Columbia Business Times - May 2015

May 2015

aof extraordinary league citizens Page 54

Diana Moxon Page 54

100% good Page 36

a bump

in the night Page 40

P.Y.S.K.

tron jordheim Page 31

the keys to a

successful succession Page 46

I’m a Landmark.

When my old bank backed out 10 days before closing, Landmark saved me.

Not only did Landmark offer a better deal on the loan for my condo, but they also guaranteed I could close - Joyce E. Gentry by the original date. We actually closed sooner! They were prompt, caring and did everything with such a good attitude. Isn’t it time you became a Landmark?

MEMBER FDIC

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Commercial Lighting Incentive Program Case Study: Studio Home

replaced 97 incandescent light bulbs with LEDs earned rebate of 50% of project cost reduced electric usage by 4.074 KW project will pay for itself in 2 years Aaron Dolan and John Trigg at Studio Home saved money and electricity by switching out all their can and track lighting from incandescent to LED bulbs.

Their take-away advice? Think about the color temperature you need for your space.

Since LEDs come in many color temperatures ranging from warm, like incandescents, to cool like fluorescents, pay attention to the Kelvin number on the package to determine which color range you think you want. Then buy just one or two of those and try them out before replacing a large number of them. Columbia Water & Light can help you determine which color temperature is right for your work environment.

What color temperature do you want? Check the Kelvin (K) scale 2400 K warmest

3000K

Warm or Soft White Color of incandescent bulbs.

Casts warmer light for general living spaces.

3500K

4100K

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5000K

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Natural or Daylight Good for reading, similar to outside light at noon with a blue sky.

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3 NOTEWORTHY WINES AT EXCEPTIONAL VALUES

The best selection … the absolute best prices … and the very best service Open 7 days a week Drive through and delivery available

Aaron Saeler, Wine Manager

A REALLY GOOD WINE IS THE ONE YOU ENJOY THE MOST. HERE ARE SOME SUGGESTIONS ...

ROEDERER ESTATE BRUT

Our low price $23.68 This wine has a reputation as one of California’s premier sparklers yet remains true to its French heritage. Very dry with honey, apple and pear aromas, this is a soft and rich wine. Easily one of the best values that over delivers for the price.

Don’t save this one just for celebrations but serve with nearly any seafood, as well as spicy or Asian dishes.

MATUA SAUVIGON BLANC

Our low price $11.46 The vibrant tropical fruits paired with a touch of sweetness give this wine it weight and length. A hint of lime surfaces in this well-proportioned Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand along with gooseberry and passion fruit. A lively yet clean, lingering finish. And a tremendous value!

DURAND RESERVE SANCERRE

Our low price $23.63 This is a true Sancerre with enormous style and length at a great value. Rich grapefruit notes dominate with undertones of raspberry and blueberry ending with a smooth, sophisticated finish. One of the most popular wines of this region, it’s easy to see why it has such a devoted following. It’s a complex, highly enjoyable wine pairing quite well with seafood and poultry.

THESE ARE JUST THREE EXAMPLES but with over 3,200 wines to choose from, we’re certain to have your new favorite.

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columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 7

Josh Brady from Brady’s Glass answers some frequently asked questions in 140 characters or less!

Tweets

Tweets & replies

Photos & videos

Danielle Geneux @daniellegeneux The windows in my house are fogged up in between the two panes, do I need new windows or can just the glass be replaced?

Brady’s Glass @BradyGlass Family-run glass company helping local business owners design new storefronts and install windows for 70 years.

1309 N. 7th St. Columbia, MO 573-442-6143 www.bradyglass.com 58 Photos and videos

Brady’s Glass @BradyGlass Our residential team can remove the existing insulated glass units and replace with brand new units. Our units come with a 5 year warranty.

Thomas Schuenemeyer @tschuenemeyer What separates Brady’s Glass from other glass companies in the area?

Brady’s Glass @BradyGlass Pride. Attention to detail. Every time we do a job it’s our family name that we put on the line so we like to think of ourselves very picky. esquire @sirsquires Where do you see brady’s in 5 years?

Brady’s Glass @BradyGlass We have big plans for the future. Slow and steady growth is the path we decided on after the recession. We won’t sacrifice quality of work at any cost.

Johnny Germano @bigcat1986 what is your favorite part about working with glass?

Brady’s Glass @BradyGlass I like working with the entrepreneurs and business owners in Columbia on storefront design for their buildings. Some have specific ideas and others let me be creative and give them a few options.

10 \\\ may 2015

columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 11

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4/3/15 12:56 PM

From the Editor

Editorial Erica Pefferman, Publisher Erica@BusinessTimesCompany.com Sarah Redohl, Editor SarahR@BusinessTimesCompany.com Katrina Tauchen, Copy Editor Katrina@BusinessTimesCompany.com

Creative minds, creative work ›› “The more you act like a robot, the more likely you are to be replaced by a robot.”

I recently heard that quote from Alex Altomare, co-founder of Kansas City’s BetaBlox incubator. The most immune professions, according to Altomare, are dentists and the clergy, both for obvious reasons.

I’m not immune; the Associated Press already has robo-journalists — an automated system perfectly versed in AP Style — producing around 3,000 stories every quarter. In fact, the Automated Insights technology the AP is using can produce 2,000 stories a second, if need be. According to the AP’s Philana Patterson, who is tasked with implementing the system, the goal was to free up journalists to write “smarter pieces and more interesting stories.”

Basically, stories that still require a human touch.

Altomare’s quote reminded me of a conversation I had with Diana Kander, the New York Times bestselling author of All In Startup, in which she talked about how she teaches her clients to improve interPhoto by Anthony Jinson nal innovation — and why it’s important. After all, creativity, innovation and intrapreneurship are becoming increasingly vital to the longevity of our companies.

When I sat down with Columbia Art League Executive Director Diana Moxon at Main Squeeze in March, within the first 15 minutes, we were talking about how to foster creativity in your team. If you ask Moxon, she’ll say, “Buy local art.”

“Creative minds seek creative environments,” she says. And there are a handful of local companies who buy into this idea (featured on page 54), offering art to enrich the lives of both employees and clients who visit their facilities.

We’re also featuring other businesses that enrich our lives in this issue, our Arts, Retail and Entertainment Issue. On page 36, we’re profiling 100% Wine, which is now available in Columbia, the proceeds of which will assist Columbians with disabilities in finding employment. This issue also includes a look at the effect of Columbia’s biggest events, from True/False to Tiger Football, on page 40, a profile of the Missouri Theatre on page 26 and much more.

As always, we love feedback. Please don’t hesitate to email me at SarahR@BusinessTimesCompany.com, or tweet at me @SarahRedohl. Enjoy the issue!

Best, MAY 2015

AOF EXTRAORDINARY LEAGUE Sarah Redohl, Editor

Diana Moxon is the executive director of the Columbia Art League.

She stands in front of a large abstract piece at the art league’s gallery at 207 S. Ninth St. Photo by Anthony Jinson.

CITIZENS PAGE 54

Diana Moxon PAGE 54

100% GOOD PAGE 36

A BUMP

IN THE NIGHT PAGE 40

P.Y.S.K.

TRON JORDHEIM PAGE 31

THE KEYS TO A

SUCCESSFUL SUCCESSION PAGE 46

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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.

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I GET MY GORGEOUS FROM YOU. THANKS MOM.

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COLUMBIA / 573 442 8554

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16 \\\ may 2015

3/23/15 12:14 PM

About The Last Times What's happening online Gistory @GetTheGistory Thanks for the shoutout, @ColumbiaBiz! RT @BryanBumgardner: "Oh hey @GetTheGistory" Joe Machens Nissan @MachensNissan Congrats to Josh Stanfast, the Samsung Smart TV winner from @ColumbiaBiz Reader Appreciation Party! #machensnissan

Around the office We want to know: Who has the top happy hour?

Who’s the top local promoter of business and development? There’s still time to vote for Columbia’s top B2B services and products for CBT’s Top of the Town! Cast your votes by May 1 .

TOP OF THE

TOWN

Marie Newell @marie_newell Our office smells amazing thanks to #ediblearrangements @ColumbiaBiz Tin Can Technologies @TinCanTech @ColumbiaBiz wrote one heck of an article about TCT! SO thrilled to see it! #entrepreneur #startups #tech

Our own Doughnut King (or Queen) has finally been announced! And the winner is the turtle cheesecakestuffed Long John, created by Amanda Klenke!

“Long Johns are a classic doughnut that most people will eat, and I like the idea of it being stuffed for convenience,” Klenke says.

Thank you for all of our other doughnut recipe suggestions, from healthy and gluten-free options to the most decadent and delicious creations of all time!

Lauren Whitney-Karr @LaurenWhitK Women rock in the technology field too! Check out @veteransunited's Natalie Hardin's interview in @ColumbiaBiz Scott Wilson @scottawilsons @BobBuckley1 Way to go! @ColumbiaBiz: Congrats to Robert J. Buckley for being elected membership into the ABOTA! BBBS of Central MO @Bigsofcentralmo Check out this month's @ColumbiaBiz Nonprofit Spotlight to read more about our programs and upcoming events!

Jeff Branscom @jeffreyowen8 Great to see @ColumbiaColg's Raja Bhattacharya featured in this month's @ColumbiaBiz #CoMo Write to CBT editor Sarah Redohl at Editor@BusinessTimesCompany.com columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 17

YOUR BUSINESS. YOUR GOALS. OUR EXPERTISE. SUPERIOR RESULTS.

Our depth of experience coupled with a commitment to forming strong relationships with our clients allows us to offer superior service over traditional CPA firms. Call us to see how to create a stronger financial future for your business.

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Vote now for Columbia’s top B2B products and services!

Visit www.columbiabusinesstimes.com to cast your vote by May 1, 2015.

18 \\\ may 2015

May 2015

Vol. 21, Issue 11 columbiabusinesstimes.com

54

League of Extraordinary Citizens As the Columbia Art League continues providing the city with ample exposure to arts and culture, local businesses are building impressive collections of their own.

36

40

Departments

15 From the Editor 17 Letters to the Editor 21 Movers and Shakers 22 Briefly in the News 25 A Closer Look 26 Business Update 31 P.Y.S.K. 35 Opinion 62 Nonprofit Spotlight 64 Celebrations 69 Marketing 71 Technology 73 Organizational Health 75 Did You Know?

76 Economic Index 77 Deeds of Trust 78 Business Licenses 79 By the Numbers 80 6 Questions 82 Flashback

46

100% Good

Trending #columbia

Succession Planning

100 Percent Wine boosts employment among individuals with disabilities by providing professional guidance and financial support to businesses that hire them.

Attracting tourists is a year-round project for the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau, and 2015 is on track to be another record-breaking year.

The hard work that went into building and maintaining your business doesn’t have to go to waste. Read about three companies that successfully passed the torch.

20 \\\ may 2015

Movers and Shakers ›› Professionals grow, serve and achieve

shinn

underwood

gabel

wright

kitzi

➜ Are you or your employees

making waves in the Columbia business community? Send us your news to Editor@BusinessTimesCompany.com

elsea

pealer

tresslar

›› Angela Scott

›› Peggy Kirkpatrick

›› Edward Elsea

Daniel Boone Regional Library appointed Scott as the regional technical services manager. Scott will manage much of the online operation of the library, including its extensive online catalog and interlibrary loan system.

After a brief retirement following 22 years as executive director of the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri, Kirkpatrick was named interim director of the Heart of Missouri United Way. Kirkpatrick will oversee the transition to a new director.

›› Kristi Shinn

›› Emily Mora

Elsea will be the new principal of Lee Expressive Arts Elementary School beginning next fall. Elsea is currently a principal in Lebanon, Missouri, and has 13 years of experience as a principal. His predecessor, Karen Burger, recently announced she will retire at the end of the 2014-2015 school year.

Shinn will replace current Derby Ridge Elementary School Principal Jeri Petre, who will become the first principal of Battle Elementary School in fall of 2015. Shinn is currently the principal at Main Street Elementary School in Troy, Missouri, where she was awarded a Missouri Distinguished Principal Award in 2011.

Central Trust and Investment Co. added Mora as fiduciary services coordinator at its Columbia location. Mora’s business experience includes both law and finance, including the Cole County prosecuting attorney’s office and law firms in Missouri and California.

