MSPA Board of Commissioners Press Release - March 10, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

 

MISSISSIPPI STATE PORT AUTHORITY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

 

Gulfport, Miss. – March 10, 2009 - Don Allee, executive director and CEO of the Mississippi State Port Authority (MSPA) at Gulfport announced that John Rester is President of the MSPA Board of Commissioners for 2009 and James “Jim” C. Simpson, Jr. has been reappointed to a five-year term.

 

The MSPA is governed by a Board of Commissioners representing a cross-section of Harrison County and the City of Gulfport. Members are appointed to staggered, five-year terms.  The Governor appoints three members of the board, and the Harrison County Board of Supervisors and the City of Gulfport each appoint one board member.  Other members of the Board include Frances Turnage, Lenwood “Lenny” S. Sawyer, Jr., and Frank Wilem.

 

“Given their respective business and legal backgrounds, John Rester and Jim Simpson are ideally suited to help lead the Mississippi State Port Authority as we restore the port to its competitive position in the maritime marketplace,” said Allee.  As an Enterprise Agency of the State, the MSPA operates much like a private business in that it must plan and set its budgets based upon projected and actual revenues.

 

Rester was appointed to the MSPA Board by the late Governor Kirk Fordice in 1994 and 1999 and was reappointed by Governor Haley Barbour in 2004.  Simpson was appointed by Governor Haley Barbour in July 2008 to fill the unexpired term of A.J.M. Oustalet, Jr., and in December, the Governor reappointed him to a full term. 

 

“The restoration of the Port at Gulfport is the single largest economic development project in the state,” said Rester.  “We’re re-building the Port with a plan that creates more jobs, adds more revenue to the local economy, and offers protection from storms to the community.” 

 

Simpson added, “We want to lay a strong foundation so that the Port becomes the economic engine of the future for south Mississippi.”

 

Rester served as President and CEO of Mobile Medic and Senior Vice President of AMR, a national ambulance company.  He is also a past president of the Gulfport Rotary Club and a graduate and past chairman of Leadership Gulf Coast.  Simpson, a former lawmaker who served in the state House of Representatives from 1994 to 2007, is a partner with Montgomery, Barnett, Brown, Read, Hammond & Mintz, L.L.P.

 

 

For more information about the MSPA operations and facilities or the Port of Gulfport’s Restoration Program, visit www.shipmspa.com or www.portofthefuture.com, or contact Don Allee at 228-865-4300 or dra@shipmspa.com.