NATCHEZ &045;&045; Community and partnership were prominent themes at the annual Industry Appreciation Luncheon sponsored by Copiah-Lincoln Community College on Thursday.

More than 200 people attended the luncheon and program held in the Redd-Watkins Vocational-Technical Center on the Natchez campus, and they represented a cross-section of business, industry and education representatives as well as city, county and state government officials.

State Rep. Sam Mims of McComb, a Republican whose district includes a portion of Adams County, attended. He liked what he heard from the featured speaker, Bob Wilson, director of program services for Mississippi Main Street Association.

&uot;I think he made some great points that we can look at and learn from,&uot; Mims said. &uot;Partnerships between the public and private sector within the community can help to grow this area and bring economic development to Adams County.&uot;

Gwen McCalip, acting dean at the Natchez campus, set the tone followed during the program in her opening remarks. &uot;At Co-Lin, there are two words we take to heart &045;&045; family and community,&uot; she said. The people of the community and the Co-Lin family &uot;make a dynamic combination.&uot;

The luncheon allows the community college to say thank you, McCalip said. &uot;And it allows us to show off a little bit.&uot; She referred to the impressive campus that includes the Alcorn State University complex of business and nursing schools and a dormitory along with the extensive Co-Lin complex of both academic building and vocational-technical building.

McCalip said most visitors to the campus off Col. John Pitchford Parkway probably say, as she does every day when she enters the campus, &uot;Wow. Look at what we’re able to have right here in Adams County.&uot;

Dr. Howell Garner, president of Co-Lin, said the vision of Natchez leaders in 1975 was to have a complex for higher education. And that has happened.

&uot;We appreciate the citizens and county and city officials who made this happen and who continue to support us,&uot; Garner said. &uot;It is a great partnership, and that includes Concordia Parish, as well.&uot;

Williams, in his address, said the average visitor to Natchez would have no problem figuring out that &uot;they’re in an exceptional community.&uot;

Still, with all its strengths, Natchez faces challenges, he said. Meeting them must be carried out as a community team.

What makes a successful community? In today’s world, success begins in actively participating in the economic globalization. &uot;We’ll never be able to tax ourselves enough to pay for our economic woes … or enough to erase poverty,&uot; he said.

Competitors for towns such as Natchez are different today. &uot;Spain, Russia, China are your competitors,&uot; Wilson said.

Some important goals for Natchez should include forging relationships between the community and all educational institutions in the area; learning about new technology and promoting it; and celebrating diversity within the community. &uot;Your diversity is an economic asset,&uot; he said.

Harmony among community leaders also is a plus, Wilson said, citing the arguments he sees often on television among city council members in Jackson, where he lives. &uot;No one wants to come into the community where everyone is bickering,&uot; Wilson said.

He also admonished retailers to keep up with the times. &uot;The way we do business today is changing,&uot; he said. &uot;Sixty-seven percent of all retail sales are after 6 p.m. and on the weekend. Two years ago it was 60 percent.&uot;

Businesses that are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. may be catering more to the unemployed than to any other group and especially do not meet needs of working women.

When the Natchez Trace opens the last leg into Natchez on May 21, thousands and thousands more visitors will begin to travel down the Trace &045;&045; the majority of them on the weekend. &uot;They will come into your community and give you a shot. One of the major things travelers do is shop. Are they going to find anyplace to shop?&uot;

One of the most important partnerships will be between the Natchez-area people and Michael Ferdinand, executive director of the Natchez-Adams County Development Authority, Wilson said. &uot;Michael needs all the community to be on his team.&uot;