Bill Text: MS SC596 | 2016 | Regular Session | Enrolled


Bill Title: Mourn the passing of GOP Pioneer Gil Carmichael of Meridian, Mississippi.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 8-4)

Status: (Passed) 2016-03-08 - Enrolled Bill Signed [SC596 Detail]

Download: Mississippi-2016-SC596-Enrolled.html

MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2016 Regular Session

To: Rules

By: Senator(s) Carmichael, Burton, Jackson (32nd), Blackwell, Clarke, Dearing, Fillingane, Frazier, Jackson (11th), McDaniel, Parker, Watson

Senate Concurrent Resolution 596

(As Adopted by Senate and House)

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION MOURNING THE PASSING OF GOP PIONEER, TRANSPORTATION ADVISOR AND RESPECTED BUSINESSMAN GILBERT E. "GIL" CARMICHAEL OF MERIDIAN, MISSISSIPPI, AND EXTENDING THE SYMPATHY OF THE LEGISLATURE.

     WHEREAS, Mississippi Republic patriarch Gil Carmichael, twice the GOP nominee for Governor, a former Transportation Advisor to President George H.W. Bush and successful businessman, passed away January 31, 2016, at the age of 88; and

     WHEREAS, Carmichael, a successful Car Dealer and Real Estate Developer, was the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in 1972 against veteran Democrat James O. Eastland.  He ran unsuccessfully for Governor in 1975 and 1979 against Democrat nominees Cliff Finch and William Winter.  His final race was in 1983 against Democrat Lieutenant Governor Brad Dye; and

     WHEREAS, he was born in Columbia, Mississippi, on June 27, 1927, the son of Calvin Ellzey Carmichael of the Goss Community in Marion County and Clyde Myrna Smith Carmichael of Columbia.  He graduated from Columbia High School in 1944, served in the military from 1945-1946, and graduated from Texas A&M in 1950 with a degree in business and a minor in petroleum engineering.  Gil was commissioned as an officer in the Coast Guard in the Korean War, and during his service was awarded the Silver Lifesaving Medal by the Secretary of the Treasury.  He moved to Meridian in 1961 and began his own company, which included two automobile dealerships and a real estate development company; and

     WHEREAS, despite never winning an election, Carmichael was a valuable public policy contributor.  Gil was one of the founding creators of the University of Denver's Intermodal Transportation Institute.  In 1998 he was appointed to the Amtrak Reform Council by Majority Leader Senator Trent Lott, and in January 1999 he became the Council's Chairman.  President Ford appointed him a member of the National Transportation Policy Study Commission from 1976 to 1979.  He served by Presidential appointment, on and as Chairman of the National Highway Safety Advisory Committee to the Secretary of Transportation from 1973 to 1976.  Gil was a pioneer in transportation in Mississippi.  In 1987 he helped originate, author and pass a 1,077-mile statewide four-lane highway construction program, and was also instrumental in the creation of a 700-mile regional railroad in East Mississippi and West Alabama, now a major part of the Kansas City Southern Railroad.  Gil also loved his Scottish and Clarke County roots.  He spent many hours at his family farm in DeSoto, Mississippi, where he enjoyed spending time with family and friends; and

     WHEREAS, survivors include his wife of 63 years, Carolyn Dean (Deanie) White Carmichael; his son, Gilbert Scott Carmichael and his wife, Laura; grandson, Gilbert Graham Carmichael of Meridian; sisters, Sue Horton of Enterprise, Mississippi, and Myrna Horton of Milford, Pennsylvania; three step-grandchildren:  Matt Davis (Stacey), Brittany Griesser (Morgan) and Kimberly Corn (John); and a host of relatives and friends; and

     WHEREAS, "Gil Carmichael inspired a generation of Republicans in 1975 when he became a force in Mississippi politics.  He was a mentor to many state leaders and friends and he will be missed;" Governor Phil Bryant said:

     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 passing of GOP Pioneer Transportation Advisor and respected businessman Gilbert E. "Gil" Carmichael of Meridian, Mississippi, and extend the sympathy of the Legislature.

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the surviving family of Gil Carmichael, forwarded to the Governor and Mississippi's congressional delegation, and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.

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