Ray stepping down at MDA

JACKSON — Craig Ray, director of the Mississippi Development Authority’s (MDA’s) Tourism Division, announced his resignation to take place at year end and his plans to pursue new opportunities in the industry.

“We appreciate Craig’s leadership,” said Gray Swoope, executive director of MDA. “Under his direction, Mississippi’s tourism programs have become a significant part of the state’s economic development strategy.”

Ray will be succeeded by Mary Beth Wilkerson, who has served as MDA’s deputy director of tourism since 2002. Wilkerson joined the agency in 1991. She directly coordinated Mississippi’s domestic and international travel trade tourism efforts for over nine years prior to becoming the division’s Sales and Marketing Bureau manager in 2000.

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