Last week closed out the month of May and today we begin a new month. As we delve more deeply into the summer, we pause to consider some of the good news from our community last week including:

•After 26 years of hard work and dedication, Carolyn Vance Smith retired as the Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration director. Smith created something in which the Miss-Lou can take pride, a premier celebration that pays tribute to some of the state’s most influential thinkers. While the shoes she must fill are enormous ones, we are confident Brett Brinegar will pick up the torch, and continue the NLCC’s strong legacy.

•Natchez High School named Tony Fields, Frazier Elementary principal, its newest leader. A 1994 graduate of NHS, Fields possesses a key characteristic in leading our public high school into a bright future — a positive attitude. We hope Fields takes NHS into a new, outstanding era.

•The Natchez-Adams County Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual tourism awards and reception Tuesday. The awards honored some of the community’s outstanding tourism leaders including recognizing a great number of those posthumously. It’s important these hard-working residents are recognized, as their efforts drive our city’s strongest industry, tourism.

•Natchez is officially on the technology-savvy bandwagon. The city debuted its mobile phone app, Access Natchez, recently. We give kudos to our city’s Information Technology Director, Ed Bowser, who continuously strives to keep Natchez’s online presence up to date.

As we plunge into another busy week, let’s make an effort to carry on our productive momentum, and always strive to keep the Miss-Lou strong.