Wednesday, the Pearl River County community lost, as Pearl River County Library System Director Carol Phares described, one of its biggest cheerleaders, Clifford Randy Holland.
Clifford and Kathleen Holland were married for more than 55 years and the pair have lived in Picayune since 1977, the couple stated in a previous interview with the Item.
Holland also served as a lead engineer at the John C. Stennis Space Center Naval Ocean Research and Development Activity, his close friends George and Juliette Ioup wrote in a nomination letter for the Roy S. Estess Public Service Leadership award.
Holland recently received NASA’s Exceptional Public Service Medal for his work as an ambassador for Stennis.
The Ioups also commended Holland for his role as a member of Partners for Stennis. The program has been instrumental in keeping the Navy Southeast Service Center and its 245 jobs at Stennis, securing the National Shared Services Center, and its 250 new jobs, attracting the Rolls Royce jet engine test facility to Stennis, saving jobs for the National Data Buoy Center support contractor and helping secure legislative Stennis funding and the INFINITY Science Center. Holland was also one of the earliest and longest serving members of Partners for Stennis, the couple wrote.
General Manager of Aerojet Rocketdyne at Stennis and chairman of Partners for Stennis Michael McDaniel said Holland was a leader at Partners for 20 years.
“When Partners first formed, he was at the table strategizing to protect the assets of Stennis from base realignment and closure,” McDaniel said in an emailed statement. “He has been an advocate for the growth of Stennis Space Center and has remained active in the organization to ensure that more jobs were created for the citizens of our region. He has left a legacy of leadership that will continue to be a guiding force for the future efforts of Partners of Stennis.”
At the University of New Orleans, the Ioups wrote that Holland was a leader in the development of the Master of Science in Engineering Management program, which he taught and volunteered as a student mentor.
Here in Pearl River County, Holland was an active member and fierce supporter of the Pearl River County Library System.
Since they moved to the area, the Hollands have been involved with Friends of the Crosby Memorial Library, which is the longest running program of its type in the state of Mississippi, Phares said.
“He was the library science guru,” Phares said. “He brought many programs that were science-oriented. Several years ago, the Pearl River County Library System Board of Trustees honored the pair of them when they named the room at the library Holland Hall.”
Phares said there are no words to adequately express the void Holland’s passing will leave.
“He expressed interest in staff members, librarians and the whole library,” she said. “He was always thinking about what he could do to watch it grow. He also worked very hard to ensure the community was aware of what the library was all about and how important it is. He’s leaving a huge hole. If he had a breath to do something, he would do it.”
In a previous Item interview, Holland said that when someone lives in a community, they must give back to it.
“We want our community to grow and prosper and the library is a real economic engine, which will help do that,” Holland said in the previous interview.
In a recent “Why I Love Picayune” submission to Picayune Living magazine, Holland described the many reasons he and his wife enjoy living in Picayune.
“But, and this is very important to me, Picayune/Ceasar is small, friendly and moves at a southern speed that permits one to de-stress, refocus and spend time with family and friends. Today, we feel like natives and could not have been more accepted if we really were. We hope you feel the same.”