Hattiesburg Hall of Fame welcomes 2023 class
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) - People filled Eureka School in downtown Hattiesburg to welcome in the Hattiesburg Hall of Fame class of 2023.
“Whether they came from Eureka or Royal Street or old Hattiesburg High or new Hattiesburg High or Rowan High School, we celebrate them as a group,” said producer Michael Marks. “And this is a terrific group of eight men and women.”
Mary Dayne Gregg is one of the inductees, and she attended Hattiesburg High and taught in the district for many years.
She talked about her immediate reaction after learning she was now a hall of famer.
“Truthfully, I felt unworthy,” Gregg said.
Speaking about the nomination, she said it felts good to receive recognition for her work
“When you look back, you think ‘I don’t know if I made a difference,’” Gregg said. “And then, when people tell you that you did, it’s rewarding.”
Fellow Tiger and hall of fame inductee Rashad Naylor has spent the last 20 years on Broadway.
He traces his career all the way back to the Hub City.
“The Purple & Gold Review was the first time I was on stage,” he said. “And that feeling was unlike any of the other things that I had been doing.”
Like Gregg, Naylor said he was humbled by the nomination.
Naylor said his work now as a casting director puts him in a familiar position.
“I’m now creating opportunities that I was afforded these past 20 years,” Naylor said. ”That is also such a full-circle moment.”
This is the foundation’s fifth hall of fame class, and Marks has a message for all present and past inductees.
“We’re saying ‘Welcome home,”” Marks said.
Full roll of Hattiesburg Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023:
- Gregg (Hattiesburg High School)
- Naylor (Hattiesburg High School)
- Marvin Fluker (Rowan High School)
- Charles Wick Moorman (Hattiesburg High School)
- Jimmy Pierce (Hattiesburg High School)
- Ellen Hunter Ruffin (Blair High School)
- Dr. Veronica Scott (Hattiesburg High School)
- Juruthin Woullard (Rowan High School)
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