Deborah Bryant is the Mississippi First Lady, she is the lovely wife of the governor of Mississippi, Phil Bryant, who along with NC Gov. McCrory and Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, signed the controversial anti- LGBT bill earlier this week.
Phil Bryant was sworn in for his second term as Mississippi’s 64th governor on January 12, 2016. Before becoming the state’s chief executive, Bryant was lieutenant governor from 2008-2011. He also served as state auditor and represented his legislative district in the Mississippi House of Representatives for five years.
Deborah’s husband was born Dewey Phillip Bryant on December 9, 1954. The son of Dewey C. and Estelle R. Bryant, a diesel mechanic and a stay at home mother. He is one of three children, all boys.
According to his page, Gov. Bryant began his career as a deputy sheriff in Hinds County and later worked as an insurance investigator before being elected to the House of Representatives in 1991. In 1996, then Gov. Kirk Fordice appointed him state auditor, a position he was re-elected to in 1999 and 2003. He holds an associate’s degree in criminal justice from Hinds Community College, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, and a master’s in political science from Mississippi College.
As governor, Phil Bryant has led Mississippi in implementing transformational public education reforms, promoting economic development and building a competitive business climate that attracts major employers like Yokohama Tire Corporation and Continental Tire.
Phil Bryant is also an avid outdoorsman and is a longtime member of the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action. He has been married to Deborah Bryant since 1976. Read below the top facts about Deborah Bryant.
1. Deborah Hays Bryant is the fourth of five children born to Doris and Hardy Hays.
2. She has three brothers and one older sister.
3. She attended Lake Elementary School, Hardy Junior High School, and graduated from Provine High School.
4. Deborah Bryant is the mother of the couple’s two children: Katie and Patrick Bryant.
5. Deborah Bryant worked almost 40 years at t. Dominic Hospital in Jackson
6. She is an ambassador for Batson Children’s Hospital in Jackson
7. Deborah works part time as Director of Community Development at Community Bank.
8. She has a grandson, Henry; through her daughter’s marriage to husband, Stephen.
9. The Bryant’s are active members of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church
10. She is the 2014 “Women of Excellence” Award recipient by Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi.
Find First Lady Deborah Bryant on Facebook here.
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