What might make Natchez and Adams County attractive to industries and their employers? It’s worth asking those who live here &045; or who have adopted the town &045; what attracts them.

Most people who make their home in Natchez have a vision for its future, and their economic vision in particular is wide-ranging, as they see the community not only as a home to companies with good-paying jobs but also as a bustling tourist Mecca and a haven for retirees.

Tangible incentives

Small business owner Michael Winn said the development of an industrial park is something he has pushed for since he was a member of the Economic Development Authority’s board.

&uot;I think it’s essential. There were mixed emotions about it because a lot of times you may have a spec building but an industry may want something larger,&uot; Winn said.

&uot;But if an industry has a site to look at, even if it’s not fully developed, I think it’s better than having nothing to consider.&uot;

Aggressive marketing efforts are a must, he said &045; &uot;getting up and beating the highways to find these industries.&uot;

Beyond that, Winn said Natchez-Adams leaders need to agree on what they want their industry &045; and the thrust of their development efforts &045; to be.

&uot;Are we a tourist town? Are we this or that? These are things that we need to decide,&uot; Winn said. &uot;And everyone needs to be involved in the process &045; the Chamber of Commerce, the Business and Civic League, everybody.

&uot;And our political leaders need to take notes on what’s said and use that input in making their decisions,&uot; Winn said, adding that he believes the newly formed Community Alliance is a good start toward that kind of consensus.

In addition, Winn said he believes that businesses would be willing to contribute to an industrial incentive fund to help entice new industries to the area.

&uot;Natchez is a town of old money. What we need is to take a few dollars of new money and go after it,&uot; said retired educator Theresa Lewis, referring to new industries.

In addition to tax breaks, other incentives and improvements to the school system, Lewis said she would like to see the area’s quality of life improved to help attract new industries.

&uot;An active downtown, things like dinner theater, … things for families to do,&uot; Lewis said. With Natchez lying &uot;off the beaten path,&uot; it needs more activities in order to attract families, she said.

And then, a change of attitude couldn’t hurt either, Lewis said.

&uot;There’ll always be people who don’t want to change their way of living. But when they say we can’t, always ask why,&uot; she said.

&uot;We’ve got to take a chance with the good Lord’s help &045; and it will work out.&uot;

Education key

Roy Winkworth wants to see Natchez grow &045; and not only as new companies attract new jobs, but also as his Retiree Partnership attracts people who fall for the city’s charm. As head of the Retiree Partnership, which works under the umbrella of the Natchez-Adams County Economic Development Authority, Winkworth knows how important new residents are to the community.

A relocating retiree couple alone represents the economic impact of 3.7 industrial jobs &045; and the Retiree Partnership recruits those couples in much the same way that the EDA tries to attract industry.

&uot;It takes a minimum of a couple of years for people to make a decision (about retiring),&uot; Winkworth said.

Winkworth

also sees other needs in the community that will aid economic development.

&uot;Education is key to economic growth,&uot; said Winkworth, who is also a trustee for Copiah-Lincoln Community College. &uot;That’s an area you have to continue to work at.&uot;

In his work with the EDA, Winkworth knows how tough competition for new industries is.

&uot;We’re not going to get another IP coming in,&uot; he said. &uot;We’re going to get jobs 20, 30, 50 at a time. … (Economic development officials are) working real hard. It’s a numbers game.&uot;

‘Tourism as an industry’

The people and a unique sense of place give Natchez a character that is both charming and enduring. Strangers see the qualities perhaps more clearly than those who live in the small historic town where some of the South’s finest architectural treasures survive, said Mimi Miller.

&uot;Just a couple of days ago, a young couple from Florida were B&B guests with us,&uot; she said. &uot;They said, ‘If we had the money, we’d go out and buy some property right now.’&uot;

As directors of preservation activities through the Historic Natchez Foundation and as owners of a private bed-and-breakfast establishment, Mimi Miller and her husband, Ron Miller, are in a unique position to survey the quality of life in the town they have adopted as their own since the early 1970s.

Natchez is blessed with interesting people, both Millers agreed. That tops their list of what makes Natchez a great place to live.

&uot;How does this little pocket out in nowhere end up having all these interesting people,&uot; Mimi Miller said. &uot;I can’t tell you how many people from out of town have said to us how lucky we are to live in a place like this. And we know it. We are.&uot;

Having a busy commercial downtown district ringed by pleasant neighborhoods is important, Ron Miller said. &uot;There are no vast areas of empty space as with so many small towns. There is a seamless quality between the commercial and neighborhood areas. There are pleasant places to walk.&uot;

Certainly threats exist to mar the qualities that make Natchez special, the Millers agree. They worry that when people become desperate for economic development, &uot;they will take the companies no one else will take. I don’t want to see us do that,&uot; Ron Miller said.

A thriving tourism economy will make Natchez more attractive to potential industries. The businesses that cater to visitors, such as restaurants and shops, as well as the special events that draw tourists, are a plus for industrial development, for luring retirees or other new residents and for the people already living in the city.

&uot;I am concerned that everyone does not understand tourism as an industry,&uot; Mimi Miller said. &uot;And I want us to find ways to get the African-American population more involved in tourism, to have more incentives to participate in tourism and to operate businesses in the downtown areas.&uot;

Ron Miller hopes time and talented leaders can heal a legacy of social division that has built up for more than a century. &uot;That division has twisted people’s ideas of the value of tourism and preservation as economic development. We have to change that.&uot;

&045; Reporting by Joan Gandy, Nita McCann and Kerry Whipple