The Hattiesburg American Editorial, 2/22/9
The Governor’s Conference on Tourism, held at the Lake Terrace Convention Center, gave me a lot of food for thought this week.
Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant said Monday that associations and other groups from Mississippi need to hold their meetings in the state because Mississippi needs the tourism dollars.
While associations can do what they want so long as they don’t break any laws or their charter, I understand Bryant’s frustration. After all, if your association has “Mississippi” in the name, having your annual convention in Vegas might be a bit confusing.
The closing to Bryant’s speech, however, I can’t really get behind.
“There’s a lot of gloom and doom out there right now, but not here. Not in Mississippi,” he said. “It’s time to come home.”
Do these two statements seem a tad contradictory to anyone else? On one hand, Mississippi associations are bad because they don’t hold their meetings here, thus depriving the state of sorely needed tourism dollars. But don’t worry because everything is fine.
Magnolia Tribune
