Vicksburg and Warren County officials and business people will be at Vicksburg Catholic Schools Thursday to talk with students from St. Aloysius School at the Mayor’s Economic Development Update forum.

The forum was established by Vicksburg Catholic Schools to help students learn the basic concepts of economic development and recognize that Vicksburg is a viable location to work and live after graduation, according to information from the school.

The goal is to encourage all youth in Vicksburg and Warren County to take ownership in the future of our community.

“It’s a strategy we’re using to reach high school students to recruit them to return to the Vicksburg area (after graduation),” Mayor George Flaggs Jr., one of the panelists, said.

“I think this is best way to start recruiting young people to start getting involved by interacting with them.”

Flaggs said he hopes to see similar programs at the two public high schools and Porters Chapel in the future.

Besides Flaggs, other participants are Warren County Chamber of Commerce director Pablo Diaz; Laura Beth Strickland, Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau; Austin Golding,  Golding Barge Lines; Tim Cantwell, Cantwell-Anderson Inc.; and Sam Andrews, city of Vicksburg.

During the program, the panelists will share personal and professional experiences, and students will be able to talk with them through a question and answer session with panelists.