Abe Hudson of Clarksdale-based Real Delta Tours and Artistry presented a plan to the Leflore County Board of Supervisors on Monday for a promotional documentary film and other auxiliary materials to be used for attracting visitors to the Delta and Greenwood.
Introducing Hudson was Emanuel Williams of Greenville, a recent Tougaloo graduate working with Hudson on the project.
Real Delta provides tours to groups of all sizes with the goal of changing perception of the area and emphasizing its rich culture.
“Our goal is to tell the personal narrative of the Delta,” Hudson said. “We truly believe that there are so many gems here that travelers will want to see. We’d like to document that and show it to the world through our film project.”
Key to mobilizing tourism in the Delta, Hudson said, is collaboration between all of the counties and towns, rather than each place working in its own “silo.”
“Our goal is to get more people engaged, to target 25- to 55-year-olds, and to help them understand the diversity and complexity of the Delta,” Hudson said.
Hudson, who worked at Delta State University for five years, worked on a doctorate there in urban and regional planning.
“I think this is a perfect example of how communities can work together to mutually succeed,” he said.
Without making a formal proposal, Hudson told commissioners he and Williams plan to appear before eight county boards to ask for funding for the project. He estimated they will request buy-in of $1,000 to $1,500 per month from each county for the months of July through December to make the film and other promotional materials. Those will then become the property of all the municipalities involved to use on social media and elsewhere for tourism promotion.
“For too long we’ve been perceived as a place of segregation, a backwater,” Williams said. “We’re proud to be country, we’re proud of our culture, we’re proud of being from the Delta and we want to tell everyone why.”
The documentary materials will feature people, culture, businesses and cuisine, Hudson said.
“When we come back to your June meeting, we’ll let you know who all we’ve talked to,” he said. “We want to start on this July 1.”
Supervisors thanked Williams and Hudson for coming and said they are welcome to return in June.
In other county business:
• John Wiggers of the North Central Planning and Development and District presented a final form to supervisors to close out the Itta Bena Pumping Station project grant. The amount spent of the construction of the project was $138,000 in grant funds and $160,020 in matching funds from the county for a total of $298,020. Supervisors approved the closing of the project. Supervisor Wayne Self said the pumps appear to be working well, but during heavy rains he has observed water backing up into ditches. Engineer Shane Correro, who worked on the project, told Self that someone needs to be sure that the drainage grate is cleared of debris after every big rain.
• Supervisors approved the hiring of Alvin Winston Jr. by the Solid Waste Department to be a truck driver and knuckleboom operator.
• Timothy Austin of Wingtopia food trucks asked supervisors to consider his company as a tenant at the business incubator owned by the county in Itta Bena. Austin said his company needs 24-hour access to the office space for food preparation and would pay rent. District 1 Supervisor Sam Abraham asked if the building can be used for that purpose, and the other supervisors agreed that Mr. Austin and attorney Joyce Chiles needed to get together to look into usage and terms.
• Supervisors approved a trip by Sheriff Ricky Banks to Reno, Nevada, for the Master Sheriff’s Association meeting.
• The county road manager reported that a property on Browning Road where tree limbs are hanging over electrical lines and onto the street is right on a property line shared by the county and a private resident. Chiles said she will find out what the county’s rights are regarding cutting back the trees and suggested that someone from the county speak with the property owner.
• Contact Kathryn Eastburn at 581-7235 or keastburn@gwcommonwealth.com.
