The Vicksburg-Warren Economic Development Partnership (composed of the Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Development Foundation and the Warren County Port Commission) announced its 2023-2028 strategic plan at the Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce annual luncheon. 

The plan, developed by Vision First Advisors of Tallahassee, Fla., was prepared over the past four months and after a culmination of meetings and in-depth discussions with local government officials, business leaders and community participants. The plan lays out a clear path forward for economic development efforts in Vicksburg and Warren County over the next five years through a number of initiatives for the partnership to strive for in order to take its economic development programs to new heights. 

“The advancements we’ve achieved in economic development over the past five years have been remarkable, and we are eager to build on this momentum in the next five years to further enhance our beautiful community,” said Lori Burke, 2023 Chairwoman of the Vicksburg Warren Chamber of Commerce. “In the past few years, we attracted new businesses that generated hundreds of jobs, supported the expansion of our existing companies and initiated transformative projects like the MCITy and the Port of Vicksburg expansion. This new strategic plan will help us elevate our efforts even higher, yielding even greater benefits for all members of the community.” 

The plan’s recommendations focus on four main areas including:

• The enhancement of efforts to recruit new companies to the region that would locate at the few remaining sites at CERES or at the proposed port expansion project south of I-20.
• The development and implementation of initiatives to elevate the existing Business Retention and Expansion program to facilitate further expansions by existing industries.
• The investment in additional innovation and entrepreneurship-oriented programs to fully support the MCITy project and the innovation economy spearheaded by that project.
• To advocate for community competitiveness initiatives to increase the local quality of life and make Vicksburg more attractive to newcomers, job seekers, and companies alike.

Examples of some of the goals are the completion of the Vicksburg Port Expansion project, the recruitment of additional manufacturing companies and distribution companies, the coordination with existing industries to explore and support daycare opportunities for employees (in particular single women that work full time), and the creation of an Innovation District in Downtown Vicksburg to capitalize on MCITy and foster rapid growth and entrepreneurial activity around innovation and technology development. The plan also calls for the development of a comprehensive housing plan and the creation of strategies to target outbound commuters, among others. 

“We are at a pivotal point in this community as we now can see the results that can be achieved when people, institutions and governments come together to accomplish common goals,” said Don Brown, Chairman of the Warren County Port Commission. “Just a few years ago organizations around the area were sort of coordinated but not strongly unified around a vision that they all agreed needed to be accomplished. Today, I think we are there and that is why we can see progress. I am excited about where we can take this community if we continue on this path of unity and hard work for the betterment of the economy of our City and County.” 

Pablo Diaz, President & CEO of the Vicksburg Warren Economic Development Partnership added, “We are blessed to have many companies and individuals in the area that care about the future of the community and are willing to invest their time and money to support economic development. The ED Partnership members and the many business leaders that sit on our boards are committed to the long-term success of Vicksburg and Warren County. Collectively, we are proud to have accomplished the goals of the plan developed in 2018 and we look forward to working hard to implement the initiatives laid out in this new plan.”