[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 120 (Friday, September 20, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8970-S8971]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO DR. KELLY S. SEGARS

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I would like to recognize the professional 
achievements and public service of a truly extraordinary man, Dr. Kelly 
S. Segars, and to congratulate him on his selection as the 2002 
Mississippi Family Physician of the Year.
  The son of the late ``Doc'' and Ora Segars of Red Bay, Alabama, Dr. 
Segars displayed a penchant for helping and healing the sick from a 
very early age. He graduated with honors from high school, pharmacy 
school, and medical school despite an interruption while serving one 
tour in the Army during the Korean War. His military decorations 
include the American Defense Medal, the United Nations Medal, and the 
Army Commendation Medal.
  Upon graduation from medical school in 1959, Dr. Segars entered the 
practice of Family Medicine in Iuka, Mississippi, not far from his 
birthplace, where he continues to practice today. Dr. Segars delivered 
some 500 babies before obtaining his board certification in geriatrics. 
He has been seeing some of the same patients for over 40 years and 
considers his many patients simply his ``friends who have a medical 
problem occasionally.'' Dr. Segars' son joined his practice about 15 
years ago, and the clinic, which is vital to the health of so many in 
the rural community of Iuka, has grown to include 31 employees.
  Despite his resounding success as Iuka's resident physician--as if 
that accomplishment was not already enough for one man--Dr Segars' has 
consistently worked for the betterment of his community in many other 
ways. He established the First American National Bank just four years 
after opening his medical practice. It was the first bank established 
in the Great State of Mississippi since the bank holiday in 1929 when 
all of the banks were closed. He also chaired his town's municipal 
library committee where he initiated the project, obtained the funds, 
and oversaw construction of the library. His most recent civic project 
is the re-designation of highway US 72 to Interstate Highway 72, 
acknowledging the advantage of an Interstate Highway to draw bigger, 
more lucrative industries to Tishomingo County. It takes a special 
individual like Dr. Segars, with a clear vision of the future, to 
recognize the need for a public institution or additional 
infrastructure, and then to take it upon himself to see to it that the 
need is fulfilled.
  As a charter member of the Board of Directors of the Tishomingo 
County Development Foundation and Industrial Park, he was instrumental 
in the acquisition of the Lockheed-Aerojet office and the recent 
establishment of the AlliantTech Systems facility. He was named as 1992 
Citizen of the Year and the Aerospace Business Center was most 
appropriately named in his honor.

[[Page S8971]]

  Dr. Segars has served as chair of the University of Mississippi 
Guardian Society, President of the Medical Alumni Association, and as a 
member of the Dean's Advisory Committee, University of Mississippi 
School of Medicine. He also is a member of the Iuka Methodist Church, 
where he is the Health and Welfare Representative and sits on the 
Administrative Board.
  Dr. Segars' latest recognition as Mississippi Family Physician of the 
Year, by the Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians, could not have 
been awarded to a man more deserving of this very special recognition. 
Chosen from among hundreds of family physicians throughout Mississippi, 
Dr. Segars was nominated by a fellow physician and selected for the 
position by a panel of his peers. The panel clearly recognized--as have 
many others--that Dr. Segars' unique brand of personalized care and 
true concern for his patients has distinguished him as the best 
physician that Mississippi, and our country, has to offer.
  In addition to his many professional and civic accomplishments, Dr. 
Segars also is an extremely successful family man. He and his wife 
Martha are the proud parents of three children: K. Scott Segars, Jr. 
M.D., and wife Diane; Mark Segars, Tishomingo County Prosecuting 
Attorney; and Leigh Segars, an attorney in Florida. Dr. Segars and his 
wife also have three grandsons: Tyler, Jake, and Thompson.
  I ask my colleagues to join me today as I congratulate Dr. Kelly S. 
Segars as the Mississippi Family Practice Physician of the Year and 
wish him and his family all the best in his future as he continues as a 
leader in our community. On behalf of my colleagues on both sides of 
the aisle, I thank Dr. Segars for the many things he has done for the 
town of Iuka, Tishomingo County, the State of Mississippi, and our 
great Nation.

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