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The 29th Annual Okatoma Festival will be held on Saturday, May 5. As a part of the day’s celebration, the Okatoma Festival parade will be held at 10:30 a.m. in Collins. This year’s theme is “Home Sweet Home”. Participants are encouraged to enter floats, four wheelers, trucks, cars or golf carts. Due to safety concerns, walkers will not be permitted to participate in the parade with the exception of bands, color guard and the Camp Shelby Youth Challenge. For more information or to receive an entry form, call Collins City Hall at 601-765-4491 or visit www.cityofcollins.com.

Molly Speed of Collins was crowned Covington County’s Miss Hospitality. Three contestants competed for the title. Speed will represent Covington County in the state Miss Hospitality pageant held July 20-21, 2018, in Hattiesburg. This year’s contestants included Speed, Dakota Lepard who placed second alternate and Anna Saucier who placed first alternate. Mississippi’s hallmark hospitality is beautifully displayed through the tradition of the Mississippi Miss Hospitality Competition. Held in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, the program brings together the state’s best and brightest young ladies in competition for the title of Mississippi Miss Hospitality – a title that comes with a ticket to travel across the State of Mississippi and the responsibility of promoting Mississippi’s economic development and tourism industries. The mission of the Miss Hospitality Competition continues to be the identification of a young woman between the ages of 18 and 24 to serve as a goodwill ambassador for one year, showing hospitality to everyone she meets. The program allows young women to continue the tradition of beauty, grace, and dignity, while celebrating the intelligent and gracious qualities of today’s modern woman. The Miss Hospitality tradition began in 1949 under Governor Fielding Wright and the Mississippi Legislature. Since then, the program has called the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Starkville, and now Hattiesburg its home. Presented by VISITHATTIESBURG™, the City of Hattiesburg, and The University of Southern Mississippi, the Mississippi Miss Hospitality Competition offers more than $100,000 in scholarships and prizes to young women from across the state. Molly Speed, 23, is the daughter of Wilford and Nancy Speed of Collins. She is a graduate of Presbyterian Christian School, University of Mobile and is currently seeking a graduate degree at the University of Southern Mississippi where she is studying psychology. Speed is active in her community where she has organized basketball camps, worked in Vacation Bible School, traveled on mission trips and helped with two natural disaster recovery efforts. She’s also organized community service projects for Lady Eagle basketball. Her hobbies include basketball and intramural sports. Speed plans to graduate from USM and impact the lives of young people through education and athletics. Her goal is to leave every place she comes in contact with better than she found it.

The six announced Republican candidates for District 3 Congressional post will participate in an April 2, 2018 forum at the Collins Civic Center. Incumbent Representative Gregg Harper joined over thirty other members of the United States House of Representatives who will not seek re-election in 2018. Harper served five terms as Congressman for Mississippi District 3. The Covington County Republican Party and the Covington County Republican Women are hosting the forum so that District 3 voters can have the opportunity to meet each candidate from 6-7:00 pm. The forum will begin at 7:00 pm with each candidate discussing the issues that he seeks to address if elected Congressman. There will be a follow-up question and answer session. Announced candidates are state Senator Sally Doty, an attorney of Brookhaven; Morgan Dunn, Managing Director of Vestra LLC, a health care consulting firm based in Magee; Whit Hughes, Jackson, Baptist Health Care Systems; Michael Guest, Brandon, Rankin County District Attorney; Perry Parker, retired international investment banker, Seminary, MS and a native Covington Countian; Katherine Tate, Tupelo, an educational consultant. March 1, 2018, was the qualifying deadline. At this time there are no announced Democratic candidates. The Republican Primary Election is Tuesday, June 5, 2018. The public is invited to the April 2, 2018, CCRP Forum, Collins Civic Center, Highway 49, 6-8:30 p.m. to meet the candidates, judge their issues, and question concerns.

The 21st annual Black Heritage Celebration of Covington County will continue throughout the month of February with the theme “Success Always Leaves Footprints.” The celebration included a Talent Hunt well as a Beauty and Beau Pageant. The Collins High School gymnasium will be set up for the Heritage Museum on Saturday February 24 at 10 a.m. The celebration highlight will be the Heritage Parade on Saturday, February 24 at 12 noon on Main Street in Collins. Entertainment will follow the parade at the Collins High School football field where a Battle of the Bands will be held. The parade route will travel down First Street South and make a turn onto Arrington Avenue before turning again onto Main Street. The parade will then travel along Main Street before turning onto Fir Avenue headed back to Collins High School. Guests are invited to come enjoy live music, children’s entertainment and concessions. Grand Marshal for the parade is Collins Mayor Hope Jones. Other honorees are retired and active educators. The Battle of the Bands will take place on February 24 at 1:30 p.m. and will include six area high school bands. Chairpersons and committee members for the celebration include: Pageant Chairperson-Jungeline Williams; Parade-Danny Spencer and Ray Magee; Museum-Mary Gilmer and Shana Cooper; Booth Space-Charles Carney; Fellowship of Churches-Betty Owens and Bettie Clayborn; Talent Hunt-Alonzo Williams; Battle of the Bands-Charles Beasley and Coordinator-Elaine Barnes.

