More than 150 business and community leaders gathered at the Knight Nonprofit Center on Thursday, August 27, for the Gulf Coast Business Council’s August General Membership Meeting, held in partnership with the Mississippi Business Alliance.
The morning began with the announcement of $172,900 in grants supporting children and animal welfare across South Mississippi, along with new resources to help reunite lost pets with their families. The program then turned to the Mississippi Business Alliance’s Business Forward Tour, an interactive statewide conversation about Mississippi’s economy, workforce, workplace health, public policy and political landscape.
Together, the announcements and discussions reflected a central theme of the morning: Mississippi moves forward when businesses, nonprofits, community organizations and statewide partners work together.
$172,900 Awarded to Support Children and Animal Welfare
The Gulf Coast Community Foundation announced grants from two donor-established funds supporting children and animals throughout the region.
John T. and Lois R. “Sonny” Velkas Child Welfare Fund
The John T. and Lois R. “Sonny” Velkas Child Welfare Fund awarded a total of $22,900 to three organizations serving children and families:
- $6,500 to Make-A-Wish of South Mississippi
- $8,400 to the Hancock County School District
- $8,000 to CASA of South Mississippi
These grants continue the Velkas family’s legacy of supporting programs that improve the welfare and well-being of children in coastal communities.
Jack A. and Gertrude W. Wilson Animal Welfare Fund
The Jack A. and Gertrude W. Wilson Animal Welfare Fund awarded $150,000 through its Fixed for Life spay-and-neuter initiative.
Six animal-welfare organizations each received $25,000:
- Stone County SPCA
- Rise & Shine Animal Rescue
- Friends of Jackson County Animal Shelter Pets
- Friends of the Animal Shelter in Hancock County
- Humane Society of South Mississippi
- Pearl River SPCA
By making spay-and-neuter services more accessible, the Fixed for Life program helps reduce animal overpopulation, ease pressure on local shelters and improve outcomes for pets and families across the Gulf Coast.
New Pet Scanners Coming to Five Coastal Counties
The Gulf Coast Community Foundation also announced that the Wilson Animal Welfare Fund will place pet-scanning machines in public locations across Harrison, George, Hancock, Jackson and Stone counties.
The scanners will provide additional opportunities to identify microchipped pets and reunite them with their owners.
Harrison County
- Jones Park in Gulfport
- Keesler Federal Park, home of the Biloxi Shuckers
George County
- The Local Storage: 9123 Old Highway 63, Lucedale
Hancock County
- Bay St. Louis Fire Station on Highway 603
Jackson County
- Ocean Springs Dog Park: 3810 Bienville Boulevard, Ocean Springs
Stone County
- Wiggins City Police Department: 303 South First Street, Wiggins
These new locations will make pet-scanning technology more accessible throughout the region and give residents another resource when they find a lost animal.
Coast Electric’s Operation Round Up Approaches $1.9 Million in Giving
The meeting also highlighted Coast Electric Power Association’s Operation Round Up program and its partnership with the Gulf Coast Community Foundation.
Operation Round Up begins with a simple act: participating Coast Electric members round their monthly electric bills up to the nearest dollar. Those small monthly contributions are combined to generate significant investments in the communities Coast Electric serves.
Since December 2018, the fund has awarded $1.897 million through 282 community grants.
Of the funds contributed by Coast Electric members:
- 65% supports Community Trust grants
- 25% supports Share Your Blessings, which provides energy assistance to Coast Electric members in need
- 10% is invested in an endowment for future funding opportunities
Share Your Blessings has provided more than $827,000 in energy assistance to over 3,300 households and families.
Attendees also heard directly from organizations that have used Operation Round Up funding to distribute community resource guides, support literacy programs, provide hands-on STEM and robotics experiences, repair nonprofit outreach vehicles, offer recreational activities for people with special needs and meet the rapidly growing demand at local food pantries.
The stories illustrated how rounding up a monthly bill by only a few cents can collectively expand access to food, education, healthcare, workforce development and essential community services.
