Rex Kelly

Rex Kelly has been studying the impact of communication since a young high school speech teacher introduced the concept some 40 years ago. Along the way, he has continued to gain and apply knowledge of communication across a wide range of organizations and personalities.

Rex Kelly

Prior to his retirement in 2005, Kelly redefined the significance of corporate and public relations within a management structure as an executive for Southern Company subsidiary Mississippi Power. His understanding of strategic communication and external process led his company to the top spot nationally in customer satisfaction and earned Utility Communicator International’s (UCI) Communicator of the Year award six times. His work in mass communication also earned national and regional awards from the National Association of Broadcasters and the American Advertising Federation. He successfully planned for and managed many major external issues as a member of Mississippi Power’s Management Council and through his management of the company’s external communications, media relations, advertising, community affairs, charitable foundations, creative and media services, corporate services and public relations programs.

Kelly is a past president of the Public Relations Association of Mississippi (PRAM). Rex is a recipient of the PRAM Professional Achievement Award and the Mississippi Beach Chapter created the Rex E. Kelly Professional Achievement Award in his honor. He is a Southern Public Relations Federation (SPRF) Senior Practitioner and served as a director of SPRF. Rex is a past President of Sales and Marketing Executives (SME) of Hattiesburg.

Kelly has a long and distinguished history in many areas of community service. Rex was named a Top Ten Community Leader in South Mississippi for 2003 and inducted into the Roland Weeks Leadership Hall of Fame. He is a graduate of Leadership Mississippi and was a co-founder and past chairman of Leadership Gulf Coast. He serves as a member of the Mississippi Economic Council (MEC) board of governors. Rex is a director of Peoples Financial Corporation and The Peoples Bank of Biloxi.

He was instrumental in founding the coast chapter of Christmas in April, Rebuilding Together. In 2004 that organization named its annual volunteer award in his honor.

Kelly holds a BS degree in American Studies from the University of Southern Mississippi and has maintained a strong association with his alma mater. He is a past president of the USM International Alumni Association and was inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame in 2006. He served as Co-Chair of the Presidential Transition Committee and serves as Co-Chair of the Centennial Committee. He has served the USM Foundation as a member of the Executive Committee, Chairman of The Current Giving Committee and as a member of the board of directors. He is a member of the USM Foundation Honor Club and is also an Eagle Club member. Rex was inducted into the School of Mass Communication and Journalism Hall of Fame in November 2009.

Kelly has appeared before national and regional audiences and is published in Vital Speeches of the Day and several university text books.

Since his retirement, Rex serves as a Senior Counselor with The Hawthorn Group of Alexandria, Va., consulting in the area of strategic communication/corporate and public relations.