Date of release: November 16, 2021 (From Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce)
For more information contact
Sandra Wilson: 270-443-1746, office
swilsonpaducahchamber.org
The Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the City of Paducah is hosting officials from Vicksburg, Mississippi on Wednesday, November 17 and Thursday, November 18 as part of a benchmarking visit.
“We are honored to host our guests from Vicksburg this week,” said Sandra Wilson, Chamber President. “Benchmarking visits such as this helps to create relationships between cities across the United States. When West Kentucky Community & Technical College gathered a contingent from Paducah and traveled to Greenville, South Carolina in 2019, we brought back many new ideas for future growth and economic development as well as built relationships with many of our counterparts in Greenville that we cherish still today.”
Starting at the Commerce Center on Wednesday, Vicksburg officials will be welcomed by Paducah Mayor George Bray and Chamber President Sandra Wilson. They will hear from speakers with the Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau, the City’s Engineering, Planning and Parks Departments, Barkley Regional Airport and Sprocket; and they will visit downtown attractions including the Floodwall Murals, Greenway Trail, the National Quilt Museum and more. Thursday morning will conclude with a wrap-up at City Hall.
“I am honored to meet the delegation from Vicksburg, led by Mayor George Flaggs, and host them in Paducah,” said Mayor Bray. “Our two communities are similar in size with amazing rivers as our backdrops. I believe in learning from the best practices of others and I am thankful for the time our two cities will have to listen and learn from each other. I am absolutely positive that we will make friendships and partnerships that will advance Paducah and Vicksburg together.”
Officials visiting from Vicksburg include: Mayor George Flaggs, Jr.; Tiffany Pendleton, Esq., Assistant to Mayor; Pablo Diaz, Chamber of Commerce; Johnny Reynolds, Vicksburg Visitors & Convention Representative; Kim Hopkins, Main Street Association; Jeff Richardson, City of Vicksburg Landscape Designer; Mary Jane Wooten, Business Developer; Kelly Barfield, Business Owner; and Kendra Reed, Business Owner.
"Paducah is an ideal sister city for Vicksburg. We are both riverfront communities in the South focused on the arts with about the same population size,” said Mayor Flaggs. “Visiting Paducah to see how they've successfully leveraged their assets for the local community and tourists is of particular interest to Vicksburg. We hope to make strong friendships and share ideas to help both cities."