Bringing the Business Forward Tour to the Gulf Coast
Following the community grant announcements, Mississippi Business Alliance President and CEO John McKay introduced attendees to the newly formed statewide organization and its Business. Forward. Tour.
MSBA officially launched on January 1, bringing together three organizations with long histories of serving Mississippi’s business community:
- Mississippi Economic Council
- Mississippi Manufacturers Association
- Business and Industry Political Education Committee
McKay explained that the merger was shaped by conversations with businesses across the state that wanted a more focused, effective and unified voice representing Mississippi employers.
MSBA’s mission is straightforward: grow jobs, grow opportunity and grow Mississippi’s economy.
Its work is organized around three primary areas:
- Policy and advocacy on issues affecting Mississippi employers
- Research, workforce development and long-term competitiveness through the MSBA Foundation
- Political involvement and accountability to help ensure business-minded leadership at the state level
The Business Forward Tour allows MSBA to explain that work while gathering direct feedback from employers in different regions of the state. The Gulf Coast meeting marked the eighth stop on the statewide tour.
McKay emphasized that the issues facing businesses on the Gulf Coast may differ from those in the Delta, northeast Mississippi or other parts of the state. Listening to employers in each region allows MSBA to bring more meaningful information to policymakers in Jackson and Washington.
Coast Business Leaders Express Optimism—and Clear Concerns
Throughout the presentation, attendees participated in live polling about Mississippi’s economy and the challenges facing their organizations.
When asked about Mississippi’s business and economic outlook over the next 12 months:
- 23% said they were very confident
- 44% said they were somewhat confident
The combined 67% reflected an overall sense of optimism, even as businesses continue to navigate inflation, tariffs, supply-chain pressures and other economic headwinds.
When attendees were asked what issue was most likely to limit their organization’s growth or investment during the next two to three years, workforce availability and skills emerged as the leading concern.
McKay noted that workforce challenges remain persistent because there is no single program or piece of legislation that can solve them. Addressing the issue requires long-term coordination among businesses, educators, workforce-training providers and policymakers.
Other concerns included market conditions, access to capital, healthcare and employee-benefit costs, infrastructure and the state’s tax, regulatory and legal climate.
Positioning Mississippi for Its Next Generation of Growth
McKay identified several industries and assets that could drive Mississippi’s future economic growth:
- Artificial intelligence, data centers and digital infrastructure
- Advanced manufacturing
- Energy production and grid expansion
- Defense, shipbuilding and aerospace
- Logistics, ports and trade corridors
- Workforce and talent development
Several of those opportunities have a direct connection to the Gulf Coast, particularly defense, shipbuilding, aerospace, port activity and logistics.
McKay said Mississippi must align available land, energy, infrastructure, speed to market and workforce capacity to compete successfully for new investment.
He also stressed the importance of exposing students to technical careers earlier. Mississippi already has strong training programs, but the state must expand the number of students entering those programs and begin building interest during middle and high school.
Building the Workforce Mississippi Will Need
Scott Waller, executive vice president of MSBA and president of the MSBA Foundation, outlined the organization’s workforce and research initiatives.
The MSBA Foundation houses the WorkFuture Institute for Workforce and Educational Excellence, which works to better align education and training programs with employers’ needs.
Waller discussed the Mississippi Postsecondary Attainment Council, which was created during the most recent legislative session and formally began its work in July. MSBA’s WorkFuture Institute is partnering with Accelerate Mississippi to help guide the council’s strategic work.
Previous statewide goals called for 55% of Mississippians to hold a meaningful postsecondary credential or degree by 2030 and 60% by 2035. New research indicates that Mississippi will need approximately 68% of its workforce to have some form of postsecondary attainment by 2036.
That projected need includes:
- 18% with an industry-recognized credential or certification
- 18% with a meaningful associate degree
- 32% with a bachelor’s degree or higher
Waller emphasized that Mississippi cannot focus exclusively on one educational pathway. Industry credentials, associate degrees and four-year degrees will all be necessary to meet future workforce demands.
The strategy must also include adult learners and current employees who need additional training to move into supervisory or leadership positions.
