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Mississippi Economic Council
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Sanderson Farms Renews Title Sponsorship of PGA TOUR Tournament
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Joe Sanderson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sanderson Farms, Inc. at the Sanderson Farms sponsorship announcement.
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Purse Increases to $4 Million; Tournament Moves to Late October
Sanderson Farms has expanded its commitment with the PGA TOUR through a three-year renewal with the Sanderson Farms Championship.
In addition to the extension, tournament and PGA TOUR officials announced today that the Sanderson Farms Championship, held at Annandale Golf Club in Madison, is moving from July to late October. The date change will allow the tournament to compete at the front end of the 2014-2015 official schedule, the same week as the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in China. By doing so, it will not be contested during the 2013-2014 season. The tournament has been held the same week as The Open Championship the last three years.
Officials also said the purse is increasing by $1 million to $4 million for the 2014 event. Joe Sanderson, Sanderson Farms' Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, spoke of the importance of the tournament's charitable impact and economic benefit to the State of Mississippi, and an increased focus on elevating that presence over the next three years.
Sanderson Farms is an MEC member.
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Leadership Mississippi Education Session Held in Starkville
 Leadership Mississippi held its Education Session in Starkville, home of Mississippi State University, on August 22-23. During this session, the class discussed topics ranging from early childhood education to higher ed and its effect on Mississippi.
Leadership Mississippi would like to thank our sponsors for the Starkville session: Atmos Energy, Mississippi State College of Business, Mississippi State Research and Technology Corporation and Mississippi State University Office of Institutional Diversity & Inclusion.
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Leadership Mississippi Application Deadline - September 9
Leadership Mississippi nominations for the Class of 2014 closed on Friday, August 30, 2013. Applications will still be accepted until Monday, September 9, 2013, so get them in as soon as possible! We look forward to reviewing your application.
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Ambassador Palmer Receives Inaugural Geographic Visionary Award
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Ambassador John Palmer (center) was presented the Geographic Visionary Award by Jim Barksdale, President & CEO of Barksdale Management Corporation (left) and Dr. Dan Jones, Chancellor of the University of Mississippi.
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The Mississippi Geographic Alliance hosted the Geographic Visionary Luncheon to honor Ambassador John N. Palmer on Sept. 5. The event was held at the Jackson Marriott in downtown Jackson.
Ambassador Palmer was presented the award, which honored his experience in connecting Mississippi with the world around us, by Jim Barksdale, President & CEO of Barksdale Management Corporation and Dr. Dan Jones, Chancellor of the University of Mississippi.
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Bomgar Across America Tour Demos Remote Support Software at College Campuses from Coast to Coast
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Bomgar's big orange bus is traveling to colleges and universities in 27 cities across the United States to demo Bomgar's secure remote support solution.
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Bomgar, the leader in enterprise remote support solutions, is kicking off its 2013 Bomgar Across America Tour, a traveling road show that will stop at college campuses in 27 U.S. cities. The Bomgar team will be demoing its remote support software, which is used by more than 600 colleges and universities worldwide, in a custom-designed, bright orange Bomgar Bus that will make its way across the country over the next seven weeks.
More than 600 higher education organizations worldwide use Bomgar to provide remote tech support to faculty, staff and students.
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Click Here for Full Tour Schedule
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State Officials Issue Report on Port Restoration's Progress
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By the Numbers:
- $237 million in design, engineering and construction contracts
- 84 acres in the Mississippi Sound have been filled
- 330,000 yards were dredged, and the unusual materials were used to help reconstruct Deer Island
- Currently the port supports approximately 1,000 direct jobs
- With the restoration project, the port will create approximately 1,200 new jobs
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Governor Phil Bryant, the Mississippi Development Authority and the Mississippi State Port Authority
issued a report on September 3 that outlines significant progress on the Port of Gulfport's restoration project and reaffirms that changes undertaken over the last year will expedite the project's completion and build capacity for job creation and development opportunities.
Early in Governor Bryant's administration, he assessed the status of some of the State's most critical development activities, including the $570 million Port of Gulfport restoration and revitalization project. The Port's new land use plan will increase capacity, which will in turn produce more jobs.
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 Stakeholders Needed to Improve Health Care as an Economic Driver
Governor Bryant's Health Care Economic Development Summit, which focused on the long-range opportunities in health care economic development in both rural and more urban Mississippi, was recently held on Aug. 15. The summit was attended by nearly 700 business, health care and community leaders.
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The conference highlighted Mississippi's incredible potential to move to the forefront of economic development in health care. Acting upon a recommendation of the Blueprint Mississippi Health Care Study, Governor Phil Bryant created the Mississippi Health Care Solutions Institute (MHCSI) and selected cardiologist Dr. Clay Hays of Jackson Heart Institute as its first chair. This organization will carry out the work of implementing the Blueprint recommendations and pursuing other new opportunities in promoting health care economic development.
As with any ongoing economic development project, support is needed to continue progress toward putting Mississippi in the place of greatest opportunity. By clicking here, you have an opportunity to sign up as a stakeholder online to participate in ongoing work on this growing industry in Mississippi.
There is no charge to be a stakeholder.
Click Here to become a Stakeholder
The research and support for the Governor's summit are part of MEC's Blueprint Mississippi Pathway to Progress to help transform goals from Blueprint Mississippi 2011 research in to action.
