Calhoun County celebrates economic development

CEDA annual banquet looks at recent milestones in economic development

CALHOUN COUNTY, MISS. (WCBI) – Calhoun County business and industry leaders will get an update on economic development in the area, during an annual meeting.

The Calhoun Economic Development Association is holding its annual membership banquet this evening, and there’s a lot of excitement about the past and the future.

It has been a strong year for economic development in Calhoun County and Sheila Freely is ready to salute those who have helped make it all possible.

“We’re going to celebrate our accomplishments for the past twelve months, and kind of highlight some of our local industries and employers, and our mayors will present awards to deserving citizens,” said Sheila Freely, who is director of the Calhoun Economic Development Association.  The group is holding its annual banquet at the city-owned venue, “The Front Porch,” a building that was a department store for many years and has been renovated.   Freely says the project is one example of new life and a renewed energy surrounding economic development in the area.

“Our local shop owners, we tried to shop locally, we do support that and our local industries never had to shut fully down, they have lots of orders,” Freely said.

The awards banquet will also look to the future and Freely says the future for economic development in Calhoun County is bright.

“Continued growth, I’m continuing to work to get more industry in, supporting our local farmers, and local shops and we are still excited, a Baptist Hospital in our county, a fully staffed emergency room, and they’ve started a full therapy building over there,” she said.

Freely says the biggest challenge for local businesses has been finding enough workers to fill available spots, but she says many of the industries are nearly fully staffed.

Freely says many businesses have increased their pay for workers, to be more competitive and attract skilled employees.