Contact: Kay F. Jones
Charles W. "Tex" Ritter
A 1956 Mississippi State alumnus who has spent more than 40 years supporting the university in everything from academics to athletics is its 2002 national alumnus of the year.
The selection of Charles W. "Tex" Ritter of Kosciusko, current president of the MSU Alumni Association Foundation, was announced Friday night [Jan. 25] at the alumni association's annual leadership banquet on the Starkville campus.
An agriculture graduate and former president of the MSU Student Association, Ritter today serves as president and chief executive officer of the Attala Co., a manufacturer of flour and pet food. In 1995, he was honored as the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences' alumnus of the year.
One nominator praised Ritter's longstanding devotion "to the betterment of his community, the state and his alma mater," adding that "his service to Mississippi State University through a wide array of alumni activities has been phenomenal."
He is a past president of the alumni association's Attala County chapter and a former president of the MSU Foundation board of directors.
Ritter is a member of the foundation's Lee Society donors group and the athletic department's Bulldog Club support organization. Last year, he was among the first to provide a generous gift for the Hunter Henry Center, the new headquarters of the foundation and alumni association now under construction at the western edge of campus.
He also has supported a variety of other university interests, including the President's Cabinet Fund, Mitchell Memorial Library and the social fraternity and sorority system. While an MSU student, he was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity.