Committee Nominations

Tuesday October 17, 2023 at 5:30pm in the New Orleans Room at Union Station, Meridian.

1st Mississippi FCU Board of Director Elections – Fall 2023

The Nominating Committee of 1st Mississippi Federal Credit Union has nominated three candidates for Board of Director positions.

Nominations of the Nominating Committee, October 17, 2023

In accordance with Article V, Option A2 of the Credit Union’s Bylaws, as amended, we the Nominating Committee, hereby recommend that the following individuals be elected to serve on the Board of Directors to fill 3 year terms from 2023-2026

1. Clayton Cobler *
2. Terry Winstead *
3. Stanley Shannon *
4. Kimmea Spears

*Denotes Incumbent

Respectfully submitted,
Ann Davis, Nominating Committee Chair

This year’s Board Director Candidates are:

Clayton Cobler

I have been married to my wife, Lou Cotten Cobler, for the last 35 years. GOD has truly blessed me so much. I was born and raised in Meridian, worked in EMS since 1975, and was elected to the office of The Coroner in 2004.  I started serving on the board of 1st MS in 1990 and was elected Vice Chair in 2010 and now I serve as Chairman of the Board. Cobler is not just part of the family, Cobler's Cremation Services is also a business customer of 1st Mississippi, which provided financing for his business. With roots planted deep here, I am proud to serve the membership of this fine organization.  I request that you let me continue to serve you and yours.

Stanley Shannon

A lifelong resident of Whynot, MS and a member of Bethany Baptist for 69 years where he currently serves as a Deacon and Sunday School Teacher. Stanley has been married for 43 years to Cheryl Wallace Shannon, and has three children, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern Mississippi and my master’s degree from Mississippi State University. Stanley also served six years with the Mississippi Air National Guard. Mr. Shannon has been a teacher, a hospital purchasing agent, served on the board of supervisors, and retired from Lauderdale County Tax Collector in 2016. Since retiring, he has been farming and, in his words, “PIDDLING.”  Mr. Shannon looks forward to the opportunity to continue to serve his community and serving on the 1st Mississippi Federal Credit Union for the next three years.

Terry Winstead

Terry Winstead was born and raised in Meridian, MS and graduated from Meridian High School in 1969. After graduating from Millsaps College in 1973, Terry worked for 2.5 years with the Mississippi Highway Department as an appraiser. He obtained his Mississippi real estate salesman's license in 1974 and began working full time as a real estate agent in 1977, obtaining his broker's license in 1979 and has been awarded the top producing agent in the MLS in multiple years.  He was appointed, by Gov. Bill Allain, in 1987, to the Mississippi Real Estate Commission, serving five years, including a re-appointment by Gov. Ray Maybus. Beginning in 1980 he taught (Real Estate) pre-licensing courses at Meridian Community College, which he continues to do today. He is a past president of the Meridian Jaycees and was a Mississippi Jaycee Governor. He was co-founder and the first president of the Lauderdale County Literacy Council and has served on the Board of Directors of the Meridian Symphony Association, the Downtown Club of Meridian, the Meridian Chamber of Commerce (ex officio), the Mississippi Junior Miss Program and the Meridian Little Theatre. Terry has been principal broker at Winstead Realty, Inc. since Oct. 2005.

Mrs. Kimmea Spears

A native of Meridian, Mrs. Spears is a graduate of Meridian High School, Meridian Community College and Mississippi State University. Kimmea has been married to Michael O. Spears for 22 years. She has one daughter, a son-in-law, identical twin granddaughters and one grandson as well as, a son who is a 7th grader at Northwest Middle School.  Mrs. Spears is a Licensed Social Worker employed with the Meridian Housing Authority as a Service Coordinator for the ROSS Program (Resident Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency.) Kimmea is a member of Freedom Rock Christian Fellowship Church and an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. where she serves as Chair of Educational Development leading youth initiatives and is active in social action efforts locally. Kimmea is the owner of Smoky Notes Cigars, a mobile pop-up cigar store. Kimmea serves her community by volunteering with several organizations including the Girl Scouts of America, the Boys & Girls Club, Love’s Kitchen, Freedom Cares, Magnolia Middle School and Saint Patrick School.  Mrs. Spears has served with the 1st MS Board of Directors for two years as an Associate Director and more recently on the Supervisory Committee and now seeks to be elected as a voting member of the Board for the next three years.

Eligibility Requirements

The FCU Act and the FCU Bylaws contain the only eligibility requirements for membership on a federal credit union’s board of directors, which are as follows: (a) The individual must be a member of the FCU before distribution of ballots; (b) the individual cannot have been convicted of a crime involving dishonesty or breach of trust unless the NCUA Board has waived the prohibition for the conviction; and (c) the individual meets the minimum age requirement of at least 18 years of age by the date of the meeting (October 17, 2023). Anyone meeting the three eligibility requirements may run for a seat on the board of directors if properly nominated. It is the nominating committee's duty to ascertain that all nominated candidates, including those nominated by petition, meet the eligibility requirements.

Nomination Criteria for Nominating Committee

The FCU Act and the FCU Bylaws allow a board of directors to establish reasonable criteria, in addition to the eligibility requirements, for a nominating committee to follow in making its nominations, such as financial experience, years of membership, or conflict of interest provisions. The board's nomination criteria, however, applies only to individuals nominated by the nominating committee; they cannot be imposed on individuals who meet the eligibility requirements and are properly nominated by petition.

Nominations by Petition

Nominations for board of director vacancies may also be made by petition signed by 1% of the credit union membership. 1% of our credit union’s membership would be 96 members using the number of current members filed with the National Credit Union Association as of March 31, 2023 (9,624). The format of the petition must include: (a) the year of the election, (b) the member’s name printed, (c) the member’s signature, (d) the member’s account number and (e) the date signed by the member. Failure to properly complete and timely file will nullify the petition.

The election will not be conducted by ballot and there will be no nominations from the floor when the number of nominees equals the number of positions to be filled.

Nominations by petition must be accompanied by a signed certificate from the nominee or nominees stating that they are agreeable to nomination and will serve if elected to office. Each nominee by petition must submit a similar statement of qualifications and biographical data with the petition. The closing date for receiving nominations by petition is August 15th, 2023. The petition must be filed with the secretary of 1st Mississippi Federal Credit Union at the following address:

Kim Johnson, Secretary of 1st Mississippi Federal Credit Union
PO Box 561
Meridian, MS 39302-0561