HATTIESBURG -- A former Hattiesburg mayoral candidate and an economic development and marketing expert have been hired to run the Business Assistance Centers at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Betsy Rowell, who served two terms as a member of the Hattiesburg City Council and ran as the Republican nominee in last year’s Hattiesburg mayoral election, has been named director of the Hattiesburg Business Assistance Center.

Jackson native Jeffrey Brewer, an economic developer with extensive experience in marketing to business, industry and government sectors, has been hired as director of the Gulf Coast Business Assistance Center.

“With Betsy Rowell and Jeffrey Brewer, Southern Miss is getting two individuals with the expertise and business know-how to help our current and future clients become more economically viable,” said Dr. Ken Malone, assistant professor and chair of the Department of Economic and Workforce Development.

A fundamental goal of Southern Miss’ Business Assistance Center is to coordinate all current business assistance efforts and to provide seamless support in an efficient, productive and professional manner.

Services are free to small businesses and include the following:

·        Business disaster loan applications

·        Workshops / Seminars

·        Community outreach

·        Confidential counseling

·        Information / Referral services

·        Other program needs and services

·        Training

Rowell said she thinks her past relations with leaders in the business community, the target of the center, will be a positive contribution to the position.

“One of our first challenges is making certain that businesses are aware of the center and how we can help them, especially in light of the hurdles created by Hurricane Katrina,” Rowell said. “We are going to make people more aware of the resources at their disposal and how we can interact with them to help meet their business needs.”

The objectives are to help small business owners to become more efficient and profitable -- in particular those small business owners experiencing post–Katrina economic issues.

“Overall, we hope to help increase the ratio of existing and start-up small business that are assisted,” Brewer said.

“Hurricane Katrina not only altered the physical landscape of south Mississippi but also the economic structure,” Brewer added. “Small businesses, the backbones of the economy, have suffered differently from their larger counterparts.  Small businesses, in general, do not have access to expensive safety nets such as business interruption insurance and large investment accounts.  The need for support and assistance to shorten the recovery phase is great.”

During the storm-recovery phase, unique opportunities for entrepreneurship and small business development will be available.  To ensure the Business Assistance Centers can meet the needs of start-up and existing opportunities, Southern Miss has a professional staff that will provide comprehensive business services in Harrison County and the Hattiesburg area.

“There is still a great bit of confusion within the small business community as to what processes need to be started and where to actually get started.  We plan to assist in eliminating this confusion,” Brewer said.

Rowell currently serves as president of the Kiwanis Club of Hattiesburg and is a United Way volunteer, founding member of the Hattiesburg Area Women's Forum and was appointed by Gov. Haley Barbour to serve the Southern region as a member of Momentum Mississippi.  She has served on the Executive Committee of Mississippi Republican Elected Officials and as graduate advisor to Leadership Mississippi and Mississippi Scholars, both programs of the Mississippi Economic Council. 

She is a member of the Historic Hattiesburg Downtown Association and serves on
numerous committees of the Area Development Partnership.   A native of
Covington County, Rowell attended Jones County Community College and the
University of Southern Mississippi and was an employee in the Public Relations department at Forrest General Hospital. 

Jeffrey Brewer graduated from Forest Hill High School in Jackson. After graduating high school, he began his college studies at Hinds Community College in Raymond. Having completed his studies at Hinds, he transferred to the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. 

At Southern Miss, Brewer studied business and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in International Business and a minor in Spanish.  He completed his Spanish minor at Enforex Language School in Madrid, Spain.  He began his graduate studies at Southern Miss, where he served as a research assistant for the Center for Community and Economic Development and completed an apprenticeship as the Community Development Manager for the Itawamba County Development Council in Fulton.

Upon graduation, he then began working for the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast in the Department of Marketing and Enrollment.  His primary areas of
responsibility included working with the business, industry, and government sectors to encourage employees to enroll in school. 

Brewer is affiliated with the Hancock Chamber’s Education Committee; Coast Chambers of Biloxi, Gulfport, Long Beach and Pass Christian; Public Relations Association of Mississippi and the Society for Human Resource Management.