Wow! We have really had a great response to the programs on July 11 and 12 sponsored by the Natchez-Adams County Chamber of Commerce legislative committee.

These programs featured candidates for the various county offices. A great group of voters attended each night, and most candidates took advantage of the opportunity to answer questions about their candidacy, express their ideas on moving the county forward and to detail their qualifications.

They used time at the end of the forums to speak one-on-one to people who attended the programs.

The chamber is grateful to everyone who helped make these sessions successful.

For the next two programs, we will be featuring candidates for state offices, specifically Senate District 37 candidates Bob Dearing, Stephen Oglesby and Melanie Sojourner and House District 94 candidates Rickey Gray and Robert Johnson.

These programs will kick off a new initiative by your chamber called “Friday Forum.”

The first event will be from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Friday at the Natchez Coffee Company at 509 Franklin St., in downtown Natchez.

During this hour, the District 37 Senate candidates will have a chance to speak informally about their candidacy, their qualifications and their goals for southwest Mississippi.

The second event will take place from 8 to 9 a.m., Friday, July 29, at Natchez Coffee Company and will highlight the candidates for the District 94 race for the House of Representatives.

The Friday Forum is designed to facilitate a more informal type of conversation during which people can share information and have a dialogue, which will afford a more personal and comprehensive view of the people who would like to represent this area in Jackson.

We do not always have the chance to see or interact with these people on a day-to-day basis; so this is a great opportunity to learn about the people we will be electing to carry our hopes and concerns forward as they work to run the state of Mississippi.

We need strong voices to assure that the progress we have made will continue as state budgets are shaped, new laws are made and economic development opportunities arise.

Please make your plans to join us this Friday and July 29. It is very clear from the two programs we have already presented that the citizens of Natchez and Adams County are intent on electing people who are energetic, determined and qualified to move this area forward.

We look forward to two more great opportunities to get to know our candidates a bit better and to let them know what we need from them in the years ahead.

Stephanie Hutchins is the chairman of the Natchez-Adams County Chamber of Commerce’s legislative committee.