Creative economy ranges far afield

Examples of the Greenwood area’s creative economy aren’t just found in stores and studios. They also can be found in the fields.

Take rice producers Delta Blue Rice and Mississippi Blue Rice. Their products are found in stores and restaurants all over the nation. They have a flavor that’s unique to rice grown in this area.

The creative economy is the focus of the 31st annual edition of Profile, which is included in today’s Commonwealth.

Other subjects of stories in the cover section include Fan & Johnny’s Taylor Ricketts, Hope Enterprise Corp.’s Bill Bynum, the husband-and-wife duo of Tim and Cindy Tyler at Mississippi Gift Co., brotherly hotel entrepreneurs Suresh and Dinesh Chawla and architectural firm Beard + Riser.

Richard Beattie is the 2017 Community Service Award recipient. The award winner is presented annually in Profile.

Beattie, who moved to Greenwood more than 30 years ago, has been heavily involved in leadership roles in the Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce, the Community Kitchen and Greenwood Little Theatre.

He started the Celebrity Waiter Dinner that supports the Community Kitchen, and he is a founder and chief organizer of Bikes, Blues & Bayous, the largest bike ride in Mississippi.

“Richard is one of those rare individuals who not only comes up with great ideas but goes out and executes them,” said Tim Kalich, the Commonwealth’s editor and publisher.

“He is a model of community service that all of us could stand to emulate.”

The award comes with a $1,000 donation to a charity of the winner’s choice, as well as a bronze medal. Beattie has chosen to give his prize to the Shakespeare Boot Camp, a summer project of Greenwood Little Theatre and ArtPlace Mississippi.

Other stories in the 104-page Profile edition include the 100th anniversary of the Chamber of Commerce, the success of the hometown Bank of Commerce, the changing face of downtown Greenwood and Ray Nash’s increasingly rare business — a “full service” service station.