Mississippi Sportsman Caucus

Representative Bubba Carpenter Brings Mississippi Sportsmen’s Caucus to Tishomingo County

Legislators and their families enjoy a catered meal at J. P. Coleman State Park Lodge after a day of fishing on Pickwick Lake.

Representative Lester “Bubba” Carpenter hosted the annual meeting of the Mississippi Sportsmen’s Caucus in Tishomingo County. Mississippi state legislators and their families from all over Mississippi visited Tishomingo County to tour the area and to fish Pickwick Lake.

The Mississippi Sportsmen’s Caucus is part of a national effort to protect America’s outdoor recreation traditions. The success of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus in Washington sparked the creation of a network of state legislative sportsmen’s caucuses in 2004. Currently, the state legislative sportsmen’s caucuses include 38 states with over 2,000 legislators. Mississippi leads the nation in the number of legislators joining the state sportsmen’s caucus.

537,000 sportsmen in Mississippi spend over $863 million per year and support over 17,000 jobs for Mississippians.

Representative Carpenter stressed that “ the sportsmen’s caucuses are the first line of defense of the rights of sportsmen and women. We have come together as a team to oppose legislation that is restrictive to hunting and fishing and to sponsor legislation that protects and enhances the rights of sportsmen and women. I invited the members of the Mississippi Sportsmen’s Caucus to Tishomingo County to showcase our parks and lakes.”

Many of the legislators and their families had never visited Tishomingo County before and were complimentary about the scenic beauty and outdoor recreation resources of the area.

Representative Phillip Gunn of Clinton remarked that “his wife was planning another trip back to Tishomingo county for a couple of days. I had visited many years ago but had forgotten how beautiful this area is.”

Representative Bubba Carpenter addresses the 60 attendees at the Mississippi Sportsmen’s Caucus at J. P. Coleman State Park.

Representative Scott Delano of Biloxi reported that “we came up in our motor home and decided to spend four days here. It is fun to fish without worrying about sharks and sting rays.”

First District Supervisor Brandon Grissom stated that “we welcome you to Tishomingo County and hope you will return soon. The board of supervisors is proud of our county and we work hard to keep our county neat and clean. We appreciate the hard work that the Mississippi Sportsmen’s Caucus does in protecting and promoting outdoor recreation.”

Representative Carpenter said that “we thank all of our visitors and we offer a special thanks to Ms. Ruth Watson and her staff for making us feel welcome at J. P. Coleman State Park. We feel that J. P. Coleman State Park is one of Mississippi’s most beautiful parks, and we are proud of the great job that Ms. Watson and her staff do.”

Jeremiah Bell, son of Representataive Donnie Bell of Itawamba County, is the excited winner of a door prize at the Mississippi Sportsmen’s Caucus meeting at J. P. Coleman State Park.