Latest news with #HattiesburgConventionCommission
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Serengeti Springs hosts international students this summer
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WHLT) – Two dozen international students will spend their summer working at Serengeti Springs in Hattiesburg. More than 20 students from Thailand, Mexico, Jamaica and Colombia are participating in the park's J1 International Student Program. They will work as lifeguards, in ticketing and in food and retail services. The Hattiesburg Convention Commission has planned a full itinerary, including trips to New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The program offers students a chance to experience the American culture while gaining valuable work experience. USM rises in rankings for Best Education Schools in US 'We want to give them a great work experience and definitely the training, the hospitality, learning, things from the retail sector, from the food and beverage sector, from the aquatics world. And we hope that our staff, as well, get to embrace them, learn some things from them, and then they get some awesome things from us,' said Demetric Kelly, director of Guest Services and Retail with the Hattiesburg Convention Commission. 'This program has really helped me to open my mind and gave me understanding of different perspectives,' said Shenane Goodwin, a student from Jamaica. The students also received new wheels to explore the Hub City thanks to Moore's Bicycle Shop, which helped collect donated bikes from the community. They will call Hattiesburg home through the end of September. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Serengeti Springs at Hattiesburg Zoo offers new amenities
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WHLT) – Serengeti Springs at the Hattiesburg Zoo is gearing up for its second season. The water park is set to reopen on Memorial Day Weekend. This year, the park is focusing on expansion to better accommodate growing crowds. New cabanas and upgraded VIP premium cabanas are being added, offering guests more shade and comfort. Experience Twilight Nights at Hattiesburg Zoo this summer To keep families entertained during storms, the park will now offer indoor games and activities for kids. The park will also host several family and teen nights throughout the season. 'Our goal this year is to try to avoid turning anybody away,' said Rick Taylor, executive director of the Hattiesburg Convention Commission. Day passes will cost $23 to $35. Season passes are also on sale for $139. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hattiesburg Zoo will become cashless venue, increase admission prices
HATTIEBURG, Miss. (WHLT) – The Hattiesburg Zoo will transition to a cashless venue, and admission prices will increase by $2. According to Hattiesburg Zoo officials, this change will begin on March 1, 2025. 'We believe the change will enhance the overall experience for our guests,' said Demetric Kelly, director of Retail and Guest Experience. 'Becoming a cashless venue is also safer for our employees as they are not moving money throughout the facility or between the zoo and bank.' Eaglepalooza returns for first time since 2019 The zoo has a reverse ATM on site for guests who bring cash. Officials said cash will be transferred to a debit card, which can be used at any location that accepts MasterCard and Visa. Also beginning March 1, zoo admission prices will increase by $2. Officials said the $2 increase will help cover rising operational costs, such as maintenance, staffing, and improvements to the zoo's facilities and exhibits. 'Just like families facing increased pricing of groceries, medical costs and gas, our zoo has faced the rising cost of food, veterinary care and construction costs,' said Salem Bunkheila, director of Operations for the Hattiesburg Convention Commission. Admission Pricing (effective March 1, 2025) Category Online Gate Under 2 Free Free Child (2-12) $8 $10 Adult (13-64) $10 $12 Senior (65+) $9 $11 Groups (minimum 20 people) Child $7 $9 Adult $9 $11 Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'He served his community for decades': Hattiesburg icon Charles J. Brown dies at 86
Charles Brown spent most of his life doing things to benefit the people of his hometown. The Hattiesburg native was a man of faith, who always had a smile and a helping hand to lend. Brown died Feb. 6, but his legacy will continue for generations. He was 86. Because of his service to his community, Brown's name is engraved on many plaques on public buildings around the Hub City, including City Hall (as the first Veteran of the Year); the Library of Hattiesburg, Petal and Forrest County; the Lake Terrace Convention Center and other Hattiesburg Convention Commission entities including the Saenger Theater, African-American Military History Museum, Kamper Park and Zoo and Eureka School. In 2024, Brown established an endowed scholarship fund at his alma mater, William Carey University, to help Hattiesburg High School graduates who plan to go into the field of education. 'Charles J. Brown was exactly the kind of graduate we want at William Carey University," WCU President Ben Burnett said in an email. "He served his country, his family, his community for decades and his legacy will live on to serve this university for generations to come." Long before making a lasting commitment to WCU, Brown was a founding member of the Hattiesburg Convention Commission, where he contributed to the guidance of the commission's entities, beginning with the Lake Terrace Convention Center and ending with the Sixth Street Museum District, which puts a spotlight on the city's African American struggles and successes. 'As a founding member of the Commission, I have had the privilege of working with Mr. Brown for more than three decades,' Rick Taylor, executive director of the Hattiesburg Convention Commission, said in a statement. 'Mr. Brown was instrumental in helping guide and transition the Commission from its initial mission of creating and managing the Lake Terrace Convention Center to becoming what it is today, which is a catalyst and developer of attractions that not only improve the quality of life of the people who enjoy them but also grow the economy of our city.' The Convention Commission also operates amenities such as the city's zoo, water park and historic Saenger Theater. 'Our community should be forever grateful for his service,' Taylor said. Education: Hattiesburg's Charles Brown endows scholarship at Carey. 'So much has been given to me' The African American Military History Museum at the historic USO and the Historic Eureka School were among Brown's favorite restoration projects of the HCC, according to commission officials. They held sentimental value to him because of the role they played in his personal life, they said in an email. 'It is hard to put into words what Mr. Brown meant to me and the District," said Latoya Norman, director of museums for the Sixth Street Museum District. "I began working with the Commission in 2008 with very little military history knowledge, so meeting someone like Mr. Brown with his kind of experience was a bit intimidating, but I will always remember him welcoming me with open arms and offering unwavering support from the very beginning. "He was much more than a commissioner and committee member — he was our family and we will miss him tremendously.' Brown attended the historic Eureka School before graduating from L.J. Rowan in 1958, and worked as a janitor at the local community center formerly known as the East Sixth Street USO. Brown was a sergeant first class in the Army, where he served 11 years. He was honorably discharged in 1969 for medical reasons, but not before he earned two Purple Hearts, two Bronze Stars for valor and many other citations while with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam. Following his military service, Brown returned to Hattiesburg and attended William Carey University, graduating in 1973. After graduation, he joined the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, where he worked until he retired in 2000. Brown was a lifelong member of True Light Missionary Baptist Church, where he served in many roles. "One of the many times I was honored to hear Mr. Brown speak in public, he talked about the journey that brought him to William Carey University," Burnett said. "He said that he chose William Carey because it was somewhere he could pray." Brown is survived by his three children, including twin sons, Jerome Brown and Jermaine Brown, and seven grandchildren. Visitation for Charles Brown will begin at 8 a.m. Friday at the Hattiesburg Saenger Theater, 201 Forrest St., followed by a service at 11 a.m., also at the Saenger. Memorial donations may be made to the Charles J. Brown Scholarship Fund at William Carey University at Forrest Funeral Home of Hattiesburg is handling arrangements. Lici Beveridge is a reporter for the Hattiesburg American and Clarion Ledger. Contact her at lbeveridge@ Follow her on X @licibev or Facebook at This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Charles J. Brown remembered at Saenger Theater service in Hattiesburg
