April 28, 2025
Pearl River Community College welcomed Stephen O’Mara from the South Mississippi Planning and Development District (SMPDD) as the guest speaker for Lunch and Learn on Wednesday, April 16. His talk was titled “How SMPDD Can Assist Our Local Business Community.”
Attendees were greeted by Executive Vice President for Planning and Accreditation/Dean of Honors Institute (Poplarville), Dr. Jennifer Seal, who also led the invocation before lunch was served. PRCC President Dr. Adam Breerwood welcomed attendees while sharing a little about SMPDD and how he is honored to serve on their Board.
“The people at SMPDD are genuinely here to help us solve problems,” said Dr. Breerwood. “Every time that we have worked with them here at Pearl River, they have gone over and above to hear what our needs were and figure out the best way to address them.”
O’Mara first shared an overview of what a Planning and Development District is and that there are 10 districts throughout Mississippi, with SMPDD serving the bottom 15 counties of the state. Each district is an independent organization governed by a Board of Directors with the mission to help public entities and citizens in the area. Common functions include Aging, Health and Social Services, Community and Economic Development, and Workforce Development.
“What we are here for is to help cities, counties, community colleges, any public entity, and also the citizens that live within our district,” said O’Mara. “We do that through our programs. A main purpose of these programs is to save taxpayer dollars. For example, another PDD director shared how the Medicaid Waiver Program saved the State of Mississippi approximately $150 million.”
O’Mara covered more specifics for his area of expertise — the Business and Government Finance Division. The top services provided include a revolving loan fund for private businesses, commercial redevelopment to revitalize an area, and Municipal Advisors of Mississippi, a wholly owned subsidiary.
Poplarville Chamber of Commerce President Dr. April Grecho shared recent and upcoming events. The intern from the spring will continue a limited schedule over the summer, allowing the Chamber office to be open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Plans are also underway for a mini-grant program to assist Chamber members. The next meeting will be a lunchtime session on Thursday, May 8th at the new MSU Extension Building with Lindsay Ward speaking.
As discussed the recent push to get the nonprofit up and running. Actions are being taken to improve the ambiance and safety of Poplarville. This includes flower plantings on Main Street, plans to purchase a pedestrian crossing sign for downtown, and speaking to MDOT about the crossing on Highway 11 from PRCC to the Ramey’s parking lot. She also shared about Preston’s Alley, a space between Wells Insurance and the Blueberry Jubilee building, designated for community use with plans for art, lighting, and seating areas.
The next Lunch and Learn will be held in the fall.
For the latest news on Pearl River Community College, visit PRCC.edu and follow us on Twitter (@PRCC_Wildcats), Instagram (PRCCWILDCATS), Facebook (@PRCCMKTG), and TikTok (@prcc_wildcats).
Article and photography by Laura O’Neill.
