PHOTO: Connie Taunton, LinkedIn
NATCHEZ, Miss.- After 25 years of working as the Director of Tourism at the Natchez Convention and Visitor Bureau, Connie Taunton decided it was time to take time off for her family and herself.
She has dedicated many years to making Natchez and the rest of the state a great place to visit. Her marketing skills, event planning, and efforts to draw people to Mississippi has made tourist enjoy their time visiting and brought many back to visit again. This has been shown through their success over the years.
The Natchez Convention and Visitor Bureau is located at the welcome center when entering the state from Louisiana near the Mississippi River. It gives the visitors a complete guide of some of the state’s greatest attractions, the history of areas in Mississippi, they host weddings, events and is the home of multiple historical homes that are a huge attraction to Mississippians and those visiting from out of the state.
Taunton’s decision to retire from the Natchez Convention and Visitor Bureau came after a devastating house fire took her entire home and everything in it. There had also been multiple family deaths the past couple years that really took a toll on her. She told the Natchez Democrat, now is the time for her to focus on rebuilding her home and health.
Even though she will be missed and will miss working there she said she plans on still sticking around as a volunteer.
She announced her decision to Mayor Butch Brown to retire Monday morning and it would go into effect April 1. Her replacement to take on the role of attracting more visitors and keeping tourism up in the state has not yet been announced.
