PANOLA PARTNERSHIP, INC. BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Joe Azar, President M O N T H L Y Jus n Hill, Vice President Roy Girner, Past President Sonny Simmons, Director/Secretary Dale Hart, Treasurer William Pride Brad Robison Stephen Whatley David Karr, City Rep. Gary Kornegay, IDA President Kelley Magee, County Rep. Flip Phillips, Legal Counsel INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Panola Co. Miss 2 Hospitality YPP Upcoming 2 Events Main Street 3 Annual Banquet 3 Invita on SpringFest Youth 3 Talent Compe on Membership 4 Report Coming Events Partnership Progress 4 N E W S L E T T E R M A R C H 2 0 1 5 From the Director’s Chair by Sonny Simmons Is it realis c to expect a county’s economic development organiza on to land a new project each and every year? Even though we all would like to see this happen, and that is what we strive for, these expecta ons are not realis c. This is not to say that our efforts have been diminished. We are working harder now than ever before due to strong compe on and due to the limited number of ac ve projects that are seeking to locate. Many communi es have not seen a new industrial loca on in years. There are some 4,000 organiza ons similar to ours throughout the United States all compe ng for projects, with less than 400 ac ve projects at any given me. Everything has to be just right for a company to make the decision to commit to locate and invest within a new community. Some mes I feel we forget about the past successes we have been so blessed to achieve and we only focus on when the next new company or new business will locate. It was just a few short years ago that we had several vacant buildings located throughout the county and now we have almost none. The ARI/Moog building is now occupied by Toyoda Gosei; the Batesville American building is now occupied by Anderson Technologies; the Steel Services building is now occupied by Serta Ma ress; Panola Mills is now occupied by Insituform; the Toro building in Sardis is now occupied by United Solu ons; and the Steelma c building in Sardis has been sold. Let’s not forget about the new Cube Ice facility in the Airport Industrial Complex or GE Avia on’s new state‐of‐the‐art facility with 480 employees and an investment that now exceeds $100 million, as well as all the expansions we have witnessed with our exis ng industry base. We truly have a lot to be thankful for. The truth of the ma er is we have been very successful, which has led us to a point and also to a dilemma as to what we do next in order to con nue to grow and prosper. We recently purchased an addi onal 300 acres of prime industrial property to assure the availability of sufficient land for future industrial growth. We will be working hard to develop that property into a first‐class industrial site. The problem we face now is the lack of marketable exis ng buildings that we once had available. Site loca on consultants tell us that 9 out of 10 companies that are expanding and looking for new loca ons, prefer to purchase an exis ng facility rather than build. Because of our past success, we simply have a very limited inventory of buildings that are available and marketable. The ques on now is, what do we do about Logoright here now we are only in that? Even though the talking stage, in the near future we may have to consider if it’s me to invest in a spec building in order to maximize our chances of landing another new company. Other communi es have done this and have been successful, but there are no guarantees. These facili es are expensive and the decision to move forward with a project like this has to be given serious considera on. This will not be an easy decision, but success seldom comes easily. A project of this magnitude will have to be a collabora ve effort between the Panola Partnership’s board and our county’s elected officials. As I said, this will not be an easy decision to make, but with strong decisive leadership and a vision for the future of Panola County, I feel the right decision will be made. Forever forward! PAGE 2 Panola Co. Miss Hospitality chosen Each year we are impressed with the candidates submi ed for Miss Hospitality. This year was no excep on. All of the young ladies who par cipated are excep onal students and are ac ve par cipants in extracurricular ac vi es. 2014 Miss Hospitality Emily Sigler crowns 2015 Miss Hospitality Mary Beth Hays. Miss Hospitality is Panola County’s goodwill ambassador and her du es include promo ng Panola County through public appearances, a ending ribbon cu ngs and ground breaking ceremonies as well as various speaking engagements. Judging is based on the following criteria for Miss Hospitality: The young lady must be a rac ve, intelligent, a good speaker, photogenic, aggressive without being forward or self‐centered, dignified, have a friendly spirit that is natural and spontaneous, in good health, gracious and sincere, and have a general knowledge of state tourist a rac ons, history and economy. The winner of the Miss Hospitality Contest will represent Panola County at the statewide contest in Ha esburg in July. Our contestants for this year’s Miss Hospitality are: Ka e Grace Carlini represen ng the Batesville Lions Club; Mary Clay Gentry represen ng the Batesville Junior Woman’s League; Mary Beth Hays represen ng the Batesville Garden Club; Charley Ann Nix represen ng the Batesville Woman’s Club; Amy Kathleen Wallace Walker represen ng the Batesville Civitan Club; and Mary Ruth Womble represen ng the Batesville Rotary Club. Panola County’s new Miss Hospitality for 2015 is Miss Mary Beth Hays, daughter of Mrs. Hollie Roberson & Mr. Carlton Hays. Winners were announced during a recep on immediately following the closed tea pageant. The recep on for family & friends was held at First United Methodist Church this past Sunday. Miss Emily Sigler has served as Panola County’s Miss