Bill Text: MS SC665 | 2012 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commend Paula April, Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention Center Sales Manager, on retirement.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2012-05-02 - Enrolled Bill Signed [SC665 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2012-SC665-Enrolled.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2012 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Gollott, Tindell
Senate Concurrent Resolution 665
(As Adopted by Senate and House)
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING AND COMMENDING PAULA APRIL, LONGTIME DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND SALES AT THE MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST CONVENTION CENTER, ON THE OCCASION OF HER RETIREMENT.
WHEREAS, it took 75 days for Paula April to rise from breakfast waitress to Sales Manager of a major Biloxi hotel. In the 34 years that followed, she chased her dream to become one of the most respected people in South Mississippi's tourism industry and in the community; and
WHEREAS, her decision to retire took four years, and April will wrap up her job as Director of Marketing and Sales at the Mississippi Coast Convention Center. That will give her more time to volunteer at her church and the many groups she has promoted since she and her husband, Arch, moved to South Mississippi in the 1970s; and
WHEREAS, her goal when she went to work in 1978 was to achieve the same level of success as Leigh MacConnell, longtime Director of Sales at Broadwater Beach Hotel and "Queen of Tourism" in South Mississippi. Bill Holmes, Executive Director of the Coast Coliseum and Convention Center, said April achieved just that, with her own style; and
WHEREAS, in 1994, Bill Holmes hired April as Sales Manager at the Convention Center. He told her to just grab hold of the position and go. She took on more responsibility, including keeping tradeshow vendors inside their allotted spaces. Holmes said April is loyal and productive, the qualities she long admired in Miss Leigh; and
WHEREAS, April found one of the biggest challenges at the Convention Center was coming back from Hurricane Katrina, when the front doors of the Coliseum washed to the back of her office. Another challenge was staying open while the Center was remodeled and expanded to become one of the best convention centers anywhere in the South. Just one convention will have an economic impact of $1.6 Million; and
WHEREAS, April did not get the job she wanted when she applied for a sales position at what was then the Sheraton Hotel and later the Royal D'Iberville Hotel and Treasure Bay Casino. Instead, she started work in March 1978 as a breakfast waitress. Soon she was collecting the most tips and serving as Sales Manager every day. "Royal D'Iberville was one of the premier convention hotels in Biloxi and hosted 1950s dances and Country-Western theme nights," said Fred Hornsby, General Manager there for several years. "Paula always came dressed to the hilt," he said. "It was all about getting the job done. Everything was all-the-way Paula." Linda Hornsby, Director of the Mississippi Hotel and Lodging Association, said April put her heart and soul into everything she did. "Her jobs were not just jobs to her"; and
WHEREAS, retirement will expand her role as a "volunteer guru," giving more of her time and talents to Our Lady of Fatima, the Ohr Museum Board, Beta Sigma Phi Sorority, Quota Club and other groups. She also plans to continue the Christmas extravaganza she and her husband put on every year, filling their home with 170 boxes of decorations and a holiday feast she prepares for hundreds of friends. When she retires, people will say, "Paula April really helped put us on the map" — just as they remember Paula for her contributions to South Mississippi tourism:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby recognize and commend Paula April, longtime Director of Marketing and Sales at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention Center, on the occasion of her retirement, and extend to her and her family our best wishes on this auspicious occasion.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Paula April, forwarded to Executive Director Bill Holmes, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.
