2000-2004, Administration of Ronnie Musgrove

This series is comprised of the Policy and Planning Division’s correspondence during the period of the Musgrove administration. It includes approximately 784 computer files: GroupWise 5.5 email messages and attachments (including photographs of the governor’s staff) and Microsoft Office documents. Frequent topics of discussion were the governor’s scheduled visits to schools, policy research, staff functions, and the 2003 gubernatorial election.

In addition to paper photographs and negatives, Governor Musgrove’s administration transferred thousands of digital photographs to MDAH. The images are presented here by date. No descriptive information was provided other than what can be interpreted from the folder and image names.

The series consists of approximately 750 Microsoft Word documents used to compose 2000-2003 proclamations and associated files of Governor Ronnie Musgrove's administration. David Ronald (Ronnie) Musgrove became the sixty-second governor of Mississippi in 2000 and served until 2004. The proclamations are legal and non-legal official announcements of state holidays, flag lowerings, commendations, and similar topics. Legal proclamations were administered by the governor's legal counsel, signed by the governor, and issued by the Secretary of State's Office. Non-legal proclamations were managed by the governor's mail/correspondence coordinator and signed and issued by the governor. Form letters addressed to citizens who requested proclamations from the governor's legal counsel were saved with the proclamations. The proclamation files also contain Certificates of Recognition and Writs of Election issued by the governor, as well as "dates" (2002) and "summaries" (2003) files that list the proclamations by month.

MDAH was granted access to inventory the records of the Office of the Governor in the closing days of Musgrove's administration. Electronic work files created by the governor's staff were saved to a shared drive on the office server. Legal proclamations and related files were stored together under a "legal\proclamations" directory. Non-legal proclamations and related files were arranged under a separate "proclamations" directory by year of our nation (July 4-July 3) or other date range, and thereunder by topic. Files not transferred for use by the succeeding Barbour administration were copied by MDAH staff onto CD-ROMs on January 9, 2004, and subsequently loaded onto the MDAH electronic archives server for preservation. In November 2006 the Microsoft Word files were converted to browser-friendly Portable Document Format (PDF) files and made available within the MDAH Electronic Archives User Interface

This series consists of files created and/or received and maintained by Wanda Niblett Smith, Health Policy Advisor to Governor Ronnie Musgrove from September 2001 through December 2003. The bulk of the documents are interoffice memoranda sent to the governor and his staff pertaining to health-related legislation, grants, proposals, initiatives, programs, plans, and issues. Also included are correspondence, presentations, spreadsheets, surveys, letters drafted for the governor's signature, and other related materials. The files reflect her involvement in task forces, alliances, coalitions, and groups, as well as her work with state agencies, including the Division of Medicaid and the Department of Human Services.

The series includes approximately 120 Microsoft Office files generated by Governor Ronnie Musgrove's staff working with the Advisory Commission on the Mississippi State Flag and the Mississippi Coat of Arms. The documents are correspondence, the executive order establishing the Commission, responses to a lawsuit filed against Commission members, a design presentation, and meeting agendas and minutes.

David Ronald (Ronnie) Musgrove became the sixty-second governor of Mississippi in 2000 and served until 2004. The Commission was established by an executive order signed by Governor Ronnie Musgrove on May 5, 2000. Its seventeen members were tasked with recommending designs for a state flag and coat of arms to the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the Speaker no later than May 4, 2001. On December 12, 2000, the Commission advised the legislature to make the 1894 coat of arms the official state coat of arms and to call a referendum for voters to choose between the 1894 flag design and a new one. The legislature approved the 1894 design for the state coat of arms on February 7, 2001. On April 17, 2001, 64.39% of Mississippi voters favored the 1894 flag design.

The series consists of files generated by the governor’s staff for use in tracking the status and progress of proposed legislation. Included are tracking spreadsheets, legislative agenda summaries, lists of vetoed and signed bills, internal memoranda tracking legislative agenda items, and notifications to the House of Representatives and Senate that the governor has approved bills.

