Columbia Business Times - March 2016

March 2016 Hospitality issue

Distiller s Page 50

Mike Kelly T h e T i g e r H ot e l Page 35

B e hi nd the win e & DINE Page 56

MODERN WORLD BISTRO

Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner • Events

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PERFORMANCE IS A Four-Door.

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Sales Manager for GFI Digital

Lisa Tye,

Clubhouse Manager

Tina Patel,

Director of Events

Kayley Wieberg,

Membership Director

Andrea Paul,

Senior Account Manager for GFI Digital

CHRIS MCCULLOUGH AND THE GFI DIGITAL TEAM have been a tremendous asset to our business.

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So Much For Getting Away Unnoticed.

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From the Editor

Editorial Erica Pefferman, Publisher Erica@BusinessTimesCompany.com Brenna McDermott, Editor Brenna@BusinessTimesCompany.com Matthew Patston, Assistant Editor Matt@BusinessTimesCompany.com

A Change of Plans...

DESIGN Jordan Watts, Editorial Designer Jordan@BusinessTimesCompany.com

›› When I knock on Erica Pefferman’s door and say “Heyyyyyyyy…,”

Creative Services Keith Borgmeyer, Senior Editorial Designer Keith@BusinessTimesCompany.com Kate Morrow, Creative Marketing Kate@BusinessTimesCompany.com

she can probably guess that what comes next isn’t going to be good. Most often, it means there’s been a change of plans. I do not like changes of plans. I like the plan. Everyone should follow my plan exactly.

But, when your industry is the news, everything is always changing.

MARKETING REPRESENTATIVES Deb Valvo, Marketing Consultant Deb@BusinessTimesCompany.com Janelle Wilbers Hayley, Marketing Consultant Janelle@BusinessTimesCompany.com Jamie Patterson, Digital Services Director Jamie@BusinessTimesCompany.com

We have to be along for the ride.

When planning our hospitality issue, we decided to feature Mike Kelly, then the general manager of Stoney Creek Hotel & Conference Center, as our Person You Should Know (page 35). Then, after learning more about Photo by Anthony Jinson

him (people in the industry know him as THE champion for the hospitality industry in Columbia), we decided he’d be the perfect cover model.

We had an amazing photo shoot on location at Stoney Creek. Mike missed his calling as a model — every single shot was cover-worthy.

About a week later, Mike emailed to let me know he was leaving Stoney Creek to join The Tiger Hotel team as director of operations. Definitely a change of plan. Definitely a “Heyyyyyyyy…” situation.

I was happy for Mike for his new opportunity, stressed for me and bummed about the cover photo that would never be.

But that’s the beauty of working in this industry. There’s no such thing as comfortable. Plans will be corrected, schedules will be thrown out of whack, but it’s worthwhile to get to think creatively each day, to solve problems, to care for a publication like CBT. And Anthony Jinson turned out another fantastic shoot with Mike at the Vault beneath The Tiger, which is the cover you see on this issue. Want to see the original photos? You’ll have to visit ColumbiaBusinessTimes.com.

When I accepted this position, I knew it would help me achieve tremendous growth. I think the hospitality industry in Columbia is going through a similar growth. Whether it’s weekend events (page 46), sports facilities (page 41) or emerging local brands (page 50), you can see that we’re growing.

The city is attracting more guests than ever before who are eating at our restaurants, filling up at our gas stations and sleeping in our hotels. This is a time of growth for our community, and there’s no limit to the opportunities for us to bring visitors and revenue into our city.

As citizens of our community, we too can support the hospitality industry. Attend a new festival, eat at a local restaurant, plan a staycation (away from the kids and the dishes) in one of our hotels. We live in a wonderful, growing city. Sometimes it’s nice to appreciate it with the fresh eyes of a visitor.

I hope you enjoy this fun and optimistic look at our community.

We want to hear from you. Email me or tweet at us (@ColumbiaBiz) and tell us what you think.

Thanks for reading,

Brenna McDermott, Editor brenna@businesstimescompany.com

Mike Kelly is a man who loves hats. He’s wearing his favorite hat in this shot, a sort of Indiana Jones look from a more sophisticated age. He’s singlehandedly working on bringing the men’s hat back in style and blames JFK’s luscious head of hair for the decline of the chapeau. Photo

by Anthony Jinson.

MARCH 2016 HOSPITALITY ISSUE

DISTILLER S

B E HI N D the W I N E & DINE

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Anthony Jinson, Ben Meldrum CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Beth Bramstedt, Brent Foster, Al Germond, Brandon Hoops, Brenna McDermott, Chris Nyenhuis, Matt Patston, Monica Pitts, Tony Richards, Peter Stiepleman, Jennifer Truesdale Interns Marilyn Haigh, Caroline Harding, Sean Nelson, Alisiana Peters, Brooke Skiles, Sierra Stewart, Amber Taylor MANAGEMENT Erica Pefferman, President Erica@BusinessTimesCompany.com Renea Sapp, Vice President of Finance ReneaS@BusinessTimesCompany.com Amy Ferrari, Operations Manager Amy@BusinessTimesCompany.com Crystal Richardson, Marketing Manager Crystal@BusinessTimesCompany.com Jessica Kaiser, Account Manager Jessica@BusinessTimesCompany.com SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscription rate is $19.95 for 12 issues for 1 year or $34.95 for 24 issues for 2 years.

To place an order or to inform us of an address change, log on to ColumbiaBusinessTimes.com.

The Columbia Business Times is published every month

by The Business Times Co., 2001 Corporate Place, Suite 100, Columbia, MO 65202.

Copyright The Business Times Co., 2008.

All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of any editorial or graphic content without the express written permission of the publisher is prohibited.

PAGE 56

PAGE 50

MIKE KELLY T H E T I G E R H OT E L PAGE 35

OUR MISSION STATEMENT The Columbia Business Times and ColumbiaBusinessTimes.com strives to be Columbia’s leading source for timely and comprehensive news coverage of the local business community. This publication is dedicated to being the most relevant and useful vehicle for the exchange of information and ideas among Columbia’s business professionals.

columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 17

18 \\\ MARCH 2016

about the last times What's happening online Jason Smallheer @JSmallheer New article I wrote for @ColumbiaBiz. Are we closer to a cure for cancer? #cancercure

Around the office We’ve been doing some facilitating at our office, hosting a networking event for CoMo Connection Exchange and the new member welcome for the Columbia Chamber of Commerce. Thanks for letting us join in the fun!

D&H Drugstore @DHDrugstore @ColumbiaBiz we appreciate your focus on local pharmacy!

One on one service and a family touch. #LoveLocal #CoMo #pharmacy J. Otto Lottes HSL Library @LottesLibrary Interesting read to see how @MUHealth dealt with the unknown that came with the ICD-10 transition @ColumbiaBiz Westminster College @WestminsterMO Check out Westminster alumna Amanda Signaigo-Owens via @ColumbiaBiz #WestMOnews Too Rooster Artistry @TooRooster New on Twitter, ready to bust my biz wide open! Join me ~ or tell me where you are & I’ll show up w/ canvas/brush

Behind the scenes Congrats, Deb Valvo!

We’re growing again — Deb Valvo, our former director of sales, is moving into a new role as publisher of our sister publication COMO Living.

Congrats Deb!

Aaron Gray, M.D. @MizzouSportsDoc Check out my experience with the transition to ICD-10 at @MUHealth in this story @ColumbiaBiz Nicole Flood @NicoleFlood Three local pharmacies in Columbia stay competitive in changing medical landscape. @ColumbiaBiz MU MAA @MUArtandArch Good read on the history of our new building! #Mizzou #MizzouNorth @ColumbiaBiz @TheLoopCoMo Write to CBT editor Brenna McDermott at Brenna@BusinessTimesCompany.com columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 19

WHAT ARE YOU TRAINING FOR?

WHAT ARE YOU TRAINING FOR? Skinny jeans? Kids? Health and fitness? Swimsuit season? Satisfaction? Confidence?

There’s something FOR everyBODY! WILSONSFITNESS.COM 2902 Forum Blvd.

111 Orr St. (In the District)

573.446.3232 2601 Rangeline

2900 Forum Blvd.

CBT contributors MARCH 2016 Beth Bramstedt is a trained journalist who spent the last 25 years serving on the staff of a local nonprofit.

She is a world traveler, loyal friend, fan of country music and mother of boys who strives to see the world with the heart of a pastor and the eyes of a storyteller.

Brent Foster currently works in communications and marketing after a stint as a reporter for the Jefferson City News Tribune.

Beth Bramstedt

Brent Foster

Brandon Hoops started writing for a daily newspaper at age 15, but his love for storytelling goes back to fourth grade, when his story “The Bear that Invented Football” won a school-wide competition. A graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism, Brandon prefers vinyl records and hardcover books, and yes, to answer the question everyone asks, he loves to play basketball.

Anthony Jinson is a commercial photographer specializing in editorial, corporate and advertising photography with a focus on portraiture. When not making images, brandon hoops

anthony jinson

you’re likely to find Anthony spending time with his son or wrenching on vintage motorcycles.

Matt Patston is the assistant editor of CBT and a senior at the Missouri School of Journalism. He's from Denver, Colorado and spends his free time exploring Boone County with his fiancée and reading long articles he finds on Twitter.

Jennifer Truesdale has a Bachelor of Arts in theatre from Truman State University and a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Missouri. She works matt patston

jennifer Truesdale

in the office of public relations at Columbia College. columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 21

22 \\\ MARCH 2016

March 2016

Vol. 22, Issue 9 columbiabusinesstimes.com

Departments

›› hospitality Issue

50

Master Distillers

DogMaster Distillery is bringing back the classic cocktail one manhattan at a time.

41

46

17 From the Editor 19 Letters to the Editor 21 Contributors 25 Movers and Shakers 26 Briefly in the News 29 A Closer Look 30 Business Update 35 P.Y.S.K. 39 Opinion 70 Nonprofit Spotlight 72 Celebrations 75 Education 76 Marketing 78 Startups 79 Org Health 80 Business Licenses 81 Deeds of Trust 82 Economic Index 83 By the Numbers 87 This or That 88 6 Questions 90 Flashback

56

64

If You Build It

The Weekender

Wine and Dine

TIF Tiff

Columbia is building new facilities for youth sports, which will bring more tournaments, and tourism revenue, to the city.

Events throughout the year keep Columbia’s tourism dollars coming in, and that amount is growing year after year.

The University Club's

Tax-increment financing

chef apprentice program is

is used across the country

preparing the next generation

– why has the topic been so

of culinary masters.

controversial in Columbia?

24 \\\ MARCH 2016

Movers and Shakers

›› Professionals grow, serve and achieve ›› Central Bank of

Boone County

Sandy Jonas

Stacia Gerrish

Randall Minchew

Lee Ballenger

Edgar Ailor

Central Bank of Boone County has named Sandy Jonas manager of the Village Bank, at 1916 Paris Road in Columbia. Branch managers oversee the day-to-day operations of the branch, including management of the staff; leadership in sales and service; and administrative and compliance functions. Jonas has more than 30 years of financial services experience. CBBC also announced three employee promotions made in December. Mahogany Thomas, at the Columbia Mall Bank, and Alex Hager, at the Keene Financial Center, were both promoted to financial associates. The bank’s customer service center promoted Yohali Sandoval to a bankcard representative, and Stacia Gerrish has joined CBBC as a mortgage loan officer.

›› Randall Minchew David Roebuck

Shanda Traiser

Jeff Guinn

Kat Cunningham

Andre Cook

Randall Minchew has become president of the board of directors for Phoenix Health Programs, a local substance abuse treatment center. Due to his strong background in business management and 40 years of his own sobriety, Minchew will continue the organization’s mission to improve the health and quality of life of those impacted by drugs and alcohol.

›› MBS Textbook Exchange MBS Textbook Exchange announced the following promotions: Lee Ballenger, to network and server administrator; Caroline Armstrong, to MBS direct acquisitions specialist; Kimberly Walker, to MBS direct business analyst; Edgar Ailor, to MBS direct strategic partnership manager; and Brad Johnson, to network and server administration.

›› Columbia College

›› Dave Griggs

David Roebuck, Ph.D., who currently serves as professor of political science at Columbia College, will assume the position of dean of the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. Shanda Traiser, Ph.D., who is currently the director of strategic planning at Basin Electric Power Cooperative, will be the dean of the School of Business Administration. Sarah Vordtriede-Patton, Ph.D., who is currently the interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at St. Ambrose University, will serve as the dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

Dave Griggs, owner of Dave Griggs’ Flooring America, has been named chairman of the National Federation of Independent Business’s state Leadership Council. Griggs’ flooring company, founded in 1975, became an NFIB member in 1991.

›› Paul Tatum Paul Tatum, medical director of the Compassus hospice program in Columbia and associate professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at MU, has been appointed to the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine Board of Directors. He will lead the organization’s education, training, networking and advocacy efforts.

›› Jeff Guinn Jeff Guinn has been named Restaurateur of the Year by the Mid-Missouri Chapter of the Missouri Restaurant Association. He is food and beverage director as well as the executive chef for The Broadway. He oversees all hotel food and beverage operations, including those of ElevenEleven and The Roof.

›› Kat Cunningham The Boone Hospital Foundation has recently elected Kat Cunningham as the new board president. She is the president of Moresource, and she has been a member of the foundation board for 13 years.

›› Ronald McDonald House Charities of Mid-Missouri Ronald McDonald House Charities of Mid-Missouri announced that four new members have been selected to serve on the organization’s board of directors: Kathleen Bruegenhemke, Hawthorn Bank; Iris Calloway, MU; Dr. Tim Fete, MU School of Medicine; and Harriet Yelon, community leader.

›› Andre Cook The Columbia Police Department has hired Andre Cook as the civilian police trainer. His law enforcement experience has spanned more than 20 years in several different capacities. He served as a reserve officer in the early ’90s, and he retired as a lieutenant and chief of the detectives unit at the Fulton Police Department in 2013. In between those positions, Cook worked with the Missouri Capitol Police and the Holt’s Summit Police Department.

›› Kelsey Meyer Kelsey Meyer, president and cofounder of local content marketing agency Influence & Co., was recently named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in marketing and advertising.

CBT recently recognized Meyer in its annual 20 Under 40 class of 2016.

Entrepreneur previously recognized her company in its top company cultures list. CBT

➜ Are you or your employees making waves in the Columbia business community? Send us your news at Editor@BusinessTimesCompany.com columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 25

briefly in the news

›› A rundown of this month’s top headlines

CPS Pilots Lunch Program In January, Columbia Public Schools Nutrition Services began a pilot program through the National School Lunch program. The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) enrolls students in selected schools to eat free breakfast and lunch daily, regardless of free and reduced price status. Alpha Hart Lewis, Benton STEM, Blue Ridge, Derby Ridge, West Boulevard, the Center of Responsive Education and Douglass are participating in the program. Funds are provided through the National School Lunch program. The district will receive maximum reimbursement for 91.1 percent of participating students and partial reimbursement for 8.9 percent of participating students.

WWU relocates in Columbia

William Woods University’s Columbia campus has relocated to Parkade Center, on Business Loop 70 W. WWU had been located off Hwy. 63 on Falling Leaf Court for 14 years. The new space contains classrooms, conference areas and offices. Moberly Area Community College is already located in the Parkade. WWU Vice President Kathy Groves says the move is to enhance the student experience with study spaces and a common area as well as to increase overall visibility and accessibility.

26 \\\ MARCH 2016

Cosmo Club donates The Cosmopolitan Club has pledged to provide $125,000 to city funding of a project called “Cosmo Corner” in Nifong Park.

This money will fund the first phase of the project and 50 percent of the needed money.

The project is scheduled for completion in 2016. The city will construct a picnic shelter for large family and corporate events, a playground and a 72-space parking lot with a lighted walkway.

CIG joins Council Columbia Insurance Group is the newest company partner of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America’s Agents Council for Technology. “ACT welcomes Columbia Insurance Group to the table and applauds the company’s commitment to advancing technology for independent insurance agents and brokers to better serve their customers,” says Ron Berg, ACT executive director.

ACT was established in 1999 to provide a forum to address technology issues facing the independent insurance agency.

Bur Oak Brewing expands Columbia-based Bur Oak Brewing Company has introduced three beers in Chicago. "Chicago represents a giant step forward for our brand," says Craig Stichter, president of Bur Oak. "It is a great opportunity to expand our footprint into one of the largest and most active craft beer markets in the country." The brewery produces about 1,200 barrels of beer each year. Three Bur Oak products, Boone County Brown, Lily and Big Tree IPA, are now available at Binny’s Beverage Depot, which has 31 locations in Chicago.

CPD Receives Trauma Kits The Boone County Office of Emergency Management donated 56 emergency trauma kits to the Columbia Police Department. The kits cost approximately $245 each and include items that can assist officers in caring for victims during an active shooter situation. The kits will be placed in CPD patrol vehicles for officer use.

VU Great Place to Work Veterans United Home Loans was named one of the 50 Best Workplaces for Camaraderie by the Great Place to Work Institute and Fortune. VU was the fourth-highest ranked company on the list. The results were based on employees’ own assessments of the sense of team, fun and collegiality in the workplace. More than 255,000 randomly selected employees from more than 600 companies participated in evaluations.

