Mississippi Main Street wins top honors at Pinnacle Awards Gala in Hattiesburg

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) - Mississippi Main Street Association bested over 100 nominations from Corinth to the Coast to take home the top prize at the Pinnacle Awards Gala on Tuesday night.

Hosted by the Lake Terrance Convention Center in Hattiesburg, the 2003 event showcased the state’s greatest public relations talent.

The annual awards recognize excellence and outstanding achievements in sales, marketing and community engagement. As the top prize, the Mississippi Pinnacle Award by the Sales and Marketing Professionals is a highly coveted honor that brings in hundreds of nominations from across the state.

An out-of-state panel of judges takes the nominations and narrows the list of Magnolia State hopefuls to a “Dandy Dozen” in each competition category: individuals, businesses/organizations and events.

“The Mississippi Main Street Association is incredibly honored to receive the 2023 Mississippi Pinnacle Award,” said Thomas Gregory, MMSA executive director. “Our team works hard to serve and support our local Main Street communities throughout the state, and we are grateful to be recognized for the work we do to facilitate the revitalization of Mississippi’s historic downtowns.”

Vasti Jackson, who won the 2022 Mississippi Pinnacle Award for his work as a Mississippi musical ambassador, returned this year to perform and present the 2023 overall award.

Monies raised through the Pinnacle Awards Gala go to providing annual scholarships to high-achieving high school and college students. Known as the Rising Star Scholarships, these awards are given to students pursuing careers in sales, marketing, public relations or community engagement.

“Sales and Marketing Professionals salute the achievements and talents of Mississippi owners, directors, account executives, event planners and community volunteers who are an integral part of the Magnolia State,” said Michael Marks, Mississippi Pinnacle Awards chair. “We celebrate the vision of the practitioners, who acknowledge as a sign of success, the premise that we should all know and be able to tell our civic stories!”

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