Going where the people want to go
According to Mayor Johnny L. DuPree, Ph.D., all roads lead to Hattiesburg. He’s not alone in his assessment of the importance of the city – Hattiesburg is also known as the Hub City of the South, a prospering region for economic development, education, the arts, health care, retirement, and raising a family.
“CNN and Forbes Magazine also said it’s a great place to launch a business,” said Mayor DuPree, “It’s a great city and, of course, Brett Farve played for the University of Southern Mississippi and lives in Hattiesburg.”
DuPree was elected Mayor of Hattiesburg in 2001, after serving three terms on the Forrest County Board of Supervisors. However, politics was not on his mind while earning a master’s degree in Political Science and a doctorate degree in Urban Studies.
“I went into sales after graduating, but I have always been interested in community development,” he said. “And after being appointed to the school board in 1987 and seeing how things worked and didn’t work, I decided this was where I needed to be, helping the community and doing things that had only been talked about in the past.”