›› Mack Rhoades

MidwayUSA promoted Underwood to financial manager-accounts payable. Underwood started at Midway in 2007. In her new position, she will oversee all aspects of the accounts payable process.

Rhoades will be MU’s next athletic director. He will be replacing Mike Alden, who announced in January that he will be stepping down from the position after 17 years. Rhoades was the vice president of intercollegiate athletics at the University of Houston.

›› Josh Briscoe

›› Matt Kitzi

United Rentals, the world’s largest equipment rental company, named Briscoe branch manager of its Columbia location. Briscoe was transferred to Columbia after serving in branch management positions in St. Louis and Topeka, Kansas.

Armstrong Teasdale, an international law firm, appointed Kitzi as co-chair of Armstrong Teasdale’s emerging companies industry group. Kitzi, who is based in Columbia, will be joined by co-chair and fellow Armstrong Teasdale partner Jennifer Byrne, who works out of St. Louis. The two will handle the firm’s services to startup companies.

›› Abby Underwood

›› Landmark Bank Joan Gabel and John Wright accepted positions on the bank’s advisory board, where they will help direct the bank’s policy and strategy. Gabel is the dean of the University of Missouri's College of Business, where she has served since 2010, and Wright spent 2013 to 2014 serving in the Missouri House of Representatives.

›› Jet Ainsworth Visionworks Marketing Group added Ainsworth as account services manager. Columbia residents might know Ainsworth as Jet Roberts, the name he used as a morning radio host at 106.1 FM for 14 years. He joined Visionworks in November.

›› Kristie Pealer Pealer is U.S Cellular’s new business sales executive for mid-Missouri. In the position, Pealer will aim to find creative wireless solutions for area businesses.

›› Boone County National Bank Six BCNB employees were promoted within the bank’s customer service department: Sarah Stevens, Steven Denney, Jon Rogers and Robert Crabtree are now customer service representatives, and Jennifer Dampier and Marissa Grimmet are now senior customer service representatives. BCNB also named James Peck as the new vice president of agricultural lending, where he will expand the bank’s role in Boone County’s farming and ranching.

›› Ronna Tresslar The Callaway Bank promoted Tresslar to mortgage loan originator at The Callaway Mortgage Group, a division of the bank. Tresslar will be working with homebuyers to find appropriate lending options, including government lending programs.

›› Heart of Missouri United Way Greg and Mary Ropp will lead a six-person community campaign team for Heart of Missouri United Way, which seeks to raise $3 million in pledges from the mid-Missouri community.

Other tri-chairs of the 2015 community campaign team include Mike and Sarah Messer and Bev and Allen Curtis. CBT columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 21

Briefly in the News

›› A rundown of this month’s top headlines

westminster donation A gift was donated to Westminster College to help elevate the National Churchill Museum to a national and international stage. Dr. Monroe E. Trout and his wife, Sandra, established a professorship of Churchill studies, which will provide the museum with an executive director and resources to help promote the museum.

Green bean Green BEAN Delivery, the region’s largest online natural and organic grocery delivery service, will deliver fresh groceries right to Columbia residents’ doorsteps. Green BEAN Delivery is a membership-based subscription service with no signup or membership fee, and delivery is free with a minimum $35 order.

big gift A $1 million estate gift was recently given to the University of Missouri to help create the Center for Applied Theatre and Drama Research in the Department of Theatre in the MU College of Arts and Science. Suzanne Burgoune, a curators’ teaching professor of theater at MU, donated the money in hopes that the new center will “expand opportunities to use theater techniques as active learning strategies in a number of disciplines and industries.”

Centennial Speaker Series 'battle of the brands'

Higher Education Marketing Report recently recognized MU’s Trulaske College of Business for its Centennial Speaker Series under the digital marketing category. The video series included 10 alumni and friends of Joan Gabel the college who spoke about the current state of business and future of the industry, according to Trulaske College of Business Dean Joan Gabel.

The series was launched last year as part of the Trulaske College of Business Centennial Celebration, according to a press release.

“We were honored to receive recognition for this project,” Gabel says. “The Centennial Speaker Series was one of the highlights of our yearlong Centennial Celebration, and it pushes the boundaries for how we talk about these topics. We used the latest technology in video editing and social media engagement to provide wide access to these leaders while maximizing engagement with our constituencies.”

columbia honda MOSourceLink hosted its first statewide “Battle of the Brands” this year. Forty-one companies entered the bracketstyle competition. This year’s winner is ETI ElectroFlow.

ElectroFlow is the only 11-in-1 device in the world that can achieve guaranteed energy savings of up to 34 percent and payback of less than two years. Today, ETI is represented in 112 countries worldwide with customers including General Motors, Nestle, Coca-Cola and more.

22 \\\ may 2015

Frank Fletcher Honda was recently acquired by McLarty Automotive Group, owned by Mark McLarty, and has been renamed Columbia Honda. Stephen Nagel, a mid-Missouri native, will serve as general manager and partner at Columbia Honda after 17 years at AutoNation’s Memphis-based Dobbs Ford dealerships.

“I’m very excited to be back here,” Nagel says. “[The new acquisition is] a chance to expand their footprint. It gives the citizens and the people who live around Columbia options.”

Columbia Honda is the McLarty Automotive Group’s second Honda dealership acquisition in the Midwest in the past six months.

What’s happening

award winning The Angel Lane Reconstruction Project recently won two awards: the Excellence in Paving Award from the Missouri/Kansas Chapter of the American Concrete Pavement Association and Missouri Department of Transportation and a second place award in the Minor Road Overlay category by the Missouri Asphalt Pavement Association.

como for working women Columbia was recently named the fifth-best medium-size city for working women by NerdWallet, a personal finance site. The rating was based on factors such as women’s median earnings as a percentage of men’s, monthly rent as a percentage of women’s median earnings, difference in labor force participation rate between men and women and the unemployment rate.

“There’s a lot of employment opportunity in general,” says Matt McCormick, president of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce.

small business of the year This year's Small Business of the Year finalists include Buchroeder's Jewelers, Kilgore's Respiratory Services, Manor Roofing & Restoration, TrueSon Exteriors and Plaza Dental Group. Each business was nominated by its peers, are Chamber of Commerce members with fewer than 50 full-time personnel and have been fully operational since January 2013. A winner will be selected May 8, during the Columbia Chamber of Commerce Small Business Week.

Women in Transition The Assistance League of Mid-Missouri announced that True North, its service program that helps women who survive domestic abuse and assault, is now called Women in Transition.

Phyllis Stoecklein, vice president of philanthropic services, says Women in Transition is a better name for the program, which focuses on “assisting women as they transition from an abusive or violent situation to a life that is safe, stable, self-sustaining and free from violence.”

surgical robots MU Health Care is the first health system in mid-Missouri to offer robotic minimally invasive surgery. The new Da Vinci Xi Surgical System at University Hospital is one of two surgical systems in Missouri and the only one in central Missouri.

The new Da Vinci robot will be used for minimally invasive surgeries for complex diseases and conditions in colorectal, gynecologic oncology, urology, thoracic, cardiac and other general surgeries.

Pela Cura Elisabeth Trumbower took over as the new owner of Pela Cura Laser & Medical Spa, starting in mid-February. Her father, Dr. William Trumbower, most recently an OB/GYN at Women’s Health Associates Inc., will be phasing into the spa’s integrated wellness clinic and medical spa, working on bioidentical hormone replacement therapy for men and women, natural thyroid replacement, nutrition and wellness testing and treatment and other specialized therapies.

“This is one of the fastest-growing trends in the medical sector,” Elisabeth Trumbower says. “We are really excited about it. This has been a dream for my dad and I for 10 years to have a clinic like this together.”

Children's miracle network radiothon The ninth annual Missouri Credit Union “Miracles for Kids” Radiothon took place March 5 and 6 for MU Children’s Hospital. This year’s event raised $228,539 in donations with local Zimmer radio stations 93.9 FM The Eagle, 94.3 FM KAT Country, 99.3 FM Clear 99 and 106.9 FM Y107. CBT columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 23

NURTURING BEAUTIFUL PLANTS AND PEOPLE.

Giving Gardens A Retail Greenhouse Giving Gardens is a retail greenhouse owned and operated by CMSE – every purchase made supports our mission to employ adults with developmental disabilities.

JUST OFF THE BEATEN PATH

you’ll find our wide variety of Perennials, Annuals, Tropicals, Vegetables & Flowering Hanging Baskets and Native plants!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

MAY 9TH

Join us for the Special Olympics Fundraiser Selling Hot Dogs & Soda - Come Join the Fun! Visit us on the web for a complete list of plants as well as information about our agency at

www.cmsegivinggardens.com 573-442-6935 • 4040 S. Bearfield Rd., Columbia Take Grindstone Pkwy to Bearfield Rd., Go south 1/2 mile on Bearfield (Just past the Cottages)

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK!

24 \\\ may 2015

Mon - Sat 8:30am - 6pm | Sunday 11am - 5pm

A Closer Look

New Businesses in

Columbia

›› A quick look at emerging companies

1. Broil

3. Healthstat Inc.

Scott Cleeton, owner of CiCi’s City Broiler, recently opened another restaurant, Broil, which he defines as a tapas-style steakhouse.

The menu is influenced by the flavors and style of CiCi’s but is more affordable, and guests are encouraged to order and share several smaller plates among the table. Some favorites on the menu are the rack of lamb, filet mignon and a lobster truffle, which is similar to bisque and made fresh with each order. Cleeton describes the atmosphere at Broil as a bit younger and louder than CiCi’s, perfect for people in their 20s wanting a fun night out with friends. Broil is located at 4603 John Garry Drive, Suite 3.

Contact: Scott Cleeton, 573-442-6373

A Healthstat Inc. facility recently opened in Columbia and serves as a health clinic and wellness center. Healthstat provides businesses with reduced health care costs and improves employees’ well-being with onsite, near-site and shared clinic solutions.

There are 300 clinics open across 32 states that provide onsite primary care, healthrisk intervention, disease management and occupational medication. Other Healthstat clinic locations in Missouri include Independence and Kansas City.

Contact: Healthstat Inc., 704-529-6161

2. America’s Mattress of Mid-Missouri Missouri Furniture Inc. just opened an America’s Mattress of Mid-Missouri store in Columbia. Missouri Furniture was established in 1977 in Camdenton and has six Missouri Furniture locations and two America’s Mattress locations: one in Columbia and another in Jefferson City. Another America’s Mattress will open in Osage Beach in early May. America’s Mattress offers a variety of mattresses including innerspring, foam, individually wrapped coils and iComfort as well as numerous well-known brands such as Dr. Greene Sleep System and Serta Perfect Sleeper. America’s Mattress of Mid-Missouri is located at 2609 E. Broadway, Suite 105.

Contact: David Faiferlick, 573-874-2337

4. Be My Guest Asian Bistro A new ethnic eatery has opened in Columbia.

Be My Guest Asian Bistro specializes in Asian fusion dishes and has a diverse menu that combines classic Asian favorites with new and noteworthy entrées. Some classic Asian dishes include chicken teriyaki, orange chicken and pad Thai. Be My Guest also offers a variety of sushi, including a bagel roll, which consists of cream cheese, smoked salmon and green onions. “We serve good quality food that is made from fresh ingredients and herbs,” says owner Poppy Watthanakhonphaiboon. The bistro has happy hour specials, with half-off appetizers Monday through Wednesday and discounts on beer and sake Thursday through Saturday.

Be My Guest Asian Bistro is located at 1200 E. Walnut St., Suite 107.

Contact: Poppy Watthanakhonphaiboon, 573-442-3100

3

Kindermusik International is a program focused on research-based music and movement classes, targeted toward children and their parents.

Gretchen Shults, a Columbia resident, recently received her certification as a Kindermusik instructor, and in February she opened a Kindermusik studio in Columbia. During Kindermusik with Gretchen classes, Shults leads the class (for infants to 7-year-olds) through music and movement activities geared to help boost early literacy and language abilities, social-emotional skills, cognitive development, opportunities to practice motor development and music skills. The studio is located at 1600 W. Broadway.