MU Professor: India’s Person of the Year Kattesh Katti, Ph.D., Curators’ Professor of Radiology and Physics at the MU School of Medicine, was named the 2016 Person of the Year in Science by Vijayavani, a daily newspaper in the Indian state of Karnataka. Katti received this recognition for his breakthrough research in nanomedicine and green nanotechnology.

Phoenix opens women’s facility Phoenix Health Programs, a residential treatment center, has opened a women’s treatment facility. The facility will provide residential substance treatment and social setting detoxification, which provides women a safe place to detox. The facility opened on Feb. 2. “We are excited to offer this new service that will allow Phoenix to provide a full continuum of care for both men and women in our community,” says Executive Director Michael Trapp. “It is a big accomplishment that we are looking forward to extending into the future of promoting long-term recovery.” Last year, Phoenix served more than 2,000 people. CBT columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 27

Food & Wine Tour

of Tuscany

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Explore Renaissance Florence, tour a sustainable winery and take in the deeply rooted Italian culture during a warm summer week in Western Italy. Don’t worry about a thing - we’ll take care of your first-class lodging in Florence as well as most of your meals.

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AT NINTH & CHERRY

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Presented by

a closer look

›› A quick look at emerging companies

1. Jersey Mike’s Subs

3. Arch City Vapors

5. Jamba Juice

The Jersey Mike’s Subs that opened in Columbia back in October was the 1,000th store for the franchise. The sandwich shop is located at 1101 Grindstone Parkway. Jersey Mike’s is known for premium sliced and grilled subs. The Grindstone location is owned by franchisees Sterling and Meghan Sublett. The chain was founded in 1956 on the Jersey Shore and was named the fastest growing restaurant chain the country in 2014 and 2015, according to the Nation’s Restaurant News Top 100. The restaurant offers cold subs, hot subs, wraps and salads. Catering is also available.

Contact: Sterling and Meghan Sublett, 573-874-0172 Website: JerseyMikes.com

Arch City Vapors, located at 1305 Grindstone Pkwy., provides an alternative to traditional smoking. With several St. Louis locations established, owner Phillip Conover decided to create a Columbia location to offer customers the same competitive prices.

Arch City Vapors offers 200 flavors of electronic juice in addition to a wide variety of nicotine levels to fit any individual’s needs. Each Wednesday, they have a “buy one, get one free” special on all in-house juices. Their clientele ranges anywhere from 21 to 80 years old. Arch City Vapors operates Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Contact: Philip Conover, 636-262-0518

With the mission to “inspire and simplify healthy living for active, on-the-go lifestyles,” Jamba Juice deemed Columbia a great location, as college students are constantly on the go.

Located at 260 S. Tenth St., Jamba Juice offers a variety of smoothies, juices and food items that are made with high-quality ingredients. “We also cater and reach out to our local communities to fundraise,” says Area Manager Joey Franks.

“We go for the real stuff in all our products, no high-fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors or preservations and no processed sugars.” Jamba Juice operates Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Contact: Geary Graham, 573-397-6219 Website: JambaJuice.com

2. Welcome Inn Columbia

4. Lawfer Time Shop

6. Cortex

Now under new ownership, Welcome Inn Columbia, located at 1612 N. Providence Road, recently reopened for business.

Welcome Inn has a total of 142 rooms, and their site includes 24-hour service; Whirlpool and spa; complimentary coffee; games; vending and ice machines; and pool tables. Daily room prices are $65 plus tax, and the inn also offers weekly and monthly rates along with extended stay specials. Welcome Inn is pet-friendly and offers smoke-friendly rooms.

Contact: Kristyna Pincova, 573-449-2491

If you’re in need of a watch repair, Lawfer Time Shop can be the one to get the job done.

Located at 601 E. Broadway, Ste. 303, inside of L.C. Betz Jewelers, Lawfer Time Shop offers quality watch repair for any type of timepiece.

In addition to watch repair, this shop also offers free estimates on pocket watch restorations, and jobs are done on-site. Owner Rex Lawfer enjoys restoring pocket watches because of their history, as these watches are often passed down from generation to generation. Lawfer Time Shop operates Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Contact: Rex Lawfer, 573-582-2021

John Gillis, owner of Cortex, has a background in web application development. “I have a passion for finding solutions to a business’ need, and the most popular one seems to be web app development,” Gillis says.

Cortex officially opened for business in December 2015. The company offers web, mobile and desktop development for clients. In addition to taking on clients, Gillis is also looking for talented people to join his team.

Contact: John Gillis, 573-575-6467 Website: CortexColumbia.com CBT

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➜ Are you an entrepreneur? Are you sprouting a new business? Tell us about it at Editor@BusinessTimesCompany.com columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 29

xx Guinn, Bob McDonald, Ben Randolph Jeff Anthony Jinson Photo by Ben Meldrum MARCH 2016 30 \\\ MarcH

business update

➜ 1111 East Broadway 573-875-7000 thebroadwaycolumbia.com

›› Transformed, trending and up-to-the-minute

Midwest with Flair

In 2016, The Broadway hotel focuses on restaurant success.

By Brenna McDermott | Photos by Ben Meldrum Twenty-three months in, The Broadway has received recognition among Doubletree properties, blown past occupancy rates and developed one of Columbia’s go-to bars in The Roof.

This year, General Manager Bob McDonald says the boutique hotel is focusing on making their in-house restaurant, ElevenEleven, one of the premiere restaurants in Columbia with the help of its chefs.

The Broadway, owned by Dave Parmley, who also owns Hampton Inn and Suites and Stadium Grill, is a boutique Doubletree by Hilton property, one of only 25 in the world.

The hotel includes ElevenEleven, the fullservice restaurant, and The Roof, an indoor– outdoor bar.

“The whole vision for this project is really Dave’s,” McDonald says. “His vision matched what I had envisioned for this market for years.”

McDonald and the staff exceeded original occupancy goals by 15 percent. Looking forward, McDonald says they’ll work on promoting ElevenEleven for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The hotel employs, on average throughout the year, 150 staff members, most of whom are part time.

ElevenEleven makes 95 percent of all the food from scratch, says Executive Chef and Food Service Director Jeff Guinn. He and Chef de Cuisine Ben Randolph designed the menu together; Guinn describes it as “modern world bistro.”

That means, McDonald says, bringing in worldwide flavors and fusing it with the Midwest palate and portions.

The dinner menu includes items like roasted duck breast (Guinn is “amazing” with duck, McDonald says); bouillabaisse; grilled tuna; seared scallops; and a variety of flatbreads, pastas and small plates.

ElevenEleven, the full-service restaurant inside The Broadway, is a “modern world bistro,” pairing worldwide flavors with the Midwest palate.

“Our lunch menu has some great offerings for those who are adventurous with food or those who might have a slightly more conservative approach to food,” Guinn says.

Guinn’s vision is paying off. The Mid-Missouri Chapter of the Missouri Restaurant Association named Guinn its Restauranteur of the Year. There are more than 200 members in the Mid-Missouri Chapter.

“He is, true and true, a Columbian and has a feeling of what people are looking for in the market, and he was able to take the ideas he had and tie them in with Ben’s [ideas],” McDonald says.

Guinn joined The Broadway team after a stint as MU professor in the School of Hospi-

tality Management. McDonald says his teaching background makes Guinn an unusual chef, with a teaching temperament rather than the stereotypical chef ’s intense and critical personality. He’s passionate about teaching, but also about creating great food.

Guinn's daily role is maintaining service and food standards across all the hotel’s food operations, including the restaurant, The Roof and catering services.

Right now, McDonald says, they’re working on building awareness with local foodies and overcoming the hotel-inside-a-restaurant stereotype. And after some stumbles with service at the outset, McDonald says the team columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 31

is ready to bring in food critics to analyze the products. Bringing in travel and culinary writers is great exposure for the entire city.

“If you live in a metropolitan area like Chicago or St. Louis, you know that your finer restaurants are in hotels, and most of your finer chefs are in restaurants inside hotels,” McDonald says. “But it just hasn’t translated here yet.”

“We’ve built some great menus, and we’ve got a lot of passion behind the food,” Guinn says.

“We’ve got some great wine lists. We’re just kind of getting the word out there that we’re not a hotel restaurant per se, we’re a great restaurant that just happens to be located in a hotel.”

The restaurant is located in the lobby, serves brunch Saturdays and Sundays, has a dedicated pastry chef, and offers valet parking during lunch. The restaurant also offers events like wine-pairing dinners, whiskey tastings and cheese tastings to engage with the community.

Guinn says the restaurant has been known as a “hidden gem” since opening. He’s ready to move from hidden gem to top-of-mind for Columbia dining. Part of that means sharing the vision for ElevenEleven.

McDonald describes the food not necessarily as fine dining, but exciting dining.

“If you’re going to try to be the best hotel, try to bring something unique as far as design, you better be unique in all aspects,” McDonald says.

“So the food had to be that way too.”

32 \\\ MARCH 2016

""If you live in a metropolitan area like Chicago or St. Louis, you know that your finer restaurants are in hotels, and most of your finer chefs are in restaurants inside hotels. But it just hasn’t translated here yet.""

- Bob McDonald

The hotel is coming off some big awards. In 2014, The Broadway was named the Doubletree Development of the Year, beating out properties across the United States. In 2015, the property was named fifth of more than 400 Doubletrees in the world for guest services.

The building is LEED certified, which McDonald says was achieved through air and heating system efficiencies, significant reduction of construction waste going to landfills and an ambitious recycling program inside the hotel. The Broadway was the first federally certified LEED hotel in mid-Missouri.

Upcoming projects include expanding meeting space and continuing to make The Broadway a focal point downtown with the continued success of The Roof and partnerships with True/False, We Always Swing Jazz Series, Roots N Blues and other Columbia activities. And the team is in the early stages of planning for further development.

That community cooperation extends to the entire hotel industry. McDonald says the hospitality industry works together, with the help of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, to protect the lodging tax, making sure the funds go back into the hotels, retail stores and restaurants that make up the tourism industry.

“I think that really drives us to be tighter as a community so that we can be good stewards of the tax and help build Columbia,” McDonald says. CBT

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Jesse McGrath, Owner

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MIKE KELLY M a r c h 2 0 1 6 • P YS K • P e r s o n y o u s h o u l d k n o w

D i r ector of Operations | co lum bia H o sp ita l ity Ma n ag e m e n t | AGE: 59 Job description: I’m responsible for operations of The Tiger Hotel, Glenn’s Café, The Vault, The Velvet Cupcake, The Industry and May Contain Nuts.

Years lived in Columbia/mid-Missouri: 40-plus years

Original hometown: I was born in Waco, Texas, but I call Fulton home — from birth to third grade, I was an Air Force brat, as my dad was a B-52 aircraft commander, so we traveled around the U.S.

Why I’m passionate about my job: Each day brings new challenges and opportunities. I enjoy working with the staff to meet all our daily requirements and then to ensure we are taking care of our guests, conference planners and conference attendees. You need to have a deep passion in this business, and it’s rewarding to help our guests with any request.

What people should know about this profession: Be nice to the front desk staff. They can solve most problems or issues you may have and exceed your expectations. They can’t help you if you don’t say anything until you check out.

A favorite recent project: Accepting a new opportunity to help build the various business operations at The Tiger Hotel.

Professional background: I’ve been in the

Photos by Anthony Jinson

service industry for over 45 years, since I was a 14-year-old janitor at St. Peters Catholic School in Fulton. Then I went on to fast food jobs before joining the U.S. Navy. After the Navy, I was in copier repair service and private cable operations management, then I went to hotel administration — from New Orleans to Key West and finally back to Columbia. columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 35

""Be nice to the front desk staff.

They can solve most problems or issues you may have.""

A Columbia businessperson I admire and why: I divide this up into two If I weren’t doing this for a living, I would: I

Education: MBA, University of Phoenix;

would get bored laying on a beach somewhere after about a week. I imagine I would still be working in a service industry business. I find that it’s fun, it’s challenging, and I enjoy working one-on-one with people to meet their needs.

Navy Supply Officer School, Athens, Georgia; Bachelor of Science, Columbia College; Fulton High School; Columbia hospitality administrator, highest level under AHLA; Columbia tourism ambassador.

Community involvement: City of

Family: Janet, my wife of more than 20 years, and three children: one located in Joplin; one in the Navy, currently stationed in Japan; and one in Nashville. Also two grandchildren and two dogs. I come from a family of eight kids.

Columbia, Convention and Visitors Bureau Advisory Board member; City of Columbia, TIF Commission; Columbia Hospitality Association board member and vice president; Missouri Hotel & Lodging Association board member and vice president; Missouri Restaurant Association allied member; American Hotel & Lodging Association member; Missouri Chamber of Commerce member; Columbia Chamber of Commerce member; Missouri Travel Council member; Mid-Missouri Tourism Council member.

U.S. Navy commander and an Eagle Scout.

Favorite place in Columbia: I enjoy the

What I do for fun: Hobby farming. My wife

downtown environment, and I love our parks and recreation areas throughout the city, especially the trails.

and I have some acreage with an orchard area, blackberries, elderberries and more than 50 chickens.

Accomplishment I’m most proud of: Being a Most people don’t know that I: learned to fly an airplane at 16. I soloed after six hours of instruction and then did a small solo VFR cross-country trip, to the Lake of the Ozarks and back, successfully.

categories. The first is government, and the first person is Mike Matthes — what a challenge to come into this town and work with a variety of groups to build a stronger city. I admire his ability to work between the different interests. I have worked with him over the years and we haven’t always agreed on issues, but I respect him and look forward to continuing that relationship.

Second is Dan Atwill — I’ve known Dan since early 1990s and admire his ability to work through all the various groups and interests and grow Boone County into a successful business environment. The second category is in business, and both of these individuals helped vitalize downtown Columbia, which helps all businesses: Glyn Laverick, for working with the city to bring back a historic hotel and for bringing Glenn’s Café back with the original sign; Dave Parmley, again for working with the city to build a new hotel downtown, which helps to vitalize the entire city. CBT

➜ Are you or your employees making waves in the Columbia business community? Send us your news at Editor@BusinessTimesCompany.com 36 \\\ MARCH 2016

We asked parents if there were opportunities to exercise leadership skills at Tolton Catholic. Here’s what they had to say ...

“ ”

Yes! My daughter was not very outgoing at all before coming to Tolton. Now she exudes confidence and is finding her fit. (parent of a transfer student) Absolutely. While I think our son already had the tendency to be a leader, I definitely think that the setting Tolton provides and its size have encouraged him further. (freshman parent) I think that every student at TCHS can find an opportunity to lead - it seems to be an inherent part of the Tolton program. (freshman parent)

SPIRIT

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Roundtable › Al Germond

A Calm Between Storms?

For months, it seemed like the bad old days of the ’60s and ’70s had returned to the University of Missouri campus.

Starting in 1965, Old Mizzou was roiled by a series of controversies that began as students — inspired, no doubt, by activities elsewhere — challenged the university's role as their in loco parentis. The protests reached a crescendo during a series of demonstrations in May 1970 after the Kent State shootings that led to censure by the American Association Al Germond is the host of the of University Professors in April 1973.

Columbia Business Times Statewide and legislative sentiment visa-vis the university had reached a hisSunday Morning Roundtable toric nadir, resulting in funding cuts that at 8:15 a.m. Sundays on KFRU. proved harmful. As the Vietnam War deHe can be reached at escalated, a sense of normalcy gradually algermond@ returned to the campus. One expression businesstimescompany.com of relief came in March 1974, when thousands of students streaked across campus in an active week of near-naked activity that included one student's historic bareback sally through Greektown on a white horse.

A different sense of calm has returned to the campus as this is written. Concern remains as university administrators are confronted by the looming financial challenges posed by projected enrollment declines and whatever spanking the solons in Jefferson City decide to inflict as a reflection of increasingly negative sentiment statewide. It has never been easy for the University of Missouri, which now receives almost a half-billion dollars every year in appropriations from the state legislature. Conflict arises because the majority of those who toil in academia consider themselves to be liberals, progressives, perhaps even socialists. They reliably vote for Democratic candidates, much to the consternation of Republicans, libertarians, conservatives, tea partiers and whatever else now constitutes their virtually veto-proof majorities in both houses.

Right now, there doesn't seem to be much room for compromise in Jefferson City. The Republicans — the conservatives, if you will — are running the legislative show, and some of them speak rather vengefully of our flagship campus. Legislators have foolishly negated any effort to fully staff the UM Board of Curators until after the November general election just when it would seem that full strength would be most helpful in rebuilding the university's somewhat tattered executive suite. The unintended consequences of their pique

could hurt the very folks who need the most help. Perhaps this will lead to the reduction of their super majorities when enough voters react negatively at the polls to their legislative vengeance.

