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Memo from President Duane O'Neill

LEADERSHIP SETS PRIORITIES

In last week’s column, I described a new community initiative the MetroChamber will be facilitating.  It will be an exercise which will take our leadership on a fact-finding venture to another community.  The purpose of this exercise will be to discuss how this other community has successfully dealt with issues and challenges that are similar to those MetroJackson is currently facing.  This effort encompasses business, civic and elected leadership.

While everyone agrees the process is a worthy endeavor, the key is for our community to collectively agree on what the major issues are that impede our area from being totally successful.  With this backdrop, it is time to share the results.  In a retreat environment which included all the fore mentioned leadership groups, four particular issues surfaced to the top.  These four were easily the consensus selections from a list of approximately fifty issues. In a David Letterman format, here are the Top Four.

Number Four.  Downtown Revitalization.  This issue is extremely important to the City of Jackson, however it is also important to many others of our suburban communities.  Downtown Revitalization is truly economic development and quite often, is housing as well.  It is a sense of identity and an opportunity for community pride.  Normally, communities that boast vibrant downtowns, use them as an asset to address other community hurdles.

Number Three: Lefleur’s Lakes.  This challenge may seem like an impossible dream to some.  However, this project (previously known as the Twin Lakes) is an extremely necessary flood control plan.  We desperately need protection from Mother Nature such as the devastating 1979 Easter Flood and more recent flooding that has repeatedly occurred without a plan in place.  While flood control is the core issue, the economic benefits of a “waterfront development” project cannot be ignored.  The beauty of Lefleur’s Lakes is that it is both!

Number Two: Public Safety.  The only surprise about Public Safety being ranked in the top four issues facing our area is that it was not number one.  Are crime rates declining or are statistics being reported differently?  Is crime “perception” or “reality”?  Is crime just a Jackson issue or are we all in this together?  However you answer the questions you probably agree that this issue has a colossal impact on our community.  Even if you take an optimistic position that “perception” is the issue, it still has a significant damaging affect.

And the Number One Challenge facing MetroJackson: Regional Cooperation.

While there are occasional bright spots of unity, the idea of truly working together in our tri-county area is still in its infancy.  Regional Cooperation is a very vast subject.  Infrastructure projects, legislative efforts, economic development, education, public safety and relationships with entities outside the core metro area are just a few of the elements of Regional Cooperation.  In athletics, the team with players that work together in harmony always achieve more than a team that acts as individuals.  Communities are no different.  When we work together, there is no limit to the success that can be achieved.

The next step is to identify a community with similar population, demographics, geographic, and natural constraints.  Furthermore the community that fits these criteria must also have successfully met the challenges of Regional Cooperation, Public Safety, Waterfront Development Projects and Downtown Revitalization.  When that host community is selected there will be opportunities for us to add additional issues to the list.  However between now and the actual visit, there is much work to be done.  If this concept has sparked any enthusiasm on your part to get involved in the process, please contact us.  We need vast participation to make this effort as successful as possible.  Even if you just want to offer a thought, please do not hesitate to contact me with your feedback.

Vice President, Community Development                     Cynthia Buchanan

The worlds of private business and government purchasing will connect on March 23-24, 2005, at the Mississippi Governor’s Business/Procurement Opportunities Conference and Trade Fair 2005.  The event will feature a series of guest speakers/seminars on March 23 and a trade fair and “match making” session on March 24.

“Small businesses play a vital role in our nation’s defense and are the backbone of our national and local economies, says Richard Speights, Director of Minority & Small Business Development Division of the MS Development Authority.  Conferences of this nature aid government purchasers in locating suppliers and facilitate small businesses access to government and commercial purchasers.”

The conference is designed to build partnerships between private businesses, (particularly minority and women-owned businesses) and government purchasing including, federal, state, local major defense contractors, and commercial purchasers.  The invited government agencies and defense contractors are the U.S. Small Business Administration, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Department of Treasury, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and NASA.  State agencies invited are the Mississippi Development Authority, the MS Department of Transportation, Municipalities, and the state’s major universities. Also invited are commercial buyers from MS casinos and automotive industries.

Businesses interested in registering can visit the Mississippi Procurement Technical Assistance Program website (www.mscpc.com), send an e-mail to info@mscpc.com or call 228-396-1288.

For more information contact Richard Speights at rspeights@mississippi.org or at 228-396-1288.

Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership

Web site Advertising Opportunities

www.metrochamber.com

Let the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership

 act as a private search engine for you!

New Features include:

·         Direct links to company web sites

·         Company Ad Placement

·         Job Bank & Coupon Bank Postings

·         Map links & Logo links

Please call Lindsay James @ (601) 948-7575, ext. 231 or e-mail

ljames@metrochamber.com for more information.