1. Successful Public Involvement Starts at the Top
The Hattiesburg, Petal, Forrest, Lamar Metropolitan Planning Organization is the recipient of the Mississippi Chapter of the American Planning
Association’s 2016 Public Outreach Award. Pictured above from left to right: Mike Essary, Neel-Schaffer, Inc.; Board President Carter Carroll, Ward 3
Hattiesburg City Council; Donna Lum, Owner, Beyond Communication LLC; City of Hattiesburg Department of Federal and State Programs Director
and HPFL Metropolitan Planning Organization Executive Director LaKeylah White; Mayor Johnny L. DuPree, Ph.D.; and Corey Proctor/APA MS,
Forrest County Planning Department.
October 2016 ----Because leaders with the City of Hattiesburg are
committed to providing opportunities for people to be involved in the
decision-making processes that affect their lives, the Mississippi Chapter
of the American Planning Association recently awarded the 2016 Public
Outreach Award to the Hattiesburg, Petal, Forrest, Lamar Metropolitan
Planning Organization (MPO).
“I am honored to accept this award on behalf of the City of Hattiesburg,”
said Mayor Johnny DuPree during a recent City Council Meeting. “Pro-
viding opportunities for people to be involved in government activities
that impact their lives is a priority of this administration. We remain
committed to continuing this inclusive atmosphere and look forward to
continuing to hear from our constituents.”
City of Hattiesburg Department of Federal and State Programs Director,
LaKeylah White, and Executive Director, HPFL MPO, said the award
recognizes those programs and/or individuals who use information and
education to raise awareness about the value of planning.
“The Hattiesburg MPO, working in partnership with the Mississippi
Department of Transportation (MDOT), the Federal Highway Administra-
tion (FHWA) and the state’s other MPOs, used a comprehensive, holistic
approach in developing a written public involvement plan that included
social media as an engagement tool and an educational video that
helped people understand why they should be involved in long-range
transportation planning and how to let their voices be heard,” White said.
“We used easy-to-understand language and incorporated humor to gen-
erate interest and capture the attention of our audiences,” White said.
“The video we developed explains the purpose and need of the MPO,
the importance of becoming engaged with planning initiatives, and the
benefits citizens will realize once they choose to let their voices be heard
– all in a light-hearted, humorous tone.”
White explained that engaging the public in any planning process is
usually challenging, but even more so with a long-range horizon of 20
years, such as the one used in transportation planning. She said often
citizens who participate in long-range transportation planning at the
regional level experience confusion and meeting fatigue when asked to
participate again in statewide long-range transportation planning.
Contracting agencies that participated in the development of the public
involvement plan for the HPFL MPO included the following: Neel-Schaffer
Inc., Russell Media Consultants, and SOL Engineering Services, LLC.
“I’d like to publicly thank Donna Lum for the leadership she provided when
developing the plan and for bringing together the members of the team,”
White said. “Her skill as a facilitator and public practitioner is exceptional.”