Nelson Haskin Jr., an Army veteran and downtown Hattiesburg restaurateur who has staked his claim on Front Street, has been named the 2022 Hattiesburg Veteran of the year by the city’s Veteran of the Year Selection Committee.
Haskin – who with his wife Felicia owns Southbound Bagel and Coffee Shop, Nellie’s Chicken and Daquiris, Hattiesburgers and Blues, Blu Jazz Café and the upcoming Bourbon on Front Street – was announced as this year’s recipient during a media conference Friday at Veterans Memorial Park in downtown. Haskin has lived in the Hub City for more almost 40 years and will honored during the upcoming November 11 Veterans Day ceremony.
“I’m very thankful and humbled to be here,” Haskin said. “We’re definitely proud and humbled to be a part of the rebirth of downtown Hattiesburg, along with the other entrepreneurs.
“I looked at the past winners of (the Veteran of the Year award) last night on the website, and just some of the names really humbled me to a part of that group. I was looking at it like, ‘I don’t even know if I deserve to be on this list.’ It’s just a lot of great people, and so just to be a part of that is very humbling.”
Haskin, a Sergeant 1st Class, served part time in the Army National Guard from 1995 until 2001, as well as in the Army National Guard Active Reserve from 2008 until 2020. He was honorably discharged in October 2020 after more than 20 years of service.
A 2013 graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, Nelson began his restaurant career in 1996 as server at Chesterfield’s in Hattiesburg before eventually being promoted to manager there. In 2017, he and his wife opened Blu Jazz Café, the first of his endeavors on Front Street.
“Today, you will find him humbly serving as ‘The King of Front Street,’” said retired Colonel Sheila Varnado, who serves as chair of the Hattiesburg Veteran of the Year Selection Committee. “Haskin, a visionary leader, can see what can be, then works hard to turn it into to reality.
“Not only does he work hard for himself and his family, but he unselfishly makes time to provide his invaluable industry insight, business advice and mentorship to other aspiring entrepreneurs in Hattiesburg – with, of course, a special affinity for new businesses opening in downtown Hattiesburg. (He is) a true and time-tested servant/leader.”
In addition, Mayor Toby Barker and Ted Tibbett, who serves on the Hattiesburg Veteran of the Year Selection Committee, announced the slate of events planned for the Veterans Day ceremony on November 11.
“We have a lot of events at the city, and our community is blessed that a lot is going on, but there are a couple of events that I really ask people to support,” Barker said. “One of those is Memorial Day, and the other is Veterans Day.
“There can be no greater place to show up than to thank someone who has risked their life, who has put their life on hold in the service of our country. When we think about Hattiesburg’s story over its 140-year history, those veterans were a key and central part of shaping this city to what it is.”
The ceremony will begin with the annual parade at 10 a.m. at Hardy Street Baptist Church; the parade will roll down Hardy Street and disembark at Veterans Memorial Park.
In a special event for this year’s ceremony, a plaque that was erected during the establishment of the park in 1984 will be relocated to a more visible area and the park will be re-dedicated. Haskin, along with Charles Brown – who was the first person to be named Hattiesburg Veteran of the Year – will unveil the plaque.
“We’re going to have some great, moving music at the program, and we’re going to honor every past Veteran of the Year, from Charles Brown all the way through to Nelson Haskin,” Tibbett said. “So it’s going to be a great day with a spiritual uplift.
“We look forward to seeing everybody.”
