Itawamba Community College will honor Alumnus of the Year Tom Childs of Fulton during Homecoming activities Thursday at the Fulton Campus.
The Eupora native will be recognized at an award ceremony at 4 p.m. at the Davis Event Center lobby as well as before the ICC vs. Holmes football game which begins at 6:30 p.m. at Eaton Field.
Childs is a retired Fulton attorney, who taught both American and state government, accounting, business law and real estate law at IJC/ICC and served as a former assistant football coach and offensive coordinator for the 1971 Itawamba Indians.
He is a former chairman of the board of the ICC Foundation Inc. as well as of the alumni fund drive. ICC’s Gallery of Distinction, which is located in the lobby of the David C. Cole Student Services Building, is named in his honor by unanimous vote of the college’s board of trustees.
Additional honors include commencement speaker (three years), master of ceremonies for the retirement dinners for former ICC presidents Dr. W.O. Benjamin and Dr. David C. Cole and keynote speaker for the dedication of the David C. Cole Student Services Building. Childs also is a former chairman of the Mississippi Community College Board.
A graduate of Eupora High School, Childs earned the bachelor’s degree cum laude from Millsaps College and the juris doctorate from the University of Mississippi School of Law. He is a former assistant attorney general for the state of Mississippi, in general law practice in Fulton, served as the former attorney for numerous boards in Itawamba County and is a former member of the Mississippi Judicial Nominating Committee.
Childs is a member of Fulton United Methodist Church, where he is former chairman of the Administrative Board, chairman of the Council on Ministries, lay leader, lay delegate to the Annual Methodist Conference, member of the board of trustees and Sunday School teacher. He is the recipient of the Itawamba County Development award and the Itawamba County Good Citizen award.
Athletic Hall of Fame
Athletic Hall of Fame inductees Butch Jones of Fulton and Pernell McPhee of Pahokee, Fla., will also be honored during Homecoming activities.
Jones, who was born and raised in Okolona, played football at Itawamba Junior College under Coach Dudley Miller from 1966-68. He earned the associate’s degree from IJC and both the bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Mississippi State University.
From 1985-87, Jones served as offensive coordinator for the Indians under Coach Mike Eaton. The Indians were North Division champions in 1986. Jones’ coaching career has encompassed all three levels, high school and both junior and senior college. His total record is 80-37-5. He was the head coach at New Hope, Columbus Caldwell and Itawamba Agricultural High School.
He and his wife, the former Patsy Callahan, have one son, Brian Tyler Jones, who is superintendent of Webster County School District.
