Copeland to moderate meeting on river posted Wednesday, September 12th, 2012 @ 12:52 pm  E-mail Story |  Print Story  Vidalia Mayor Hyram Copeland will moderate the first Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI) Organizational Meeting this week in St. Louis, Mo. Copeland will moderate on Thursday for "Floods & Droughts: Mitigating, Insuring and Developing in Their Path." "I don't think anybody knows more about this issue than we do here in Vidalia," Copeland said. "And you can throw in hurricanes." Those involved in the session include Sandra Knight, Deputy Federal Insurance Mitigation Administrator for Mitigation, FEMA; Chad Berginnis, Executive Director, Association of State Floodplain Managers; and Jasper Grant, Acting Missouri Executive Director, Farm Service Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture. "I am honored to be asked to serve as a moderator and it is a very big privilege," Copeland said. "The river is our greatest asset. But it can also be our greatest liability. We're fortunate to be located on one of the mightiest rivers in the world. But sometimes there are consequences and we have learned how to endure those consequences." The conference has a theme titled, "A River Runs Through Us." The lower Mississippi generates $128 billion in revenue annually, creating 700,000 jobs. For the full story, subscribe to the The Concordia Sentinel's NEW E-Edition!