Wilford A. "Abb" Payne. III is the President and CEO of Camellia Healthcare. A three-year starter on the Hattiesburg High baseball team (1994 state champion) and a member of the HHS Debate Team, Payne has led Camellia Healthcare for 16 years. The company operates 38 home health, hospice, and private duty locations in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee, employing more than 1,200 caregivers. Payne was awarded a Top 40 Mississippian's Under 40 Award in 2006. Camellia Healthcare was named one of the Best Places to Work in Mississippi by the Mississippi Business Journal every year from 2007 to 2017. Inc. Magazine recognized the firm as the fastest-growing business in Mississippi and one of the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies in America in 2013 and 2014. Mississippi Business Journal has awarded Camellia Healthcare as Fast 40: Mississippi's 40 Fastest Growing Companies. Payne, who played a role in the play “A Few Good Men” at HHS, received the Sales and Marketing Professionals’ 2017 Bud Kirkpatrick Practitioner Award and is the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Area Development Partnership. He currently serves as the Mississippi Chairman of the Young Presidents’ Organization." Payne is also the Founder of InfusionPlus, a multistate specialty pharmacy provider of highly complex, specialized intravenous drugs. Inc. Magazine names InfusionPlus the fastest-growing company in Mississippi and 9th fastest-growing healthcare company in America.
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By the Numbers
A
Rated School District
3808
Student Enrollment
9
Number of Schools
96%
Graduation Rate
16:2
Hattiesburg Early Learning Collaborative student to teacher ratio