Businessman Eddie Kinchen Named Mississippi College Alumnus of the Year
Eddie Kinchen’s lifetime of service, faithful leadership at his alma mater and remarkable success in the business world contributed to his selection as Mississippi College Alumnus of the Year.
A 1959 MC graduate, Kinchen will be honored at the Christian university’s 2016 Homecoming on the Clinton campus October 14-15.
Retiring in 2015 as senior vice president and chief operations officer at the Fox Everett insurance firm, Kinchen discovered more time to devote to a plethora of good causes.
“I’m not a believer in coincidence but in God’s providence,” Kinchen says. “He has placed multiple people, whom I shall call difference makers in my life.”
Today, the Jackson resident continues to make a difference in the lives of many people in the United States and overseas on church mission trips.
From membership on the MC Board of Trustees to joining the Habitat board to service on the Mississippi Baptist Convention’s education commission, Kinchen stays active as a volunteer.
But his work at Mississippi College truly goes above and beyond.
“Eddie has always stepped forward on so many occasions to help advance the mission of Mississippi College,” President Lee Royce says.
Whether assisting the campaign to renovate Self Hall, home of the School of Business, raising MC scholarship dollars or helping pay for summer missions, the Mississippian remains a tireless supporter of all things Blue & Gold.
“We have come to rely on Eddie Kinchen,” Royce added. “He continues to serve MC faithfully as a trustee and valued alumnus. I wish we knew more dedicated alumni like Eddie Kinchen.”
Business School Dean Marcelo Eduardo salutes Kinchen for his valuable fundraising assistance to back multi-million dollar renovations at Self Hall in 2007.
An MC accounting graduate, Kinchen provided tremendous help on numerous occasions to advance the School of Business, leaders say.
“But actually, the first thing that I think about him is that he is one of the finest men I have met,” Eduardo noted. “I feel fortunate to call him a dear friend and I am constantly encouraged and comforted by such friendship.”
His decades of service at Mississippi College go back to his undergraduate days in the late 1950s. Kinchen shared classes with Korean War veterans, including some men confined to wheelchairs. He recalls the occasions when he joined other students lifting the former soldiers upstairs to their classes in three-story Nelson Hall.
Beyond the Mississippi College campus, his long list of volunteer leadership assignments stretches from the Magnolia Speech School board to chairing the board of deacons at First Baptist Church Jackson.
In a “Beacon” magazine story in the summer of 2015, Kinchen explained the drive behind his spirit of volunteerism. It comes in a universe where God stands in control. “This is not about me. It’s about God putting each of us in certain places with certain people and giving us the opportunity to make a difference.”
A native of Independence, Louisiana, who also lived in Illinois and Mississippi, Kinchen speaks fondly of one big difference maker in his life. That’s his wonderful wife of 59 years, Betty Sue Kinchen.
Eddie Kinchen will join fellow Mississippi College award winners at a Homecoming Dinner at Anderson Hall on the evening of Friday October 14. For details, contact Lori Bobo of the Alumni Affairs Office at 601-925-3252 or lbobo@mc.edu
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