Columbia Business Times June 2018 cbt

BRAD EIKEN Inside the Lines, SBOTY 2018 Finalist

OUT OF BOUNDS LOCAL COMPANIES WITH WORLDWIDE REACH PG. 68

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THE BEST OF COMO SMALL BIZ P G. 53

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“MU Health Care’s commitment to employees provided me with a new career path and better future for my family.”

– Korbin Knight, Neurodiagnostic Technician Providing inspiring patient care starts with employees who are empowered to use their strengths to make a difference. Korbin, a former care team associate, used our Career Institute to pursue a career as a neurodiagnostic technician.

This spirit of curiosity and drive is what attracts the best and brightest to join us in changing medicine for the better. It’s also why Becker’s Hospital Review has recognized MU Health Care as one of the Top 150 Places to Work in Health Care.

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I

don’t know what to do with social media sometimes. So many friends take noticeable “breaks” from it, and others BRAD EIKEN have quit it altogether, saying it just makes them feel bad.

I’m not against a reprieve — it’s probably healthy, according to the experts. And particularly when I’ve heard the reasons from the offended, it’s tough to argue: OUT OF BOUNDS “I’m tired of seeing so many baby pictures. I’ve wanted/tried for a baby for so long, and it’s painful to see.”

“Gawd. I mean, who takes a selfie EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. That’s psycho.”

“Some friends don’t act like themselves, and I want to think of them the way I always have.”

“It sucks being single, so when I see these ‘perfect’ relationON THE COVER ships roll through my feed, it makes me want to vomit.”

Brad Eiken, owner of Inside the “Breck, I can’t take the politics anymore. Everyone has Lines, is this month’s cover model.

His business was a finalist for the an opinion, and I end up in these long arguments — I’ve lost Chamber of Commerce's Small friends over this stuff.”

Business of the Year, and we were Now, I’ll be the last person to say social media has ruined thrilled to get the first peek at their newly-renovated office digs. society. The benefits have been astounding, frankly, as far as Photography by Anthony Jinson. maintaining relationships while living far from loved ones, or finding a long-lost friend — heck, even finding a foe (not that it’s a good thing; stop stalking your boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend from 10 years ago. Stop it now.)

And it’s also bridged a gap between what’s personal and what’s professional. I try to be respectful when I can’t find someone’s work email, so I’ll send them a private message on social media (Facebook or LinkedIn, typically) and ask for it. It works nearly every time.

That also speaks to how accessible each of us are now. We have to be mindful of how we’re perceived not just by our “friends,” but also business clients, prospective employers, sometimes even the media.

In today’s culture of digital divas and keyboard gangsters, though, even an innocent comment can be met with unexpected backlash. Sensitivities seem to be heightened over the interwebs.

The reason social media has changed essentially the entire world is that it’s a revolutionary tool. Countless businesses have emerged and survive solely on social media platforms. Others have mastered the art of marketing and promotion using these services for (virtually) free advertising. Just like any tool, social media has a proper usage, but some will find other avenues to utilize it in a way that’s detrimental. Only we, as individuals or individual businesses, can make that call.

These new-ish tools yield great power, as we’ve learned. Let’s all be careful, though, in how we utilize them. Hopefully they’ll come out with a helpful user’s manual one of these days. But in the meantime . . .

For our technology issue, we provide a light-hearted piece on the proper etiquette surrounding uses for technology (page 74), explore how internet speeds are being ramped up in our community (page 79), and look at how local businesses have built their presence on the World Wide Web (page 68). We’re sure you will find valuable takeaways from these features and maybe even a few tips in case you’re as mystified as I am, at times, about how we can use new technologies in the best way.

Inside the Lines, SBOTY 2018 Finalist

LOCAL COMPANIES WITH WORLD-WIDE REACH PG. 6 8

S BOT Y 201 8

THE BEST OF COMO SMALL BIZ P G . 53

Here's to our future,

Breck Dumas, Editor Breck@businesstimescompany.com

/Co l u m b i a B u s i n e ss Ti m e s

@ Co l u m b i a B i z

Co l u m b i a B u s i n e ss Ti m e s .co m

EDITOR'S PICKS I love podcasts. When I work out, take a long solo drive, or tackle a home improvement project, I’ll pick something to listen to that feeds my mind and makes me feel like I’m being efficient. Here are three recommendations if you’re in the same boat or want some extra motivation.

THE DAILY BOOST: MOTIVATION TO MOVE with Scott Smith

Scott is a former radio guy, and you can tell in his voice (in a good way).

He offers a fantastic energy, with tips on the everyday issues everyone faces. His segments are short — typically around nine minutes or so — which is probably part of the reason his show has earned him such dedicated daily followers.

THIS IS YOUR LIFE with Michael Hyatt

Michael Hyatt is the former chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers and therefore a particularly fantastic resource for writers. He’s also great at tackling a breadth of real-life issues. But this will come as a warning to some and a magnet to others: He’s a bit preachy, about his faith and other things, and I find him somewhat judge-y at times. I forgive him, though; the material is worthwhile, and it comes from a good place.

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES with Joel and Victoria Osteen

When I’m feeling like I could use a boost of positivity and need someone to tell me everything’s gonna be alright, I put this podcast on (when my mom’s not available).

Whether or not you are a so-called religious person, Joel Osteen’s messages tend to inspire and leave the listener with a renewed sense of hope. He uses jokes, stories, and analogies that are easy to relate to — it’s no wonder his sermons receive more than 20 million monthly views.

Ed i to r @ B u s i n e ss Ti m e s Co m p a ny.co m COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 17

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EDITORIAL Breck Dumas, Editor Breck@BusinessTimesCompany.com Megan Whitehead, Managing Editor MWhitehead@BusinessTimesCompany.com Madison Love, Department Editor Madison@BusinessTimesCompany.com DESIGN/CREATIVE SERVICES Jordan Watts, Senior Designer Jordan@BusinessTimesCompany.com Kate Morrow, Graphic Designer Kate@BusinessTimesCompany.com Cassidy Shearrer, Graphic Designer Cassidy@BusinessTimesCompany.com Sadie Thibodeaux, Graphic Designer Sadie@BusinessTimesCompany.com

Inside the Issue Behind the Scenes 20 UNDER 20 EVENT 2018’s class of 20 Under 20 was recognized for their leadership, academic, and community accomplishments in an award ceremony on May 10.

MARKETING REPRESENTATIVES Deb Valvo, Marketing Consultant Deb@BusinessTimesCompany.com Bonnie Hudson, Marketing Consultant Bonnie@BusinessTimesCompany.com MANAGEMENT Erica Pefferman, President Erica@BusinessTimesCompany.com Renea Sapp, Vice President ReneaS@BusinessTimesCompany.com Amy Ferrari, Operations Manager Amy@BusinessTimesCompany.com Beth Bramstedt, Editorial Director Beth@BusinessTimesCompany.com CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Keith Borgmeyer, Anthony Jinson

We fully expect each of them to reach celebrity status, and they got a taste of that life when we invited their parents and loved ones to take snaps of the occasion.

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Contributors

Kermit Miller, KRCG 13

David Morrison

Jodie Jackson Jr.

@DavidCMorrison

@JJacksonJr

Steve Spellman

Write to CBT editor Breck Dumas at Breck@BusinessTimesCompany.com COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 19

LEADERSHIP BUILT FROM SERVICE

Since our Columbia office was founded in 1981, Septagon Construction knows its employees are the backbone of our company. We couldn’t succeed without their continued hard work and dedication to making the workplace a positive one. We recognize that by building a culture of commitment to our employees, we build up the hard-working individuals that make Septagon Construction.

DEREK JAMES, President

573-442-6187 | Septagon.com

Septagon Construction - Columbia

THANK YOU for rating us as the Best of Print and Digital!

The Best of Print & Digital® is an annual program that identifies companies that have provided the highest service delivery to their customers over the last year through independent survey research performed by Butler Street Research for the print and digital industry.

MODERN LITHO Jefferson City, MO 573-635-6119

MODERN LITHO St. Louis, MO 314-781-6505

BROWN PRINTING Jefferson City, MO 573-636-8012

“Receiving these marks from our clients is the highest honor and something we do not take lightly.

Going through the Net Promoter Score process has affirmed the client experience we strive for as a company. While we are appreciative of this honor, we are also compelled to continually seek excellence.”

Jeff Davidson, Vice President

MODERNLITHO.COM 20Best JUNE 2018 of Print and Digital Award Ad.indd 1

4/20/18 10:31 AM

JUN E 2018 VOL. 24 / ISSUE 12

TA B LE OF CON T EN TS

The Technology Issue 17 FROM THE EDITOR 19 INSIDE THE ISSUE 23 CLOSER LOOK 24 BRIEFLY IN THE NEWS 27 BUSINESS UPDATE StoryUp XR

30 NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT Columbia Public Schools Foundation

32 CELEBRATIONS REDI

35 MOVERS & SHAKERS 37 P.Y.S.K. Trey Davis, Missouri Energy

41 8 QUESTIONS Clyde Bentley,

University of Missouri (retired)

43 A CAPITOL CONVERSATION The State Budget

45 OPINION: AL GERMOND The City Audit

47 OPINION: KAREN MILLER Losing Cursive

49 OPINION: STEVE SPELLMAN

27 Business Update: StoryUp XR What’s new in Sarah Hill’s virtual reality wellness company.

The Chamber Goes to Washington

50 OPINION: MARK FARNEN The Rise of Downzoning

84 NEW BUSINESS LICENSES 86 ECONOMIC INDEX 87 DEEDS OF TRUST 89 BY THE NUMBERS 90 THIS OR THAT David Nivens, Midwest Computech

53

61

68

74

79

Surpassing Service

20 Under 20 Class of 2018

Out of Bounds

The New Proper

The incredible finalists (and winner) of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce’s 2018 Small Business of the Year.

This group of local teens has accomplished more than most before graduating high school.

In Focus: The Need for Speed

Three local companies rely on e-commerce to expand their businesses beyond Columbia.

Here’s how the internet has affected their businesses and what’s coming next.

Almost everyone has a smart device, but do we all know how to politely use it? A guide to tech etiquette.

A look at available internet speeds in Columbia and how they affect our daily lives.

22 JUNE 2018

BUS INE SS • P EO P L E • VOIC ES • F YI

C LOSER LOOK

Closer Look

ESI Communications

Roo Storage

MyCounselor.Online

ESI Communications specializes in telecommunications and security systems for both commercial businesses and residential clients. ESI is a hosted phone system provider under its sister company Advanced Technology & Consulting and provides top security protection for both commercial and residential clients. ESI has a team of technicians to install new systems, a customer service and support systems team, tech support, and a sales department. Owner Ben Alcorn says they take pride in their work and their customers. “We offer quality work at a quality price and make sure the customer is happy,” he says. “Service with a smile and honesty, once it’s installed, it’s not like you never hear from us again. We continue to provide service and follow up to make sure you’re satisfied after the initial sale. We like to focus on the personalized touch.” Alcorn and the rest of the ESI Communications team pride themselves on post-sales services as a main component of their reputation.

RooStorage.com is a neighborhood friendly online platform that connects those with available space in their home such as a garage, spare bedroom, or basement to those in need of storage. Roo Storage allows those with the space to passively earn income with little to no time hindrance and those who are seeking storage can find it for an affordable rate - right down the street. Roo Storage was created by Eric Laurent and Jake Hurrell, former MU football players; Kristin Rivers, a former MU soccer player; and Pravin Sivabalan. Laurent ran into a problem regarding his own storage issues, “I needed to have all of my stuff moved out of my current apartment but couldn’t move into my new place for another couple of weeks,” he says. “Plenty of people have an open garage, basement, or spare room from which they could easily make additional income. They simply need a way to connect with those who require storage. Roo Storage offers the perfect solution for both sides of the equation.”

MyCounselor.Online is an online Christian counseling center focused on providing patients with high quality care. The Columbia counselor is Melissa Abello, who obtained her Masters in Counseling from Stephens College. Abello is skilled in dealing with marriage or family issues, anxiety, depression, addiction, and more. MyCounselor.Online focuses on counseling from a Christian perspective, and patients say it has changed their lives. MyCounselor.Online works with a variety of insurance plans. Patients can select in person counseling or online depending on their preference, sessions are available online or over the phone Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., each session lasting for 45 minutes. “I’m passionate about helping families thrive through counseling. Whether your kids are struggling with problems at home, school, or with peers, or if you’re dealing with conflicts caused by divorce or blended family relationships, I’m here to help you overcome these challenges,” Abello says.

Location: 1000 W. Nifong Blvd. #120 Website: esicomm.com Contact: 573-818-6330

Website: roostorage.com Facebook: /RooStorage Instagram: @roostorage

Location: 3100 Pioneer Dr. Website: mycounselor.online Contact: 573-722-2132

Are you sprouting a new business? Reach out to Department Editor Madison Love at Madison@BusinessTimesCompany.com COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 23

BUSINE SS • P EOP L E • VOIC ES • F YI

Briefly in the News JUNE 2018

E NV I RON M E N T

MU’S GREEN INITIATIVE MU has made significant progress toward reaching climate neutrality since formalizing its stewardship commitment in early 2009 as a signatory of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment. MU’s campus facilities department has had substantial success and several notable achievements, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 51 percent from its 2008 baseline year and getting on track to have climate neutrality by 2050.

MU earned a Gold STARS ranking, the second highest rating a university can achieve, from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.

H EALT H

BOONE HOSPITAL NAMED LEVEL 1 STEMI Boone Hospital Center has been designated a Level 1 STEMI center by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. STEMI stands for ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction, a particularly dangerous form of heart attack. Level 1 STEMI designation is the highest possible credential given to hospitals that treat the condition.

The designation is part of the state department’s Time Critical Diagnosis, or “TCD,” plans and allows Boone Hospital to act as a heart attack treatment resource in the community.

“Boone Hospital Center has made great strides to continue to improve timely care and hand-off for our time-critical patients diagnosed with STEMI or a heart attack requiring prompt attention.”

— Kristi Baden, Boone Hospital STEMI Coordinator

24 JUNE 2018

BR I EFLY I N T H E N EWS

BUSINESS

MEM CELEBRATES INJURY-FREE YEAR Missouri Employers Mutual Insurance released its 2017 workplace safety data, revealing an alltime high in injury-free policyholders. The workers’ compensation insurance company has continued to grow during recent years, increasing its total policy count from 15,857 to 17,561 in 2017.

Of MEM’s 13,574 small policyholders, 96 percent had no lost-time claims in 2017. MEM reached its highest market share in the company’s 23-year history, increasing 26 percent in 2017.

