BOONEVILLE, Miss. (WTVA) -- The Adjutant General of the Mississippi National Guard and the former Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives will be the first two inductees into the Northeast Mississippi Community College Alumni Hall of Fame.
Major General Augustus "Leon" Collins of Booneville and Billy McCoy of Rienzi will be inducted on Saturday.
General Collins attended Northeast from 1975 through 1977, and enlisted in the Mississippi Army National Guard. He later attended the University of Mississippi where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He completed the Master of Business Administration at Jackson State University in 1993. He commanded the 155th Brigade Combat Team during its tour of duty in Afghanistan
He was recently named as Adjutant General of the Mississippi National Guard.
Speaker McCoy attended Northeast as an agricultural education student from 1960-1962 and later attended Mississippi State University where he earned the bachelor’s and master’s degree.
He served as a high school agriculture teacher, a county extension agent, and an enrollment auditor for the Mississippi Department of Education.
In 1980, McCoy was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives.
During his 32-year tenure in the House, he served as Chairman of the Education and Ways and Means Committees.
In 2004, he was elected Speaker of the House, a position which he held until 2011.
McCoy has been supportive of the college in many ways, including a term as a member of the Board of Trustees.
As a student, he was elected to the Student Hall of Fame.
He guided both of his children to degrees earned at Northeast and currently has a grandson attending, making three generations of McCoy’s engagement with the college.
An Alumni Hall of Fame award is presented to the alumnus who has demonstrated outstanding traits of leadership and character to such an extent that it has brought great credit to the recipient and to the alma mater.
