Page 146 - South Mississippi Living - January, 2017

THEFINALSAY RONALD G.
PERESICH
Gulf Coast Business Council, Chairman 2011-2016 and Member of Excutive Committee.
photo courtesy of Ronald G. Peresich
The Gulf Coast Business Council (GCBC) was born
out of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and was organized as a result of a recognition that the damages were so devastating and widespread that the Coast would be unable to effectively recover without a cohesive, coordinated effort among the people, government, business and civic organizations from all three counties. The stated mission of the GCBC is to act as the united voice of the business and civic leadership on public policy issues of importance to the Gulf Coast region to promote economic vitality and quality of life for all.
Currently, we are working with state and federal leadership, the coastal legislative delegation and local government entities to prepare for the 2017 legislative session during which the legislature will consider how
the approximately $700 million settlement with BP for the state’s economic damages can best be spent. As many as 60 of our members have spent the past two years organizing a plan to use the Gulf Coast share of the fund in such a manner as to have a lasting positive effect on the Coast economy.
In October 2016, our Board of Directors unanimously adopted a resolution in support of a trust/investment fund that will stand the test of time and hopefully use our share of the BP funds to establish businesses and developments that will have a lasting effect on the Coast economy. The Board found that such a fund would:
· Result in ongoing positive economic impact.
· Provide resources to help finance economically
important projects.
· Invest in growth opportunities rather than only
projects which carry recurring expenses.
· Use the money to leverage additional private sector
and local governmental and federal matching funds.
Many believe the Coast has fully recovered from Katrina, but economic data shows otherwise. While we are
doing better than some sections of the state, we are still lagging behind in a number of economic indicators such as number of hotel rooms, airport flights, and jobs that pay a competitive wage. Much of the reason has been caused by the national economic downturn which had a dramatic effect on our area as a result of our dependence on government spending, tourism and gaming. We are hopeful 2017 will provide a burst of new enthusiasm which will help not only our area, but the country as a whole.
In addition to the hoped for national economic recovery, we have an opportunity now to take a big step forward for ourselves by being smart about how we use our
share of the BP money. This new fund will also give us
the opportunity to invest significant dollars into locally owned businesses where it can turn over multiple times in the entire Gulf Coast area.
In hindsight, the Coast would have been better served to spend a greater share of the Katrina monies by buying goods and services from local businesses, rather than hiring and buying from businesses headquartered off
the Coast and even out of state where our monies were used to create jobs and improve economies in other areas. Spending our money at home is a better idea and a trust/ investment fund gives the best opportunity to do so.
146 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • January 2017
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