BUSINESS

U-HAUL AND SWILLING PARTNER U-Haul Company of Missouri announced that Swilling Self Storage, a storage company located in Columbia, has signed on as a U-Haul neighborhood dealer. Swilling Self Storage will offer U-Haul trucks, trailers, towing equipment, moving supplies, and in-store pick-up for boxes.

The arrival of U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 will offer Columbians a more convenient and secure way to pick up and return a truck. U-Haul live verification technology allows rental transactions to be carried out entirely on a smartphone at any hour.

BUSINESS

MUSE MOVES ONLINE Muse, a boutique in downtown Columbia, has closed its doors and moved online as owner Nickie Davis has accepted a job with the Downtown Community Improvement District as their director of outreach. Muse will be moving online and plans on having pop-up shops throughout Columbia. The website will launch in the fall, offering free delivery in Columbia, including bringing multiple sizes of an order to customers' homes to ensure the perfect fit.

EDUC AT ION

MU SAVES Following the release of the follow-up report to last year’s audit from State Auditor Nicole Galloway, UM System President Mun Choi said that the university was pleased with the progress illustrated in the report and that university leaders will continue to be more accountable with state resources. Galloway’s follow-up report found improvement in the system’s financial practices since March 2017. Choi and his leadership team have eliminated $2.76 million dollars in spending at the UM System administrative level that did not directly support the university’s mission.

“The citizens of Missouri have our promise that we will continue to practice effective stewardship, reducing costs and reinvesting those savings for student scholarships, faculty research, and community engagement.”

— Mun Choi, UM System President

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 25

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For over three decades the Rost family has been building a legacy of quality products and service. No matter if you are perusing one of the largest gardening establishments in Mid-MO at Superior Garden Center, making your landscaping dreams a reality, or letting us install top-of-the-line irrigation systems: the Rost family name has roots in this community. Honor us with your business and you’ll see why the Rost name is synonymous with quality.

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BUSINE SS • P EOP L E • VOIC ES • F YI

BU SI N ESS U PDAT E

Healing through VR Stories With Healium Wellness, StoryUp XR continues to grow.

BY N ICOLE FLOO D | P HOTOG R A P HY BY KEITH B O R G M E Y E R

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 27

BUSINE SS • P EOP L E • VOIC ES • F YI

Ricky Rockley, VR design lead for Healium XR; Sarah Hill; Lindsey Miller, XR producer

WHEN STORYTELLING MEETS technology, a whole new world opens up. In 2015, StoryUp XR launched as a journalism and brand studio creating virtual reality films with a mission to use media in positive ways.

“Media has healing properties,” says Sarah Hill, CEO of StoryUP XR. “The balloon on our logo evokes a sense of floating away from stressful situations.”

Hill knows the effects of VR and positive media first hand. “For 25 years, I worked in the high-anxiety news business,” she says. We saw a lot of trauma on a daily basis, but I never really considered how it affected me until I ended up in the ER. About 15 years into covering natural disasters, murders, and tragedies, I started having panic attacks and trouble sleeping.”

She tried medication, but it left her feeling dull. Her husband, a psychologist, suggested Hill try his colleague Dr. Jeff Tarrant’s new “digital prescription” to help her sleep. This digital prescription was a neurofeedback video game on a laptop, and it worked to help her 28 JUNE 2018

sleep with no medication. Now, 15 years later, Tarrant is Hill’s business partner.

Today, StoryUp is creating augmented or mixed reality experiences and has launched their first product, Healium Wellness, a VR experience designed to calm people down in stressful situations. In addition, StoryUp creates virtual and augmented reality experiences for brands and customers around the world, including Google and Facebook.

The psychology of VR

WHY VR? “StoryUp’s roots are with virtual travel for veterans in a program called Honor Everywhere,” says Hill. “We’ve now produced a handful of VR films for aging veterans who aren’t able to physically travel on Honor Flights to see their memorials. We also mail them free VR kits to watch the films. There’s no replacement for a real Honor Flight, but for some of these 80- and 90-year-old individuals, a virtual tour is their only hope to see the memorials.”

The psychology of VR can be quite powerful: A well-crafted VR experience can trick the

something is real. “It’s

can be quite powerful: A well-crafted VR experience can trick the brain into thinking an escape hatch or a virtual window to open when the reality is too stressful or painful,” Hill says.

B U SI N ESS U PDAT E

Their corporate subscribers receive a new experience every 60 days along with a video curriculum about neuromeditation and the potential of virtual and augmented reality to help people become more aware of their emotions.

“Healium is not meant to be a treatment for any kind of medical condition, but rather an escape from harsh realities,” Hill says. “In addition, we’re installing a ‘VR bar’ at a DC area hospital for nurses to fight compassion fatigue.

After difficult cases, Healium provides them four minutes of virtual peace.”

Healium differs from other products in that it is neuromeditation, which also differs from the traditional meditation that has historically been a closed-eye experience. Healium’s VR content is data-driven and powered by the user’s brain activity. “Our platform is tested through brain maps and co-written by a psychologist in a specific way to influence well-being,” says Hill. “No other VR or AR product allows you to see your own brain activity displayed on the screen and control the surroundings with your own physiology. In addition, some of our experiences are story-driven narratives, which is a different approach than listening to a narrator talk in hushed tones.”

brain into thinking something is real. “It’s an escape hatch or a virtual window to open when the reality is too stressful or painful,” says Hill.

For example, in the past, you might have closed your eyes and imagined you were on a beach while having your blood drawn. With Healium, StoryUp can put the user on a virtual beach and reduce stress during the blood draw.

“Media isn’t just for entertainment and information — there’s actually research to show VR, in particular, is therapeutic and can reduce stress. VR has been shown to be just as effective as a dose of Dilaudid, a powerful painkiller. It’s been shown to increase well-being scores in pregnant women during labor from a one out of five to a five,” says Hill.

VR is also proving to be 25 percent more memorable than “flat” media, according to a recent study from Yume.

HEALIUM WELLNESS The Healium Wellness product officially launched May 1. “Healium is the world’s first VR and AR product to work with a brain-computer

interface,” says Hill. “These portable escape kits for areas of situational stress are powered by the user’s emotions.”

The kits are sold to corporate wellness programs, hospitals, schools, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, chemotherapy clinics, and fitness centers.

Healium is powered by VR goggles, a brain-sensing headband, and StoryUp’s patent-pending technology. The headband has an EEG strip that measures the electrical output of your brain. (Nothing goes into your brain, don’t worry.) “Inside the goggles, you’re able to see your own brainwaves displayed in nearreal time,” Hill says. “You can see how they go up or down and react to your thoughts.

Using your brain power, you’re able to control things in the virtual reality environment.

In your brain, gamma asymmetry is associated with feelings of positivity. The more you sustain that gamma activity, the higher you’ll float up the side of a beautiful waterfall. It’s kind of like Peter Pan: When you think happy thoughts, you fly!”

MORE ON THE HORIZON StoryUp has three VR films that were selected for the Marche Du Film, the business counterpart to the Cannes Film Festival, for 2018. They also plan to release an augmented reality experience that requires only a user’s mobile device. “With a brain-sensing headband, you can control a butterfly hologram with your feelings of positivity. As that feeling intensifies, the animal hatches from a chrysalis to a beautiful butterfly,” says Hill.

In addition, the StoryUp team is working on adding heart rate variability and a breathing tool that connects the user’s breath with various assets in the virtual environment, says Hill.

“For instance, as your belly expands and contracts, so too does a lotus flower.”

StoryUp XR’s latest venture with Healium Wellness is just the tipping point of potential for this incredible technology. There’s no telling where they’ll be able to go next. CBT

StoryUp XR story-up.com 1601 S. Providence Rd., Ste. 127H COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 29

B USINE SS • P EOPL E • VOIC ES • F YI

A Solid Foundation The Columbia Public Schools Foundation provides valuable opportunities to district students.

BY BRECK DUMAS | P HOTOS P R OV I D ED BY CO LU MB I A P U B L I C S C H O O L S FO U N DATI O N

HAP HAIRSTON recalls that when the Columbia Public Schools Foundation was founded, he was the principal at Rock Bridge Elementary. Back then, one of the school’s teachers, Laura Jackson, was one of the first educators to receive a grant from CPSF, which she used to work with NASA to bring cutting edge learning experiences to students.

“In the early years, the CPSF grants focused on specific learning activities brought forth by an individual teacher or a collaborative grant from a team of teachers,” says Hairston, now a CPSF board member. “The grants enabled teachers to have the extra materials and supplies to provide enhanced learning experiences for their students.”

More than 20 years later, the foundation has built a more than $1 million endowment 30 JUNE 2018

and provides funding for activities both in and outside the classroom — and both in and outside the community. And the grants have not only grown in size, they also provide more resources to more kids at the department and even district-wide level. The foundation has funded projects in every CPS school and the Career Center, allocating more than $1 million to enhance education.

Board of Directors Vice President Cindy Mustard says, “The main purpose of the foundation is to provide extra support for programs that don’t go under traditionally funded CPS projects,” but still fit with the curriculum for the district.

Mustard says when the committee assesses grant applications, the core question is what is missing that the students really need?

The organization has no employees and is comprised entirely of volunteers.

Applications for funding include a needs assessment, a plan of action, and an explanation of coordination with existing district initiatives. It also requires the applicant to answer critical questions, like “How will you monitor and evaluate the project to determine if the goal and objectives are being met?” and “How will you determine the strengths and weaknesses of this project?”

THERE’S A GRANT FOR THAT Thanks to CPSF, the Columbia Public Schools’ drumline is attending a summer festival in Japan. (They’re the only team of high school students from the United States that was

Columbia Public Schools Foundation FOUNDED IN 1996

MISSION Volunteers dedicated to the enrichment of public education through community giving.

GOALS •

Enhance academic excellence in the public schools by providing funding not available through public sources

•

Expand learning opportunities for all our children

•

Stimulate creativity and innovation

•

Enrich the schools’ basic curriculum

NEEDS Volunteers Donations Event sponsors

N ON PR OFI T

invited.) A grant from the added value to the education foundation will cover the of Columbia’s students. students’ passport expenses Caledon Virtual designed and etiquette classes in the foundation's website. VU preparation for the trip. provided funds for the Maker A two-week trip to Shanghai Spaces grant. The Miller Family Lynn Barnett, President and Beijing for 18 high school Foundation, among other local students was made possible contributors, has been a major in part by the foundation, contributor for years. too, as part of CPS’s China Columbia’s robust festival program. The students were culture is also being utilized able to attend language classes, to bring opportunities to speaking engagements and kids in partnership with the performances. foundation. CPSF has provided Cindy Mustard, A CPSF grant recently a three-year grant for students Vice President provided funding for the Family through The Ragtag Film Welcome Center at the CPS Society Literacy Initiative, Aslin Administration building, which includes year-round field designed to create a welcoming trips to Ragtag Cinema for film space for the English Language screenings, a filmmaker Q&A Learning students and families at the True/False Film Festival, seeking support services. Also, and media literacy instruction thanks in part to CPSF, each strategies for teachers. As part Sally Silvers, Secretary elementary school in Columbia of the Unbound Book Festival, has garden towers, allowing the foundation provided a students to grow vegetables, grant for the Authors in Schools which they can use to make program, which supplied books salads, among other scienceto students to read prior to related activities. having the corresponding And we can’t forget authors brought to the the emphasis on STEAM schools. Shepard, New Haven, Tom Rose, Treasurer programs: science, Ridgeway, Fairview, and Blue technology, engineering, Ridge Elementary Schools were art, and mathematics. CPSF participants, along with Gentry provided support for the and West Middle Schools and creation of makerspaces all four CPS high schools. in school media centers Through their Hall of Leaders where kids can experiment, event, CPSF has recognized solve problems, and even outstanding educators, Hap Hairston, build robots. The CPSF also volunteers, and alumni of Board Member supports the district’s STEAM Columbia Public Schools since Bus, which is an additional 1999. Mustard emphasizes that mobile makerspace (converted from a school the foundation’s impact is truly a testament to bus). The STEAM Bus was made possible members of the community who rally together entirely through local donations, including for the mission of improving the education of the bus itself, which was gifted from Student CPS students.

Transportation of America.

“None of it can happen without sponsorships from businesses and individuals,” she says.

IT TAKES A VILLAGE “The foundation is here to make a difference The Columbia community rallies behind in every student’s life, and that’s where we’re CPSF’s cause. Local PTAs, businesses, and really hitting the mark — to innovate the family foundations contribute to provide learning process.” CBT COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 31

Mary Anne McCollum and Stacey Button

1988

1993

2004

2011

Regional Economic Development Inc. incorporated in March.

REDI assists 3M with one of many expansions.

First Annual Economic Outlook Conference.

REDI hosts first Entrepreneurial Summit.

32 JUNE 2018

BUSINE SS • P EO P L E • IM P R OV EM EN T • F YI

C ELEBRAT I ON S

Thirty Years of Being REDI Regional Economic Development Inc. has helped Columbia businesses grow for the past three decades.

BY ELIZA BETH QU IN N | P HOTOG R A P HY BY K E I TH B O R G ME Y E R

ATTRACT. EXPAND. GROW. These are the strategic goals of Regional Economic Development Inc. REDI introduced itself to the community when the private–public partnership was incorporated on March 14, 1988. Since then, REDI has continued to develop the local economy by assisting new and existing major employers as well as entrepreneurs and startups.

REDI is a nonprofit organization that was started by community leaders including Mary Anne McCollum, then mayor of Columbia; Ray Beck, then city manager; David Horner, then Boone County commissioner; Ernie Gaeth, then executive vice president of Riback Supply Company; and Tom Gray, then general manager of KOMU. These five founders were the first members of the board of directors, and during their first meeting, they voted to expand the board to 11 members.

REDI began in Columbia to serve all of Boone County, but it also coordinates with neighboring counties, cities, the Missouri Department of Economic Development, and the Missouri Partnership, a statewide public– private economic development group. Now, 30 years later, REDI’s board has expanded to 20 members plus nine ex officio board members.

In addition to representatives of the city, county, and university, the board now includes representatives from investors such as Shelter Insurance, Commerce Bank, Boone Hospital, Moberly Area Community College, and more.

COLLABORATION IS KEY Although there are only five staff members, there are countless collaborators that help REDI, including investors. In the beginning, REDI had 31 investors. 14 are still investors today, but

now they’re among around 100 other investors from the public and private spheres, nonprofits, educational institutions, and more.

“Collaboration is central to REDI’s mission, and the network of connections REDI has made throughout the community is large and continues to grow with each project and initiative,” says Stacey Button, REDI president.

