NATCHEZ &045; Monday was a homecoming of sorts for Dr. Anthony Lee Morris, Natchez-Adams’ incoming superintendent.

Morris, who served as Natchez High School’s principal from 1994 to 1997, saw plenty of familiar faces in his whirlwind tour of the district’s schools Monday.

Later that afternoon, he saw them again at a reception sponsored by the Natchez-Adams County Chamber of Commerce and held at the district’s Steckler Multipurpose Center.

&uot;How many hands have I shaken? I’ve lost track,&uot; Morris said with a laugh, briefly breaking away from those who wanted to shake his hand and borrow his ear.

In all, about 500 people &045; district employees, local officials and business people &045; attended the two-hour reception.

&uot;We wanted (Morris) to feel supported by the community,&uot; said chamber Executive Director Laura Godfrey. &uot;We wanted him to be able to go ahead and meet the people he’ll be working with &045; in the community, not just the district.&uot;

Morris, who now works as personnel director for the South Panola School District in north Mississippi, will start work in Natchez July 1.

The chamber was asked by the school board to coordinate the event, Godfrey said.

&uot;But we also did it when Dr. Davis came on board,&uot; Godfrey said, referring to former Superintendent Carl Davis, who now works for a school district in the Atlanta area.

&uot;It’s designed to formally introduce him to the community, and it’s become tradition to do so,&uot; said school board President Dr. Norris Edney.

And judging from the comments of those attending the reception, Morris made a good first impression.

Josie Gilchrist Campbell, who now works for the Natchez-Adams School District, said she also knew Morris from the mid-1990s, when she worked for Copiah-Lincoln Community College.

Back then, she worked with on many programs in conjunction with Natchez High.

&uot;I think he’ll be an asset to the system,&uot; Campbell said, referring to Morris. &uot;And with the help of the community, I think he’ll move this system forward.&uot;