Secretary Carson promotes Opportunity Zones in Mississippi

Vicksburg Forest Products, in Vicksburg, Mississippi, is taking advantage of the Opportunity Zones program. Operation Shoestring in Jackson, Mississippi, offers afterschool enrichment activities to more than 200 children in an Opportunity Zone Secretary Carson was accompanied by Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant, HUD Southeast Regional Administrator Denise-Cleveland Leggett, state and local officials.

On December 20, 2018, Secretary Ben Carson visited Vicksburg Forest Products(www.flickr.com/photos/hudopa/albums/72157702984177082), one of the first projects in the country to take advantage of the Opportunity Zones (www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-reform-creates-opportunity-zone-tax-incentive) tax incentive.

Secretary Carson was accompanied by Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant, HUD Southeast Regional Administrator Denise-Cleveland Leggett, state and local officials. The Mississippi trip also included a visit to Operation Shoestring, a non-profit organization that conducts an afterschool enrichment program serving more than 200 children in an Opportunity Zone in the City of Jackson. HUD funds are invested in this facility, via Community and Development Block Grants from the City of Jackson.

The Secretary also visited the HUD Mississippi Field Office to meet with staff, listen to their questions, and share his vision and expectations for HUD.

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