Each collaborator brings a different asset to the REDI team. MU promotes its research and development that helps start new businesses, such as Nanova Biomaterials and ThermaVant Technologies. The Missouri Innovation Center is a key part of the community’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Moberly Area Community College is crucial for training and workforce initiatives.

“After 30 years, collaboration is still the foundation and mainstay of REDI,” Button says. “Month after month, a large and varied group of community representatives, many of which are natural business competitors, come together to work side by side on behalf of our community. Their long-term commitment to the betterment of our community is inspiring.”

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCES AND PROJECTS REDI has been recognized by the International Economic Development Council, which named REDI an Accredited Economic Development Organization last year. The AEDO program is a peer review process that evaluates the structure, organization, funding, programs, and staff of an organization seeking accreditation. REDI is one of only 60 accredited organizations worldwide.

In 1988, the first task outlined with the city and its stakeholders was for REDI to create an economic development master plan, which

outlined two goals that are still part of REDI today. The first was to continue to grow Boone County’s economy while also balancing the communities’ values and aspirations; the second was to continue to promote economic diversity through recruiting new businesses, expanding current businesses, and providing support for new business endeavors.

“REDI coordinates the resources the city, county, and university and business community can provide into a business attraction proposal that allows the community to put its best foot forward and achieve results that benefit the community as a whole,” Button says.

In recent years, REDI has helped attract and retain businesses that will provide hundreds of jobs to the area. One of those businesses was Aurora Organic Dairy, which chose Columbia for its $90 million-plus organic milk processing facility. There are plans for an additional $50 million investment as well. The Columbia Aurora plant is one of the largest capital investment business attraction projects in Missouri and will create 150 jobs.

Recent expansion projects include Kraft Heinz, which undertook a more than $100 million renovation and expansion to its 30-year old plant in Columbia, which enticed the business to keep its 300 jobs. Dana Light Axle Products will add a new production line to its plant in Columbia while investing $39 million and creating 135 new jobs.

“REDI’s work on attraction projects, support of existing businesses, and resources for entrepreneurs and startups combines to enhance the economic vitality of the region and ensure a prosperous future,” Button says. CBT

2011

2012

2017

REDI relocates to its new downtown location at Fifth and Walnut.

REDI opens the Downtown Incubator, later renamed the Innovation Hub.

International Economic Development Council certifies REDI as an Accredited Economic Development Organization.

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 33

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B U SINESS • PEOP LE • IM P R OV EM EN T • F YI

M OVER S & SH AKER S

Movers & Shakers JUNE 2018 GRISWOLD

Missouri Employers Mutual Tim GRISWOLD has joined Missouri Employers Mutual as a talent development manager. Griswold comes to MEM from Accenture, in Houston, where he worked as a management consultant. Also, Kate STULL joined MEM as a marketing strategist. Stull previously worked at Columbia Insurance Group, where she served as a marketing communications specialist.

Lastly, Laura GERDING joined MEM as a corporate communications strategist. Gerding previously worked at the MU School of Medicine, where she served as director of alumni affairs.

Randy Gooch Gooch has been selected as the new chief operating officer for Columbia Public Schools. Gooch will oversee facilities and construction services, custodial services, and transportation departments. For the past seven years, Gooch has served in a leadership role at the Columbia Area Career Center. He has more than 20 years of experience in education, including as a teacher, counselor, and the director of the Hart Career Center in Mexico, Missouri.

Jane Boles Boles, a broker and agent for the The Super Boles Team, has been recognized

by Re/Max for her impressive sales numbers in 2017. Boles was honored at Re/Max Boone Realty’s annual Re/Max Reach Banquet. Re/Max Club Awards recognize the total gross commission income for associates or teams during the previous calendar year. Boles earned a Diamond Award at the banquet, which is awarded for $10 million

in closed real estate transactions, and was a Top 12 associate in commission, listings, transactions, and volume.

Kasey Schaumburg First Chance for Children elected Schaumburg its new executive director. Schaumburg has previously served in many roles with the organization, including executive assistant, parent educator, and, most recently, interim executive director. Going forward, Schaumburg’s duties will focus on executing the plans made during strategic planning; grant writing; and securing state, federal, and private funding for the organization.

Sarah Sicht Sicht will be recommended to the Columbia Public Schools Board of Education to become the principal at Benton STEM Elementary School for the 2018-2019 school year. Sicht will replace the current principal, Laura Lewis, who retired at the end of the school year. Sicht is currently the assistant principal at Parkade Elementary School. Prior to her five years as assistant principal at Parkade, she was an assistant principal, teacher, fellows mentor, and assessment coach.

Central Bank of Boone County Central Bank of Boone County promoted two market vice presidents in the first quarter. Donna ZUMWALT is now market vice president of the South County Bank, and Janet WIRTHS is market vice president of the Boonville banks. Zumwalt began her career at Central Bank of Boone County in 1981 as a drive-up teller.

Wirths has been with the bank since 2002, when she started as an investor services sales assistant. The bank also named Emily LONG manager of the fraud and operations department located at the Downtown Bank.

STULL

Weichert, Realtors-First Tier Weichert, Realtors-First Tier is proud to announce their 2017 Office Award Winners. The agents were honored by the national franchise organization, Weichert Real Estate Affiliates, based on achieving production requirements earned in 2017. The President’s Club winners are Denise Payne, Karen Clapp, Lori Brockman, Marshelle Clark, Tony Deakins, and Travis Kempf. The Ambassadors Club members are Amber Wooten, Christopher Boatright, Jeff Crane, Karla Wilcoxson, and Matt Ford. The Executive Club members are Carolyn Wilhite, David Lewis, Scott Jackson, Stephanie Baehman, and Susan Myers. The Sales Achievement winners are Kaalan Bolinger, Laura Gauldin, Lorie Fussner, Martha Tomlin-McCrary, Pam Smith, and Shelley Loesing.

Tracy Lane

GERDING

BOLES

SICHT

ZUMWALT

Lane has accepted a position as executive director of Roots N Blues, which coordinates the Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival. Lane has worked in various roles with the Ragtag Film Society; her last day with Ragtag will be June 3. Lane’s last official function as the society’s executive director will be to oversee “Ragtag’s Like Totally Awesome Party” at 7 p.m. on Sunday, June 3 at The Roof. Tickets will be available at the Ragtag Cinema box office and online. CBT

WIRTHS

LONG

Are you or your employees making waves in the Columbia business community? Send us your news at Editor@BusinessTimesCompany.com COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 35

They’ll Never Know...

Transferred From The Office

...You’re Not At The Office

36 JUNE 2018

B U SINESS • PEOP LE • VOIC ES • F YI

P E R S ON YO U SH OU LD KN OW

TREY DAVIS

PRESIDENT | MISSOURI ENERGY DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION | AGE: 43 Job description: Organized in 2003, MEDA is the association of Missouri’s investorowned utilities and their strategic partners. Our members serve nearly 3.5 million customers, invest over $1 billion in the state annually, and employ over 10,000 people while providing the electric and natural gas services integral to the safety and prosperity of Missourians.

My team members and I work closely with our Missouri investor-owned utility members and their strategic partners, representing their interests and advocating balanced policies in the legislative and regulatory arenas. MEDA provides credible public policy leadership, pivotal industry awareness and education, and strategic business intelligence.

Years lived in Columbia/MidMissouri: 22.

Original hometown: Estill, Missouri.

Education: Bachelor of Arts in business finance from Westminster College.

Favorite volunteer/community activity: Coaching my oldest son’s Daniel Boone Little League baseball team and assistant coaching my youngest son’s DBLL T-ball team.

Professional background: I began my career as a business analyst and team leader for the development and successful implementation of the Statewide Advantage for Missouri project, the upgrade of the state’s HR and payroll system for 65,000-plus employees.

I then joined the College of Arts and Science at MU as the university embarked upon their first $600 million fundraising campaign. I went on to serve as the director of development and chief advancement officer for the college and managed a team responsible for fundraising, external relations, and communications for the largest college in the state of Missouri. As my

Photography by Keith Borgmeyer

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 37

B U SINESS • PEOP LE • VOIC ES • F YI

P E R S ON YO U SH OU LD KN OW

represent. In these times of political distrust and mistruths, a lobbyist is necessary to cut through the noise and be an informative resource for a variety of stakeholders.

The next challenge facing my industry: Currently, the electric and natural gas industries are working to modernize the regulatory process in Missouri while at the same time providing customers with more stable and predictable rates and a smarter and more resilient grid.

My next professional goal: Tomorrow is a new day. . .

Biggest lesson learned in business: “Be proactive, not reactive.” I learned that from Joe Wes Davis Jr., my father.

business interests shifted 13 years ago, I was offered the opportunity to enter the exciting field of lobbying. I served as the vice president for governmental affairs for the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the state’s largest business association. For the last eight years, I’ve had the pleasure of serving as the president of MEDA.

second child, and he saw the shenanigans that followed . . . and may continue.

A favorite recent project: After years of debate and months of hard work, a talented team of volunteers and I were able to bring to fruition Columbia’s only heated and air-conditioned indoor tennis facility. The facility consists of two regulation courts and the only regulation 36-foot court for junior players in Missouri. Columbia is rich in tennis talent, and I am excited to be a part of building opportunities for beginning, junior, academy, and adult players.

Why I’m passionate about my company: The companies I represent supply essential electricity and energy resources to a majority of Missouri citizens and do so with the goals of affordability, safety, and reliability.

Their compact to deliver these crucial resources is not taken lightly, and their values extend beyond our borders, as they did in their recent efforts to help in Texas and Puerto Rico after last year’s devastating hurricanes.

A Columbia businessperson I admire and why: The conversation and friendship of Brent Beshore are two things I greatly appreciate. I admire his focus, work ethic, faith, and dedication to his family. Each time we talk, I walk away feeling I learned something. And most times we rarely discuss the intricacies of “work.” He was there the day I found out my wife was pregnant with our 38 JUNE 2018

Why I’m passionate about my job: I value integrity and hard work. It’s easy for folks to say you shouldn’t take your job “too personally,” but it’s hard not to when you believe in your mission and the people you represent.

If I weren’t doing this for a living, I would: Be writing songs and playing live music.

What people should know about this profession: Contrary to what you may hear on the news or read on social media, the role of a lobbyist in the legislative and regulatory processes is one that is taken very seriously and is represented by passionate advocates who are educated in the areas they

How I would like to impact the Columbia community: Continue to be a positive influence for my children and their teammates.

Greatest strength: The ability to build relationships and trust.

Greatest weakness: “Living in the now” is one that can be a real challenge for me.

What I do for fun: Travel with my family, golf, hunt, play music, and ride horses.

Family: My wife, Paige, who is an interior designer; my oldest son, Jackson, 9; and my youngest son, Hampton, 5.

Favorite place(s) in Columbia: Country Club of Missouri for the view, Murry’s for music and a chicken philly, Booches for a cold Budweiser, and my back patio for peace and quiet.

Accomplishment I’m most proud of: Being a husband and a father.

Most people don’t know that I: Won first in the State Speech and Debate Championship in storytelling as a sophomore in high school for “Pecos Bill.” I also won third in the same category as a junior for “Paul Bunyan.” CBT

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in multiple disciplines. I started by running the digital edition of the Columbia Missourian and ended by developing a virtual reality journalism program. I retired from the university last fall.

Q&A CLYDE BENTLEY Associate Professor of Journalism Emeritus, University of Missouri

1. What’s your background? I grew up in a blue-collar family in Redding, CA, where my dad was a mailman and my mom was a waitress.

Both had their educations sidelined by World War II, so they insisted I study and go to college.

I went to the local community college (where I met Cecile, now my wife) and later to Pepperdine University, where the journalism program gave me the opportunity to intern for Newsweek. I went on to study journalism at two more universities — the University of Texas for a master’s degree and the University of Oregon for a Ph.D. Along the way, I was a daily newspaper reporter, a weekly newspaper editor, an assistant publisher for a weekly chain, a wire editor, and the managing editor of a daily. After about 25 years in the business, I decided to teach what I knew. That meant a stint as a community college instructor and then my doctorate.

2. Tell us about your job: The Missouri School of Journalism hired me in 2001 for the Center for the Digital Globe. From the beginning, I took on innovative assignments

3. What does your typical day look like? Right now, I’m learning that retirement is as busy as employment — just a lot more fun. But during my tenure as a journalism technology professor, one single task defined my day: Reading the web.

The most enjoyable part of the job, however, was opening the eyes of students to emerging technologies. It may seem surprising, but there is a terrific amount of fear of new technology among students. They know their phones, they know the programs required by their classes, and they know video games. But their lives and minds are already overloaded with the demands of university, so they break into a sweat when you throw yet another technology at them – especially one so new that it doesn’t make sense to them at first.

4. Tell us about VR journalism: It means a whole new type of storytelling — viewers can look anywhere they want instead of just where you point the camera. It also takes new equipment, new editing techniques, and new demands on the computer systems of news outlets. Our major accomplishment was to speed the process to the pace of an online news site. We eventually were able to shoot, edit, and post 360-degree news coverage in less than an hour after the news event.

5. What's the importance of the concept “near-term futurism?” Anyone can safely predict what will happen in 100 years because you won’t be around to be challenged for your accuracy. What’s more important is to forecast what will affect our lives five or 10 years from now.

I teach students to look hard at the basic human needs current technology is trying to address, and then I have them move it forward a few years. For instance, Facebook tries to keep up our daily contact with friends and family, no matter how far away they are. But right now, that requires a computer or phone, and our messages are mostly text and photos.

What if you didn’t have to think about it — your friends were just there in your head or in

8 QU EST I ON S

front of your eyes? We don’t know exactly what that technology will look like, but we certainly should plan for an even more mobile world.

6. What are some challenges you face in your work? Anyone who works on the edge of new technology has to shrug off the constant refrain of “that won’t work” or “so what?” Then, after what you predict becomes common reality, you find that the same people say they knew it was coming all along.

More seriously, every academic in the U.S. and certainly in Missouri works in a climate of declining appreciation. University budgets are cut, science is disbelieved, logic is attacked.

It’s hard to keep your enthusiasm high these days. The salvation is the students themselves.

When you hear from a student, years after graduation, that something you taught made a difference, you never want to give up.

7. Describe a success you’re most proud of: I’m very proud of the role we played in developing citizen journalism as a legitimate part of American journalism. By the end of the 20th century, journalism had become a closed club where only trained journalists were allowed to print or broadcast.

In 2004, I assembled a group of graduate students to Americanize a phenomenon in Korea where everyday citizens were contributing to a popular online publication.

The result was MyMissourian, an online and later print newspaper written by the people of Columbia. We demonstrated that what the public found important wasn’t necessarily what journalists found important. Our work blazed the way for the “participatory journalism” that is now a part of every news outlet.

8. Tell us something that we wouldn’t learn from your resume alone: I’m a maker. I like using my own hands to make something even if it’s not as good or as cheap as what I can buy. I think I make mostly sawdust in my woodshop, but I’m a pretty good cook. Perhaps what most surprises people is that I harvest the sap from nine maple trees on my Columbia residential lot every spring and then boil it down to nearly a gallon of pure maple syrup. Believe me, Mrs. Butterworth’s would be much easier, but she could never produce that smile I get on my face when I dig into a plate of pancakes. CBT

Check out past questions and answers online at ColumbiaBusinessTimes.com.

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 41

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A CA P I TOL CON VER SAT I ON

The State Budget

BY K RCG 13’ S K ER M IT M IL L ER

JEFFERSON CITY IS A COMPANY TOWN. The company is the State of Missouri. You cannot throw a rock and not hit someone who works for the state, or is married to someone who works for the state, or lives next door to someone who works for the state. As a result, anyone who reports news to the people of Jefferson City knows that the item at the top of any state budget review is state worker wages.

By all accounts, Missouri state workers still are the lowest paid in the nation. So this year (yes, an election year), lawmakers approved a pay increase of $700 a year for people who earn less than $70,000 annually and an increase of one percent for people who earn more than $70,000. To make the budget work, specifically to cover increases in the cost of health insurance for state workers, the raises do not kick in until January of 2019, assuming they kick in at all.

At the beginning of the year, Greitens wanted to change the system to make it easier to hire and fire people and to give spot raises.

The governor made his support for higher state worker pay conditional on those changes.

As this article goes to deadline in the final week of the legislative session, the House has not yet signed off on Senate Majority Leader Mike Kehoe’s bill to reform the merit system. And if they do not, it still is not clear what the state’s legally-embattled governor will do with that budget line item.

By all accounts,

nor Eric Greitens, whose criminal charge for felony invasion of privacy has been dismissed (for now), but who still faces another prosecution related to improper data usage related to his former charity. Back in January, Greitens proposed pay increases for state workers, but made them conditional on changes to the state’s civil service system. Under the so-called merit system we have now, slightly more than half of the state’s 55,000 employees get hired, retained, promoted, transferred, or disciplined based on their performance on standardized tests and other strict guidelines. That protects them from being judged on political affiliation or allegiance.

versities by $68 million. As a result, those schools have promised to hold the line on tuition increases at one percent. And foreign-born students in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program must pay college tuition at out-of-state rates.

Beyond education, the brightest spotlight shines on the Department of Health and Senior Services. Lawmakers have punished health officials for not disclosing information about the Bourbon virus by gutting the salaries for eight positions in the department director’s office.

Lawmakers also stripped Medicaid fund-

Missouri state workers

ing, which is administered by state health offi-

still are the lowest

goes back to the secretly-recorded video of

paid in the nation.

cussing the sale of aborted fetal tissue, and to

At this writing, the budget has been approved but is not yet on the desk of Gover-

posal to reduce spending on colleges and uni-

cials, from Planned Parenthood. That dispute Planned Parenthood officials purportedly disrevelations about the disposal of fetal remains from a Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Louis.

Elsewhere in the budget, lawmakers generally exceeded or countered the governor’s proposals. Education jumps to the top of that list.

The $6.1 billion dollars going to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education includes an increase of nearly $99 million for basic aid to public schools and an increase of $10 million for school transportation. Majority Republicans say that constitutes full funding for education; minority Democrats say full funding is an illusion, one created by changing the definition a couple of years ago. In any case, it’s more money than the governor had proposed to spend.

Likewise, lawmakers held the line on higher education funding, rejecting Greitens’ pro-

Eleven of Planned Parenthood’s health centers around the state provide no abortion services but will still get no state money for cancer screenings or other preventative health care for women. The move could put the state in violation of federal Medicaid law, which says recipients can see the participating provider of their choice.

Overall, lawmakers approved $23.8 billion dollars in spending for fiscal year 2019, which begins July 1st, 2018. The budget represents a $600 million spending increase over 2018. CBT Kermit is an award-winning 45-year veteran journalist and one of the longest serving members of the Missouri Statehouse press corps.

Kermit Miller anchors the 6 and 10 p.m. news for KRCG 13. You can reach Kermit at kmiller@krcg.com COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 43

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OP I N I ON : AL GER M ON D

National Labor Relations Act, or Wagner Act, confirmed by the U.S Supreme Court two years later and modified in 1947 by the Taft–Hartley Act. From this came Section 14(b), permitting states to nullify the Wagner Act’s compulsory union membership provision, which Missouri voters will have another crack at on August 7 for the first time since 1978.

Three of the four parties requesting the performance audit are labor organizations representing city workers: police, fire, and public service employees. A blogger — first out of the gate, incidentally, with a $1,000 contribution to the mayor’s election campaign more than two years ago — has been beating the drums, calling for this audit for some time.

Other acolytes climbed aboard, and the train may have enough forward momentum for at least three other city council members to join the parade and press for this expense.

In the interim comes the need for full disclosure, both by employment and finance (including compensation), by all the parties involved in this fractious matter.

Could there be a conflict of interest among

The Call for Full Disclosure

BY A L GERMON D

elected officials? Suspicion that money may be moving to and fro? How little we know about the solons who represent us aside from their skimpy biographies posted on web sites. The paralyzed, cash-starved press has been drained of any curiosity to investigate. Nothing to see here, just move along.

What about the mayor, a registered lobbyist whose quiver of clients has included various

THE CALL FOR A MUNICIPAL performance audit costing upwards of a million dollars won’t go away. Proponents believe there’s a geyser of cash squirreled away that could be used to augment and enlarge the city’s police and fire services. More cops. More firemen. More vehicles. More stations. More everything else.

More empire building for those involved as employee bargaining units are enlarged.

Is working for the city — its police and fire departments in particular — that unpleasant?

Most of us think they’re doing a great job. If they aren’t happy, is there a reason to question their abilities to perform? The Boone County Sheriff

and the two county fire districts don’t appear to be hotbeds of any discontent these days.

Where private sector workers here have been content enough to spurn organized labor, unions remain ascendent in the realm of public safety and other municipal functions — more recently among several thousand teachers employed by Columbia Public Schools because a single contract with the National Education Association represented a neat and tidy package to a former school superintendent who imported the idea from Blue Springs.

Workers, of course, have the right to organize bargaining units, guaranteed by the 1935

organized union labor groups over the years?

Suspicion? Confidence about the manner in which Columbia conducts its affairs. It doesn’t seem to be getting any better.

Prediction: Under this mayor and council, Columbia’s remaining municipal employees will eventually come under the umbrella of AFSCME, which is another AFL – CIO organization.

Fortunately, the 1945 Missouri Constitution prohibits strikes by anyone employed by state and local government organizations — police, fire, teachers, and so forth. The dictum of Calvin Coolidge when he was governor of Massachusetts.

CBT

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 45

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B USINESS • P EOP L E • VO ICE S • F YI

OP I N I O N : KAR EN M I LLER

The Consequences of Not Teaching Cursive

BY KAREN MILLE R | Form e r Boon e Cou n t y Co m m i ss i o n e r

AS SOMEONE WHO DOES NOT HAVE children, I was somewhat oblivious to the fact that some school districts were not teaching cursive writing as part of their curriculum. I had heard the angst about teaching the Common Core standards but didn’t spend time drilling down to see what it meant.

As a young person who went through Catholic school education, cursive writing was one of the first things we learned and practiced. It was also sometimes used as a punishment — we would write the same sentence over and over on the blackboard while others were out playing during recess. I never thought about what it would mean if you couldn’t read cursive writing.

Since my retirement, I’ve been working with historical documents in the Henry J. Waters III Digital Photo and Records Lab. These include the handwritten documents of the county’s first records and the photographer’s records of the historical glass plate photo collection at the Boone County History and Culture Center.

It was here that I realized that the elimination of cursive is a significant problem. The process we go through to digitize the more than 600,000 glass plate, tin, and film negatives in our collection is sort of a forensic examination of the photographer’s hand-written records.

When working with student interns, it made me aware of what a problem it is for them to

decipher these records. It is critically important that we produce the correct information about each photograph for future genealogists, historians, and researchers.

When I met with a state archivist while working on setting up the processes we should use to develop best practices, I asked about some of the biggest problems they faced in preserving historical records. She mentioned that it was hard to find qualified staff with the proper degrees that can also read cursive writing. Think about it: If our young people today don’t learn to read cursive, they’ll never be able to read historical documents. These documents are used to research archival collections, literary papers, and our own family history. Valuable information that may be written in your family bible or in old letters sent back from soldiers in the early wars will be lost. It is our responsibility to preserve these documents for future generations. (Another best practice in business and social life, I’ve learned, is a handwritten thank you note. It is much more personal and has a greater impact than an emailed or type-written note, and cursive seems more courteous to me.)

Thinking about the importance of this, I looked to see what some research about this subject could turn up. I didn’t do a deep dive, but several articles I’ve read talk about the improved comprehension of conceptual items and retention by students when writing by hand versus taking type-written notes in class.

One potential reason is that, when handwriting your notes, you’re more likely to pick out the most important aspects of the lecture to review later for your tests. I know from experience that when I write down something I shouldn’t forget, I’m much more likely to remember it.

I was curious whether Columbia Public Schools taught cursive or not. I reached out to the administration. Jana Schmidt, the K-8 language arts coordinator, wrote back: “Columbia is implementing the Missouri Learning Standards. Under the language section of the standards, cursive is mentioned for third grade. By placing this skill in our core curriculum, we are ensuring that students will have exposure.”

Is this enough? I don’t know. Only you, as parents and employers, can answer that question. But if I’m only “exposed” to something, I probably am not going to grasp it enough to use it as part of my daily life. CBT COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 47

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OP I N I ON : ST EVE SPELLM AN

Chamber’s Washington Trip Highlights

BY STEVE SP ELL M A N | Host , Th e M id-M issou r i F re e d o m Fo r u m

I recently had the opportunity to travel to our nation’s capital with the Columbia Chamber of Commerce on its inaugural D.C. Fly-in. The two-day advocacy and relationship-building tour featured a tightly orchestrated schedule, starting with a Tuesday morning meet-up before 4:00 A.M. at the surprisingly busy Columbia Regional Airport.

By lunchtime, our 10-member contingent had arrived in a well-appointed conference room adjacent to the capitol building.

The afternoon consisted of rare access to Missouri senators Claire McCaskill and Roy Blunt, Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler, and their staffers.

Issues important to Columbia were discussed, such as the airport expansion, how tariffs or changes to NAFTA could affect MidMissouri, business taxation and regulation, and transportation. We made sure every single official got quizzed about fixing the roads, if not specifically about the plan for I-70.

Most reiterated back to us the boilerplate issues of the fuel tax rate being eroded by

inflation, fuel efficiency, and the growing popularity of electric cars. There's no extra general revenue for highways, the details of the new federal infrastructure plan is hazy, fuel taxes aren’t popular, and people don't like toll roads. Nobody offered clear leadership on this issue.

Another suggestion that came up is to form public–private partnerships to build and maintain transportation infrastructure.

Most everybody wants to avoid the extreme of wholesale privatization of highways, but private contractors already do design and construct our roads today. Private firms could step up to also administer certain major roadways, and still be overseen by MoDOT. Crafting mutuallybeneficial operating agreements is key. The sobering takeaway was that the longer we do nothing here in our part of the country, the longer the roads will continue to run “downhill” and the deeper the financial hole we’ll have to dig out of.

With three financial professionals in the group, it was fitting that the senate was debating

a financial reform bill. After the 2008 financial crisis, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was enacted to remedy the "too big to fail" issue, where if enough of the nation's biggest banks had problems, it could take down the whole economy.

The surge in bank compliance costs, which big companies can adsorb, hit smaller banks comparatively harder. Therefore, the last decade has overall seen a consolidation of small banks rolling into larger institutions, near zero new startup bank charters, and a movement of nationally-chartered banks registering with state regulators.

Columbia is fortunate to have a mix of large, medium-sized regional, and smaller bank companies serving individuals and businesses in our community.

The new financial bill, among other modest reforms, raised the cap on which banks require additional measures to manage "systemic risk" to the entire U.S. financial system. The senate passed the initial version with bipartisan support. Let’s just say where the regulatory balance best lies is continually up for debate.

In our meeting, we also discussed financial technologies, a hot topic. Now emerging are cryptocurrencies (bitcoin, et al.), peer-to-peer payments (like paying the babysitter directly via a smartphone app), and robo-advisors (automated investment providers).

With the fast pace of business technologies, laws and regulations, like rules for Uber, or developing laws concerning self-driving cars, tend to have difficulty keeping up. Smart regulations would reasonably allow for innovation but reduce the risk of widespread misunderstanding and abuse. Again, where that line is drawn is always debatable.

The chamber’s government affairs director, Jerry Dowell, who did yeoman’s work putting this trip together, plans on having a “reverse fly-in” next year, where dignitaries from Washington come visit Columbia for a few days.

The idea is that if federal policymakers come visit where our new airport terminal is going, see the condition of I-70 up close, or observe firsthand the high-tech work coming out of MU's nuclear reactor, then the ongoing relationship with our nation's elected officials will grow that much closer and more authentic. CBT Steve Spellman is a vice president and relationship manager in wealth management at Landmark Bank.

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 49

B USINESS • P EOP L E • VO ICE S • F YI

The Rise of Downzoning

BY MARK FARNEN | Founder, Strategists LLC

DURING THE PAST 18 MONTHS, the City of Columbia has experienced an unprecedented level of interest from homeowners who want to “downzone” residential properties. Some say reclassifying properties to allow less intensive uses will protect the single-family feel and integrity of their neighborhoods. Others contend that downzoning diminishes property values and could lead not to gentrification of neighborhoods, but petrification, chasing potential reinvestment dollars to other parts of the community.

The City of Columbia has always allowed landowners to petition for changes to the underlying zoning of their properties — either upzoning or downzoning. Most requests for rezoning ask for more uses to be granted for properties that are newly annexed, newly developed, or have changed in terms of access or surrounding uses. Applications for downzoning have rarely been requested. In fact, city staff estimates such requests have 50 JUNE 2018

been made less than 10 times over the course of the past four decades.

