Page 18 - South Mississippi Living - January, 2018

COASTNOTES
A WARM
Welcome
Harrison County Development Commission new director
story by Lynn Lofton photo courtesy Bill Lavers
Bill Lavers is being welcomed as executive director of
the Harrison County Development Commission. He was a banker for 17 years, including serving as city president for two banks in Alabama, worked in Gulf Shores for a private developer during the Deep Water Horizon disaster and was economic development director for the city of Snyder, Texas.
Lavers’ primary goals at HCDC are to tell the Harrison County story, support businesses with creativity, innovation and assistance, help existing companies grow and recruit new companies.
“Our main selling points are the assets that are here — Interstate 10, Keesler Air Force Base, the Seabees, Port of Gulfport, Gulfport-Biloxi Airport, seaway access to the Gulf and rail access,” he said. “There is no other county in the United States that has all theses assets. Additionally, we have incredible people, a great quality of life and the beach!”
He says workforce development is a challenge for Harrison County but is not unique to the area.
Born in Montreal, Canada, Lavers lived in a lot of places and graduated from high school in Dothan, Alabama, and college at Huntingdon College in Montgomery. He invites readers to come by the Harrison County development commission office to share ideas.
Harrison County Development Commission
12281 Intraplex Parkway, Gulfport 228.896.5020 www.mscoast.org
HUMANITARIAN
AWARD
story by
Kelsey Sunderman-Foster
photo courtesy
Scott Lemon
Scott Lemon of Lemon Mohler Insurance Company
was recently honored as the recipient of the 2017 John R. Blossman Humanitarian Award.
According to Joey Conwill, wellness director at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Blossman YMCA, the YMCA
John R. Blossman Humanitarian is someone who has demonstrated leadership through business and volunteer activities in the Gulf Coast Community. Recipients have earned a high-level of respect within the community and have made positive, substantial and enduring changes in the fabric of the life on the Gulf Coast.
“He is a huge supporter and contributor to the YMCA, but he is so much more than just the YMCA,” Conwill said. “Scott is the most caring, giving, remarkable person you can meet. There is nothing he would not do for anyone. This is the way he runs his family, his personal life and his business. He never steers away from his strong Christian beliefs.”
Along with the YMCA, Lemon is involved with a variety of community organizations, including St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Young Life, the Women’s Resource Center and the Home of Grace.
18 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • January 2018
FOR MORE REFLECTIONS OF THE GULF COAST >> www.smliving.net