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Blake Wilson
President
| Dear Member:
Both Houses of the Mississippi Legislature passed extension resolutions yesterday to allow them to go into extra innings on budget deliberations -- although most insiders believe the end is in sight.
But when legislators go home, unless there is a sudden and dramatic change of heart, they will be going home without passing updated incentive legislation to make Mississippi more competitive when going after
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new projects and helping existing industry upgrade their processes to become more competitive and to keep jobs from heading overseas.
Check out the table on this page. It shows where Mississippi stacks up in percentage population growth from 2003 to 2004, according to the U.S. Census. We grew by .7%, less than the average of our competing States of 1.08% and half of the Southern average of 1.4%.
Take a look at our 12 competing States as identified by Blueprint Mississippi. Mississippi is left in the dust by high performers like North Carolina and South Carolina...and even Tennessee, not to mention Florida, Georgia and Texas. We can change this...by investing in education...and by investing in targeted economic development efforts that work, through Momentum Mississippi. This is why the MEC board has heartily endorsed both initiatives.
If you don't believe doing the right things in these areas can work, look at the growth in South Carolina -- a structurally similar State that has made a habit for years of saying "thank goodness for Mississippi." South Carolina leaders don't have to say that anymore, because they have pulled significantly ahead, by doing the right things...in both education and economic development, following the lead of their neighbor, North Carolina, which has taken quantum leaps thanks to the smart moves in both education and economic development it started making two decades ago.
The key recommendations of the Momentum Mississippi package come directly from the Blueprint Mississippi initiative -- and from literally hundreds of community and private sector leaders who participated in the process. We heard consistently that we must do something to bring jobs that will keep our kids working in Mississippi when they graduate from college -- and to retain the jobs we have in existing industry.
Momentum Mississippi is a bright and focused initiative driven by Governor Haley Barbour who is committed to making progress and getting results in economic development. But the bill is the end product of Blueprint -- deliberations of volunteers involved in the Momentum Mississippi process -- and economic developers around the State active in the Mississippi Economic Development Council (MEDC), the professional association of the development community.
If you don't believe we're missing the boat, check out the unemployment rates by county at this link: click here.
Perhaps we can take solace in the fact that we are 27th in the nation in population growth among the states - with the big losers being mostly northern and rural western and mid-western states -- particularly Massachusetts. This was the only State to actually lose population and go into the negative with a -.1%.
Our real competition is here in the new and vibrant South, not in the tired old north -- and as our focused competitors grow stronger and build opportunities for their people...we continue to miss the boat. We can be up there with North Carolina and South Carolina...but we have to make
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Population growth % - 2003-2004 it happen. It won't just come to us.
Folks like philanthropist Jim Barksdale and MDA Director Leland Speed -- who doesn't need a job and who is working for free -- are challenging us to think outside the box. We have the opportunity to do it...both in education...and in economic development. | Florida
Georgia
Texas
N. Carolina
S. Carolina
Tenessee
Arkansas
Mississippi
Kentucky
Alabama
Louisiana
Oklahoma | 2.3%
1.8%
1.7%
1.4%
1.2%
1.0%
0.9%
0.7%
0.7%
0.6%
0.5%
0.5%
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| Macon's Tommy Hamill to highlight MEC's 56th Annual Meeting May 4 |
Tommy Hamill
| Two years ago, Macon's Tommy Hamill went abroad to support his country's fight for Iraqi freedom and to earn enough money to save his farm.
One year ago, Hamill -- a civilian truck convoy commander who was wounded in an ambush that killed six of his associates hauling fuel to the U.S. armed forces in Iraq -- made international headlines by escaping his captors after 24 days of confinement. |
This year, two days after the anniversary of his escape, Hamill will highlight the luncheon session of MEC's 56th annual membership meeting devoted to a salute to the military. More than 4,000 Mississippi members of the U.S. Army Reserve and the Mississippi National Guard are presently serving in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan. Thousands more have served tours of duty in the past few years.
"Mississippians serve today in all branches of military service to protect the freedoms we enjoy every day," said MEC President Blake Wilson. "Our meeting will be a tribute and a heart-felt 'thank you' for our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, who are separated from their loved ones at home."
Morning sessions will concentrate on the importance of military installations in the state and an update on the Momentum Mississippi economic development initiative.
Also participating will be Miss Mississippi Jalin Wood. The meeting will be Wednesday, May 4, at the Marriott Jackson.  for a printable sponsor form. |
| Workforce training, unemployment tax bill signed |
| Governor Haley Barbour was joined by business leaders, community college presidents and officials from the Department of Employment Security when he signed Senate Bill 2480 -- a bill that is a win-win for both businesses and workers. Businesses will benefit from lower unemployment tax rates and workers will be given the opportunity to learn higher skills that translate into greater incomes. |
| "In my State of the State address in January, I proposed reforming our state's unemployment tax formula as another job creation effort," said Governor Barbour. "Because Mississippi businesses have been |
paying too much in unemployment taxes, this bill will reduce the tax and provide a diversion to fund additional workforce training programs that keep unemployment low."
Small businesses in Mississippi are responsible for more than 80% of all new jobs in the state. "One of the many taxes they pay is the unemployment tax, which goes into an unemployment trust fund and is then used to pay unemployment benefits," the Governor said. "Over the last 20 years, because of flaws in the formula used in our state, we have been collecting much, much more in unemployment taxes than is needed to pay unemployment benefits. The State's unemployment reserve fund has grown to $684 million despite the fact the state generally pays out only $150 million a year in unemployment benefits, yet the fund continues to grow.