That has changed dramatically. Since January of 2017, more than 70 individual properties have been successfully downzoned from multi-family status to single- or twofamily zoning classifications, and more group applications for downzoning are expected during the coming year.

Most of the uptick in downzoning requests can be traced to three specific actions of the Columbia City Council. First, the city changed the rules regarding the timing of downzoning requests. In the past, such requests could only be filed during the months of December and January. The new rule allowed downzoning requests to be made any time during the year. Secondly, the city agreed to waive most filing fees related to rezoning requests. This resulted in a savings of hundreds or even thousands of dollars for the person or group making the downzoning request. (The rule was not changed for

people requesting upzonings.) Finally, as a part of the new Unified Development Code, the city instituted new regulations known as Neighborhood Protection Rules.

These rules restrict the scale and size of new construction that can occur on properties adjacent to either R-1 or R-2 zoned lots. In plain terms, if you own a single-family home and someone wants to build an apartment building or other multifamily housing structure next door, the new building will be subject to increased building setbacks or building height limitations, thereby decreasing the density and scale of the new structure.

In most parts of Columbia, these rules have little impact. In some neighborhoods, covenants exist that restrict use, size, or appearance of new structures built in that neighborhood, so protections outside the zoning code are already in place. But, in some older parts of town, particularly in neighborhoods near the downtown and college campus areas, the underlying zoning is much more permissive and allows multifamily use even though many properties were developed with single-family homes. How did that happen?

In the 1950s and 1960s, the city applied more permissive zoning designations to some neighborhoods in order to create more housing options for the growing community.

Veterans came to Columbia to attend college under the GI Bill; some brought their families with them to establish a new life, but many of them could not afford to purchase a new home.

The upzoning of properties in areas near the city’s three major campuses allowed property owners in those neighborhoods to rent entire houses to incoming families; take in borders on an individual basis in existing homes; and, in some cases, subdivide existing single-family homes into individual apartment units. It also allowed for the construction of regular apartment complexes in areas near job and school locations. It created higher density in the city’s core, and it promoted a more walkable city design and promoted affordability. It was truly a precursor to the concept of mixeduse development that exists in the newest version of the zoning code.

The unintended consequence of the upzoning was that, little-by-little, these areas

OPINION: M ARK FARN E N

of town began to be dominated by renters rather than by resident homeowners, and the cottage industry that was envisioned became a full-fledged business scenario.

Now, some people want to reverse that trend by downzoning individual properties to discourage further neighborhood development. This approach has drawn more criticism than other measures for one fundamental reason: The act of downzoning, coupled with provisions of the new zoning code, creates an involuntary set of restrictions on property owners who wish to redevelop properties in accordance with the rights conferred to them under the old zoning designation. Some property owners believe that is simply unfair.

Downzoning on a spot basis, or even as a group project with properties sprinkled throughout a neighborhood, has not been proven to be an effective strategy for the protection of or stabilization of any neighborhood in Columbia. And it does come with some potential financial and social risks.

In terms of diminished value on properties that surround a downzoned parcel, the impact is unclear: A restriction in use could affect loan value or price of future sales on the property. The biggest question may be how this will affect a nearby property owner’s decision to invest or reinvest in an existing property.

Some people fear that existing owners of income-producing property will be less inclined to replace deteriorating structures in neighborhoods, adding to an overall petrification. Proponents of downzoning counter that they intend to reinvest in individual homes to improve the overall nature of the place they call home, even if they experience some loss in maximum projected value.

The extent to which downzoning will impact the property rights of surrounding land owners has not yet been fully debated. Only time will tell if the city may amend this policy in the future or be forced by the courts to reevaluate the practice of intentional downzoning and its consequences. CBT

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WINNER

54 JUNE 2018

RAGTAG FILM SOCIETY A

little more than 20 years ago, a “ragtag crew” of community members, including David Wilson and Paul Sturtz, began screening independent films at The Blue Note in downtown Columbia. Throughout the years, thanks to the incredible support of the Columbia community, the group became the Ragtag Film Society, which then built Ragtag Cinema as soon as the group was able to build a brick-and-mortar location. The theater moved to an improved location in 2008 and spun off into the wildly successful, internationally recognized True/ False Film Fest in 2004.

As the Columbia Chamber of Commerce’s 2018 Small Business of the Year, Ragtag Film Society truly embodies their mission: to champion independent film to enhance both our local community and the global film community.

Through Ragtag Cinema, True/False, and Executive Director Tracy Lane’s more than 20 years of leadership in Columbia’s arts community, Ragtag Film Society has left a deep impression on Columbia and plans to keep it that way.

“Being named small business of the year is a validation of the work we’ve been doing over the past 20 years of bringing transformative cinema, music, and art to Columbia,” says Jeremy Brown, True/False Film Fest’s executive director. “And it’s a confirmation that the Columbia community truly values art and culture not just as a nice enhancement to our city, but also as an economic engine. Nonprofit arts organizations in Columbia have an economic impact of $14.7 million on the local economy, and this award recognizes that the arts mean business for Columbia.”

Ragtag Film Society has a bit of advice for new and growing businesses: “Surround yourself from the start with a group of like-minded, smart, passionate people who share your vision for your endeavor,” says Brown.

“Then create a culture that welcomes all ideas and encourages open, honest debate to figure out which ones you’ll pursue. Ragtag has always been a team-oriented, community project, and I think that’s a big part of why we’ve been honored with this award.

DAVID WILSON, TRACY LANE, CORY MCCARTER, CAMELLIA COSGRAY, AND JEREMY BROWN

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 55

INSIDE THE LINES

JAMIE LEGRANT, JESSICA AYLON, DON HINSHAW, BRAD EIKEN, AND JANE-ANN STAHL

N

ever rest on your laurels,” Brad Eiken says.

“Constantly try to improve. Change is good. Hire the right people with the right attitude and support them. Make work fun!”

This advice from Eiken, owner of Inside the Lines, perfectly encapsulates why the company was chosen as a Columbia Chamber of Commerce 2018 Small Business of the Year finalist.

The business, which provides interior design and furnishings for professional businesses, higher education and health care facilities, and local government buildings, is externally and internally people-oriented. Of his leadership style, Eiken jokingly says he is “coathoraffilcrat56 JUNE 2018

ic” (a mix of coaching, authoritative, affiliative, and democratic). “I strive to enrich the lives of co-workers and the clientele we work with,” he says. “If work isn’t fun, then why do it?”

ITL’s main objective is to create a work environment for their clients that is healthy, attractive, and branded, all three of which contribute directly to the company’s success. “I love the art of business strategy and communicating with the individuals that affect their business’s success,” Eiken says. “There is a congruent line for all businesses and their owners to have both a healthy work environment and a bottom line. I partner with clients to accomplish that.”

Internally, Eiken treats his employees with the same respect and care as his clients. “Assuring that all employees enjoy their work experience is important to me,” he says. “I treat my co-workers as I like being treated, supporting physical and emotional well-being as well as a flexible work schedule.”

On what being a Small Business of the Year finalist means to him, Eiken says: “We are very proud to be recognized in the community. Our efforts and business model are justified. Being in the same league as recent winners and this year’s finalists is very humbling.”

THE CONNECTION EXCHANGE

CARA OWINGS AND JENNIFER SCHENCK AT BAMBINO’S, A RECIPIENT OF THE CONNECTION EXCHANGE WELCOME GIFT

B

etter communities through better connections. This is the mission of Cara Owings and Jennifer Schenck’s marketing and advertising agency, The Connection Exchange.

Three years ago, the two entrepreneurs recognized an opportunity to use their passions and talents of entrepreneurship, mentoring, and personalizing the sales process to help their community and communities across the country market their small businesses.

The Connection Exchange’s mission is to “create mutually beneficial connections between consumers and the local providers of the products and services they need to impact the growth of our communities.” To fulfill this mission, The Connection Exchange works tirelessly to improve and strengthen their business through franchising and proprietary software, among other things. Today, the company operates in four Missouri locations (Columbia, St. Charles County, Sedalia/Warrensburg, and Springfield) and are working toward a national franchise model over the course of the next three to four years.

In 2016, The Connection Exchange developed a proprietary web-based software application allowing it to distribute marketing and sales leads to their membership in almost real time. This significantly streamlined their internal processes and added more value to their client services. This continued growth and technological advancement bodes well for the relatively new business and its clients.

Being included in the Columbia Chamber of Commerce’s 2018 Small Business of the Year finalists was “humbling and exciting” for Owings and Schenck. “[It is] such a huge recognition of our hard work,” says Owings.

“We started from scratch three years ago and have poured a lot of energy and work into a business that focuses on bringing the business community together to be successful.

Even though we have a long way to go, it is gratifying knowing we’ve been acknowledged for what we’ve done so far.”

The Connection Exchange ladies have a few words of advice for entrepreneurs: “Dream big. Don’t let you hold you back.

Don’t let others steal your joy. Each journey is unique with its own set of obstacles and accomplishments. Find your tribe of supporters and celebrate together.”

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 57

KILGORE’S RESPIRATORY SERVICES

CATHY EDGIN, LORI GEISSERT, KELLY KILGORE-BIETSCH, BARNO NELSON, KYRIE FAUROT, DEANNA MEYER, AND NINA LUCIDO-JOHNSTON

Customer service is not a department; it is an attitude.

T

his piece of Kilgore’s Respiratory Services’ mission statement is a prime example of why the business has been so successful since its inception 15 years ago. Owner Kelly Kilgore-Bietsch always knew she could do more as a respiratory therapist than simply treat her patients. She wanted to educate and inform, leaving her patients feeling confident in their treatments and care. “I guess the bottom line is, I knew I could do it better than the companies I worked for, and I really think at Kilgore’s Respiratory, we do,” she says.

Kilgore’s Respiratory is a durable medical equipment company for patients with respiratory 58 JUNE 2018

illnesses and sleep apnea. The business provides products such as nebulizers, oxygen, CPAP/BiPAP machines, ventilators, and hospital beds. “This is a highly competitive industry, and we are the only locally owned durable medical equipment company still in business in Columbia,” says Kilgore-Bietsch. “We take great pride in that.”

Kilgore’s also takes great pride in their customer service. With two new locations in Jefferson City and Mexico, Missouri, and plans to open two more facilities in the near future, that service is constantly expanding. “My vision for my company is to continue the high level of service we have offered over the last 15 years,” says Kilgore-Bietsch.

Their quality products and service is why Kilgore’s was once again chosen as a Columbia Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year finalist (their first nomination came in 2015). “Being one of the Small Business of the Year finalists has been one of the high points in my life to this point,” says Kilgore-Bietsch. “It has been an amazing week for my employees to revel in all the hard work they have done. It is so humbling to be honored with this group of finalists, and I am so proud of my entire team for helping me create an amazing environment for our customers — a place they where they feel at home and cared for, a place where we go above and beyond to ensure the highest level of care.”

BUCHROEDERS JEWELERS

SARAH SARNO, DEVIN SMITH, MILLS MENSER, JESSE MILLER, AND SETH LINDENBUSCH

P

ersistence has the most significant impact on the ultimate success you will achieve,” says Mills Menser, president and owner of Buchroeders Jewelers. As the owner of a business that’s been in Columbia for 122 years, Menser knows what he’s talking about.

Providing one of the Midwest’s largest collections) of bridal and fashion jewelry (and a six times bigger selection of engagement rings than any local retailer) at wholesale prices, Buchroeders was one of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce’s 2018 Small Business of the Year finalists. Their company believes that “a true customer-focused jeweler helps clients not only when they wish to buy jewelry, but also when they wish to sell it.”

Their mission fully supports this philosophy: “We exist to innovate the jewelry industry with the best combination of value, price, and customer experience. We are committed to a flexible, customer-centric culture that empowers our team to do whatever is necessary to exceed our customer’s expectations.

We treasure our reputation and our team.

We embrace transparency and constant improvement, celebrate innovation, and err on the side of generosity.”

Speaking on growth and improvement, Buchroeders works diligently to be one of the largest diamond suppliers in the Midwest. Specifically, their goal is to sell 1,000 engagement rings annually. While they admit this is an ambitious number, it creates an atmosphere of dedication and quality service.

Buchroeders significantly surpassed the industry average of 150 engagement rings sold per physical location with 412 rings sold in 2017. Through this mindset and work ethic, Buchroeders’ annual sales have doubled from more than $2 million in 2006 to more than $4 million last year.

“Buchroeders Jewelers’ success is greatly attributed to the support of the Columbia community,” says Menser. “In today’s digital world, we are fully aware that our customers could choose to patronize countless other companies. Receiving this [small business of the year] nomination has further validated our continual commitment to improving our operation to best serve our customers.” CBT COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 59

[ embrace your space ]

...you’ve earned it.

Betsy Woodruff | Katherine Woodruff | Missouri-Licensed reaLtors ® | 1515 Chapel hill rd | Columbia, Mo 65203 | 573-818-2250 | 573-446-6767 60 JUNE 2018

f r esh t h i nking

This year’s 20 Under 20 class comprises outstanding local seniors making our community proud.

BY E L I MA R C H B A N KS

20UNDER20

ANGELINA HEIN Boonville High School; MU; Biochemistry, Pre-med

ARIANNA BUTLER Battle High School; MU; Film Studies and Digital Storytelling

BRANDON ADESHAKIN Battle High School; Truman State University; Undecided

CASEY HULSHOF Fr. Tolton Catholic High School; Baylor University; English

62 JUNE 2018

You know how you sometimes look back on your high school days and long for “simpler times” when life moved at a nice, leisurely pace? The 20 teenagers in this article have no idea what you’re talking about. They’ve already accomplished more than most people twice their ages — and they haven’t even graduated high school yet. Sit back and enjoy getting to know the 20 Under 20 Class of 2018!

Let’s get right to it. They are: Angelina Hein, Arianna Butler, Brandon Adeshakin, Casey Hulshof, Chandler Sartain, Elza Guissou, Jordan Bavlnka, Joseph Magee, Katherine Dudley, Kieran Malloy, Lydia Loethen, Lydia Martinez, Madalynn Owens, Madison Harmon, Marc Orlando Smith, Max Baker, Nathan Holtmeyer, Price Phillips, Quinn Cunningham, and Veronica Tarka.

When learning more about these individuals, you can’t help but notice some commonalities. One of those is leadership. The 20 Under 20 includes student council leaders, team captains, presidents of honor societies, and recipients of more leadership awards than there is column space to name.

Hein is a drum major and dance team co-captain, to name just two of her leadership roles at Boonville High School.

