MEC celebrates successes at 50th annual celebration
"What the hell is going on in Mississippi?"
That is what Mississippi Development Authority Executive Director Bill Cork was asked over and over again at Site Selectors Guild conference in Nashville recently. In response to the business wins of the Magnolia State of the last couple years.
In particular, developers are marveling at how Amazon Web Services made big news in January when it announced it will occupy two Madison County locations for the historic buildout for hyperscale development centers.
Mississippi lawmakers completed a $259 million incentive package for the Amazon Web Services $10 billion project in Canton and Madison County.
That came on the heels of the announcement of a joint venture among Accelera by Cummins, Daimler Trucks & Buses and PACCAR, choosing Marshall County for a $1.9 billion electric battery cell production plant, which will create around 2,000 jobs.
More to AWS announcement: Amazon jobs in Madison MS will be more than announced
New digs almost ready: Bringing Chicago to Madison. Foxtail will be ready to roll soon
The Mississippi Economic Council celebrated many of those wins Thursday as more than 400 business leaders from throughout Mississippi descended on downtown Jackson to celebrate the state's business climate at the 50th Mississippi Economic Council's Annual Meeting. It is also the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the MEC.
The MEC, the state chamber of commerce, has been the self-proclaimed voice of Mississippi business since 1949. MEC deals with broad issues that relate to businesses through advocacy, research, resources and leadership.
There were multiple breakout sessions that highlighted the business environment in Mississippi and what it is doing to attract manufacturing and other development to the state.
The luncheon concluded with a keynote address from Michael Randle, the owner of Southern Business and Development.
Scott Waller, CEO of the MEC, highlighted a survey it sponsored in which 73% of Mississippians polled believe the state's economy is headed in the right direction.
"When you think about it, that's a strong number," Waller said. "If two thirds of Mississippians feel that way, then you feel good about where you are."
But Cork was able to give some perspective about where Mississippi is from a business perspective and where it is going.
"The momentum is real," Cork said. "In a recent article from a site selection magazine, it was written that the central South, including Mississippi has 93% of the ongoing site selection case going on in the United States. So, it is apparent that site selectors are looking at this area as a place to do business."
He said the eastern part of the South was a few percentage points behind the central South.
"The rest of the country isn't even close," Cork said. "So, the momentum is real because we see real activity every day. Obviously, people see the big announcements we have made, but we have had $22 billion in investment and announced more than 20,000 jobs the last four years. There is another $50 billion in investment and another 20,000 jobs in the pipeline."
Waller said that just before the AWS announcement that when that news came to light, it would change the way people view Mississippi from a business and economic development standpoint.
Cork agreed.
"It put us on the global stage in a way that we haven't ever really experienced," he said. "(The AWS announcement) was the talk of the entire conference. Even on a recent trip to Europe, every CEO we talked to mentioned Mississippi's recent successes. The perception is real and the right people are hearing the message."
The event also highlighted the induction of Pat Thomasson of the Thomasson Company as the incoming chair of the MEC and Jeff Bowman of Cooperative Energy as the outgoing chair.
Ross Reily can be reached by email at rreily@gannett.com or 601-573-2952. You can follow him on Twitter @GreenOkra1.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Amazon highlighted at Mississippi Economic Council banquet
