• ABOUT MITCH •
Mitchell Harry Tyner, Sr. (Mitch Tyner) was born in Yazoo City, Mississippi
on March 29, 1963. He is the son of the late Mr. & Mrs. Weldon Harry
Tyner, Jr. and the youngest of 3 children. When Mitch was less than
a year old, his family moved to Canton where his father entered into
private engineering practice. They moved into a home on George Street
in Canton. Mitch attended Canton Academy for 12 years and graduated
with honors. He was selected "Mr. Canton Academy" beside Jan
Levy (Mattice) who was selected "Ms. Canton Academy". Mitch
was active in student government and was elected to his first statewide
office in
1980, as President of the statewide Student Counsel Association. That
same year, Mitch was also elected to serve as the statewide President
of the Honor Society and organized from scratch the statewide organization,
Fellowship of Christian High School Students. Mitch originally learned
the legislative process through years of participation in Annual Youth
Congress, under the direction of JoAnn Gordon and Attorney Ben Conner.
In 1981 he was awarded, by Judy Lewis, the distinction of Superior in
Parliamentary Procedure, Speaking from the Floor and Debate from the
Floor. An avid supporter of free enterprise and capitalism, Mitch entered
into his first business venture at the age of 9. He and his business
partner, Mike Pontius built a Kool Aid stand on top of a wagon. Business
was slow, so the partners entered into a new marketing plan where Mike
would lay in the middle of Lakeview Drive to stop the cars and Mitch
would deliver the ice cold Kool Aid to the driver while they waited
for Mike to clear the street. It was a huge success. Business was brisk
and the boys glowed with their first business success. In 1976, at the
age of 13, Mitch applied for a job with Oak Lane Nursery, owned by Gerald
& Susan Barber. Barber, of course, declined to hire Mitch because
of his young age. However, Mitch was relentless, reapplying on what
seemed like a monthly basis. In the spring of that year, a large load
of sod was delivered and Barber had no one else to get it off the truck
and decided to get Mitch to do it which would serve two purposes; 1)
Get some of the sod unloaded and 2) Show this kid that he was just too
young to be doing landscape and garden work. The rest is history. Mitch
continued to work for Susan and Gerald on at least a part time basis
until he finished high school. In 1978, Gerald Barber made the decision
to close the retail portion of his landscape and nursery business, and
Mitch saw an opportunity. Mitch knew that a lot of Canton families liked
the small town service of helping them pick out their Christmas trees
and helping them load them in their car, and even setting them up in
their homes if requested. Since Barber would no longer be providing
this service, Mitch asked him if he could get the name of the wholesaler
and offer this service himself. With Gerald's help and approval, Mitch
set about making his business plan to enter the Christmas Tree business.
Mitch tried to talk the wholesaler (McLure Irrigation) into giving him
credit, but the owner agreed to extend credit only after one season
of paying cash. Mitch knew he had a great business plan so he went to
his father to borrow the $500 needed to buy the trees. Harry, his father,
listened and studied the business plan with Mitch, then told him he
needed to go see Mr. Cannon at the First National Bank to get a business
loan. Mitch went through the entire loan process with Mr. Cannon who
required Mitch to put up everything he owned as collateral, including
his prized eight track tape player. The business was a success and Mitch
didn't know until years later that his father had actually gone to the
bank and signed for the loan instructing Mr. Cannon to go through all
the proper procedures to teach him about 
business
and lending. Mitch's Christmas Tree Business was expanded to include
multiple Fireworks stands in Canton as well as a Snowball stand. During
high school, Mitch was deeply influenced by 2 youth ministers at the
First Baptist Church in Canton, Bruce Fields and Andy Taggart. Mitch
was active with First Baptist Church since childhood and became a born
again Christian by accepting Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour when
he was just a boy of 11 years. He taught Sunday School and assisted
with Youth Programs as a leader of the Royal Ambassadors (RAs) and Youth
Coordinator of Lay Renewal Teams throughout Mississippi. With the encouragement
of Fields, Tyner applied to work at Gulfshore Baptist Assembly in Pass
Christian, Mississippi during the summer of 1980. He was the youngest
staff member to have been hired. Mitch worked at the Baptist Assembly
for two summers where he was a lifeguard during the day and lead bible
studies and worship services at night. Mitch was surrounded by students
from Mississippi College that were also on staff and decided to attend
M.C. In 1981 Mitch was elected President of the Freshman class at Mississippi
College. That year, he selected Church Activities as a major, but changed
to Computer Science as he sensed the burgeoning technology field was
on the verge of exploding. With his interest in government and law,
it was almost always certain that Mitch would go on to law school, but
