Short-term sacrifices have started paying off for mompreneur Courtney Jacobs. Time has been the biggest concession for the wife, mom of two and owner of IDR Agency as she launched her Biloxi-based insurance firm. “Two years in, I have figured out how to obtain a healthy balance, but prior, it was hard,” Jacobs admits. “When […]
The Coast boasts a number of black-owned businesses that have served the community for generations. In honor of Black History Month, we’re highlighting the legacy of LOCKETT-WILLIAMS MORTUARY. When George W. Lockett founded his mortuary with wife, Lillian, in 1948, he realized a vision: providing premier mortuary services to the Gulfport area. The couples’ genuine […]
From the moment she learned she was pregnant, Jessica Rankin loved her unborn son, Bishop. And when Bishop was born without a heartbeat, her sadness was as profound as it would be for any lost loved one. That’s the greatest misconception about miscarriage and stillbirth, she says: people may assume that a woman would mourn […]
2020 was Stephanie Anne Box’s breakthrough year. In early June, the kindergarten teacher at Pecan Park Elementary in Ocean Springs sent a writing sample to an editor at Rourke Educational Media. Within a week, she had a contract to write her first book for the publishing house. “I had waited over two decades to hear […]
Fess up — at some point, you’ve gotten so frustrated with a computer that you’ve imagined hurling it out a window. Maybe you actually did … and we aren’t here to judge. After months or years of constant use, your once lightning-fast machine may be struggling to keep up. Is it time to throw in […]
While everyone’s pandemic experience has been different, one truth is universal: Home has never been more important. Our new appreciation for everything our home is and represents, for the protection and stability it provides, will endure long after the COVID crisis is over. Even in the best of times, our home is our refuge — […]
Photography by Brandi Stage Whether she’s wearing workout gear or in full glam mode, Angela Singletary feels beautiful most of the time. “I don’t always wear makeup, and my hair isn’t always done, but I appreciate my eyes, my freckles, my shape,” she says. “Of course, I would love to be a little more toned […]
Bart Luther and Daniel Wijdenes were concerned about opening Biloxi Bicycle Works during a pandemic. But as it turns out, their timing was perfect. “With the various restrictions that the pandemic has imposed on everyone, people have been looking for new avenues to go out and do things, and cycling is great for that — […]
As a preteen, Leonie Johnston Simmons colored her Barbie dolls’ hair with markers and gave perms in the kitchen. “Then, I was always the last one running out the door for homecoming, prom and those kinds of events because I would fix all of my girlfriends’ hair,” recalls Simmons, who now owns Lavish Salon on […]
Thanks to Jodie Picciano-Swanson, many formerly homeless veterans have shelter and sustenance. Victims of relationship violence have relocated and started new lives. Cancer patients and their families have found some measure of peace. The Ocean Springs resident strives to be a force for good as a licensed clinical social worker. Since 2015, she has served […]