Too much energy has been wasted on the untenured, somewhat less than muscular assistant professor of communications who made a fool of herself November 9. She has since apologized, the civil complaint has been addressed and now she hangs suspended midway in her year-long procedure to gain tenure. MU is in a tight spot here, squeezed between the rabble who wants the lady fired and the delicacy of dealing with the AAUP and their power to sanction, which would lessen Mizzou's ability to both hire and retain its academic staff. Put the lady back in the classroom and allow the tenure process to determine her fate, unpopular as her reinstatement might be with the hoi polloi. It's not a good idea to fool around with the AAUP, especially while MU is struggling to remain an invited member of the prestigious American Association of Universities.

The curators and General Counsel Steve Owens, Esq., should have been more muscular dealing with the volcanic eruption at the meeting on February 4. That's when a group of black activists interrupted the whittled down assemblage of curators to read and reinforce their demands that were first proffered during The Times of Troubles last fall. The benign reaction to this eruption by the curators is very troubling. Is there not something in "Robert’s Rules of Order" that would have accounted for and controlled this behavior? Or is "Robert's" irrelevant because disrespectfully boisterous interruptions of otherwise public meetings are something we just better get used to? The protesters should have requested time to speak in advance. Do the curators have any rules of procedure? They should have asked them to leave. If they didn't comply, they should have been removed, perhaps even arrested if necessary.

Even more troubling is the new twist of angry militancy expressed by the demonstrators who invoked the name of a presumed heroine as they exited their disruptive visit with the curators. This may well be a very ominous development. Invoking and honoring Assata Shakur, a.k.a. Joanne Chesimard, would appear to escalate the militancy of this band of objectors as they continue to press their demands for change at the University of Missouri. Shakur, exiled to Cuba following her escape from a New Jersey prison in 1979, had been convicted of murdering a New Jersey state police officer during a traffic stop in 1973. With a $2 million bounty on her head, she is definitely among the most wanted and represents the antithesis of what most of us would consider to be a law-abiding citizen. Our canary in the coal mine doesn't like what it sees because something more noxious seems almost certain to develop as the days warm up and protest groups are reactivated. CBT

Put the lady back in the classroom and allow the tenure process to determine her fate, unpopular as her reinstatement might be with the hoi polloi.

columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 39

40 \\\ MARCH 2016

IF YOU

D L I U B IT CoM o is b uilding new fa c ilities for youth sp orts — and hoping to rec ruit big-dolla r tourna m ents to fill them .

By Brandon Hoops Image Source: ThinkStock columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 41

Long before Mike Griggs could take panoramas on an iPhone, he carried around a 35mm camera.

It was the family camera and was used to document vacations, parties, holidays, sports events and everyday family activities. But it had another purpose that proved quite tedious to his wife and two sons.

Anytime the family would be away from Columbia, Griggs had a habit of stopping at baseball diamonds or soccer complexes or gymnasiums to take photographs. The fields. The geography. The lights. The parking. The concessions. The bleachers. The landscaping. So many different features captured his attention, and he couldn’t resist collecting photos to print and then share as inspiration and motivation with other staff in the Columbia Parks and Recreation Department. Once digital images became the norm, he would simply send an email with a bunch of attachments. On several occasions, Griggs heard comments about how he maxed out a co-worker’s inbox.

Although many of those images have been discarded or stored away in a forgotten box or photo album or hard drive, Griggs’ mind is still alive with possibilities of what can enhance Columbia’s recreational infrastructure.

“If I had to pick an area that’s one of my strengths, it’s knowing what sports facilities are needed in Columbia,” says Griggs, the ever inquisitive and energetic Parks and Recreation director.

The 2015 renewal of the park sales tax means Griggs gets to put his strengths to work during the next seven years while planning and coordinating 42 projects — some improvements and some new developments. Griggs especially loves to talk about one long-overdue project that can be found listed with the others on a color-coordinated printout on his desk: No. 36 — Sports Field House — Construction of 4-court building with office space — Total: $2.7 million

Seasonal Blues In mid-January, Griggs did something he had never done in his three years as director. He spoke to an audience of Columbia hotel general managers.

And, like he had done at 23 different meetings leading up to last November’s ballot issue, he painted a picture of what a multipurpose facility, like the upcoming Sports 42 \\\ MARCH 2016

Field House, means, not only for the future of youth and amateur sports, but for the quiet winter weekends when many of Columbia’s 3,600 hotel rooms sit empty.

“I always joke that the general managers of the hotels love me from March to December,” says Griggs, who has been with the parks department since 1993. “After December, they don’t like me at all because we don’t do anything for them. Well, now I’ve got something good to say to them.”

it puts extra fire behind us to fill those hotel rooms during the winte r months – megan m c conachie For more years then Griggs can remember, a multipurpose facility has been on the Parks and Recreation Department’s wish list.

He says people are surprised to learn that Columbia only owns three basketball courts: two at the Activities and Recreation Center, or ARC, and one at the Armory — and the ARC is reserved for members.

The Sports Field House will be designed for flexibility, with the primary focus being sports like basketball, volleyball, futsal (a modified version of soccer) and pickleball.

Secondary sports will include wrestling, cheerleading, archery and fencing. The building could also serve as a large meeting space.

Parks and Recreation estimates the final cost to be approximately $3 to $4 million and plans

to complete funding through a combination of grants, fundraising by the Columbia Youth Basketball Association and sponsorships.

Until October 2016, when money becomes available to hire an architect, Parks and Recreation will do some preliminary planning.

The hope is to start construction in the summer of 2017 at A. Perry Philips Park, located between Grindstone and Discovery Pkwy. off of Highway 63. Griggs anticipates eight months of construction (weather permitting) for the planned four-court facility, with additional courts and features to be added in the future. The ARC facility took 18 months to build.

“For years, our emphasis has been on our outdoor facilities,” Griggs says. “I’m looking forward to turning our attention and doing this stuff on the indoor side.”

In 2014, the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau paid $95,000 for a sports feasibility study to investigate and provide insights to strengthen the city’s sports tourism market.

The Sports Field House was the second of three recommendations made by Victus Advisors.

The CVB is eager for Columbia to generate tourism in the winter months, when the athletic calendar goes dormant. The study says Columbia averages 1.2 sporting events and 680 attendees per month from December to February.

“We want to be a premiere sports destination, and a multipurpose facility is going to give us a lot of new opportunities that we’ve really been hungry for,” says Megan McConachie, the marketing and communications manager for the CVB. “It puts extra fire behind us to fill those hotel rooms during the winter months.”

Not Enough Time and Space Presumably, the executive director of the BC Baseball League, a competitive league in central Missouri, who has more than two decades of experience organizing baseball tournaments, would have no problem starting a basketball tournament.

“We had a lot of people asking us to get into the basketball business,” Steve Reller says. “They said, ‘You run a great tournament, you know what you’re doing, and there’s a need in Columbia.’”

Unfortunately, his expertise and an eager audience didn’t equate to easy success. He learned quickly that the city was even shorter on basketball courts than it was on baseball fields.

“It took five years for the timing of both gym

availability and staff availability to get a tournament started,” Reller says.

BC Basketball hosted its first basketball tournament in 2015, using Battle High School’s main and auxiliary gyms, which were completed in 2013. This year, Reller plans to host four tournaments at Battle High School.

The Shootin’ Hoops tournament, held Jan. 24 for 3rd to 8th grade boys and girls, maxed out with 32 teams, including 14 from outside Columbia. Reller says he turned away at least 15 other teams and had to schedule games as late as 8:30 pm to get the tournament completed.

If Reller wanted to expand his tournament, it would require finding another school as well as additional people to work at the gate, supervise the site, and run concessions. This complexity is a deterrent to picking Columbia as a destination for regional and national tournaments.

“Nobody’s going to come in and run a 64-team tournament if they’re using 15 gyms all over Columbia,” Griggs says. “If you’re tournament director, that doesn’t work because it is a logistic nightmare and it multiplies your cost.”

Dave Fox, the director of the Show-Me State Games, believes a multipurpose facility would allow the Show-Me State Games to add more basketball events, particularly in winter months, when there is limited gym availability.

Basketball is the Show-Me State Games’ biggest sport, with 5,497 participants, but involvement is not confined to the three weeks of the summer games. The Show-Me State Games also hosts two Hoopin’ It Up basketball tournaments, one in February and one in April, and the MFA Oil Break Time Shootout. In 2015, the Hoopin’ It Up tournaments each attracted 100 teams and accounted for 874 hotel stays.

“We’re always looking for ways to improve what we currently have through our partnerships,” Fox says. “We would love to have another basketball tournament, and we think we could be successful at doing so in December. There’s no question this new facility creates an opportunity for us to increase our participation numbers.”

Griggs would also love to see more kids staying in Columbia to participate in competitive basketball tournaments. If his two sons wanted higher-level experience, it often meant driving to Kansas City or St. Louis.

“Right now, our competitive kids aren’t playing in Columbia,” Griggs says.

Scott Brooks has travelled well beyond Missouri to coach and watch his two sons in Amateur Athletic Union basketball tournaments.

He welcomes more opportunities for players to be developed locally.

“If [Linn State Technical College] can host a lot of these events, we can host it in a bigger city like Columbia,” says Brooks, an associate professor of sociology at MU. “I think the city could put up two of those multipurpose facilities and they would be packed.”

Two staff members from the Parks and Recreation Department will share the office space planned for the Sports Field House with a CVB employee. The hope is to create even greater collaboration to ensure the building is adequately marketed and programmed. In fact, the sales team at the CVB is already looking into possible basketball events to bring to Columbia in 2018.

“There are opportunities out there we can start exploring even while it’s still in the planning process,” McConachie says.

Organizing Building Blocks There was a time when Columbia was recognized for having the most outstanding parks department in a city with a population between 75,000 and 150,000.

The year was 1984, the same year the Rainbow Softball Complex at Cosmo Park opened.

Although Parks and Recreation has lagged behind in some areas since then, Griggs sees the Rainbow Complex as a standard to reach for with the Sports Field House.

“We don’t want dollars to limit us at first,” Griggs says. “We want to come up with ideas for the best building we think we need.”

The Parks and Recreation Department met with the CVB in January to start discussing what features would be optimal for the Sports Field House. The CVB is currently exploring the requirements needed to bid on everything from basketball to wrestling to indoor cheerleading events. The intent is to be competitive in the Midwest, not necessarily with cities in California or Florida.

Griggs is particularly interested in basketball. In his estimation, the biggest priority will be getting the best playing surface possible. The columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 43

How t o buy a

SCHOLARSHIP Scott Brooks doesn’t have to look far to see the big business of youth sports.

He sees it at Amateur Athletic Union, or AAU, basketball tournaments around the Midwest. Your entry fee is only a small piece of the pie. You can pay for player evaluations, video of games, sneakers and much more.

He sees it at Father Tolton Catholic High School basketball games, when people will line up for more than an hour to watch Michael Porter Jr., one of the most talented high school basketball players in the country.

Most of all, he sees it in his own expenses.

Last year, he spent about $8,000 for his two sons to play AAU basketball. This includes sport-specific training, strength and conditioning, nutritional supplements, equipment, participation fees, travel, food and lodging.

“The thing is, if I had more money, I would probably be spending a lot more,” Brooks says.

In April 2015, Dr. Lisa Delpy Neirotti from George Washington University shared findings with the National Association of Sports Commissions, which includes the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau, estimating that $8.96 billion was spent on sports tourism nationally in 2014.

“No matter what the economy is doing, parents are going to pay for their kids to play sports,” says Megan McConachie, the marketing and communications manager for the CVB. It’s not uncommon to hear the phrase “recession proof” attached to youth sports.

This does not surprise Brooks. As an associate professor of sociology at MU, he gets to combine his love of sports, particularly basketball, with his interest in sociology, much like his mentor, Harry Edwards, from the University of California–Berkeley.

“Every parent sees their job to provide their kid with opportunities to get ahead,” Brooks says. “You want the best for your kids, and when you have affluence like we have, it’s not surprising to see parents spend that kind of money.”

Many parents and coaches have bought into notion that if you invest into a child now, it will pay off with a scholarship. But what if things don’t go as planned? What if you invest in your child’s hoop dream and they don’t want to play anymore?

Brooks would love for children to have a broader perspective, to dream about more opportunities than just being an athlete.

Unfortunately, the draw of sports is strong.

“We’re in denial about how core sport is to our identity,” Brooks says. “It is no longer extracurricular.”

44 \\\ March MARCH 2016

aesthetics of the building aren’t as important to the players or coaches as what’s inside.

“We want to make sure we’re thoroughly thinking this through,” Griggs says. “We want to know what will allow us to host 90 percent of the tournaments we’re asked to host. We don’t want anything to surprise us.”

Mid America Youth Basketball hosts 500 tournaments nationwide each year, including events in Columbia, Jefferson City and Moberly. Executive Director Matt Flaming says some of the amenities they look for in basketball facilities include 84-foot or longer courts, with wood floors, air conditioning, score boards and seating for fans.

“Multi-court facilities are nice, but they’re not a must,” Flaming says.

In a perfect world, Parks and Recreation would build something as big as the Hearnes Center to accommodate tennis and an abundance of other amenities on top of the multipurpose courts. But Griggs emphasizes his intent to build something that’s economically feasible and financially sustainable.

His staff is also on the lookout for a multipurpose facility in Missouri to look to as a model and to find out what’s working well and what they would do differently.

Some people have asked Griggs why the city is spending so much money for a facility to attract tourists. He never hesitates with his response: “Because it means we’ll also have a great facility for people in town.”

Bringing It Home For nine consecutive Saturdays from January until March, Dean Berry and Allen Jennings weave an intricate web across the city to support the Columbia Youth Basketball Association.

On a cold Saturday in mid-January, as the soft morning sun colors a light blanket of clouds, the pair starts their day at Battle Elementary, hoping the gymnasium’s recently installed scoreboards are working. Stops follow at New Haven Elementary, Lange Middle School, Gentry Middle School, the Armory and Smithton Middle School, all before a lunch of cheeseburgers and fries at G&D Steakhouse.

Even when they walk back to their cars to do the one task they’ve been dreading all morning — install goals to lower the hoops for second and third graders at Our Lady of Lourdes Interparish School — there is still a sense of purpose in their steps.

“More than anything, our priority is the kids and helping them be active,” says Jennings, who has been CYBA president for the past eight years. He still looks the part of a basketball player, even though his back slows him down.

Like Jennings, all of Augie Nielsen’s children have played in the CBYA. His two oldest daughters have played every year since second grade, and his youngest two are playing this winter as fourth and fifth graders.

“In our family, it’s just what we do,” says Nielsen, the human resources director at Veterans United Home Loans. “I’ve been to so many games over the years.”

Nielsen appreciates the low-key environment that puts recreation ahead of competition. He says athletes who want to play at a higher level learn quickly that they don’t fit and look for alternative options.

“You don’t have to go all-in on basketball,” Nielsen says. “You can do this just for the fun of it.”

Berry and Jennings, along with other board members, coaches and volunteers, want to ensure that one of Columbia’s long-standing basketball partners continues to exist for thousands of other boys and girls in the future.

It’s why CYBA has tried for years to fundraise and build a facility. The first attempt, in the mid-1990s, was planned for Cosmo Park. In 2005, CYBA hoped to build in the area west of the ARC and then donate it to the city. In 2010, CYBA made its second attempt for a possible facility at the Boone County Fairgrounds. The fundraising failed in every instance.

“We’re pretty good at running a youth basketball league, but we’re terrible at raising money,” says Berry, the current CYBA secretary, who started the league in 1992 despite never playing basketball.

The CYBA plans to donate $100,000 to the city for the construction of the new multipurpose facility and has been involved in initial conversations about what features to research and consider as part of the plans.

There’s no sense of frustration or regret when Berry and Jennings talk about how long it has taken for their dreams to become a reality. If anything, they share the attitude of the 850 kids who come bounding into gyms across the city every Saturday eager to play basketball.

“There is definitely a level of excitement,” Griggs says. “We are happy to see this project come to fruition after all these years of planning. But there’s also a sense of, ‘Oh no, now we have to get to work.’” CBT

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Image Source: ThinkStock 46 \\\ March MARCH 2016

the

WEEKENDER Events throughout the yea r keep Colum bia ’s tourism dolla rs rolling i n.

BY Brent Foster

G

rabbing a table in a restaurant or a seat at the bar can be tough in downtown Columbia on fall Saturdays.

Just ask any lifelong Columbia resident.

For six or seven weekends a year, the city is alive with football fanatics, MU alumni, students, parents and out-of-town guests.

These visitors fill restaurants, hotels, bars, shops and leave behind important revenue for Columbia businesses.

There’s no doubt that football weekends are important to business owners and the city’s overall revenue. A 2014 study showed that out-of-town fans contributed more than $31 million dollars to the Columbia and mid-Missouri economy in fiscal year 2013, while in-town fans contributed just less than $13 million. The study, crafted by MU MBA students along with the Chamber of Commerce and the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau, underscores the importance that MU athletics has on Columbia.

But what happens for businesses the rest of the year? Where does Columbia draw the rest of its guests from?

“We have 45 other weekends we have to fill,” says Megan McConachie, marketing and communications manager for the CVB. “That’s where all of this other stuff comes into play.”

Out-of-Towners “This other stuff that comes into play” includes a plethora of events, from amateur sports to downtown festivals, all of which help bring visitors to Columbia and Boone County.

