Former Mississippi Insurance Commissioner George Dale Joins Law Firm
"I'm just delighted to have the opportunity to continue with the good contacts and friends around the United States," Dale said today when reached by phone at his new office in Jackson.
A Clinton resident who was the nation's longest serving insurance commissioner, Dale said he went to work Monday as a senior governmental affairs adviser and member of the firm's governmental relations team. The law firm also has offices in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Birmingham, Houston, Nashville and Washington, D.C.
Adams and Reese announced Dale's new position today. "His accomplishments, knowledge of the insurance industry as well as the governmental's process will further enhance our firm's insurance and governmental relations practices," said managing partner Chuck Adams Jr. "His knowledge and experienced is unsurpassed."
Dale, who stepped down in late December as a member of the MC Board of Trustees, said he's still considering offers to teach on occasion at his alma mater in Clinton. If time permits, he's interested in lecturing from time to time in the School of Business or teaching an MC class in government and politics.
Dale received a bachelor's degree from MC in education in 1962 and a master of science in education at the Christian university in 1966. MC, he said, provided an excellent preparation for the real world. "MC gave me the relationships with people I've maintained for a lifetime."
The Clintonian taught and coached for 11 years in the Moss Point Public Schools on the Mississippi Gulf Coast before going to work for former Gov. Bill Waller for three years in the early 1970s. He was first elected insurance commissioner in 1975, then the youngest insurance commissioner in Mississippi history. He was defeated in last year's Democratic primary.
Being "retired" didn't sit well with Dale once he left the insurance commissioner's job in Jackson. One day, he said he visited three coffee shops and a nursing home and realized "that won't work." As a hobby for decades, Dale has enjoyed mowing yards in the Clinton area. He's been known to do it free of charge to help folks in need. He's active as a deacon at Northside Baptist Church in Clinton.
Dale spoke of his decision to join the Adams and Reese firm in the company's news release. "My loyalty and efforts have always been in the best interests of the people of Mississippi and I feel Adams and Reese provides me with the opportunity to continue to serve in a different capacity."
Dale was in the national spotlight following Hurricane Katrina after the Aug. 2005 storm devastated portions of south Mississippi and Louisiana. Following the worst natural disaster in U.S. history, Dale was much in demand as a speaker at conferences around the nation and spoke at hearings on Capitol Hill.
Don't expect Dale to be lobbying at the Mississippi Capitol or elsewhere for things he was deeply involved in recent years as Mississippi insurance commissioner. "Anything I was involved in with the department - there is a firewall between me and that," he said.
PHOTO: George Dale
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