Joe Azar of Batesville is one of  six new volunteer leaders to join the Board of Directors of the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi.

Based in Hernando, the independent board governs the not-for-profit organization serving 10 counties by connecting people who care with causes that matter to the region’s communities.
The organization also serves as parent to the local Panola County Community Foundation of which Azar currently leads.

The regional foundation has furnished Panola County non-profits with thousands of dollars for local non-profits to operate over the past few years through its donors and grants.

Azar is the branch and equity manger of Southern Beverage Company in Batesville and oversees operations in eight counties.  Previously, he worked in the music industry in Nashville as a personal manager, publisher, tour manager and sound engineer.

Azar has served as head of Panola Partnership, Batesville’s Main Street Association, St. Mary’s Parrish Council, North Delta School Board, and is an active Rotarian. He is also a member of the executive board for the St. Cecilla Foundation.

 A Greenville native, he earned a Business Administration degree from the University of Mississippi. He lives in Batesville with his wife, Katie, and two children.

Other new directors of the foundation are Bob Bowen of Tate County, Scott Coopwood of Bolivar County, Tom Gresham of Sunflower County, Lucy Janoush of Bolivar County and the Rev. Bartholomew Orr of DeSoto County.

Directors set the foundation’s priorities of education and health, especially for children and youth, and they act as ambassadors for the foundation.

They have helped connect people who care with charitable causes that matter to them. More than 4,000 donors have invested $12 million in 400 charitable organizations and programs in Northwest Mississippi in the foundation’s first 12 years.