This series includes nearly 730 electronic files maintained by Director of Administration John Gilbert, his successor, Felicia Gavin, and their staff. The files cover a wide variety of topics, including finance, health, education, and state agencies. The files consist of materials such as reports, correspondence, legislative bills, and organizational charts.

The approximately 863 electronic files in this series were compiled and produced by Musgrove's Policy and Planning Division to develop key policy initiatives and advise the governor on issues of state government. General topics include agriculture, economic development, environment, health, the military, and public safety. A few materials from public agencies and private companies are included.

The files within this series were generated and/or maintained by the governor's second chief of staff, Bill Renick, and his assistant. The bulk consists of Renick's comments to the governor on proposed legislation. Included to a lesser extent are internal memoranda and correspondence.

This series is comprised of correspondence from private citizens and groups to, and responses from, the governor’s office during the period of the Musgrove administration. It includes approximately 3700 computer files: email messages and attachments and Microsoft Office documents and spreadsheets. Frequent topics of discussion were the state flag, football, and Musgrove's monthly "One-on-One with the Governor" meetings, at which constituents were encouraged to bring their concerns directly to the governor.

The governor's office staff used GroupWise 5.5 for managing email, and the governor's website included an address to which constituents could write and receive responses from the staff on behalf of the governor. The electronic portion of the series does not include correspondence composed by the governor himself. Some of the constituent emails from 2000 were lost prior to the transfer to MDAH, which may explain the presence of orphaned file attachments.

The "other files" in this series include letters composed by the governor's staff in response to constituents, as well as mailing lists for batched responses. The governor's office acquired Intranet Quorum (IQ) constituent services software in 2001 to track messages coming into the office and to generate form-letter responses. The system was left in the governor's office for the Barbour administration, but "pre-IQ" constituent responses were transferred to MDAH with the electronic records and appear with the "other files."

These historical materials may contain offensive language or negative stereotypes. The Mississippi Department of Archives and History does not endorse the views expressed in such materials. Files containing medical histories, Social Security Numbers, and contact information of children were not published to the MDAH website in compliance with privacy regulations. Printed copies of most of the correspondence - email and letters - were filed with the paper records and may be accessed in the Winter Building archival reading room.

The files within this series supported the work of the Governor's Task Force for Classroom Technology, a time-limited commission created in 2000 by Executive Order 831 to accomplish the Governor's goal of placing an internet-accessible computer in every public elementary and secondary classroom in Mississippi by the end of 2002. Included are interoffice memoranda, letters of appointment, meeting agendas, surveys, progress updates, shipment and pickup documents, invitations to events, and communications between the Governor's policy staff and Task Force members, school officials, technology vendors, and financial contributors.

The series includes approximately 108 computer files compiled by Kelly Riley, Policy Liaison for Governor Ronnie Musgrove, in addition to paper files described in the catalog record. Of particular interest are the files covering the sometimes contentious planning for emergency evacuation of New Orleans residents via Interstate Highway (IH) 59 through a procedure called contraflow or lane reversal. Also included are meeting notes and minutes of the Southern Rapid Rail Transit Commission (of which Gov. Musgrove was a member), PEER Committee reports on the Mississippi Department of Transportation and the Environmental Impact Study for the IH-69 bridge over the Mississippi River (the Great River Bridge). MDAH staff generated PDF copies of Microsoft Word and Excel files for easier access.

The series includes approximately 167 Microsoft Word documents used to compose the governor's news columns that were printed in local newspapers, newsletters, and journals. The majority appeared in the Jackson paper, the Clarion-Ledger, on a weekly basis. They served as public outreach for many of the initiatives and themes of Musgrove's administration: economic expansion, education, health care, and Christian values

This series contains files generated by staff members working to support and carry out the governor’s "Capital for a Day" program, an effort to make state government more accessible and open to the general public. The program entailed moving the state's seat of government for a day from Jackson to selected cities throughout Mississippi, including Batesville, Bay St. Louis, Belzoni, Macon, Ripley, and Natchez. Residents were given the opportunity to attend events with the governor and to meet with members of his staff and representatives of state agencies. Included are memoranda, planning information, invitations, staff lists, and information on participating agencies.

