Conservation Corner: July 3, 2000

Wynn Named Philanthropist Of The Year
by James L. Cummins

The Mississippi Chapter of the National Society of Fund Raising Executives has recently named Leila Clark Wynn the Philanthropist of The Year for the year 2000.

I am fortunate to have known Leila Wynn for almost 10 years and I hope, many more to come. I remember attending a dedication for Hodding Carter, III, several years ago and while we were in the crowd, she asked me if she needed to make a contribution to the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation that year. That's rare. Mississippi is fortunate that Leila moved to the Magnolia State after being born, raised and educated in Texas. She left Texas to obtain a B.A. from Smith College in Massachusetts but returned for her M.A. from the University of Texas. Leila continued her education at the University of Mississippi and Delta State. A long marriage produced four children, three of them Millsaps graduates. Leila also has five grandchildren.

Last year Leila called me and said she was leaving for several days and that she was going camping and rafting down the Grand Canyon. I knew she was an avid dove hunter, but not that active! Leila also has a great interest in our natural resources. Part of this interest may stem from the fact that her grandfather was Clive Metcalfe, who was a member of the Theodore Roosevelt/Holt Collier bear hunting party in the early 1900s. Her involvement in the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation is considerable. She is constantly monitoring progress, suggesting ways to improve things and helping in any way she can. And it is much appreciated. However, Leila's involvement in her community has been long-term and wide-range. She has not only served and supported many organizations in Mississippi, but also has given her time and talent to several national organizations, as well as others in Texas. Leila is the chairman of the board of First National Bank of San Augustine, Texas, former vice president and director of Weissinger and Wynn in Greenville, a cotton, soybean and corn farming operation, and is active in the management of family timber holdings located in San Augustine, Shelby, Newton and Jasper Counties in Texas and DeSoto Parish, Louisiana.

Her volunteer work includes serving on the board of Millsaps College, The Center for Study of Southern Culture, the National Wildflower Research Center, the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the King's Daughters Hospital, the Garden Club of America and many others too numerous to list.

The most outstanding quality of Leila is her passion to improve the world around her. Leila Wynn is truly a philanthropist and I am pleased to inform my fellow Mississippians of this honor.

James L. Cummins is Executive Director of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Stoneville, Mississippi. Known as "Wildlife Mississippi," the Foundation is a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi.