Jon A. “Jonny” Spivey is the 2017 Mississippi Delta Community College Alumnus of the Year.
Spivey received an Associate of Arts Degree from Mississippi Delta Community College, was awarded a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agricultural Economics from Mississippi State University and completed additional studies at Delta State University.
Spivey has worked 33 years in the Crop Protection Industry and is currently employed by Dow AgroSciences. He served as board member, Vice President, and President of the Mississippi Agricultural Industries Council and was twice selected as the MAIC Man of the Year. Additionally, he was a member of the Indianola Academy Board of Directors and past assistant Boy Scout Master. Jonny and his family attend the Inverness United Methodist Church where he serves on the Pastor Parish Relations Committee.
Both of Spivey’s parents attended Sunflower Junior College in 1937 and 1938; his mother, Hazel Alford Spivey, did the artwork for the 1938 Retrospect. Jonny grew up in Moorhead and remembers countless hours spent at MDCC.
Whether attending sporting events with his father, C.E. Spivey, Jr., riding his bicycle through campus, playing basketball in the gym or listening to the jukebox in the Trojan Shield, MDCC was an important part of his youth.
Coach Jimmy Bellipanni gave him the nickname Speedy when, during a Little League baseball game Jonny was thrown out at first base on a hit that normally would qualify for a double or triple. While at MDJC he made many lifelong friends and was fortunate to have many mentors such as Dr. J.T. Hall, Miss Nannie Pearl Scroggins, Mr. Charles Foley and Coaches J.D. Stonestreet, Carl Grubb, Jim Randall, and Jimmy Bellipanni.
Spivey has been involved in the MDCC Alumni Association for many years and continues to be an active member. He has been a cook for Trojan Tailgate, a member of the Trojan Tailgate Club, supporter of MDCC athletics, and a sponsor for alumni chapter meetings.
In leadership roles he has served as Secretary/Treasurer and President of the Sunflower/Humphreys County Alumni Chapter, District Vice President, and currently serves as District President. He is also a member of the MDCC Foundation Board. Sandra Moore, Vice President of the Sunflower/Humphreys County Alumni Chapter, says that Jonny gives of his time freely and spares no expense in his efforts to “grow” the alumni membership.
Spivey has been married to MDJC graduate Sylvia Simmons Spivey for forty years. They have three daughters, Scarlett Miller of Meridian, Layne Mitchell of Cleveland, and Megan Burnham of Cleveland, and five grandchildren.
