“Leadership is service, not position” (Tim Fargo).
One person who shows a tremendous amount of leadership and truly believes in serving others is Josh Perkins, Superintendent for Enterprise School District.
When he was younger, Josh went to West Lauderdale where he played both baseball and basketball. After graduating from high school in 1995, he attended Meridian Community College and played baseball there. It was while he was attending MCC that he made a change to his career plans.
“I thought I wanted to be a marine biologist and work for Wildlife Fisheries and Parks,” stated Josh. “I thought that’s what I wanted to do because I love the outdoors. As I got into college, I saw the impact my coaches and teachers had on me. I had great coaches, great teachers, and both of my parents were educators. I thought that maybe I could have that same kind of influence on people. That made me decide on education.”
Once he graduated from MCC, Perkins attended Mississippi State University in Starkville to attain his degree in education. He then moved to the coast and worked at Long Beach High School for five years. Those five years ended up helping him grow and learn more about himself and helped him develop even more interests.
“Those five years had a huge impact on me because I had to get out on my own. I learned a lot about myself, what I wanted to do, what I wanted to be, and I got to experience different things,” said Perkins. “I was the assistant basketball coach. I thought I wanted to be a basketball coach because I played basketball in high school, and I still really love the game. I got into the realm of softball coaching while I was there too. I got a love of softball when I was the assistant softball coach and ended up taking over the softball program down there.”
Although he loved his job on the coast, he felt called to move and found a job at Enterprise. While he wasn’t able to see it at the time, Josh is now able to look back and see where God relocated him and was involved in the whole decision.
“I loved it down there, but the head softball coach position became available here at Enterprise in late July of 2005. I wasn’t under contract at the time because I was still working on getting my license renewed, and everything fell into place,” remembered Perkins. “We don’t know why doors open a lot of times, but when I look back on a lot of things in my life, I can see where God had things in store for me and decisions were made. I moved back up here in July of 2005, and then of course Katrina hit that August. About 15 days after I got everything out of my apartment, the hurricane hit and destroyed everything that was there. My apartment was completely demolished, and there was nothing left there but a slab.”
For seven years, Perkins coached the softball team at Enterprise.
“I came here as a softball coach, and I loved doing that,” stated Perkins. “I’ve had wonderful support from our school district, the players and their parents, and the community. They were very supportive of what we did. During that time, I went back and got my Master’s Degree in Sports Administration.”
As much as he loved coaching, Perkins felt called to do even more. He then had to make a hard decision in order to pursue his new calling: he had to stop coaching softball. Although he was no longer coaching softball, Perkins was still working at the school and pursuing his education.
“Really, stepping down from the softball program was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I had gotten the support of the team and community, and it was really hard to leave something that I loved. I felt like it was the right time for me, though,” explained Perkins. “I continued teaching science here and went back to school to get my Specialist Degree in Educational Leadership.”
Once he received his degree, Perkins was able to achieve his new calling.
“When I received that degree, a principal position came open at the middle school. I was blessed when the district gave me an opportunity to do that. I was middle school principal for two years, and then this position as superintendent came open,” stated Perkins. “Again, I was blessed to have the opportunity to have this position and trust of the school board to be here. I’m going into my fourth year, and this will be a year like none other. This is a great school district, though. We have a great staff, great community support, and great students. That’s what makes it go. I’m just blessed to be a part of it.”
Despite all of his accomplishments, Perkins is extremely humble and does not believe that he has earned any awards or honors on his own.
“When I was coaching, I was given the honor of being the Mississippi Coach of the Year. We were able to win three state championships while I was here in softball, but that had very little to do with me and a lot to do with the people I was with,” expressed Perkins. “I had great players and a great support system that helped along the way. I don’t think those awards are really based on an individual but more on the support staff around me.”
His humbleness, dedication, and hard work are apparent to all those around him. In fact, he is so loved in the community that he has also been named the Best of the Best in education for the Clarke County Tribune after being voted for by the community.
All of his hard work ethic was instilled in him growing up. His parents loved him enough that they made sure to teach him strong life lessons, such as taking responsibility and how to handle failure.
“Mom and Dad were both in education. I was in church any time the doors were open. I’ve been blessed with a support system that guided me and supported me,” stated Perkins. “Probably one of the greatest impacts my parents had was that they allowed me to fail. They supported me whole heartedly, but they didn’t try to get me out of situations and make excuses for me. They forced me to figure it out on my own and pick myself up and take responsibility for what I had done and decisions I had made. They allowed me to fail, and that’s one of the things that helped make me successful. Learning how to fail is one of the main things that leads you to success; you just have to learn how to deal with and overcome failure. Every failure is a learned lesson you can build from.”
As much as he loves his job, Josh also has a wife, Christy, who he loves very much. He also has two step children and three grandchildren that he enjoys being able to spend time with when he can.
“I’m very blessed,” said Josh.
If he isn’t with his family or at work, then Josh is most likely doing something outside.
“I just love being outside, whether it’s planting a garden, cutting the grass, fishing, or anything else I can do outdoors. I like hunting and going to different athletic events,” stated Josh.
Whether he is at work or at home with his family, there is one thing that Josh Perkins has a goal to do: serve others.
“My goal every day is just to serve. I think the greatest blessing people can get is just to serve other people,” explained Josh. “I get pleasure being able to serve and provide for other people. Some people want things I can’t provide, but I want to be able to serve people as much as I can every day. If I can come here and know that I’ve provided servant leadership to people, then that’s what I plan to do. I started my educational career because I wanted to be able to impact people in a positive way. Whether it’s sitting behind this desk, behind the wheel of a bus serving people, or something else that God would want me to do to serve others, that’s what I want to do.”
Josh Perkins will continue to have a servant’s heart, and there is no doubt that he will continue to be both successful in life and an outstanding leader for those in Enterprise School District.
If you’d like to nominate someone in Clarke County for Person of the Week, please send the name and contact information for the person to bmangum@ clarkecountytrib.com.