Some weekends are easy to fill. The ShowMe State Games, a three-week amateur sporting competition, has been a Columbia staple since its inception in 1985. Each year, the games bring thousands of athletes and spectators to the city.

In 2014, the Show-Me State Games had participants from 111 of Missouri’s 114 counties, with nearly 10,000 hotel stays and an estimated economic impact of more than $11 million dollars for Columbia.

“People in general just like Columbia,” says Emily Lorenz, marketing and media coordinator for the Show-Me State Games. “A lot of our athletes come from St. Charles or St. Louis.

Some come from Kansas City. For them, everything is close-knit. It’s all a pretty close distance. They get the experience that they don’t have to travel far to go to the good restaurants.

It’s kind of the opposite feedback we hear from Missourians who come from small towns.

They love that there is shopping, more restaurants to offer and a little bit more for them to do when they don’t have a game. So it’s really just such a good fit for all of our athletes.” columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 47

While the Show-Me State Games are unlikely to leave Columbia, other events in the city offer less of a guarantee. The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) hosts its yearly championship events throughout the state. Columbia has held its own through the years when it comes to securing event bids, which can bring thousands of visitors — and revenue — to the city.

Columbia currently hosts championships in boys and girls basketball and wrestling. It will also have state golf championships in 2016-17 and 2019-20. In past years, Columbia hosted baseball, softball and football championships before those events moved to other cities.

The Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival in the fall and the True/False Film Festival in late winter bring thousands of visitors to the downtown area.

According to a 2013 study from the Convention and Visitors Bureau, Roots N Blues brings in more than $1 million for the city and state.

In 2014, the event attracted more than 27,000 people from 43 states. In 2015, the event drew 24,000 fans from 42 states.

In 2011, True/False sold more than 15,000 tickets, with more than half of those coming from people outside of mid-Missouri. True/ False co-founder David Wilson says he esti-

mates there will be about 7,000 to 10,000 outof-town guests for this year’s festival, about 40 percent of the overall attendees. In 2015, the festival sold more than 45,000 tickets.

Much of the out-of-town marketing for True/False is focused on towns within a sevenhour drive of Columbia, along with Chicago and Dallas. Besides the films, there will be guest speakers and more than 25 bands from around the country at True/False. Festivalgoers will not only stay in Columbia hotels, but they’ll also eat in Columbia restaurants. This year’s festival takes place March 3 through 6.

“More than a handful of businesses have told me that True/False is their biggest weekend of the year,” Wilson says. “Especially for restaurants, it’s way better than a home football game because people are downtown all weekend long. They have breaks between movies. … They are going to spend three days where they spend three meals per day downtown.”

Katie Essing, executive director of The District, echoed Wilson’s sentiments about the impact True/False has on the downtown area.

“These events are important overall because they help bring in consistent traffic and sales,” she says. “[True/False] just transforms downtown with the multiple theaters and art institutes, and it draws people to downtown.”

Tourism Related Spending Dollars and Employment in Boone County Source: Missouri Division of Tourism

YEAR

SPENDING

employment

395,907,381

11,404

368,416,307

11,145

354,185,092

10,652

340,153,454

10,338

321,946,425

9,796

2015

$

2014

$

2013

$

2012

$

2011

$

48 \\\ MARCH 2016

Columbia Mall Traffic In large college towns across the country, there is an old saying: the best time to go shopping is during a home football game. That certainly seems to ring true at Columbia Mall.

“If you’re coming from out of town to watch a football game, more than likely you’re going to try and experience something that is unique to Columbia, something that’s not in Kansas City or St. Louis,” says Rusty Strodtman, Columbia Mall senior general manager. “Most of those places have malls. They’re not here to shop.”

Strodtman says there are occasions where the mall benefits from home football games, such as when rainy weather or colder-thanexpected temperatures force visitors to buy warm-weather clothes.

But for the most part, Columbia Mall draws out-of-town visitors other ways.

Strodtman noted the mall is much busier during MSHSAA weekends, the Show-Me State Games and conventions for organizations like the Future Farmers of America and Future Business Leaders of America. On many weekends, visitors to the mall will notice a variety of high school letter jackets from all around the state.

He says the mall’s sales trends show increased traffic and sales during conventions and events that attract school-aged kids and their families.

“Most of those kids are from small towns.

So coming to Columbia is a big-town experi-

ROOM At THE INN? Those who visit Columbia for a football weekend probably know there’s a chance that hotel rooms will be sold out (or at least hard to come by), especially when a big SEC opponent comes to Columbia. But what about the rest of the year?

Columbia has seen a slight drop in hotel occupancy percentage rates the last few calendar years. In 2013, Columbia hotels had an occupancy rate of 58.3 percent. That number fell off to 56.8 percent in 2014 and 56.3 percent in 2015.

Despite a slight drop in occupancy rates, Columbia continues to see an increase in hotel tax revenues. Hotel taxes accounted for more than $2.3 million in 2014, an increase from 2012 and 2013. The increase in revenue comes because the average daily rate has increased in the last few years. The occupancy rates include all days, not just weekends. There are more than 3,600 hotel rooms in Columbia.

Megan McConachie, marketing and communications manager for the Columbia Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, says the occupancy rate is a good number for a city of Columbia’s size, and as long as overall hotel tax revenue continues to grow without large dips in occupancy, it’s good news.

The last three years of hotel tax revenue for Columbia, based on a random sampling of hotels: 2012: $1,968,362

2013: $2,154,762

ence,” Strodtman says. “They don’t have a mall with retail and restaurants like Columbia has to offer. A lot of times, they come here for their entertainment. Anything you get into the high school or junior high demographics, we get a lot more of those people coming to the mall than we see on a home football game. Seventy thousand people come to town for a football game, and I don’t feel it here.”

Since Columbia is the largest city in the area, many people come to Columbia as their shopping destination. While Strodtman says the mall is not able to do an accurate count of where all of its business comes from, a good portion comes from outside Boone County.

The mall draws from 24 counties total.

Strodtman estimated that about 60 percent of the mall’s sales come from Boone County residents. August (back-to-school shopping) is the mall’s second biggest month behind December, and Strodtman notes that many of those sales come from customers outside of Boone County.

Keeping Events in Columbia Events that bring out-of-town guests to Columbia are critical to the local economy. According to the Missouri Division of Tourism, tourismrelated spending in Boone County was more than $395 million dollars in fiscal year 2015, supporting more than 11,400 tourism-related jobs.

2014: $2,362,399

“Tourists come and they spend the night, but they also eat in our restaurants, they shop in our stores, they fill up in our gas stations,” McConachie says. “So all the sales taxes they’re paying, those go to fund other city services. It would kind of have a ripple effect if something like that was to go away.”

So what does Columbia do to ensure it can keep events coming back year after year? In some instances, community support goes a long way.

That’s an important aspect for the ShowMe State Games. While the games are headquartered in Columbia, and will likely be a staple in the city for years to come, the community does its part to help make sure the games run smoothly. This includes help from Columbia Parks and Recreation, Columbia Public Schools and other entities from around the city.

Keeping MSHSAA events in Columbia requires a different approach, one that requires even more collaboration from different community groups.

“We act as a facilitator,” McConachie says.

“We have a lot of connections all over town.

So when you’re talking about something like MSHSAA, we want to get the university athletic department to the table. If there are Parks and Rec facilities, we want to get them to the table to facilitate that effort to make sure when we turn that bid in, it’s the best possible offer

we can make. We offer up additional funding to help make that event as good as it can be. We really try to bring people together to make sure we can secure those events.”

Columbia briefly lost the state basketball tournaments in the late ’80s and early ’90s to Springfield, which left fewer weekends that the city could bring in out-of-town visitors.

The city has hosted every MSHSAA basketball championship since 1992.

“That leaves a huge hole in your calendar,” McConachie says. “There are ways to fill that, seeking out other events. But having that working relationship that we’ve had for so many years [with MSHSAA], it’s so much more difficult to go out and try to recreate that in a bunch of other little pieces of business.”

Strodtman believes the city must continue to work together to not only retain events, but also to attract more events and groups to the city.

“Over time, we’re going to have to start not taking things for granted, become a little more aggressive in keeping those type of events coming to Columbia, because they are a big tourism draw,” he says. “Unlike Lake of the Ozarks, where they are always going to have the lake, we aren’t always going to have the tourism … We have to be very competitive to keep those events coming here.” CBT columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 49

D O GM A S T ER D I S T I LLE RY B R I NGS BACK T HE C L A SS IC COCK TA I L

BY Brenna M c Dermott photos by Anthony Jinson 50 \\\ March MARCH 2016

I

Van Hawxby and Lisa Driskel Hawxby

t’s 10 a.m. and I’m drinking whiskey on the job. It’s straight from the barrel, free of mixers, chasers, even ice. It burns my throat on the way down — my liquor is usually masked with a Diet Pepsi. It’s a lot of pressure, trying a glass of whiskey while its distiller stands by waiting for my enthusiastic, albeit ignorant, review.

He’s more than a distiller though. Van Hawxby is more like a booze scientist. When you enter DogMaster Distillery and pass through the wrought-iron gates into his laboratory, you’ll find liquids in various states of chemical processes. Corn, wheat and malted barley stacks six or seven feet high in brown sacks in the corner. Giant silver vats with various knobs take over most of the room. We come to a vat filled with brown liquid, which Van explains is in the process of becoming whiskey.

“Get your nose in there, you can smell the yeast, a little C02…” I sniff it, and all that my ignorant olfatics can discern is that it smells like beer. Van dips two fingers in the vat to sample the product. Right now, he says, it’s fermenting and is the equivalent of beer before it goes through the distillation process.

“I make a really bad beer,” Van says. “You would not want to drink this because it tastes horrible. I make a really bad beer, but I distill it into really good whiskey.”

One wall of the laboratory is stacked with a dozen 30-gallon barrels, which hold whiskey, rum and vodka. It’s a good thing the product inside is almost ready for bottling, because it’s early January, and the holidays have cleared out the lab of product. Van has just a handful of whiskey bottles, sitting on a table; a box or two of rum bottles; and some vodka ready to bottle in a few days. All told, he has less than 20 bottles ready to sell at the moment. Most of his retailers are completely out of his products.

“Some people would say that’s a good thing, some people would say that’s not such a good thing,” Van says. “But what it means to me is that there is a great demand for my products.” columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 51

Kicking and Screaming Van and his wife, Lisa Driskel Hawxby, sit at the tasting room bar that same morning. The tasting room feels more like a hangout with a secret password than a public bar. With Van’s laboratory in full view, the entire room feels familiar.

There’s something exciting about the idea of watching the vodka you’re drinking distill while sipping a martini at the bar.

When I ask them about the origins of DogMaster, Van is quick to take responsibility.

“This is my story, and I dragged her into this almost kicking and screaming,” Van says.

Lisa pauses to think. “Not so much kicking and screaming in the beginning as kicking and screaming along the way.”

Six years ago, Van wrapped up an MBA and dreamed of manufacturing a consumable product. He knew it would be a product that could build a loyal customer base. A professional bartender for several years, the distillation process appealed to him.

In July 2014, Van and Lisa opened the distillery and tasting room on St. James Street, in the North Village Arts District, and began with their unaged whiskey and vodka — products that could go from grain to bottle in seven days or less.

Distilling is a growing industry nationwide, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. In 2015, supplier sales grew 4.1 percent, and it was the sixth straight year of increased market share relative to beer. According to DSCUS, overall retail sales of distilled spirits in the U.S. reached nearly $72 billion in 2015, supporting 1.4 million jobs in the hospitality industry.

Rat Pack Meets Rockabilly Van and Lisa crafted the brand to reflect their philosophy — take what you do seriously, but don’t take yourself seriously. Their strategy was to create a classic brand with a funky component to it. Rat Pack meets rockabilly, Lisa says.

The DogMaster name is rooted in Van’s history. His group of college friends ran tight – but if one of them had the gumption to break away from the group to study or go on a date, that person was tagged as the “dogmaster” for dogging their buddies and doing their own thing.

“For us, it means no matter what anyone else is doing, you’re willing to do your own thing.

You’re forging ahead your own way,” Lisa says.

That mentality transcends age or income bracket. Clients range from graduate students, pinching pennies to enjoy a cocktail, to profes52 \\\ MARCH 2016

sionals at meetings to home inspectors. But they’re all looking for one thing: good liquor, local products and a quiet place to enjoy a drink.

“We feel like we have a broad appeal because we’re real people and we make them feel special, but we don’t act like we’re more special,” Lisa says.

The Products Once the unaged whiskey and vodka took off, DogMaster introduced an aged whiskey, a white rum (last Halloween) and a bourbon whiskey (this January). Gin and dark-aged rum products are on the way.

The products are an evolution, Van says, as there are so many variables in the distillation process to experiment with that can affect the product’s flavor.

“I really can’t say that I know what I’m doing just yet,” he says. “But the products that we have seem to be very pleasing to the public.”

Lisa is quick to point out that while there may be an evolution, the whiskey — DogMaster’s signature product — is mostly unchanged. That signature product allows them to be experimental with other products.

And, unlike major brands of whiskey, there is a level of variance in the product. DogMaster doesn’t blend barrels, so the taste will always differ slightly.

DogMaster:

"It means no matter what anyone else is doing, you’re willing to do your own thing."

Whiskey: The whiskey is a blend of corn, oats, wheat and malted barley: what the industry calls a wheated whiskey. It’s sweeter than a rye whiskey, with strong vanilla and caramel flavors and a smoky flavor from the barrels — locally sourced 30-gallons from A&K Cooperage in Higbee, Missouri.

White Rum: The white rum surprised some of the DogMaster regulars — many are used to a dark rum and are surprised by the richness and smoothness of the white, Lisa says. Some patrons may have bad memories of one too many rum-and-Cokes in their 20s, but rum can be a complex spirit — and the quality of it does matter.

Bourbon: The bourbon was just released in January. A blend of four grains and more than 50 percent corn, Van says the bourbon has a brighter, sharper flavor than the other whiskeys. “You definitely get that corny undertone,” he says.

VOdka: Meant to be a true neutral spirit, differences between vodkas can be very subtle. Theirs has a hint of sweetness, and the product comes off as “clean and fresh,” Van says.

The distillery uses many local products, including barrels, and all the grains except barley are sourced from central Missouri.

Part of DogMaster’s small-town vibe means regular patrons who come into the tasting room sometimes get exclusive samples, direct from the barrel, of the next batch of liquors on the way to bottle.

“Being able to try a whiskey or bourbon straight out of the barrel is quite an experience for many people,” Van says.

Lisa might be more concerned with the bottom line (“You’re killing me,” she sometimes thinks when Van gets too liberal with the samples of product), but she recognizes that sharing the process with customers creates a brand buy-in.

Crafted by Committee There’s sometimes an education when a new customer comes into the DogMaster tasting room. It’s not a bar — clients who request wine or PBR will be disappointed and quickly corrected by the regulars.

“When you have our cocktails, you will get a good hint of the spirit that’s in there,” Van says, “because we tend to pour a little heavy handed, and we want to make sure that you get a hint of what we’re doing here.”

They also make many of the simple syrups, like vanilla, berry and grenadine, in-house.

Their cocktails are “liquor forward,” and you won’t find frozen or frou-frou drinks on the menu. While the standards — martini, manhattan — are always available, the cocktail menu is crafted by committee.

“We’re not so bold to think that we have our thumb on the pulse of the cocktail culture in Columbia,” Van says. “We allow our customers to tell us what they like and what they want.”

Every three months, Van and Lisa gather a group of 12 customers (some fight “tooth-andnail” to be invited, Lisa says) to choose the season cocktails. Nearly every decision the company makes is vetted by customers.

DogMaster regular Shawna Johnson has attended two of those “committee meetings.”

The group lines up around the bar, Johnson says, and Lisa introduces everyone.

“I don’t know how they do it,” Johnson says.

“But you show up, and these people you’ve never met before, within minutes, you’re just talking and sharing opinions, and it’s a very unique thing.”

The group receives a list of 10 to 12 cocktails, which they sample in a shot glass one by one.

They then discuss as a group and provide feedback on ingredients and names.

Johnson considers herself a cocktail “purist.”

She enjoys the dirty martinis, the neat whiskeys, not frozen or fruity drinks. For her, DogMaster is

BY THE BARREL Each year, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States tracks volumes sold per liquor. Here are the number of 9-liter cases sold and gross revenue generated in the U.S. in 2014.

Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey 19,357,000 | $2.68 billion Gin 10,044,000 | $865 million Vodka 66,943,000 | $5.78 billion Rum 25,182,000 | $2.37 billion Scotch 9,436,000 | $2.01 billion Tequila 13,795,000 | $2.11 billion Irish Whiskey 2,771,000 | $553 million Brandy and Cognac 11,124,000 | $1.55 billion Cordials and Liqueurs 20,411,000 | $2.46 billion Canadian Whiskey 16,337,000 | $1.71 billion Source: Distilled Spirits Council, Economic & Strategic Analysis Dept. columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 53

a return to quality products, which matches the atmosphere of the tasting room.

“No one’s hanging out trying to get drunk,” Johnson says. “It’s people who appreciate the product. I like that. I’m a grown-up, and I like to be in a place where I can enjoy my drink without crazy shenanigans going on.”

