Pearl River County District III Supervisor Larry Davis has been elected president of the Mississippi Association of Supervisors and was honored at a reception Thursday night at the Mississippi Coast Convention Center in Biloxi.

The reception coincided with the end of the supervisor’s convention, which had been going on since Monday.

Davis has been a supervisor for eight years, and has served as the association’s third, second and, most recently, first vice president over the past three years. He was first nominated as third vice-president in 2004, and has been nominated each year for a higher office.

Davis said his election to this position will open up many opportunities for the county. However, if Davis is not re-elected as supervisor, he will have to resign the position of president and another nomination and election will be held.

Jack Gregory, executive director of the supervisors’ association, said Davis is the first supervisor from Pearl River County to be elected to the presidency.

“Pearl River County should be proud to have him. He’s very down to earth and has a lot of common sense. I’m really proud to have him as part of the association,” Gregory said.

One of the reasons Davis was nominated and elected for the position was his work after Hurricane Katrina, Gregory said. Davis was asked by the National Association of Counties to travel to Washington, D.C. and to Idaho to talk about the experience of being a county official after Katrina.

“He did a good job. It was important for him to go so others could glean knowledge about his experiences,” Joel Yelverton, assistant director of the association, said.

Davis’ daughter, Caycee Simon, who was one of several family members at the reception to support Davis, says her father is “more dedicated to the position and the residents of the district than anyone. He always goes out of his way to do the job.”

District V Supervisor Bettye Stockstill said, “It’s such an honor for someone from this county to be elected (president). We’re so proud of him.”

In his speech Thursday night, Davis said he wants the supervisors to focus on communication within their individual communities as well as with each other across the county and state.

“It is our responsibility to make (the government) work for our people and our community back home…. We need to go to Jackson, talk to legislators and say ‘we need ya’ll to help us,’” Davis said. “Let’s go home and think about three things: community, county, and state.”