"Senate Bill 2480 is not only preventing an unnecessary tax increase this year, it will actually decrease the unemployment tax burden of businesses over the next several years," he continued. "The fund is large enough to do this while ensuring we maintain ample funds to pay benefits. As an additional component of this legislation, the bill creates a Workforce Training Enhancement Fund which will provide approximately $20 million a year for workforce training activities to supplement community and junior college workforce training dollars.
"With this new money supplementing current appropriations, we can have one of the nation's best programs for attracting and keeping better, higher paying jobs," Governor Barbour added. |
| Trustmark Park in Pearl is home to Braves |
 | The Mississippi Braves and MEC member Trustmark Corporation have reached an agreement that names the team's new $25-million sports complex the Trustmark |
Park. The stadium, currently under construction in Rankin County, will be the home of the Mississippi Braves, Atlanta's Class AA team that is relocating to Mississippi from South Carolina.
"Trustmark is delighted to be on the Braves' team," said former MEC Chair Richard G. Hickson, Trustmark chair and CEO. "The Atlanta Braves are one of the premier franchises in major league |  |
baseball and are known for their commitment to excellence, as evidenced by their unprecedented 13 straight division titles. We look forward to families coming to Trustmark Park, the home of the Braves, and enjoying America's national pastime."
"This agreement signifies Trustmark as the Braves' primary partner in Mississippi," said Steve DeSalvo, Braves general manager. "When we moved to Mississippi, we felt it was imperative to build relationships with companies and people who shared our core values about providing family entertainment, who felt strongly about the area and wanted long-term relationships."
The stadium, which closely resembles Turner Field in Atlanta, features an amphitheater design with the playing field below the entrance level and a 360-degree concourse. Trustmark Park's total seating capacity will be 7,200, with 5,500 chair-back seats. Amenities include 22 luxury skyboxes, a full LED video board, a corporate picnic pavilion and a full-service restaurant that will be open year-round.
The team's first game at Trustmark Park is scheduled for April 18 against Montgomery, the AA team of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Braves are scheduled to play 70 home games in Trustmark Park this season. |
| Poor grades given state roads by research group |
Sen. Billy Hewes, Chair, Senate Transportation Committee. | Mississippi rates poor grades on its roads, bridges, state transportation funding, traffic safety and congestion according to TRIP, a national nonprofit transportation research group in Washington, D.C., that performed the study.
The TRIP report, "Making the Grade in Mississippi: An Analysis of the Ability of Mississippi's Transportation System to Meet the State's Need for Safe and Efficient Mobility," found that Mississippi |
has the third-highest traffic fatality rate in the United States, and the sixth-highest percentage of structurally deficient bridges in the U.S.
"The continued modernization of Mississippi's roads, highways and bridges is crucial to providing a safer, more efficient transportation system, which helps maintain and expand economic development," said Frank Moretti of TRIP. "Yet Mississippi faces a multi-billion dollar shortfall in state highway funding, hindering its ability to continue making needed road and bridge improvements statewide to accommodate future growth."
"The Blueprint Mississippi initiative, concluded last summer, focused on the importance of infrastructure for Mississippi's future," said MEC President Blake A. Wilson who spoke at the Capitol news conference. "The results of this study enhance the basic research in Blueprint -- and will help MEC's private sector leadership focus on the future, by providing more specific data relative to highway capabilities."
The TRIP report also has assigned Mississippi "C" grades for pavement quality and for traffic congestion. In addition, $146.5 million in state highway funds have been diverted over the past three years (2002-2004) from the Mississippi Department of Transportation to the state's General Fund, even through Mississippi has experienced the sixth-fastest increase in vehicle travel in the nation since 1990.
Also attending the news conference were State Sen. Billy Hewes of Gulfport, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, and State Rep. Bill Miles of Fulton, chair of the House Transportation Committee.
to read the report. |
| Economist enlightens Southern Miss students |
Mordechai Kreinin
| Noted international economist Mordechai Kreinin recently talked to students about global economics and the trade deficit during one of two presentations at MEC member The University of Southern Mississippi's College of Business on the Hattiesburg campus.
A distinguished professor of economics at Michigan State University, Kreinin is the author of more than 200 articles and nine books on economics, including the widely used text International Economics.
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OTHER STORIES
  NVision Solutions Named ESRI New Partner of the Year
MEC member The Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions announces that member company, NVision Solutions, Inc. was selected as ESRI New Partner of the Year at the recent 2005 ESRI Worldwide Business Partner Conference in Palm Springs.
Caesars honored for training efforts
Training Magazine recently released its list of the Top 100 Training Companies in America for 2005, and MEC member Caesars Entertainment ranked 88th. According to Caesars, which is headquartered in Las Vegas and operates casinos in Mississippi, it was the only major gaming corporation to make the list.
American Cancer Society recognizes Forrest General
MEC member Forrest General Hospital has been recognized as a Silver Level Company of Excellence by the American Cancer Society, the only company in the state of Mississippi that achieved this level of excellence, according to the hospital.
Michael Baker Jr. opening new office
MEC member Michael Baker Jr., Inc., is expanding its operations by locating an office in Natchez. Initially, the office will be staffed with two managers and 10 staff. The Michael Baker Corporation, with 4,500 employees, provides engineering and energy expertise for public and private sector clients worldwide.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Moving Wall to visit Oxford
A half-sized replica of the Vietnam Memorial Wall will arrive in Oxford on April 21, thanks to the hard work of John McKendree, president of Rolling Thunder, Inc., Chapter One Mississippi.
Economic development forum at MSU on April 27
MEC member Mississippi State University's Economic Development Outreach Forum will be April 27 in the Bost Extension Center. The event's hours are from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.
  
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