The series consists of approximately 1363 computer files, mostly Microsoft Word documents, of speeches made by Governor Musgrove, his staff, and First Lady Melanie Musgrove. The majority of the files contain remarks made during public appearances: State of the State Addresses, press conferences, eulogies, commencement addresses, and rotary club meetings. The series also includes television, radio, and voicemail broadcast scripts, as well as talking points for interviews and other appearances. Paper copies of many of these files may be found in Series 2559: Communications Office - Subject Files and Series 2566: Communications Office - Agency Files.

This series consists primarily of files used to compose veto messages to the House and Senate, drawn up by legislative aides for the governor’s signature and including bill number and title along with the reason for the veto. The majority of the measures are fiscal year 2002 appropriation bills. Also included are spreadsheets listing vetoed appropriation and funding bills.

The series consists of approximately 2713 computer files, mostly Microsoft Word documents, of press releases issued or received by Governor Ronnie Musgrove's staff. The bulk of the material includes his transitional appointments and achievements while in office, as well as news from executive branch agencies, such as the Mississippi Department of Corrections, the Mississippi Development Authority, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, and the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security.

The series contains files supporting the work of the governor’s staff with the Delta Regional Authority (DRA), a federal-state partnership serving a 240-county/parish area in eight states and working to fund projects to enhance economic development and improve the quality of life of residents of the region. The governors of the states of Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, and Tennessee serve on the Authority’s Board and are usually represented at meetings by a designee or alternate. The files include internal memoranda, meeting summaries, grant recommendations, grant eligibility lists, correspondence, talking points, and communications with the DRA office in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

The series includes approximately 525 Microsoft Word documents and templates authored by Governor Musgrove's Communications Office staff to summarize daily headlines and political cartoons relating to the governor. The majority of the documents contain hyperlinks to web pages that no longer exist. Paper copies of the summary pages are also accessible in the William F. Winter Building Archival Reading Room.

The series consists of approximately 768 computer files, mostly Microsoft Word letters, and memoranda, composed by or sent to Governor Musgrove's Communications Office staff. Frequent subjects of the correspondence include the governor's public appearance schedules and meeting agendas, outlines of speeches and press releases, drafts of correspondence to be mailed under the governor's signature, and discussions about the functioning of the Communications Office.

This series consists of files generated by staff working to draft executive orders for issuance by the governor. Included are executive orders along with a limited amount of related correspondence and memoranda.

The series consists of approximately 775 computer files, mostly Microsoft Office documents and spreadsheets, authored or collected by Governor Musgrove's Communications Office staff. They include media contact lists, public appearance schedules, drafts of question-and-answer sessions, sound bites, and photographs. Some of the documents contain hyperlinks to web pages that no longer exist.

The series includes approximately 1,630 computer files compiled by Kelly Riley, Policy Liaison for Governor Ronnie Musgrove, in addition to paper files described in the catalog record. Governor Musgrove promoted local and national education initiatives and served on several education boards, including the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB, chair), the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). The series also includes information about the National Governors Association (NGA, vice chair) and the Southern Growth Policies Board (SGPB, chair). The files consist of policy research data, education bill summaries, budgets, awards, memoranda, agendas, and minutes.

The series consists of approximately 443 computer files, mostly Microsoft Office documents and spreadsheets, authored or collected by Governor Musgrove's Policy and Planning Office staff. They include opinions on legislative bills, yes/no memoranda sent to the governor, planning materials for conferences hosted by the governor's office, recommendations for local oversight of the federal CAP grant program, schedule information for First Lady Melanie Musgrove, intern work files, school packet cost analysis, and awards