BUTLER SNOW RECEPTION HONORS GULF COAST BUSINESS COUNCIL
 ON ITS TWO-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

 Council Focuses on Economic Development, Public Policy and Advocacy Post-Katrina

GULFPORT - The Gulf Coast Business Council, which was formed a year after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina to bolster growth in the Gulf Coast community, was honored on July 25 with a two-year anniversary reception - Leadership for Regional Solutions - to recognize the collective accomplishments of the resilient people and communities in the three Mississippi Gulf Coast counties.  Butler Snow, the largest law firm in Mississippi with offices in Gulfport, Miss., Jackson, Miss. and Memphis, Tenn., hosted the event.

A collaborative of local business leaders, the Gulf Coast Business Council works closely with elected officials on advancing regional public policy and advocacy pertaining to affordable insurance, workforce development, tourism and good land use principles. Sustaining and promoting a robust business environment is also one of the council’s primary goals.

 “We’ve had many significant accomplishments in our first two years, but our work has just begun,” said Brian Sanderson, Gulf Coast Business Council President. “The Business Council continues to be committed to strengthening collaboration throughout the region in an effort to improve the economic vitality of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.”

In its first two years, the Gulf Coast Business Council saw many important accomplishments, including the formation of the Gulf Coast Renaissance Corporation, an organization that embraces sustainable land use practices by focusing on the development of mixed income, mixed use communities on the Gulf Coast.

Most recently, the Business Council celebrated the beginning of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Nonprofit Center. A multi-tenant nonprofit center, jointly owned by the Gulf Coast Business Council Research Foundation, Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Gulf Coast Community Foundation and United Way of South Mississippi, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Nonprofit Center currently houses eight organizations and  plans to hold 22 nonprofit organizations upon completion of its current renovations. 

“We applaud the successes of the Gulf Coast Business Council and fully support their strategic vision to reinvigorate the Gulf Coast community,” said Don Clark, Chairman, Butler Snow. “We are also celebrating the tenth anniversary of our Coast office and are committed to building strong relationships along the Coast.”

About the Gulf Coast Business Council

The Gulf Coast Business Council is a voluntary, nonprofit alliance of the top leaders of the Chambers of Commerce, economic development organizations, businesses, and industries of Hancock, Harrison and Jackson Counties.  With more than 230 members, the organization champions the common economic and business interests of the Mississippi Gulf Coast by identifying issues, convening resources, framing public policy, finding solution and working to improve and promote the economic growth and development in all of the counties on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  For more information, visit www.msgcbc.org .

About Butler Snow