Representative Lataisha M. Jackson of Como will speak at the 15th annual Marvin Hayes Scholarship Banquet at the Batesville Lions Club Saturday, May 7 at 7 p.m.
The event is a fundraiser for scholarships presented annually to local high school seniors in memory of longtime North Panola educator Marvin Hayes.
Representative Jackson serves District 11 in the Mississippi House of Representatives and is the Vice Chair of the Local and Private Committee. She was elected in 2013.
During her short tenure as a legislator, she became most known for her stance against the Third Grade Literacy Promotion Act which retains third graders who do not meet a score that had not been determined and that lacked funding for intervention.
The National Foundation for Women Legislators recognized her as a 2014 Elected Women of Excellence. She was nominated for that award by House Speaker Phillip Gunn. She currently serves as a state director for the organization.
Representative Jackson is currently enrolled at the University Of Mississippi School Of Law. She is a graduate of North Panola High School and Alabama State University.
She is the CEO of EDUCATE Learning Center in Como, where she organizes and offers various after school enrichment activities, summer camps and sports programs for local children.
The daughter of Jennette Eppenger Jackson and the late Ernest D. Jackson Sr., she is a member of Askew Grove Church.
Her grandmother Elnora Lee Jackson of Como, a retired school teacher, sparked her interest to be an educator, she said. Jackson recalls being challenged and disciplined as a first grade student of her grandmother who made no exceptions for her but assured her best efforts.  She won the 2011 Stone Award for Most Outstanding Educator and was featured in the Byu Magazine as “A Small Town Legend”.
For banquet ticket information, call 487-1348 or 487-2656.