Charles Latham
Charles Latham is a retired Quality Assurance Manager for the Department of Defense (U.S. Navy) with 25 years of honorable service. He is a member of Grenada High School’s graduating class of 1971. In 1973 he joined the United States Marine Corps, where he received two meritorious promotions before being honorably discharged in 1976. He attended San Diego City College earning a degree in Business Management and a Certificate of Completion in Shipbuilding and Blueprint Reading.
During his 25 years of service with the Department of Defense, Charles received numerous Sustained Superior Performance Awards and Excellence Performance Awards. In 1996, he was promoted to Supervisory Quality Assurance Specialist and was assigned to head the Repair Division for Southwest Regional Maintenance Center in San Diego, Ca. The first African American to hold the position. There he was responsible for the quality assurance oversight for every U.S. Navy vessel that required ship repair or overhaul from San Diego, Ca. to Long Beach, Ca. area. In 1999 he became a Certified Quality Manager and a Certified Lead Auditor. He has participated on numerous NAVSEA Inspector General Audit Teams as a Quality Systems Expert and Lead Auditor conducting compliance audits on U.S. Naval activities. and their contractors providing contract required services.
After his retirement in December of 2004, he returned to his hometown Grenada, Ms. and began volunteering his service to his community. Some of his volunteer efforts include the following;
- Past member of the Advisory Board for the Boys and Girls Club Grenada Unit -Past Chairman of the Grenada Historic Preservation Commission
- Member of the Chamber of Commerce Education Committee
- Past Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce Unity Committee
- Past member of the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors
- Past Chairman of Central Mississippi Inc. Board of Directors
- Founding member and current President of the 100 Black Men of Grenada, Inc.
Charles has spoken at all local schools in Grenada county, Piney Woods Academy, and has been the keynote speaker for Fench-Henry Job Corps Center on numerous ocassions. For his contributions to his community, Charles was recognized as one of Grenada’s Good Neighbors of 2008 in a special edition of the Grenada Star Newspaper. In 2008 he was awarded the Magnolia Bar Association and Magnolia Bar Foundation’s Harriet Tubman Award. In February 2010 he received the Chamber of Commerce James “Coach” Edmond Award. In March of 2017 he awarded Man of the Year by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Pi Sigma Lambda Chapter, and in June 2017 he received the 100 Black Men of America, Inc. James T. Black Award.
Charles has been married to Dorothy Latham for 34 years and is the proud father of Charles II, Naomi and Daa’iyah.