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Honorary Lifetime Membership is awarded to individuals who have made notable and significant contributions to the Association over the course of their active membership in SoACE, SACE or SWACE. In order to be considered for Honorary Life Membership, an individual must have been active in SoACE, SACE or SWACE for at least five years, and must no longer be eligible for active membership in the association because of retirement, job transition, or other similar reasons. Scott Maynard, Director Emeritus of The Career Center at Mississippi State, was one of two recipients of this prestigious honor at the 2017 Annual Conference in San Antonio.
Scott was nominated by Charlie Wilder, Assistant Director, The Career Center at Mississippi State, who said, in excerpts of his nomination letter:
Scott Maynard has been actively involved in professional associations holding various leadership positions. He lives the mission of SoACE by getting involved and encouraging his staff to be involved. He co-chaired the 2011 SoACE Conference in Savannah and believed that allowing others to enjoy their work would encourage them to give their best effort…he was going to make sure you got the job done, but you were also going to have fun doing it.
Beyond the association, Scott shows this same commitment to others at work and home. North Mississippi can have some cold times and this person didn’t hesitate to come out in the cold dressed in overalls with a work light and boots to climb into a crawl space and fix a heater for a co-worker. At work, his ability to stay cool and collected paid off when the building caught fire during a job fair. His legacy of developing others and fostering collaborations and the sharing of information live on through those who were fortunate enough to work with him. Whatever the location or situation, he is ultimately concerned for his people. His example is a lesson for us all: take care of your people and they will take care of you. Scott is a valued colleague and friend, and his presence at our conferences will be missed.
Scott Maynard is now President and CEO of The Greater Starkville Development Partnership. He holds Director Emeritus status from The Career Center at Mississippi State University where he retired in 2017. Scott received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing and an MBA from Mississippi State.
He also serves as President of the Cooperative Education and Internship Association Inc., a leading national voice on work-integrated learning. Previously he served on the Board of Directors for the Southern Association of Colleges and Employers (SoACE) and on the Board of the Accreditation Council for Cooperative Education. Scott also served on the Board of Aldermen for the City of Starkville, Mississippi from 2013-2017.
