His educational background laid a solid foundation for his extensive work in human resources, fiscal management, and community development.
HENDERSON, TN, September 06, 2024 /24-7PressRelease/ — Ronnie E. Carter has been selected for inclusion in Marquis Who’s Who. As in all Marquis Who’s Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Mr. Carter has dedicated his career to public service and leadership. He currently serves as Chair of the Board of Refuge International, Inc., based in Henderson, Tennessee, an organization he cofounded in 2004 in Alabama. Under his leadership, Refuge International began as a transition house for individuals recovering from addiction and then served in recovery efforts on the Mississippi Gulf Coast following the destruction of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Beginning in 2007 Refuge redefined its mission to that of supporting ministries assisting children and families in need. In June of that year, Mr. Carter established the Mission Point Resource Center in Catacamas, Honduras with the objective of training and resourcing teachers of children and strengthening families. That is now the focus of his ministry in Honduras.
Prior to his current role, from 1984 to 2011 Mr. Carter served in dual capacities as President and Director of Escuela Biblica Honduras, which later became Leadership Development International. During this time, the organizations focused on training ministers and developing church leaders from different communities in Honduras. Those trained men and women are responsible for the establishment of more than seventy churches throughout Eastern Honduras. He also played key roles in the establishment of two Christian elementary schools in Honduras- Trujillo Christian in Trujillo on the North Coast, and the School of the Good Samaritan in Catacamas. Another Program he initiated and manages is BECA, or scholarship which provides support to needy students to attend public school. These initiatives have educated hundreds of students, producing professionals in all walks including crafts, engineers, attorneys, and teachers – nine or ten of whom have returned to the programs as teachers and administrators, including one who became Director of Trujillo Christian.
In the mid-nineties, Mr. Carter was a charter member and President of the Board of Mision del Caribe (MDC)- another organization established to foster ministry in Honduras. MDC built and operated a youth camp in Trujillo on the north coast of Honduras. Over eight to ten years the camp hosted the Journey Project and through that effort approximately eight hundred students from the States traveled to Honduras for a two-week program to minister to the people of Honduras. In 1998 when Hurricane Mitch devastated much of Honduras, MDC became a relief agency and over the next three years administered well over a million dollars in relief funds repairing schools, building houses, and establishing and operating a medical clinic. There is even a small community built near Trujillo named Mision de! Caribe.
Having retired after thirty-three years of Federal Service, Mr. Carter’s career includes significant contributions to various federal agencies. Between 1993 and 1998 he worked as the Human Resources Management Officer for the United States Department of Agriculture National Finance Center in New Orleans. From 1998 until his retirement in 2003, he served as a Program Analyst and Dispute Resolution Specialist for the Center. Prior to his tenure in New Orleans, Mr. Carter served fourteen years with NASA at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. ln 1979, the Stennis Center Director selected him as Personnel Officer with the significant task of establishing the Human Resources Program for the NASA workforce at the Center – a program he managed for the next seven years. Mr. Carter also served on multiple source evaluation boards charged with selecting support contractors for the Center that hosted nineteen other Federal Agencies. He served as Chief of the Reimbursable Funds Division and later as Financial Management Officer, managing accounting, billing and collection for contractor support services provided to those Agencies resident at the Center. Notably, Mr. Carter was, at the time of his retirement, the only person to have served both as a Personnel Officer and Financial Management Officer for a NASA Center.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Carter worked with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on campus at the University of Southern Mississippi and Gulf Coast Community College, assisting veterans returning from Vietnam in receiving benefits. Himself a Vietnam Era Veteran, he spent three years directly assisting veterans before transitioning into human resources with the VA for two more years. He served at centers in Biloxi, New Orleans, and Shreveport. His dedication to veterans’ services remains one of his most significant achievements.
In addition to his professional roles, Mr. Carter has been actively involved in various civic organizations. He served as President of the New Orleans Federal Personnel Council for four years and has held such leadership positions as President of Homeowners’ Associations in Pearl River, Louisiana and Prattville, Alabama. All his adult life he has served in churches where he and his family have attended. He has served as a Deacon and fifteen years as a Shepherd in two different churches – a role Mr. Carter considers one of his highest honors. Having lost two wives and other family to cancer, he has contributed to charitable organizations such as the American Cancer Society and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Before embarking on his professional journey, Mr. Carter received a Bachelor of Science in 1973 in Industrial Management at the University of Southern Mississippi as well as an MBA in 1975. He has additional graduate work in Counseling and Contract Management. His educational background laid a solid foundation for his extensive work in human resources, fiscal management, and community development.
Mr. Carter’s contributions have been recognized by various agencies with several awards, including Outstanding Performance Awards and selection as Employee of the Year by the Mississippi Coast Association of Federal Administrators. He received recognition and commendation from the NASA Administrator for his contributions to the Manned Flight Awareness Program tasked with improving NASA employee and contractor morale following the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986. He is Certified by the Association of Government Accountants as a Government Financial Manager and is a Certified Ethics Trainer by the Josephsen Institute of Ethics. He is also a trained Mediator. Throughout his career, Mr. Carter has attributed his success to his passion for helping others and providing education for children, ensuring a brighter future, and fostering self-reliance. Outside of his professional life, he enjoys time with his church family, cooking, traveling, and spending time with his wife Amanda and their more than fifty grandchildren.
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