Live polling reinforced the need for this work. Attendees identified skills gaps and training needs as major workforce challenges, while internships, apprenticeships and other work-based learning opportunities were selected as especially valuable strategies.
When asked what limits their participation in workforce and education programs, attendees most frequently cited administrative burden and staff time. Waller said that finding clearer ways to demonstrate the return on investment will be essential to increasing employer participation.
Other MSBA Foundation priorities discussed during the meeting included childcare, fair-chance hiring, manufacturing efficiency, leadership development and better coordination between employers and education providers.
Creating Recovery-Friendly Workplaces
Waller also discussed the Mississippi Recovery Friendly Workplace Coalition, which MSBA launched in June.
The coalition helps employers create workplace cultures in which employees experiencing substance-use disorders can ask for help without automatically fearing the loss of their jobs.
Businesses are not expected to become treatment experts. Instead, the coalition connects employers and employees with organizations equipped to provide appropriate assistance.
Recovery-friendly policies can improve employee retention, reduce the costs associated with replacing and retraining workers and contribute to safer, healthier and more productive workplaces.
Waller noted that employers must pay attention to both absenteeism and “presenteeism”—situations in which employees report to work but are unable to perform at their full capacity because of health or personal challenges.
Healthier Employees Build Stronger Businesses
Sharon Wynn, vice president of sales for Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi, continued the workplace-health discussion by challenging business leaders to view employee wellness as an investment rather than simply an insurance expense.
The audience identified health-insurance affordability as its leading health-related business concern. Mental and behavioral health consistently ranked second in MSBA’s polling.
Wynn explained that healthcare premiums are connected to deeper issues such as untreated chronic conditions, delayed preventive care, absenteeism and reduced productivity.
She encouraged employers to build cultures in which employees feel comfortable taking time to attend annual physicals, screenings and follow-up appointments. Even if a business cannot provide a full paid wellness day, offering flexibility for preventive care can help identify manageable health conditions before they become more serious and expensive.
Wynn also highlighted Blue Cross programs designed to remove barriers to preventive and follow-up care, including Healthy U, Color Me Healthy and the Well Mother program.
Her central message was that companies cannot thrive unless their employees are healthy, supported and able to perform at their best.
Preparing for Mississippi’s 2027 Elections
Derek Easley, MSBA executive vice president and director of political affairs, concluded the primary presentation with an overview of the policy and political landscape heading into the 2027 statewide elections.
Audience polling once again pointed to high healthcare costs and the lack of a trained workforce as two of the policy issues most likely to limit business growth.
Attendees said the most valuable policy and election resources would include:
- Business-impact briefs and economic analysis
- Legislative voting records and business scorecards
- Direct access to policymakers and candidates
Easley explained that MSBA provides these tools as part of its broader advocacy work. The organization develops legislative priorities, issues reports and scorecards, engages employers in grassroots advocacy, builds coalitions with trade associations and works directly with elected officials and agency leaders.
MSBA also holds weekly Monday morning meetings during the legislative session, bringing together business lobbyists and governmental-affairs professionals to discuss legislation, political developments and issues affecting employers.
Looking ahead, Easley said the 2027 election cycle is shaping up to be one of Mississippi’s most consequential in decades. Term limits in key statewide offices, expected legislative turnover and the possibility of additional redistricting work will create significant changes in the state’s political landscape.
MSBA plans to remain engaged through candidate recruitment and support, political research, issue advocacy, judicial and legal advocacy and ongoing accountability for elected leaders.
Moving Mississippi Forward Together
The August General Membership Meeting demonstrated the value of connecting local insight with statewide strategy.
The morning celebrated investments in children, families, animals and nonprofit organizations while also creating space for Gulf Coast employers to share their concerns about workforce availability, healthcare costs, education, public policy and Mississippi’s economic future.
GCBC is proud to work alongside the Mississippi Business Alliance, Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Coast Electric Power Association, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi and the many businesses and community organizations represented at the meeting.
By strengthening partnerships, listening to employers and investing in the people and organizations that make our region stronger, the Gulf Coast can continue helping move all of Mississippi forward.