The Standard in Columbia Though word-of-mouth for the new, local flavor has led to growth for the company, Lisa says the business model is based on creating a solid, consumable product.

“We want to put something out that people will drink and enjoy and seek out not only because it’s local, and they feel good about that and they might know us,” Lisa says, “but it’s also a solid product that they enjoy drinking.”

That also means keeping prices reasonable for middle class clients who will never spend 54 \\\ MARCH 2016

$150 on a bottle of liquor. The bottles range from $23, for vodka, to $42, for bourbon.

The couple’s goal this year is to make DogMaster a household name in Columbia. They’re off to a good start, with self-distribution in most liquor retail outlets – HyVee, Macadoodles, Lucky’s, Craft Beer Cellar and more.

Dan Campbell, owner of Craft Beer Cellar, says CBC sells each DogMaster product. “He’s local and making some interesting stuff, and we wanted to support that.”

But it’s about more than local support, Campbell says — DogMaster products are quality.

“They’re really smooth,” Campbell says.

“They’re some of the best I’ve had mixing.

His vodka, you can put it in a mixed drink and hardly even know it’s there. It makes for delicious mixed drinks.”

DogMaster is also behind many local bars, like Flat Branch Pub & Brewing, Logboat Brew-

ing Co., 44 Stone, Billiards on Broadway, Bleu, Booches and Room 38.

“We would love to be in so many more restaurants and bars and not just be on the shelf, but have brand loyalty from the serving staff to recommend our products,” Lisa says. They’re also looking into expanding to Jefferson City, Lake of the Ozarks or Springfield.

DogMaster sold more than 3,000 bottles from July 2014 to December 2015.

“There was a time, a little over a year ago, when I was sitting outside on an air conditioning unit, being open for business, watching cars go by and just hoping that someone would come in,” Van says. “And now, a little over a year later, I’ve got people calling me up early in the morning to see if I would be able to open up early for them because they want to be able to bring a large group in for a happy hour.” CBT

THURS DAY, A P R I L 7, 2016 Stephens College • Kimball Ballroom 5:30-6:00pm Cocktails & Networking

6:00-7:30pm Dinner & Program

Register online by Wednesday, March 30, 2016:

Even ts.Co l um bi a M OC ha m be r.com $30 p e r p e r so n | $ 5 00 p e r tab l e Presenting Sponsor: Joe Machens Dealerships • Gold Sponsors: Cumulus Broadcasting and Dave Griggs Flooring America • Silver Sponsor: RE/MAX Boone Realty - Elizabeth Mendenhall • Location Sponsor: Stephens College • Design Services Sponsor: The Business Times Company • Video Production Sponsor: KOMU 8 & Mid Missouri’s CW • Print Services Sponsor: Shelter Insurance Companies - Main Office • Decorations Sponsor: AnnaBelle Events • Media Sponsors: The Business Times Company, KMOS-TV Missouri PBS,Mediacom • Awards Sponsor: MFA Incorporated • Catering Sponsor: Fresh Ideas Food Service PRESENTED BY:

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columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 55

56 \\\ March MARCH 2016

BEHIND THE Wine&Dine General Manager John LaRocca and Chef Daniel Pliska of the University Club commit to developing future chefs and leaders. by beth Bramstedt // photos by Anthony jinson

columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 57

hat happens when you take students with an appetite to learn, combine them with a mentor who has a heart to train young people, then toss them into a real-life laboratory to experiment and create? What happens when you allow them to marinate, bringing out their natural skills, then garnish the experience with the credentials needed to further their career path?

Executive Chef Daniel Pliska and General Manager John LaRocca of the University Club hope to garner future chefs and managers who demonstrate the cutting-edge skills and deep passion for their craft that will make a mark on the hospitality field, here in Columbia and beyond.

LaRocca credits his 35 years of success in the hospitality industry to the leaders and mentors who spent time teaching him the trade.

He knew it was a value he wanted to pass on when he joined the University Club in 2006.

“My boss encouraged me to run the club like it was my own business,” LaRocca says. “I knew that if I were the owner, I would expect my senior management to give back to the industry and share their knowledge with young people.”

Chef Pliska, who joined the University Club in 1998, shares a similar vision. “This is my 40th year in the kitchen,” he says. “I’m an executive chef. Giving back and training young people is a responsibility.”

Thanks to Pliska and LaRocca, the Club has become known around the university for having a training atmosphere. “We not only provide a service to the university through events,” Pliska says, “but also as an avenue for upcoming chefs to learn.”

Shortly after being hired, both Pliska and LaRocca set to work bringing structured apprenticeship and internship programs to the University Club that would develop the next generation. Today, those two programs are still flourishing, producing the executive chefs and club managers of tomorrow.

58 \\\ MARCH 2016

Cooking with Chef Pliska “I like to call it the heart of the house,” Pliska says, walking through the kitchen, pointing out the expansive space. The room itself is utilitarian, with commercial appliances lining the walls. Rows of stainless steel work tables form rows in the center, with pots of all shapes and sizes hanging overhead. Mixing bowls line the shelves and a commercial cooling rack stands ready to handle whatever creation comes out of the oven next.

A few of the club’s 25 to 30 kitchen employees scurry about, some preparing to head home, others peeling potatoes or cutting berries. One of the club’s sous chefs gets Pliska’s attention and asks his advice on a salad his team has prepared for an upcoming tasting. Notes about the day’s events hang on a bulletin board in easy view, and rolls of plastic wrap sit ready to protect the crew’s hard work.

The kitchen at the University Club houses the Chef Apprenticeship Program, a formal culinary training program accredited by the American

Culinary Federation and the U.S. Department of Labor. The program is a three-year, 6,000-hour experience for future chefs wanting to combine classroom learning with hands-on experience.

Chef Pliska worked hard to bring the program to the University Club through the ACF local chapter more than 15 years ago, and he considers developing apprentices one of his passions. He is currently the president of the Central Missouri Chef’s Association and was nominated and selected to serve on the ACF National Apprenticeship Committee last year.

Apprentices apply to the program, and if accepted, they are paid to work full-time at the Club for three years while attending classes one day a week at Johnson County Community College, in Overland Park, Kansas. Apprentices learn all 10 stations in the kitchen and keep a log book to document their work and hours.

Once they complete the requirements, they receive an associate’s degree in culinary arts from JCCC and a diploma as a certified culinarian from the ACF.

Apprentice Natalie Heinrich

The University Club is currently the only location in central Missouri that offers the apprenticeship, and Pliska says it provides a unique experience as a high-volume, private club. “Cooking isn’t always comfortable,” he explains. “There are lots of challenges and stress, especially with the volume we do. Chefs have to love that and understand it.”

Pliska says being a chef requires the hand skills and dexterity to perform the tasks, knowledge of the theory and an ability to train the palate. In addition, he believes it takes a special kind of person, someone who thrives on the action, to succeed in the fast-paced environment. He describes the profession as grueling, with lots of hours and holidays spent working. “If future chefs can make it here,” he says, “they can make it anywhere.”

Apprentices from the program have gone on to work for Ritz-Carlton and the Bellagio.

One former employee began as a dishwasher, became an apprentice, and is now working for an elite restaurant in California. He stopped

by the University Club over the holidays to say hello and to thank Pliska and LaRocca for the opportunity that launched his career.

While the ACF only requires that participating houses produce at least 51 percent of their food from scratch, the University Club creates 90 percent of what they serve. This commitment to freshness means that apprentices work with 15 different people or organizations who supply food to the Club and more than 700 individual food products during their tenure. They have rare fish and wild game flown in, learn to make as many as 25 seafood creations, cook with eight to 10 different mushroom species, bake their own bread, and make their own ice cream. All these dishes and more are prepared to provide food for the lunch buffet and as many as 20 functions that the club serves in-house or caters each day.

As part of the program, future chefs learn to cook in three broad areas – hot foods; garde manger (cold foods); and baking and pastries.

Each area is then broken down into categories like classical recipes, regional dishes and global influences. Given the vastness of options, Chef Pliska believes becoming a chef takes years of commitment beyond school. “You can become a good cook in three years, a sous chef in five, but it takes 10 years to really become a chef.”

That dedication to the profession is what drives Pliska to train others, like Reed Crull and Natalie Heinrich, to do what he does.

A Hands-On Opportunity “I realize now that cooking started early in my life,” Apprentice Natalie Heinrich shares.

“I would help my mother and grandma in the kitchen, cook dinner, and bake desserts, if I could get away with it.” While a senior at Hickman High School in 2013, her love for food led her to take a culinary class. Getting a taste of French-style cooking sealed the deal, and she was soon learning everything she could and applying for a job at the University Club.

After working for a year in the kitchen, Heinrich knew she was ready to formalize her career as a chef. Pliska introduced her to the apprenticeship program, and she liked the idea of learning hands-on in a kitchen while pursuing her degree. “I learn something new every day, thanks to the employees in the kitchen,” she says. “They want to see me succeed and progress in what I do.”

Reed Crull decided to be a chef after spending time in a kitchen as well. “I liked the environment — the constant push, the excitement

Yes, Chef!

Future chefs who participate in the ACF’s Chef Apprenticeship Program must become proficient in these 10 kitchen stations.

• Baking and Pastry: Apprentices learn to make yeast dough, quick breads, pies, cakes, icings, pastries and creams.

• Breakfast: Future chefs cook eggs and whip up breakfast batters. They produce pancakes, crepes, waffles and blintzes, and they work with fruits, cereals, breakfast meats and potatoes.

• Broiler/Char-Grill: This station includes grilling and broiling meats, mastering roasting techniques, and preparing seafood and hot sandwiches.

• Cooking Techniques: Here students practice their sautéing, stir frying, deep frying, moist heat cooking, poaching, steaming, braising and stewing.

• Fabrication: The fabrication station teaches the techniques of butchering meat and fish, cutting portions, and cleaning seafood.

• Pantry and Cold Food: Classically called the garde manger station, apprentices create salads, dressings and cold sandwiches, in addition to fashioning vegetable and fruit carvings and learning decorative presentation.

• Soup and Sauce: Future chefs prepare stocks, broths, soups and many types of sauces in this station.

• Steward: Here students are instructed how to properly clean dishes, pots and pans. They gain experience putting away food orders, maintaining equipment, and cleaning the kitchen and storerooms.

• Supervisory Development: This station covers management skills like menu planning, delegation, recipe writing, calculation of food costs and basic profit–loss analysis.

• Vegetable, Starch and Pasta: Apprentices cut, cook, and present all types of vegetables, rice, pastas, potatoes and risotto.

columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 59

and the gratification at the end of a hard day,” he says. Crull’s desire led him to enroll in the apprenticeship program in 2009, where he hoped to grow significantly in his cooking abilities and techniques.

Yet Crull says the apprenticeship went beyond improving his cooking and baking skills. He was able to gain real-life experience in management, food cost, communication and leadership, all at a fraction of the cost of a large culinary school.

“The program also motivated me to learn more,” Crull shares. “That motivation, combined with our chefs having high expectations of apprentices, really pushed me to excel.”

During his time as an apprentice, Crull enjoyed exercising his creativity, coming up with specials and new menu items. “One big benefit to this program was being able to read about something, take that information to work, and execute the dish or technique with well-trained chefs.”

Crull graduated in 2013, received his certification, and continued working at the University Club as a sous chef alongside Chef Pliska. “I knew there wasn’t another place in town that would allow me to do and learn as much as I can here,” Crull says. As a sous chef, Crull now joins Pliska in training new apprentices, like Heinrich.

The learning atmosphere found in the kitchen extends throughout the rest of the house as well.

Managing with John LaRocca LaRocca admits to being confused when he took the job as general manager of the University Club ten years ago and realized there was no collaboration between the formal programs of the University and the real-life experience available at the Club. “We’ve got a living lab here,” LaRocca says, gesturing around the entryway to the Donald W. Reynolds Alumni and Visitor Center. “We have such an opportunity to enhance our students’ education and share our experience.”

It was that spirit that led LaRocca to contact the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources shortly after his arrival. “We met, I put a proposal together, and within a few days the ball started rolling,” LaRocca shares. What resulted was a cooperative internship opportunity between the MU Hospitality Management Program, a department of CAFNR, and the University Club that is open to students of any grade level who are enrolled in the program.

Those students interested in participating apply for the internship and go through an interview process, but only a handful are selected. LaRocca says no experience is necessary — he is willing to train anyone — but interns do need to exhibit an insatiable desire to learn and have an understanding of the demanding hours the hospitality profession entails.

Once accepted, interns work 15 to 20 hours each week for two semesters. During the first semester, they spend two to three weeks rotating through each of the Club’s departments, including banquets, dining room, culinary, catering, sales and event planning. The second semester is concentrated in one specific department, and interns are asked to identify their top choices beforehand. Not only do they receive a salary for their work, but they also earn three credit hours each semester for the experience.

“We are really moving the students along,” LaRocca says, “turning them into supervisors before they leave.” Besides performing basic functions in order to understand each department, interns are also exposed to more advanced tasks, like budgeting, forecasting and managing.

LaRocca revels in the chance to help them excel. He, like Chef Pliska, realizes the University Club is a unique environment that offers interns 60 \\\ MARCH 2016

Teresa Davis, Margaret Hughes, Ann Marie Goerish and Wendy Xu

""Cooking isn’t always comfortable. There are lots of challenges and stress, especially with the volume we do. Chefs have to love that and understand it.""

- Chef Pliska columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 61

Clockwise from top left: Sous Chef Reed Crull, Chef Daniel Pliska and Apprentice Natalie Heinrich, Pliska 62 \\\ March MARCH 2016

Chef Daniel Pliska

a variety of opportunities to learn. “Interns get to experience finer dining, finer foods, finer wines and proper etiquette,” LaRocca shares, “because that’s what we do.”

Interns also experience a large quantity of events and the chance to work on a staff of 75 to 175. On a typical football weekend, LaRocca says the Club will feed 2,000 to 3,000 people off-site through brunches, tailgates and alumni group events, with an additional 10 to 15 banquets served on-site at the alumni center. The weekend that Mizzou football played Georgia, the Club fed 1,100 Bulldogs for one alumni party.

“I call it controlled chaos,” LaRocca says with a laugh. And he’s glad to give students the chance to experience a high-volume private club while they’re still in school. Annie Storey is one of those students.

An Eye-Opening Experience Storey will graduate in May with a degree in hospitality management and a dual emphasis in conference and event planning as well as lodging. She heard about the internship program at the University Club when LaRocca came and spoke to one of her hospitality classes last March. She started in the program this past fall.

“One of my favorite aspects of this internship is how hands-on it has allowed me to be,” Storey shares. Her first week, she was asked to take charge of an awards dinner for the provost’s office. The experience gave her insight into how much work, energy and attention to detail go into planning a successful event. “I got to see every step of the process from beginning to end and had a lot of fun doing it,” she says.

Storey chose the internship program to supplement her education because she knew the University Club would offer an exceptional opportunity to learn about sales and event planning from the inside of a large-scale, successful business. “The sales and event planning internship is competitive,” Storey shares, “so I am very lucky that I was selected this year.” She is also grateful to be surrounded by the “amazing” people she works with at the University Club.

So far, Storey says the internship has taught her valuable skills in paying attention to detail, working with many types of people and coordinating with other departments. “I’ve learned firsthand that the success of an event depends on many different people working together, including event, kitchen and service staff,” she says. She also appreciates that the program allows her to work with events as large as 3,000 people or as intimate as 30.

A Winning Combination Phil Dreshfield, an instructor in the food and beverage track of the Hospitality Management program, knows a gem when he sees it. Dreshfield is in his third semester as an instructor and enjoys the collaboration he experiences working with Pliska and LaRocca. “Chef is an excellent teacher,” he says, “so we are always trying to identify students in the culinary tract and push them in the direction of the University Club.”

Dreshfield says he can teach a certain amount of competence in his classes, but he can’t drill down to the level of mastery that Pliska and LaRocca can. “These programs really give the apprentices and interns a chance to hone their specific skill set.”

Both programs are a wonderful opportunity for students, Dreshfield says, a good compliment to what he does in the hospitality management program and an asset to the industry. “Pliska and LaRocca understand the drive behind students wanting to pursue positions in the hospitality industry as their preferred career path, not as a stepping stone to something else,” he says. “They are naturals at getting students from Point A to Point B, no matter what program or route they choose.” CBT columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 63

64 \\\ March 2016

The view from The Roof, the bar atop The Broadway hotel, is probably the best in downtown Columbia. The hotel is on the eastern edge of the central business district, and The Roof’s balcony has glass walls to minimize visual interference. On weekdays, the bar opens around twilight, when downtown is washed in orange before the lights switch on and the sky darkens and the view changes. The city skyline’s defining features come into focus: Jesse Hall on MU’s campus; the short-stack buildings along Ninth Street and Broadway; the church steeple immediately across the street. Above all of these is a bright sign. It says “TIGER” in eight-by-seven-foot letters, glowing in orange neon on the roof of The Tiger Hotel, where the sign has been since 1928.

