GULFPORT, MS – Mississippi Power’s board of directors has elected Roy Anderson, III and Christine L. Pickering as new members of the company’s board of directors.

Anderson is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Roy Anderson Corp. Pickering, a certified public accountant, is the owner of Christy Pickering CPA specializing in individual and corporate tax returns, business consulting, payroll, general bookkeeping and litigation support.

“Christy and Roy are proven business and community leaders,” said Mississippi Power President and Chief Executive Officer Anthony Topazi. “Their expertise and leadership make them especially qualified to help guide our company forward as we work to meet our customers’ growing needs for electric energy. I am very pleased that they accepted our offer to join our company board.”

The election of Anderson and Pickering will expand the Mississippi Power board to nine members.

Gulfport-based Roy Anderson Corp. has been in the general construction business since 1955. Anderson is also chairman of Moss Anderson Construction Group of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and chairman of Harrell Contracting Group of Jackson, Mississippi, construction companies specializing in large commercial projects.

Anderson is a managing partner of Premier Entertainment, LLC, the developing entity of Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Biloxi. He is also a partner in Broadwater Development, LLP, owners of the Broadwater Resort and President Casino in Biloxi.

Anderson is a graduate of the University of Alabama and the University of Mississippi School of Law. He is currently serving on the advisory board for Whitney National Bank of Mississippi; board of directors of the Medical Foundation of South Mississippi; Gulfport Main Street board; member of Gulf Coast Business Council; board of directors for Gulf Coast Renaissance Corporation; and board of directors and executive board of American Contractors Insurance Group (ACIG).

Pickering, of Biloxi, is an honors graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial and institutional accounting from the University of Southern Mississippi. Named among Mississippi’s top 50 leading business women in 1998, Pickering was also honored by the state as a Small Business Accountant Advocate.

A past president of the Biloxi Rotary Club, Pickering was 1991 Rotarian of the Year and earned the Rotary Foundation’s prestigious Paul Harris Fellow award. She also received the Harrison County Small Business Excellence award. Chairperson of the Gulf Coast Medical Center Board of Trustees, Pickering serves on the Leadership Gulf Coast Board of Trustees as treasurer and assistant program chair, the Salvation Army board, and the Partners in Education board.

Pickering has been a member of the Hancock Bank Board of Directors since 1995. She is also past treasurer of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce and past advisory board member for Coast magazine.

Mississippi Power, a Southern Company subsidiary, serves customers in 23 southeast Mississippi counties. The company earned a 2006 Edison Award, the electric utility industry’s most prestigious honor, for restoration efforts after Hurricane Katrina.