Painting the Town
Kristen Brock, VisitHATTIESBURG director of programs and development
Extension program spurs plan to continue mural project
Story by Susan Collins-Smith • Photos by Kevin Hudson
See the murals for yourself! Click here.
Kristen Brock is always looking for ways to grow in her career and learn more about Mississippi’s tourism industry.
When she heard about the new Excellence in Tourism Leadership Program, she knew it was something she wanted to do.
“There are different local and national programs that I could have gone through, but this program is intensely focused on Mississippi,” said Brock, director of programs and development with VisitHATTIESBURG. “That was the big draw for me.”
Offered by the Mississippi State University Extension Service in partnership with the Mississippi Tourism Association, the 2-year program helps tourism professionals learn more about how to market and increase tourism, as they gain insights into leadership, advocacy, public policy, and administration.
The class was the catalyst that helped Brock ensure the Hattiesburg Alliance for Public Art, or HAPA, obtained additional funding sources for Hattiesburg to meet its goal of becoming the “City of 100 Murals.”
When Dr. Rolando Herts, director of the Delta Center for Culture and Learning, spoke to the class, Brock decided HAPA would be her class project, which all second-year attendees must complete to earn a certificate of mastery.
“He inspired me to get to know others in the Mississippi tourism industry and learn about their programs and how they accomplish things,” she says. “I learned from him that it is okay to use the example of what others have done and make it work in our own community. We don’t have to use the same resources we’ve used historically.”
As a result, Brock now partners with other grant-eligible and fundraising organizations in Hattiesburg that benefit from public art. Those organizations apply for or raise their own funds to achieve both their and HAPA’s goals.
