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| Affiliation | Democratic |
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2009-01-01 |
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| Name | Charlotte Reeves |
| Address |
Jackson, Mississippi , United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
00, 1947
(77 years)
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| Contributor | Thomas Walker |
| Last Modifed | RBH
Dec 03, 2014 06:28pm |
| Tags |
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| Info | Few people know Charlotte Reeves once considered herself shy and lacking confidence. But those attributes haunted her until she decided to enter politics.
"Overcoming my shyness allowed me to seek political office, an activity that resulted in additional personal growth," said Reeves, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Jackson and second congressional representative of Mississippi. "Had I been elected, I would have had the self-confidence and moral strength to serve all of my constituency without regard to personal risk or gain. Public service can be one of the highest of callings."
A Jackson native, Reeves, 56, the daughter of the late Charles Naron and Elinor Naron, graduated from Provine High School in 1965 and Jackson Commercial College in 1966. The mother of one daughter, Stephanie Brantley, and grandmother of two, Rachel, 4, and Palmer, 1, Reeves founded Brief Encounters Inc., a legal staffing service for attorneys, paralegals and legal secretaries, in 1990.
In the early 1990s, she and her husband, Carl Monte, founded A-1 Pallet Company Inc., of Jackson, a recycling business that last year saved 42,500 trees and reduced 7,500 tons of wood waste to City of Jackson landfills.
"Because of the serendipitous nature of my life, it is hard to say whether I chose my primary career path or it chose me." she said. "When my husband and I became aware of the need and opportunity to recycle a wood product, we founded a service/manufacturing company, A-1 Pallet, near our home in inner-city Jackson. Our company has met, and continues to meet, many professional and personal needs. It recycles discarded pallets, helps reduce the flow of wood waste to local land fills, reduces the need to harvest more trees, and provides meaningful employment to 30-plus inner-city residents.
"In just 12 years, A-1 Pallet has gone from an idea to a multimillion-dollar business that received the Governor's Business Achievement Award for Small Business in 2002. It is difficult to decide who chose whom and which came first--our need to make a living or our desire to be of service to our community. Suffice it to say that A-1 Pallet allows us to do both. In a true sense, my career path has been a product of my personal values and work ethic."
Reeves became politically active in 1996. "Like so many people, I sat around saying, 'they need to do this,' and 'they need to do that.' I finally realized that 'they' are not going to do anything, I have to step forward and do something to try to make a difference to improve our business climate, our communities, schools, crime prevention and infrastructure, so I did," she said. "Over the next six years, I stepped forward and became a candidate for several offices. Even though I was not elected to an office, my desire to make a difference never wavered. I have seen that my perseverance and upbeat never-give-up attitude can be contagious. I feel a great sense of accomplishment for every woman whom I encourage and help to run for office or start her own business."
In 1999 and 2000, Reeves received the Chairman's Council Award from the MetroJackson Chamber of Commerce. In 2001, she received the Keep Mississippi Beautiful Award in the industry division, and small business award for Mississippi Business EXPO.
A member of the Mississippi Biomass Council, Mississippi Forestry Association, Mississippi Manufacturers Association, Mississippi Recycling Coalition and National Wood Pallet Association, Reeves is an ambassador for the MetroJackson Chamber of Commerce and Rankin County Chamber of Commerce, member and volunteer for First Baptist Church-Jackson, and a reader for the Eudora Welty Library Summer Reading Program.
In her spare time, Reeves makes up for lost time.
"I wish I had known in my 20s what I now know in my 50s, such as the challenge of being an entrepreneur, the importance of taking an active role in politics and the joy of volunteering," she said. "I have learned over the years to try to make everything that I do fun and enjoyable. Fortunately, the success of our business has allowed me a modest amount of travel abroad, thus providing an opportunity to experience other cultures and values and to better appreciate Mississippi. But even more than travel, the time I spend with my family, such as relaxing with Monte while watching a movie or The Discovery Channel, is most important to me."
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