Contact: Gretchen Shults, 573-447-0213

6. Wingin Out A new late-night takeout and delivery restaurant has opened in downtown Columbia. Wingin Out offers a variety of hot wings, both boneless and boned, as well as 16 sauce choices. Some of its tamer sauces include Medium Buffalo, Honey Barbecue, Sweet Thai Chili and Parm Peppercorn.

For customers who want to turn up the heat, Wingin Out’s hotter sauces include Insane Buffalo and Spicy Barbecue. “We offer fresh chicken; it’s never frozen, it’s good quality, and we have a lot of variety,” says manager Blaine Ellis. Wingin Out is open from Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. and is located at 916 E. Broadway. Wingin Out is also available for delivery.

Contact: Blaine Ellis, 573-449-9464 CBT

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5. Kindermusik with Gretchen

4

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➜ Are you an entrepreneur? Are you sprouting a new business? Tell us about it at Editor@BusinessTimesCompany.com columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 25

The interior of the Missouri Theatre is modeled in a baroque and rococo style of the Louis XIV and XV periods, after the Paris Opera House. Photos by Anthony Jinson.

26 \\\ may 2015

Business Update

new life

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

Living History

The University of Missouri brings new life to the historic Missouri Theatre.

By Taylor Wanbaugh The Missouri Theatre has greatly expanded the type and style of shows and events put on in its humble stomping grounds since it opened in 1928 and has added even more variety after being purchased by the University of Missouri last summer.

The theater was previously owned by the Missouri Symphony Society, which bought the venue in 1988 to serve as a home for the symphony, according to the Missouri Symphony Society website.

The historical theater underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation in 2007 and 2008, thanks to the fundraising efforts of the Symphony Society.

“It was a large campaign,” says Missouri Symphony Society staff member Courtney Buska. “We refurbished and recreated lots of the historical parts of the theater.”

Marge Berchek, a member of the Symphony Society’s history committee, says some of the renovations included replacing decorative plaster pieces, replacing the theater seats, restoring the chandelier, replacing drapes, adding new bathrooms, installing a new sound system, new heating and cooling, replacing out-of-date technology, duplicating and installing the banisters and an interior expansion of the lobby area. An elevator was also installed to provide access to patrons with disabilities.

“The pipe organ is a whole other story,” Berchek says. “The short version is that after years of effort, there is an organ that is appropriate to the theater. The original organ no longer exists.

The organ that is now installed is almost identical to the original. It came from the Oxnard Theater in Oxnard, California. It was a generous gift from Julia and Glen Spellman.”

Changing hands The Missouri Theatre was officially purchased by MU in the summer of 2014, according to Nathan

The Missouri Theatre is located at 203 S. Ninth St. and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1928, it is central Missouri’s only pre-Depression-era movie palace and vaudeville stage.

Anderson, general manager of MU Event Production Services, and the MU School of Music has been using the theater for several of its events for the past couple of years.

The Symphony Society decided to sell the theater after falling on hard times during the recession. It had raised $8.6 million for the renovations in 2008, but the restoration ended up costing $11 million. Struggling financially, the society made the decision to sell the theater to MU. “It was easier to not have to worry about managing the theater,” Buska says. “We could focus more on the educational aspect and our performances.”

MU originally signed a leasing agreement back in 2011, which allowed the university to take over theater operations for three years before the purchase was finalized in 2014.

The theater is now the main venue for the University Concert Series, with upcoming shows including Potted Potter: The Unauthorized Harry Experience, the Chancellor’s Concert and the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies. The Missouri Symphony Society continues to use the theater for office spaces and performances, and the Missouri Student Association uses the venue for films and speakers.

“It was an opportunity to have another venue besides just having Jesse Auditorium,” Anderson says. “We were missing a lot of opportunity for different events before.”

Preserving the past Berchek says plans to build a theater and hotel were made in 1927. Originally, the building was columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 27

“It was an opportunity to have another venue besides just having Jesse Auditorium. We were missing a lot of opportunity for different events before.” — Nathan Anderson, general manager, MU Event Production Services supposed to have five stories of apartments above the street-level shops and entrance to the theater.

The Missouri Theatre was built back in 1928 and is central Missouri’s only remaining pre-Depression-era movie palace and vaudeville stage, according to MU’s website.

“The Columbia Missourian announced on Jan. 1, 1929, that sound pictures would be shown three days each week,” Berchek says. “There would still be vaudeville acts. By the end of April 1929, the theater was going to present only talking movies and no vaudeville.”

The theater is actually modeled after the Paris Opera House.

Although much of the theater has changed over the years, some of the original designs remain, including the plaster reliefs, the chandelier, stained-glass art panels and the Belgian marble wainscoting, according to MU’s website.

“In February 1966, a Columbia Missourian article said that the renovation of the Missouri Theatre was completed last fall,” Berchek says. “The work included application of hand-printed pattern on the walls. The article said that the painters were from Germany. Other improvements included new terrazzo in the lobby, patio-style furniture and carpeting all the way to the outside doors in the lobby.”

Looking forward Anderson says they’ve tried not to change a lot when it comes to the structure of the theater in an effort to preserve some of its history. MU has made small to moderate repairs to the theater, he says, and replaced some of the equipment that was previously used. Most recently, the university installed a new high-definition DCP-compliant projector system that Anderson says “brings the theater up to speed with some of the like-sized and bigger houses in the country.”

“It is capable of screening films in full HD as well as provide an overall brighter picture on the screen,” Anderson says. “In addition, when applicable, we will be able to download full-length films to the projector in order to allow them to stream seamlessly to the screen.”

The Missouri Theatre was one of the venues for documentaries for this year’s True/False Film Festival. Anderson says the theater showed at least a dozen different films and was close to or at capacity for each one.

“The new projector will have a big impact on the theater’s capabilities going forward,” Anderson says.

The university, with the help of the MU School of Music, also recently purchased and installed an acoustical shell in the ceiling above the stage. It allows for world-class sound, especially during School of Music and Missouri Symphony Society events.

For now, Anderson says MU is “evaluating what they have in the building and consciously working on a long-term plan” since it was purchased last summer. CBT 28 \\\ may 2015

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Meet Chris Harrison, owner of Asphalt Pro magazine. Asphalt Pro produces a national trade magazine for the asphalt production industry. Chris obtained an SBA loan from The Bank of Missouri for the business acquisition of the publication and additional working capital needs.

An SBA loan from The Bank of Missouri is one of the best financing options for small and growing businesses. An SBA loan can help you finance an entire business, equipment and fixtures, business real estate and much more.

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30 \\\ may 2015

Geoff Karr SBA Loan Officer

Karin Bell Sr. VP, SBA Manager

Andrew Zorn SBA Loan Officer

P.Y.S.K. Person You Should Know

Tron Jordheim

Head of marketing at StorageMart and director of its subsidiaries: the PhoneSmart Call Center and the 7Methods sales and customer service consultancy Job description: I manage the marketing for the largest privately held self-storage company in North America with more than 160 storage locations and more than 75,000 customers across the United States and Canada. I also manage the call center subsidiary, PhoneSmart, and its sales and customer service consultancy, 7Methods.

Age:

55

Years lived in Columbia/mid-Missouri: 23 Original hometown: Brooklyn, New York Education: Ph.D. in cold-call selling from the school of doors slamming in your face and a B.A. from Queens College in New York, Jerry Seinfeld’s alma mater

Photo by Sarah Redohl

Community involvement: I’m a member of the Sunrise Southwest Rotary and a board member of the Southwest Swim and Tennis Association.

›› Great news! Jordheim will join the Columbia Business Times as our resident sales columnist starting in June.

Professional background: I started my first business in the sixth grade with a roll of paper towels and a can of window cleaner and have been building and managing businesses ever since. I had a dog-training school and sold protection dogs to private individuals and police departments in the late ’70s and early ’80s.

I wrote a dog-training column for the Columbia Daily Tribune and had a syndicated radio show in the early ’90s. I spent many years in the bottled water business and have been in the storage business and running PhoneSmart since 2000. Along the way, I sold construction material, promoted rock bands, worked in warehouses, did office filing, sold ice cream and toys and cleaned office and residential spaces.

Why I’m passionate about my job: I have a great group of people to work with. I enjoy bursting through obstacles, carving out new territory and bringing home wins for the team. columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 31

A favorite recent project: I told the story of how StorageMart survived and thrived during the last big economic mess in my book, The First Rule of Selling: How StorageMart Led an Industry out of Recession. I would not be offended if people bought a copy on Amazon. You can get a copy at the Columbia Public Library, too.

A Columbia businessperson I admire and why: There are many, actually too many to mention, and I’d be afraid to leave someone out.

If I weren’t doing this for a living, I would: Be running some other business and helping to develop a different set of great people.

What people should know about this profession: Marketing is not for the weak. You take many calculated risks. You lose almost as often as you win. Managing people is only for people who like people and enjoy watching them develop and succeed.

What I do for fun: I hang out with my family, take walks, pull out my kayak or relax.

Family: I have a wonderful wife and two amazing daughters.

Favorite place in Columbia: Any of the amazing parks and trails we are so fortunate to have.

Accomplishment I’m most proud of: I helped co-found the PhoneSmart Hawaii Un-Conference, which became profitable in its second year and was hailed as the best conference for the self-storage industry.

Most people don’t know that I: Am one of the originators of rap music. I was in a songwriting duo in 1978 with James Brickhouse. We wrote a funky little groove with spoken word rhymes called “The Rap.” “The Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugar Hill Gang came out the next year, and the rest is history. CBT 32 \\\ may 2015

columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 33

34 \\\ may 2015

Roundtable › Al Germond

point-of-view

Buildings, Business and Battle Lines There’s nothing of any architectural significance about 225 S. Ninth St.: a squat, single-story, 1920s-era structure its owner wants to tear down and replace.

There’s absolutely nothing about this pile of bricks that can compare with contemporaneous Columbia architectural achievements that include the Missouri Methodist Church, Central Dairy Building, Tiger Hotel, Missouri Theatre and Missouri State Teachers’ Association headAl Germond is the quarters, to name a few. Tenanted in the host of the Columbia past by the Dinkle Barber Shop, Al’s Shoe Business Times Hospital, Vet’s Appliance Service, Dawson Sunday Morning Shoe Repair, the Drop-In Sandwich Shop, Roundtable at 8:15 Eddie’s Toggery, the Food Center grocery, a.m. Sundays on KFRU. Topsy’s Ice Cream and Max’s Campus He can be reached at Snack, among others, these bricks for more al@columbia business than 40 years have encapsulated the origitimes.com. nal Shakespeare’s location, a local legend among pizzerias. Now, the northwest corner of Ninth and Elm has joined a crosstown relative at the southeast corner of Providence and Broadway ensnarled in an extended-play twin bill of municipal obfuscation and delay in the court of the Columbia City Council and several advisory commissions.

Any expectation that CVS will be allowed to build where the Boone County Mill once stood is fading, as perhaps it should. If I were in their wheelhouse, I’d say forget about this spot because the southeast corner of Providence and Broadway is jinxed, and the Creator laid the hex upon it eons ago. Flat Branch, after all, is a creek, represented by a blue line on the U.S. Geological Survey’s 1:24,000 scale “Columbia” Quadrangle map, and it runs beneath the property CVS has been coveting for its debut operation here. What has become ludicrous is the tug-of-war about appearance and design pitting CVS and its local counsel against the seemingly unflappable City Council and its surrogates, the sevenmember Historic Preservation Commission of the architectural cognoscente and an even larger contingent of Downtown Leadership Council members. One story or two? Or how about 26 stories with views from the top to boot and maybe a revolving restaurant on the roof?

After the mill was torn down following MFA’s 1967 move from 32 S. Providence Road to 2420 Paris Road, the southeast corner was up for grabs at a time before the EPA, DNR and other regulatory agencies could impose their binding environmental ukases. The intersection was at the time a hodgepodge of mixed commercial structures and uses including several gas stations, the Oriental Bazaar, Midwest Auto topped by a super-sized figure of Paul Bunyan and Uncle Clem’s Corner, which was memorialized by a string of corny commercials that punctuated the airwaves of KFRU. Since the northeast corner has been cleared and turned into a parking lot, the highest and best use of the controversial south-

This photo from Hickman High School’s 1960 Cresset looks east on Broadway, toward Providence Road, from First Street.

east corner is undoubtedly some parkland, sure to make City Hall’s micromanagers grin like a gaggle of Cheshire cats.

