Delta Regional Authority is open for business
A new era has certainly dawned in economic development for the Mississippi Delta and surrounding regions. The creation of the Delta Regional Authority, co-chaired by Clarksdale native and attorney, Pete Johnson, will be a major step forward toward boosting the economy of the Lower Mississippi Delta. In talking with Johnson, I’m struck by the optimism and “can-do” attitude that he is bringing to his new position, and the fact that the former Mississippi State Auditor is calling the DRA a true “one stop shop” for the regional economic development needs of our area.
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Always consider the source
BY NANCY COTTEN HIRST
DBJ Contributing Editor
This time of year, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, during Ramadan, and just preceding Hannukah–a time of high holy days for three great and closely related religions–I would like to write about other things, good things, godly things. And it is my great hope that by next year, I will be able to do that without having to gloss over baser realities.
This year, however, it seems more sensible to issue some cautionary remarks. Bluntly put, take everything in the media with just a grain of cynical salt. I usually abhor cynicism, but when I see hundreds of reports on virtually every network, cable or otherwise, repeatedly stating that the Pashtun are the majority ethnic group in Afghanistan, I have to cringe.
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Delta Development
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December 1, Issue
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Bob Rohrlack: MDA’s new executive a good fit for Mississippi
Florida native brings vision and exuberance to state’s highest economic development position
 BY NANCY COTTON HIRST
DBJ Contributing Editor
Robert J. Rohrlack, Jr., is quite likely to fit Mississippi’s economic development efforts like a glove. The new executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority possesses a rare combination of character, personality and qualifications that should make him both effective and appreciated in Mississippi.
In a business that requires teamwork for success, Bob Rohrlack is the ultimate team player, appreciating both the difficulties and the efforts of the other team members. “My philosophy,” he says, “is that economic development is a team sport. If someone stumbles, you don’t give them grief. You help them up.”
Rohrlack couches many of his points in the metaphors of the sports world, a natural extension of his earlier ambitions. “I was going to be a sports producer, the next Roone Arledge,” he chuckles. “I never wavered from this goal from middle school until late in my college career.”
Growing up in Longwood, Florida, a suburb of Orlando which he says was “the sticks” when he was small, Rohrlack loved sports. In high school, he played football and tennis. “I loved football and would have liked to have played at a higher level, but while I was tall, I was definitely not big,” comments the still-rangy sports fan.
Another way to professionally enjoy the sports world was the Roone Arledge route, so Rohrlack went to Troy State University in Alabama to pursue this goal. “Troy State recruits heavily in Florida,” he says, “and they have an excellent journalism school. It was far enough away for me to feel independent and yet small enough not to be lost.”
This choice would turn out to shape his career, a serendipitous event that introduced him to his future mentor. “My degree is in journalism,” Rohrlack explains, “but I minored in both political science and geography.”
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Walters appointed by President Bush to lead Mississippi USDA Rural Development Office
Young and aggressive, Walters stresses results over hand-outs
BY ALLEN ROARK
DBJ Contributing Writer
Wiggins, MS native Nick Walters has a vision as the new state director of the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) Rural Development, formerly known as the Farmer's Home Administration
"One of my main goals in this job is aggressive outreach," Walters says. "We don't do farm loans anymore, for instance, and many people still aren't aware of that. We work with rural housing, including first time homeowners, offering unique financing programs. We also finance rural utilities, such as water, sewer, waste water, and solid waste projects for municipalities under the population of 10,000 and for local water associations. Over $7 million is tied up in Bolivar County right now, as a matter of fact."
The USDA offers a variety of assistance programs, including services to rural business and cooperatives, rural housing and community facilities programs, rural empowerment zones and enterprise communities, and rural utilities programs. In a typical year, USDA Rural Development programs create or preserve more than 150,000 rural jobs, enable 40,000 to 50,000 rural Americans to buy homes and help 450,000 low income rural people rent apartments or other housing.
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