Hunt retires after long career with Trustmark National Bank

Hunt, a native of McCool, began his career with Trustmark as a teller in 1941 after graduating from Draughon's Business College. He took additional courses at Mississippi State and graduated from the American Institute of Banking and the School of Banking of the South at Louisiana State University.

Advancing through the ranks at Trustmark, he became president in 1976 and vice chairman in 1992.

He serves on the boards of directors of Trustmark Corp. and Trustmark National Bank, the Life Insurance Company of Mississippi, and Health Futures, and is a member of the State Legislative Committee and the Special Planning Committee of the Mississippi Bankers Association.

In the field of education, Hunt is a past president and member of the executive committee of the Mississippi State University Foundation and recently directed the Board of Directors Phase of The Campaign for Mississippi State, the university's $78 million major gifts campaign.

He also is a member of the board of directors of the Jackson State University Development Foundation; a member of the board of trustees of Piney Woods Country Life School; and has served on fund-raising drives for Belhaven College, Millsaps College, and Mississippi College.

Mississippi State President Donald Zacharias has said of Hunt, “He made a commitment years ago to do whatever it takes to advance education in this state. His name is synonymous with volunteer. The future of education in Mississippi has been brightened because Alvis Hunt volunteered years ago.”

Through the years, Hunt has served numerous civic and charitable organizations in a wide range of capacities.

The Epilepsy Foundation has named him its Humanitarian of the Year and he received the Volunteer Activist Award from Goodwill Industries Volunteer Services in 1987. In 1985, he won the Silver Beaver Award, Andrew Jackson Council of Boy Scouts of America.

He currently is on the board of trustees and a member of the executive committee of Mississippi Baptist Medical Center; a member of the Commission on Environmental Quality; a member of the board of directors and past president of Junior Achievement of Mississippi; a member of the board of Mississippi Ballet International; vice president of the Jackson Industrial Development Corp.; chairman of the Central Mississippi Growth Foundation; and a member of the board and past president of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce.