During the grand opening of the N.E.W. Call Center in Tupelo in January of last year, the company's vice president, Ray Zukowski, leaned over to Gov. Haley Barbour and whispered.

He asked if there was another good location in Mississippi to build another call center.

Barbour handed Zukowski a note with the word, "Meridian," written on it. That note turned out to be the seed for a call center that on an overcast, blustery morning Thursday celebrated its own grand opening.

"We're excited about opening the call center and to support the workforce in Meridian," said Zukowski, during the grand opening ceremony at the new building off of Highway 45 near the intersection of Highway 19 — just a few miles from Bonita Lakes Mall. "This is the second call center we have opened in Mississippi, and we continue to be impressed with the strong work ethic and commitment to customer service that we find in the candidates of this great state."

N.E.W. Customer Service Companies, Inc., is the nation's leading provider of extended service plans and buyer protection programs for consumer products. The customer care team at the Meridian call center is responsible for fielding and managing inbound calls from DirecTV customers. With more than 17 million customers, DirecTV is one of NEW's largest clients.

Currently the Meridian facility, which spans more than 25,000 square feet at its Pippens Road location, employs about 270 workers. In the near future the workforce is expected to expand by another 200 people.

"We greatly value this opportunity with NEW, which has brought jobs to hundreds of hard working people in Meridian at a time when many companies are laying off employees," said Barbour, who was in Meridian Thursday for the grand opening ceremony. "The opening of this call center is a reflection of our continued efforts to support this region by increasing job and business growth opportunities."

The call center, which opened to field service calls in November of last year, has handled more than 182,000 service requests. NEW boasts about 6,000 employees working in 11 call centers across the nation. It is based in Sterling, Va.

Barbour pointed out it was a team effort in securing Meridian as a location for NEW. He pointed out federal, state and local officials each had a hand in bringing the jobs to Lauderdale County and Meridian.

"It has been a privilege to work with this great company, and we look forward to continued success and growth in the months and years to come," said Bud Thompson, Chairman of the East Mississippi Business Development Corp. Board of Directors.

While praising officials at NEW for their choosing Meridian as their latest addition to their corporation, Barbour also applauded the efforts of those people who make up the current workforce at the facility.

"Those of you who work here have shown the work ethic it takes to be successful," said Barbour. "Companies don't choose states but rather they choose communities."