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Going where the people want to go

Mayor Johnny L. DuPree, Ph.D.

According to Mayor Johnny L. DuPree, Ph.D., all roads lead to Hattiesburg. He’s not alone in his assessment of the importance of the city – Hattiesburg is also known as the Hub City of the South, a prospering region for economic development, education, the arts, health care, retirement, and raising a family.

“CNN and Forbes Magazine also said it’s a great place to launch a business,” said Mayor DuPree, “It’s a great city and, of course, Brett Farve played for the University of Southern Mississippi and lives in Hattiesburg.”

DuPree was elected Mayor of Hattiesburg in 2001, after serving three terms on the Forrest County Board of Supervisors. However, politics was not on his mind while earning a master’s degree in Political Science and a doctorate degree in Urban Studies. “I went into sales after graduating, but I have always been interested in community development,” he said. “And after being appointed to the school board in 1987 and seeing how things worked and didn’t work, I decided this was where I needed to be, helping the community and doing things that had only been talked about in the past.”

The first thing Mayor DuPree saw was a fractionalized system where good ideas were often opposed only because they originated from a different area of government. “The world is moving toward regionalization,” said DuPree. “We found we were able to leverage our resources much better if we used them with a regional type of approach.”

Hattiesburg Train Depot

One example he pointed to was a 2005, $1,000,000 grant from the EPA Brownfields grants program. “We were the only city in Mississippi to receive the grant, and it was because we pulled in not only Hattiesburg and Forrest County, but also Petal. It was a partnership effort, and I can go on and on with examples of projects that were completed using that same concept of partnership. It works, and we proved it.”

Can this approach be bottled and sold? “It can work anywhere, but you have to move egos out of the way first,” he said. “You know, in the end, it doesn’t matter who did what. You can stick your name on a building and years later, people will say, ‘Who is that?’ It’s really about the people and representing what they want. That’s what matters.”

The Mayor points to the train depot restoration in Hattiesburg. This is an example of moving egos out of the way and forming relationships that produce results rather than impede actions. “By working together, we were able to complete the $25,000,000 restoration of the old train depot,” said the Mayor. “We had a celebration and every official was recognized for the contributions made toward completing the project. It just happened that it was completed on my watch, but there were a lot of others involved and from different administrations. What really matters is that the goal was achieved, and the people of the community benefited from everyone’s hard work.”

Over the years, Mississippi 811 has also played a key role in the economic development of Hattiesburg and in keeping the citizens of Hattiesburg and Forrest County safe. The city serves its 52,000 citizens with water and sewer services and has been a member of 811 since August of 1999.

Hattiesburg City Hall

“It’s all about education,” the Mayor said. “Mississippi 811 has done a great job over the years of educating people about the need to call before you dig. Education is the key to everything.” The Mayor of the fourth largest city in Mississippi also offers this advice for 811 or any organization working to improve its services or grow stronger. “You’ve got to develop relationships to reach your goals, and you have to hold people accountable for the things they say they will do. One of the first things we did when I was elected was to forge some relationships that have lasted the past eight or nine years. Of course, there have been times when those relationships were strained, but we managed to overcome our differences and achieve our goals because we had a willingness to work together.”

Where does Mayor DuPree want Hattiesburg to go? “I love my job, and I have a number of things I would like to see accomplished. I don’t want to over simplify this, but I want Hattiesburg to go where the people want it to go.”