Change was in the air on Feb. 28, 1968, when the Katz Drug Co. of Kansas City and the late Edgar Wayland announced plans to build a 46,000-square-foot “super” drugstore on several dozen acres Wayland owned at the southwest corner close to the busy intersection. A few days later, the Bettendorfs of St. Louis announced plans to build a supermarket northwest of the Katz store. This is now Office Depot. Previously known as Cemetery Hill, this was one of several notorious sites dotted with slum shacks and “frost-proof” toilets occupied by Columbia’s segregated black community that had been swept clean by the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority as part of the city’s ambitious 100-acre urban renewal project that began in 1956. The Katz Discount Drug Store opened in the fall of 1968, but the chain was sold to Skaggs in 1971, which became OSCO, acquired ironically by CVS in January 2006.

At this point, the rather ordinary building at 225 S. Ninth might be with us for a while or maybe in perpetuity just like the rambling old building at 920 Cherry St. that was saved from destruction a while back. The recent election ensured this, and maybe that’s for the better if that’s how the community at large feels about historic preservation. The electorate of Columbia and its representatives remain sharply divided. “Focusing on the fundamentals” is one of those vacuous slogans that won’t be fulfilled by any move to the center or interest in compromise. Representatives operate along digital lines because they are unabashedly beholden to those who support them under threat of recall, as recent history has shown. The lines of battle in this community are very clear: liberal vs. conservative, town vs. gown, “smart” growth vs. stupid growth, progressive vs. Neanderthal. You don’t need a weatherman to figure out how our solons will vote. It would probably be a good time to change the City Charter and stick party labels on those who represent us. It’s OK if you’re a democrat or a republican. At least with a party label, we’ll have a pretty good idea of how you feel about something, and there’s nothing wrong with that. CBT columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 35

Chuck Blossom and Scott Monette

36 \\\ may 2015

100

%

good

100 Percent Wine boosts employment among individuals with disabilities by providing professional guidance and financial support to businesses that hire employees from that population.

By Sarah Berger | photos by anthony jinson columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 37

M

Most people agree that a bottle of wine and good conversation go well together.

Whether it’s a bottle shared between friends at happy hour after work or at a large dinner party on Friday night, wine is a celebratory product meant to spark conversations, usually those about your week or what’s going on in your life.

A new bottle of wine has popped up in grocery stores across Columbia, though, that is sparking deeper conversations. And better yet, it’s being used as a device to change someone’s life.

100 Percent Wine is a wine company whose mission is “to partner with local nonprofit organizations to help create jobs for people with disabilities.” At first the company sounds almost unbelievable; it donates 100 percent of its profits to local organizations that are helping provide sustainable jobs for people with disabilities. Founded by Scott Monette, 100 Percent Wine started distributing its wine in November 2014 in St. Louis and recently expanded to include distribution in Columbia. Since expanding to Columbia in February, 100 Percent Wine can be found in all of Columbia’s HyVee locations, Schnucks and Hoss’s Market. All of the profits from wine sold in Columbia will stay in Columbia; the 100 Percent Wine Foundation will donate all proceeds to a Columbia organization of their choosing.

Monette says this job is way outside of his comfort zone. He worked in finance and consumer products for more than 25 years as the chief investment officer for Hallmark Cards as well as the chief financial officer for Ralcorp Holdings. He says he enjoyed his work in corporate America and was comfortable there, but after reading the book How Do You Measure the Value of Your Life on a business trip, Monette realized he aspired to do something bigger: something that would directly benefit his son Matthew, who is disabled, and people just like him.

“We want to celebrate people living with disabilities with great employment stories and great support from the community, and Columbia has that in its DNA.” — Ron Roy 38 \\\ may 2015

“I got to the point where I was like: ‘Something’s got to give. This is not who I want to be.

This is not who I aspire to be. I’ve got to do something different,’” Monette says. “Having someone in this population, I felt like employment was what I wanted to focus on, but I wasn’t sure exactly what that looked like. I started to read and explore all the different options, and I found that if things were working, the status quo wouldn’t be what it is from an employment standpoint.”

Celebrating change Currently, there are around 850,000 working-age Missourians with disabilities and 1 million in total, accounting for about 14 to 16 percent of the total population. Including those who have an immediate family member with a disability, about 33 percent of Missourians are directly impacted. Less than one in three of those people are employed, and less than one in four are employed full time.

Monette knew he wanted to do something that would benefit this extremely undervalued population, but how? He decided on wine because over the past two decades, sales in wine have grown every year. He believed by selling wine, he could help spark a social discussion about the employment of people with disabilities in a celebratory way.

“It’s about unlocking economic possibilities of jobs and creating a choice for people, but it’s also about giving people the opportunity to live a better life,” Monette says. “It’s kind of a unique way to break down stereotypes around what people can accomplish if we just look at them differently, and wine’s my device to do that. I thought there’s got to be a way we can have this conversation in a social way, a celebratory way and have this conversation be about people that you’re probably not thinking about or talking about a whole lot.”

Monette began to form an all-star team that would be the core of 100 Percent Wine. He enlisted Chuck Blossom, who was the former CEO of Boone Center Inc., which is a company that employs hundreds of people with disabilities, and Ron Roy, a “wine evangelist” who has immense experience in the wine industry and whose wines appear in the top 10 sellers for Wine.com and Amazon Wines.

“I met Scott through a mutual friend and learned about his goal, his mission in trying to help people living with disabilities with a focus on employment,” Roy says. “Within five minutes it hit a personal nerve with me, as I have a younger sister in this population and witnessed what my mom went through over the years trying to get her more involved in the community and get her a job. I felt if I could help Scott move

Photo courtesy of Lifetime Media

Photo courtesy of Lifetime Media

the needle forward and break down barriers of what people living with disabilities can do and contribute to their community through employment, then I would do my sister Debbie proud.”

The first thing Monette, Roy and Blossom knew they had to accomplish was to provide great quality wine for an affordable price, which isn’t an easy feat for most companies.

After they visited many vineyards in California, they secured a partnership with award-winning winemaker Karen Birmingham out of Lodi, California. Their wines have been endorsed by two master sommeliers, which is a testament to their quality. 100 Percent Wine offers two wines: a red wine blend and a Sauvignon Blanc, each retailing between $13.99 and $14.99 in Columbia. Now, they just had to figure out how they were going to incorporate giving back to the people living with disabilities.

“My original plan was to hire people in this population to do the bottling and labeling, but after touring in California, I realized that those jobs were all automated,” Monette says. “I knew I could not add people to an automated process and be competitive. If I cannot be competitive, then the jobs would not be sustainable since this is a business not a charity. We decided that maximizing our profits in the wine business and giving it all away was a better strategy.”

Recognizing value That’s the whole philosophy behind 100 Percent Wine: to create meaningful, sustainable jobs for people with disabilities and provide actual value for the companies that employ them. Blossom, after working for more than 13 years for a company that employs hundreds of people with disabilities, saw the value this population can provide and knew 100 Percent Wine needed to offer professional guidance to organizations as well as financial support.

“A lot of people are simply pushing these people into the marketplace,” Blossom says. “Our philosophy is if it’s going to be sustained, it has to be a pull from the business. And to get a pull from the business, the employers have to recognize value.

“They’re not doing us a favor; they’re not feeling sorry for someone. We want to create value for these businesses so they understand the appropriateness of the employment, so it’s a different philosophy. It’s not pushing these people into roles that they weren’t prepared for but creating opportunities on the behalf of the businesses, training these people, giving direction, providing support to ensure that they’re successful and that the business recognizes value.”

100 Percent Wine and the 100 Percent Wine Foundation identify organizations in the cities where their wine is sold and organizations they believe are living proof that their philosophy works well.The foundation will make the first donation this spring.

“We’re going to give probably around $5,000 to a St. Louis organization that is doing some really interesting and creative things,” Monette says. “Our goal is to continue to find organizations that are challenging stereotypes and creating employment in the right way and celebrate those.”

“I’m a dad. I’m doing this to create a better life for my son and the 57 million like him that are on the outside looking into society.” — Scott Monette, founder, 100 Percent Wine Providing sustainable jobs to people with disabilities is mutually beneficial for the employee and the employer. Monette found that 90 percent of consumers want to interact with companies that actively employ people with disabilities.

“The better employment prospects you have for these people, the more credible you’re going to be,” Monette says. “You need to create some jobs and not just put them [people with disabilities] on a billboard because everyone is going to see through that. A successful business has to make more money tomorrow than it did today. My role with 100 Percent is to translate how employing people with disabilities can create a sustainable competition advantage for businesses by appealing to a massive consumer base. In addition to the almost 57 million Americans living with a disability, there are another 100 million with an immediate family member living with a disability, which totals almost 53 percent of the total population. All of these people are consumers and have a very strong interest in creating more choices for this population. By most accounts, this is a trillion-dollar market that is underserved.”

Identifying purpose Monette says some people have been skeptical about the 100-percent-of-profits aspect, but Monette wants to be transparent about everything the company is doing and publish financial statements. When it comes down to it, he acknowledges he is just a father who is doing everything he can for his child.

“I’m a dad,” he says. “I’m doing this to create a better life for my son and the 57 million like him that are on the outside looking into society.

Matthew has been the biggest blessing in my life, he has taught me so much about patience and how to deal with people, and I’m a better person because of him.”

Even though the business is still new to the game, 100 Percent Wine has already had more than a taste of success. Currently, it’s in about 30 locations in St. Louis and within the first 50 days sold about 500 cases of wine. In Columbia, Springfield and St. Louis, 100 Percent Wine has sold 1,000 cases of wine to date. Monette has seen an overall charitable energy in Columbia, and Blossom, a resident of Columbia, says he appreciates the support from his own community. Roy also sees potential for success in the Columbia community.

“My belief in today’s digital society, with communications through technology at an all-time high and Columbia being an amazing college town, is that if we can get people talking and companies reacting to employing people living with disabilities, then the community can become a nationally recognized center for the support of this population,” Roy says. “We want to celebrate people living with disabilities with great employment stories and great support from the community, and Columbia has that in its DNA.” Monette says 100 Percent Wine will soon be expanding to Kansas City, and he has a vision for the brand to go way beyond Missouri. For now, he is taking his time and enjoying every minute of the ride.

“We can grow a lot more quickly than we’re growing, but I’ve got really longtime horizon, and I want to do this carefully, thoughtfully and authentically,” Monette says. “At the end of the day, it’s about people and relationships. I don’t want to be another guy who flies in, and off he goes, and you never see him again. I have an opportunity to do something really special, and I just want to do it thoughtfully and methodically. This is my life purpose, and I know that I’m a better person because of this and that there’s something here.”

Cheers to that. CBT columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 39

40 \\\ may 2015

TRENDING

#columbia Attracting tourists is a year-round project for the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau, and thanks to a full calendar and a fresh marketing push, 2015 is on track to be another record-breaking year. by claire boston | Illustration by Tifani Carter

columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 41

Ask any Columbia resident about the city’s busiest times of year, and you’ll probably get a handful of similar answers. Homecoming is a guaranteed sellout football game as alumni of all ages celebrate by making a return trip to Columbia.

Thousands flock to Stephens Lake Park in September to take in dozens of musical acts at the Roots N Blues N BBQ festival. The True/ False Film Fest brings in enough out-of-towners to make the streets of Columbia feel like a miniature version of Portland. In an average festival day in 2013, an attendee spent $104.50 on lodging, $80.92 on dining and $164.87 on shopping.

These hallmark events certainly fill up hotel rooms around town, but dozens of other economically important events also dot the city’s annual calendar. Even smaller events can cause hotel bookings and downtown shopping to spike, and for employees at the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau, selling Columbia and attracting tourists is a year-round project. Thanks to a steady flow of events, added flights out of the Columbia Regional Airports and a fresh marketing push, tourism in Columbia has increased each year since 2011, having only slightly dipped during the years of the recession. So far, 2015 is on track to be another record-breaking year.