Fifteen years ago, the view was different. The top of the building at 1111 E. Broadway was three stories shorter, for one thing, and it wasn’t “The Roof” of The Broadway — it was the roof of the Regency, a boxy rectangular building and downtown’s only operating hotel at the time. The Tiger sign was unlit, and the building was being used as a retirement home. Or at least the bottom few floors were. The rest weren’t used for anything.

The agent of change was TIF — tax-increment financing. Between 2009 and 2014, the two sites were redeveloped using a peculiar tax incentive that helped downtown Columbia establish two luxury hotels. But the two TIF projects did more than that.

What’s TIF?

Two downtown hotels brought tax-increment financing to Columbia, setting off a complicated debate in Boone County.

By Matt Patston Photos by Ben Meldrum

California was the first state to use tax-increment financing, back in the early ’50s, and other states followed over the next five decades (Missouri passed its TIF law in 1982; 48 states currently use TIF). In broad strokes, TIF can be seen as a temporary reallocation of hypothetical property taxes. If a developer enters into a TIF agreement, then the assessed tax rate of that property will be frozen, meaning that the owner of the land will pay no more in property taxes than the current rate. But hopefully, as the development develops, the actual assessed value of the parcel will increase. The parcel’s taxing entities continue to gather property tax at the old rate, and any new revenues — however much more the tax would be at the new assessed value of the project — go to the developer, who then uses that revenue to offset development costs. In Columbia, the developer also keeps 50 percent of sales taxes generated by the project. This system continues until either the developer collects the amount preapproved by the city or, in Missouri’s case, 23 years from the start of the development. columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 65

Columbia enabled TIF in 2008 and received the first application in 2009. John Ott, Dave Baugher and Al Germond, former owners of The Tiger Hotel, applied for $1.75 million in TIF to help cover the $8.92 million they estimated would be needed to restore The Tiger as a full-service boutique hotel [Disclosure: Dave Baugher and Al Germond own The Business Times Co., which publishes CBT.] To qualify for a TIF, the project must be deemed worthy by the TIF Commission, a board with representatives from every tax-levying entity in Columbia, then by city council. Several decisions factor into final approval, but two broad factors are the potential benefit of redevelopment — because the city’s goal for a TIF is to increase its tax base — and conditions that would qualify the TIF as a “blighted” or “conservation area” in need of redevelopment.

In an eligibility analysis, provided by a consultant as part of the TIF application, the Tiger’s owners laid out the hotel’s current condition: “evidence of dilapidation; obsolescence; deterioration; excessive vacancy; lack of ventilation, light or sanitary facilities; inadequate utilities; depreciation of physical maintenance; conditions which endanger life or property by fire and other causes … [this condition] constitutes an economic or social liability or menace to the public health, safety, morals, or welfare in its present condition and use.”

The TIF Commission and council approved the application. In 2010, Dave Parmley, of Chesterfield Hotels Inc., applied for TIF. Parmley already owned the Hampton Inn and Suites on the corner of Stadium Blvd. and College Ave. He says he looks for challenging markets with “high barriers to entry,” and downtown Columbia fit. He wanted to buy and redevelop the Regency as an upscale, multi-purpose hotel, but that meant he’d incur the costs of demolition on top of development — a total bill of $17.5 million. He asked for $3.2 million in TIF to help.

“I’m not sure I knew what to expect,” Parmley says. “It was my first TIF project. It was only the second one in the city.”

As part of the agreement, Parmley agreed to sell the city adjacent space for a parking garage, from which The Broadway would lease spaces for guests.

The two TIF projects allowed the city to invest in downtown with minimal financial risk — if both developments went bust, the city wouldn’t stand to lose any money because the TIF wouldn’t start collecting until the development generated an increase in assessed value.

In the best-case scenario, the TIFs would catalyze the surrounding areas and start making the city extra tax money even before the TIF had finished paying out to the developer.

So, in the course of three years in the middle of a recession, TIF had helped secure two massive development projects in the heart of the city, both poised to change the nature of hospitality and tourism.

The Pot of Gold Finding financing for The Tiger proved to be difficult; Tiger Columns LLC, the group owned by Ott, Baugher and Germond, twice secured financing deadline extensions from the city. In 2011, they sold the hotel to Glyn Laverick, a young developer and concert promoter from England who had mostly worked in Canada, where he’d restored historic music theaters. Under the agreement, Tiger Columns would provide some financing while Laverick found the rest and oversaw the renovations.

The change in ownership drew media attention. Two local TV stations ran investigative pieces about Laverick’s business history, calling into question the future of the TIF project. Laverick didn’t respond to inter66 \\\ MARCH 2016

view requests for this story, but in a 2011 interview with CBT he said: “TIF is a complex and powerful tool for cities to use, but they can put in as much protection as they want. In Columbia’s case, the city has no risk whatsoever in this project. If the project isn’t completed, the city will pay out no money. … Sharing these new revenues means that from day one of operations, the city will have increased its sales tax.”

Around the same time, there was a backlash against TIF happening in California, the same place it had been born some 60 years before.

The state was languishing in a steep budget crisis, and TIF-funded redevelopment — where potential tax money was flowing to someone besides the cash-strapped government — became politically toxic.

In a 2014 article in The Planning Report titled “The Demise of TIFFunded Redevelopment in California,” George Lefcoe and Charles Swinson, professors of law and accounting respectively, wrote: “The traditional rationale for TIF is that schools, counties and special districts would not lose any property tax revenue … In time, a pot of gold awaits the other taxing entities at the end of the redevelopment rainbow when all agency debts are repaid. At that point, the other taxing entities start to receive the tax increment bonanza that redevelopment made possible. These rationales are seriously flawed.”

The article goes on to say that unchecked TIF development doesn’t generally pay off in increased taxes the way that it’s supposed to; additionally, it doesn’t allow for any increases in property tax revenue that would have occurred naturally, and it encourages investment in some cites to the disadvantage of others. The same thinking has occurred with TIFs in Missouri, particularly in the suburbs of St. Louis.

Laverick opened The Tiger Hotel, complete with bar, restaurant, event space and cupcake shop, in 2012. Parmley opened The Broadway in 2014. The TIF money began flowing. By that point, downtown Columbia couldn’t keep development away — high-rise student housing complexes were going up, new retail was coming in and downtown was becoming a tourist draw, particularly for event and football weekends. The city began promoting the North Village Arts District, the area immediately north of The Broadway, as a revitalized cultural gem.

“TIF has been, in other communities and this community, the economic driver,” says Tony St. Romaine, deputy city manager. “It’s a great benefit.”

St. Romaine helped bring TIFs into Columbia in 2008, and he was pleased when Tiger Columns was the first application; he says the hotel was “not in blight, but headed that direction.” To prepare for TIF in Columbia, St. Romaine says city officials studied its use in other municipalities around Missouri.

“It’s not a handout to developers, and everybody thinks it is,” he says, “and it’s not an additional tax to pay.”

Besides the hotels, the city has approved only one other TIF project — for a student housing development — but the developers took the project in a different direction, and TIF was never used.

In 2014, some city officials, including St. Romaine, City Manager Mike Matthes and Mayor Bob McDavid, tried to establish a TIF district, which would encompass all of downtown, to finance infrastructure repairs. Boone County came out in opposition, citing many of the same reasons that TIF had been shut down in California. Three days before the city council vote (which rejected the TIF district) Boone County Counselor C.J. Dykhouse filed a lawsuit, saying the city had violated TIF law and therefore had no right to use it.

USING TIF? This is Johnny D. Veloper. Johnny wants to use tax-increment financing to build his new development. What does Johnny have to do?

1. Apply: Johnny will have to fill out an application with the city. The application will ask for many things, including the condition of the property Johnny is developing, why TIF is needed and what community benefits the TIF project will have.

2. Get approval: Johnny’s application will be vetted by the TIF Commission, a group of representatives from different taxing entities, and the city council.

3. Build the property: Johnny will be responsible for developing the property as outlined in his proposal.

This includes finding other forms of financing besides TIF. 4. Generate higher assessed value: Johnny won’t start receiving TIF funds until his developed property passes a certain assessed value threshold — also known as a tax increment. Once Johnny’s property becomes valuable enough, he will start receiving money from TIF. 5. Collect and use the agreed-upon amount: Johnny’s TIF will only pay out however much is outlined in his application.

After that, the TIF period is over and Johnny will have to pay regular taxes on the property.

Disclaimer: Johnny D. Veloper may have to wait a few years — as of writing this, the city can’t permit any new TIF projects until 2020.

columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 67

Waiting for TIf “No matter how much people complain about TIF and complain about growth, the one thing that we’ve always had is a vital downtown,” St. Romaine says. He says the hotel projects have indeed had a catalytic effect on downtown, which includes job creation and the “much needed” parking garage near The Broadway. The assessed values of both hotel parcels have increased: The Broadway’s assessed value went from $251,904 in 2010 to $2,656,000 in 2015, and The Tiger’s went from $322,700 to $1,366,399 during the same period. Downtown is no doubt more economically productive than it was before the hotels were redeveloped, and there are now far more hotel rooms to keep out-of-town guests in The District. But the catalytic effect of the TIFs is hard to isolate — how much of downtown’s growth is due to the hotels and how much is due to other things, like student housing?

Brian McCollum, Boone County collector, is still unsure about the net effect of TIFs in Columbia and whether that net is positive or negative.

“These things can go on for 23 years,” he says.

“I’m not sure, until I saw the numbers, how many dollars actually get redirected and how much, in 23 years, that assessment changes normally.”

68 \\\ MARCH 2016

McCollum provided the numbers for The Tiger in 2013 and The Broadway in 2014: between the two, $403,588.47 was redirected to TIF. McCollum said that sales tax revenue would be a good indicator of catalytic TIF impact, but that can be hard to sort as well. In an email, County Assessor Tom Schauwecker wrote: “There is no empirical evidence to support the theory that a TIF has had a positive impact on surrounding properties in downtown Columbia. Proximity to the University of Missouri campus and unprecedented growth in student enrollment has enhanced the demand for property downtown.”

In December, the County won the lawsuit against the city. Judge Gary Oxenhandler ruled that Columbia had violated reporting procedures required for TIFs; as of mid-February, Columbia is banned from creating new TIF projects until 2020. The city appealed the ruling to the Missouri Court of Appeals’ Western District.

Almost concurrently with the lawsuit decision, the hotel TIFs suffered a setback. Following a request from the TIF Commission, the city’s finance department discovered that the two TIFs had been receiving too much sales tax money, due to a legal misinterpretation.

The TIFs had been receiving sales tax revenue on hotel room stays, which are exempt under

state law (Lynn Cannon, the city’s assistant finance director, characterized the state statute as “somewhat vague”). The taxing entities will reclaim $104,509 from the Tiger TIF and the $91,789 from the Regency TIF. The refund is bad news for all parties. The developers will be paid back slower, which means the tax rates will stay frozen for longer. Parmley says that he was disappointed — but not particularly surprised — by the misinterpretation and its “significant” financial effect on the TIF. He’s unruffled by the city-county dispute, at least in its relation to the two hotel projects. “It appears that the technicality the city failed to report was some annual requirement,” he says. “It seemed to me that it didn’t have much to do with the two TIF projects as much as [the city and county] trying to negotiate with each other over past issues.”

St. Romaine says that the public debate comes down to a difference in “the philosophical understanding of what a TIF is.” When asked what the city’s understanding was, he says, “It enables projects to occur that otherwise would not.”

TIF’s future in Columbia is unclear for now.

Two of these projects are now embedded and healthy in the downtown economy. Two hotels now help keep more travelers in the economic center of the city. But TIF is complicated. CBT

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nonprofit spotlight

›› Roots N Blues Foundation - Blues in the Schools

They've Got the Blues

Bringing American roots to the classroom.

BY Jennifer Truesdale | photos by Ben Meldrum Since 2007, the Blues in the Schools program has rocked its way through schools in the mid-Missouri area, bringing blues culture, music and heritage to local students. Launched as the community outreach arm of the Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival, put on by Thumper Entertainment for some 25,000 attendees annually, BITS found funding through various grants and sponsorships for several years. Then, in 2013, the Roots N Blues Foundation formed to organize the program. Three years in, the foundation has big plans for expanding the program statewide.

“BITS is at the core of everything we do, which is to bring people together, educate people through music, and break down barriers,” says Betsy Farris, president of Thumper Entertainment and executive director of the Roots N Blues Foundation. “We started with one school in 2007, Grant Elementary, and it was such a success that we’ve been working to expand the program ever since.”

Kenneth Greene

70 \\\ MARCH 2016

Grassroots Just like the blues, BITS has a grassroots tradition. While there are many blues programs in schools throughout the country, there is no national entity organizing these efforts, though many communities look to the Memphis-based Blues Foundation for suggested BITS resources.

With the Blues Foundation framework in mind and a sponsorship from Central Bank of Boone County, BITS took off in 2007. BITS employed the help of veteran music educator and musician TJ Wheeler and Grant Elementary School music teacher Pam Sisson to bring BITS programming to students at Grant. It was a big hit with students and parents.

“Pam was instrumental in that. She’s just amazing,” says festival director and foundation member Julie King. “She’s helped us a lot in developing the program and in reaching out to all the music teachers, and we’ve really grown a lot in the last six years.”

Anne Kelly Moore

Tom Smith

Since that first year, BITS has expanded to nine elementary schools, two middle schools, one high school, the Center of Responsive Education, and the North Callaway and Boys & Girls Club after-school programs. In 2015, BITS served 1,700 students.

Through 2012, festival staff worked with Sisson and Columbia Public Schools to coordinate the efforts for this expansion. Now, with the foundation at the helm, a key goal is to coordinate with the Missouri Arts Council to develop a curriculum and a list of Missouri-based music educators accessible by teachers across the state who wish to implement BITS in their own schools.

It’s More Than Music BITS programming varies from school to school, with schools offering everything from assemblies to weeklong artist residencies.

Teachers like Sisson and BITS music educators like Wheeler develop a hands-on, blues-themed Mary Wilkerson

Alicia Minor

➜ 201 West Broadway, 3C 573-289-9819 missouribits.org

curriculum that weaves into current lesson plans for music, art and social studies.

“At Grant, we explore blues history and explore other grade-level curriculum through the blues,” says Sisson.

Students also write and perform original music with educators Wheeler and Jordan Thomas, who came on as an additional BITS music educator in 2015 to accommodate the program’s expansion. Students then have the opportunity to perform throughout the year, including a free performance during the Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival.

Wheeler tours nationally and has been a music educator with BITS programs around the country for more than 20 years. Thomas is a local musician with several solo projects and bands, including the Mojo Roots. The foundation looks to add two more BITS music educators in 2016 to meet growing demand.

Anne Kelly Moore, foundation member and president of D&M Sound, stresses that while the music aspect of BITS is critical, there’s more to it than that.

“One of the misconceptions is that it’s just music,” says Moore. “You see the light in [the students’] eyes and the joy that they have from [BITS] and also know that they are truly learning some great reasoning skills, geography, culture and civil rights.”

Betsy Farris

Terry Robb

“Seeing kids gain confidence, grow in acceptance, embrace the lessons of unity and value diversity is at the tip of the iceberg of the learning that transpires."

- Pam Sisson Sisson agrees. She says, “Seeing kids gain confidence, grow in acceptance, embrace the lessons of unity and value diversity is at the tip of the iceberg of the learning that transpires.”

Roots N Blues Raising Bucks A big part of overseeing the expansion of BITS is finding the funds to make it happen. It’s no coincidence that the foundation board is brimming with community-minded magnates.

Joe Mosely, former Boone County prosecuting attorney and Missouri state senator, and retired vice president of public affairs for Shelter Insurance, serves as president for the foundation.

Tom Smith, founder of Flat Branch Pub & Brewing; Mary Wilkerson, senior vice president of marketing for Central Bank of Boone County; and Richard King, owner of Thumper Entertainment and former owner of the Blue Note and Mojo’s (now Rose Music Hall) are just a few of the Preston Bass

Julie King

board members who are making things happen for BITS, including some signature events.

The St. Patrick’s Day themed Name that Tune event at The Tiger Hotel on March 17 will pit teams and individuals against each other as they test their knowledge of songs. Later in the summer, Blues for Brews will feature live music accompanied by specially brewed beer from Logboat Brewing Co., Broadway Brewery and Flat Branch Pub. Festival-goers have the opportunity to donate when they purchase their tickets, and at the 2015 festival, the foundation raffled off a guitar signed by all the performing artists.

Farris points out that businesses can also get involved for great exposure. One way is by sponsoring a guitar for the GuitarHenge art installation. The installation provides an opportunity for businesses to sponsor an eightfoot guitar designed by a local artist and displayed at the festival.

Moore says this is just the beginning for BITS. “It has been very rewarding because we started very small, and the enthusiasm of not only the other board members but the teachers we work with, the children, the Missouri Arts Council — all of those people are really supportive of the program and how it inspires these kids to learn not just music, but so much more,” she says. “I feel like we’ve accomplished a lot in the last few years.” CBT Hilton Peeples

Richard King

columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 71

xx left: Joanna Chandler, Brandon Boyer, Sheridan Cook, Eric Lawson, Susan Cunningham From Photo by Anthony Jinson MARCH 2016 72 \\\ MarcH

celebrations

➜ 3301 LeMone Industrial Blvd.

573-443-8000 marriott.com

›› Courtyard by Marriott

Future of Hospitality

By Sierra Stewart

Columbia Courtyard completes renovations.

Over the last two years, the award-winning Courtyard by Marriott boosted the hospitality industry in Columbia by constructing state-of-the-art facilities in their Executive Center and completing a complete remodel of the hotel itself, living up to their TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence and providing the city ample facilities for virtually any occasion.

EMBRACING CHANGE After nine years in business, the Columbia Courtyard, on Lemone Industrial Blvd., stripped the lodging from top to bottom in April 2014, renovating nearly every space in the hotel to meet the Marriott’s core values: embracing change, putting people first, acting on integrity and serving our world.

In July, the lobby transformed. The buffet service breakfast became a full-blown bistro and Starbucks, equipped with plenty of lounge space and a bar. On top of the lounge, built for business or pleasure, the hotel boasts a fitness facility, a full-service business center, an indoor heated pool and a stone patio.

Longtime employee Sarah Cunningham joined the Columbia Courtyard in 2005, when the hotel opened, and now serves as the catering sales manager. “[Business] has continued to grow each year by occupancy in sleeping rooms and the number of meetings booked,” Cunningham says.

“We just keep taking care of them and they keep coming back.”

All 133 rooms, including suites, were renovated, giving guests more than just a basic stay at a hotel. Each room supplies guests with stylish, neutral décor; refrigerators and microwaves; ergonomic desk chairs; cable; and high-speed Internet. When the lights go off, blackout drapes and high quality bedding offer travelers a night free of typical travel inconveniences.

AN EVEN GRANDER BALLROOM The Columbia Courtyard is no stranger to the new and improved. In January 2015, Kinseth Hospitality Companies, the primary owner of the hotel, announced their efforts to expand and innovate the hotel a second time, by adding an extra 2,500 square feet of meeting space.

The Executive Conference Center renovations, completed in June, not only converted the hotel’s second restaurant (formerly Bennigan’s Bar & Grill) into extra meeting space, but also allowed the Courtyard an even greater opportunity to capitalize on businesses with employees in both St. Louis and Kansas City, like State Farm, MU and MBS Textbook Exchange.

With a total of 8,000 square feet after renovations, Courtyard guests use every inch.

The space breaks into seven separate rooms that open individually via break-down walls to create a grand ballroom, dressed in neutral tones and featuring equipment like mounted LCD projectors.

“Some of the companies that may have been a little bit large for us last year we can now accommodate,” says Brandon Boyer, the general manager of the Courtyard.

STORMING THE MARKET In 2016, Boyer and his four-person sales team, which includes Cunningham, want to increase their Internet and social media presence exponentially by increasing their hold on the wedding market and increasing their word-of-mouth publicity.

“We’re definitely storming the market.”

Boyer says. “We want to make sure that when people are looking for event space in Columbia, we’re one of the first places to pop up.”

The hotel recently bought into wedding websites, hoping to attract the growing wedding market in Columbia with their cutting edge ballroom space and top-of-the-line

catering. In the last year, over 1,232 weddings took place in Columbia, according to The Wedding Report, which ranked the town 304th out of 977 metropolitan areas for the amount of ceremonies, average wedding cost, total sales and average number of guests.

Along with their Internet campaign, the Courtyard plans to continue their trade and advertising with local radio stations, increasing their overall presence in the community and on air.

“We have a pretty big sales team for this size property, and they each have their individual markets they’re responsible for,” Boyer says.

“It’s just about establishing relationships and making sure people are aware we’re here and newly renovated.” CBT

Timeline 1983 › The first Courtyard by Marriott opens in Atlanta, Georgia.

September 2005 › Columbia Courtyard Marriott opens.

April 2014 › Kinseth Hospitality Companies announces conversion of Bennigan’s Bar & Grill into an additional 2,500 square feet of meeting space.

June 2014 › Columbia Courtyard Marriott becomes a certified business member of the Missouri Sheriff's Association.

July 2014 › Columbia Courtyard Marriott undergoes full remodel.

January 2015 › Expanded conference center remodel is completed.

June 2015 › Columbia Courtyard Marriott reopens expanded conference center.

November 2015 › Marriott International announces acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., creating the world’s largest hotel company. columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 73

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Education

›› Dr. Peter Stiepleman talks the business of education­­— Part 4/4

From Generation to Generation The story I am going to relate to you is really a parable. It speaks of a rite of passage, but its purpose is to do something even more significant. It is a rallying cry for our community’s future.

In just a short time, my 13-year-old son will celebrate his bar mitzvah. A bar mitzvah is when a Jewish boy becomes a man. I always find this humorous because so many of these “men” could still audition for the Vienna Boys Choir!

On the big day, he will lead a service in the morning and then host a celebration in the evening. It is customary these days to have a theme for one’s bar mitzvah celebration. He has chosen chess as his theme. The invitations read: “Come ye Kings and come ye Queens! Come ye Rooks and come ye Bishops!”

We giggled when reviewing the invitation because we think, for sure, this has got to be the first time bishops have appeared on a bar mitzvah invitation!

However, the most poignant moment, really the most tender moment, will take place in the morning, toward the beginning of the service. The tiny sanctuary, nestled next to the white farmhouse on Green Meadows, will be filled with family and friends. My parents, my siblings and their children will be seated in the front row — bearing witness to a tradition that has been practiced for thousands of years.

The investment in our public schools is an investment in our community’s future. The community’s support will have the next generation looking back, ever grateful, for what we did for them.

The moment will arrive when the rabbi will call my son to the front.

He will then invite my father and me to come forward. The three of us — grandfather, father and son — will stand together in a line, facing our loved ones. And in a beautifully symbolic ceremony, the rabbi will carefully present my father with the Torah, a large and heavy scroll. My father will take the Torah, pause, turn to me, and carefully pass it on. I will then face my

P e t e r St i e p l e ma n

son and hand it to him. While we do this, the rabbi will say the following Hebrew words: “L'dor va'dor” — from generation to generation.

In what will be my last of four contributions to this fine magazine, it is my hope that Columbians will consider those prophetic words — from generation to generation — and how they apply to our public schools. In order for one to know where they’re going, they must first understand where they’ve been. It’s the reason why I regularly meet with our former superintendents, Dr. Thompson, Dr. Ritter and Dr. Belcher. It’s the reason why my requests for advice and counsel are met with stories of how other leaders, like Hank Fisher and Robert Shaw and Neil Aslin, handled similar challenges. It’s the reason why they tell me how former Board of Education leaders, like Lynnanne Baumgardner and Ray Lewis, worked tirelessly with the clear purpose of ensuring that Columbia Public Schools would be one of the best school districts in the state. And it is!

Our public school students continue to outperform their state, national and international peers on Advanced Placement exams and other college entrance exams, including the ACT. Our public school district was recognized by a site-visit team from Harvard University’s Pathways to Prosperity as having a model career center. Additionally, we’ve been notified that the Columbia Public School District will receive national recognition as a District of Distinction for its commitment to Achievement, Enrichment, and Opportunity (AEO). The challenge our schools face is also our community’s challenge: growth. We are growing, and in order to respond to the growth, we must expand existing buildings as well as build new ones. As we continue to grow, we must be able to recruit and retain the very best employees so that all of our children can be taken as far as they can possibly go.

The economic growth of our community can absolutely be linked to the educational foundation provided by the Columbia Public Schools. Just ask the Atkins family. Ask the Dunafon family. Ask the Still family. Ask the Riback-Wilson family. Ask the more than 250 Business Partners in Education that volunteer in Columbia Public Schools regularly. L’dor va’dor. From generation to generation.

The investment in our public schools is an investment in our community’s future. The community’s support will have the next generation looking back, ever grateful, for what we did for them. We are one. I encourage each of you to participate in our special election April 5. The no-taxincrease bond issue will allow for the necessary expansions of CPS. The 65-cent tax levy increase will allow for the continuation of current operations, an end to planned deficit spending, recruitment and retention of high-quality employees and additional support for students in the areas of achievement, enrichment and opportunity. CBT

➜ Superintendent of Columbia Public Schools columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 75

MARKETING

›› Monica Pitts talks marketing trends and tips

Leverage Online Marketing for Your Event Events can be great marketing tools. The power of a face-to-face interaction is hard to match. The trick is getting bottoms in the seats in a costeffective manner. Snail mail invitations aren’t the only way to promote an event today. Here’s how to promote your event online to make an impact.

1. Get your creative together.

Before you start publicizing your event, prepare a consistent creative message. You want your promotional campaign to feel cohesive. This allows you to gain momentum by building on your existing event brand with each promotional activity.

• Determine the name of the event and how you’ll describe it.

• Consider adding a graphic branding element.

• If you plan on preparing multiple types of promotional pieces for the event, determine what needs to be on each item and what creative branding elements must be included.

2. Select your base camp.

Drive your guests to one site for information, sign-ups and ticket purchases. This location is up to you and should remain consistent throughout the event promotion. All base camp options should be mobile friendly and include your event’s creative branding, description, details, sign-up form and payment options (if needed).

Your website. As a web designer, I always suggest driving the traffic to your website for event information and sign-ups. Your site is a controlled marketing environment. You’re not encumbered by another system’s limitations. And best of all, users might stumble upon something else they need while they’re visiting.

• Facebook event invite: You can create an event for free on Facebook and promote it easily to your friends, fans or a targeted audience. Although Facebook doesn’t allow ticket sales natively, inventive web services such as Eventbee and ThunderTix offer apps to sell tickets on Facebook using their services.

Note: I don’t suggest creating a Facebook event if you’re planning to use another option for your base camp. But don’t overlook Facebook as a promotional tool, as we’ll discuss later.

• Evite: Evite allows you to choose from pre-designed event invitations and send them to your email list. This is a great choice for less formal or smaller gatherings. It doesn’t, however, allow for ticket sales or a specialized event sign-up form.

3. Power up the promos As you promote your event, always drive traffic back to base camp using your event brand imagery and message.

Other online event sign-up options. If you’re only planning on one or two events per year and you don’t have a complicated sign-up process, a third-party event registration service may be a good cost-effective solution for your event.

Promote it on your website. Even if base camp isn’t your website, pro-

• Eventbrite: This powerful website allows you to share your event details, collect payments for multiple ticket types, and promote the event using a built-in sharing and email invitation system. Free events are free to list on the site, though the system does take a cut for the service of selling and promoting the tickets — up to $9.95 per ticket and 3 percent payment for processing.

Email blast. Blast it out a few times — once, a few weeks before, like a save the date; then once, a week or so before, like more of a true invitation; then a final email, the day before or the day of, as a “last chance” reminder.

If you send regular email newsletters, include an ad for the event. Make sure to review your stats. Some email marketing systems allow you to see who opened and clicked on each email. Marry that with your event sign-

m o n i ca p i tts 76 \\\ MARCH 2016

motion on your site is a must. Add a pop-over ad on key pages of the site to call attention to the event. Add an ad to your home page slider and place it in a prominent location on blog posts and high traffic generating pages.

➜ C h i e f c r e at i v e d i r ecto r o f M ay ec r e at e d es i g n

up list and send a personal email or make a phone call to follow up with those who clicked but didn’t sign up.

Promote via social media. This is a no brainer — post about your event on all your social media outlets. Keep your audience updated during each step of your planning journey. Keep them dialed in and interested for must-have giveaways or big reveals at the event.

Boost a Facebook post or run an ad.

Boost your Facebook post about the event to make sure your current fan base doesn’t miss the invite. Consider running an ad to reach out to new event participants. Target people in your geographic area who have appropriate interests, job titles or even connections to specific companies.

Add event imagery to your email signature. In the weeks leading up to the event, add the event imagery to your email signature and link the ad back to base camp. Then you’ll be sure not to miss a single contact!

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Place an ad on your digital invoices.

If your event is geared toward current clients, consider adding your event graphic to digital invoices. This is a great way to multipurpose an existing communication with clients. Remember, the person who receives the invoices may not be the only person you want to invite to the occasion.

Capture visitors with Google remarketing or Facebook retargeting. Both Facebook and Google offer lowcost retargeting solutions that are great for large events generating new customers. Think of retargeting as advertising insurance. You went through all the trouble (and money) to bring the visitors to your site initially. Don’t miss an opportunity to remind them about the event and convert the sale.

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4. Back it up with a personal touch Even with all the digital hoopla leading up to the event, don’t discount the value of a physical invitation and a follow-up phone call. A personal touch may be what many attendees need to take the leap. CBT

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Startups

›› Chris Nyenhuis shares startup lessons learned

Why Startups Leave One of the biggest decisions a startup will have to make is whether they are going to stay in or leave their hometown. For startups in major cities, this decision is likely to be influenced by the current and anticipated cost of living in their area. However, other factors matter too. For instance, a different — perhaps larger — market may make more sense if it will enhance the customer base and provide opportunities to develop overall business needs.

However, for startups beginning in smaller towns, the question is more complex. When you approach or get approached by a city, a lot of great people, from city officials and economic development groups to everyday citizens, will try to pitch you on why you should start your startup there.

For the most part, each city will give you a similar pitch and usually list all the resources there and the great reasons to relocate.

We all know that larger cities have more resources, access to larger programs, etc. The biggest negative for big-city startups is usually that you are just one of many beginning the startup process. In the beginning, most startups have limited resources and are trying to find a home that will help them in any way possible. This is usually when many smaller cities aggressively play the “hospitality” card. They try to sell the idea that initiating a startup in their city would be a more intimate experience, backed by a strong community. In theory, this is great. You are going to have a community supporting you from the start. You’ll be one of a only a few, allowing for more individual attention.

In many ways, these offers are similar to the sales pitches smaller colleges give prospective students to compete against larger universities (smaller class sizes, more intimate learning environment, etc.). The best way I have seen a startup growth model explained was that one should think of a startup as a highly motivated student athlete.

The Incubation Phase (The High School) A startup wants to find a “high school” that can give the entrepreneur a stage to show off, develop their talents, and start building a network. In doing so, “the athlete” is trying to get a scholarship to a major university.

The Accelerator Phase (The Powerhouse College Sports Program) Here, a startup finds the best mentors, advisors and coaches to get them into the pros. Here, a startup gets access to the most relevant resources, information and players in the game.

The Investment/ Revenue Phase (The Pros) A startup has financial resources that it uses to build their professional team and hopefully develop a dynasty.

Chris Nyenhuis 78 \\\ MARCH 2016

Once a startup has moved past the incubation stage, the startup will have financial support, a large network and many other resources that will make them valuable to any community. A startup will now have to decide where to spend those resources. Whether it is job creation, network sharing or simply resources in the community, big-city markets become very attractive for these startups.

When smaller cities have slow growth in the areas of technology and venture capital, they have to rely heavily on hospitality and low cost of living to attract and keep startups. Unfortunately, they run a great risk of losing startups that don’t have a large customer base or extensive network in that community. This risk increases alongside the cost of living.

One thing that startups consider and compare across cities is the cost of office space relative to the market access and networking opportunities they are likely to acquire. From a startup perspective, acquiring an office base for $300 per desk in a city with restricted resources and market access is less desirable than office space that runs $400 to $500 per desk in a larger city like Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago or San Francisco. Their calculations are likely to favor a decision to move to a larger market, where they perceive they can get a bigger return on their overall investment.

I think it is fair to say that the majority of startups and founders want to support their local communities. But if their community is not growing fast enough or providing them with the relevant resources and talent they need, simple hospitality does not suffice in attracting or keeping startups. Just as we see with college graduates, once they go to larger cities with greater opportunities, it’s very difficult to bring them back home. CBT

➜ Managing Director of Eyes on Freight

ORGanizational HEALTH

›› Tony Richards coaches organizations into good health

Take the Work Out of Networking Networking. The word that excites some and strikes terror into the hearts of others. Since this month's issue is focusing on hospitality, I thought I would share some thoughts about leaders increasing their hospitable skills in the strategic area of networking.

If you think about it, networking occurs in a lot of different places. Even though you might not typically think of it this way, networking occurs when you are invited to a dinner party where you don't know everyone.

It occurs in your organization when you are asked to work interdepartmentally with new people. Of course, the variety of networking that most comes to mind is associated with business relationships, but to get better at networking, you have to practice in the opportunities around you.

In the classical sense, networking is the process of developing new relationships with your interpersonal skills to produce an eventual outcome.

This is easier for some than others. For instance, our consulting firm has identified that 30 percent of the population influences others through their extroverted behavior. However, 32 percent of the population — the largest percentage for any of the five styles we identified — is more rulebased and introverted, so it may not be natural for them to go into a room full of strangers and feel comfortable. While there might not be actual rules of engagement for increasing your hospitable behavior and networking, here are some principles to make your networking efforts more fruitful. Even though you probably won’t change your core wiring, and all new behavior feels a little awkward at first, keep working at it.

1. Be interested rather than trying to be interesting. Friendliness breeds likability and trust. People do business with people they like and trust.

