Mississippi Economic Council

The Mississippi Economic Council has been the voice of Mississippi business since 1949. MEC deals with broad issues that relate to businesses through advocacy, research, resources and leadership. MEC has more than 8,000 members from 1,100 member firms throughout Mississippi.
The organization’s roots go back to December 1948, when more than 300 people gathered in the Heidelberg Hotel in Jackson for an organizational meeting of the Mississippi Economic Council.

Greenville business executive Edmund Taylor was chosen as the first Chair of MEC when the organization was chartered in 1949.
M.B. Swayze served as CEO of MEC from 1949-1968, and Bob Pittman was the organization’s CEO from 1968-1998.
Today, the Mississippi Economic Council continues to be the voice of business in Mississippi. By pulling together coalitions and building a united business front, MEC deals with broad issues that move Mississippi forward through Advocacy, Research, Resources and Leadership.

MEC still continues to follow its founding principles of:

• MEC pulls together coalitions to make overall statewide progress.

• MEC focuses on fairness and equality.

• MEC is building a base of involvement to have a united business front.

Building A Sense of Statewide Community:

Advocacy: MEC has been the voice of business since 1949. Today, we use a high-tech, two-way communication database aimed at linking more than 8,000 business leaders in an effort to influence the legislative process within minutes.

Research: Recommendations are based on thorough investigation and sophisticated polling so that MEC issues fully reflect those of business leaders across Mississippi.

Resources: Benefits are designed to save members time and money, and programs are aimed at providing business leaders access to the policy-making process.

Leadership: MEC is an independent, statewide organization of business and professional leaders that is focused on the future. To build our future, we offer one of the most prestigious leadership training programs available.