It’s Friday Forum time again.

This Friday, the weekly gathering of community will kick off the 2014-2015 year with hot topics, cool people, awesome coffee and great networking.

Same time, same place:  8 to 9 a.m. each Friday morning at Natchez Coffee on Franklin Street in downtown Natchez.

Sometimes the topics and discussions are almost as hot as the coffee, but that’s what Friday Forums are all about. This is a great time of the week when all of us as a community can “share and air” our thoughts and communicate with each other about what’s going on in Natchez, Adams County, and the Miss-Lou. No matter how exciting the conversation is, Friday Forum ends at 9 a.m. so we can all carry on with our other responsibilities.

Friday Forum began 3 years ago as a partnership with the Natchez-Adams County Chamber of Commerce, Alcorn State University and Natchez Coffee Company promoting this positive gathering of friends. Everything from football, to holiday decorations, to elections, to City and County updates and on and on has been brought to the table in the Forums.

This year, the plan is to create more of a forum type environment with a panel approach to cover a subject that will be of interest to individuals as well as the broader community.

So much is happening in and around our community that it just becomes difficult to stay in the know. If you have a question about just about anything, there’s usually someone at Friday Forum with an answer. It’s just a fun way to communicate!

The topic for the first Forum on Friday will be “Economic Development and the Port Industries.”

You can learn who is there, what they do, how many employees they have and what they have planned for the future.

Following Fridays will feature City of Natchez and Adams County updates along with informative presentations on tourism, healthcare, education and economic development.

So bring your friends, your thoughts and your opinions to Friday Forum at Natchez Coffee beginning at 8 a.m. Friday.

The food is great, the coffee is just right and the crowd will be a little more spectacular because you came.

You might even win a door prize.

Friday Forum is sustained through the partnership of Alcorn State University, Natchez-Adams County Chamber of Commerce and Natchez Coffee. If you have ideas for Forum topics, contact Debbie Hudson at the Chamber at 601-445-4611 or myself at 601-870-6000.

 

Ruth Nichols is the assistant vice president for educational and community partnerships for Alcorn State University.