Commissioners
Commissioner Profiles
Murphree, Gary Phone: Not Available. Email: garycm@bellsouth.net
1st Congressional District
Biographical Information:
Gary Murphree received his Bachelor of Science Degree from Mississippi State University in 1978.
He served as President of the MS Realtors Land Institute in both 1995 and 2006, was a member of the first Realtor Leadership Class in 1997, Chairman of the MS Realtors Governmental Affairs Committee in 1998 and was a member of the State Technical Committee of the National Resource Conservation Service in 2004.
He currently serves as a member of the National Association of Realtors Commercial Alliance Committee, as the governmental and legislative liaison to his member board, the Northeast MS Board of Realtors, is a member of the MS Realtors Political Action Committee, is a member of Farm Bureau, President of U. S. South brokerage firm, President of J&M Properties Investment Firm and the owner of Murphree Farms.
He was appointed to the MS Real Estate Commission in 2005 and currently serves as the MREC Vice-Chairman.
Dean, Jr., John M. Phone: Not Available. Email: jdean@deanlandmart.com
2nd Congressional District
Biographical Information:
John M. Dean, Jr., ALC, CIPS is President and Principal Broker / Owner of LANDMART, Inc. and Dean Land & Realty Company of Leland, MS, providers of full service real estate brokerage and management since 1982.
Licensed in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi as well as holding the professional designations of Accredited Land Consultant (ALC) and Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS), Dean offers specialized expertise in the investment grade farmland realty sector to both domestic and international clients.
Peer recognition for his real estate industry performance has included RLI Land RealtorŪ of America (1998), Mississippi RealtorŪ of the Year (1999) and twice being named RLI Land RealtorŪ of Mississippi.
Dean has held several real estate industry leadership roles at state, national and international levels to include the following: National President, RealtorsŪ Land Institute (2003); President, MS Association of RealtorsŪ (1997); Director, National Association of RealtorsŪ (1996-2005); Director International Real Estate Federation (2005-2009) and Chairman, MS Real Estate Commission (2006-2007).
Additional civic and community affairs have involved being Past Chairman, MS Soil and Water Conservation Commission; Lieutenant Colonel (Ret), MS Army National Guard; Director, MS World Trade Center; and Deacon, First Baptist Church.
He is married to the former Betty Kerg and they have one son and four grandchildren.
Edwards, Larry W. Phone: Not Available. Email: Not Available. 3rd Congressional District
Biographical Information:
Larry W. Edwards is the Broker-Owner of The Smith-Edwards Company in Ridgeland, MS. He specializes in commercial and investment brokerage along with commercial and residential development.
He has been an active realtor for over 35 years and served as President of the Jackson Association of Realtors in 1984 and was selected as both local and state Realtor of the Year for 1985. Mr. Edwards has served for many years as a member and chairman of various committees and as President of the Mississippi Association of Realtors in 1996. At the national level, he has been active for over 25 years serving on many committees and as Chairman of Federal Taxation Committee in 1993. Mr. Edwards is currently a NAR RPAC Trustee serving as Vice-Chair for 2007 and will become the Chairman of NARRPAC Trustees for the year 2008.
Mr. Edwards is active in his community and is presently on the board of Palmer Home for Children in Columbus and a Trustee of Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson. He and his wife, Pam, are members of First Presbyterian Church of Jackson where he serves as a Deacon. They have four daughters and one grand-daughter.
Cumbest, Mark Phone: Not Available. Email: Not Available. 4th Congressional District
Biographical Information:
Mark Cumbest, Broker-Owner of Cumbest Realty, Inc. started the company in 1975 immediately upon his graduation from the University of Southern Mississippi where he majored in Real Estate and Insurance. He holds the Accredited Land Consultant Designation of the Realtors Land Institute. He was named Land Realtor of America in 1991 and served as National President of the Realtors Land Institute in 1995. He was chosen Mississippi Realtor of the Year in 1997 and was inducted in the Mississippi Realtor Hall of Fame in 1999. In 2002 he was selected as one of the Top 10 South Mississippi Community Leaders and inducted into the Roland Weeks Leadership Hall of Fame by the Sun Herald newspaper and the Journal for South Mississippi Business. He was named to Who's Who in Mississippi Business in 2005 by the Mississippi Business Journal. In 2005 he was appointed by Governor Haley Barbour as the Fourth Congressional District Representative on the Mississippi Real Estate Commission and currently serves as Chairman. Also in 2005 he was appointed by the governor to the Governor's Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He was recently appointed by the Governor to the newly formed Advisory Council of the Mississippi Windpool Underwriting Association. He currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Gulf Coast Business Council. He was inducted into the University of Southern Mississippi Hall of Fame in 2006. He serves on the Board of Directors of the USM Foundation. He and Pam, his wife of 28 years, have two sons Grant and Reid.
Gilless, Al Phone: Not Available. Email: Not Available. Member-At-Large
Biographical Information:
Bio not currrently available. Information will be added as it becomes available.
