Mississippi Business Alliance makes a stop in Columbus for Business Forward Tour

COLUMBUS, MS – The Mississippi Business Alliance made a stop in Columbus today for their Business Forward Tour.

MBSA is taking from August until October to travel statewide to speak with industry leaders about what their businesses need. The meeting features live polling where individuals can point out some of the issues and concerns, they think need to be addressed in Jackson. MSBA followed this talking about some things they’re doing in return for these businesses.

MSBA President & CEO John McKay spoke about trends being noticed on the tour.

“We try to get feedback on what people are seeing in the economy, and what we’re finding is most people are optimistic,” said McKay. “I think business is going well. But again, there are some of those things, whether its trade issues, supply chain issues, interest rates are getting higher right now. And so, it’s tough on the lending side for banking. All those issues are some of the things that we’re trying to point out and then also get some feedback on how we can best address this.”

Another talking point in the meeting involved looking forward to the 2027 meetings, as next year is a state election year. Next year’s elections will be huge, as at least 6 of the 8 statewide officials are either seeking new offices or are term limited.

“It’s going to be a huge change in leadership,” said McKay. “And so, what we try to do is, number one find out who those candidates might be, find out their opinion on issues that are important to our member companies, and then look at ways that we can support those that are wanting to support business and industry around the state. And that’s really important is just as a conversation that we have between our members and those elected officials because the better, we get to know them and they understand our issues; I think the better the state’s economy will do.”

The Mississippi Business Alliance tour is an annual event.