Lester Williams was a native of Lake in Scott County and attended business college at Macon, Ga. He was in journalism in Mississippi for 49 years. Williams bought the Tylertown Times in 1926 at age 24, becoming Mississippi's youngest editor and publisher. He founded the Columbian Progress in 1933 by buying the Columbian and merging it with the Marion County Progress. He founded the Sunday Mirror and Rural Life and was a former co-publisher of The Picayune Item.
He became a member of the Mississippi Press Association's board of directors in 1930, served as president in 1935 and 36, the only person at that time to serve two consecutive terms, was named to the association's original Hall of Fame in 1937 and originated MPA's first publication.
Williams was a member of the National Editorial Association, National Newspaper Association and the National Press Club. He originated the national "Food for Freedom" campaign during World War II, was a consultant to the U.S. Department of Agriculture during World War II, and received the Freedom Foundation Award for leadership in 1951. He was active in civic, community and church activities.
