Arthur Bernard Green 

Arthur Bernard Green, a native of Kokomo, Mississippi, is the Agency Owner and Managing Principal of Green Insurance Group LLC, doing business as GlobalGreen Insurance Agency, a locally owned independent insurance agency in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.  As an independent agency, he represents more than 50 insurance companies, which allows him to offer more choices and better service. With the strong partnerships and access to specialty and diversified markets, he has many options to fit your specific needs. He is committed to helping people accumulate wealth and protecting it along the way by using an array of insurance and financial services.  Additionally, he is the President and Chief Executive Officer of A.B. Green & Associates, Inc., a real estate investment and development firm.  As a Citizen-Soldier, he served as a Commissioned Officer in the United States Army Reserve for 23 years and retired with the rank of Major.  In 1994, he earned a Bachelors of Science degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance from the University of Southern Mississippi.

He is the Polemarch of the Hattiesburg Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Fraternity.  Currently, he is an active member of the USM Alumni Association, the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, the National Association of Realtors, the Area Development Partnership, and the Partnership Foundation.  He also has served on the board of numerous organizations including the USM Foundation, the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club, the American Red Cross, the United Way, the Greater Pine Belt Community Foundation, and the Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport Board of Commissioners.

Green and his wife, Trish have  five children…Ieesha, Trey, Raegan, Jeremiah and Alexandria…and two grandsons, Lenden and Laiden.  They are active members of the West Point Baptist Church in Hattiesburg.  He is the son of the late Reverend Arthur L. Green and Debora P. Green of Kokomo, Mississippi.

Andrea L. Wesley

When nominated for the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHL) Board’s Black History Month Educator of the Year Award (2011), Dr. Andrea Wesley responded to the Statement of Purpose section: “…As an African American teacher, … I am an agent of change as I challenge students and myself to critically evaluate concepts…. an encourager as I challenge each student to meet their own potential for excellence first….[and]…a role model embracing the positive possibilities of positive goal-setting and hard work…... In conclusion, the union of change agent, encourager, and role model is a seamless composite of what the “teacher” has been and will be for me a mirror of hope…”.   Dr. Andrea Wesley is a native of Houston, Texas, the second of six children of the late Mary and the late Andrew A. Lott, Jr., both teachers. Her mother’s career as a faculty member at Prairie View A. & M. University and her father’s over 40-year role as middle school Industrial Arts/Sheltered Workship teacher provided the “walk the walk / talk the talk” role models for all six children.   Dr. Wesley was awarded her B.A. (1971) and  M. A. (1972)  degrees in Psychology from the Texas Woman’s University, and Ph. D. in Psychology (1976) from Florida State University.  Dr. Wesley later joined the faculty of the Department of Psychology at the University of Southern Mississippi (1977).   She retired in 2015 with the rank of  Full Professor, notably the only African American faculty member in the Psychology Department for 35 of  those 38 years.     

The role of teacher and mother continued to be embraced by Dr. Wesley, after marriage to Dr. Joseph Wesley, with the growing family of four daughters and one son.  Their commitment to giving back to the community was evident in her commitment to over 14 years as Troop Leader or Asst. Troop Leader for Cadette/Senior Troop 405 of the Gulf Pines  Council (1987 – 2001). Along with other adults in the Troop 405 leadership role, over 16 girls (including her four daughters) achieved the prestigious Gold Award rank (analogous to the Eagle Scout rank).  When her son Joseph, Jr. entered scouting as a cub scout, Dr. Wesley joined her husband Joseph (Scoutmaster) as Asst. Scoutmaster of the Boy Scout Pack/Troop 449 (Scout Reach). Joseph, Jr. achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in 2006.  Both Dr. Wesley and her husband, Dr. Joseph Wesley, Sr., have been recognized for their service to scouting by being awarded the Pine Belt (2011) and Silver Beaver Awards (2019).  Currently, Dr. Wesley serves on the Pine Burr Council Executive Board as Vice-President of Scout Reach.  They have also been honored by the NAACP State Conference as recipients of Vernon Dahmer Award for Political Action and Voter Education (2021).  Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. selected both as recipients of the 2020 Political Awareness and Involvement Award.

An advocate of civic engagement, Dr. Wesley’s commitment to serving others in the Hattiesburg community includes past and/or current experiences as St. James C.ME. Church Secretary and Missionary Society Treasurer, Retired Education Personnel of Mississippi Life members (past Secretary),  NAACP Forrest County Branch Executive Board (completing Gold membership level) and Co-Chair Education Committee Chair, League of Women Voters Pine Belt, Hattiesburg Evening Optimist Club and  Jamestown-Lincoln Road Neighborhood Association (past Co-Presidents). Additionally, they were very involved parents in the past, supporting their five children by serving in various capacities as members and officers in organizations of the Hattiesburg Public School District. They have also received recognition for service at St. James C.M.E. Church and the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church district/annual conference.  

