A tad late, bicentennial ad blitz to start
The commission voted Wednesday to give the Mississippi Department of Archives and History permission to spend 10 percent of the $2.8 million starting immediately on marketing for the museums. It voted to create a committee — appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker, Archives and History and the Mississippi Tourism Association — to develop a request for proposals for the larger tourism campaign.
One reason for the delay on the marketing campaign is that Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves didn’t appoint or re-appoint members — terms expired after the 2015 statewide elections — to his four spots on the 15-member commission until a few weeks ago. Another appears to be that the funding got caught up in mid-year state budget cuts in 2016 and had to be “re-appropriated” by the Legislature this year.
The advertising money is coming from the state’s settlement with BP over the 2010 Gulf oil disaster. Bicentennial Commission member Billy Hewes III, mayor of Gulfport, said he was surprised to learn this.
Clarion Ledger
8/30/17
Magnolia Tribune
