HCPHC’s CEO accepts key role in assessing Mississippi’s military offerings

September 13, 2018

Hancock County, MS - Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission CEO Bill Cork has been tapped to serve on Mississippi’s newly formed Governor's Military Defense Initiative Task Force, effective immediately.

The task force’s goal, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said in a news release, is “to provide expertise for the development of a comprehensive strategy to encourage defense-related companies to locate in the state. The task force will also catalog existing assets and investments in the area of defense and identify existing strengths and weaknesses.”

The Governor’s Office noted the state
- is home to strategic military infrastructure and assets;
- has a strong private-sector industrial base of defense contractors and a robust supply chain of subcontractors and suppliers;
- and has a strong concentration of engineers, researchers and scientists at research universities and defense-research labs who are focused on innovations and the development of technologies for defense and commercial applications.

The Task Force is being chaired by retired Colonel Greg Michel, Director of Mississippi Emergency Management Agency; Jamie Miller, Deputy Director of Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) is co-chairman; and Dr. Shannon Campbell, Director of the Trent Lott National Center for Economic Development and Entrepreneurship at The University of Southern Mississippi is providing task force support.

Bryant cited Cork’s “expertise and knowledge” in announcing the appointment. Cork, a U.S. Marine Corps. veteran, assumed the post of CEO at Hancock Port and Harbor Commission in May 2016.

“I’m honored to be able to share my military and economic-development experience,” he said, “in hopes of further strengthening Mississippi’s contribution to America’s defense capabilities. The goal will be to attract even more defense related investment in the state, which will benefit all Mississippians.”

The governor’s executive order mandated that the task force provide him with an economic-development master plan by March 15, 2019.


About HCPHC

As the economic development authority for Hancock County, Mississippi, the Hancock County Port & Harbor Commission owns and operates Port Bienville Industrial Park and Stennis International Airport — in addition to fostering business investment for John C. Stennis Space Center, NASA’s premier rocket-testing facility. For more information visit www.portairspace.com.

#Military, #Staff Profile