Bill Text: MS SC553 | 2015 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Mourn the loss of Mississippi Gaming Commission Director of Investigations John Ballard Gorman.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-4)
Status: (Passed) 2015-02-18 - Enrolled Bill Signed [SC553 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2015-SC553-Enrolled.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2015 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Longwitz, Burton, Butler (38th), Frazier, Hopson, Jackson (11th), Jackson (32nd), Lee, Norwood, Simmons (12th), Simmons (13th), Stone
Senate Concurrent Resolution 553
(As Adopted by Senate and House)
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION MOURNING THE DEATH OF MISSISSIPPI GAMING COMMISSION DIRECTOR OF INVESTIGATIONS JOHN BALLARD GORMAN OF MADISON COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI, WHO WAS LOST IN THE LINE OF DUTY, AND EXTENDING THE CONDOLENCES OF THE LEGISLATURE.
WHEREAS, John Ballard Gorman, 45, an Enforcement Officer with the Mississippi Gaming Commission, passed away on Wednesday, January 21, 2015, following an accident during a training exercise in Tunica County; and
WHEREAS, John Gorman had been the Branch Director of the Gaming Commission's Vicksburg Office, and was newly named Director of Investigations. This is the first loss of an employee in the 22 years the Gaming Commission has operated; and
WHEREAS, born on January 28, 1969, in Vicksburg, John was adopted by a family that brought him home when he was just three days old and loved him beyond measure; and
WHEREAS, John was raised in Jackson and graduated from St. Joseph Catholic High School. He attended the University of Mississippi where he was an active member of Pi Kappa Alpha and graduated from Mississippi College in 1992 with a degree in Criminal Justice; and
WHEREAS, John began his career with the Mississippi Gaming Commission in January 1994 as a Gaming Enforcement Agent I in Tunica County and graduated from the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officer Training Academy the following May. He was promoted to Gaming Enforcement Agent II in 1995, to Special Enforcement Agent in 1997, and in 1999 became Branch Director and opened the Vicksburg Office which he ran until his death. His title was changed to Division Director in 2012, and he was recently promoted to Director of Investigations, a promotion he had worked hard to achieve. John was an NRA Law Enforcement Firearms Instructor, a Certified Public Manager and a Glock Firearms Armorer; and
WHEREAS, "John Gorman was a hands-on boss," Jackson Municipal Airport Authority Security Manager Will Dickson said. "John was a dedicated family man, and he was dedicated to the agency. He had spent his entire career with the Gaming Commission"; and
WHEREAS, John was a devout member of Saint Richard Catholic Church in Jackson. John was preceded in death by his father, James William Gorman of Jackson; maternal grandparents, Charles Earl Ballard and Elaine Ryle Ballard of Madison; paternal grandparents, Joseph Henry Gorman and Lilly Mae Merchant Gorman of Leland; and two cousins who were his hunting buddies, Kirk Hudson of Magee and Ryles Logan of Ft. Smith, Arkansas. John was a very devoted husband and father and is survived by his wife, Summer Goff Gorman; daughters, Abby Grace and Lauren Burgett, all of Madison; his mother, Mildred Ballard Gorman, of Jackson; sisters, Julie Gorman Levanway of Jackson and Sherry Gorman Sanderson (Charles David) of Pulaski, Tennessee; nephews and nieces: Andrew Gorman Levanway (Natalie) of Jackson, William Douglas Levanway (Allie) of London, England, Tarah Sanderson Holt (Jamie), Charles Clayton Sanderson, and Mary Shelby Sanderson, all of Pulaski, Tennessee; one great-nephew, Andrew Graham Levanway of Jackson; loving in-laws, Brenda and Jacky Goff of Tupelo; brother-in-law, Kevin Goff of Tupelo; nephew, Landon Goff of Tupelo; and several aunts and cousins; and
WHEREAS, we can never repay our debt to this officer and his family, but we must do what we can, with all that we have, to live our lives in a way that pays tribute to his memory. We should not pause and remember to thank law enforcement officers only in the wake of tragedy, we should do it every day. We thank the family of John Gorman for sharing him with the State of Mississippi which he loved:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby mourn the death of Mississippi Gaming Commission Director of Investigations John Ballard Gorman, and extend the condolences of the Legislature to his surviving family on his passing.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the surviving family of Officer John Gorman and the Executive Director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission, forwarded to the Governor, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.