Hospitality 2014. We appreciate her representa on of Panola County at the state pageant and her appearances at county events throughout the last year. She was on hand at this year’s pageant to crown the winners. This year’s 1st Alternate is Miss Mary Clay Gentry, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Jeff Gentry. YPP Events coming your way YPP has some exci ng events coming your way this month! We invite all current members & those who are interested in joining YPP to a end any of our events. You can see a list of current members at h p:// chamber.panolacounty.com/ programs/young‐ professionals/. PARTNERSHIP PROGRESS On March 5th, we’ll have our regular Lunch Break @ 12 noon at El Mariachi Bar & Grill. Say “Adios” to the Winter Blues at our YPP Wind Down on March 10th (5‐7pm), at El Mariachi. On March 12th, we’ll have our monthly mee ng at Panola Partnership to discuss upcoming projects. On March 19th, we’ve been invited by NMEI to tour the Batesville Enterprise Center at 275 Nosef Drive just behind the SMEPA power plant. Lunch is provided by NMEI. This will be during our regular Lunch Break me of 12 noon‐1pm. On March 26th, we’ll meet for Lunch Break at Cracker Barrel. See you soon! MONTHLY NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 Diamond Rio to headline SpringFest 2015 Vocal Group of the Year, Diamond Rio will headline Batesville SpringFest 2015. Formed in 1984, Diamond Rio features lead singer Marty Roe, guitarist Jimmy Olander, drummer Brian Prout, keyboardist Dan Truman, bassist/harmony Dana Williams and Gene Johnson on mandolin/harmony. The band signed with Arista in the early 90′s and embarked on one of the most successful careers in country music. The band has sold over 10 million albums earning three pla num and five gold records and won the Country Music Associa on’s Vocal Group of the Year award four mes as well as ne ng two Academy of Country Music Awards in the top Vocal Group of the Year category and thirteen GRAMMY ® nomina ons. When they debuted in 1991 with the hit “Meet in the Middle,” Diamond Rio became the first group in the history of country music to have a debut single reach No. 1. They con nued to place 32 more singles on the Billboard chart, including “How Your Love Makes Me Feel,” “Norma Jean Riley,” “Beau ful Mess,” “Love a Li le Stronger,” and “One More Day.” Diamond Rio will play on Saturday, May 16, 2015. Panola Partnership, Inc. cordially invites you to their 19th Annual Meeting & Dinner Guest Speaker, Mike Tagert Northern District Commissioner Mississippi Dept. of Transportation Thursday, March 19, 2015 5:30 p.m. Social 6:30 p.m. Dinner 211 Main Hall & Gardens, 211 Main Street, Como, Mississippi R.S.V.P. to 563-3126 or partnership@panolacounty.com by March 6. Each membership receives one admittance. Additional dinners may be reserved for $30.00 each. Payments must be made in advance. Business Attire YPP hosts Annual SpringFest Youth Talent Show For the third consecu ve year, the Young Professionals of Panola will host the Annual SpringFest Youth Talent Compe on. The event will be held on Saturday, May 16 on the SpringFest stage. The Youth Talent Compe on is a Mid‐South Fair sanc oned event meaning Mid‐ South Fair talent judges are on‐ hand to witness our event and have the ability to invite any performing act to compete at the Mid‐South Fair this fall. Partnership’s website, Facebook page & the Partnership office. The contest is open to compe tors ages 9‐21. The Jr. Division is ages 9‐ 12 and the Sr. Division is ages 13‐ 21. Soloist, Duets, or groups of 3 or more are invited to compete. Low‐cost sponsorships are available for just $100 to businesses or organiza ons wishing to support this year’s event. For ques ons, call us at 662‐563‐3126. Applica ons and Contestant rules will be available soon on Panola New Members and Coming Events Welcome to our New Members Coming Events A1 Wings & Things 5 (1‐2:30p): Star ng a Business‐First Steps (UMSBDC) 5 (12‐1p): YPP Lunch Break @ El Mariachi Bar & Grill March 3 (2p): Batesville City Board Mee ng @ City Hall 440 Highway 6 East Batesville, MS 38606 662‐712‐6102 9 (9a): Panola Co. Board of Supervisors Mee ng (Batesville Courthouse) El Mariachi Bar & Grill 10(5‐7p): YPP Wind Down @ El Mariachi Bar & Grill (details inside) 325 Lakewood Drive, Suite 16 Batesville, MS 38606 662‐561‐0020 L&L Dirt Works 395 Parker Road Pope, MS 38658 662‐809‐0996 Thank you to these members for con nuing your commitment to Panola Partnership! Batesville Dental Clinic ‐ Batesville Lions Club Batesville Refrigera on ‐ Buchart Horn, Inc. CableONE ‐ Fox Bail Bond ‐ GE Avia on Hampton Inn ‐ Jimmy McClure Mathews Proper es ‐ Margaret O’Keefe MS Detec ve & Security Services, Inc. Oxford Printwear ‐ Panola Country Club Panola Co. Humane Society The Pier Seafood & Steaks ‐ Q93.7 FM Stubbs Department Store ‐ Welshans Law Firm 150‐A Public Square Batesville, MS 38606 Phone: 662.563.3126 | Fax: 662.563.0704 Toll‐Free: 888.872.6652 E‐mail: partnership@panolacounty.com Website: www.panolacounty.com 12 (8a): Panola Partnership Ambassadors Monthly Mee ng 12 (12‐1p): YPP Monthly Mee ng @ Panola Partnership 12 (12‐1p): Grow Your Business Spring Webinar Series 13 (12p): Batesville Main Street Board Monthly Mee ng 16 (4p): Deadline for Miss SpringFest Pageant Entries 17 (2p): Batesville City Board Mee ng @ City Hall 19 (12‐1p): YPP Lunch Break @ Batesville Enterprise Center (Details inside.) 19 (1‐2:30p): How to Develop a Business Plan (UMSBDC) 19 (5:30p): Panola Partnership Annual Mee ng & Dinner 21: Jr. Auxiliary of Batesville Annual Charity Ball @ The Wilbourn Building 22 (2p): Li le Miss Batesville Pageant hosted by Batesville Jr. Woman’s League 24 (5:45p): Panola Co. Humane Society’s Monthly Mee ng 26 (12‐1p): YPP Lunch Break @ Cracker Barrel 26 (6p): Boys & Girls Club Annual Steak & Steak Banquet
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