On this episode of Mississippi Stories, Mississippi Today Editor-At-Large Marshall Ramsey sits down and has a conversation with Lloyd Gray, Executive Director of the Phil Hardin Foundation and former long-time editor of the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.

Gray tells a little about his family (he is the son of legendary Episcopal Bishop Duncan Gray Jr.) and how he fell in love with journalism. He also talks about how he made the transition into working for a foundation. The Phil Hardin Foundation, founded in 1964 by Phil Hardin, philanthropist and the owner of Hardin Bakeries Corporation, focuses on improving the lives of Mississippians through better educational opportunities.

Gray discusses how the foundation does that and how it has survived the turmoil caused in the past year by the pandemic. When Gray was a journalist, he was very interested in the concept of community and building communities. Today, he does just that through his work with the Phil Hardin Foundation in Meridian and all across Mississippi.


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Marshall Ramsey, a nationally recognized editorial cartoonist, shares his cartoons and travels the state as Mississippi Today’s Editor-At-Large. He’s also host of a weekly statewide radio program and a television program on Mississippi Public Broadcasting and is the author of several books. Marshall is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and a 2019 recipient of the University of Tennessee Alumni Professional Achievement Award.