Governor Announces Katrina Remembrance Commission

***Press Release***

BILOXI—At a news conference today on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Governor Phil Bryant announced the formation of the Katrina Remembrance Commission to help mark the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The commission will be chaired by former Governor Haley Barbour and former First Lady of Mississippi Marsha Barbour and will be co-chaired by the mayors and presidents of the boards of supervisors in Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties.

The commission will serve as an umbrella organization to help Gulf Coast communities plan and promote events commemorating the anniversary of the storm.

“We want to reach out to the entire Gulf Coast to honor those who were lost and those who put their lives on the line to respond and also to celebrate how far we have come in our recovery,” Gov. Phil Bryant said at the news conference. “We are on offense. Our infrastructure, our industries, our resorts and our entire Gulf Coast have made a remarkable comeback.

“It was Haley and Marsha Barbour who lead us through the dark days following the storm and laid the groundwork for where we are today. We are moving ahead with one coast and one recovery.”

August 29, 2015, will mark 10 years since Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Mississippi. The storm took the lives of 231 Mississippians and caused billions of dollars in damage.

“The people of the Gulf Coast are remarkable. There is just no quitting in them,” Gov. Bryant continued. “A decade since Katrina, how we’ve responded and recovered is a story that must continue to be told. We want to let local communities know that the state is with them to mark this anniversary and to finish strong. This tide raises all of our boats.”