NATCHEZ &045; Brett Brinegar will bring more than years of grant-writing experience to the job she will begin in mid-January.

Named this week to become grant writer for the City of Natchez, Brinegar was born in Natchez and comes from a family in which public service was important.

&uot;My grandfather was in public service for years and his father before him,&uot; Brinegar said Tuesday

from her home in Madison. &uot;I’d like to give something back to a city that has meant a lot to me.&uot;

Her grandfather, Jimmy Carter, was an Adams County supervisor for many years, as was her great-grandfather, Hillary Carter.

Brinegar will be a key player in the city’s efforts to revitalize the economy and improve the quality of life for its people, Mayor Phillip West said. &uot;A grant writer is so important in what we’re trying to do in the city.&uot;

A graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi with a major in political science and minors in history and English, Brinegar received a master’s degree from Mississippi State University. She is a Ph.D. candidate in history at the University of the West Indies in Barbados.

It was at Mississippi State that she worked several years as a grant writer and research associate for the Center for International Security and Strategic Studies. She and her grant-writing team had a 75 percent success rate in obtaining funding sought.

She has written and administered grants for private corporations, civic groups and the Medical University of South Carolina. And she has written reports on municipal needs, historic site renovations and archaeological projects.

Other areas of work at the Center for International Security at MSU

included public relations, writing and editing press releases and staff training. She has lectured, taught and published scholarly papers.

&uot;I have a lot of experience in grant writing, going back to 1995 and even before that,’ Brinegar said. &uot;And since then I have done different things, such as fund-raising for historic sites. The last one was in Barbados.&uot;

Now 39, she is more than ready to come to Natchez and make it home. &uot;I’ve been wanting to come to Natchez for a long time. I was born there. My mother was Bonnie Carter. We moved when she went to work in Hattiesburg when I was very small, and I have been looking for a way to come back.&uot;

She looks forward to meeting as many people as she can, she said. And she wants to gather as much information as she can to put together both short- and long-range plans for seeking grants for the city.

&uot;It’s just a beautiful town with wonderful people,&uot; she said. &uot;I’m very grateful for the opportunity to work in Natchez. I hope we can work together and make it a success.&uot;