[4/2/04]With 31 years of credit in the state retirement system, Jimmy Heidel said he will leave the helm of the Warren County Port Commission and begin drawing state retirement.

The veteran industrial recruiter said he will keep the other two positions he holds here executive director of the Vicksburg Warren County Chamber of Commerce and the Warren County Economic Development Foundation. Those organizations are nonprofits and not a part of the state retirement system.

He will begin his semiretirement April 15.

“I’ve got 31 years in the state retirement system, and I just feel like I’m loosing money that way,” Heidel said.

State retirement benefits use 30 years as a maximum for tenure purposes.

Heidel, 60, returned to Vicksburg in 2000 to resume his posts heading the three organizations after eight years as head of the Department of Economic and Community Development under former Gov. Kirk Fordice. He had nine years in Vicksburg before tapped by Fordice and previous service in other communities.

After leaving his post at the state, Heidel took the combined position here for $130,000 a year, which is paid through the Port Commission. He said he has not decided what his plans are yet, but is willing to stay on at the EDF and Chamber as long as those boards want him.

The EDF board was meeting Thursday night. The Chamber board meets again at 5:15 p.m. April 12. Cheryl Comans, president of the Chamber of Commerce board of directors, said she has not received any information about Heidel’s retirement and could not comment.

The Port Commission was created by state statute to manage industrial sites and parks for Warren County, including the E.W. Haining Industrial Center at the Port of Vicksburg and Ceres Industrial Interplex at Flowers. Four commissioners are appointed by county supervisors and one by the governor. They are also paid a stipend and become eligible for state pensions.

The director they hire manages the county’s industrial infrastructure, including revenue-producing facilities such as the port terminal, seeks grants and other funding and recruits new employers. Heidel, in his state role, was consistently named one of the top economic developers in America.

John Moss, president of the port board, said no decision has been made about replacing Heidel.

“We’ll probably operate just like we are until we have our next meeting and decide where we are,” Moss said.

The new port meeting is at 3 p.m. April 19 at the Chamber of Commerce office.

“This is something that I’ve enjoyed, but there just comes a time when you have to think about your family,” Heidel said.

He is married to Joanna Heidel and has two grown children and two grandchildren.

After enrollment in the retirement system, Heidel will have to wait 45 days before he can accept any other job through the state. One possibility would be working as a contract consultant.

Heidel, who was interviewed for the top economic development post in the new administration of Gov. Haley Barbour, said he has had no such offers.