Senator Briggs Hopson on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, led the Mississippi Senate’s presentation of Senate Resolution 53, commending Mississippi Department of Archives and History Director Katie Blount, on the occasion of her retirement effective June 30, 2026. Blount, the wife of Senator David Blount, has led MDAH since 2015.
Blount began her career at MDAH as a public relations coordinator in 1994 and is the agency's seventh director since 1902 and only the second woman to hold the position. Blount has more than three decades of public service in Mississippi. She led the agency through many successful endeavors, including the establishment of the nationally recognized Two Mississippi Museums and supported efforts to adopt a new state flag.
Standing with them were from left were Senators Hillman T. Frazier, Kamesha B. Mumford, Justin Pope, Reginald D. Jackson, Johnny DuPree, Theresa Gillespie-Isom, Joseph C. Thomas Sr., Rod Hickman, Derrick T. Simmons, Sarita Simmons, Albert Butler, Sollie B. Norwood, and Gary Brumfield.
