Staff Report

Mississippi Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley will host an event in Panola County to allow businesses to sign up to do work with the state’s largest utilities. The Hire Mississippi event will take place Feb. 4 at 8 a.m. at the Sardis Courthouse.

The event is free, open to the public, and breakfast will be served.

In 2017, Presley passed the Hire Mississippi rule that requires the state’s largest public utilities to give extra notice, attention, and support for Mississippi businesses looking to bid on public utility projects.

Hire Mississippi requires the largest utilities to give notice to each company on their Hire Mississippi Supplier List when any job is available for bid that a Mississippi company is qualified to perform. The program requires each business to sign up and provide certain information.

“I am sick and tired of seeing out-of-state companies on construction sites in Mississippi when I know that Mississippians are footing the bill for those projects. I have zero doubt that our companies could be doing at least some of that work, if they were given the chance. It’s past time that we put our state’s businesses first and that is what the Hire Mississippi program does,” said Commissioner Brandon Presley.

“Hire Mississippi allows Mississippi businesses to get a bite at the apple and be considered first for contracts that they are qualified to do. If we don’t look out for Mississippi businesses and workers, no one else will,” he said.

Presley says that Atmos Energy, CenterPoint Energy, Entergy, Mississippi Power and Spire Gas will have representatives and sign-up tables at the event to talk face to face with local contractors and businesses and sign them up for each company’s Hire Mississippi Supplier List on the spot.

“This is a casual event, but one where I want every business owner to leave there signed up for the Hire Mississippi Supplier List and with knowledge about the program.”

The event is cosponsored by Panola Partnership. To RSVP, call 563-3126 or send an email to frontdesk@panolacounty.com.