News

The Board of Directors of Goodwill Industries of Mississippi announces that Dave Hollingsworth of Brandon will be its new President and Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Gray Wiggers, who is retiring. “After a comprehensive national search, Dave has been unanimously selected by the Board of Directors to serve as our next President and CEO,” said Stephanie Shaw, Goodwill Board Chair.

“Under Dave’s leadership and the strong support from our Goodwill team of employees and associates, as well as the full backing by our excellent volunteer board, Goodwill expects to continue its significant growth in meeting our mission of helping our associates and clients gain independence by obtaining employment,’’ said Gray Wiggers, retiring CEO and Don Simpson, retiring EVP and COO.

Dave has served as Vice President of Marketing and Community Involvement for Goodwill of Mississippi for the past two years. Prior to coming to Goodwill, he served as Market Development Director of The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, MS for ten years.

Hollingsworth has been an active community volunteer, having served as board member and Past President of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum and currently is an active board member of the Mississippi Council of Economic Education. He recently graduated from the Goodwill Executive Development Program, a 16-month training program offered by Goodwill International designed to prepare candidates for top leadership roles. Only twelve people were admitted into the 2014-2015 class. He graduated from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio in 1978 with a B.S. Business Administration with majors in Marketing and Economics.

Goodwill Industries of Mississippi is a provider of job training and employment opportunities for people with disabilities or other barriers to employment. Based in Ridgeland, Mississippi and covering central Mississippi, Goodwill has an annual budget of approximately $5 million, 140 employees, with programs and operations in Jackson, Ridgeland, Pearl and Hattiesburg.