Reports - Mississippi Renewal

THE GOVERNOR’S COMMISSION REPORT | 95pation. A standing-room-only crowd of300 people met with representatives ofgovernment agencies and large primecontractors leading the cleanup effort,including the Government Services Administration,Ashbritt, Bechtel, W.G. Yates& Sons Construction Company, andthe U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Thepurpose of the forum was to strengthenthe network of small business subcontractorsavailable to work with the largerfirms participating in the recovery. Themeeting produced results; for example,W.G. Yates & Sons Construction Companycommitted to awarding 70 percentof its subcontracts to Mississippi-basedbusinesses and/or minority-owned businesses.MDA is conducting and schedulingsimilar meetings with small and minority-ownedbusinesses.The Mississippi Gulf Coast Cham-ber of Commerce is matching businessneeds with resources. Recognizing thatneeds vary with location, the Chamberhas created a business questionnaire toidentify the needs of businesses in eachcommunity.The Governor’s Commission is consideringtwo buildings for use as businessincubation centers, and in the nearfuture, the Commission may host networkingevents for business owners tointeract with each other.2004 Mississippi businessesFirms with fewer than 20 employees make up the vast majority of businesses in almost every sectorexcept government. A snapshot of 2004 Mississippi businesses by sector shows:Sector No. of Units Units w/