Mississippi college honors Amelia business owner

Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College named the athletic complex at the Perkinston campus after Tri-City area businessman Earl P. King Jr. on Oct. 12.

The complex, now called the King Center, was dedicated during a formal ceremony before the home football game against the Southwest Mississippi Community College Bears.

“Mr. King is not only a generous donor to the MGCCC Foundation, he has also served on the foundation board and is a very active participant and fan of all things Gulf Coast,” college President Mary S. Graham said.

King, owner of King Trucking Inc. in Amelia for 50 years, attended Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College from 1963-65 on a full athletic scholarship.

He played offense and defense on the football team and was also on the track team. He received All-State Honorable Mention his freshman year and first team All-State his sophomore year.

King was inducted into the college’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004; received the college’s Spirit of Gulf Coast Award in 2007; and was named to the MACJC Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.

He received the In the Blue Award at the 2016 MGCCC Scholarship Gala.
Founder of King Trucking Inc. in Louisiana, King also served on the MGCCC Foundation Inc. Board of Directors from 2005-10. He went on to earn a marketing degree at the University of Mississippi.

King chaired the Louisiana Wildlife & Fisheries Board under Govs. Kathleen Blanco and Bobby Jindal. He has also served on the boards of the St. Mary Industrial Group, the Oilfield Carriers of Louisiana, and the Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival.

King was the 69th Shrimp and Petroleum Festival king in 2004.