Vicksburg Mayor Highlights City’s Role in Mississippi’s Growth during Statewide Panel

VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) —”From the moment I took office, my goal has been for Vicksburg to lead when it comes to innovation and technology.”

Those were the words of Vicksburg Mayor Willis Thompson in an address to a statewide panel of Mississippi mayors this week. The discussion was held at the Mississippi College School of Law on Monday, Oct. 6. Thompson said his city is working to become the state’s technology hub, pointing to early partnerships and state support which are already moving the river city in that direction.

“We’ve already taken concrete steps to make that goal a reality for our people by building on our existing federal assets,” said Thompson.

According to Thompson, those steps include a memorandum of understanding signed in Vicksburg by Gov. Tate Reeves with ERDCWERX, the Mississippi Development Authority, and the Mississippi Apex Accelerator. The agreement is designed to expand technology transfer, commercialization, and small-business innovation.

The mayor also cited a new strategic partnership with Cisco Systems and Rust College to provide MCITy — the Thad Cochran Mississippi Center for Innovation and Technology in Vicksburg — with advanced networking infrastructure, technical support, and workforce training. The city recently secured nearly $300,000 from Accelerate Mississippi to help expand MCITy, a sign, Thompson said, that state leaders are formally backing Vicksburg’s push.

“Having the Governor come to Vicksburg, sign the MOU, and commit to this work alongside us is meaningful,” Thompson said. “It shows that our state sees what we see: Vicksburg belongs in the conversation about innovation, defense tech, entrepreneurship, and regional growth.”

While discussions around technology drew headlines, Thompson told the panel that the “little things” like right-of-way beautification and improving streets still matter most. “Every time we deliver on promises like these, we build credibility with our people — and that trust fuels bigger change and directly affects our ability to attract new, outside investment,” he said.

Thompson also urged fellow mayors to work together across jurisdictions. “No city can go it alone in the 21st-century economy,” Thompson said. “If we leverage shared resources, knowledge, talent, and infrastructure, then every community can benefit.”

Thompson said Vicksburg will continue to pursue public-private partnerships, workforce pipelines, and capital investments as long as he’s mayor. “We really are doing the groundwork now so that a few years from now, Mississippi will look to Vicksburg as the place where innovation took root because of local talent, vision, and action to back it up,” he said.

The panel discussion was hosted by the League of Women Voters of the Jackson area, Mississippi College School of Law, and WJTV and included the mayors of Jackson, Byram, Canton, and Vicksburg.