From the annual Miss Mississippi Pageant to the first Old Man River Quilt Festival, the Vicksburg Convention Center is a hub for conferences and banquets in the Red Carpet City, hosting 181 events this year, according to VCC annual report released Wednesday.

Thanks to an event being held every other day, the Vicksburg Convention Center finished right side up on its yearly budget for the second time in its 20-year history, with a record $21,639 positive balance at the end of the 2015-2016 fiscal year.

“The first year we were in the black was back in ’13-’14 with around $7,000,” Annette Kirklin, executive director of the VCC, said. “It’s very exciting because most convention centers in the past few years have been in the red for $600,000 or $800,000 so we take it pretty seriously.”

Kirklin noted her roots in the nonprofit world have helped her secure the convention center financially.

“When we do Ritz on the River for instance, we make sure everything is covered before we sell the first ticket,” she said. “That comes from the nonprofit world where you have to make sure everything is covered before you ask, ‘Is this going to sell?’ We can’t chance anything. We can’t gamble. We don’t feel like we can gamble with city funds at all.”

Though the VCC’s estimated income fell $30,000 short of the expected budget and operating expenses were also slightly over budget, an increase in lodging tax revenue for the year still allowed the VCC to remain in the black.

“We have to rub this crystal ball and we have to hope that we see the future in the correct way, and as you see, we’re not off by much,” she said.

The convention center saw 50,510 people walk through its doors for events last year, directly spending $3,259,600 in the local economy based off of “an average attendee overnight stay, food and beverage and in some cases, extra activities,” according to the report. The money directly spent by attendees generated an estimated economic impact of over $5.5 million into the local economy, the report continues.

“I think the city of Vicksburg is exploding and I think we have a lot coming our way,” Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said. “Thanks to the convention center for all (it) does.”

The goal, Kirklin noted, is to reduce the amount of unexpected maintenance, which ran about $50,000 last year, in order to further push the VCC into the black.
“Every year we’re going to have new things that creep up, but we’re going to do the best we can to make sure that we can budget for it,” she said.

“We’re looking forward to next year because 2017 is the 20th anniversary of the convention center.”

Kirklin said all this year’s improvements made to the roof, awning, windows and other areas of the center were aimed at improving customer satisfaction, something satisfaction surveys say the convention center is “going above and beyond expectations.”

VCC Board member Winky Freeman with the Miss Mississippi Pageant said the center and the pageant have a long history.

“We’ve always worked well together,” he said. “They have certainly helped us promote and progress the Miss Mississippi Pageant. It allows us to have more people at the event. It’s good for both the convention center and Vicksburg.”