MEMBER-TO-MEMBER SEMINAR
Tuesday, September 14
11:30 - 1:00
University Club, Jackson
"HOW THE TRENT LOTT CENTER FITS INTO THE THIRD WAVE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT"
Speaker: RICK DUKE, CEcD, EDFP, DIRECTOR
TRENT LOTT NATIONAL CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & ENTREPRENEURSHIP, USM, HATTIESBURG
Don’t miss this opportunity to get to know one of MEDC’s newest members, hear about the trends he sees for the economy and his perspective as a newcomer to the state. From being recognized by Innovation Associates as the builder of “The best university-based economic development organization in the country” (Georgia Tech EDI), to launching the publication “Retire in Georgia,” Rick brings 25 years of experience and a unique perspective to share with the MEDC membership. Rick Duke Bio
The Trent Lott Center's mission will be shaped by not only the human capital expertise of USM's faculty and students but by the needs of the business and economic development community. Rick is eager to learn ways in which The Trent Lott Center can add value to all involved in developing their communities.
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2010 MEMBER-TO-MEMBER SEMINAR SERIES
TUESDAY . APRIL 13 . RIVER HILLS CLUB . JACKSON
"NUCLEAR ENERGY AND MISSISSIPPI "
SPEAKER: KENNETH HUGHEY
VICE PRESIDENT, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
ENTERGY NUCLEAR
Hear about the status of the nuclear industry, where it is heading in the near future and the latest news from Entergy, operating the second largest nuclear power fleet in the nation. Kenneth Hughey will share plans about the power up-rate project at Grand Gulf, which will make it the largest generating plant in the U.S., and the economic impact it has for Mississippi.
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2009 Member-To-Member Seminar Series
Tuesday . December 8 . University Club . Jackson
"EXISTING INDUSTRY & BUSINESS - A FRESH APPROACH"
Chandler Russ, Director, Existing Industry & Business Division
Mississippi Development Authority
Article on Presentation
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2009 MEDC Member-to-Member Seminar
"The PORT OF GULFPORT: What the 'Port of the Future' Means to the Economic Development of the State"
Don Allee, Executive Director & CEO
Mississippi State Port Authority, Gulfport, MS
Tuesday . April 14 . 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Hattiesburg Country Club . Hattiesburg, MS
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2008 MEDC Member-to-Member Seminar
"From a PRETENDER to a CONTENDER"
Joe Max Higgins, Jr., CEO
Columbus-Lowndes Development Link, Columbus, MS
Tuesday . December 9 . 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Downtown Grill on the Square . Oxford, MS
When Joe Max Higgins, content in his job as the top economic developer in his hometown in Arkansas, received a call from an executive search consultant asking him if he would be interested in taking a similar position in Columbus, Mississippi, he did not think twice.
“I hung up on her,” Higgins told fellow MEDC members at the Member-to-Member Seminar in Oxford. His only perception of Mississippi at that time was instilled by bad movies. When he later received an e-mail from the consultant, he researched and visited the area and found he was, to his surprise, impressed--enough so to become CEO of the Columbus-Lowndes Development LINK.
About a year into the job, when he decided he had made a mistake, he was reminded of his contract and persuaded to stay. Shortly thereafter, he attended the first “certified megasite” meeting held by TVA. As the criteria were presented, he realized that the Golden Triangle area met the requirements. Higgins was excited. Six weeks later, TVA’s first megasite was officially designated, and it was in Lowndes County. SeverCorr moved in. A second megasite attracted PACCAR, Eurocopter and other industry.
Higgins showed the spreadsheet on which he keeps a running total of the number of jobs that have been created each year, and it is very impressive, especially for a town that in 2003 had only, “a nice downtown like downtowns used to be and some very nice homes,” as Higgins’ mom described to him over the phone when she was the first to reconnaissance the area for him.
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2008 MEDC Member-to-Member Seminar
"WETLANDS - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"
Michael Goff, Executive Vice President/Managing Partner
Wildlife Technical Services, Inc., Vicksburg, MS
Tuesday . September 9 . 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Capital Club . Jackson, MS
Mike Goff and MEDC Past President George Freeland
The MEDC Member-to-Member Seminar Series continued in September with a presentation by Michael Goff, Vice President of Wildlife Technical Services, on "WETLANDS - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly." Goff explained the three determinants of a wetland - soils, vegetation and hydrology (water). Hydric soils are usually gray. Even though vegetative cover is usually the first indicator of this type of soil, any land from open fields to forest land can be wetlands, if water was present for a duration of time, even if none is present at the time of determination. He noted that loblolly pines and sweetgum trees can grow in wetlands, and also, that in Mississippi, beavers create wetlands.
Goff explained the significance of understanding various regulatory codes for wetlands including the Individual Section 404 Wetlands Permit Authorization and the Isolated Wetlands Designation which is a newly-developed regulatory variance based on recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings. Other coordinating functions of the federal permit process include the Endangered Species Act, the Cultural and Historic Resources Act, environmental compliance and other protective laws.
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Return to 2010 Seminar.
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