According to one of Butler’s counselors at Battle High School, she's a true scholar–athlete (leader of the track team) who you “can always count on to be a mentor for younger students” trying to balance school work with athletics. As captain of the Battle High School track team, Magee embodies everything that you would want in a leader and shows “exemplary sportsmanship to opponents and officials,” according to his coach.

The members of this year’s class are also of tremendous service to the community. Dudley, a Rock Bridge senior, has assisted over 100 Columbia families by providing coats to students in need through her program, Koats4Kids. Malloy, among his many community service accolades, worked to create child care opportunities to help student–parents attending alternative high schools.

Owens, of Battle High School, volunteers for the Central Missouri Food Bank, the True/False Film Festival, and a variety of running race fundraisers for charities.

Another quality that is readily observed when looking at the 20 Under 20 is how well-rounded these fine folks are. There really isn’t a single one of them that excels in just one area. These individuals are high achievers in the classroom, athletics, and in their volunteer work. Christian Fel-

CLASS OF 2018 2017

lowship School’s Max Baker is an accomplished musician for the school’s worship team, lettered in baseball there for three years, is the school’s mascot, and still finds time to work several hours a week at Hy-Vee. Holtmeyer is a varsity scholar bowl captain, president of the drama club, organized a fundraiser for cancer research, and somehow managed to earn a 4.2 GPA at Father Tolton Catholic High School.

“He loves to learn for the sake of learning!” says his nominator.

And, as if they weren’t busy enough, the 20 Under 20 are always looking for new challenges.

Already extremely busy as the yearbook editor and senior class vice president, Owens made the decision to run cross country and join the golf team, just to try something new.

Speaking of challenges, Hickman High School’s Price Phillips is a member of both the Young Democrats and the Young Republicans (hard to get more well-rounded than that).

Price’s nominator says that he is “intellectually curious." His intellectual curiosity has led him to serve on several political campaigns.

Smith, of Battle High School, has left a literal mark on Columbia after having helped complete the MKT mural that can be seen at the Stewart Road entrance. According Smith’s nominator, “Orlando is an incredible young man who, despite the challenges of his home life, has proven his ability to work hard and invest in his community.”

In sports, having the admiration of your opponent is perhaps the highest achievement.

So it was when, after Chandler Sartain’s final basketball game playing for Christian Fellowship, the coach from the opposing team gave Sartain a hug and told him that he was one of the most outstanding young men he had ever seen on the court.

These well-accomplished teens draw their motivation and drive from a variety of sources. Tarka, a talented musician and member of a national music honor society, talks about a guitarist she met at jazz camp. “I have truly never met anyone else as committed to, and enamored of, music,” she says. Despite his living in Vermont, the musician and Tarka make it a point to keep in contact.

Phillips has great admiration for Alan Turing, the mathematician whom many credit with having invented the computer. Holtmeyer looks up to Marie Curie, the physi-

CHANDLER SARTAIN Christian Fellowship High School; Columbia College; Business Administration

ELZA GUISSOU Douglass High School; TBD; Nursing

JORDAN BAVLNKA Battle High School; MU; Physics and Computer Science

JOSEPH MAGEE Battle High School; MU; Undecided

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 63

20UNDER20

KATHERINE DUDLEY Rock Bridge High School; Washington University; Business and Fashion Design

KIERAN MALLOY Hickman High School; MU; Strategic Communications

LYDIA LOETHEN Hallsville High School; Missouri University of Science and Technology; Chemical Engineering

LYDIA MARTINEZ Battle High School; Missouri State University; Political Science

64 JUNE 2018

cist and first woman to win the Nobel Prize (which she won twice).

Baker hopes to model some of his own behavior after John Wampler, who lost his daughter, Lizzy, to cancer. Baker raised money for the Wampler family when Lizzy was fighting her illness, and he couldn’t have been more impressed with how Mr. Wampler conducted himself throughout everything.

“I admire my great-grandmother,” says Smith. “She is the wisest person I know, and without her compassion and love, I would never aspire for greatness like hers.”

In the summer of 2016, Martinez worked for an attorney with Faber & Brand who got her interested in law. Martinez stays in contact with her and would tell you that “she has remained a model for what I aspire to be.”

Future physics major Bavlnka looks up to the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman. “Many other physicists became stuck on problems that only he was able to overcome,” Bavlnka says.

Adeshakin says that his favorite class in high school has been AP Biology, and that’s because of the teacher, Rachel Tinsley. “She has a great passion for teaching and she inspires me to learn more. I strive to be as kind and helpful as her.”

Hein says that, even though it is a cliché answer, her mother is the person she admires the most. “She always puts other people before herself and is one of the hardest working people I have ever met.”

Cunningham admires his parents and how they have encouraged him to dig deeper into his interests, one of which is recycling. His efforts toward recycling have included replacing the lights at Rock Bridge with more efficient LED lights and even securing a $5,000 grant from the Mid-Missouri Solid Waste District to buy enough recycling bins for the whole school.

In the midst of earning top grades, leading various student organizations, working jobs, and constantly volunteering to serve their communities, do these guys ever stop to smell the roses?

“I absolutely love to hammock and go on nature walks,” says Hein. “Naps are great; especially in a hammock.” Hein also loves to read, paint, dance, and sing at the top of her lungs.

Butler loves to hang out with friends and watch Netflix. With aspirations to become

CLASS OF 2018 2017

an animator at Pixar, Butler may one day be streaming one of her own movies on her Netflix account.

If it’s summer, you can find Malloy enjoying an island that straddles the border between the United States and Canada. He enjoys being a counselor at the same summer camp where he was once a camper. “At camp, we go on multiweek wilderness expeditions” which include canoeing, kayaking, and climbing, he says.

Dudley likes to keep things low key in her spare time; preferring simply to go to the movies with friends, play outside with her younger sister and cousins, and play sports recreationally. Guissou also enjoys watching movies, but it’s cartoons and kids’ movies that she really likes.

Rather than paying the exorbitant amount of money for a ticket to the hit Broadway musical "Hamilton," you can actually enjoy the production for FREE because Hulshof likes to sing the musical, in its entirety, in her down time.

You can find Cunningham relaxing by playing basketball at the CYBA or playing pick-up soccer games at Stankowski Field on MU’s campus.

Harmon will swing by Shortwave to grab a latte on her way to practice with her band, White Lodge (she plays bass). Tarka also likes to relax by playing the bass, but she might also be playing piano or even just watching reruns of That 70’s Show.

MADALYNN OWENS Battle High School; MU; Journalism and Business Administration

MADISON HARMON Fr. Tolton Catholic High School; Belmont University or NYU; Audio Engineering/Recorded Music

MARC SMITH

They’ve already achieved so much, but life is just getting started for this bunch of go-getters. Harmon will graduate Father Tolton Catholic High School and attend either Belmont University in Nashville, or NYU (she’ll be studying music at either school). Phillips will attend American University in Washington D.C. and major in international studies after graduating from Hickman High School.

Tarka hasn’t made her final decision yet, but she does know that she will be leaving the country to attend either McGill University in Montreal, or the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

Guissou doesn’t yet know where she wants to go to college, but she knows that she’s passionate about health care and wants to become a nurse. Likewise, while Hein hasn’t yet decided on her college destination, she will also enter the health care field and hopes to become a pediatric surgeon.

Some are pursuing their educational goals on a more local level. Smith is planning on study-

Battle High School; Kansas City Art Institute; Bachelor of Fine Arts

MAX BAKER Christian Fellowship High School; MU then Belmont University; Undecided

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 65

20UNDER20

CLASS OF 2018

NATHAN HOLTMEYER Fr. Tolton Catholic High School; MU; Cognitive Sciences, Chemistry, or Mathematics

PRICE PHILLIPS Hickman High School; American University; International Studies

QUINN CUNNINGHAM Rock Bridge High School; MU; Physics and Linguistics

VERONICA TARKA Fr. Tolton Catholic High School; McGill University or University of British Columbia; Cognitive Sciences and Piano

66 JUNE 2018

ing at the Kansas City Art Institute. Sartain is going to study business administration at Columbia College and hopes to start his own business someday.

Quinn Cunningham won’t be leaving town as he attends MU, where he plans to study physics and linguistics. “These are two related fields that have made me ask countless questions” says Cunningham. “I hope to work with the practical aspects of them in the future as well as be able to uncover the deeper truths that perplex scientists of the respective fields.”

Cunningham will be joined at MU by Bavlnka, who, having started his high school tenure in Belgium before ending up in Mid-Missouri, will be staying in town to start the next phase of his education studying physics and computer science. He eventually plans to earn a PhD in physics, during which time he can watch Butler compete on the Mizzou track team. Magee will also be joining the MU crew, as will Owens.

Baker will only be at MU for one year, and then it’s on to Belmont University. The university also gets to enjoy the talents of Holtmeyer, who will be spending his time studying either cognitive sciences, chemistry, or mathematics.

Malloy will also be at MU, although he already has plans beyond that. After earning a degree in strategic communications with a minor in political science, he plans to fly south for graduate school and tackle a dual-masters program and earn advanced degrees in both journalism and public affairs at the University of Texas.

Anyone who wants to drive down to Rolla will find Loethen majoring in chemical engineering at the Missouri University of Science & Technology. Then, you might as well swing over to Springfield and the Missouri State University campus and ask Martinez how her political science degree is going.

Hulshof finds the publishing world appealing and hopes that one day she will have at least one book of her own published.

Dudley will be keeping herself busy in St. Louis playing for Washington University’s tennis team while studying both business and fashion design.

To this year's class of 20 Under 20, thank you for inspiring us. Your achievements separate you from the rest of the pack, yet your service to the public has brought you close to the community. We’re glad you’ve shared yourselves with us, and may you continue to inspire, challenge, and serve the world in profound and lasting ways. CBT

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Th re e Col u m b i a busin esses w ith worl dw ide reach .

BY DAV I D MO R R I S O N

In the mid-1990s, when Tony Marrero graduated with a business degree from Texas Christian University, the internet was more of a curiosity than anything else. Not many people had access to it.

Fewer still had any notion as to what it would become.

“The whole idea of the internet was developing in people’s minds as a business concept,” Marrero says. “It was very strange, and ideas of what it would become were wildly wrong, for the most part. But it was very interesting.”

Marrero combined that interest with his degree to start an internet marketing firm in Texas. Nearly a decade later,

68 JUNE 2018

he moved to Columbia and combined his knack for e-commerce with a lifelong love of soccer to start SoccerPro.com.

Now, from an unassuming building near Cosmopolitan Park, he sells soccer apparel and supplies to people all over the country. He started SoccerPro in 2004, when consumers were still wary of doing business online.

But he knew what was coming. “Timing is everything,” Marrero says.

Here’s a look at three Columbia-based businesses who rely on e-commerce for their livelihoods: how they got into the space, how the internet has affected their businesses, and what’s coming next.

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 69

The Rebel Spirit Jacob Halls came back from Belgium with a briefcase full of European alcohol. When customs asked him if he had anything to declare, he answered honestly. That was a mistake.

“They said, ‘Where’s your importer license?’ I said, ‘What are you talking about?’”

Halls says. “So it all got taken away. But it got me to thinking, How do I do this?”

Soon, he got his importer’s license. One day, a distributor saw Halls showing off his stash at the bar Halls worked at and told him that, as the legal importer, he could technically sell these products to bars in the US. Not long after that, Halls was contacting European distributors to see if they’d be interested in his services selling their products in the states.

A business was born.

“I came to this out of pure luck, chance, entrepreneurial spirit, rebel spirit, ‘don’t tell me I can’t do it’ type of thing,” Halls says. “I was just a dumb punk teenager who was like, ‘You can’t tell me I can’t bring this in.’”

Halls started Convergence Consulting in 2014. He’s part of a 10-member team that offers a wide array of services to bars, breweries, and wineries at all stages of development.

Need help marketing your new brewery? Halls and his team can do it. Have to file licensing paperwork with state or federal agencies and just don’t have the time or know-how? Convergence Consulting’s got your back.

“If we can’t do it, we help find you someone who can,” Halls says. “After we get asked about doing something enough times, I find someone who can and get them on board. Whatever the scale [clients are] at, we can handle it.

It’s kind of cool.”

Convergence Consulting Group does about 60 percent of its

70 JUNE 2018

business remotely, by Halls’ estimation, but it varies greatly from client to client. Some need staff members on the ground for weeks to help launch. Others Halls never meets.

Halls says Convergence Consulting has done business with clients in 47 different states and three countries. Firms that offer similar services tend to cluster on the coasts.

“I usually don’t try to dip my toes into their pools because, if they’re happy, I’ll take between the Rockies and the Appalachians,” Halls says. “No problem.”

Word of mouth drives a good deal of business to Halls’ firm, and presentations at trade shows don’t hurt, either. Halls is always sure to maintain a presence at the annual South East Craft Beer Fest in Columbia, as well as the Great American Beer Festival in Denver.

He’s come a long way from that failed trip through customs.

“It’s basically really been following a passion to get here,” Halls says. “I like the fact that we’ve grown organically to where we never promised anything we can’t do. We seem like we can be from right next door.

[Customers] always think we’re quasi-local.

That’s part of the beauty of being on the internet. We can respond the same day, quickly.”

Designing a Business Plan When he was an upperclassman at Hickman High School, Pat Grathwohl discovered how to turn his artistic talents into a career. He took mechanical drafting as a junior, architectural design as a senior, and, by the late 1960s, he was completing drawings for builders in town.

He started his own business, Total Design Incorporated, in 1989. By the early 2000s, he saw other designers moving their floor plans online.

He had a whole portfolio of plans to work with. He figured he’d give it a shot.

“We threw it out there, and I still have it,” Grathwohl says.

TotalPlans.com is home to nearly 400 of Grathwohl’s floor plans for houses that range between 1,100 and 5,000 square feet. Most of his business comes from the Midwest, but he’s also sold plans to builders in Brazil and Europe.

Other wholesale design sites may have 20,000 to 40,000 plans available for perusal. Grathwohl says that can be overwhelming to consumers.

“You can sit there for weeks and weeks going through all those plans and not find what you want. I try to give them that personal touch, where it doesn’t really come into play with the larger site plans,” Grathwohl says. “I do say on my site that if you can’t find anything on my website that works, I’d love to talk about designing a whole new plan for you.”

Those in-person meetings don’t happen very often. He will get the occasional customer from Columbia that likes a plan online but wants to talk through some changes in person.

He’s more than willing to alter his plans to the customer’s taste. That’s another thing Grathwohl says can set his business apart: He’s always looking to add new plans to the database.

“To take the old plans and modify them — like add a new front elevation but still use the same floor plan — is somewhat easy to do, other than putting the new elevation on the site, which takes time,” Grathwohl says. “It’s a full-time job just to keep [the site] updated and modified.”