“Right now in Columbia, we feel like we’re in a really good place as far as having a very desirable destination to market,” says Megan McConachie, marketing communications manager at the Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We know that once we get someone to Columbia, they’re going to want to come back and visit again. ”

The downtown draw In 2013, visitors logged 1.1 million overnight stays in Columbia’s 3,847 hotel rooms, according to statistics from the Downtown Community Improvement District. Conventions and exhibits in Columbia draw upward of 191,000 visitors annually.

Community Improvement District marketing coordinator Joshua Wright says the CID, also known as The District, has a variety of missions. It aims to ensure downtown Columbia is an appealing place to live, do business and spend time. Its duties include working with the Convention and Visitors Bureau to get information and maps to tourists.

“A lot of what we do is aid the Convention and Visitors Bureau to get information out to tourists,” Wright says. “We work in tandem with them to work on marketing materials and get discounts to a lot of different businesses for people who come in for conventions and events.”

Columbia’s hotel tax revenues have increased by more than 20 percent in the past three fiscal years, from $1.9 million in fiscal year 2012 to $2.3 million in fiscal year 2014. The first quarter of fiscal year 2015 brought in more than $700,000 in hotel tax revenues, up from $561,172 during the same period three years ago.

October is reliably the city’s busiest month for tourism as alumni buy up hotel rooms months in advance for MU Homecoming.

Smaller events such as the Citizen Jane Film Festival and an annual high school marching band competition held at Faurot Field draw

“We’re trying to be a good voice for the residents and the businesses in the community. It’s not just about advertising the community.”

— Joshua Wright, marketing coordinator, Community Improvement District more crowds to Columbia, and MU’s Family Weekend, usually a September event, will also sell out hotels months in advance.

Wright says spending time downtown is a priority for many visitors. The District has worked to provide information for signage and maps promoting downtown along bike trails and distribute information in hotels.

“Just about everyone who comes to visit visits downtown,” Wright says. “We want to make sure people know where they’re going.”

A full calendar Although the student population falls in the summer months, Columbia is still far from a ghost town. Thousands of visitors head to the city in June, July and August for events such as the Show-Me State Games and State Senior Games.

april: $228,268

ups and downs The CBT compared the Convention and Visitors Bureau 2014 Peak Occupancy Calendar with 2014 hotel tax revenues by month to map Columbia’s top tourist times.

march: $195,494 February: $163,460 2/20/14-2/22/14 MSHSAA Wrestling

1/1/14 New Year's Day 1/17/14 Artrageous Friday

2/27/14-2/28/14 True/False Film Festival

3/1/14-3/2/14 True/False Film Festival 3/13/14-3/15/14, 3/20/14-3/22/14 MSHSAA Basketball 3/31/14 Family, Career and Community Leaders of America

4/1/14-4/2/14 Family, Career and Community Leaders of America 4/13/14-4/15/14 Future Business Leaders of America 4/16/14-4/20/14 SEC Tennis 4/19/14 MU Black and Gold Game 4/23/14-4/25/14 FFA 4/25/14 Artrageous Friday

42 \\\ may 2015

In previous summers, Columbia also hosted Special Olympics Missouri’s State Summer Games, an event that can draw more than 2,000 athletes from around Missouri. This July and August, the Missouri Dental Association will take over the Hearnes Center to hold its annual free dental clinic for the underserved. The 2014 event in St. Louis brought in thousands of patients and dentists from around Missouri, with some patients traveling hours to receive checkups.

McConachie says it’s also common for several smaller events to be held in quick succession in the summer. The bureau might not have those smaller events marked on the peak occupancy calendar it distributes to city hotels, restaurants and other businesses until it begins getting calls from people in search of hotel rooms. The bureau regularly updates the calendar to help businesses match staffing and pricing decisions with expected crowds.

Columbia’s quietest months are usually December and January. Students take off for winter break, and December commencement ceremonies at MU and Columbia College are a fraction of the size of May’s ceremonies, though events such as Columbia Eve Fest and New Year’s Day do draw some out-of-towners.

Despite Columbia’s reputation as a college town, one of its most consistent sources of tourism, and therefore economic impact, is high school events. Mizzou Arena was home to the state wrestling competition in February and six days of state basketball tournaments in March.

High school music programs head to MU for an

may: $230,436 5/2/14-5/3/14 State Music 5/2/14, 5/4/14 Columbia Pride

5/3/145/4/14 Spring Soccer

5/10/14 Stephens and Columbia College Graduations 5/16/14-5/18/14 MU Graduation 5/24/14-5/26/14 Salute to Veterans Celebration Airshow and Parade 5/30/14-5/31/14 Centralia Anchor Festival

annual choral, band and orchestra competition in late April. McConachie says the Convention and Visitors Bureau bids against other cities to host these competitions, though Columbia’s central location and status as the headquarters of the Missouri State High School Activities Association are both advantages in landing those events.

CoMo rebranded Columbia emerged from the recession relatively unscathed, but its tourism push has still enjoyed a renaissance in recent years. In April 2013, the bureau abandoned its decade-old mouthful of a tagline, “The smart, innovative, artsy, eclectic, savvy, vibrant, too-dynamic-to-fit-into-a-shorttagline city,” and its rainbow Curlz MT logo in favor of the shorter “what you unexpect” slogan and a sleeker — though still rainbow — “COMO” logo. Around the same time, city officials signed a deal between Columbia Regional Airport and American Airlines, bringing new daily flights to and from Columbia, Chicago and Dallas-Ft. Worth. In two years of operation, the flights have been almost entirely profitable. American Airlines began servicing Columbia Regional Airport with larger jets in January.

McConachie, who has worked at the Convention and Visitors Bureau for nearly a decade, says she’s seen the city’s promotional efforts evolve over the years as Columbia continues to grow.

“Our marketing plan is a lot more focused now and a lot more digitally based,” McConachie says. “It means really finding out more about our audiences and really focusing on the

june: $227,400

july: $227,751

6/1/14 Centralia Anchor Festival

7/4/14 Fire in the Sky

6/3/14-6/10/14 MU Summer Welcome

7/18/14-7/20/14, 7/25/14-7/27/14 Show-Me State Games

6/7/14-6/8/14 Art in the Park

kind of people who are a likely visitor who we just need to give that extra push to come visit.”

The Convention and Visitors Bureau’s marketing spans print, online and billboards across Missouri and beyond. Most of the focus is on attracting state and regional business, but McConachie says the marketing extends as far away as northern Arkansas, Dallas and Chicago. The bureau’s employees also head to trade and tourism shows to sell Columbia and attract potential events.

Part of Wright’s job with The District has included promoting downtown Columbia in a series of TV spots that debuted shortly before the True/False Film Festival. He also produces a weekly video with Columbia Access Television highlighting live music around the city. He’s working to have the videos appear in local media and beyond.

“We’re eventually working on getting those on local media,” Wright says, “and if things progress the way I hope they do, we’ll be able to showcase those videos in different markets around the state.”

Wright says he’s seen business and tourism in downtown Columbia increase in his two years at The District. The Broadway hotel and its restaurant in particular have overshot early estimates, but downtown businesses have a low vacancy rate, and sales figures have increased.

Part of The District’s job, Wright says, is finding the right way to work with Columbia’s visitors, permanent residents and local businesses.

“We’re trying to be a good voice for the residents and the businesses in the community,” he says. “It’s not just about advertising the community.” CBT

august: $199,064 8/30/14 Mizzou vs. South Dakota

7/22/14-7/26/14 Boone County Fair

6/8/14-6/20/14 Blind Boone Ragtime and Jazz Festival 6/20/14-6/22/14 Show-Me State Games

columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 43

Book Worms

By Taylor Wanbaugh Calling all local literary lovers: Columbia will hold its first book festival, “Unbound,” in spring of 2016. The free event, which is the brainchild of local author and corporate lawyer Alex George, will be held on April 23, 2016, to coincide with William Shakespeare’s birthday.

George came up with the idea for the book festival while on a book tour in 2012 for his novel A Good American. He went to book festivals while on the road and was inspired to conceive one for Columbia.

“Columbia is a town that loves festivals,” George says. “This is a hyper-literate community. There are a crazy number of book-lovers. People are hungry for literary events. It was a no-brainer. Everyone I’ve spoken to have said this makes complete sense.”

George says the event will be slightly different from most book festivals in that it will be in an interview format. Authors will not only be interviewed about their own work, but they will also interview other authors. This format has worked successfully for George in the past. He and fellow author Eleanor Brown sat down and had an open discussion about

writing with an audience at Barnes & Noble while George was promoting A Good American.

“It was just two writers talking to each other,” George says. “I think people really enjoyed hearing us talking about writing.”

The plan is to feature six authors from each of the chosen categories: fiction, nonfiction, poetry and children’s literature. In addition to the author interviews, the festival will have panels for aspiring writers and book-lovers and collaborations with other nonprofits such as the “We Always Swing” Jazz Series and the GreenHouse Theatre Project.

George wants one day to have a short-story festival for kids, and the winners would have the opportunity to read their works aloud at the festival. But with an event as important as this, it’s crucial to start small.

“One of the challenges is remaining calm and realizing we can’t do everything in year one,” George says with a chuckle. “We knew to start small and deliver a really strong festival and grow from there.”

George says he hopes the festival will turn into an event that attracts book-lovers from across the state every year.

“Books are interesting things,” George says.

“Anyone can go out and buy a book. But the ability to see the person who wrote it and talk to them is relatively limited unless you live in one of the big cities.

We are going to try and harness all the technology that is at our disposal to try and make this as interactive an event as it can be.” CBT

october: $264,765 september: $222,185 9/5/14-9/7/14 Bike MS Gateway Getaway Ride 9/13/14-9/14/14 Central Missouri Renaissance Festival 9/13/14 Mizzou vs. UCF 9/19/14-9/21/14 Mizzou Family Weekend 9/20/14 Mizzou vs. Indiana 9/20/14-9/21/14 Heritage Festival 9/26/14-9/28/14 Roots N Blues N BBQ 9/29/14-9/30/14 Wine and Food Fest

44 \\\ may 2015

10/1/14-10/4/14 Wine and Food Fest 10/3/14-10/5/14 Columbia Soccer Pride Invitational

november: $195,819

10/5/14 Paws in the Park 10/10/14-10/12/14 Artrageous Weekend 10/11/14 Mizzou vs. Georgia 10/25/14 Mizzou vs. Vanderbilt Homecoming

11/1/14 Mizzou vs. Kentucky 11/7/14-11/9/14 Citizen Jane Film Festival 11/29/14 Mizzou vs. Arkansas

According to McConachie, a month with fewer events on the Peak Occupancy Chart can still result in higher lodging tax numbers. “The events on the calendar don’t encompass every event, just the ones we know will have a citywide impact on lodging properties,” she says. “There could be a jump in vacations, a busy month of conferences or any combination of other factors that might contribute to those numbers.”

december: $118,696 12/5/14 Living Windows

12/20/14 MU Graduation

12/31/14 Columbia Eve Fest

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columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 45

Succession Planning With a strong plan in place and an educated management team, the hard work that went into building and maintaining your business won’t go to waste.

By Torie Ross | Photos by Anthony Jinson

46 \\\ may 2015

A

A family-owned business that brings in $10 million per year is passed down from a father to his three children. One of the children is completely invested in keeping the business in the family and maintaining a successful operation, another child is willing to stay or sell the business, and the third child wants nothing to do with the operation of the business. The question of who should take what share of a company, especially when that company is being passed down to family, is one that requires years of planning and preparation.

Succession planning is a reality that all companies will have to face at one point or another. Whether succession means passing down the business to family or business partners, selling the business in its entirety or some combination of both, without a proper succession plan, the life of the business is at stake.

Nelson Muller and Gerald McKinney have made careers out of helping businesses prepare for what comes next. As the men behind BizCrossing, their focus lies in helping clients grow their portfolios, raise investments and sell their businesses.

McKinney, CEO and founder of BizCrossing, says oftentimes, such as in the case of the three children, the original owner underestimates his or her importance in the daily operations of a company. “He just assumed the kids would be fine running the business after he passed away, and then he did pass away, and the business started to go downhill,” McKinney says.

It’s a reality that Muller, vice president and head of business development at BizCrossing, admits they see far too often with their clients.

