Last week, the second biggest lottery jackpot ever, over $1.5 billion, was won on a single ticket purchased in South Carolina.
And as of Oct. 19, with the governor’s appointment of a five-member Mississippi Lottery Corporation Board of Directors, Mississippians are one step closer to being among the possible winners, without having to drive out of the state.
Governor Phil Bryant has named a five-member panel that includes Indianola resident and former school superintendent Cassie Pennington, the lone education professional in the group.
The other four members include: Philip Chamblee of Madison, Gerard Gibert of Ridgeland, Mike McGrevey of Decatur and the only female member, Kimberly LaRosa of Pass Christian, who has a financial background. The other three men have credentials in the fields of technology, retail and economic development.
Pennington said the governor was specifically looking for people from different backgrounds to serve on this commission and wanted to make sure the Delta was represented.
He learned that his name had been submitted and that he was being considered shortly before the public announcement. “I was the last to be appointed,” Pennington said.
The former Indianola School District superintendent said he was contacted by members of the governor’s staff and asked if he would be interested in serving and upon his affirmation, he was invited to meet with them and the governor.
As of Friday, Pennington said he has not met with the other commission members but supposedly they will be meeting within the next week or so. He is sure that one of their first big tasks will be to select a lottery manager or management group.
Pennington said he wants to find out which management groups have done the best job of running state lotteries and since almost every state in the union including many of Mississippi’s neighboring states have lotteries, all but Alabama, he has been researching those states to see what they are doing to make theirs successful. “Particularly the ones close to us,” he said.
Pennington said right now he is trying to get a picture in his head, a notion of how to get started. The long-time Sunflower County resident is hopeful that the state will benefit from the lottery, especially when it comes to roads and bridges and education. “Some states have been very successful with the lottery, our job is to see that it happens,” said Pennington.
Pennington is retired but previously worked as a junior high school principal, teacher and coach before becoming superintendent of both the Indianola and West Tallahatchie School districts.
He has served as Executive Director of Delta Health Alliance and currently sits on its board.
He’s a former member of the Mississippi Board of Trustees of the Institutions of Higher Learning, the Mississippi Instructional Management Task Force, and the South Sunflower County Hospital.
Pennington is also a former president of the Delta Council and has served on the Mississippi State Health Board and as Administrative Assistant to the President at Delta State University.
