NATCHEZ &045; Exciting strides toward making Natchez a center of technology give Brent Bourland confidence about the dream he has for his hometown.

As spokesman for a new company, ImageZ, and for Alcorn State University, with its commitment to creating a technology center in Natchez, Bourland told those gathered at a Monday meeting at the Natchez Convention Center the stage is set and the support is in place.

&uot;Most of us have a real vested interest in Natchez,&uot; Bourland, an attorney, said at a meeting called to put forth ideas about the city’s future to a group of consultants from Mississippi State University: Phil Hardwick, coordinator of capacity development at the John C. Stennis Institute of Government; P.C. McLaurin Jr. of the Center for Governmental Training and Technology at the MSU Extension Service; Albert E. Myles, a specialist in community resource development at the MSU Extension Service; and Kimberly A. Brown, director of the Carl Small Town Center at MSU.

&uot;A good friend of mine, Fred Callon, and I began to look at what we could do to try to give back to the community, and we discovered the brightest spot on our economic horizon is Alcorn State University,&uot; Bourland said. Callon is president and CEO of Natchez-based Callon Petroleum Company.

&uot;We began to think of ways to partnership with Alcorn,&uot; Bourland said. As a board member of the ASU School of Nursing, which is part of the university’s Natchez campus, Bourland had been introduced to medical technology pioneered at the nursing school, telemedicine developed to enhance medical care for rural areas of Southwest Mississippi.

Bourland became interested in digital imaging and ways the technology could enhance medical diagnosis. He and a group of investors founded ImageZ to explore bringing cutting-edge digital imaging technology to Natchez.

&uot;We met with Clinton Bristow, Alcorn president, to tell him about our ideas,&uot; Bourland said. &uot;He told us, ‘We’ve already been discussing that’ and they also had decided to establish a center of excellence in technology at Alcorn in digital imaging technology.&uot;

The project and numerous ideas for getting it established have been moving along for about two years, Bourland said.

The beauty of the technology is that it does not require some of the usual infrastructure of traditional manufacturing companies. &uot;We’re relatively remote from a commercial standpoint in Natchez, but the technology Alcorn is developing does not depend on traditional transportation, for example,&uot; he said.

Meanwhile, ImageZ has continued to move forward, setting up computer equipment in downtown Natchez. &uot;We’ll have office space and computer space for businesses that need that kind of space,&uot; Bourland said. &uot;That’s just the initial technology. We’ve also made a partner of Mississippi Medical Center for medical images.&uot;

Establishing the major technology park at the Natchez campus of Alcorn State is not something that will happen in one or two years, he said. &uot;But we want to establish this part of the state as a place people think of when they think of digital imaging.&uot;

With U.S. senators and representatives from Mississippi in leadership positions, the Natchez area must look to all possible opportunities. &uot;The U.S. delegation is totally committed to Southwest Mississippi.&uot;

Dr. Samuel White of the Alcorn Resource Development office agreed. &uot;We have met with the congressional staff and have made presentations,&uot; White said. &uot;They told us they would help us, but we have to take them a fully developed plan to get their help.&uot;

Consultant Phil Hardwick took it a step further, including more than a request for help with a technology park. He said the congressional delegation will want more than a plan. &uot;They will want to see a strategic plan for the community but also that the community has bought into it.&uot; That’s where a community alliance comes into play.

Hardwick said the idea of a center of excellence in technology is exciting. &uot;The idea of branding Natchez as a technology center, especially digital imaging, is really interesting,&uot; he said, even more so, in fact, with the notoriety Natchez already has as a place steeped in history.

Getting a community involved in planning for the future is important, Hardwick said. That can happen in many ways. One suggestion he urged city and county officials and community leaders to consider was creating a community foundation.

A nonprofit foundation has flexibility a city or county government does not have. &uot;It allows people to contribute to the community without paying taxes and to do things a government can’t do,&uot; Hardwick said.

In any event, the community should experience the process as plans evolve for the future. &uot;To say to the community, ‘just help us out,’ is not enough,&uot; he said.

Consultant McLaurin said Natchez leaders must commit to developing a plan and putting it into place. &uot;You get a plan, and you adopt it,&uot; he said. &uot;And then you follow it. You don’t put it on a shelf. All of it has to be implemented.&uot;

Mayor Phillip West, who conducted the meeting, said many plans from the past probably do remain on shelves.

&uot;There have been a number of studies and plans in the last 25 years. But nobody has picked up the ball and said, ‘let’s do this.’&uot;