After a year and a half working away from Vicksburg, Annette Kirklin has returned to continue her efforts of bringing events to the area.

“Vicksburg is such a great place,” said the new director of the Southern Cultural Heritage Center. “I want to get people to understand what Vicksburg needs to thrive.”

Kirklin had been working as assistant to the bishop and canons for the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi, but before that she spent five years as special projects coordinator for the Vicksburg Convention Center and Vicksburg Auditorium. It was there that she realized what Vicksburg has to offer, she said. Now, she will carry on efforts to archive and showcase history, culture, education and art — the mission of the Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation, which operates its center in the century-old buildings that composed the former St. Francis Xavier Academy, St. Francis convent and other buildings filling a block of downtown.

“It’s a challenge. But, the possibilities for this place are endless,” Kirklin said Thursday, her first day at the center, which is bounded by Cherry, Clay, Crawford and Adams streets.

The 20-year Vicksburg resident follows former director Bess Averett, who left six months ago to take a position with Ameristar Casino. While at the center, Averett, now an ex-officio board member, was credited with overseeing the $250,000 complete restoration of the Cobb House and a new affiliation with the Mississippi Museum of Art, establishing long-term tenants, receiving grants that led to rehabilitation of many of the buildings and diverse community programs and events.

Nancy Bell, chairman of the center’s board, said Kirklin was a standout among the 38 applicants and believes she will continue the momentum.

“It was an exhaustive search, and she came to the top of the list. We are pleased to be able to hire her for the position,” Bell said.

Kirklin said she believes she has the “heave-ho” to continue to move things forward, not only for the center, but also for the community, which has come to expect the center to offer fun and educational events.

“I put my heart into anything I do,” Kirklin said. “Whatever we do, I feel we can accomplish anything.”

Adding more programs at the center is one of the goals the board has for the center.

“We need things to help the community. I feel like I am here for that reason — to put things together,” she said. “I think, the more foot traffic we have through these buildings, the better of an understanding people would have.”

Kirklin will spend the first days in her new role “getting her feet wet” and working with the board to establish a program of work. Then, she plans to do what she does best.

“I am a people person. I really think this is going to be a great combination,” she said.

The City of Vicksburg purchased the block of buildings in 1994 with the mission of developing a multipurpose cultural center. Funding was gradually withdrawn until the center became a stand-alone, foundation-led operation in 2000. Its buildings and programs operate on corporate and private sponsorships, memberships and local, state and federal grants.

Last month, $196,000 was set aside for the center as part of Sen. Thad Cochran’s $774 million special projects funding for 2008. The money is from HUD’s Economic Development Initiative, a program that provides grants to local governments for revitalization projects. It will be used to rehabilitate the interior of the center’s auditorium, an Italianate building built in 1885. Averett, who went to Washington, D.C., to lobby for the federal allocation for two years, said the money will allow renovations to both floors and, eventually, a lift that will make the building handicapped accessible. The renovations will also include permanent gallery space in the center’s library. Additional funds, totaling $180,000, were awarded earlier this year from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. That money will be used to rehab the exterior of the building, which has been plagued with water problems, Averett said. She said she feels confident about passing the torch to Kirklin.

“I know Annette is more than capable of following through with this,” Averett said. “She will be the one to execute (the projects) and do what’s best for the center.”