Nida Pittman grew up in Vardaman not knowing where life would take her, and she didn’t expect it to bring her back to Calhoun County to settle, but it did.
Pittman admits she is very much a home person.
“I’ve been that way all of my life,” Pittman said. “My mama used to say, ‘Why don’t you go out and do something? Play or something?’ That’s my serenity, I think, just being at home.”
She is the middle child of 10 siblings, five older and four younger. Something was always going on so life was very hectic but exciting.
She says her and her siblings all grew up very close and have kept that bond throughout the years.
One of her favorite memories from growing up was driving her daddy’s pickup truck to church.
“My dad, he didn’t go to church that often,” Pittman said. “My mom would go but he made sure we got to church. That was the rule on Sunday morning and Wednesday night.”
She said they started learning to drive when they were seven or eight.
“We had to get to church so he said, ‘Take the truck,’” Pittman laughs. “It’s all back roads so we learned to drive going to church out in the country. Way out in the country.”
She said her daddy just said to stay on their side of the road.
Church and religion has always been a big part of Pittman’s life. In 1997, she was called into the ministry.
“All I wanted to do was just hit the streets, the jail houses, just evangelize,” Pittman said.
Her denomination is African Methodist Episcopal and about a decade ago, she was asked to help within the church. She said she started helping then and never really stopped.
She serves as a supply pastor at two small churches in Grenada.
“I tell them all of the time now, pastoring is not my calling,” Pittman said. “Evangelizing is my calling. I deal better with people one-on-one instead of in a pulpit.”
She said everything has been a blessing though and the Lord has used her where she is needed, so she gives 110 percent.
When Pittman isn’t working with the church, she’s fulfilling her role as site director at Calhoun City Excel. There, she gets to interact with school age children.
“My favorite part about working at Excel is making a difference in the lives of the children,” Pittman said. “I fill in and help, especially with the lower grades because they’ve got a whole lot of kids.”
Pittman stays busy. She has her entire life.
After graduating from Calhoun City High School, she went on to get a degree in business administration, married and had four children over the years. She worked at a local apparel shop for 19 years, making $1.25 an hour.
After her apparel shop job, she eventually took a job as an accountant at a paper mill in Grenada.
After more than 20 years, she retired.
Since retirement, the church and Excel occupy most of her time. When she has some free time, she says she likes to read. Her Bible is her favorite book, but she also enjoys reading autobiographies and books on leadership.
Pittman’s husband, Ed, also a Calhoun County native, recently retired after working for 36 years at the Natchez Trace Electric Power in Calhoun City.
“He does what he does and I do what I do,” she laughs. She says he still gets calls from all around to help out and fix things like water heaters and wiring in churches.
Pittman said things haven’t changed a whole lot, but she’s happy this is where they’ve settled down.
“For us, we’ve been here all our lives,” Pittman said. “We’re retired, comfortable. It’s a good life.”