Grathwohl is also in the process of converting his blueprints to photorealistic representations of the houses they will become using 3D computer modeling software.

Nearly 50 years in, he still knows that adaptation is a necessary part of his business’s success.

“You can sit there for weeks and weeks going through all those plans and not find what you want. I try to give them that personal touch."

— Pat Grathwohl COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 71

A Different Kind of Pro Marrero played soccer his whole life — he was a varsity athlete at TCU — but decided to hang up his cleats after graduation. Although, if he’s being honest with himself, the decision was really made for him.

“That wasn’t going to be for me, anyway,” he says, with a laugh. “I loved the game. I think I’m good at it, but I’m not a pro athlete.”

Marrero and a business partner started SoccerPro in 2004 as a brick-and-mortar store. While the soccer community in Columbia was strong, Marrero saw more opportunities in other areas of the country.

“The floorspace that was used for the walk-in of the brick-and-mortar store was becoming a very expensive warehouse for our online inventory,” Marrero says.

SoccerPro converted to a dot-com — it does 99 percent of its business online, Marrero says — and was acquired by St. Louis-based Soccer Master in 2009. It does healthy business in areas such as California, Texas, Florida, Chicago, and the Northeast.

People can still come to the Cosmo Park location for their soccer needs. They walk in, sit down at a computer station, pick out what they want, and someone brings it from the warehouse to them.

Marrero’s company has carved out a niche with more specialized equipment than the type that would usually go to a big-name sporting goods store. SoccerPro also deals in apparel such as replica national team and club team jerseys.

The new challenge, Marrero says, is competing with manufacturers such as Nike and Adidas, who feel they can market and sell their products to consumers directly.

It’s a double-edged sword. Marrero’s familiarity with e-commerce helped him launch a successful business, but the ease with which the big brands can now connect with customers through online sales is also putting retailers like SoccerPro out of business.

“We’ve had to make sure we have a competitive advantage, a unique voice in our business,” Marrero said. “If we did not have a different way of presenting these products, there’s a really good chance we wouldn’t be around right now.

The brands ask their partners to be unique and help amplify their message to a different audience. By adding that value, we're surviving.

“You’ve got to be on your toes. It makes it interesting, challenging, and frustrating all at the same time.” CBT

“We’ve had to make sure we have a competitive advantage, a unique voice in our business. If we didn’t have a different way of presenting these products, there’s a really good chance we wouldn’t be around right now.”

— Tony Marrero

72 JUNE 2018

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Living in a Digital World A snarky discussion on technology etiquette.

BY HARTLEY WRIGHT

74 JUNE 2018

We all need to un-strain our brain and de-stress our mess from trying to post, tweet, text, email, upload, and download all at the same time.

So take a minute to relax. Silence your devices, read this out loud to your co-worker, and enjoy a laugh or two — even if it’s at your own expense.

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 75

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? Why is it so hard to keep our devices quiet in places like the cinema, the library, an art gallery, or, dare I suggest, any social setting? Maybe 40-somethings who are fans of Cameron Crowe’s 1989 “Say Anything” are just trying to reenact Lloyd Dobbler’s boom box serenade for Diane Court. My friend Nathan tells me this reference is lost on him, but he did promise to wear headphones when he streams the film on his device. Shouldn’t our goal be to imitate Nathan and not those people who scream like they’re having a conversation across the crowd at a concert when they’re actually having a conversation on the phone? And let’s not forget those of us who hold our devices gently in front of our chin while using the speakerphone to talk about our current medical condition. It’s like forcing everyone to inhale our second-hand smoke.

WATCH WHERE YOU WALK. Recently, a girl was obviously letting her friend know why she would be late meeting her for lunch when, suddenly, she walked right into a concrete mixer. My friend Scott, who was delivering concrete, told me the girl walked for several blocks toward his truck, never once looking up to realize she was headed toward a solid fail. We all know it isn’t wise or safe to text and walk. We also know it isn’t wise or safe to text and drive,

Abraham Lincoln

AL

"The problem with quotes on the internet is you can never be certain they're authentic."

but I’m certain this very morning you and I each passed more than one driver more focused on the palm of their hand than their skill on the roadway. They might as well be drinking. Perhaps the MoDOT mantra “Buckle up, phone down” — #BUPD for the socially minded — is actually warning us to steer clear of those drivers who are boozed up or on personal devices.

SAY WHAT? We’ve all gotten pretty good at ignoring the world around us, haven’t we? Did you know

How do you get people to notice you online?

You have to really make an impression.

76 JUNE 2018

it is actually possible to play a game of cards without checking notifications between hands? Believe it or not, most movies feature something visually interesting we can actually miss because we were paying too much attention to the wrong screen. And food can be eaten at a dining table without personal devices. Nothing on our devices can help us feel the warmth of the sun, relax in the lake, or appreciate the comfort and security that comes from receiving a hug from someone you love.

ABSOLVING OUR GUILT. My college-aged daughter recently texted my device to inform me my voice mailbox was almost full. My mailbox is always at full capacity because I never listen to my voicemails. Who does? Most wish people would simply send a text.

Since I believe this to be true, there is only one reason why I choose to leave someone a voicemail: I have an urgent need to absolve myself of some guilt or confess my sins without having to worry about being interrupted or negotiate reconciliation.

Someone reading this almost surely has a voice message on their phone from me making amends for however I wronged them. And the editor of this magazine still hasn’t listened to my voice message apologizing for turning in this feature way past my deadline. I doubt she will ever listen to it. But I feel better, and that’s why I thank God for voicemail.

Aaron Cobra Mervis

"What did people do when they went to the bathroom before smart phones?"

KEEPING IT SHALLOW. Funny how owning a smartphone lends itself to not actually using it as a phone at all.

We probably wouldn’t walk into a friend’s home without first ringing the doorbell, so why would we call someone without texting first to let them know we’re going to call? For that matter, why call them at all? Chances are the person on the other end won’t answer, and we’ll end up leaving a voice message for them to never listen to later. Admit it, don’t we text people instead of calling in order to maintain some distance in our relationships? Emojis, acronyms, and emoticons are all capable of adequately expressing our emotions clearly, helping us avoid the greatly overrated “deep conversation.” Like buttons and quick comment boxes within the social network apps on our smartphones now free us from having private, detailed discussions over coffee with close friends. Thank goodness.

do many things all at once. Unfortunately, doing so doesn’t make us smarter. Shouldn’t devices supplement our brains, not replace our need to use them? Instead, write down the phone number. It will improve your ability to learn. Studies have shown that media multitaskers who are simultaneously listening to music while playing a game, or surfing the web while texting, do worse at filtering out irrelevant information. As a result, they think more slowly and have

AM

diminished long-term memory. So play it safe, do one thing at a time, and watch out for concrete mixers. CBT Editor’s note: Hartley Wright is a local playwright, father, Airbnb host, concrete truck driver, and all-around jack of all trades. He is also a dreamer, free spirit, and self-proclaimed procrastinator. If you ask him, he has an opinion on just about everything, and is happy to talk or write about it.

MESSAGES ABOUT MESSAGES. You might not want to make the mistake of assuming email is still a good means of communication. Even though most people have it on their personal device, email is technically outside the sphere of social media, and many people are no longer vigilant about it. Here is a good rule of thumb for 2018: If an email isn’t answered in 15 minutes, send a text message informing the recipient you sent an email. Wait five minutes, and then send them a Facebook message about the text about the email.

Then call them out in your Snapchat story.

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IN FOCUS

FAST, FASTER, FASTEST

Internet speeds and what's available in Mid-Missouri.

BY JODIE JACKSON JR.

IN FOCUS

H

igh-speed. Faster speed. Ultra-fast. Blazing fast.

Supersonic. Okay, that last one is made up, but we thought it would be a trendy, cool way for an internet service provider to promote their new, faster service, joining the direct mail pieces that liberally use the other superlatives.

No matter the adjective, internet speeds are now faster than ever. The race to upgrade, expand, and attract new customers and entire service areas is also a high-speed pursuit. Affordability is also improving, thanks to the furious competition to see who can provide the top bang-bang connection speeds to the World Wide Web. Mediacom and CenturyLink have extensive fiber networks in Columbia. Socket’s local fiber muscle is also flexing and growing, and the home-grown company is expanding into surrounding communities.

Columbia-based Socket, a 24-year-old company with a footprint that now reaches beyond Missouri’s borders, expanded its one-gigabit fiber network to Boonville early this spring, and currently is also planning possible expansion to local neighborhoods, including the Valley View area in west Columbia. Mediacom’s service area, which already includes neighborhoods not served by Socket, offers 1-gig connection speeds to both homes and businesses.

Allie Schomaker, marketing manager for Socket, doesn't single out Mediacom as a competitor, but the expansion message is clear. Socket offers DSL broadband service via phone and cable connections while responding to customer requests for new fiber service areas.

“When we bring fiber to a new area, we’re not only looking to bring faster, more reliable internet service,” Schomaker says, “but also a choice in providers, since several homes and businesses might currently only have access to one or two providers.”

Socket’s fiber network, which began in 2011, taking service to parts of Fulton and rural Callaway County, has since expanded to include Columbia, Jefferson City, Ashland, Mexico, Fayette, Sedalia, Centralia, Sturgeon, and more.

Mediacom, which has never offered dial-up internet — something a fraction of Socket customers have access to — began offering one-gig service in 2015, focusing on Columbia for a pilot project. In July 2017, Mediacom Communications Director Phyllis Peters announced that the rest of Mediacom’s Missouri service area had caught up to Columbia and were also “1-Gig cities.” Mediacom now offers 1-gig speed to more than 1,300 communities.

“Today the ecosystem is all about speed and compatibility to receive 1-gig speeds,” Peters says. The biggest hurdle for receiving the superfast, blazing speed was having a modem and router capable of sharing the bandwidth with multiple devices. (Peters pointed out that as bandwidth travels through a router, devices in use will not receive “pure 1-gig speed.”

The best connection is direct-to-computer. “Fixed is faster,” she says) Socket’s 1-gig service area is growing in portions of Columbia and Central Missouri.

“We don’t see ubiquitous [1-gig] coverage across all neighborhoods at this time, but Socket continues to build out new neighborhoods on an ongoing basis,” Schomaker says.

In addition to Mediacom and satellite providers like Dish and DirectTV, CenturyLink, the second largest telecommunications company in the U.S., also has a large stake of the Columbia and Central Missouri internet

DID YOU KNOW? The term broadband commonly refers to high-speed Internet access that is always on and faster than the traditional dial-up access. Broadband includes several highspeed transmission technologies such as: • Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) • Cable Modem • Fiber • Wireless • Satellite • Broadband over Power Lines (BPL)

80 JUNE 2018

I n te r n e t S p e e d s i n M i d - M i ss o u r i service business. Ninety-eight percent of Columbia has cable coverage and 96 percent has DSL coverage. Overall, 98 percent of Columbia residents have access to highspeed internet compared to 79 percent of Missouri residents. The two percent of local residents without high-speed internet access is in small pockets, mostly in east Columbia.

CenturyLink Senior Communications Manager Michael Baker says his company is unable to answer specific questions about CenturyLink prices and service areas “due to competitive reasons and concerns about protecting the company’s proprietary information.”

In a written statement, Baker added, “We understand the importance of broadband connectivity and have invested heavily in Missouri for many years. CenturyLink currently serves Columbia and Boone County as well as significant portions of Callaway, Cole, and other areas in the middle part of Missouri. We offer up to 1-gig service in many parts of Columbia and own significant fiber optic assets around Missouri.”

Socket offers fiber connection packages in Columbia starting at $70 a month for residential customers, compared with DSL, which ranges from $40 to $65 per month.

Schomaker noted that the speeds for fiber are 10 to 100 times faster than DSL. Pricing includes all taxes and fees.

Mediacom began delivering internet speeds of 1.5 mbps in 2002 while others were still widely using dial-up service. Today, Mediacom customer costs are affected by bundle list prices when a customer subscribes to internet, cable television, and landline telephone service together. “Most customers pay less than list,” Peters says.

The lowest monthly list price for 60 megabits per second download speed is $54.99, with a list price of $139.99 for 1-gig download speed.

And what about those landline telephones?

For Mediacom, 35 percent of residential internet customers still have a wired line for residential phone service, featuring unlimited long-distance and no counting of minutes — “a good backup for times when

"When we bring fiber to a new area, we’re not only looking to bring faster, more reliable internet service, but also a choice in providers, since several homes and businesses might currently only have access to one or two providers."

- Allie Schomaker, Socket

a cell phone is missing or dead,” Peters says. Mediacom’s landline phone plan has several bells and whistles, including caller ID that appears on the TV screen. Business customers use Mediacom phone service more than residential users.

About 14 percent of Socket’s residential customers who are eligible for telephone service have a landline. Dial-up internet service — the slow connection to the World Wide Web via the phone line — isn’t dead, but it is a dinosaur.

“Yes, it is still available, but we have a negligible amount of customers using it,” Schomaker says.

As Socket’s expansion into Boonville indicates, internet companies don’t wait for the phone to ring for new business. They

pursue the hot leads. For instance, Peters says Mediacom works with city planners and developers “to get our network trenched in newly-built residential neighborhoods.

The company’s “Open Road” initiative to have ready-to-go access to 1-gig speeds — or a lower speed a business might choose — works to bring the network to more office buildings by expanding fiber down streets and alleys on a spec basis, without upfront supporting contracts.

