BILOXI — Everywhere state Sen. Lydia Chassaniol goes, she sounds the bell to promote Mississippi tourism.
Civic club members, conventioneers, journalists, they all hear the same message from the Winona Republican: The importance of tourism to Mississippi’s economy.
On Tuesday, the tune will be changed to recognize her efforts.
The Mississippi Tourism Association will honor Chassaniol during an awards luncheon in Biloxi at the 2011 Governors Conference on Tourism.
Chassaniol serves as chair of the Senate Tourism Committee.
“Your leadership position helped Mississippi through three of the worst natural disasters in our state’s history (Hurricane Katrina, 2010 BP oil spill and the 2011 Mississippi River flood) that at times crippled our industry, but you were there leading the charge to recovery through tourism,” Neal McCoy, president of the tourism association and executive director of the Tupelo Convention and Visitors Bureau, wrote in a letter to Chassaniol.
Gov. Haley Barbour, Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant, House Speaker Billy McCoy and House Tourism Chair Diane Peranich will also be recognized.
