Poplarville Chamber Hosts Economic Development Presentation

Poplarville – Poplarville Chamber of Commerce's Lunch and Learn hosted by Pearl River Community College presented Dr. Shannon Campbell, Director, from the Trent Lott National Center for Economic Development and Entrepreneurship. Dr. Campbell shared what trends across the state of Mississippi are shaping the type of economic development work communities and businesses are implementing.

Dr. Campbell spoke about how urban areas are on the rise while more rural areas are flat-lining when it comes to economic growth. She explained that this wasn’t to discourage but to impress the importance of the work being done in these communities. In fact, when looking closely at county growth Pearl River is projected to continue growing through 2020. This being partially due to the intersection the county finds itself in between larger metro areas such as New Orleans and Jackson. 

Emphasis, during the presentation, was placed on the need to continuously be searching out funding opportunities for growth and development. She congratulated Pearl River for several of their projects being on the list of those being funded through the Restore Act. 

Dr. Campbell shared information about challenges Mississippi, as a whole, faces when battling unemployment rates, such as obesity and diabetes. She pointed out that the continued promotion of healthy living, and therefore the creation of a healthy living atmosphere in communities, is becoming more important than ever.

Furthermore, as technology changes so do the roles of those in the Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Campbell expounded upon this change by describing how search engines display much of the information those moving to a new area would previously reach out to a chamber to receive. This means the chamber needs to understand the data that is being displayed about their community and be proactive about shaping what that looks like. Dr. Campbell suggested creating an Implementation Strategy Board and then finding those in the community that will be instrumental in making those plans move forward in a timely manner. She stressed that timeline accountability is so important for making big plans and ideas a reality. 

Upcoming chamber events include the 6th Annual Chamber Easter Egg Hunt, Movies on Main, and the Trash to Treasure Downtown Flea Market- Garage Sale. 

The egg hunt will be on the Town Green Saturday, April 20, 2019. The event will be from 10 am to 1:30pm with the egg hunt at 1 pm. Also happening during this time will be face painting, games, and Safari Trials presentation. Food and drinks will be available for sale. 

Movies on Main will be held on the town green April 9, 2019 at 7 pm and will be showing Peter Rabbit. 

Trash to Treasure will be held Saturday, May 4, 2019 on Main Street. 

For more information about these events contact the Poplarville Chamber of Commerce at 601-795-0578 or visit www.poplarville.org 

Photo by: Aleea Burge, PRCC Marketing Specialist/ Article by: Alexx Kennedy, PRCC Communications Specialist 

Pearl River Community College offers equal education and employment opportunities.  The College does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, veteran status, or disability.  For inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies or to request accommodations, special assistance, or alternate format publication please contact Tonia M. Seal, Director of Admissions and Records/ ADA/Civil Rights Coordinator at P.O. Box 5559, Poplarville, MS 39470 or 601-403-1060 or Maghan James, Assistant Vice President of Student Services/Title IX Coordinator at P.O. Box 5805, Poplarville, MS 39470 or 601-403-1132.

Each community college president is asked to bring two (2) wrapped door prizes, minimum value of $50 each. We will have a station set up at the conference for you to drop off the door prizes.

Each community college is asked to provide name tags for their Board members, administration, and staff attending the conference.