Excellence is only gained through hard work, persistence and the will to succeed. And it appears the City of Natchez is well on its way to achieving excellence in its new downtown convention center.

Tuesday the much-awaited building became one step closer to reality as the Natchez Board of Aldermen hired architects for the project. The board chose JH&H of Jackson to assist the local firm of Waycaster and Associates in designing the center.

&uot;This is a big day in the history of the City of Natchez,&uot; Mayor Larry L. &uot;Butch&uot; Brown said. &uot;It’s an exciting day.&uot;

And he’s right.

Although most folks find it difficult to see the importance of such pre-construction details, these steps are vital to the success of the building.

Each little decision is like a layer of bricks stacked on top of another layer making a solid foundation crucial.

And it appears the city’s ad hoc committee did an excellent job selecting JH&H. The company worked on the Vicksburg Convention Center and is currently working on a project in Ridgeland. Perhaps the best news is that the company seems excited about the opportunities and challenges that building our center poses.

With a total cost expected to be around $12 million – including work on the new community center and renovations of the Natchez City Auditorium, the project is one of the biggest ever completely funded by the city itself.

Judging by the first steps we think the convention center project is well on its way to success.