Scott Waller addresses the Rotary Club of North Jackson

Scott Waller, Executive Vice President and COO of the Mississippi Economic Council spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson  at its January 14 meeting. Mr. Waller discussed Mississippi's successes in attracting higher tech manufacturing employers such as Nissan, Toyota, and several aircraft manufacturers. He also discussed the success of the Stennis Space Center in testing NASA's space vehicle engines and Mississippi's shipbuilding industry.

Mr. Waller distributed copies of the Blueprint Mississippi report, Blueprint Mississippi was an extensive one-year, $1.25 million research project focusing on 12 Blueprint States (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas). The report looks at how Mississippi compares with the Blueprint States and how the state can better position itself for progress. The goals for Blueprint Mississippi are:

• Improve Communication and Coordination among Public, Private and Non-profit Leaders
• Support Mississippi's Creative Economy
• Cultivate Diversity, Community Cooperation and Racial Reconciliation
• Strengthen and Expand Mississippi's Economy
• Increase the Educational Achievement Level of Mississippians
• Increase Availability of Financial Capital
• Promote Health Care as an Economic Driver
• Continually Develop the Infrastructure for a Competitive Economy and
• Cultivate a More Robust Workforce in Mississippi