Page 42 - South Mississippi Living - August, 2017

BUSINESS & INDUSTRY growth & development
COAST
ECONOMIC STORY
story by Lynn Lofton
With business and the various industry sectors as the driving forces of the Coast economy, the three county economic development organizations play a vital role in recruiting and supporting these forces.
The three agencies charged with this mission are the Hancock County Port & Harbor Commission, the Harrison County Development Commission and the Jackson County Economic Development Foundation.
Hancock County targets
port, aviation and aerospace among its main sectors. In Harrison County, the targeted sectors are defense, aerospace, marine/shipbuilding, logistics/ distribution, advanced materials and chemical.
The most industrialized county in the state, Jackson County
is home to the state’s largest employer, Ingalls Shipbuilding. “Our county is also diversified in oil and gas, aerospace, advanced manufacturing and
optics,” Foundation Executive Director George Freeland
said. “The Foundation is a partnership between the Jackson County Port Authority, Board of Supervisors, all municipalities, chambers and private industry throughout the county. This partnership influences our community’s success, allowing Jackson County to set an economic development standard that is a model for other agencies throughout the state.”
The coastal counties are
rebuilding following the triple whammy of Hurricane Katrina, the Great Recession and the
BP oil spill. “Over the last 10 years, the Hancock Region
has experienced a population growth rate of more than 11 percent, which is five times higher than that of the state of Mississippi as a whole and 1.5 times that of the United States,” said Tiffany Aultman, business development manager of the Hancock County Port & Harbor Commission.
42 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • August 2017
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