Meet the Candidates: Deborah Stockman Hodges

Deborah Stockman Hodges  grew up in Mobile, Alabama. She attended the W on a Centennial Scholarship and graduated in May 1990 with a degree in accounting. While Deborah has worked in public accounting for most of her career,  for a few years she acted as controller for a major Christian media company and a building contractor. She is now a partner in the Mobile office of Prichard, Dewberry & Hodges, PC, a public accounting firm. She and her husband also own a sausage manufacturing and wholesale food distribution company.

Regarding her civic activities, Deborah tells us "I am currently president of the Women’s Business Center of Southern Alabama, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower women and men to start and grow their own business. I am also treasurer of Mississippi’s First Alumnae Association, serve on the board of directors of the Mississippi Nurses’ Foundation, as well as volunteer with the Alpine Hills Swim Club and the Alpine Sharks Swim Team."

Deborah has been married to her husband Jim since the week she graduated from the W. Says Deborah "We have three children, Cole, who is fourteen, Clay, who is eleven, and Caelin, who is eight and wants to be a W girl. We live in George County, Mississippi, between Mobile and Lucedale on a small farm with a barnyard full of animals."

Women in Applied Politics Seminar

(left to right)  Linda Ross Aldy, Lillian Wade, Elaine Evans, Mary Libby Payne, Deborah Hodges, Kay Cobb, and Lydia Quarles.  Not pictured are Betty Lou Jones and Jimmie Moomaw

Jimmie Meese Moomaw (c/o 1958 ) gave the Keynote speech at the Women in Applied Politics seminar sponsored by the Stennis Institute and the Mississippi Commission on the Status of Women. Coordinated by MUW alumna Lydia Quarles, Senior Policy Analyst for the Stennis Institute, the presentation focused on (1) getting women to run for public office and (2) then getting them elected when they do.

An amazing group of women were in attendance, including a large contingency from the W: Judge Mary Libby Payne (c/o 1954), Judge Kay Cobb, Betty Lou Jones, Deborah Hodges (c/o 1990), Elaine Evans (c/o 1970), Linda Ross Aldy,(c/o 1973) Lillian Wade (c/o 1969), and Lydia Quarles (c/o 1971).

Attendee Deborah Hodges remarked: "The panels were extremely impressive, well-spoken funny, informative and inspiring. I think I learned more in this 6 hours than I learned in 60 hours of continuing education last year, and not just about politics. I learned about how to be a citizen and most of what I learned can be applied to my daily life on a practical level. I even learned what the Tea Party is supposed to really be about!"

The program included a panel of women from different parties. MUW alumna Kay Cobb represented the TEA party, Rita Wray, the Republican Party and Gloria Williamson was from the Democratic Party. According to Judge Mary Libby Payne "One person from the League of Women Voters said that panel was worth the whole $75 registration fee!"

"Women aren’t running for office in Mississippi. Mississippi women make 73% of what their male counterparts earn. When you look at 'women’s issues', they are LIFE issues – healthcare, education, jobs with good wages. We need more women in elected office at ALL levels (not just in Mississippi, either)" said Deborah. She continued "So, W girls, we’ve got to do better. If we can’t run, we can at least influence. At a bare minimum, we need to get active and work to elect those who share our vision locally, nationally and statewide"

Still, electing women is not the whole job. Judge Mary Libby Payne told us "There was a man there who had been in elective office for 37 years who is retiring this year. He brought his daughter and raved about getting to be in a group like this where he could just listen to women telling of their experiences. Folks, we have got to get more ways to get men to hear us because when they do they become our cheerleaders."

According to Jimmie " Women who are motivated to service and who want to make the most profound impact with their work should consider this: The institutions that offer the greatest opportunity to affect real change are Education/teaching, Church/preaching, and politics/holding elected office. I decided a long time ago that the path to making the greatest impact on the most people lay in the political realm. I challenge all of you with an impulse to serve to consider running for public office."

Thanks to the supporting institutions:  Stennis Center for Public Service, the Foundation of the Mid-South and Newk's of Jackson.

Pets on Campus

Like most universities, The W does not and did not allow pets to live in the dorm.  Like most university rules, this one was ignored by at least a few students.


I had a cat in the dorm my Sophomore year.  A friend of mine found her on campus and thought it would be good for me after my Dad died.  I got caught because he was sticking his paw under the door when people would pass by.  I found it a home with Missy Davis’s mom.  Then my Junior and Senior years, and several years afterwards, I had a pet tarantula named Amber.  I always found it amusing to tell people that she had gotten out to see their reactions.  A couple of the BLs across the hall from 501 had a cat my Senior year and that’s when I discovered I had become allergic to cats.  Funny how things could change in just 2 years.   (Dana Jackson)


Dana's friend, Angie, had this to say about the tarantula's food supply:  "DJ didn't mention the CRICKETS she kept in the hall to feed to Amber the tarantula. Let me just say cricket noises echo off of cinderblock walls...all night long.... ;)  Much like the train whistles, though, you just got used to it."

"I had a pet parakeet my Junior and Senior years....named "S***bird" (excuse the language:-)....originally known as Chipper, but somehow evolved, hmmm? wonder how that happened!  LOL!  Well, that bird learned how to say some very creative things!..."where's Traci", "Michelle's my buddy", "I'm a s***bird", "what's your number?", etc.  It got out in the hallway a few times and flew all the way to the elevator from the last room by the stairwell in Goen!  THEN, we had a cat in 501, named "Patch" as BL actives...it was Carol Cooper's cat.  It fell out of the 5th floor window once and survived but never quite was the same.  Lots of fun memories w/ the critters! " (Traci Demel Schulz '90)


"We once had a hamster on the hall, which was universally hated due to its nocturnal and eternal exercising on its wheel. And there was a toddler who belonged to the "dorm mother" in the Mag. She was kind of a pet to all - we loved her! I remember she had a unusual trait: she ALWAYS tiptoed." (Cheryl Jackson Cooper, Class of '82)

"My suitemate and I had a cat our senior year. He was the hall cat, and since by senior year you'd picked who you wanted to live with, nobody turned us in. Opus was a quiet cat, and Lesa and I were really careful. We would put a towel under the door of the room he was staying in at the time, then leave the bathroom door open to that room and shut the bathroom door to the other room. The RA left us alone, and Opus graduated along with us." (Michele Perry Bernard, Class of '83) 


"I lived on the hall with Michele, Lesa and Opus, and was a suitemate to the RA.  The last week of school we had Opus out in the hall one night and introduced him to the RA.  I remember saying that I couldn't believe she didn't know he was there." (Ruth Wilz Curcuru, Class of '83)


What about you or your friends?  Did you have pets on the hall?  Leave a comment and tell us about it.