FLOWOOD, Miss. — Atmos Energy has made a $50,000 donation it hopes will ensure Mississippi’s artistic history is preserved and enhanced for years to come.
The natural gas company, Monday presented checks of $25,000 each to GRAMMY Museum® Mississippi in Cleveland and the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Center in Meridian. ”If we don’t tell the story of the creativity and tell our story in Mississippi, who will?”asked Atmos Energy president David Gates, at a Monday press conference to present the checks. “This is our opportunity to do that by presenting these checks today.”
The GRAMMY Museum Mississippi, scheduled to open this fall in Cleveland, is expected to be a major attraction that will inspire and help shape the music and musicians of today and future generations. “We are absolute excited about what we are going to be able to offer to students in terms of education; and then of course bringing in tourism as part of the creative economy and top notch entertainment,” said Lucy Janoush, President of GRAMMY Museum® Mississippi.
The Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Center is scheduled to open in downtown Meridian in 2017. An interactive museum dedicated to celebrating Mississippi’s legacy, it will recognize and celebrate Mississippi artists in all areas—including dance, drama, literature, music, and the visual arts. “It’s purpose is to honor all the artist music that has come through Mississippi. We don’t think it’s one like this in the United States,” explained MAEC Board President Tommy Dulaney “we really appreciate this,” he said of the donation. “It’s gonna help make this possible.”
Atmos Energy has also donated to the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science and to the upcoming Mississippi Civil Rights Museum.
