Contact: Maridith Geuder
Rep. Steve Holland
State Rep. Steve Holland of Plantersville, a Mississippi State alumnus and member of the Mississippi Legislature since 1984, will formally present his personal and professional papers to his alma mater in Saturday [Nov. 20] ceremonies.
The 9:30 a.m. public event in the John Grisham Room of the university's Mitchell Memorial Library will mark an important enhancement to MSU's resources related to local, state and national government, said MSU President Charles Lee.
"Rep. Holland is one of our state's hardest working legislative leaders," Lee said. "He has been at the forefront in discussions of major issues facing our state over the past 20 years. His papers will provide students and scholars with an opportunity to explore the workings of state government from the perspective of a veteran legislator."
A Lee County native, Holland represents House of Representatives' District 16 and currently serves as chairman of the Public Health and Human Services Committee and co-chairman of the Select Committee on Accessible and Affordable Medical Malpractice Insurance Committee. He also is a member of the Agriculture, Appropriations, Gaming, Judiciary A, Legislative Budget, Medicaid, and Rules committees.
Holland is a 1977 business information systems graduate of MSU. He also attended Northwest Mississippi Community College.
Holland's papers will become part of the Library's Congressional and Political Research Center, which includes research material and information on individual U.S. senators and representatives, the U.S. Congress and politics at all levels of government.
Other collections include those of former Sen. John C. Stennis, former Rep. G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery and former U.S. agriculture secretary Mike Espy. Also represented are current 3rd District Rep. Chip Pickering (R-Miss.) and former congressmen David R. Bowen and Charles Griffin, among others.
"The donation of Rep. Holland's personal and legislative papers will provide a collection significant to teaching and research related to state government and the way it works," said Frances N. Coleman, dean of the MSU Libraries.
The papers contain information of particular interest to rural communities, said Marty Wiseman, director of MSU's Stennis Institute of Government.
"Among the many valuable items in Rep. Holland's papers is perhaps the most comprehensive collection of documents in existence pertaining to the work of the Legislature as it wrestled with the creation of the 'unit system' form of county government," Wiseman said.
Holland earlier served as an aide to longtime Mississippi congressman Jamie Whitten and current U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.).
Over his legislative career, Holland has received numerous public service honors. Among them are the Golden Torch of the Mississippi Council on Aging and Spirit of Inspiration Award of the Mississippi Health Care Association. He also has been recognized for leadership on behalf of conservation, including his selection for the 1993 Farm Bureau Friend of Agriculture Award.
In addition to his legislative duties, Holland is president of Lee Memorial Funeral Home in Tupelo and Okolona Funeral Home in Okolona. He also has farming interests in Lee and Monroe counties.
For more information about the Saturday event, telephone the MSU Libraries at (662) 325-4019.