Summer is here, and so is the heat and humidity. As residents seek ways to stay cool, let us look at some of the good things that happened last week:

• The City of Natchez and local businesses continue to grab the spotlight in national and regional magazines, websites and television shows. This summer the city has been featured in southernliving.com and Mississippi Magazine’s annual best of the state contest. Mississippi Magazine readers voted Natchez the best weekend getaway, along with giving local bookstore Turning Pages and restaurant Fat Mama’s Tamales finalist honors for the best bookstore and best tamales in the state. Another local restaurant, King’s Tavern and its neighboring rum distillery were featured in the June/July issue of Garden and Gun and will be featured in an upcoming issue of Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel.
• A local fifth grader Tavia Morris knows her science. The West Elementary School student didn’t plan to compete in the science division when she went to the state Beta Club convention in Biloxi. When a fellow student dropped out, Morris volunteered to take her classmate’s place. Morris went on to place first in Biloxi and then place fourth in the national Beta Club Convention in Orlando. The win put her in the top five among the 15,000 club members in attendance. Congratulations to Morris for her big accomplishment.
• As the city continues to gain national attention, local tourism stakeholders spent last Monday looking to the future and how local tourist attractions can change to meet the expectations of today’s visitors. During the Tourism Summit 2.0, sponsored by the city’s office of tourism, local businesses and attractions discussed everything from the increasing popularity of heritage tourism to how stakeholders can think outside the traditional house museum box. Thanks to all who organized the event and provided this valuable seminar.

Let us remember to thank those who continue to make our community great.