Blake Wilson
President
Blake Wilson is President of the Mississippi Economic Council, serving as only the third executive of the State Chamber of Commerce in 50 years.
He came to MEC in 1998 from the Florida Chamber of Commerce where he served as Executive Vice President -- and where he developed the most sophisticated grassroots member legislative action program in the nation.
Previously, Blake was Executive Director of Associated Builders & Contractors' in Delaware and prior to that, spent nearly 10 years with the Delaware Chamber of Commerce. Before entering the association business, he spent nine years as a newspaper editor and reporter.
His expertise is building an involved membership capable of winning positive legislative change to stimulate investment, entrepreneurship and opportunity.
During his tenure there has been tremendous growth in the membership of the Mississippi Economic Council. There are now more than 8,000 members from 1,200 member firms from throughout Mississippi. Also, under Blake’s leadership, MEC has worked with state leaders and other organizations on public policy issues designed to improve Mississippi’s economic competitiveness.
MEC has been at the forefront on several major initiatives including:
- Updating the state’s Economic Development program
- Helping pass Tort Reform
- Organizing Blueprint Mississippi, the state’s multi-year economic strategic plan, which led to the formation of Momentum Mississippi
- Supporting education on all levels – K-12, Community and Junior Colleges and the Institutions of Higher Learning
- Pushing for improvements in the state’s Workforce Development programs
Blake lives in Brandon with his wife, Ann, a public school teacher. They have three children. Their eldest son, Nicholas, is a doctoral student at Mississippi State University. Daughter Ellie is a graduate of Mississippi College and youngest son Andrew is a student at Mississippi State.
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