Alliance ready for action

By

Julie Finley

The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ &8212; The Community Alliance is up for any challenge the city wants to throw its way, the group&8217;s president said Thursday night.

Matilda Stephens said at a town hall meeting that her group would be willing to be the mechanism through which the city pursues a master plan.

&8220;The alliance is made up of people who have the mindset that talk is cheap,&8221; Stephens said. &8220;We are ready to see movement. We acknowledge there are problems in the community and we want to move forward.&8221;

The alliance is a group of business, civic, church and community leaders spanning all age, race and gender lines, Stephens said. The group originally formed from a Chamber of Commerce idea, but is now independent of city connections.

It includes Natchez and Adams County residents and works with both governments.

The group meets on the fourth Wednesday of every month and is open to anyone who would like to join.

Currently about 100 members are on roll, but between 30 and 50 regularly attend meetings.

Stephens said the group tackles large and small projects, the most recent being the renovations of the Veteran&8217;s Memorial.

Citizens and leaders at Thursday&8217;s meeting agreed the alliance would need some tweaking and training in order to lead the master plan project. Stephens said the group would be open to changes.