Rebecca Francis lost no time taking advantage of the chance to do business with Nissan. The Natchez businesswoman already has sent safety eyewear packets including prices, samples, pictures and a history of Odom’s Optical to the vehicle manufacturer.

&uot;We generate and manufacture everything here from scratch for both our stores, in Natchez and in Jackson,&uot; said Francis, who grew up working in the family business established in 1947.

&uot;Doing business with Nissan would be a boost, for this office and for our Jackson office.

&uot;If we did the fittings for the safety glasses in Jackson, that might bring the whole family in for other eyewear.&uot;

Nissan North America Inc. is establishing a new plant in Canton and has asked Mississippi manufacturers and service providers to apply for inclusion at February information meetings with plant officials.

Natchez aldermen at their Tuesday meeting encouraged Natchez businesses to act quickly in responding to Nissan.

The deadline for application is Monday. Application forms are available on the Internet at www.mec.ms.

Francis said in addition to sending her packets, she has responded to the Web site, filling out appropriate applications there.