2009 ANNUAL MEETING AND DINNER

Mississippi State University President Dr. Mark Keenum, keynote speaker,

and Brent Tice, SCEDP Chairman

Above: Citizen of the Year Katie Stonnington and her husband, Mark, and above, right: Large Business of the Year Stone County Hospital, from left: John O'Keefe, Administrator, Stone County Nursing and Rehabilitation Center; Julie Cain, Administrator, Stone County Hospital; and Allen Gamble, Chief Operating Officer, Stone County Hospital

Teacher of the Year Sarah Sargent       Extreme Makeover Survivor Pine Hill Renovation Winners: Paul Hardy Real Estate, Cydnee Scarbourgh- Mocha Giraffe, Alison Tice - The Ink Spot, Sean Courtney Attorney-at-Law.

The Stone County Economic Development Partnership (SCEDP) held its 2009 Annual Meeting and Dinner, “Sticking Together as One,” on Oct. 5 at Heidelberg Hall on the Perkinston Campus of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.The event drew a record number of nearly 300 attendees.

Keynote speaker for the evening was Dr. Mark Keenum, president of Mississippi State University. Before accepting the presidency of MSU, Keenum served as chief of staff for Sen. Thad Cochran and played a significant role in helping south Mississippi recover from Hurricane Katrina. In his address, Keenum recognized Stone County for being a progressive leader. He noted the importance of Stone County’s being the first county to “go green” and the community’s recent addition of Piney Woods Pellets, an alternative energy manufacturer.

The event included a presentation of the SCEDP’s progress and achievements during the past year and the presentation of awards.

Highlights of SCEDP achievements include

• Welcoming new “green” industry, Piney Woods Pellets
• Welcoming Derksen Portable Buildings to Wiggins
• Becoming joint recipient with Harrison County Development Commission of a $400,000 grant to fund a growth study
• Conducting 17 ribbon cuttings
• Conducting a retreat/summit for city, county and SCEDP boards
• Initiating discussions to implement entrepreneurial classes at Stone High School
• Developing and implementing free customer service employee training program
• Producing an industrial brochure with a customizable CD
• Promoting Stone County through advertising in publications with national distribution
• Initiating discussion about a wellness program for Stone County

For a list of complete highlights, click here.

The event also included the presentation of annual awards.

The Teacher of the Year Award went to Sarah Sargent, who teaches at Perkinston Elementary School. She was recognized with a cash award for her ability to challenge her students by providing research-based teaching strategies that promote critical thinking and student-centered learning, which contributed to Perkinston Elementary’s receiving the second-place award in the Mississippi Arts Commission Great Seal of Mississippi contest. Sargent received a $500 award, and Perkinston Elementary received a $500 award for equipment.

Stone County Hospital and Stone County Nursing and Rehabilitation Center was named Large Business of the Year. The hospital has upgraded and improved it services and added new technology to help provide the best care available.  The hospital has recently paid off the county’s initial 20-year bond of $2.8 million several years early.

The Stone County Nursing and Rehabilitation Center was added to the campus in 2004 to meet the long-term rehabilitation and specialty needs of the community.

The entities that comprise the services on the healthcare campus in Stone County include the Stone County Hospital, the Stone County Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, the Stone County Family Medical Clinic, the Stone County Hospital Ambulance Service and Quest Rehabilitation.  Total employment at all of the entities on campus is approximately 320 employees. The annual impact on the local economy of the companies’ payroll is in excess of $10 million.  Local property taxes paid each year are in excess of $67,000.

The Extreme Makeover Survivor Pine Hill Renovation Award went to the downtown businesses on Pine Avenue that went through the city of Wiggins’ $1 million Pine Hill Restoration project, which began in February and was completed in September. The businesses are Clark Byrd Tax Service, Glamorama, Huckleberry’s Café, LJC Tax Service, Marie’s Fashions, Mocha Giraffe, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Paul Hardy Properties, Pine Grove Outreach Center of Wiggins, R Style, RC & D, Roger White Enterprises, Sean Courtney Attorney-At-Law, Serendipity Antiques & Deli, The Ink Spot, The Times of Stone County, and Wilson’s Pharmacy. The businesses were given a commemorative brick from the old Pine Hill Avenue.

The prestigious Citizen of the Year Award was presented to Katie Stonnington, a Stone County transplant who was born and raised in Washington, D.C. Stonnington, a wife and mother of three who has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a PhD in material science engineering, was recognized for her tireless work as a volunteer for the rescue and health of animals. She is the director of Wiggins Animal Rescue, which works to help the city of Wiggins in caring for animals. Under her leadership, more than 200 dogs have been vaccinated, neutered or spayed, and adopted, and the kennel size has doubled. When the Wiggins Animal Rescue had an overflow of animals to be adopted, Stonnington arranged a shipment of 50 dogs to New York City, where they were eagerly adopted. 

New industry fires up heating fuel plant in Stone Co.

A new industry opened in Wiggins Tuesday that will pump money and create jobs in Stone County. Piney Woods Pellets on old Highway 49 produces tiny wood pellets that are used as heating fuel in homes and in large industrial plants across the south. As Trang Pham-Bui reports, the owner says the plant makes a product that's kind to the environment and it puts people to work.
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