Boys & Girls Clubs of North Mississippi’s CEO Zell Long was inducted into the Mississippi Boys & Girls Clubs Hall of Fame during a dinner and awards ceremony held in Natchez last week.
The Hall of Fame honors individuals whose high achievements have made a mark in the State of Mississippi, and are recognized as being true champions for children, and have provided innumerable accomplishments and lasting memories for the Boys & Girls Club movement.
While employed by the City of Tupelo, in 1994, Long was asked to serve on a Steering Committee to find ways to bring a Boys & Girls Club to the City of Tupelo. This resulted in the first Club being established in 1996 and today, Boys & Girls Clubs of North Mississippi administers five Clubhouse locations in four counties – Lee, Union, Tippah and Lafayette.
While employed with the City, Long wrote a Community Development Block Grant to the State of Mississippi to fund the construction of what would become home for the Haven Acres Boys & Girls Club. This request was combined with another grant application and with partnership among the City of Tupelo, BGCNMS and the neighborhood association, a second Club location became a reality as well as a center available for residents to utilize for indoor exercise, computer classes and monthly neighborhood association meetings.
Before being named CEO, Long served on the Corporate Board of Directors and as Board Chair. During that time, she attended Area Council meetings, Southeast Leadership and National Conferences – learning about the Movement and how to be the best advocate for North Mississippi Clubs. She was a 2008 recipient of the BGCA National Medallion.
Long was named CEO in 2010 after retiring from the City of Tupelo as Director of Community Development. Long retired with more than 34 years of service with the City. Under her leadership, the Board of Directors received the “Mississippi High Performing Board Team” award in 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and once again in 2024 from the Mississippi Area Council. She has served as the Executive Secretary for the Mississippi Area Council and also served on the Mississippi Alliance Board of Directors.
During her current 14 years as CEO with BGCNMS, the organization has seen significant growth in administration and operations – most recently purchasing and opening a new, permanent location for the Ripley Unit.
Long was awarded a Distinguished Service Award in 2016 by BGCA at the Southeast Leadership Conference and Professional of the Year Award in 2014 at the Mississippi Area Council meeting.
Long is very well known among other local civic and community service groups including: the Rotary Club of Tupelo, Renasant Bank Lee County Advisory Board, Tupelo/Lee County Community Foundation (LEAD, affiliate of CREATE Foundation), Committee for King Board of Directors and the Community Development Foundation Leadership Committee.
She has also volunteered her time with United Way of Northeast Mississippi, CREATE Foundation, North Mississippi Health Services, North Mississippi Medical Center, Excel by 5, CREATE Foundation’s Toyota Wellspring Education Committee, the state-wide Renaissance Community Loan Fund Board, the L.O.U. Reads Committee and others.
Long has received many awards and honors throughout her career which recognize her leadership and community contributions. She is a member of Jesus New Testament Holiness Church and is an Associate Minister, Sunday School Teacher, and Praise Team member.
The awards ceremony was a part of a two-day Mississippi-Louisiana Area Council Conference where the BGCNMS Corporate Board of Directors, now under the leadership of President Lisa Nichols, was awarded Mississippi Board Team of the Year for its high performance in resource development, finance, governance and operations.
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