Our Mississippi Magazine publisher Wesley Wells has announced that Jackson businessman LeRoy Walker, Jr. has been selected to receive the 2023 Our Mississippi Lifetime Achievement Award.

Walker is a familiar face in the Jackson community and is well known for his volunteer and philanthropic efforts.

“We couldn’t be more delighted to select someone the caliber of Mr. Walker for this prestigious award,” Wells said. The lifetime commitment he’s made to enrich the lives of others is immeasurable. He’s been such a blessing to the state of Mississippi.”

Walker has been an active community and corporate servant, and through the years has given generously of his time, talent, and resources.  His business, LTM Enterprises, Inc., formerly owned and operated 22 McDonald’s Restaurant in the Jackson Metro area.  He retired from the McDonald’s system in March 2015 to pursue other business interests.

Walker is a graduate of Tennessee State University with a degree in Zoology.  He also holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Illinois in Springfield, Illinois and has done additional study in Education Administration at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, Illinois.  He previously taught Science and Mathematics in the East St. Louis, Illinois school system, and was also a founding member of the East St. Louis Community Federal Credit Union, where he served on its board of directors. 

His involvement in professional and civic organizations is extensive.  As founder of the 100 Black Men of Jackson, Inc. he created an opportunity to mentor students as well as share his entrepreneurial skills.  In 2015, Mr. Walker received the prestigious Mentor of the Year Award from the 100 Black Men of America, Inc.  He is a past Chairman of the Metro Chamber of Commerce, past Chairman of the Board of the United Way of the Metro Area, and Immediate Past Chair of the Board of Trustees of Tougaloo College, where he served for 13 years.

He is a member of the Board of Directors of Trustmark National Bank and a former board member of Junior Achievement of Mississippi where, in 1994, he was inducted into its esteemed Business Hall of Fame.  Other board affiliations include the Hinds County Economic Development District, Jackson State University Development Foundation, St. Dominic Hospital, Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau, Advisory Board for Entergy Mississippi, and Central Mississippi Planning and Development District. 

“Leroy has been associated with Entergy Mississippi for nearly 27 years as a member of the Advisory Board,” said Entergy Mississippi President & CEO Haley Fisackerly. “He has provided sound counsel to me and two previous CEOs of Entergy Mississippi and is highly respected. As a successful businessman and a passionate community leader Leroy, has provided Entergy with sound advice and has been a strong voice for our customers and the communities we serve.”  

In 2005, Walker was a graduate of the inaugural class of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Citizens Academy.  He is a Commissioner of the Capital City Convention Center, Incorporated, and a member of the Mississippi State Advisory Committee (SAC) of the United States Commission on Civil rights.  Other affiliations include Life Memberships in the NAACP and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and membership in Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Inc.  In 2011 he received an appointment to the United States Chamber of Commerce Board where he served two terms.

Walker is an active member of Farish Street Baptist Church, where he has chaired several committees and its Board of Trustees.  He counts himself fortunate and blessed to be able to give back to his community.  He adheres to the scripture of Luke 12:48, which reads “Much is required from those to whom much is given, for their responsibility is greater.” Through faith and determination, Mr. Walker continues to make a positive impact in the community. He and his wife Terryce have one adult daughter and three grandchildren.  

Walker will be honored at the 2023 Our Mississippi Honors Gala on Saturday, March 25, 2023 at the Cadence Bank Conference Center in Tupelo, Mississippi.

“It will be an honor to celebrate this outstanding individual who has done so much for our communities,” Wells added. “I’m sure the support he receives that evening will be a testament to the work he’s done for Mississippians. He’s been a dear friend to so many.”

Something Fisackerly is also grateful for.

“Personally, I am proud to call Leroy my friend and for over 20 years,” Fisackerly added. “He has not only given me sound professional advice, but has been someone I personally respect and call on often for his advice. Leroy walks the talk and is a fine example to us all of what one person can do to make our communities better.”

Previous recipients of the Our Mississippi Lifetime Achievement Award include Myrlie Evers Williams, Reuben Anderson, Jack Reed, Sr., Hon. William Winter, Robert Khayat, Beverly Wade Hogan, Augustus L. Collins, Jerry Mitchell, and Victor McTeer.