Fifteenth Edition: October 31, 2020
Welcome to SSN!
A local society resource for good news across the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
You are here! A gateway inside each edition of Seaside Social News published on the last day of every calendar month. Click on an image, title or navigation link to unlock featured content.
Uniquely packaged photo albums and stories dedicated to connecting people to the good causes of our Mississippi Gulf Coast communities and the individuals, businesses and organizations behind them.
Intimate stories spotlighting those people and places who help make the Mississippi Gulf Coast a special place to live and work.
Community Clicks
September 5, 2020
October 4-11, 2020
October 23-25, 2020
August 8, 2020
Faces and Places
Feeding the Gulf Coast delivers recipe for success
Story by Susan Weller
A community is only as healthy as its food resources. That’s a fact by which Feeding the Gulf Coast operates.
A member of the nation’s largest hunger relief organization, Feeding America, the nonprofit organization distributes millions of pounds of food annually to communities in need along the Central Gulf Coast; remaining steadfast in its belief that healthy food is the basis of a healthy community.
“You can’t be a healthy person and be your best self if you are not well fed”, Cindy Bloom, director of operations for Feeding the Gulf Coast stated in an interview with Seaside Social News. “Kids can’t learn if they are food challenged. Chronic hunger is stressful, poverty is stressful, if the worry about food can be removed then more positive outcomes can be expected.”
Feeding the Gulf Coast works to ensure food insecure communities are offered the resource of the necessary foods to stay healthy. And today, more than ever, due to COVID-19, the organization and many others are aware that the need for healthy foods to support healthy bodies and thus a healthy infrastructure is ever more important. People are the infrastructure of success. If those people are denied access to healthy foods due to job loss or any other situation created in these trying times, organizations such as Feed America and their support organization, Feeding the Gulf Coast, seize the opportunity to support the churches, food pantries and other outreach outlets to fill the need. From the Feeding America Web site, “in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment has soared and food insecurity is on the rise. In 2020, more than 54 million people may face hunger because of coronavirus.”
Feeding the Gulf Coast challenges us all to let our imaginations run wild when thinking about our part in feeding those in need in our community.
MDRS client advances as MSU engineering student
Story by Andy Kanengiser
Brennan Bell refuses to let a lifelong disability interfere with his dream of becoming an engineer.
The success story of the Mississippi State University mechanical engineering student is fitting as National Disability Employment Month was celebrated in October. The 75th annual event reminds American employers of the importance of inclusive hiring practices and pays tribute to the USA’s workers with disabilities. Observances also coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
On track to graduate at Mississippi State on November 25 at the Humphrey Coliseum, Brennan Bell thrived as he worked four MSU co-op rotations at the Toyota plant in Blue Springs. He engaged with robots making the body of Toyota vehicles. As 2020 nears an end, the Gulfport native is eager to join the workforce and contribute to the world.
A job offer from Toyota recently came his way, and Brennan will join the workforce as a body welding engineer. He is likely to begin working in early 2021 at its plant in San Antonio, Texas.
Brennan, 23, raves about his hands-on Toyota experience at the innovative plant near Tupelo. “What I really enjoyed about my work in my first term at Toyota was being given the responsibility of an engineer and to take on the tasks that come with the position. I was treated not like an intern, but like an engineer on the team.’’
Gulf Coast resident invests in people and community
Story and photography by Amanda Compton-Ortiz
Making his best pitch for people both on and off the field is what John E. Cooper IV was born to do.
It’s an attribute he’s built his life around and the standard by which he conducts his business as principal owner and operator of Westchase Insurance Group, LLC.
The company was founded by John in his former hometown of Houston, Texas, in 2016, following his nearly 20-year career in the field since he became a licensed insurer in 2000 and began practicing as an independent broker in 2008.
His love for baseball and his position as starting pitcher may have very well equipped him with the skills he needs to lead a successful career in the competitive world of insurance.
His teammates nicknamed him “Coop.” He played in what is arguably baseball’s most important position.
“The team relies on the starting pitcher to set the tone of the game which has a huge impact on whether a team wins or loses,” John said. “To be a good pitcher, you need to have a strong arm and be able to throw the ball accurately.”
John’s strength, accuracy and reliability in the game is exactly what garnered the attention of scouts with the Boston Red Sox and the Florida Marlins baseball teams in the 1990’s. And it’s those very same traits that have continued to serve him well in his brokerage career today.
And while a shoulder injury may have ended his successful stint in baseball, John believes he certainly did not leave the sport empty handed. He takes his skills to the plate for his insurance clients to help find them the best rates and coverages available for their specific needs.
His new office at 2600 Beach Blvd., Suite 27B, in Biloxi, will serve as his home base where current and future clients are welcome to visit for a free assessment and learn about all of the different products and services the company has to offer – all at affordable rates and uniquely tailored for any situation.
