Jeanell Kidd
MHA HOPE VI Endowment Scholarship
Note: Scholarship recipient must be familiar with the legacy of Ms. Jeanell Kidd
Jeanell Emerson Kidd was born July 19, 1936 in Meridian Mississippi. She attended the Meridian Baptist Seminary and graduated in the class of 1953. Jeanell received her License Practical Nurse and Registered Nurse degree from Meridian Community College. She began her certification as a Family Nurse Practitioner at the University of Puerto Rico and completed the certification in 1975, from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. Jeanell was the first African American female Family Nurse Practitioner in the state of Mississippi.
She worked as Lead/Head RN at Jackson-Hinds Comprehensive Health Center in Jackson, MS. She served ass the District Nurse for Mississippi Action for Progress (MAP) in Meridian and worked as an LPN at St. Joseph Hospital and an RN at Riley Hospital in Meridian.
In 1989, Jeanell became the first African American school nurse hired in the Meridian Public School District serving at Kate Griffin Junior High and Meridian High School from 1989 to 2005. She was inducted into the Mississippi School Nurse Association Hall of Fame.
She met and married Mr. Billy Ray Kidd and was blessed with two sons, Gerald and Kerry. In 1977, her granddaughter Shanel was born and became the daughter she always dreamed of having and raising.
Jeanell was a member of the R.B. Matthews Temple #739 for more than 50 years and Financial Secretary for over 40 years. She received “Past Grand Daughter Ruler Honors in beauty and talent. She was a member of the Negro Business and Professional Women’s Club, a commissioner for the Pat Harrison Waterway; a commissioner for the Meridian Housing Authority; a member of the Eliza Pillars Nurses of District 5; a volunteer at the MSU Riley Center and a community activist.
While serving as a Meridian Housing Authority Commissioner, the “Jeanell Kidd HOPE VI Endowment Scholarship was approved in her honor by the MHA Board of Commissioners in August of 2004. NOTE: Since its approval, the scholarship has awarded approximately $1,000,000.00 to deserving Meridian Housing Authority high school seniors.
