The City of Hattiesburg had an eventful week at the Mississippi Municipal League’s 92nd annual conference, with Mayor Toby Barker being named as the organization’s president and the city taking home the conference’s “Best Overall” award for the Hattiesburg Pocket Museum and Alley.
BARKER
The conference was held this week on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where Barker ascended to the presidency after being elected as second vice president by MML membership during the 89the annual conference in 2021. He is the third Hattiesburg mayor to serve as president, along with former mayors Ed Morgan and Johnny DuPree.
“It’s a great honor to serve in this role for 300 cities, towns and villages across the state,” Barker said. “I was elected two years ago as second vice president, and I’ve rotated up each year (since then).
“I’ve had the opportunity to learn from some really talented public servants, and I look forward to hopefully seeing a year of great success of legislative advocacy, and encouraging our fellow mayors, city councils and boards of aldermen around the state to do what they can to better their cities.”
In the one-year term, Barker will continue to help the MML lobby state and federal legislatures; provide education for elected municipal officials; offer technical support; represent municipalities with public and private entities; and serve as a networking media for municipal members.
“For me, I like being on the ground, hearing what other cities are going through and what their needs are,” Barker said. “Then (I enjoy) trying to wither connect them with the resources that can help them, or advocating for changes in law and invest in infrastructure with the Mississippi Legislature.
“There are several meetings over the next year that I chair, but I think a lot of the work is trying to ongoing dialogue with the many mayors and other elected officials in the cities and towns.”
At the end of this term, Barker will become past president and will be succeeded by Cleveland Mayor Billy Nowell, who currently serves as first vice president.
In one of his first acts as 2nd Vice President, Barker appointed members to the MML board of directors, including Petal Mayor Tony Ducker. Barker said in doing so, he attempted to get a cross-section of members that represents the Southern District of the MML.
That district is comprised of cities in the Pine Belt, the Gulf Coast and the southwest portion of Mississippi – including Hattiesburg, Lumberton, Ellisville, Bay St. Louis, Petal and Seminary.
POCKET MUSEUM AND ALLEY
Located in an undisclosed alley in downtown Hattiesburg, the pocket museum is overseen by the Hattiesburg Convention Commission and bills itself as “Mississippi’s Tiniest Museum.” Its exhibits, which change every month, can range from collections of Smurfs to shrunken heads and Woodstock memorabilia.
In addition to the museum, galleries and numerous outdoor art installations are featured in the alley, including a Kelsey Montague painting on the city parking garage across from the museum window, and two Damian Guerrero street-art installations. Visitors to the alley also can check out the changing miniature model dioramas, which can be found on electrical boxes, ledges and nooks up and down the alley.
“I think that’s very nice (to win ‘Best Overall’ at MML),” said Rick Taylor, executive director of the Hattiesburg Convention Commission. “I’m happy for our community and for Hattiesburg, and certainly for the interest the public has shown in that attraction.”
The idea for the museum and alley project was instituted in 2019, but fast-tracked in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to allow people to safely enjoy outdoor activities. The site now brings approximately 10,000 visitors to downtown Hattiesburg each week.
“So the whole point of doing it was to kind of create something that people could come to any time of day, and be outside and safe,” Taylor said. “We kind of joke about it a little bit, that it took on a life and now we can’t quit (adding to it).”
