Retired Navy veteran Timothy Lockey of Collinsville has been named director for the Veterans Memorial Cemetery being constructed near Newton.

Lockey was selected by the state Veterans Affairs Board to succeed Randy Reeves, who has been appointed as the state board's deputy director.

Lockey served 26 years in the Navy, including tours for Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The official ground breaking for the construction of the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Cemetery will be held Nov. 5 at 10 a.m. on the cemetery site located on U.S. Highway 80 between Newton and Hickory.

Speakers for the event will include Mississippi State University president Dr. Mark Keenum, Thomas Paquelet with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington and Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant.