Gulfport City Line

The MS Municipal League has announced its 2020 Excellence Awards winners. The Excellence Awards program, which began in 1993, recognizes cities that utilize innovative problem solving, excellence in management, citizen participation and community partnerships to provide increased services and a better quality of life for its citizens. The City of Gulfport is proud to share that we have received awards in the Public Safety (Population Over 10,000) and Overall categories for the Homeless to Housing Hub and the MS Aquarium.

Public Safety, Population Over 10,000
“Homeless to Housing Hub Gulfport (H2H Gulfport)”

The Gulfport Police Department formed a partnership with the Salvation Army, Open Doors Homeless Coalition, Goodwill Industries, Feed My Sheep, Mental Health Association of South Mississippi and the Gulf Coast Ecumenical Fellowship, in order to develop a common strategy to address unsheltered homelessness in Gulfport. This partnership has resulted in the housing of 73 people. The program is expected to reach even more in the coming years.

Best Overall
“Mississippi Aquarium”

Beginning in 2014, under Mayor Billy Hewes’ leadership, Gulfport had the vision to create a landmark tourism-based attraction on nine acres of downtown property overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. Those efforts developed the Mississippi Aquarium in Historic Downtown Gulfport. The aquarium is a year-round, state of the art, marine-life based source of family entertainment, which will open in late 2020. There will be otters and alligators, traveling exhibits, an aviary, which will feature native birds, a dolphin exhibit, and much more that will represent Mississippi’s aquatic life from the river to the gulf.

We are honored to receive these awards and will continue to diligently work to create a vibrant city for all who call Gulfport home.

The Mississippi Municipal League has joined the Mississippi State Medical Association, Mississippi Hospital Association and Mississippi Nurses Association in the #MaskUpMississippi campaign encouraging all Mississippians to wear a face-covering to help stop the spread of COVID-19 in our communities. Below is their joint letter:

Mississippians have always been recognized for our generosity. As physicians, nurses, hospital and health systems leaders, public health experts, and municipal leaders, we are urging Mississippians to continue to show their generosity by taking simple steps to protect your neighbors and your loved ones and to help stop the spread of COVID-19 in our communities. Our request is simple - wear a mask, maintain physical distancing, and wash your hands.

In the weeks since Mississippi began reopening, our state has seen a huge increase in COVID-19 cases. In the last two weeks, Mississippi has seen one of the biggest percent increases in daily cases of any state in the country. Our number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 are also at an all-time high. Utilization of existing intensive care beds in Mississippi ranks among the top 10 states in the country.

The good news is that we have a cheap, effective way to protect all Mississippians: Wear a mask, maintain physical distancing, and wash your hands! Researchers at the University of Washington predict that the U.S. could reach 180,000 COVID-19 deaths by October, but 33,000 of those deaths could be prevented if at least 95% of people wear a mask.

Our health system in Mississippi remains prepared to care for you, but we need every Mississippian to do their part to keep our citizens safe and healthy and to keep our economy open for business.

Together, we can make a difference.

Mississippi Hospital Association
Mississippi Municipal League
Mississippi State Medical Association
Mississippi Nurses Association

July is one of the hottest months on the Coast. With the sometimes brutal introduction to summer comes a chance to support the city department that is focused on keeping our splash pads cool, parks mowed and courts paved. July is National Parks and Recreation month! This month we get to celebrate the various areas of the Leisure Services Department, which include:

Administration
Beautification
Building Maintenance
Centers/Seniors/Athletics
Marina
Special Events/Cemetery
Sportsplex
Turf Maintenance

As you can see, they do a lot. Leisure Services will use this month to promote the services, special events and health/wellness opportunities available throughout the City, as well as, spotlight some of the employees, who keep the department thriving. If you want to thank them for their hard work or simply keep up with what is happening in this bustling department, like and follow their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/playgpt and their Instagram page at www.instagram.com/gptleisureservices.

Starting Saturday, July 11^th, there will be daily posts on both pages to promote all that the department contributes to the community’s quality of life. To follow the campaign, use the official hashtags #WeAreParksAndRecreation and #ThankAParksAndRecPro.