COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOMENT AWARD WINNERS HONORED AT
MISSISSIPPI ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL CONFERENCE
FEBRUARY 3, 2012

PHOTO OF AWARDS (see description below)

Five Mississippi communities were honored at the Mississippi Economic Development Council (MEDC) Winter Conference for their efforts to advance their economic viability through economic and community development programs during the past year. They competed with others in their population categories.  Winners were:

Category I – population less than 5,000:
City of Ellisville for The Landing of GE Aviation - Mayor Tim Waldrup accepted the award, joined by Sandy Holifield, director of economic development for the Economic Development Authority of Jones County who nominated the project.  Partners in the project were the Jones County Board of Supervisors, the City of Ellisville, Jones County Junior College, EDA of Jones County Board, MS Development Authority, the University of Southern Mississippi and area communities. PRESS RELEASE FOR CITY OF ELLISVILLE / PHOTO 1, PHOTO 2, PHOTO 3,

Category II – 5,001 – 15,000
City of Natchez for the Natchez Trails Project - Mayor Jake Middleton accepted the award, joined by Debbie Hudson, president and CEO of the Natchez Adams County Chamber of Commerce who nominated the project.  Partners included the City of Natchez, the National Park Service, Natchez-Adams County Chamber of Commerce, Natchez Downtown Development, the Historic Natchez Foundation, Natchez Adams County Economic Development, Convention & Visitors Bureau, and other private entities. These groups envisioned the project having vast community ownership rather than that of a localized agency. PRESS RELEASE FOR CITY OF NATCHEZ / PHOTO 1, PHOTO 2

Category III – 15,001 – 40,000
City of Pascagoula for Arbor Square – Harry J. Schmidt, director of community and economic development for the City, accepted the award, joined by Carla Todd, chief executive officer of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, who nominated the project.  Partners included Mississippi Main Street, Habitat for Humanity, the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, the City of Pascagoula, Jackson County Chamber of Commerce and the Jackson County Economic Development Foundation. PRESS RELEASE FOR CITY OF PASCAGOULA / PHOTO

Category IV – 40,001 – 100,000
Hancock County Community Development Foundation for the Hancock County Job Generation Fund – Tish Williams, executive director of the Foundation accepted the award, joined by Guy Johnson, vice-president of economic development of Coast Electric Power Association, who nominated the project.  The first program of its kind in the country, the Foundation was formed by the Hancock County Chamber in agreement with the Mississippi Development Authority.  It is now a regional community development financial institution serving as a national model in disaster recovery. PRESS RELEASE FOR HANCOCK COUNTY CDF / PHOTO 1, PHOTO 2

Category V – Over 100,000
Mississippi State University Center for Advanced Vehicular Studies Extension for the “Enhancing On-the-Job Problem Solving” Training Program – Accepted by Dr. Clay Walden, director of MSU-CAVSE, and nominated by Robert Sheely, manager of business systems and information technology.  Partners included Holmes Community College, MSU’s Bagley College of Engineering, the Mississippi Development Authority and the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.  The beneficiaries were over 400 employees at Nissan’s Canton facility. PRESS RELEASE FOR MSU CAVSE / PHOTO

“These awards are recognition of what can happen when people all come together for the common good.  MEDC is proud to honor these outstanding communities and the people and partnerships that have been involved in the planning and implementation of these worthwhile projects,” said Carol Hardwick, executive director. 

The winners will go on to compete with entries from 16 Southern states for the Southern Economic Development Council’s regional awards.       

The Mississippi Economic Development Council is the association of community and economic development and chamber of commerce professionals from across the state.  MEDC encourages professionalism among its members through its conferences, workshops and meetings and by awarding scholarships for courses in chamber, community and economic development.

ABOUT THE AWARDS - Each award is unique just like each of your projects is unique.  Each piece is made up of many different shapes and colors of glass that have been fused together with heat.  This represents the many different people in your community who came together and, with a lot of hard work, created a successful project that benefits the entire community.  It was etched on the glass borders outside the colorful square, representing the “thinking outside the box” that took place to create your innovative project.  It was created by Banjo Moon Glass in Jackson; outstanding Mississippi art to honor outstanding Mississippi projects.  PHOTO