this news was not well received by his Granny, Laura Brown Tyner of
Hattisburg. She remained upset that Mitch was not going to be a minister
until Ed Pittman (then Mississippi Attorney General) sat on the front
porch swing with her and told her "Mrs. Tyner, it's ok, we need
Christian lawyers too." Only after Ed Pittman said it was ok, did
Mitch receive his Granny's approval to attend law school. Mitch's parents
supplemented his tuition and board for the first 2 years of college,
but Mitch took over that responsibility entirely after his second year
of college, and paid his own way through the last 2 years of college
and all of his Law School Education at Mississippi College School of
Law. In 1987, Mitch became the campaign manager for Republican Curt
He'bert of Pascagoula. Determined to put the first Republican member
of the Mississippi House of Representatives from District 111 in office,
Mitch worked relentlessly to get Curt elected. District 111 was a seat
historically held by Democrats in a heavy Union area, but after helping
He'bert get elected as a Republican that seat has consistently been
held by a Republican ever since. He'bert won the House seat and later
went on to be appointed by Governor Fordice (the first Republican to
be elected Governor since Reconstruction) to serve as the Southern District's
Public Service Commissioner. After completing that term and being re-elected
to the Public Service Commission, He'bert was appointed by President
Bush to serve as Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
In 1988, Tyner graduated from Mississippi College School of Law and
passed the Mississippi Bar exam on his first attempt. He was also licensed
to practice in Washington D.C., but chose to remain in Mississippi to
practice law. He went into private practice with a solo practitioner,
one of only a handful of trial attorneys associated with the Republican
Party. In 1995, Tyner formed Tyner Law Firm, P.A. which he maintains
to this day. His firm primarily represents individuals, including family
farmers who were sold defective seed which destroyed their cotton crops;
individuals with damages from defective products and small and large
businesses in litigation, ranging from Mom & Pop businesses to an
Australian Airline and a Canadian Cement Pump Company. Tyner has never
lost a trial to a jury, but is quick to point out that he is very selective
with the people he represents. "It's not enough to be correct legally,
our firm has always maintained a policy that the represented party must
also be correct morally. We have in our contract that we can withdraw
from representation at any time, and we have withdrawn from cases when
a client has misrepresented their version of the story or the claim
appears to be frivolous. Frivolous lawsuits harm everyone and we refuse
to participate in any specious claim." In 1995, Mitch married Sloane
Davis of Madison. Sloane is a Gemologist and has worked with Andrew
Jewelers in Jackson for over a decade. They have been blessed with 2
healthy children, Abigail (5) and Mitchell (4). Rumor has it that Sloane
is due to deliver their third child on the date of the primary election
in August. Mitch has emphasized his practice in Jackson, Mississippi
because he believes it is important to maintain traditional Mississippi
family values by being home at night for dinner with his family. "While
there have been many opportunities to accept lucrative clients in other
geographical areas, I feel it is important for my children to be reared
by a two parent family, and that means participation in domestic duties
as well as our nightly meal. While Sloane is definitely in charge of
our household, I have the responsibility (privilege) of bathing our
children nightly and saying their nightly prayers with them. I believe
that participation of the father in these areas are essential to the
health and well being of children as well as the health of the family
unit and marriage. When I look into the eyes of my wife and my children,
I know that I am rich." Mitch was inspired by retired Court of
Appeals Judge Mary Libby Payne while in law school and became an officer
of the Christian Legal Society under her direction. He has continued
to participate in the Christian Legal Society attending National meetings
in San Antonio, TX and Chicago, IL. Mitch and Sloane have encouraged
Law Students to participate in this organization made of Christian lawyers.
"Obtaining the skills of a lawyer can be used for good or evil.
The practice of law is a privilege which must be tempered with wisdom
and discretion for the right causes. I believe that CLS helps attorneys
and law students focus on their basic beliefs and is an excellent tool
to make sure its members don't lose focus while representing their clients'
causes." Mitch was appointed to the Board of Bar Examiners by Supreme
Court Justice Jim Smith where he wrote and graded the Constitutional
Law and Criminal Law portions of the bar exam until resigning last year.
He currently serves on the Ethics Committee of the Mississippi State
Bar by appointment of President Don Dornan. Mitch and Sloane are members
of Crossgates Baptist Church in Brandon, Mississippi and regularly attend
Ridgcrest Baptist Church in Madison.
