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as modem as the shipyard to as old as the Spanish Fort. David is actively working on a Community Appearance plan for the City.
•Phil Kuehn - stated how vitally important it was to expand and diversify the import/export business of the Gulfport and Pascagoula ports. Vegetables, fruit, beef and seafood from South America offer great potential for South Mississippi because of our unique geographical position on the Gulf of Mexico and the lower cost of shipping over the ports of Tampa, New Orleans, Miami and Galveston. The deepening of the Gulfport ship channel will further add to our potential as a leader in the shipping business. Also, south Mississippi enjoys a long standing relationship with many South American countries because of the inroads made by Gulf Coasts entrepenuers in the early 1900’s. These ties are still strong today and need to be further strengthened and built upon.
•Nevie McAuther - stated that Forrest County is the fourth largest tourist area in Mississippi and has recently organized a new Convention and Visitors Bureau. The Hattiesburg area is known for their superior Medical facilities, historic neighborhoods, USM’s Cultural, Theatre, Arts programs and the only University offering a degree in Recreation. Nevie mentioned that there is new interest in implementing a plan to construct a Wildlife Botanical Park south of Paul B. Johnson State Park. The original nature park plan was presented in the early 1970’s but had nearly been forgotten about until recently.
•Martha Carson - Martha could not over emphasize our cultural heritage. French, Yugoslavian, German, English, Greek and most recently the Vietnamese demonstrate how this area seems to openly accept all peoples and cultures. The Gulf Coast is a true melting pot from which we gain our strength. One of the more interesting things to do is take the back roads and experience the real way of life of the people who live here.
•Michele Lee - History , History, History; we have it, most don’t, but we have to protect it and keep development from wiping away the past. Today, more than ever, heritage is seen as a form of economic development and a proven way of having growth without sacrificing your past.
•Kat Bergeron - Heritage Tourism is the fastest growing segment of Tourism industry and we throughout south Mississippi have all the rare ingredients necessary to capitalize on it. More importantly, we need to preserve it for our following generations. One idea is to recreate an authentic indian village and early colonial settlement. In fact there are still descendants of the original Biloxi and Pascagoula Tribes living in Maxville, Louisiana. We need to make contact with remaining members of the Tribes and establish lines of communications at least for historical documentation purposes.
There were a number of other very interesting comments made but I was unable to record all of them. The next meeting will be held on May 29,1991 at 4:00 P.M. at the Holiday Inn on U.S. 49, Gulfport, Ms. in the Gulfporter Room.
Proposed Agenda Items
•	Establish mission statement
•	List primary objectives
•	Set up standing committees
•	Expand membership/mailing list
•	Identify corporate sponsors
•	Develop inventory of cultural, historical, natural and man-made resources
Please contact your elected officials, affected cultural, tourism, government, business leaders, Chamber of Commerce representatives and invite them to attend. Look forward to seeing you.