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ICC selects 2020 Alumnus of the Year, Athletic Hall of Fame inductees

            Itawamba Community College has selected its Alumnus of the Year and Athletic Hall of Fame inductees for 2020.

            The honorees include Jim Mounce of Tupelo, Alumnus of the Year, and Kenneth “Kebo” Davis of Okolona and Tyson Lee of Germantown, Tenn., Athletic Hall of Fame.

            A native of Ecru, Mounce is a 1964 graduate of Itawamba Junior College. During his two years, he was a member of the football team, the baseball team, sophomore class president and class favorite, cutest. His educational background also includes the bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi; juris doctorate from the University of Mississippi School of Law and the master’s degree from Bellevue University. From 1969-85, Mounce practiced law in Tupelo, and from 1985-2000, he chief operating officer for Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society and president, CEO and chairman of the board for Woodmen Life from 2000 until he retired in 2009. Currently, he is serving on the boards of Sanctuary Hospice and the Itawamba Community College Foundation, Inc. and is a member of Harrisburg Baptist Church. His past board service includes Boys and Girls Clubs of Omaha (Neb.), Omaha Community Theatre, Goodwill Industries of Greater Nebraska, U.S. Bank (Omaha Division), Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, Strategic Command Consultation Committee, and Nebraska Methodist Health System. He was a member of the Kiwanis Clubs in Omaha and Tupelo for more than 35 years. Mounce is currently a member of both the Mississippi and Nebraska Bar Associations. He and his wife, the former Jennie Witt, have one son, Scott (Alison) and one granddaughter, Piper, residents of Austin, Tex.

In 1971-72, Davis played football at IJC, where he was voted Most Versatile and Sophomore Favorite. He was selected as honorable mention All-State in 1971 and All-State in 1972, the same year he played in the Mississippi Junior College All-Star Classic. The 1971 football team was composed of 40 freshmen and only five sophomores. Davis played offensive halfback and the punt returner. His leadership both in practice and in games contributed in a large measure to IJC’s first winning season in several years and to IJC’s tying for the league lead in scoring that season. During a close loss to 1971 National Champion Gulf Coast, Davis returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown and scored another on a 60-yard pass reception, accounting for two of three scores. Following his college days, Davis had successful career in the furniture industry in Okolona, retiring in 2012. He also served as football, basketball and baseball coach and interim headmaster at Chickasaw Academy. He and his wife, Debbie, have two children, John Parker Davis and Chip Holloway.

Lee, who attended ICC from 2006-07, earned both the bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Mississippi State University. Since 2019, he has been lower school principal at Evangelical Christian School in Germantown, Tenn. His additional employment history includes St. Louis Rams scouting department from 2012-13, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, 2013-15; Redeemer Church, 2015-16; Mississippi State Bulldog Club, 2016-18; and Lightbearers Ministries, 2018-19. Lee was the first football student-athlete in ICC’s history to earn Academic All-American and first-team All-American recognition in the same season. His honors also include Region 23 Most Valuable Player, selected to play in the North-South All-Star Classic and finished his career with  4,432 yards passing, leading ICC to a 14-4 record as a starter. His additional honors include SEC Academic Honor Roll. Lee has also started a small business, LoveLee Rolls, with his wife, Christa. They are the parents of four children, Zeke, Beck, Ivy and Myla.

They will be honored at ICC’s Homecoming, Oct. 29.



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