Lonnie R. Bridges, Sr.
Vice President of Organizational & Executive Development
Paragon Casino Resort

Lonnie R. Bridges, Sr. has been employed in the Gaming Industry and by the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe for 12 years. He is currently the Vice President of Organizational & Executive Development for Paragon Casino Resort owned and operated by the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe. His duties include the development and implementation of quality and continuous improvement processes. Oversee the Training Staff, and further develop the supervisory and leadership skills of entry, mid-level, and senior management employees. He is responsible for the implementation of a Tribal and property Executive Development Plan to enhance continuity and transitions within the business enterprise.

Lonnie has also held the following position within his tenure at Paragon/GCA: Director of Organizational & Executive Development, Director of Associate Services, Manager of Planning & Analysis, and Financial/Labor Analyst. Lonnie played a major role in opening three casinos (Valley View-California, Big Rock-New Mexico, Golden Acorn-California) for First Nation Gaming by coordinating training teams from Paragon Casino Resort and implementing training programs at those properties within a 5-month span…. He has also worked as a Supplier Quality Assurance Engineer for Rockwell Automation/Allen Bradley were he provide training to suppliers and internal personnel to facilitate the concepts of (RASMP) Rockwell Automation Supplier Management Process and Total Quality Management Principles. He has also worked for the Department Of Energy (National Institute for Petroleum and Energy Research) as a Laboratory Analyst and the Avoyelles Parish Sheriff Office.

View complete biography of Lonnie R. Bridges, Sr.

711 Paragon Place
Marksville, LA 71351

Phone Number: 1-800-946-1946
ext 1011
or 240-1011

Cliff Deal
Director of Museums

Cliff Deal is Director of Museums for the Louisiana Department of State. The Secretary of State has 17 museums in the system including The Louisiana Old State Capital and the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum in Shreveport.

Cliff has 20 years of experience in museums in both curatorial and administrative capacity, previously serving with the Louisiana State Museum and the Lafayette Natural History Museum. He is past- president of the Louisiana Association of Museums, served as State Representative for the Southeastern Museum Conference, and was a faculty member at the Winedale Museum Seminar. He helped to create the VISTA training program for emerging museums in Louisiana and participated in the SEMC JumpStart Program for museum mentoring.

He attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana, has a degree in Fine Arts, and an extensive background in exhibit design, programming, and museum management. He is currently living in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Secretary of State
P.O. Box 94125
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9125

225.342.4479
cliff.deal@sos.louisiana.gov

Dora Ann Hatch
Extension Agent

Dora Ann Hatch, a Community Rural Development Area Agent with the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, serves seven parishes in the north central region of Louisiana. She provides educational programming in the areas leadership, entrepreneurship, and value-added agriculture enterprises with includes agri-toursim. She was recently appointed by the LSU AgCenter’s Vice Chancellor, Dr. Paul Coreil, to work with the Louisiana Department of Ag and Forestry on agri-tourism policy as it relates to the new agri-tourism liability bill, Act Number 591 passed in the Louisiana Legislative Regular Session of 2008.

Ms. Hatch holds a B.S. from University of Louisiana at Monroe in Home Economic Education; an M.S. from LSU in Baton Rouge in Home Economics, and has completed post graduate work at Mississippi State, University of Missouri, and LSU in Baton Rouge in the areas of community rural development.

LSU AgCenter
Community Rural Development
Extension Agent
11959 Hwy. 9
Homer, LA 71040

318-927-9654 Ext. 229 office
318-927-4139 fax
318-355-3192 cell
dhatch@agcenter.lsu.edu

Jerold Edward Knoll
Lawyer

Born in Simmesport, Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana on December 12, 1941, married to Associate Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, Jeannette Theriot Knoll and the father of five(5) sons, Triston, Eddie, Jr., Sonny, Blake and Jonathan.

1959 graduate of Simmesport High School and the 1959-1960 President of the Louisiana Association of Future Farmers of America.

Received a B.A. Degree in Government from Louisiana State University in 1963. Attended Loyola University School of Law and received a Juris Doctorate degree in 1966 and was a member of Delta Theta Phi Law Fraternity.

233 South Main Street
P.O. Box 426
Marksville, Louisiana 71351-0426

Phone: 318-253-6200
Fax: 318-253-4044

Shannon Mirus
Attorney at Law

Shannon Mirus grew up in northeast Arkansas among fields of rice and soybeans. She has focused her studies in agriculture and law with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Business and a Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas, and has completed graduate coursework for an advanced law degree in agricultural law. As a Staff Attorney at the National Agricultural Law Center, Shannon coordinates legal education outreach efforts through the Cooperative Extension Service, including a new eXtension Community of Practice for Agricultural Law. She has been involved with Arkansas Women in Agriculture, Inc. since its creation and currently serves on the Board of Directors. She also works with Annie’s Project, a program designed to empower farm women to be better business partners through networks and by managing and organizing critical information. Shannon’s primary research areas include agritourism, landowner liability, risk management and renewable fuels. She is licensed to practice law in Arkansas.

The National Agricultural Law Center
University of Arkansas School of Law
107 Waterman Hall
Fayetteville, AR 72701

(479) 575-2364
smirus@uark.edu

Mariah Smith
Extension Instructor

Mariah Smith is an Extension Instructor with the Computer Applications and Services Department at MSU-ES. Mariah is a graduate of Mississippi State University with an undergraduate degree in Philosophy and Foreign Languages and a master’s degree in Instructional Technology. Currently she is working to complete a PhD in Instructional Technology. Her primary focus is on developing learning opportunities that bring the innovative technology practices of the University to the people of Mississippi. Mariah conducts numerous technology classes for the MSU Extension service as well as workshops for clientele across the State.

Box 9662
Mississippi State, MS 39762

Phone 662-325-3226
Fax: 662-325-8761
Email: mariahs@ext.msstate.edu

Robbie Ward
Research Writer

Robbie Ward has worked as a journalist for several Mississippi newspapers and currently writes about research in Mississippi State University’s Office of University Relations, which includes editing the university’s annual research magazine. His love for the Magnolia State’s history, culture, people and sense of place has anchored him for some time in different cities, including Vicksburg, Starkville, Yazoo City, Greenville, and Hattiesburg.

In 2007, he created and produced the first Johnny Cash Flower Pickin’ Festival, which celebrates the Man in Black’s colorful experience in Starkville. Featured in The New York Times, on the BBC and through other news organizations around the world, the festival has received endorsements by the John R. Cash Revocable Trust and members of Cash’s family. Performers have included Rosanne Cash, Marty Stuart, Billy Joe Shaver, and Marshall Grant.

The festival's Web site, pardonjohnnycash.com, provides information about the event, as does an October 20 article that appeared in The New York Times, which highlighted the second year of the festival.

Ward earned a bachelor’s of arts degree in English and journalism from The University of Southern Mississippi and continues to take graduate courses in public policy and administration at Mississippi State University. He was named a Paul Harris Fellow and honored for his public service to the community by the Starkville Rotary Club in 2008.

Ward remains active in the Starkville as a community volunteer in Starkville. He maintains membership the Starkville Young Professionals, Toastmasters, Kiwanis International, and serves on the board of directors for Mississippi’s Best Grassroots Entertainment Concert. He is also a graduate of the Oktibbeha County Leadership Forum and considered an honorary fourth-grader at Ward-Stewart Elementary School.

P.O. Box 5325
Mississippi State, MS 39762

Phone: 662-325-3442
Fax: 662-325-7455
Email: rward@ur.msstate.edu