Page 14 - South Mississippi Living - July, 2020

COAST NOTE
Best Practices and Industry Standards
story by Allie Watson photo courtesy of Coastal Mississippi
Coastal Mississippi, the region’s Convention and Visitors Bureau, launched the Coastal Mississippi Promise of health and safety. The promise follows recommendations from leading agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Mississippi State Department of Health, and the U.S. Travel Association, and is supported by local health authorities.
Hospitality partners are implementing necessary precautions. “The launching of an o cial Coastal Mississippi Promise not only reinforces the importance of the vital steps that our industry partners are taking to ensure employee and visitor safety, but this also allows for potential visitors to make informed decisions when planning their visit to The Secret Coast,” said Milton Segarra, CEO of Coastal Mississippi.
Though the community is facing new challenges each day, Coastal Mississippi is dedicated to supporting its industry partners as we face those challenges together. “We thank every single member of this wonderful community for everything they do to make our beautiful Secret Coast so special,” Segarra continued. “We truly believe that our strong community will emerge from this with an unmatched power to
heal and rebuild together.” Partners in the travel and tourism
industry are encouraged to adopt the Coastal Mississippi Promise, which
is available to read online at www. gulfcoast.org/partners/destination- promise.
Coastal Mississippi www.coastalmississippi.com
Graduates!
story by Victoria Snyder
Ocean Springs High School held
a car parade for seniors by day and aired a previously recorded virtual graduation ceremony by night. Bay High School elected to put graduates in Jeeps and have a drive-in graduation followed by a parade. Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College held a virtual commencement and invited
all graduates to their next in-person
graduation.
“Teachers understand the tragedy
of losing opportunities to celebrate milestones and have done all that
they can to comfort students,” 2020 University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Park graduate Brianna Weddington
says. “Some teachers, including my professor for my nal class, have thought of alternative celebrations for their
students. The graduation ceremony she hosted for her three graduating students was small but personal. While we could not have our own big ceremony, we got to have one that was smaller, but more memorable, thanks to our amazing professor.”
One thing is for sure – the graduating class of 2020 will never be forgotten! Congratulations graduates!
14 | July 2020
www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living
Car parades, virtual graduations and jeep rides, oh my! The graduating class of 2020 has faced the unprecedented circumstances that have come with the COVID-19 pandemic bravely. While many traditional graduations have had to be canceled or postponed, schools along the Gulf Coast have come up with unique opportunities to honor their students.