Twelfth Edition: July 31, 2020
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Community Clicks
Gautier High teacher ready for new school year challenges
Story by Andy Kanengiser
As thousands of Mississippi Gulf Coast students return to school in August, the education community faces a challenging year ahead.
While COVID-19 cases escalate across the USA, with more than 150,000 deaths reported, classes on campus pose major challenges to students, parents, teachers and administrators.
Mississippi’s 2017 Teacher of the Year, Gautier High educator Jodi McKenzie is staying positive about her assignment despite all the uncertainties stemming from the pandemic.
“The unfortunate circumstances with COVID-19 have mandated a different way of living and thinking for me,’’ McKenzie said. “As far as the temperature checks, masks, hand sanitizer stations, virtual meetings, and trips for necessities, I am fine with the guidelines because that is what must be done to rid us of this horrible situation.’’
None of the changes in response to a pandemic “are on my list of favorites, but I understand the need for them,’’ the English teacher told a “Seaside Social News’’ reporter.
Guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control and the State Department of Health seek to mitigate the spread of the deadly virus. Masks are required or strongly encouraged in schools, shopping centers, parks, ballfields and other public places.
As late July turned to August, there are more than 58,747 COVID-19 cases in Mississippi and over 1,663 deaths. The Magnolia State is one of the nation’s hot spots for the virus. There were a record of 52 coronavirus deaths reported on July 31.
Raised in Gautier and a resident of Ocean Springs, McKenzie recalls encountering the health emergency for the first time when it was declared a pandemic in March.
“Honestly, the greatest challenge for me since COVID has been leaving my kids on March 13th not knowing that we would not be returning to the classroom,’’ says the chair of the Gautier High School English Department.
“I, without a doubt, was the luckiest teacher to have the kids that I had during the COVID term 4 virtual learning. I have never witnessed kids with such strength and resilience.’’ Like other educators, “we began communicating immediately so that I could reassure them that they were all going to be okay. My kids and their parents were amazing. They willingly participated in every lesson that I asked them to do.’’
The students and teacher met virtually at least once a week as Spring classes pivoted online due to the pandemic. English classes convened up to three times remotely on computer screens.
Despite the distance apart from students sadly missing so many campus activities, Gautier High’s Teacher Academy instructor stayed in contact with them without the hugs.
“I tell my kids all of the time that we were blessed to have each other as a family through such a difficult and trying time.’’
Growing up in De La Forest in Gautier and a 1997 graduate of Resurrection Catholic High, Jodi earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education at the University of Southern Mississippi. She received her master’s in elementary education at William Carey University. She’s pursuing a doctorate at Walden University in curriculum, instruction and assessment.
Gulf Coast HUB spurs community connections
Story by Susan Weller
A solution has been found to match volunteers with their dream nonprofit and nonprofits to vital volunteers.
Many volunteer hours have been wasted because individuals in a community aren’t sure where or how to reach out and find where they might be needed. Likewise, nonprofits started with the express purpose of “giving back to the community” only to be stymied by lack of manpower to fulfill the goal of the nonprofit.
According to Bridget Turan, Mississippi’s Gulf Coast Community Foundation HUB (Gulf Coast HUB), volunteer director, “what we haven’t had is a means for communicating community needs to our citizens. The Gulf Coast HUB will keep its finger on the pulse of the pressing needs in the community and will consistently communicate these to our citizens.”
Volunteering is a great way to become integrated into a community, whether you are newly arrived or established long term. Bringing the many nonprofits together with all the volunteers available to supply that important manpower and, in turn, making the many nonprofits’ goals come true is the life blood for The Gulf Coast HUB.
The Gulf Coast HUB is an organization that hits all the right keys to produce a successful volunteer and nonprofit concerto. The Gulf Coast HUB partnered with The Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service (Volunteer Mississippi) with a dedication in January 2019, creating The Gulf Coast HUB. The ribbon cutting with 150-200 well-wishers introduced a very dedicated and talented woman, Bridget Turan. With Ms. Turan’s expertise and vision, the people, resources, and about 150 nonprofits gained her full-time commitment and local volunteerism and nonprofit goals have been brought to a new level on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. At the ribbon cutting, Turan stated, “The HUB is an important connection point in the community that brings people, resources, and nonprofit organizations together for the common good. The HUB exemplifies what a community is about.”
United Way had an employee who split her time with answering all the calls from people who wanted to volunteer and other duties in the office. The decision was made to create a full-time position to field all the calls for volunteering in a centralized location. Whether it is for a one-time special event, ongoing involvement or helping to respond in the aftermath of a disaster, the Gulf Coast Hub is there for the volunteers. To recruit volunteers and recognize them, and rally the community around important community happenings with the added benefit of offering training and technical assistance and support, physical and financial, to help make nonprofits, boards of directors, and volunteers successful in the community.
The talents of Bridget Turan were recognized and she was offered the newly created position as the volunteer director of Gulf Coast HUB, funded by a three-year grant administered by Volunteer Mississippi.
Mississippi Aquarium welcomed by Gulf Coast residents
Story by Andy Kanengiser
From folks at the Half Shell Oyster House in Gulfport to residents along other Coast communities, people are thrilled to see the Mississippi Aquarium opening its doors in late August.
“It’s a new attraction and more people will be drawn to it,’’ says Stuart Suffern, manager at the Half Shell Oyster House that sits a couple of blocks away from the new aquarium. “The kids will be interested.’’
And so will parents, grandparents and other family members once the Mississippi Aquarium opens on August 29. That can help bring more customers to the seafood restaurant specializing in charbroiled oysters, crab cakes, Gulf shrimp, Parrotfish Calypso and other delicious dishes, he believes.
Folks at the Half Shell Oyster House at 2500 13th Street are eager to welcome the Mississippi Aquarium to their downtown Gulfport neighborhood.
The timing couldn’t be better for the August 29 grand opening. Showcasing the wonders of marine life, the family-friendly facility will elevate a Gulf Coast economy battered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Motorists along U.S. 90 watched the progress of the Gulfport-based aquarium for more than a year, and applaud its opening in less than a month.
Located on 5.8 acres across from Jones Park, the innovative aquarium will be a must stop for families of all ages. It contains 1.5 million gallons of salt and freshwater. The facility will be home to more than 80,000 square feet of exhibits connected by landscaped walkways with plantings representing all seven physio-geographic regions of Mississippi.
Lifelong Gulf Coast residents are counting down the days until the grand opening.
“Growing up on the water, I always saw sharks and stingrays, but now I can get a close up encounter with them while also learning about their environment,’’ says Peyton Pope, 21, of Gulfport. “I think the Mississippi Aquarium is going to be great not only for the economy of the coast, but also for the people of Mississippi.’’
Recently wrapping up her duties as a Washington intern for U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo, Pope told a “Seaside Social News’’ reporter she sees the aquarium as a sign of hope.
It opens on the 15th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina that devastated the Gulf Coast, New Orleans and other regions on August 29, 2005.