When I turned off the Clay Street exit on Interstate 20 westbound two Sundays ago, I had a warm and familiar feeling of coming home. And, as someone who has spent all but two years of her life in the Deep South, with four of those years being in Mississippi, planting roots in Vicksburg is just that.

Even though it wasn’t until I moved to Natchez and later Oxford that I got a resident’s view into life in Mississippi, I like to think my first introduction to the state was when I helped my sister move into Rhodes College in Memphis in August of 2006. The night before the dorms opened, we sat in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel where the Mississippi Delta begins.

Four years later I went on to attend Rhodes, earning a bachelor’s degree in business and religion. I spent many warm afternoons strolling the paved walkways at Mud Island, admiring the vast and strong currents of the mighty Mississippi.

My affinity for the state grew as I learned more about its history, the Blues, Mississippi artists and got to know its people. I can’t help the soft smile that appears when I think about two important chapters of life starting around the Mississippi Delta: a college career at its beginning, and a new chapter in my professional life a stone’s throw from Catfish Row, where the Delta ends. It is serendipity at its finest.

I am pleased to be here and work with the staff at The Vicksburg Post to bring you the best newspaper, website and magazine the economics of our community can support. I am encouraged by downtown development, new industry and the jobs that come with it. And I am inspired by those I have met in my short time here who are investing time and money in making Vicksburg the best it can be for us and for future generations.

I am also encouraged by a dedicated staff who love telling Vicksburg’s stories and helping local businesses succeed with print and digital marketing needs.

As I begin a new chapter at The Vicksburg Post, please know my door is open. I look forward to getting to know you and the community we now both call home.

Catherine Hadaway is president and publisher of The Vicksburg Post. Her column appears each Wednesday.