C Spire, which opened a $23 million commercial data center in 2013 and launched one of Mississippi’s first residential fiber internet programs in Starkville one year later, was named the Greater Starkville Development Partnership’s Industry of the Year Thursday at the organization’s annual banquet.
“They’ve made a tremendous investment in this community,” said Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman. “C Spire is a great technology company, and we appreciate the confidence they have shown in investing so heavily in our economic future.”
C Spire picked Starkville to host its 23,000-square-foot, Tier 3-plus data center, located in Mississippi State University’s Thad Cochran Research, Technology and Economic Development Park, due to the area’s lower national disaster risk, access to multiple electricity sources and economic development incentives procured by the Golden Triangle Development LINK.
While the company received a 10-year property tax abatement to help land the development, the project alone generates about $220,000 for the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District.
“As a company that gets inspiration from our customers, we’re proud to support the growth and expansion of this region,” said Bryan Templeton, a C Spire regional manager, in a release.
Thursday’s program also honored a number of other groups and individuals who have made a positive impact on the local economy in the past year. Award winners included: Carolyn Sullivan, the Steve Langston Downtown Revitalization Award; Jack Wallace, the GSDP Military Service Award; the Mississippi State University women’s basketball team, the Crystal Pineapple Tourism Award; Barbara Runnels Coats, the T.E. Veitch Community Service Award; Cory Lucius, the GSDP Ambassador of the Year; and Eat Local Starkville, the R. Clay Simmons Exemplary Enterprise Award.
Sullivan and her husband, Donald, opened a downtown location for their business, Sullivan’s Office Supply, in 1960, and has kept the company in the business corridor for more than 50 years. The Sullivan Management Company has also renovated and revitalized numerous downtown buildings through the decades.
Wallace, who leads the Oktibbeha County Economic Development Authority, serves as the state chairman of the Mississippi Employer Support of the National Guard and Reserve Soldiers, which provides employer outreach, military outreach, public affairs, mediation, training and employment initiative programs and services.
The Bulldogs women’s basketball team set high marks in the 2015-16 basketball season — records they hope to break this year — by ending with a school-record 28 wins in coach Vic Schaefer’s fourth year. MSU won 11 Southeastern Conference games, had its best-ever regular season finish in the SEC standings, hosted two NCAA Tournament games, advanced to the tournament’s Sweet 16 round and drew a record 92,914 fans to its games.
Coats, a Starkville native, serves as a committee member, sponsor, fundraiser, donor or volunteer for several local charities, causes and philanthropic organizations, including: the Golden Triangle Walk to End Alzheimer’s, St. Joesph’s Food Pantry, Healthy Starkville Committee, 4-H, Oktibbeha County Humane Society, Volunteer Starkville, Maroon Volunteer Center, Christian World Mission, Catch A Dream Foundation, Starkville Police Department, Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Department, Oktibbeha County Emergency Management Agency, Join Hands Day, Sudduth Terrific Kids, Adopt a Family, Starkville Community Theatre, Emerson Family Centered Programs, the Boy Scouts, Helping Hands Ministries, Hanna Pote Run for Education and the Starkville Dog Park.
Lucius, who works in the insurance industry, serves as the Starkville Rotary Club’s Membership Committee co-chairman, on the group’s board of directors and was honored as Rotarian of the Year in 2015. He also serves on the board of directors for both the Starkville Quarterback Club and local Habitat for Humanity chapter.
Eat Local Starkville is comprised of Chef Ty Thames and attorney Brian Kelley. The duo are known for numerous Starkville restaurants — Restaurant Tyler, Bin 612 and the Guest Room — that have received national media attention. Eat Local Starkville added City Bagel Cafe to its business collection last year.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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