Local Democrats honored by their party

By By Steve Gillespie / staff writer
June 19, 2004
Bill Ready made sure his Mississippi Democratic Committee Lifetime Achievement Award "slanted to the left" as he showed it to news reporters and fellow Democrats Friday.
Ready, an attorney, received the award during a news conference at the Lauderdale County Courthouse for his lifelong commitment to the Democratic Party more than 50 years of service.
Ready threw some verbal jabs at the Republican Party after receiving the award from Melba B. Clark, chairman of the Lauderdale County Democratic Executive Committee.
Ready said he first got involved in the election process when he was 12 years old.
He called politics a great sport and one that a person does not grow too old to participate in.
Clark received the Chairman's Award for the Third Congressional District from the Mississippi Democratic Committee. The award is presented to a county executive committee in each congressional district who exemplifies the spirit of the Democratic Party through its organizational structure, activities and involvement.
Several people held political signs promoting Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, and bumper stickers were available.
During the news conference, Clark disclosed the Mississippi Democratic platform, declaring a commitment to fair pay, equal justice and education. Clark will serve as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Boston next month.
Several members of the Lauderdale County Democratic Executive Committee were on hand for the news conference, as well as Meridian City Councilman Jesse E. Palmer Sr. and Lauderdale County Supervisor Ray Boswell.