Mediacom “firmly believes that the residents in a community with a population of 250 people need robust broadband speeds and new-generation digital services just as much as the people who live in the larger cities,” Peters says. “Maybe they need it to an even greater degree.” CBT

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 81

olumbia Region al A

by C irp red or we o t P

TOP

CBT’s

OF THE

TOWN 2017

TOP PLACE TO WORK – 1-25 EMPLOYEES

TOP ARCHITECT

TOP ADVERTISING AGENCY

TOP ACCOUNTING SERVICE

1st Place: Columbia Eye Consultants 2nd Place: Caledon Virtual

1st Place: Simon Oswald Architecture 2nd Place: PWArchitects

TOP PLACE TO WORK - 26-50 EMPLOYEES

TOP HR FIRM

1st Place: True Media 2nd Place: Visionworks Marketing Group

1st Place: Williams-Keepers LLC 2005 W. Broadway, Columbia 573-442-6171, williamskeepers.com

1st Place: Woodruff 2nd Place: Century 21 Advantage

1st Place: Moresource, Inc. 2nd Place: Accounting Plus 1604 Business Loop 70 W. B, Columbia 573-445-3805, accountingplusinc.com

TOP PLACE TO WORK - 51+ EMPLOYEES 1st Place: Veterans United Home Loans 2nd Place: Central Bank of Boone County

TOP EMERGING PROFESSIONAL 1st Place: Amanda Quick, The Hatchery 2nd Place: Brandon Banks, Modern Media Concepts

TOP SEASONED PRO 1st Place: Eric Morrison, Providence Bank 2nd Place: Gina Gervino, Columbia Insurance Group

TOP COMMERCIAL REALTOR 1st Place: Paul Land, Plaza Commercial Realty 2501 Bernadette Dr, Columbia 573-445-1020, paulland.com

TOP SALESPERSON 1st Place: Brooke Berkey, Central Bank of Boone County 2nd Place: Danny Gingerich, Joe Machens Toyota-Scion

TOP CHAMBER VOLUNTEER 1st Place: Tom Trabue, McClure Engineering Co. 2nd Place: Sherry Major, Columbia EDP

TOP CEO 1st Place: Steve Erdel, Central Bank of Boone County 2nd Place: Gary Thompson, Columbia Insurance Group

TOP BANK 1st Place: Central Bank of Boone County 2nd Place: Landmark Bank

2nd Place: Gina Rende, Maly Commercial Realty

TOP COMMERCIAL LENDER

1st Place: Coil Construction 2nd Place: Little Dixie Construction

1st Place: Chris Widmer, Landmark Bank 2nd Place: Chris Rosskopf, Central Bank of Boone County

TOP REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER

TOP BUSINESS INSURANCE

1st Place: Mike Tompkins, Tompkins Homes & Development 2nd Place: Jay Lindner, Forum Development Group

1st Place: Stephanie Wilmsmeyer, State Farm 2609 E. Broadway, Columbia 573-445-5774, insurecomo.com

TOP COMMERCIAL BUILDER

TOP PLACE TO CLOSE A DEAL 1st Place: 44 Stone 2nd Place: Boone-Central Title Co.

TOP STAFFING COMPANY 1st Place: JobFinders Employment Services 1729 W. Broadway #4, Columbia, 573-446-4250, jobfindersusa.com

2nd Place: Kelly Services

TOP JANITORIAL SERVICES 1st Place: Atkins, Inc. 2nd Place: Safi Sana

TOP HAPPY HOUR 1st Place: Logboat Brewing Co. 2nd Place: The Roof

TOP IT COMPANY 1st Place: Midwest Computech 311 Bernadette Dr., Ste. A, Columbia 573-499-6928, midwestcomputech.com

1st Place: Fresh Ideas Food Service Management 2nd Place: Missouri Employers Mutual

1st Place: LG Patterson 2nd Place: Casey Buckman

TOP COMMERCIAL VIDEOGRAPHER 1st Place: The Evoke Group 2nd Place: Cosmic Sauce

TOP EVENT LOCATION 1st Place: Logboat Brewing Co. 2nd Place: Stoney Creek Hotel & Conference Center

TOP PLACE FOR BUSINESS LUNCH 1st Place: Addison’s 2nd Place: D. Rowe’s

TOP COFFEE MEETING LOCATION 1st Place: Kaldi’s Coffee 2nd Place: The Grind Coffee House 2nd Place: EasyPC IT & Computer Repair

TOP NATIONAL PRESENCE 1st Place: True/False Film Fest 2nd Place: Veterans United Home Loans

TOP CATERER 1st Place: Bleu Events 2nd Place: Hoss’s Market 1010 Club Village Dr., Columbia 573-815-9711, hosssmarket.com

TOP WEB DEVELOPER 1st Place: Hoot Design Co. 2nd Place: Delta Systems

TOP B2B PRODUCT OR SERVICE

1st Place: Crockett Engineering 2nd Place: McClure Engineering Co.

1st Place: GFI Digital 2nd Place: CoMo Connection Exchange

2nd Place: Columbia Insurance Group

TOP OFFICE DIGS

TOP COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHER

TOP ENGINEER 82 JUNE 2018

2nd Place: Accounting Plus

TOP LOCAL TEAM-BUILDING EXPERIENCE 1st Place: Breakout CoMo 2nd Place: Escape Plan

Personal Touch Cleaning Service is honored to offer free cleaning for women in cancer treatment in the Columbia area.

Seven years and counting...

Does your home need a Personal Touch?

Office: 573.256.1920 www.personaltouchcleaningservicellc.com

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 83

B U S I N E SS • P E O P L E • VO I C E S • F Y I

N E W BU SI N ESS LI C EN SES

New Business Licenses MidMoTix.com

You’re on the guest list.

MidMoTix is your local option for conveniently selling and purchasing tickets to events in the Mid-Missouri area.

APRIL 201 8

Foundation Building Remolding

Image Dei

915 Elleta Blvd.

Newborn Photography

714-380-3127

1404 Subella Dr.

Wholesale sales and distribution

573-280-8720

of building material

Newborn and maternity photography

Compass Home Solutions

4803 Burbank Loop

Kimball Construction

251-223-6850

1908 Chapel Hill Rd.

Handyman, inspection

573-220-1967

notices, remodel

General home repairs,

Kansas City Ice Cream Co. Inc.

1000 N. Eighth St. 573-673-0151 Sales of prepackaged ice cream novelties Deluxe Window Care

3403 Lake Front Ct. 573-607-0713 Window and gutter cleaning, pressure washing

midmo TIX FOLLOW US: Interested in learning more? Contact us at info@MidMoTix.com

84 JUNE 2018

Fabulous Press LLC

905 N. Garth Ave. 573-476-3200 Custom apparel and miscellaneous

no electrical or plumbing Make-Up My Face

1612 High Quest Cir. 573-476-5986 Face painting for events Peace Love Paws Pet Sitters

501 E. Wee Jo Ct. 573-874-1762 Pet sitting Rubio’s Roofing Experts

3390 S. Country Hill Ct. 573-514-1405 Roofing and repairs

retail, online based Thompson Fidelis Support Services

Brothers Remodeling

2606 Rose Dr.

8615 W. Trails West Dr.

573-387-6024

573-424-2360

Agency to provide residential care

Remodeling

I Fix Phones

ZouFood

3701 Brown Station Rd.

3669 Legion Ln.

573-303-2010

573-442-2950

Cell phone repair

Hot dog cart CBT

SOME REPAIRS YOU SEE. OURS YOU DON’T. CENTRAL AUTO BODY CENTRALMISSOURI MISSOURI AUTO BODY Quality collision repair is available for every type of vehicle and while yours is being repaired, we have loaner vehicles so you can go about your day while we do our job.

Our techs take pride in their work and everything is done with a written guarantee (573) 875-5877 | 5353 N Highway 763, Columbia

CentralMoAutoBody.com

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 85

B U S I N E SS • P E O P L E • VO I C E S • F Y I

Econ Index LABOR

HOUSING MARCH 2018

UNITED STATES Labor force: 161,548,000 Employment: 154,877,000 Unemployment: 6,671,000 Rate: 4.1 percent

Total single-family home sales: 194 Existing single-family home sales: 171 New construction single-family home sales: 23

MISSOURI

Single-family homes average

Labor force: 3,037,457

listing sold price: $206,891

Employment: 2,922,605

Single-family homes median

Unemployment: 114,852 Rate: 3.8 percent BOONE COUNTY

sold price: $195,000 Single-family homes active listings on market: 698

Labor force: 97,493

Single-family homes average days on

Employment: 94,998

market: 59

Unemployment: 2,495

Single-family homes pending

Rate: 2.6 percent

listings on market: 287

COLUMBIA Labor force: 66,604 Employment: 64,915 Unemployment: 1,689

UTILITIES

Rate: 2.5 percent WATER April 2018: 49,217

CONSTRUCTION APRIL 2018 Residential building permits: 75

April 2017: 48,334 Change #: 883 Change %: 1.827 Number of customers receiving service on April 1, 2018: 49,172

Value of residential building permits: $8,661,192

ELECTRIC

Commercial building

April 2018: 50,201

permits: 7 Value of commercial building permits: $3,118,181 Commercial additions/alterations: 22

86 JUNE 2018

April 2017: 49,654 Change #: 547 Change %: 1.102

Value of commercial additions/alternations:

Number of customers receiving

$7,462,929

service on April 1, 2018: 50,209 CBT

B USIN ESS • P EOP L E • VOIC ES • FY I

D E E DS

Member FDIC

Deeds of Trust WORTH MORE THAN $1,249,200

$8,952,000

$2,070,000

$1,403,986

The Brooks at Columbia LLC Central Bank of Boone County STR 15-48-12 /WSW

Tinsley & Baker Unlimited LLC The Bank of Missouri LT 2A2 Stoney Creek Plat 2

The Lemone family limited

$4,990,668

$2,000,000

The Country Club of Missouri Central Bank of Boone County LT 1 PT Woodrail Sub Plat 1

Kanco LLC Central Bank of Boone County LT 1A Lenoir Subdivision Plat 2

partnership LLLP Callaway Bank LT 26 Concorde Office & Industrial Plaza Plat 12 $1,249,200

Willett, Kent F Trust Landmark Bank STR 35-49-12//N AC 10 FF Survey #8045

Schilb Investments LLC Bank of Sullivan LT 547 Eastport Village Plat 5

516 deeds of trust were issued between 4/10 and 5/7 CBT

Father’s Day is the perfect time to

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COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 87

ADVERTISER INDEX ACCOUNTING PLUS..................................................................................................... 91

LANDMARK BANK.......................................................................................................... 2

ACHIEVE BALANCE.................................................................................................... 42

MEDIACOM.......................................................................................................................52

ANTHONY JINSON PHOTOGRAPHY......................................................................15

MERCEDES OF COLUMBIA..........................................................................................11

ATKINS, INC....................................................................................................................40

MIDMOTIX........................................................................................................................ 84

BIG CEDAR LODGE.........................................................................................................8

MIDWAY GOLF & GAMES........................................................................................... 16

BMW OF COLUMBIA...................................................................................................... 5

MIDWEST COMPUTECH................................................................................................9

CENTRAL BANK OF BOONE COUNTY...............................................83, 85 & 87

MODERN LITHO/BROWN PRINTING.................................................................... 20

CENTRAL MISSOURI AUTO BODY........................................................................ 85

NATHAN JONES LAW................................................................................................. 42

CENTRAL TRUST COMPANY.................................................................................... 18

NAUGHT NAUGHT INSURANCE AGENCY.......................................................... 85

CITY OF COLUMBIA WATER & LIGHT................................................................... 10

PERSONAL TOUCH CLEANING SERVICE........................................................... 83

CITY WATCH COLUMBIA.............................................................................................51

PWARCHITECTS, INC.................................................................................................. 39

COLUMBIA EDP..............................................................................................................78

QUANTUM WIRELESS INTERNET............................................................................51

COLUMBIA MARKETING GROUP............................................................................73

REALTY EXECUTIVES - HEATH HIGGINS.............................................................. 7

COMMERCE BANK....................................................................................................... 39

RESTORATION EYECARE......................................................................................... 34

COMPASS CHIROPRACTIC....................................................................................... 46

SEPTAGON CONSTRUCTION................................................................................... 20

CONVERGEONE............................................................................................................. 18

SILVERBALL.......................................................................................................................6

DOWNTOWN APPLIANCE.........................................................................................78

SOCKET.............................................................................................................................22

EDWARD JONES............................................................................................................78

SOLSTICE SENIOR LIVING........................................................................................ 86

ESI COMMUNICATIONS.............................................................................................. 36

STANGE LAW FIRM...................................................................................................... 88

EXPRESS EMPLOYMENT PROFESSIONALS...................................................... 48

STONEY CREEK INN.................................................................................................... 26

FIRST MIDWEST BANK.............................................................................................. 44

SUPERIOR GARDEN CENTER/ROST LANDSCAPE........................................ 26

FIRST STATE COMMUNITY BANK.......................................................................... 42

THE BROADWAY HOTEL........................................................................................... 48

GAINES CAR DETAILING........................................................................................... 34

UNIVERSITY CLUB........................................................................................................ 14

GFI DIGITAL....................................................................................................................... 3

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI HEALTH CARE..........................................................4

HAWTHORN BANK...................................................................................................... 92

WEICHERT REALTORS-ANGELIQUE HUNTER.................................................. 16

HEART OF MISSOURI UNITED WAY............................................................. 12 & 13

WILSON'S FITNESS......................................................................................................67

JENNING'S PREMIUM MEATS...................................................................................87

WOODRUFF GROUP...................................................................................................60

88 JUNE 2018

B U SINESS • P EOP L E • VOIC ES • FY I

8

BY T H E N U M BER S

The number of different local high schools who had seniors selected for the 2018 class of 20 Under 20

14 14 24 47

Years since SoccerPro was founded

Percentage of Socket customers eligible for phone service who have a landline

Number of years Socket has been in business

Number of states that Convergence Consulting has done business in

1007

The minimum square footage of house plans offered by Total Design Inc. COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 89

B USINESS • P EOP L E • VOIC ES • FY I

T H I S OR T H AT

DAVID NIVENS Chief Executive Officer, Midwest Computech

Mac Details

Big Picture

Cursive

Print

Early Bird Cinema Michael Jackson Firefox 9-5 Learn At Your Desk

Flexibility Teach In a Meeting

Planner Traditional Certain Country

Save

Spend

Summer

Winter

Passenger Car Ocean Optimistic Business Solo Books

90 JUNE 2018

Chrome

Cake

City

the list.

2. I really love both and the dynamic differences and uniqueness that each offer. For living purposes though, I love my spot in the country.

3. I love that we experience all seasons in Missouri and each one holds a different attraction for me.

4. If it requires more than a sentence or two, then call. Otherwise, text.

The Beatles

Pie

Skeptical

1. I’m a fan of great music by great artists, and both of these are high on

Netflix

Beer

Modern

AM E N DME N TS A N D CONDI TI ONS

Night Owl

Wine

Improviser

Photography by Keith Borgmeyer

PC

Driver Plane Mountains Realistic Casual Team Magazines

Reading

Writing

Creative

Analytical

Introvert

Extrovert

Podcast Cluttered Card Game Concept Fiction Text Soup

Playlist Minimalist Board Game Execute Non-fiction Call Sandwich

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COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 91

COLUMBIA BUSINESS TIMES \ 2001 CORPORATE PLACE, STE. 100 \ COLUMBIA, MO 65202

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Member FDIC NASDAQ: HWBK ©2018, Hawthorn Bank

NMLS #1006206

HawthornBank.com