August 2011

The Gulf Park College for Women arch, a gift from the class of 1950, has recently been placed back in its original location overlooking the gulf after being swept away during Hurricane Katrina six years ago.

NASCAR President Mike Helton offered a salient question to a packed crowd on the opening day of the 2011 National Sports Safety and Security Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans.

“How do you place a value on being safe?” asked Helton, who delivered one of the keynote addresses to those gathered at the Roosevelt Hotel for the three-day conference. “For us in the sports industry, we have to be able to sleep at night knowing we did everything possible to keep our fans safe.”

Ann Claire Reynolds of Petal, Miss., a University of Southern Mississippi student double- majoring in special education and elementary education, was crowned the state’s Miss Hospitality after winning the pageant Friday night at the historic Saenger Theater in downtown Hattiesburg.

Dr. Jeffrey Lotz, chairman of the Department of Coastal Sciences at The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (GCRL), has been named interim lab director. He succeeds Dr. Bill Hawkins, who retired from the position at the end of June.