Cyril T. Faneca Jr.

Cy is chief legal counsel for the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport; the Harrison County Sheriff; the Harrison County Emergency Communications/Operations Commission; Trent Lott Airport; The Long Beach Water Management District; and the Gulfport Stevedoring Association. He was formerly Chief of Staff and Judiciary Committee Adviser to United States Representative Larkin Smith. Cy has also taught Insurance and Business Law at Embry-Riddell Aeronautical University.

Cy's extensive trial experience includes more than a dozen reported cases in state and federal courts, and more than one hundred unreported cases of all types. In addition, Cy has considerable experience in drafting legislation at the local, state, and federal levels. Cy is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Mississippi Supreme Court and all inferior Mississippi courts. Cy is a Fellow in the Mississippi Bar Foundation, an honor bestowed only on attorneys among the top ten percent of the Bar. He earned a listing in the publication, Outstanding Lawyers of America. Cy earned the coveted "AV" rating from Martindale-Hubbell, reserved for those attorneys recognized by their peers and judges as having "preeminent" legal ability and "very high" ethics.

Prior to graduating near the top of his class from the University of Mississippi School of Law, Cy was selected for the prestigious Moot Court Board on which he served for two years. He was tapped into Omicron Delta Kappa and was selected Research Assistant for the law school Dean. Additionally, Cy was selected as Editor of the law school newspaper and a columnist for The Daily Mississippian. In undergraduate school at Ole Miss, the student body elected Cy Chairman of the Student Judicial Council.

Service to his country also distinguishes Cy and includes the Marine Corps Reserve and Vietnam duty along the Cambodian border of the Mekong Delta. Cy earned his Airborne Jump Wings; earned the Prestigious Black Palm Award for excellence in his advanced training in Guerilla/Counter-Guerilla and Jungle Warfare in Central America. Cy conducted Small Boat Special Operations on the Mekong and Bassac Rivers and worked as a MACV advisor.

Impressive community activities include: Paul Harris Rotary Fellow; Association of Administrative Assistants U.S. House of Representatives (1989); Republican Executive Committee; Youth Baseball League President; Fleet Captain of Gulfport Yacht Club; and Senior Warden of St. Peter's Episcopal Church. He has also served on the Board of Directors for the following: Westminster Elementary School (President); Homes of Grace; County Development Commission; County Community Action Agency; and Gulfport Yacht Club.

Cy is married to Georgia Anne Thatcher. They have two sons, Robert and Michael. The family resides in their native city of Gulfport and attend St. Marks Episcopal Church.