Muller and McKinney both agree one of the vital steps for a business preparing to transition ownership is to make the company less dependent on a specific individual. “If I’m running a company, and I’m thinking in five years I want to get out, it’s important I start thinking about my management team,” McKinney says. When Corey Turner, Melissa Murphy and Blair Murphy took over ownership of Johnston Paint & Decorating in 2015, Melissa Murphy says there were many aspects of the business the new owners had never had to deal with previously.

“It’s the little things: making a deposit, paying taxes, insurance, payroll, those kind of things we weren’t a part of,” Murphy says. “Something like shopping for insurance rates takes several meetings.

It’s learning to juggle all of those things.”

Muller says making a business less dependent on the owner is equally important if the plan is to sell the company to outside investors. He compares investors purchasing a business to someone buying a car who doesn’t want to drive it. Investors are looking for a business that can run itself without having to interfere or rework the structure of the company.

In the not-for-profit realm, as far as succession plan-

ning is concerned, there is a whole other dimension of factors to consider. Cameron Dunafon, board president of Heart of Missouri United Way, says because of the high volume of individuals who rely on services NFPs provide, it’s important that operations run as smoothly as possible during changes. “Any interruption of services…could have a negative effect on individuals, families and children in our community that depend on those programs,” Dunafon says, adding that “all businesses benefit when leadership embraces the conversation about succession planning in a healthy way, puts policies in place and works proactively.”

Heather Dimitt, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Missouri, says in the realm of nonprofits, what she calls “institutional memory” is a big concern. Although larger corporations may easily be able to cross-train employees to fill a variety of roles, smaller companies, especially small nonprofit entities, most likely don’t have the staff or resources available to cross-train staff. “My best advice for succession planning is to identify exactly what needs to happen to keep your business’s doors open and operating every day,” Dimitt says. She adds that this includes knowing everything that goes on behind the scenes of an operation and making sure at least two additional people are aware of key operating procedures and contacts who can help keep the business afloat during transition.

McKinney and Muller advise that it’s never too early to start a succession plan. Whether this means deciding who will take over the business, making sure operating procedures are consistent throughout the company or making sure company goals are clearly communicated, the earlier specific details are decided, the easier the transition will be. Charles Digges Jr. and his partner Skip Grossnickle started grooming Richard Miller and Jason Swindle to take over The Insurance Group almost five years ago, gradually giving them more responsibility.

“Skip and I have worked really hard to build this company to where it is today, but there’s nothing that would make me prouder than to see Rich and Jason have it twice as big in 20 years, ” Digges says. If a business is going to be passed down to a family member or someone from within the company, it is good to know that running the company is a responsibility the new owner will be both interested in and prepared for.

There are a lot of vital decisions that need to be made while building a succession plan, and it isn’t something that will be created overnight. However, with a strong plan in place, an educated management team and a clear understanding of how you want your company to operate once it’s passed down, the hard work that went into building and maintaining the business will not go to waste. columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 47

Front, from left: Corey Turner, Melissa Murphy, Blair Murphy; back, from left: Gary Turner, Ron Elder

1925 L.D. Johnston establishes L.D. Johnston Paint.

48 \\\ may 2015

1939 L.D. and his sons, Paul and Lennie, move the store to its East Broadway location.

1984 Gary Turner and Ron Elder purchase the store from the Johnston brothers and move it to the East Ash Street location.

2007 Turner and Elder move the store to its current location on Buttonwood Drive.

2014 In January, current owners Blair and Melissa Murphy and Corey Turner buy the company from Gary Turner and Elder.

Foundation of Trust Johnston Paint & Decorating ownership has changed hands, but the core values of the business are noticeably intact.

by Nicole Flood It’s been 90 years since Johnston Paint & Decorating sold its first can of paint, and since then the company has undergone some major changes, including new ownership. Despite all the change, Johnston Paint & Decorating has kept the same values that it had in 1925 by maintaining a solid foundation of trust.

The succession plan of the company has sort of sidestepped the family tree, but ownership has remained relatively close to the original lineage.

In 1925, L.D. Johnston established L.D. Johnston Co. on Ninth Street. He kept the business in the family when he sold the company to his two sons, Paul and Lennie, in the 1950s, and they moved the location of the store to East Broadway. Lennie remained the owner until 1984 and then sold the company to his son-in-law Ron Elder and employee Gary Turner. Elder and Turner moved the location of the store once again to a space on Ash Street shortly after they took ownership.

In 2007, the current location of Johnston Paint & Decorating on Buttonwood Drive opened up, allowing the store to operate on a much bigger scale. In January 2014, Gary Turner sold the company to his son Corey Turner, niece Melissa Murphy and her husband, Blair Murphy. For the first time since its birth in 1925, Johnston Paint & Decorating’s owners have no blood or marriage relation to the original Johnston owners.

“Within the last five years is when they really solidified that we would be the future ownership team,” says Melissa Murphy, co-owner of Johnston Paint & Decorating. “Even with having all that time to work towards that goal, you just don’t really know what it’s like until you’re in their [Elder’s and Turner’s] shoes.”

Transitioning leaders The key element to making a smooth transfer of ownership all boils down to trust. Melissa, Blair

and Corey had all been employees at Johnston Paint & Decorating for more than 10 years, and Elder and Turner trusted that they would continue to grow the business with the same values they had. Melissa, Blair and Corey had to have a strong sense in Turner and Elder as well.

“There was a lot of trust there,” Melissa Murphy says. “We all worked with the intention that someday this would be ours for many years, so we made some concessions that we might not have taken had we not seen the end result, like working a lot of extra hours. For several of those years, we sort of thought we knew what we were going to do [in terms of future ownership], but we didn’t have anything in writing, and there wasn’t a guarantee. I don’t think we were ever nervous through that period, but there are a lot of businesses that would never be able to do that.”

Looking back on the transition, Murphy says better role definition and structure among employee roles could have benefitted the company and made that adjustment period a bit easier.

“Something we are trying to be better at is that as we grew over the past 15 to 20 years, we were probably a bit relaxed with our ground rules, and that’s so easy to do,” Murphy says.

“So we are working to establish better guidelines because we believe that the employees are asking for that; they really want to understand better role definition and empowerment to actually be responsible for that category and not just have a title for that category. It would have been easier for us if more structure was in place for us to slide from one role to another.”

Continuing a legacy Murphy acknowledges the transfer of ownership for both the old and new owners was easier because the company stayed within the Johnston Paint & Decorating “family.” Employees

become friends, and friends become like family. The culture at Johnston goes beyond business; employees attend one another’s weddings and baby showers, which is something an outside buyer might have had a hard time measuring up to.

“I can only speak from my experience, but I can’t imagine jumping in and buying a business that I had no prior experience in,” Murphy says.

“I know people do it all day long, but I guess in terms of Johnston’s, I would be fearful of someone coming in that wasn’t so vested in the history of the company that they would not carry out the business in the manner that the original founders wanted it to be carried out.”

Turner is confident the new owners will carry out the Johnston legacy successfully, and he feels it was the right time for a change in the company.

“They kept all the same accounts we had, and they didn’t have to build up credit, so they really were able to take off right away,” Turner says. “It was time for some new blood and some new ideas, and I have zero doubt that they will succeed.”

succession tips: 1. Trust between the new owners and old owners is imperative.

2. Set the structure and role definition for employees so they can slide from one position to the next more easily.

3. It’s important that the previous owners are transparent with their information. They need to show the new owners how they do things without demanding that the new owners do it the same way. columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 49

From left: Phil and Heather Figueiredo and Heidi and Nathan Crouch

1958 George and Lois Chapman start Chapman Heating and Air Conditioning out of their home.

50 \\\ may 2015

1965 Chapman Heating and Air partners with Lennox as a dealer in gas furnaces and air units.

1972 Opens new building on I-70 Drive Northwest, where Chapman Heating and Air Conditioning still is today.

1982 Ron and Beth Chapman purchase the business from his parents.

1996 Purchase Stephen’s Service Co.

1998 Purchase Roger’s Heating and Air Conditioning Co.

2008 Chapman celebrates 50 years in business in mid-Missouri.

2012 Nathan and Heidi (Chapman) Crouch and Phil and Heather (Chapman) Figueiredo purchase Chapman Heating and Air Conditioning from their parents.

All in the Family When George and Lois Chapman started Chapman Heating and Air Conditioning more than 50 years ago, they created a business and legacy to last generations.

by Nicole Flood In 1958, George and Lois Chapman made a bold move. They opened Chapman Heating and Air Conditioning and never looked back. More than 50 years later, the third generation of Chapmans is running the family business upholding the same company purpose, “To serve our customers comfort with excellence.”

After working in heating and cooling for more than eight years, George was encouraged by family and friends to open his own business. “I was barely making a living,” George says.

With four small children at home, he took the leap. “There wasn’t any planning on what the future was,” George says. “We were just trying to survive.”

In the beginning, Chapman’s operated out of their home with one service truck and a repurposed poultry building George’s father-in-law gave them.

As Chapman’s established a name for itself in the industry, the business grew. In 1972, they built the new building where the business is housed today.

George credits the company’s success to hard work and always treating the customer as No 1.

“Do what you say you’re going to do, and really that’s the most efficient way to operate anyway,” George says.

Now, the company employs 30 team members and in 2014 logged 11,400 visits, an average of 950 per month. The Chapman family “always believed in strong family ties, and it extended to the employees, customers and vendors,” Ron Chapman says.

Passing the company down After running the business for more than 20 years, George approached his son, Ron, then a senior in high school, with the option of purchasing the business in a few years. From the time Ron was 5 years old, “he went with me every day that he could, and I knew in my own mind he was going to do the job someday because he had a lot of interest in it,” George says.

Ron and his wife, Beth, purchased the business in 1982. “In the ’70s and ’80s, there were not very many books on succession planning,” Ron says. “What I learned didn’t come out of a book; it was on-the-job training.” During the 30 years Ron and Beth ran the business, they faced ups and downs but were able to keep the business growing. They acquired Stephen’s Service Co. and also Roger’s Heating and Air Conditioning in 1996 and 1998, respectively.

“Their talents lie in different areas, and I think that is one of the reasons for their success,” George says.

Ron and Beth’s daughters, Heidi Crouch and Heather Figueiredo, had a similar experience growing up working for the company. Heidi also worked summers during college and starting working at Chapman’s full time after she graduated.

“Heather and I grew up in the company, of course, so we were filing since we knew our ABCs probably,” Heidi says.

In 2005, timeline and methodology talks began for Heidi and Heather to purchase the business from their parents, alongside their husbands, Nathan Crouch and Phil Figueiredo. Both men had been working for the company for several years.

“When we sold to our kids [third generation], we sought help,” Ron says. They hired a succession planning consultant, which “was a huge help working through all the family and business dynamics of passing the torch to the next generation,” he adds.

The consultant asked difficult questions and discussed strengths, weaknesses and personality types to help the family determine who was best for different roles. “I would say that was a major key in how well the transition went,” Heidi says.

“Goal No. 1 was to remain a tight-knit family and to do this together even though it was kind of hard and awkward at first,” Heather adds.

After the initial conversations, Heidi, Nathan, Heather and Phil purchased the business in 2012 as equal owners. Phil now serves as the operations and general manager, and Nathan is the business manager, overseeing financials and human resources.

Heidi works part time, handling marketing efforts and event planning. Heather attends all meetings and collaborates in the decision-making process.

Learning from the past “My grandpa and grandma were just incredible people that took care of the customer and just taught us that you do what’s right,” Heidi says.

“You do what you say you’re going to do, and this business will keep on going.”

“It’s really rewarding to know that you started something that would mean a good life for your family,” George says. “It isn’t like they didn’t have any challenges either, but they had a start; they had a chance.”

Beth is happy to see her children’s success. “It warms our hearts to hear the four grands [grandchildren] talking about ‘working at the office’ and maybe someday wanting to buy it from their parents,” she says.

succession tips: 1. Regardless of transition, continue taking care of the customer.

2. Look for leadership teams whose talents complement one another, like Ron and Beth.

3. Consider hiring a succession planning consultant to ask difficult questions, discuss strengths, weaknesses and personality types and to help the family determine who will perform best in various roles. columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 51

From left: Rich Miller, Charlie Digges Jr., Jason Swindle and Skip Grossnickle

1922 Rollins & Rollins buys the Columbia Insurance Agency, which becomes Rollins & Vandiver.

52 \\\ may 2015

1946 Charles Digges Sr. joins Rollins & Vandiver. After Digges Sr. returns from the Korean War, the company is renamed Rollins, Vandiver & Digges.

