Mississippi Business Journal » Economic Development

State’s creative economy employs 64,000 people

Lynn Lofton — Fri, 10 May 2013 15:19:09 +0000

Officials looking to add to sector Although creativity has abounded in Mississippi as long as anyone can remember, the concept of treating that creative force as part of the state’s economic development has been around only a few years. Discussions began in 2009 between the Mississippi Development Authority and the Mississippi Arts Commission. The two [...]

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Waller makes MEC go

Lisa Monti — Fri, 10 May 2013 15:12:35 +0000

Former journalist carves out new, successful career at the MEC Making the career transition from journalism to economic development turned out to be not that much of a stretch, says Scott Waller, senior vice president of public affairs for the Mississippi Economic Council, the state chamber of commerce. It’s all about building relationships, he said. [...]

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Certified Retirement Communities program has big impact on economy and social fabric of the state

Becky Gillette — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:59:44 +0000

Marcia A. Crawford and her recently retired husband moved from Nevada to the Mississippi Gulf Coast 10 months prior to Hurricane Katrina after conducting an extensive search for a home for their retirement. The couple has been very pleased with the small, streamside cottage on an acre of wooded land they purchased, and Crawford now [...]

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CREATE ‘about quality of life’

Lisa Monti — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 06:01:38 +0000

The 40-year-old nonprofit CREATE Foundation has experienced tremendous growth in the last eight years, when its assets more than doubled from $30 million to about $64.5 million at the end of 2012. Driving the growth is Toyota’s $50-million endowment as well as CREATE’s successful challenge grant matches in the 17-county region where the nonprofit is [...]

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MDA’s Marlo Dorsey faces biggest marketing task in the state

Becky Gillette — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 17:12:41 +0000

Marlo Dorsey, who stepped into the job as chief marketing director of the Mississippi Development Authority in early December, has hit the ground running in a job that remained vacant for more than a year. That has led to a backlog of demand for decisions on how to best market Mississippi. “Now, every time I [...]

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Grammy Museum is expected to bring an economic boom to the Mississippi Delta

Clay Chandler — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 15:47:23 +0000

The first Grammy Museum outside Los Angeles is coming to Cleveland, and with it comes an economic boom for Cleveland, Bolivar County and the Delta. With a goal of raising $15 million and getting the project completed in the next 24 months, hopes are high. “The fund raising is going quite well,” said Allan Hammons, [...]

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Gary Reed oversees the Gulfport Branch of SBA with servant’s heart

Becky Gillette — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 23:07:00 +0000

You are unlikely to find anyone who is a more passionate cheerleader for small businesses taking advantage of the programs of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) programs than Gary Reed. After about 15 years working to market SBA programs in Mississippi, Reed was appointed in February 2011 to be manager of the Gulfport SBA [...]

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Blake Wilson makes MEC truly statewide with roadshows, technology

Becky Gillette — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 23:03:04 +0000

The Mississippi Economic Council (MEC) is the face of business, acting as a statewide chamber of commerce. And the face of MEC is president and CEO Blake Wilson, who will celebrate 15 years with MEC in January. “Blake is like the Eveready bunny on speed when it comes to the amount of energy he expends [...]

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Court-appointed receiver finding interest in former Walthall Hotel

Ted Carter — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 00:18:47 +0000

A court-appointed receiver is in talks with several prospective buyers of downtown Jackson’s Roberts Vista Hotel, currently shuttered and awaiting repairs from water damage. The hotel, known more commonly in Jackson as The Walthall, for local Civil War figure Edward Cary Walthall, whose name it bore upon opening 85 years ago. As it as a [...]

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Politics, not recession, affecting local economic development

Lynn Lofton — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 17:46:23 +0000

Has the recession affected economic development efforts on the local level in Mississippi? Three professional economic developers in different parts of the state say the recession is not a major problem. In Choctaw County, Nick Walters says the uncertainty about the political scene is more of a concern than the economy. “A lot of it [...]

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