(This week The Columbian-Progress spotlights Sunshine Frozen Foods owner Joe Ball.)
Q: When and where were you born?
A: I was born in Hattiesburg July 22, 1975.
Q: Where did you attend school?
A: I attended and graduated from Columbia High School, Pearl River Community College and William Carey University.
Q: Where all have you lived?
A: I have lived in Columbia for the majority of my life, but lived for a little bit along the Coast.
Q: Where do you work? Tell us about your job/company.
A: I bought Sunshine Frozen Foods June 15 of last year. We are a wholesale retailer. We sell a variety of items such as Mississippi farm-raised catfish, frozen food items such as vegetables — all your greens — and several other items. We do have some dry goods.
Q: What led you to your profession?
A: I wanted to do something for myself. I knew at some point in time there would come an opportunity would come open in order for me to own my own business. Working for myself and having the community be a part of it also is very rewarding.
Q: What do you enjoy most about your job?
A: I enjoy it because you have more freedom than you do working for somebody else. It’s a very rewarding experience working for yourself. I’ve enjoyed it for the time I’ve done it.
Q: What was your first job?
A: My first job I ever had was mowing yards around my neighborhood growing up. Then I worked at the local Piggly Wiggly for several years while I was in my teens.
Q: Who is the person who has been most influential in your life?
A: The most influential person in my life would have been my grandfather Joe Tiser. With him being in my life, he taught me a lot about the business world that most people haven’t even thought about. He’s by far the most influential person in my life.
Q: If you could relive one day from your life, which day would you choose?
A: I would choose my high school graduation. At the time I didn’t put much thought into it. It meant something, but it didn’t really mean anything big at the time. Looking back now I should’ve cherished that more and been a bit more thoughtful. When you’re young you think differently.
Q: If you could have anything for your last meal on earth, what would it be?
A: A steak cooked on my grill, absolutely.
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
A: I would probably go to Europe and take a tour. Years ago I took a very light tour and took the trains. The trains go all across Europe, and it’s not like here in the United States. You could cross borders and not know it. That would be what I would like to do. It’s been about 20 years since I did it, and I’d like to do it again but on a bigger level.
Q: What hobbies do you like to do in your spare time?
A: In my spare time I like to work around my home, do a lot of outside activities and whenever the weather is nice I like taking off on my motorcycle. I like to just go down a road I hadn’t been down in years. I’ll just get on it, take off to somewhere like McComb, turn off some odd road and just enjoy it. I don’t ride to go to any destination but just to ride.
Q: What do you enjoy about living and working in Columbia and Marion County?
A: I enjoy living and working around here because you know a lot of the people and the majority of the community. I like working here because I get the interaction with seeing and talking to people. It’s rewarding.
Q: If you could have lunch with anyone from your life or history, who would it be and why?
A: I would say my grandfather because he’s been dead for 15-plus years now, and my mindset was different than it is now. Knowing what I know now there would be definitely questions I’d like to ask. I’d like to just talk and pick his mind. Fifteen years plus doesn’t really seem that long in a lifetime, but a lot of things happen in that span of time. That would be the most valuable hour I would ever spend I think.
Q: Would you rather read a good book or watch a good movie and why?
A: Watch a good movie because I can get more into it than I could with a book. It seems like when I’m reading a book there’s more interruptions that can happen like a phone ringing. In a movie theater your phone is off and you can focus more. When you get distracted reading a book, you lose that imagery where you were. It’s like when you’re having a dream and the alarm clock goes off and you press the snooze button, and you want to go back to where you were in the dream but can’t quite get there. That’s what it reminds me of.
Q: What moment in your life has had the biggest impact on you?
A: Buying Sunshine Frozen Foods and going into business for myself because I’ve worked for other people in the past, but with owning your business there’s a multitude of tasks and you’re in charge of keeping everything rolling on a daily basis. Whereas, when you’re working for someone else you have a task or a few tasks. When you own your own business you have to make sure everything is done right and everything is moving along to the next day.
Q: What would be the No. 1 thing on your Bucket List?
A: I’d like to travel. I did it when I was younger, but I would like to go back to London and Paris.
Q: If you could describe your morals in three words, what would they be?
A: I’m going to add one more: do the right thing. What I mean is make sure you do the right thing and treat people how they would treat you. Be thoughtful in how you present yourself in how things are done because it’s very easy to take a certain action the wrong way. I just try to be down to earth.
Q: How would you like to be remembered?
A: I would like to be remembered as a thoughtful person who always tried to do the right thing. I want people to say, “Joe Ball is a normal, decent guy.”
— Joshua Campbell
Pictured Above: Joe Ball, who bought Sunshine Frozen Foods 10 months ago, enjoys working for himself and being part of the community he grew up in. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
