James Sledge, Jr.,

JAMES LAMAR SLEDGE, JR. A€“ Crystal Springs, MS James L. (Jim) Sledge, Jr., 74, died on April 27, 2014,at University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, MS. Visitation will be on Wednesday, April 30,from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Stringer Family Funeral Home, Crystal Springs,MS, and the funeral service will be held on Thursday May1, 2014, at 10:00 a.m. in Stringer Funeral Chapel. Interment will follow Thursday afternoon at3:00 p.m. at Pinecrest Cemetery, DeKalb, MS. Jim Sledge was born on July 30, 1939, in Grenada, MS. He grew up in DeKalb, MS following his parents A€™purchase of The Kemper County Messenger. He graduated from DeKalb High School in 1957, attended East MississippiJunior College, and was a 1961 graduate of the Mississippi State UniversitySchool of Forestry. During his highschool and college years, he worked as a printer A€™s devil and pressman at TheMessenger. Jim wrote a humor columnfor the newspaper for many years and, following his mother A€™s retirement, ownedand published the paper until 2003. Following graduation from MSU, he spent one year as ahigh school science teacher in Forest Park, GA, then took a job with Rome Kraft(later Georgia Kraft), working out of Canton and Dallas, GA and Auburn, AL in forestmanagement and wood procurement. In1974, Jim went to work for Mead Corporation at their new mill in Stevenson,AL. His district originally included thetown of Guntersville, AL where the family lived for the next eighteen yearsuntil he retired from Stevenson as Procurement Manager. In 1991, Jim was named head of theMississippi Forestry Commission where he served for fourteen years. He retired in 2005 with the distinction ofhaving the longest tenure of any State Forester in Mississippi history. Jim served as chairman of the National Association ofState Foresters (NASF) Forest Resource Management Committee for three years andwas president of NASF in 2002-2003. In2011, NASF named the forest management award "The Jim Sledge CurrentAchievement Award in Forest Resource Management" for a five-year period. He was instrumental in the Federal HealthyForests Initiative and the U.S. Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003, aswell as implementation of the Conservation Title programs in the 2002 FarmBill. Jim received recognition from theAmerican Tree Farm System for sustained excellence in support of the program, having servedfor a number of years on its National Operating Committee. Of the honors andawards he received over the years, he was particularly proud of being named 2003 Alumni Fellow for the Collegeof Forest Resources by the Mississippi State University Alumni Association. Jim is survived by his wife of 53 years, Bettye BoundsSledge; his daughter Jane Sledge Taylor of Byram, MS; his son James L. (Buddy)Sledge, III and partner John Chadwick of Atlanta; grandchildren James Cleveland(CJ) Jowers (Keretha) of Crystal Springs, Alexandra Jowers of Scooba, MS, andJeffrey Tyler Jowers of DeKalb, MS; great-grandson Michael Jowers of CrystalSprings; sisters Rachel Sledge Dutton (Mike) of Dallas, GA and Rebecca SledgeMitchell (Derick) of Montgomery, AL; mother-in-law Beth Boyd Bounds ofMeridian, MS; sister-in-law Jane Bounds Thompson (Don) of Houston, TX;brother-in-law Albert Allen Bounds, Jr. (Brownie) of Atlanta; nine nieces andnephews, and sixteen great-nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, Lamar and FrancesSledge of DeKalb, MS. Friends wishing to make memorials may consider MississippiForestry Foundation, c/o MFA, 620 N. State St. Suite 201, Jackson, MS 39202;National Association of State Foresters Foundation, 444 North Capitol St NW,Suite 540, Washington, DC 20001; The Baptist Children A€™s Village, P. O. Box 27,Clinton, MS 39060; or charities of your choice.,

James Sledge, Jr.,

July 30, 1939 - April 27, 2014

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James Sledge, Jr.,

July 30, 1939 - April 27, 2014

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