Published: May 25, 2006 12:33 am      

City lands tourism conference

MERIDIAN — The Mississippi State University Riley Center for Education and Performing Arts will host the Governor’s Conference on Tourism in February, officials announced Wednesday.

“We participated in a competitive pitch against other conference centers in the state to win this conference,” said Penny Kemp, marketing director for the MSU Riley Center. “While this conference traditionally rotates around the state, this is the first time Meridian has been considered for the Governor’s Conference.”

Susan Speed, Mississippi Tourism Association sales director, said the lack of a large venue has hindered the efforts of Meridian and other small cities to host major events like the tourism conference.

That will change when the Riley Center opens in a few months.

“With the addition of the MSU Riley Center, your community is highly marketable now as a destination for meetings, conferences and other tourism-related events,” said Anne Coggins, MTA president.

The Governor’s Conference is expected to attract more than 300 tourism professionals, as well as Gov. Haley Barbour and state legislators.

Kemp said the Riley Center staff considers it an honor to host the conference in the facility’s first year.

“Our governor and the state have identified our opportunity to take advantage of the growing trend of cultural and heritage tourism,” Kemp said. “I can’t think of a better place in this state — or this region, for that matter — that plays off the market’s desire for cultural and heritage tourism than the MSU Riley Center.”

Officials with the Meridian/Lauderdale County Tourism Bureau are also happy about Meridian’s landing the conference.

Cecilia Derrington, executive director, said the event will bring visitors who will take in what the city has to offer.

“The conference means a lot of tourism dollars in our city,” she said. “The tourists who come will be shopping at our malls and downtown shops, as well as eating at our restaurants and taking part in our events while they are here in Meridian.

“We want to show people that Meridian can become a vacation destination and key area for meetings. Normally, conferences go to larger areas, but with the Riley Center we can attract them here, because we want everyone to meet in Meridian.”

Other events that have been booked for the MSU Riley Center include the Rexel Southern annual regional conference; the Program of Research and Evaluation for Public Schools, or PREPS, annual statewide conference; Citizens National Bank’s conference for employees; Rush OB/GYN’s Women Health Fair; and the Navy and Marine Corps Ball. All these events are scheduled between September through February.