House Concurrent Resolution 79

(COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE)

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING AND CONGRATULATING PAT ROBERTSON UPON HER RETIREMENT AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF MISSISSIPPI.

WHEREAS, the Executive Director of the Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS), Pat Robertson, is retiring after almost 40 years of illustrious service and dedication to the members, retirees and employers of PERS and

to the people of the State of Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, after graduating from Mississippi State University in 1975 with a degree in accounting, Pat Robertson initially took a job in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, but quickly moved back to Mississippi, where she began working as an accountant with the Governor's Office of Federal, State and Local Programs; and

WHEREAS, in 1980, Pat became the very first investment accountant at PERS, and when she took the job, she knew very little about public pension plans, but after over 35 years with the agency, she has learned every detail and developed a passion for helping provide retirement security to Mississippi's public employees; and

WHEREAS, after working for a decade as an investment accountant, where she typed trade tickets, manually kept the books and sent trades to the bank to be settled, she was promoted to director of finance and later to deputy director of administrative services; and

WHEREAS, once she moved from accounting to the administrative side of the agency, Pat decided to make PERS her career because she "loved the back office work" and "making sure things were running right" as well as her growing involvement in the pension community on the national level; and

WHEREAS, during her time as deputy, one of Pat's proudest moments and biggest accomplishments was when she led the renovation of the PERS building in 2004 at a cost that was within the state budget and secured the building of a parking garage, and because of her attention to detail and guidance, to this day, the building still looks and feels new; and

WHEREAS, in November 2005, Pat Robertson became the first female Executive Director of PERS, and during her tenure, she focused on representing PERS nationally (including her two terms as president of the National Association of State Retirement Administrators, serving on the Governmental Finance Officers' Association Executive Board, and serving on various committees with the National Council on Teacher Retirement), as well as building professional opportunities for PERS' 160 employees through the application of career ladders and the implementation of training opportunities; and

WHEREAS, as the Executive Director of PERS, Pat witnessed many changes to PERS including the increase of agency assets from $1 billion (1980) to over $28 billion (December 2017), and the growth of PERS membership from 143,000 (1980) to nearly 400,000 today; and

WHEREAS, Pat Robertson continuously strived for improvement, never accepted mediocrity, always questioned why, and led the agency with honesty and integrity while keeping in mind her role as a public servant, a representative of Mississippi, and a leader to her staff, and under her leadership and dedication to the agency, PERS garnered national recognition and benefitted exponentially while building upon its already credible and efficient reputation; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of this Legislature to recognize and commend the tireless devotion to the betterment of Mississippi and honor the ardent vow to impeccable public service that Pat Robertson bestowed to the members, retirees and employers of PERS and to the people of the State of Mississippi as the Executive Director of PERS:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend and congratulate Pat Robertson upon her retirement as Executive Director of the Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi and extend sincere wishes for rest and relaxation in her lighter days ahead.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Pat Robertson and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.