Click Here for More Information about Blueprint Mississippi
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Southern Miss Celebrates Elizabeth Hall Renovation at Gulf Park Campus
 The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Park campus hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of Elizabeth Hall, the final of five building projects that was completed following the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Southern Miss administrators, faculty, staff, students, and community leaders took part in the ceremony to celebrate the building's reopening. Elizabeth Hall, which houses the College of Arts and Letters, was the final building to complete renovations after all five buildings broke ground in 2011. In addition to faculty offices, Elizabeth Hall is also home to the university's Film Program, which currently occupies ten rooms. The renovation project for Elizabeth Hall cost $1.7 million. The University of Southern Mississippi is an MEC member.
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Renasant Completes Merger with First M&F
Renasant Corporation today announced that it has completed its merger with First M&F Corporation (M&F), a bank holding company headquartered in Kosciusko and the parent of Merchants and Farmers Bank, effective September 1. The combined company has approximately $5.8 billion in total assets with 130 banking, mortgage, financial services and insurance offices throughout Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia.
The merger adds $1.6 billion in assets, $1.4 billion in deposits and 42 banking and insurance locations throughout Renasant's Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee banking franchises. In addition, the merger significantly increases the company's deposit market share in the Birmingham and Memphis MSAs and the key Mississippi markets of Tupelo, Oxford and Starkville, while providing entrance into the markets surrounding Jacksoni.
Renasant Bank is an MEC member.
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Governor Bryant Names Steve Renfroe to Public Service Commission
Gov. Phil Bryant has announced his decision to appoint Steve Renfroe, a lifelong resident of Moss Point, to serve as Southern District Public Service Commissioner. Renfroe will fill the unexpired term of Leonard Bentz, who resigned Aug. 19.
Renfroe is a graduate of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Mississippi College. He began his career as a math instructor in the Moss Point School District and later worked for Chevron as an environmental specialist and a public and government affairs manager. He retired in 2011 after 35 years with the company.
The Public Service Commission regulates electric, gas, water and sewer utilities; regulates telecommunications; and hears and investigates complaints regarding public utilities. The commission consists of one member elected from each of Mississippi's three Supreme Court districts.
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St. James Lighting Expands in Columbia
Officials from St. James Lighting have announced the company is expanding its operations in Columbia in order to meet a growing demand for its products. The project represents a $225,000 company investment and is creating 20 new jobs. The company currently has 23 employees.
St. James Lighting, manufacturer of handcrafted copper lighting fixtures, will relocate to the facility formerly occupied by Orleans Furniture to accommodate the increase in production.
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MCEE to Host U.S. Senator Thad Cochran Forum on September 26
The Mississippi Council on Economic Education will host the 2013 U.S. Senator Thad Cochran Forum on American Enterprise at the Jackson Convention Complex on Thursday, September 26, 2013 from 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
The program honoring U.S. Senator Thad Cochran and will feature a keynote address from Yoram Bauman, Ph.D. Dr. Bauman is an Environmental Economist and Carbon Tax Fellow at Sightline Institute.
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Dr. Aubrey Lucas to Receive Winter-Reed Partnership Award on Oct. 1
"MAPE is proud to bestow the Winter-Reed Award on Dr. Lucas, who has devoted his career to improving higher education in Mississippi," said MAPE President Michael Bentley of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP.
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The Long View Makes a Difference in Economic Development
Greetings!
Taking the long view is necessary - taking the short view is so often more politically expedient, but rarely achieves the same kind of sustainable progress over time.
There are two issues right now that demand short term attention - but also long term thinking, and without the long view, Mississippi stands to miss out.
The first is the development of the State Port at Gulfport. A huge opportunity for the state long-term, but a daunting challenge short-term because of the condition of the international economy. It is hard to see in the crystal ball for the future - at a time when we are facing so many challenges. But looking ahead...planning ahead...and positioning now for the future is critical. Which is exactly what our state officials are doing - and Governor Phil Bryant focused on these long-term plans this week as the report referenced in this newsletter was released.
Another issue is that of nationalized health care and how it will impact Mississippi - both our citizens and medical community. These are issues of today - market forces that must be dealt with through current public policy - but as the story on Blueprint Mississippi's recommendation for long-term strategies for health care economic development and Governor Bryant's creation of the Mississippi Health Care Solutions Institute, chaired by noted cardiologist Dr. Clay Hays suggest, it will take a long-term strategy to truly seize the day on maximizing our economic development opportunities.
Congratulations to our public and private sector leaders who have the courage to take the long view, while continuing to deal with the public policy issues of today. We will benefit from long range thinking in the years to come.
One final post-script. There is also a story in today's e-newsletter about Sanderson Farms signing on for a long-term commitment to the PGA golf championship - and to some significant enhancements to the tournament that really moves this event even bigger on the national radar screen. This is a big deal for Mississippi. It wouldn't be happening without the commitment of a home-grown Mississippi corporation and its leader, Joe Sanderson. Kudos to Sanderson for making a real commitment to make a meaningful difference.
 Keep the faith.
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ABOUT US
The Mississippi Economic Council has been the voice of Mississippi business since 1949. MEC deals with broad issues that relate to businesses through advocacy, research, resources and leadership. MEC has 8,600 members from 1,100 member firms in 2,400 locations throughout Mississippi. |
Mississippi Economic Council - The State Chamber of Commerce
248 E. Capitol Street, Suite 940 - Jackson, Mississippi 39201
P.O. Box 23276 - Jackson, Mississippi 39225-3276
Phone: 601-969-0022 - 1-800-748-7626
Fax: 601-353-0247 - 1-888-717-2809
Click Here for MEC Web Site
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