1971 Skip Grossnickle is hired as partner. Charlie Digges Jr. graduates from MU.

1979 Charlie Digges Jr. leaves his career as a pilot and joins Rollins, Vandiver & Digges.

1981 Rollins, Vandiver & Digges merges with Conley Meyers Agency, forming The Insurance Group.

2007 The Insurance Group leaves its original building downtown and moves into a state-of-the-art office facility in south Columbia.

2010 Grossnickle and Digges begin the process of bringing in Rich Miller and Jason Swindle as full partners.

The Second Century At The Insurance Group, new leadership is about more than family ties.

By Matthew Patston “I get calls at least once a week, usually from somebody like Franklin Templeton or somebody like that, who’s looking to buy insurance companies,” says Charlie Digges Jr. while sitting in his office at the sleek two-story building that The Insurance Group moved into in 2007.

“That’s not our intent. Our intent is to see this operation continue beyond us.”

Now 35 years deep in his leadership tenure at The Insurance Group, Digges and his partner, Skip Grossnickle, are gradually stepping back. Although they have no intention of retiring any time soon, Grossnickle and Digges began a gradual transfer of leadership five years ago: Since then, Rich Miller and Jason Swindle — longtime Insurance Group employees and Skip’s sons-in-law — have been gradually accumulating stock and becoming equal partners.

“It was an easy decision,” Digges says. “And I would hope that the people who came before us would say the same of Skip and me, but it was easy.

They had both really proven themselves, and they had shown they were interested in all the things we talk about: family, customers and the community.”

Grossnickle was equally laudatory of the two, saying: “Our culture in the company is that each employee feels they have ownership. Rich and Jason have not only accepted the culture, but they’ve improved it.”

The right mindset The Insurance Group, or some version of it, was around long before Digges and Grossnickle took over (Grossnickle was added as a partner in 1971, Digges in 1979). With roots that tangle back 107 years, there have been a lot of successions and transformations.

The earliest forerunner of The Insurance Group was the Columbia Insurance Agency, which started business in 1898. Rollins & Rollins, affiliated with the family of James Rollins, the “Father of the University of Missouri,” merged with Columbia Insurance in 1922 and

became Rollins & Vandiver. A couple decades later, a young Air Force pilot and MU grad named Charles Digges was added as partner, and the company became Rollins, Vandiver & Digges.

In the late ’60s, Charlie Digges Jr., then on a golf scholarship at MU, began working for his dad’s company part time. The younger Digges was hired to measure and document, with a Polaroid camera, farms that the company insured: a job that nurtured his keen people skills. It was the first experience Digges had with The Insurance Group; a decade later, after a stint as an Air Force and commercial pilot, he was added as a partner.

“My father had nothing to do with it, which I always thought was really cool,” he says. “Mr. Vandiver and Skip gave me a call and said, ‘Would you stop by the office tomorrow at 10 o’ clock,’ and I said, ‘Well, OK.’ They said, ‘We’d like you to come back and be a part of Rollins, Vandiver & Digges.’

I thought about it for half a day before I said yes.”

Grossnickle says Miller and Swindle have also proven themselves worthy beyond family ties, calling his sons-in-law “morally and ethically outstanding people” and praising their intelligent and family-first mindsets.

Here to stay Internal cohesion has been a point of focus through the generations, and understanding and acceptance are at the forefront of The Insurance Group’s leadership style.

“Skip and I have never had a single disagreement in 35 years,” Digges says proudly. “Not one.

Nobody believes that, but we’ve always been able to sit down in a room and talk about where we want to go, and I think that’s just remarkable.”

“There have been great people before me,” Grossnickle says, “and we want to bring in people who will respect that and continue to improve.”

Digges, Grossnickle, Miller and Swindle occupy the four corner offices of The Insurance Group’s top floor. The company moved out of its longtime rented office at the downtown Guitar

Building to establish a place of its own in 2007.

The building, Digges says, establishes permanence; it lets people know The Insurance Group is here to stay for generations to come.

Grossnickle has high expectations for those generations and for his sons-in-law. “I’d like to see them genuinely care about our employees, customers and associates,” he says. “Now, that’s easy to say, but it’s hard to do. It really takes someone with that kind of heart and that compassion, but they can do it.”

“Skip and I have worked really hard to build this company to where it is today,” Digges says. “But there’s nothing that would make me prouder than to see Rich and Jason have it twice as big in 20 years.” CBT

succession tips: 1. Take pride of ownership: “When you put your time and life experiences into an organization and then know you can walk away from it and see it get better, that makes me feel real good,” Digges says. A successful succession requires the next generation to love the company as much as the previous generation.

2. Think long term: It’s important to consider what you would like the company to be like as succession continues. Identifying a successor who will make the right personnel decisions is vital. “Right now, we’re confident that Jason and Rich are the right people,” Digges says, “and they’re going to bring in the right people down the road.”

3. Get to know your employees: Family comes first at The Insurance Group, and Digges wants a family-oriented business to continue beyond the current leadership. This starts with creating a family environment among co-workers.

“You spend more time with the people you work with than you do with your spouse,” Digges says. “Therefore, get to know them.” columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 53

A League of

extraordinary citizens

by Sarah Redohl Opening photo by Keith Borgmeyer Interior photos by Sarah Redohl 54 \\\ may 2015

E

Every year at Art in the Park, 12,000 people wind through aisles of tents and thousands of pieces of art in Stephens Lake Park. The majority of Art in the Park attendees have a college degree and a household income of $55,000 or more, and one-third of the event’s crowd includes people visiting from outside Columbia. It’s estimated that $170,000 is spent annually at Art in the Park.

In 2014, Missouri’s nonprofit arts and culture organizations generated $1.1 billion in statewide economic activity, which translates to more than 14,000 jobs and more than $110.7 million in revenue for local and state governments, according to the Missouri Arts Council.

Only two other sectors in the United States’ economy — health care and retail — outperform the arts each year. However, statewide financial support for the arts is 30 percent below the national average. Missouri spends 79 cents per capita on the arts, with a national average of $1.15. So events such as Art in the Park help the local art community continue to thrive.

The Columbia Art League was founded in 1959, the same year Art in the Park, then known as The Art Fair, began.

“Most people don’t even know that we run Art in the Park,” says CAL Executive Director Diana Moxon. “They just expect it to be there each summer, like mushrooms in spring. But Art in the Park isn’t a guarantee.

“With so many other competing art festivals in the surrounding states, the artists chose those events where they can maximize their returns,” Moxon says, “so supporting the festival by buying art is crucial to its survival.”

In fact, about a decade ago, the existence of CAL wasn’t even a guarantee. After decades of success, the art league fell on hard times before a series of significant changes began in the late 2000s, including CAL finding a permanent home in the Missouri Theatre in 2008.

Now the group’s membership exceeds 500, about 300 of whom are artists; the others are art patrons. And in 2015, the group became the first arts organization in Columbia to win Arts Organization of the Year from the Missouri Arts Council. In fact, the city proclaimed April 25, 2015, “CAL Day.” Moxon says local businesses can help continue the success of Art in the Park by taking a note from the companies featured in this story that have supported the local arts by buying original artwork and turning their places of business into mini museums.

“Art in the Park is a huge undertaking for CAL,” Moxon says. “We rely on our friends in the business community to partner with us, through event sponsorships and the purchase of art.

“There is a lot of wall space in Columbia’s businesses that could benefit from art,” Moxon says. “Even if you can only afford to buy a few handmade coffee mugs for your office, local businesses can always support the local arts.”

Here, the CBT features a few local businesses’ art collections, from the small and funky collection at True Media to the robust and widely recognized collection of Boone County National Bank and more. columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 55

Boone County National Bank One of Boone County National Bank’s founders, R.B. Price, was an artist. “He was a draftsman and produced a lot of architectural drawings and other penand-ink work,” says Mary Wilkerson, senior vice president of marketing. “So we’ve been buying art since day one.”

The bank’s art collection includes between 800 and 1,000 pieces of original artwork from local, national and international artists, with only a few prints and photos in the collection. The exact number in the collection is difficult to know; many of the works acquired in the bank’s early days weren’t documented.

Although most of the work is on display, some is currently in the bank’s art storage facility, along with all the art’s documentation. Most of those pieces, Wilkerson says, need repairs or are old fashioned. Some they simply don’t have room for, despite trying to display as much art as possible.

“We even have art in the stairwells,” she adds.

If the bank doesn’t want to display a piece, it donates the art for fundraisers or gives it away. Wilkerson remembers a series of duck-related art that was slowly eliminated from the collection in this way.

Anyone in the bank can suggest a piece of art for the bank to purchase.

And though facilities management usually chooses where each piece will be displayed, bank employees can have a say about what is displayed in their offices. “If they really don’t like something, we try to accommodate that,” Wilkerson says. “I picked all the pieces in my office.”

From day one to now, the test to determine whether the bank buys a piece is the same. “We don’t manage our art as an investment like many other corporate art collections,” Wilkerson says. “We buy what we like.”

56 \\\ may 2015

It's About Prayer David Finster, 2006

This is one of two memorial pieces on display at Boone County National Bank. It was dedicated to Connie Martin, an employee who passed away in 2006. The second piece was dedicated to Wayne Mountjoy, who died in 1993.

Light of the World Jenny McGee, 2013

“I suspect we’ll buy more work by Jenny McGee,” Wilkerson says. This is the bank’s first piece by McGee, purchased in 2013 from the Boone County Art Show.

“Her work is evolving beautifully, and it continues to increase in value,” Wilkerson says. “Though, that’s not why we bought it. We saw it in the art show and knew we wanted it.”

Greek Pot

Richard Hoeppner, 2007 This wooden vase was purchased from the Boone County Art Show, which is the largest art show in mid-Missouri and is hosted by the bank every October. “We just thought it was amazing especially because it was made of wood,” Wilkerson says. “The craftsmanship was superior.

Sea Rhythms

Heather Foote, 1988 This white ceramic sculpture is one of at least three pieces by local artist Heather Foote in the Boone County National Bank collection. Foote was formerly the president of Columbia Art League. The bank’s lobby gallery has space reserved for work curated by the Columbia Art League on a six week rotation.

“We’re booked almost a year out for that space,” Wilkerson says.

landmark Bank Even when Landmark Bank’s downtown location was only two stories, the bank’s late chairman emeritus Mark Landrum was already collecting art for the bank. He and his sister Brenda Bingham always had an interest in the arts; their mother, Ruth Walker Landrum, was an artist. Many of the works retained by the family include floral still life oil paintings “done in a futuristic method,” says art consultant Deborah Thompson.

Mark and Brenda were responsible for nearly all the purchases for the Landmark art collection, which totals nearly 800 in the bank’s 40 locations across three states. Even before Mark passed away in 2012, additions to the collection began to slow as the bank had fewer spaces to fill with art. Almost the entire collection is on display at any given time unless it’s on loan to a museum or gallery or in the process of being rotated to a new location.

“We want everyone in all of our banks to get to see a variety of different art,” says Kip Goodman, vice president and planning and project coordinator. “And if a piece is going to benefit from more light or in a different space, we try to do our best to make the pieces look their best.”

However, the people in each office do have some input. For example, Jeffrey Brinegar, Landmark vice president and real estate lending officer, made sure to bring down Wuli— Patterns of Organic Energy by Chris Ramsey when he changed offices. “It’s a great conversation piece.” The piece looks like a swirling vortex of items, including colored glass and chicken bones.

Goodman says acquiring art that was expected to increase in value was never a concern. “Most of the art we acquired we just thought would add beauty to a space,” he says.

“We also just wanted to expose visitors to all types of art,” Thompson says. The bank is sometimes asked to give tours of the art. For those who want to walk around on their own, the front desk has a catalog with one page for each piece.

Although the bank highlights a variety of local art in highly visible areas in the bank, the collection also includes internationally known artists, many of whom “have informed a lot of local work,” says Thompson, mentioning Jun Kaneko, Peter Voulkos and Rudy Autio, “the fathers of contemporary ceramics.”

