article from Mississippi Today appears to present a neutral stance, focusing on gathering input from various groups of mobile sports betting users, including those who may have experienced addiction issues. The content does not advocate for or against the legalization of mobile sports betting but instead seeks to gather diverse perspectives, including those of individuals who may support or oppose it. The language used is objective and does not suggest a particular ideological perspective, allowing for a balanced exploration of the issue at hand.