The twin of friendly is smiley. People who smile are way more attractive than people who don't. Smiling not only sets the tone, it's the reflection you give people about who you are. When you smile and project yourself in friendly terms, it sends the signal that you are open to the idea of direct engagement. You appear light and positive, and this clears away any doubt about engaging with you.

2. Your ability to look someone in the eye as you speak to him or her is a tell-tale sign of your own self-respect. This might be one of the more difficult ones. Our research indicates most human beings can look each other in the eye for more than a minute, but the average time we do it is under seven seconds. While you make eye contact, work on controlling the intensity of it. In other words, don't intensely stare at them; soften it up.

It’s just eye contact. Looking someone in the eye is a display of confidence.

It's a display of truth and a display of respect for the other person.

To n y R i c h a r d s

3. Your consistent positive attitude will breed positive responses and positive results. The attitude you have will influence and support your actions.

Your positive attitude plays an important role in the way you communicate and the way others perceive you. Without that positive attitude, your demeanor looks cynical and slanted, and you look standoffish or unaccepting. Your positive attitude is the fuel to run the engine of life without toxic emissions. If your attitude is that networking is a chore and something that someone is making you participate in, your behavior will reflect that. So will your results.

4. Prepare yourself in advance. If you fall into the 32 percent of processoriented introverts, then preparation is your key to success. There's no such thing as being overprepared. Who do you want to meet? What kinds of questions can you ask about them? Preparation requires work. Winners do their homework. If you are looking to connect, preparation is the best way for increased results.

5. Focus less on motive. Let's face it — when we are trying to connect with people, we have some sort of motive or need. That's OK. We all have needs we are trying to fill, and most people understand that if you are networking, you would like some sort of long-term benefit from it. First of all, seek friendship and acceptance. Drop your long-term agenda and focus on making a real connection, not extracting something from them, or worse yet, trying to get some networking box checked on your to-do list.

Networking is effective because it is about making connections and building strong, enduring relationships that are mutually beneficial. When you network effectively, you build a different kind of asset capital —relationship capital, which can carry a lot of value for you in the future. CBT

➜ F o u n d e r o f C l e a r V i s i o n D e v e l o pm e n t G r o u p columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 79

3

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80 \\\ MARCH 2016

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Deeds of Trust

›› Worth more than $562,500

$60,000,000 Forum Shopping Center LLC The Privatebank & Trust Co. LT 1 PT University Heights

$6,500,000 CPD Enterprises LLC Dunafon, David Allen Revocable Inter Vivos Trust LT 1 Columbia LT13,16

$60,000,000 Nifong Shopping Center LLC The Privatebank & Trust Co. LT 1 PT Rockbridge sub blk 5

$5,350,000 Gentry Estates II LP First State Community Bank LT 5 Gentry Estates

$60,000,000 The Broadway Shops LLC The Privatebank & Trust Co. LT 1 PT Broadway Shops The

$2,400,000 Summit Medical Supplies LLC Landmark Bank LT 1 PT Chalet sub

$60,000,000 COMO Investment Group LLC The Privatebank & Trust Co. LT 1 PT University Heights $13,500,000 Stuart Parker Housing Development Group LP UMB Bank LT 23 Garths Add $10,000,000 Hummingbird Properties LLC Potterfield, Larry W Revocable Trust STR 26-47-12 //N FF W/ Exception

$1,822,400 Vandiver Motel LLC Bank 21 STR 1-48-13 /NW/SE SUR BK/PG: 289/33 $1,770,000 Beacon Street Properties LLC Martinsburg Bank & Trust STR 1-48-13 //N SUR BK/PG: 2783/24 AC 52.79 FF Survey BK 2782 PG $1,429,000 Orr, James S and Jill S Landmark Bank LT 358 PT Columbia Original Town PT LTS 358 & 359

$9,713,333 Stuart Parker Housing Development Group LP The Housing Authority of the city of Columbia, Missouri LT 23 Garths Add

$1,073,000 CPD Enterprises LLC Central Bank of Boone County LT 1 Columbia LT13,16

$8,047,500 CPD Enterprises LLC Central Bank of Boone County LT 1 Columbia LT13,16

$1,000,000 Gentry Estates II LP Missouri Housing Development Commission LT 5 Gentry Estates

389 Deeds of trust

were issued between 12/30 and 1/22 $985,000 Smitco Eateries Inc. Pacific Premier Bank LT 68 Conley & Perkins Sub $985,000 Heaven Sent Properties LLC Pacific Premier Bank LT 68 Conley & Perkins Sub $825,000 Uptown Investments LLC Commerce Bank STR 30-49-12 //SW SUR BK/ PG: 414/115 FF tract 8 $750,000 A-Tomik Building Partnership Larkmark Bank LT 303 Berlekamp Sub Plat 3 $678,614 Stotler, Jeff and Denise First Midwest Bank of Poplar Bluff STR 24-48-14 /NE/NW $650,000 Ries, Jennifer L and David R Central Bank of Boone County LT 116A Copperstone Plat 7 $569,000 Kitzi, Matthew D and Laura J First State Community Bank LT 318 Old Hawthorne Plat NO 3

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Economic Index

›› It’s all about the numbers

Labor: December 2015 – Columbia, Missouri Labor Force: 69,990 Employment: 68,219 Unemployment: 1,771 Rate: 2.5 percent December 2015 – Boone County, Missouri Labor Force: 103,751 Employment: 101,011 Unemployment: 2,750 Rate: 2.6 percent December 2015 – Missouri Labor Force: 3,125,227 Employment: 3,001,422 Unemployment: 123,805 Rate: 4 percent December 2015 – United States Labor Force: 157,245,000 Employment: 149,703,000 Unemployment: 7,542,000 Rate: 4.8 percent

Construction: Residential building permits, December 2015: 159 Value of residential building permits, December 2015: $50,281,564 Detached single-family homes, December 2015: 24 Value of detached singlefamily homes, December 2015: $6,026,484

82 \\\ MARCH 2016

Commercial additions and alterations, December 2015: 16 Value of commercial additions and alterations, December 2015: $2,409,370

Utilities: Water January 2016: 47,891 January 2015: 47,404 Change #: 487 Change %: 1.027 percent Number of customers receiving service on February 1, 2016: 47,892

Electric January 2016: 48,644 January 2015: 48,000 Change #: 644 Change %: 1.342 percent Number of customers receiving service on February 1, 2016: 48,628

Housing: Single-family home sales, December 2015: 142 Single-family active listings on market, December 2015: 563 Single-family homes average sold price, December 2015: $193,438

Commercial building permits, December 2015: 25

Single-family homes average days on market, December 2015: 65

Value of commercial building permits, December 2015: $3,606,785

Single-family homes pending listings on market, December 2015: 94 CBT

By the Numbers

›› Boone County statistics

Number of events catered

by Bleu Events in 2015 Source: Bleu Events

Hotel Stays in Columbia Source: 2015 data, The District

3,874

hotel rooms in Columbia

395,000,000

$

tourism-related expenditures in Boone County in 2015 Source: Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau

Hospitality Jobs in Columbia Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

1,183,000 overnight stays

Lodging Managers

Chefs and Head Cooks

Food Preparation & Serving Workers

In Columbia: 40

In Columbia: 50

In Columbia: 2,280

Average Annual Wage: $43,920

Average Annual Wage: $44,290

Average Annual Wage: $17,930

Member hotels in Columbia Hospitality Association Source: Columbia Hospitality Association columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 83

photos courtesy of Carretto Studio

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TOP STAFFING COMPANY

Second Place: The Insurance Group

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First Place: Matt Williams, Landmark Bank Second Place: Drew Smith, Commerce Bank

First Place: Influence and Co. Second Place: Global First Responders

TOP WEB DEVELOPER

First Place: MayeCreate Design 700 Cherry St., Suite C, Columbia, 573-447-1836, mayecreate.com

First Place: JobFinders Second Place: Caroline and Co. Inc.

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First Place: Veterans United Home Loans Second Place: Murry’s Restaurant

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First Place: True Media Second Place: Woodruff Sweitzer

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First Place: Atkins Building Services Inc. Second Place: Tiger Maids

TOP COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHER Second Place: Delta Systems

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First Place: LG Patterson Second Place: Casey Buckman Photography

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First Place: The Tiger Hotel 23 S. Eighth St., Columbia, 573-875-8888, thetigerhotel.com

TOP PLACE TO HAVE A BUSINESS LUNCH

First Place: Murry’s Restaurant Second Place: D. Rowe’s Restaurant & Bar

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First Place: Logboat Brewing Co. 504 Fay St., Columbia, 573-397-6786, logboatbrewing.com

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First Place: Kaldi’s Coffee Second Place: Dunn Brothers Coffee

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TOP BUSINESS INSURANCE

First Place: Mike Messer Agency – Shelter Insurance 908 Rain Forest Parkway, Columbia, 573-442-5291, shelterinsurance.com/ CA/agent/mikemesser

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Second Place: Les Bourgeois Vineyards, 14020 W. Highway BB, Rocheport, 800-690-1830, missouriwine.com

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First Place: Nick Hardy Second Place: Max Prokell

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First Place: Kat Cunningham Second Place: David Keller

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First Place: 44 Stone Public House Second Place: Boone County Title Co.

First Place: Spectrum Studios Second Place: Baker HD

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TOP HR FIRM

First Place: Boone County National Bank Second Place: Landmark Bank

Second Place: Stoney Creek Hotel & Conference Center

First Place: MoreSource Inc. Second Place: Accounting Plus Inc.

Second Place: The Canvas on Broadway

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THIS OR THAT

›› Columbia professionals answer the hard questions

THIS Mac Peanut Butter Reading

B ig p ic ture + det a il s are bo th neces s a r y in my bu s in e s s .

Jelly Writing

Today

Tomorrow

Paper

Plastic

Phone

Email

Hotel

B&B

Apples

Oranges

Coffee

Tea

DIY

Buy

Handwritten

Typed

Print

Digital

Quiet

Noisy

For Here

To Go

Big Picture Early Bird

Details Night Owl

Getaway Wing It

Facebook

Twitter Cluttered

Solo

Team

Oven

Stove

Beach

Mountains

Donut

Bagel

Creative

Analytical

Introvert

Extrovert

Warm

M y fe et st ick out .

Ne ed to ha ve th e sh ee ts un tuc ke d.

Sheets Untucked

Recipe

Clean

General Manager, University Club of MU

PC

Sausage

Staycation

John LaRocca

THAT

Bacon

Sheets Tucked

Photo by Ben Meldrum

or

Fun wa y to coo k! M y mo m coo ks th is wa y.

Cold

columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 87

6 questions

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›› Get to know your professionals

A Place for People

Katie Essing, Executive Director of The District

2. What’s the next big event happening in The District? We embrace the seasons and have great events yearround, like festivals, farmers markets, tailgating and games. We have annual events, such as Living Windows, which become family traditions and kick off the holiday season. We also continuously have new events that are created.

You can always find something to try.

The next big event is the annual True/ False Film Festival in early March.

3. How does the tourism industry impact our community? The District thrives on tourists visiting downtown for a day trip or extended stay. Our close proximity to MU, Stephens and Columbia College allows our business community to cater to customers visiting for a campus or athletic event.

F UN FACT: 88 \\\ MARCH 2016

4. How has The District improved Columbia’s downtown? Our goal as a Downtown CID is to improve the customer experience within The District. We provide marketing and branding for The District, which includes a website, social media campaign, signature events and strategic media buys to drive traffic and awareness of downtown. We have a strong working relationship with the city and strive to address operational issues such as parking, waste management and safety within our downtown.

We have made the customer shopping experience and the cleanliness of downtown a top priority. We have partnered with Block

By Block as a contracted janitorial vendor to enhance the downtown environment, performing duties such as sidewalk sweeping, power washing, graffiti removal and alley clean up. Recent projects that we have led include increased alley lighting; a free Wi-Fi system; a stormwater management tree project; employee parking permit and reduced fare bus transit program; and holiday décor, complete with a magic tree. We also launched a recycling program for our downtown businesses, residents and consumers.

5. What is The District’s next big goal and how do you plan to achieve it? The Gateways, which is a series of iconic downtown landmarks that will enhance our civic identity and let visitors know they’ve arrived in The District. This exciting project will help define the physical boundaries of The District and capture our active and artistic personality. The Gateways project represents an innovative public-private partnership that will be the largest art initiative in our city’s history. The goals are to create four gateways into downtown that define the area, draw people to The District, and further our brand. Elements include signage, landscaping, creative lighting and artwork, as well as a pedestrian-friendly infrastructure.

We plan to install the first three light hubs in late spring and launch a fundraising and grant writing campaign to raise money needed for the overall project.

Photo by Ben Meldrum

1. What is The District and what does it do? The District is a live–work–play neighborhood that sparks the creative, the eclectic and the local. We’re a constantly adapting community of people, with tradition blending harmoniously with technology and the latest trends in fashion, food and the arts.

The Downtown CID staffs a full-time executive director, an assistant executive director and an assistant director of outreach who work with a board and foster collaboration among various organizations within the city. We pursue collaborative efforts and build coalitions with community organizations, public agencies, political leaders, individual constituents and others in order to further CID goals.

6. What can Columbia do to better care for our tourists? Our visitors need to be able to easily find their way around Columbia and feel welcomed by our business community. We need to continuously strive to meet the needs of our guests, such as clear directions for parking or something as basic as public restrooms downtown. The CVB also offers an excellent training program, a certified tourism ambassador class, which is beneficial for anyone serving tourists. CBT

➜ Essing runs — a lot. She’s completed a marathon, more than a dozen half-marathons, a multitude of 5Ks and a Tough Mudder.

ADVERTISER INDEX 43Tc.......................................................................................................................................10

Job Point............................................................................................................................14

Accent Press................................................................................................................. 77

Joe Machens Nissan.................................................................................................... 4

Accounting Plus.........................................................................................................91

Joe Machens Hyundai................................................................................................ 15

Anthony Jinson Photography.......................................................................... 13

Joe Machens Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram......................................................45

Budget Blinds...............................................................................................................38

Joe Machens Toyota Scion..................................................................................69

Caledon Virtual............................................................................................................8

Landmark Bank................................................................................................................2

Carpet One...................................................................................................................... 77

MayeCreate Web Design..........................................................................................16

City of Columbia Water & Light........................................................................ 12

Mediacom.......................................................................................................................... 22

Columbia Chamber of Commerce.............................................................6 & 55

Midwest Computech................................................................................................. 33

Columbia Convention & Visitors Bureau........................................ 33 & 74

Missouri Dept. of Conservation.......................................................................18

Columbia Regional Airport................................................................................ 40

Moresource Inc..............................................................................................................7

Commerce Bank............................................................................................................89

Naught Naught Insurance Agency............................................................... 74

Country Club of Missouri....................................................................................84

Providence Bank......................................................................................................... 24

Craft Beer Cellar...................................................................................................... 28

Socket................................................................................................................................ 82

D & M Sound...................................................................................................................... 37

State Farm Insurance - Stephanie Wilmsmeyer.....................................86

Designer Kitchens & Baths................................................................................. 40

Stoney Creek Inn............................................................................................................9

Equipment Share...........................................................................................................11

The Bank of Missouri................................................................................................34

Father Tolton Catholic High School........................................................ 37

The Broadway Hotel...................................................................................................3

GFI Digital............................................................................................................................5

University Club............................................................................................................ 28

Gravity...............................................................................................................................86

Wilkerson & Reynolds Wealth Management......................................... 74

Harold's Doughnuts...............................................................................................86

Williams Keepers......................................................................................................... 24

Hawthorn Bank...........................................................................................................92

Wilson's Fitness..........................................................................................................20

columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 89

flashback

➜ 903 Business Loop 70

›› Columbia, then and now

By Brenna McDermott Photo by Ben Meldrum

The hospitality industry has certainly evolved since the El Don Motel stood adjacent to Dave Griggs’ Flooring America on Business Loop 70. At one time, Old Highway 40 was full of motels – the Show-Me, Travelier and the Arrow Head, to name just a few. With the growth of Interstate 70, Business Loop became less of a haven for weary travelers, and the hotels and motels relocated to align the interstate.

Originally called “tourist courts,” motels were a popular form of lodging in the 1940s and 1950s. According to Paste Magazine, the first motel opened in 1925, and with the changing automobile landscape,

motels grew in popularity after World War II. In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower passed the Federal-Aid Highway Act, establishing an interstate highway system in the U.S. with more than 40,000 miles of highway, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. The growth of the interstate highway system led to visitors bypassing locally owned roadside motels. Those properties gave way to corporate three- and four-story hotels. The El Don was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Clark L. Jackson.

Today, Car Title Loans sits in its place at 903 Business Loop 70, to the east of Dave Griggs’ Flooring America.

A post card of the El Don Motel for sale on eBay boasts air conditioning, room telephones, free TV and radios, controlled heat, morning coffee, available baby cribs and a location near the business district.

The El Don was part of the Best Western Motels group, according to BestWestern.com, which began as “an informal link between properties with each hotel recommending other lodging establishments to travelers. The ‘referral system’ consists of phone calls from one desk operator to another.” CBT

➜ We love Columbia business history. If you have any interesting photos and stories, please send them to Editor@BusinessTimesCompany.com 90 \\\ MARCH 2016

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