The members of the Mississippi Press Association were in Biloxi over this past weekend for the 153rd annual gathering of our organization. Actually the convention began on Thursday and we packed up and headed back to our homes Sunday morning. Honestly it can be a rather tiring vacation, and unfortunately it is the only vacation many Mississippi weekly newspaper publishers get to take.
I’ve been attending conventions with the Press for 35 years now. That’s a lot of runny eggs and greasy bacon from a buffet line, and way too much rubber chicken and steamed veggies for my taste, but the camaraderie is still worth the ride.
Things on the Mississippi Gulf Coast have really changed for conventioneers over the course of those 35 years. I think, probably, the number one problem with conventions there now is that the only facilities which accommodate large groups are casinos. That said, casinos are not the most accommodating places for families with children.
This year we were stationed at the Golden Nugget, which, I suppose, was the low bidder when it comes to our business. To get to the hotel and convention center of that casino from the parking garage one has to walk all the way across the gaming floor. People under the age of 21 are not allowed on the gaming floor, nor allowed to walk across the gaming floor unaccompanied by an adult. That can be a problem for 18- and 19-year-old interns.
A young college student who interns at one of the member newspapers this summer was on hand to assist Press Association staff and on his free afternoon had to even be escorted to the swimming pool and back, which, like the parking garage, can only be accessed by crossing the gaming floor.
Understandably a casino, being a casino wants to tempt anyone and everyone with investing some of their hard earned dollars in a slot machine or on a poker table, but there really should be some way that grown children can get to their hotel rooms and the swimming pool without having to call mom, or dad, or the boss for help.
Every year when I make the drive to the coast for our meeting I long for the old days where the Broadwater and the Hilton vied for our business and convention time truly was vacation time for our young families. We even announced that my wife was pregnant with our daughter to our friends in the press corps as we gathered for a social hour in one of the little bungalows behind the Broadwater or the Hilton 26 years ago. Times, they change though and for now we’re limited to casino life.
I did hear that there is a group of developers looking at recreating the old Broadwater Resort and turning back time a bit. Most likely, though, if that type of development does come to fruition it will be well past my days of being a conventioneer.
On a brighter note, there has been much talk of the kill zone caused by the excessive flood waters of the Mississippi River. Some have even said the shrimp harvest was going to suffer along with everything else. I can report that as of Sunday morning the shrimp harvest looked good, the price was nice, and 45-50 pounds are now in our freezer ready for numerous shrimp boils in the coming year.
One other piece of good news to report from the 153rd Convention of the Mississippi Press Association and it has to do with The Scott County Times and our website. We’ve been working very hard for the last few years to upgrade our website and make it user friendly, and advertiser friendly as well. Apparently we are making good progress. Saturday www.sctonline.net was named the best newspaper website in the state of Mississippi.
Now that’s real good news!
