First Bancshares received a profile in the Hattiesburg American for its continued service to local customers. “Hattiesburg is a very robust economy — we’ve got two medical centers, two universities, a military presence with Camp Shelby,” said M. Ray “Hoppy” Cole, president and CEO of First Bancshares and The First. “All those things help give it a stable, growing economy, and stability and growth is good for banking.”