NATCHEZ — An economic development conference hosted in Natchez aims to make a difference for the entire region.

The Delta Regional Authority, in a partnership with the International Economic Development Council, a non-profit organization, began a two-day economic development conference Thursday morning at the Natchez Grand Hotel.

DRA representative Alex Holland said the conference was the second of four to be held in Mississippi this year, which will include discussions of both economic development and disaster recovery training.

This is the 11th of 32 such sessions in the eight-state district scheduled between now and August, Holland said.

Certified economic developer Ron Swager, one of the instructors at the conference, said he was discussing the basics of economic development with government and community leaders from Southwest Mississippi.

“We’re talking about the fundamentals,” Swager said. “(We try) to get people networking and talking together.”

Wilkinson County Economic Development Board Member Ronnie Fisher said he hoped to bring home ways to help his county.

“Citizens of Wilkinson County are very much in need of jobs,” Fisher said. “About 70 percent have to travel to Louisiana for work. We need to do things to make our community feasible to live and raise a family in.”

Jefferson County Administrator Lorrine Lias said she came chiefly to network outside the region.

“A regional strategic plan is important, because if you look at several counties, each has a particular strength that helps the region overall,” Lias said.

She said counties could share those strengths with each other in order to improve the entire region’s economy.

Lias said she hoped to gain information about available training and resources, but most of all to find hope for her community.

“You can look at where you are, and you’ve been there so long, you need to see something outside so you can have some hope,” Lias said. “We are at a stage in the county where we are in dire need of economic development. To have the resource of this two-day module at our back door was a great opportunity.”

A disaster recovery and resilience conference will be held April 14-15 in Jackson, and another economic development conference will be held June 20-21 in Oxford.