Jackson Free Press

City Awards Grants to Five Jackson Businesses

The City of Jackson awarded grants totaling nearly $30,000 to five local businesses from the Small Business Development Grant and Storefront Improvement Grant programs.

The Storefront Improvement program awarded the largest grant, which totaled $10,000, to McElroy and Associates, also known as M3A Architecture. The firm, located at 4880 McWillie Circle, has worked with the City on several architectural projects in recent years, including the JATRAN Administrative and Maintenance Facility and renovations to City Hall.

Grants were also rewarded to Celebrity Cuts ($2,635), The Property Shop Real Estate Firm ($5,000), the Law Offices of Charlinda Miller Florence ($4,010) and Community Lawn Care ($8,167).

AMA Honors Shirley

The American Medical Association honored Dr. Aaron Shirley with the Excellence in Medicine Award at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. The AMA awarded the Jackson Medical Mall Foundation a $2,500 grant in Shirley's honor for his lifelong commitment to providing medical care to underserved patients in Jackson.

Shirley, the founder of the Jackson Medical Mall and the chairman of the Board of Directors for the Jackson Medical Mall Foundation, was the first African American to take pediatric residency at the University of Mississippi in 1965.

In 1970, he helped create the Jackson Hinds Comprehensive Health Center, a nonprofit organization that specializes in planning and development of comprehensive health services for Jackson residents, which has become the largest center of its type in Mississippi.

Shirley received a MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship in 1993 and has received numerous other honors and awards, including the Governor's Initiative for Volunteer Excellence Award in 2009.

The Excellence in Medicine Award is granted to a select group of physicians every year who are "committed to community service and improving access to health care on a local or international level" by the AMA Foundation and Pfizer Inc.

Luvata Announces Another Grenada Expansion

Luvata, a metal solutions manufacturing and engineering services company, has announced a $1 million expansion to the company's production capabilities in Grenada. The expansion is expected to include 20 new jobs.

"I applaud Luvata officials for their decision to further expand in Grenada and create additional job opportunities for Mississippi workers," Gov. Phil Bryant said in a press release. "The company's continued investment in Mississippi is a great testament to the quality of our state's work force and our business climate."

The expansion will be Luvata's second in Grenada in less than a year. The company made another $1 million expansion to their aluminum production plant in August of 2011.

"Luvata's Grenada operations are providing metal services to customers around the globe, and I am pleased the company is once again expanding to reach an even wider range of consumers," Jim Barksdale, Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) interim executive director, said in press release. "I thank the company for its ongoing commitment to its workers and to doing business in Grenada, and I am grateful MDA was able to assist with this project."