John M. Floyd, Attala County native and author of more than 1000 published short stories, articles, poems and essays, presented the program at the October meeting of the Twenty-First Century Club. The meeting was held at the Mary Ricks Thornton Cultural Center. Hostesses for the meeting were Mrs. Al Chadick and Mrs. Doug King.
President Mrs. Edward Bryant called the meeting to order, and Parliamentarian Mrs. Jerry Mooney led the salute to the flag.
Mrs. Mooney led the group in a devotional from Galatians 5:22-26. Historian Mrs. Hugh Potts, Jr., gave a history moment from November 1931. Secretary Mrs. John Bryant checked the roll and read the minutes from the previous meeting and Treasurer Mrs. Emmitt Rose gave a budget report.
Mrs. Eddie Bell introduced her guest, Mr. Floyd, and his wife Carolyn, and he discussed his extensive career in writing with the group.
Floyd grew up in Sallis and graduated from Kosciusko High School. He earned a degree in Electrical Engineering from Mississippi State University and worked for IBM for 30 years. During that time, he started writing short stories and, in 1993, began sending the stories to editors.
Floyd won the 2007 Derringer Award for short mystery fiction and his stories have appeared in over 200 publications. In addition to writing short stories, he has taught writing courses in the Community Enrichment program at Millsaps College for many years.
Club members present at the October meeting were Mrs. Frank Bailey, Mrs. Eddie Bell, Mrs. Edward Bryant, Mrs. John Bryant, Mrs. Edward Fenwick, Mrs. Lamar Hooker, Mrs. Doug King, Mrs. Jerry Mooney, Mrs. Owen Oliver, Mrs. Keith Paton, Mrs. Hugh Potts, Jr., Mrs. Emmitt Rose, Mrs. Mike Ryan, Mrs. John Shaw, Mrs. Eddie Thomas and Mrs. Jimmy Wallace. Associate Member Mrs. Cadman Porter and Honorary Members Mrs. Fred Allen Bell and Mrs. Billie Wasson were also in attendance.