The Covington County Chamber of Commerce will host the 29th annual Okatoma Festival on Saturday, May 5, 2018. This year’s theme is “Home Sweet Home.” The special guest for the day will be recording artist and native Travis Clark. Pairing solid “Real Country Music” story-telling with a blend of modern and traditional country sound, Clark is a fresh take on popular country music. His original songs range from rockin’ country hits, to big ballads, to traditional country anthems – all telling honest stores about life, love, and lessons learned from growing up in rural Mississippi. Backed by a band of deeply talented musicians, Clark is an energetic entertainer with a unique sound that has broad appeal. The event begins at 8 a.m. with the annual 5K Run/Walk. Meanwhile, numerous arts and crafts booths and food vendors will be located at every corner in downtown Collins. Live entertainment, a health fair, quilt exhibit, art display, children’s park, fair rides, rubber duck race, golf tournament and much more will be provided. The traditional street dance will be from 6 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. with the Cowboy Blues Band. For more information about the festival, contact the Covington County Chamber of Commerce at 601-765-6012 or go to www.CovingtonChamber.com.

Sanderson Farms’ feed mill located in Collins, Mississippi has been named the 2017 Feed Facility of the Year. Co-sponsored by the American Feed Industry Association and Feedstuffs, the Feed Facility of the Year award recognizes overall achievement in feed manufacturing operations. “Sanderson Farms demonstrates excellence in each of the areas the Feed Facility of the Year program measures,” said Joel G. Newman, AFIA President and CEO. “They quickly rose to the top of this year’s competition, and we are happy to present the company with this award.” To date, only 32 facilities have received this industry best practices honor. The Feed Facility of the Year award recognizes Sanderson Farms’ commitment to safety, quality, regulatory compliance, and employee development. According to AFIA, Sanderson Farms’ work to increase employee engagement and promote morale also factored into the award decision. “Sanderson Farms employees are included in daily conversations about safety and encouraged to offer their suggestions for improvements,” said Bill Bray, plant manager of the Collins facility. “The company’s training programs allow supervisors to assist employees by providing personal attention.” The Feed Facility of the Year award highlights the Collins facility’s overall operating efficiencies. As one of Sanderson Farms’ eight feed mills, the facility produces more than 400,000 tons of poultry feed each year. Sanderson Farms, Inc., founded in 1947, is engaged in the production, processing, marketing and distribution of fresh and frozen chicken and other prepared chicken items. Employing more than 14,000 employees in operations spanning five states and 14 different cities, Sanderson Farms is the third largest poultry producer in the United States. As a company, Sanderson Farms is committed to adopting a fresh approach in everything that we do. Not only where products are concerned, but companywide as well. Though the company has grown in size, it still adheres to the same hometown values of honesty, integrity and innovation that were established when the Sanderson family founded the company back in 1947.

The Covington County Miss Hospitality program is seeking contestants for the 2018 title of Covington County’s Miss Hospitality. Requirements for the local program include:

• Be a resident of Mississippi – parent or guardian must also be a resident of Mississippi

• Represent her hometown and/or county, not the city where she attends college.

• Not currently hold a title that would interfere with duties of Miss Hospitality.

• Be a high school graduate, never married, have no children and be age 18 and not over 24 by Wednesday, July 18, 2018 of the pageant week.

• Have a 2.5 scholastic average for the last completed semester.  A transcript is required upon registration for the state pageant.

• Must be present at the coronation ceremony for Mississippi Miss Hospitality and participate in events scheduled for the period July 15-21, 2018.

• If attending an out of state university and wins the state pageant, you must enroll immediately in a university in Mississippi.

• Participate in the Okatoma Festival on Saturday, May 5, 2018.

The entry fee is $20. Local Miss Hospitality contestants will have a seven minute personal interview with a panel of three out-of-town judges and present a 90-second speech in front of the judges and guests on “How would you promote our state to a visitor?” The dress is Sunday dress or a suit. Contestant applications and entry fees must be turned in to the chamber office by Thursday, March 15 at 5 p.m.

The state Miss Hospitality pageant will be held July 20-21, 2018. Applications are available at the Chamber of Commerce office located on First Street South. For additional information call 601-765-6012.