Dr. Wesley, throughout her personal and professional growth experiences,  has sought to  respond to the inspiring challenges presented by Whitney Young: “Stretch your mind and fly” …… “Support the strong, give courage to the timid, remind the indifferent, and warn the opposed.” With these words of encouragement and challenge,  the social worker and civil rights leader Whitney Young created an environment  which fostered then … and now…  the activism spirit promoting economic strength and social justice.  It is where the vision becomes the reality.  Dr. Andrea Wesley has sought throughout her lifetime to maintain that vision, gently, but firmly, plotting the course toward that beckoning positive reality for all.

JOSEPH Wesley

“Every man is our brother, and every man’s burden is our own.  Where poverty exists, all are poorer. Where hate flourishes, all are corrupted. Where injustice reins, all are unequal.” Whitney Young’s fervently spoken words announce to the world that “Every man” identifies a community where isolation is not possible and where the responsibility to respond to the needs of your fellow man .. “our brother” …  is a truth which cannot be ignored.   It was in this community of “every man” where Dr. Joseph Wesley entered the world on a rural farm in Wrightsville, Georgia as the second of five children for Lorenzo and Elma Wesley. Although his parents did not have more than a grade school education, the spiritual and work ethic they modeled defined Joseph’s own lifetime of serving God through serving his fellow man.

Majoring in biology and active as an undergraduate student in the Sunday School and Summer Crusades for Christ activities, Dr. Wesley graduated from Paine College, a United Methodist Church affiliated institution in Augusta, Georgia (1969). Later, he was employed as a Manager by the F. W. Woolworth national store chain and sent to several store sites in the Southeast over the next few years.  Wherever he worked as store manager, he served as Scoutmaster: Parkwood C.M.E. Church, Charlotte, NC (1969-1971; also Boy Scout Commissioner); Sidney Park C.M.E. Church, Columbia, SC (1972-1973.  He acquired management and organizational leadership skills which provided the personal and professional foundation needed to embark on and successfully complete graduate education training at Florida A & M University (master’s degree in Guidance and Counseling, 1976) and  at Mississippi State University (doctoral degree in Counselor Education, 2002). Thus, before and during his employment as a Vocational-Technical Counselor at Pearl River Community College (1977 – 2015), these experiences in service , character development, and spiritual motivation provided the reservoir from which he would draw guidance to effectively address challenging life commitments, particularly in scouting.  Scouting allowed Dr. Wesley to live and teach to youth the positive social and religious values instilled in him as a child.  His four daughters (Girl Scouts) successfully completed the highest rank level, the Gold Award.  His son, Joseph, Jr, likewise, was awarded Boy Scout highest achievement level, the Eagle Scout rank (2006). While serving as Scoutmaster at St. James C.M.E.  Church, Hattiesburg, MS (1995 – present), he has served also as a Pine Burr Area Council Commissioner / ScoutReach emphasis. He and his wife, Andrea, have received the Pine Belt (2011) and the Silver Beaver Awards (2019), recognizing their commitment to scouting’s focus on scouting’s character building and moral values.

The dedication to scouting is reflective of the other community engagement challenges which  Dr. Wesley has accepted in past or current roles: St. James C.M.E. Church Sunday School Superintendent, Steward Board, Board of Trustees; NAACP Gold Life member (continuing), Co-Chair Political Action Committee, and 3rd   Vice President, Forrest County Branch; Pearl River Valley Opportunity Board (past member); League of Women Voters Pine Belt; Hattiesburg Evening Optimist Club; Hattiesburg Little League Board of Directors (past Chairman); and Jamestown-Lincoln Road Neighborhood Association (past President).  Noteworthy as well are awards recognizing Dr. Wesley’s commitment to service: Outstanding Alumnae Award, Paine College, Augusta, GA (2011); Mississippi Counselor’s Association Special Recognition Counselor of the Year Award (2014); Community Service Award Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Hattiesburg (2013); and Layman of the Year Award,  St. James C.M.E. Church, Hattiesburg, MS (2016); NAACP State Conference recipient, with Andrea, of Vernon Dahmer Award for Political Action and Voter Education (2021); Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. selected, with Andrea, for 2020 Political Awareness and Involvement Award.

Dr. Joseph Wesley and Dr. Andrea Wesley have formed a faith, family and community engagement partnership, which they freely share with others.