JACKSON, Miss.- Mississippi’s Top 50 has begun to announce the individuals who were named as the most influential in the state for 2016.
The process consists of nominations that can come from any outlet. A bipartisan group then narrows down those nominations into a list of 50 individuals who are found to be influential in the ranks of elected and appointed officials, economic development professionals, business, media and government affairs.
The selection committee is kept private in order to preserve the integrity of the awards.
“We did not want people lobbying to be selected on the list,”said creator of Y’all Politics Alan Lange.
So far only the selection of elected officials has been announced. That portion of the list includes names like Gov. Phil Bryant, Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, Attorney General Jim Hood, and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves.
There will also be four individuals selected for “hall of fame” status. These people are recognized for making lasting contributions to the political sphere of the state.
“The awards are really to highlight who are the most influential people in Mississippi,”said Lange.”Not everybody is gonna agree on the exact list but I think it’s a good exercise to go through.”
All of the nominated and selected individuals will be honored at an awards ceremony conveniently held this year at the Old Capitol Inn in Jackson on Nov. 9th, the day after the presidential election.
“Even though we are announcing the awardees through the month of October the event itself is on November 9th which is the day after the election, and getting these people in the same room after the election is going to be fascinating,” said Lange.
