Robyn Marlow
By Charlotte Buchanan “Take me to Ruleville,” an advertising slogan for North Sunflower Medical Center has become one of the best known and often repeated phrases in the Delta. Robyn Marlow, Director of Community and Employee Relations at North Sunflower Medical Center has an interesting story to tell about how the slogan originated. “The […]
Bad Apple Blues Club Clarksdale Hot Spot Promises Authenticity and Good Times
By Jack Criss Sean Apple may not have been born in the Mississippi Delta; but he says he’s lived here long enough that it almost feels like he was—and that the state has certainly become his real home. And it’s all because of his devotion to a Delta musical creation and tradition. The longtime blues musician […]
Bill’s Custom Automatics Three Generations of Gunsmiths in Shelby
By Mark H. Stowers The name sounds as ordinary as any—Bill’s Custom Automatics. The small white nondescript building in the town of Shelby, the highway now bypasses, became the home for the business in 1991. But, don’t let the façade fool you. Inside, there are generations of gun knowledge and gunsmith excellence rarely found in […]
Mississippi Cautiously Reopens Using a State Managed, Locally Executed Approach
By Becky Gillette There is no one-size-fits-all recipe for reopening different kinds of business across Mississippi that have been impacted by closures associated with the efforts to stem the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Business and political leaders appreciate Gov. Tate Reeves’ acknowledgement of that fact and his strategy of “state managed, locally […]
Matt Malouf Using His Love for Selling With Tom James Custom Clothier
By Susan Marquez Matt Malouf has selling in his blood. The Greenwood native’s uncle runs the family furniture store that bears their name. “When I finished college,” says Matt,” I went to work with my father Bill at Port Elliot. I learned a lot from him, and it was a pleasure working alongside him.” Matt […]
Laura Beth Strickland
By Charlotte Buchanan • Photography by Ashley Gatian Laura Beth Strickland is a native of Vicksburg and is Executive Director of the Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau. Even in these trying times when the Covid 19 virus has brought much of the country’s festivals and conventions to a temporary halt, Laura Beth is hard at […]
Mag-Pie Gift & Art Shop Serving Clarksdale for Over a Decade
By Aimee Robinette Mag-Pie Gift & Art Shop is a one-of-a-kind space that has endured for over 108 years. The shop opened in 1912 in Clarksdale, and has been in the same location ever since. Owner Kathy Goode said the store is often referred to as The Gift and Art Shop, which suits her just […]
Blue Ridge Foods Bringing Meat Processing to Greenwood
By Susan Montgomery Brian Waldrop, the Greenwood entrepreneur, is excited about Blue Ridge Foods’ plans to open a meat processing and distribution facility in a 31,000-square-foot former warehouse in Greenwood-Leflore Industrial Park. He and Wes Smith, the facility’s manager, slipped over to the facility the other day while workers for KT Builders, a Greenwood-based construction […]
Great Strides Made in Adopting More Telemedicine – Healthcare Providers Revise Policies to Respond to Threat
By Becky Gillette Delta hospitals and clinics, along with their counterparts in the rest of the country, drastically changed procedures as cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Mississippi started mounting in mid-March. While there were concerns that there are not enough ventilators, intensive care hospital beds, and supplies such as face masks anywhere […]
Municipal Leaders Supporting Local Businesses – Working to Stop the Virus Spread
By Becky Gillette During the unprecedented coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disruption to nearly every aspect of business and personal lives, Delta residents were looking to the city leaders for accurate local information and advice on how to be safe and prevent the spread of the respiratory illness. At press time in mid-March, there were still […]