{"id":150315,"date":"2025-07-02T22:08:24","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T03:08:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=150315"},"modified":"2025-07-02T22:08:25","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T03:08:25","slug":"visit-oxfords-kinney-ferris-to-serve-as-secretary-treasurer-of-mississippi-tourism-association","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/visit-oxfords-kinney-ferris-to-serve-as-secretary-treasurer-of-mississippi-tourism-association\/","title":{"rendered":"Visit Oxford\u2019s Kinney Ferris to Serve as Secretary\/Treasurer Of Mississippi Tourism Association\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>\u00a0The<strong> Mississippi Tourism Association (MTA)<\/strong>, the state\u2019s voice of tourism for over 35 years, is pleased to announce its elected board of officers for 2025-2026. <strong>Visit Oxford<\/strong>\u2019s Executive Director, <strong>Kinney Ferris<\/strong>, began serving as the state association\u2019s secretary\/treasurer as of July 1.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The MTA Executive Board also includes the following members:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Laura Beth Strickland<\/strong>, Executive Director &#8211; Visit Vicksburg: MTA President <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Kurt Allen<\/strong>, President &amp; CEO \u2013 Mississippi Aquarium: President Elect <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Paige Hunt<\/strong>, Director of Tourism \u2013 Visit Starkville: Vice President\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dr. <strong>Rickey Thigpen<\/strong>, President &amp; CEO &#8211; Visit Jackson: Past President\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>President Laura Beth Strickland said, &#8220;Mississippi tourism plays a vital role in driving the state\u2019s economy, contributing significantly to job creation, local businesses, and overall economic\u00a0development. I am excited and honored to serve as this year\u2019s president of Mississippi Tourism\u00a0Association as we work to enhance the guest experience through our workforce development programs and celebrate Mississippi\u2019s distinctive blend of Southern hospitality, rich history, and vibrant culture. The goal is to foster innovation and collaboration across all sectors of the\u00a0industry\u2014from hotels and restaurants to entertainment and local attractions\u2014ensuring that visitors enjoy a memorable, seamless experience. The tourism industry is expected to continue its positive impact, generating billions in revenue and supporting thousands of jobs across\u00a0hospitality, retail, and service sectors. From major attractions to small, locally owned businesses,\u00a0every part of the tourism ecosystem benefits from the influx of visitors. Leading the hospitality industry in Mississippi is an incredible responsibility and opportunity to shape the future of tourism and service excellence in the state. I am looking forward to working together to strengthen Mississippi\u2019s position as a competitive destination in the national and global travel\u00a0markets as well as support destinations that people not only want to visit but also will choose to\u00a0live.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/KinneyFerris.JPG.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"525\" height=\"525\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/KinneyFerris.JPG.jpg?resize=525%2C525\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-150316\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/KinneyFerris.JPG.jpg?w=525&amp;ssl=1 525w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/KinneyFerris.JPG.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/KinneyFerris.JPG.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 525px) 100vw, 525px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Kinney Ferris is the Executive Director of Visit Oxford, a position she has held since November\u00a02019, after serving in various roles within the organization since 2009. A graduate of the\u00a0<strong>University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) <\/strong>with a degree in Hospitality Management, Ferris began her\u00a0career in the events industry in her hometown of <strong>Tupelo<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As Executive Director, Ferris has focused on implementing an outcome-driven approach to\u00a0marketing Oxford as a premier destination in the Southeast. Under her leadership, Visit Oxford\u00a0 has earned numerous prestigious awards, including the 2022 Tourism Office of the Year by the\u00a0Southeast Tourism Society\u2014the first regional award in the organization\u2019s history. Visit Oxford\u00a0was also recognized as the Tourism Office of the Year by the Mississippi Tourism Association in\u00a0both 2022 and 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to these honors, Ferris and her team have garnered several accolades from\u00a0Mississippi Tourism Association, including the Best Social Media Presence award in 2021 and a Partnerships award for launching the <strong>Visit the Cities of the SEC <\/strong>initiative with Starkville in\u00a02022. Other recent accomplishments include multiple 2024 awards, such as the Bronze HSMAI Adrian Award for Best of Advertising \u2013 Brand Campaign, Best CVB from Convention South\u00a0 Readers&#8217; Choice, Best Marketing Award from the Southeast Tourism Society, Best Digital Media\u00a0 Award from the Mississippi Tourism Association, and the Champions of Economic Impact in\u00a0 Sports Tourism Award from Sports Destination Management. Oxford was also named Best\u00a0 Small College Town by USA Today in 2024. Ferris was honored with the Mississippi Tourism\u00a0 Association\u2019s Member of the Year Award in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Under Ferris&#8217; leadership, Visit Oxford has seen impressive growth, including a 41.5% increase in\u00a0 its budget. Ferris remains dedicated to enhancing Oxford\u2019s reputation as a vibrant and thriving\u00a0 community while driving economic growth through tourism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTourism continues to be a cornerstone of Mississippi\u2019s economy, generating billions in revenue\u00a0 and driving opportunity across every region of our state,\u201d said <strong>Danielle Morgan<\/strong>, Executive Director of the Mississippi Tourism Association. \u201cThis progress is the result of tireless work by\u00a0our tourism professionals and the shared commitment of state and local leaders who recognize the value of investing in our industry. As we enter a new year, we are proud to welcome a dynamic slate of leaders who bring energy, insight, and a deep understanding of both the\u00a0opportunities and challenges ahead. Their guidance will help us strengthen our industry, support\u00a0our members, and build a more connected and resilient tourism economy. The continued\u00a0dedication of our volunteer leadership is vital to our mission, and with this outstanding team in place, MTA is poised for another impactful year of growth and collaboration.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to executive board leadership, the MTA Board of Directors is comprised of three&nbsp; members from five regions throughout the state, as well as three at-large positions.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The voice of tourism, the Mississippi Tourism Association is a membership organization whose mission is to unite all sectors of the tourism industry through advocacy, promotion, and education. MTA\u2019s vision is to transform Mississippi\u2019s economy through increased visitor\u00a0spending and overall travel industry growth. For more than 30 years, MTA has led the\u00a0Mississippi\u2019s tourism education and advocacy efforts. Membership and organization details can\u00a0be found at www.mstourism.com<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/TheLocalVoiceLigature-25web.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"25\" height=\"16\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/TheLocalVoiceLigature-25web.jpg?resize=25%2C16\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14544\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0The Mississippi Tourism Association (MTA), the state\u2019s voice of tourism for over 35 years, is pleased to announce<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":238,"featured_media":150318,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[17646,32079,5,642,7067,4,753,5207,655],"class_list":["post-150315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-kinney-ferris","tag-laura-beth-stricland","tag-mississippi","tag-ms","tag-ole-miss","tag-oxford","tag-tlv","tag-tourism","tag-university-of-mississippi"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/MTA_primary-navy.png?fit=400%2C168&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/238"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150315"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150315\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":150319,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150315\/revisions\/150319"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}