Goddamn Bike Joel Sager, 2010

“Joel [Sager] has a unique approach to creating art,” Thompson says. “His work is relatable.

There’s a little nostalgia to it, but at the same time, it’s modern.” Landmark Bank sponsors a couple of shows at PS Gallery, which Goodman says contributes to the bank’s desire to purchase pieces from the gallery that permanently features Sager’s work.

“Biking has such a strong presence in Columbia,” Thompson says. “It’s part of our culture.”

Tropic of Capricorn

Missouri Discovery Series John Louder, 1998/1999

One of Landmark’s signature pieces is the 24-piece series by John Louder, from Sedalia.

When he moved to mid-Missouri from New Mexico, Louder was so taken by the landscape that he painted two panels each month of the year from scenes around his property. The series lines the staircases from the top of the building (January) to the bottom (December).

“It’s a very familiar setting for many of our customers,” Goodman says.

Bede Clark

Bede Clarke is a professor of art and head of the ceramics program at the University of Missouri who is best known for his ceramic vessels, wall pieces and sculptures. Much of Clarke’s work reflects the feelings and thoughts resulting from the study of the writings of the Sufi mystics.

The Beauty and the Beast Robert Bussabarger

This piece was created by the late University of Missouri professor emeritus Robert Bussabarger, whose trademarks include rich details and intriguing quirkiness. Bussabarger, who passed away in 2013, was inspired by Indian folk art.

Shared Meaning

Jennifer Wiggs, 1999

Local artist Jennifer Wigg creates both abstract and whimsical artwork, such as this piece featured here. Wigg says she uses “imaginary animals and landscapes as a vehicle for modern compositions,” and her “primitive drawing and storytelling” distinguishes her art from other pieces. columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 57

true media “Art has the ability to illicit certain feelings and emotions,” Jack Miller says when he begins talking about True Media’s art. Abstract art is Miller’s favorite because “it allows everyone to interpret it as they want to see it.”

Then he cracks a smile and asks if that sounded smart.

“Really, we just buy what we like,” he says. True Media owns about a dozen original works of art. “I love having unique pieces that no one else has. It means so much more than slapping a print in a frame and on your wall.” Miller says he thinks the uniqueness of his art also reflects the uniqueness of his company.

“Every company has its brand identity that they market to the public, but they also need to market that identity internally,” Miller says. Having unique art helps True Media’s unique brand identity. In fact, Miller is also currently populating True Media’s St. Louis office with original artwork.

Sculptured Paintings Caleb McCandless, 2009

This piece, along with a similar turquoise piece of art, was created by Caleb McCandless, a Sedalia-based artist. Both pieces were created by adding magnetic material to the wet paint and then using magnets to attract the paint upward to create a 3-D painting that resembles coral. “I thought it was cool, and I loved the technique,” Miller says. “To me, it was important to know how he did it.”

Rocket Man VTR Jett 2 Jimmy Descant, 2010

Miller bought this piece from a show at PS Gallery. A Colorado-based junk artist, whose work all lights up in some way, created it. “I thought it was funky, and I love that everyone who comes in this room asks what it is,” Miller says.

Source, Conductor and Combustion David Spear, 2012

This series of three, by Columbia-based David Spear, was commissioned for True Media’s building at 500 Business Loop 70 W. “When we bought this building, we wanted unique art for the walls,” Miller says. He chose Spear’s work because he liked that it tied in to the building’s open house, where Spear painted outlines of all True Media employees and clients and then painted them in color blocks so the painting appears very abstract.

58 \\\ may 2015

the broadway hotel The Broadway Hotel is one of only 12 hotels of its kind: hotels that are part of a chain but retain a unique design. And so, when it was under construction, the hotel was already working with Jennifer Perlow, a former owner of PS Gallery, to help source local art.

“Columbia is an artistic city, and we wanted to be very tied to what Columbia is all about,” says Bob McDonald, general manager. “We wanted to be classy and chic but also bring out the best in Columbia.”

McDonald says this shows in the musicians performing at the hotel, the food prepared in its kitchens and the art on its walls.

Mid-Missouri artists produced most of the hotel’s art.

Ozark Dragon

Chris Morrey, 2014 Two metal pieces in the hotel lobby were produced by Chris Morrey and showcase the outline of the connection between the Missouri and Mississippi rivers and the outline of the Lake of the Ozarks. “We wanted something unusual but also ties to our region,” McDonald says. “We also wanted something that matched our overall environmental feel.” The Broadway is the only LEED-certified hotel in mid-Missouri. Morrey’s work was influenced by ancient Chinese and Japanese arts as well as European ornamental styles. He has a studio in Columbia, near The Broadway Hotel.

Columbia's Roof

Lizzie Bryan and Maura Mudd, 2014

Branches of Life EL Woodworks, 2014

Above every bed in every room, there’s a handmade wood piece by EL Woodworks, a local company that recently moved its shop to Portland, Michigan. “It’s made out of wood, but it looks like metal,” McDonald says. In total, there are 210 throughout the hotel.

The martini wall mural near the elevators and this mural, located in the bar, were painted by Lizzie Bryan and Maura Mudd. Both pieces were created using stencils and spray paint and took six weeks to complete.

Bryan works with Columbia-based Easily Distracted Art Collaborative, which specializes in art that transforms spaces, and Mudd is a freelance graphic designer with Miz Mudd Design. columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 59

Boone hospital Boone Hospital’s art collection totals 455 pieces, with around one-third of those being original works. The goal to purchase more local art began in 2011, with new construction of the patient care tower. Only two pieces were produced outside of Missouri, and each piece was hand-selected

by Boone Hospital’s artistic oversight committee.

“We’ve always had an interest in providing art for our patients; it’s part of taking care of people,” says Barbara Weaver, chair emeritus of the Boone Hospital Board of Trustees. Boone’s collection also features photos done by hospital employees who participated in a photo contest, and the Columbia Art League still has pieces by the cafeteria that are on rotation.

“There’s been this whole movement to bring nature indoors because it helps with the healing process,” says Rene Heider, Boone Hospital’s art consultant. “And Boone Hospital has done an awesome job of that.”

Old Shelter, New Life The Gravel Road

Rebecca Douglas, 2011 This quilt was commissioned from Rebecca Douglas and is the second of Douglas’ pieces to appear in Boone Hospital. Her first piece was donated in memory of her late husband.

“Her work is just fabulous,” Heider says. “It took her a while to let go of that piece because he asked her to make it, and it was her last connection with her husband.” Douglas’ work is available at Bluestem Missouri Crafts. Douglas also has a studio at Orr Street.

Jenny McGee, 2011

This mixed-media piece from local artist Jenny McGee features art in the panels of reclaimed doors. For many years, McGee worked on an eco-friendly body of work.

In 2010, she worked on a series called “Old Shelter, New Life,” where she used reclaimed doors as a canvas, using materials such as clay, milk-based paints and crushed stone.

“New beginnings and second chances are two major themes this body of work focuses on,” she says. “My hope is that the viewer will enjoy seeing a process of transformation and watch something old or unused become something new and functional.”

Good Will to All Sonya Nicolson, 2012

This 3-D installation of paper cranes made of maps includes 77 cranes, made by Sonya Nicolson. Cranes are the international symbol for goodwill, Heider says. “We wanted something with lots of movement in this space and something that offers more than face value.”

60 \\\ may 2015

Columbia Sunset David Spear, 2011

Boone Hospital commissioned Columbia artist David Spear to create this mural of Columbia from the air.

“We always see people walking up, getting close to the art to find their house, so in a way it’s really interactive and engaging,” Weaver says. “He really brought in a lot of Columbia’s history.”

Weaver and Heider enjoyed experiencing the work as it was produced and getting to view it in various stages prior to bringing it over to the hospital for installation.

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columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 61

Nonprofit Spotlight ›› Boys & Girls Clubs of America

A Safe Place to Roam

Boys & Girls Clubs of America provides a structured, safe environment for Columbia kids.

By Sarah Berger | Photos by sarah redohl It’s a sunny spring afternoon as a yellow school bus filled with chattering kids pulls up to a sprawling facility in Columbia. Kids pile out, backpacks slung over their shoulders, chatting amongst themselves as they enter the building. At the Boys & Girls Clubs of Columbia, a nonprofit that provides kids with afterschool programs, they spend their afternoons in a structured, safe and supervised environment. And they have a whole lot of fun, too.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of America was established in 1860 with three women who believed boys who roamed the streets should have a positive alternative. The organization’s name was changed in 1990 to Boys & Girls Clubs of America to recognize that girls were part of the organization as well. Currently, there are more than 4,000 Boys & Girls Clubs all over the United States. The Columbia location was established in 1997.

“A few community members established the very necessity of having a place for kids,” says Valorie Livingston, executive director of the Boys & Brian Richenberger “Too many kids don’t have a positive influence in their lives. I want to help change that for Columbia kids.”

62 \\\ may 2015

Joe Miller “My proudest moment was the first time a club kid gave me a hug.”

Girls Clubs of the Columbia area. “They asked the national organization to come in and evaluate our community, and they said, ‘Yes, this is the perfect community for a charter organization.’”

Boys & Girls Clubs’ mission is “to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.” At $20 a semester, Boys & Girls Clubs of Columbia provides afterschool programs to children ages 6 to 18 and focuses on three core program areas: academic success, healthy lifestyles and good character and citizenship. It also offers summer programming at $25 a week.

“All of the programs we produce have to fit within one of our three core program areas,” Livingston says.

Examples of program activities at the Boys & Girls Clubs include Girl Scouts, Torch Club, Keystone Club, Project Learn, Technology Lab, Career Launch Program, Passport to Manhood, Smart Moves/Girls/Leaders, The Arts, First Position Dance Group and more.

Ava Summers “I’d love it if more people would come by the club and actually see what happens there daily. ”

Kevin F. Czaicki “The staff at Boys & Girls Clubs makes an impact and changes children’s lives forever.”

“All of the Boys & Girls Clubs charters function autonomously even though we are part of a national movement, so we form all local relationships,” Livingston says. “We have to raise all of our own money, pay all of our own bills and make all of our own local decisions based on what’s best for our own club.”

By partnering with other local organizations, such as the Girl Scouts, Boys & Girls Clubs offers opportunities for kids from low-income families to participate in a variety of afterschool programs.

Finding the resources In 2014, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Columbia served more than 723 kids at three different sites through afterschool and summer programming. The sites include the large youth facility located on Seventh Street, a school site at Alpha Hart Lewis Elementary School and the Ridgeway Teen Center.

Livingston says the school site alleviates one of the biggest challenges the organization faces: transportation. Boys & Girls Clubs of Columbia Bob Drainer “I got involved in this organization to help children and feed hungry kids. It’s a rewarding experience.”

Jay Alexander “I think we have the best staff of any nonprofit organization in the community.”

➜ 1200 N. Seventh St. Columbia, MO 65201 573-874-1697

has two 15-passenger fans and one 55-passenger bus, but the organization still cannot pick up all the kids who do not have transportation from school to the youth facility.

“A lot of kids can’t come to the Boys & Girls Clubs because they can’t get here,” Livingston says.

Most of the children enrolled at the Boys & Girls Clubs come from single-parent households and low-income families, but everyone is eligible to enroll. Children are enrolled on a first-come, first-served basis, and if a child is already a member of the Boys & Girls Clubs, he or she has firstread refusal and has his or her space saved every year, which is important because the organization currently has a waiting list.

“Research dictates the more often you’re able to touch a kid, and the stronger relationship you can build with a child, the more impact you’re going to have in their life,” Livingston says. “So we want kids to renew every year for our afterschool program and every summer in the summertime so that we can continue to mentor them, build relationships with them and provide support for their families.”

Funding the program A typical day at the Boys & Girls Clubs begins with a healthy, hot meal. The first hour of programming is about academic success, which focuses on literacy, math and homework completion. For the second hour, the kids choose from five to 10 programs Julie Middleton “I went to the club, and several kids ran up to greet me with big smiles. I could see firsthand that my work on the board was worthwhile.”

at any given time, whether that be going to the art room, music room or playing outside.

“What they [the kids] don’t realize is that every program is carefully planned to be a learning experience, and of course fun is a big part of that,” Livingston says. “Kids have to have fun, but they can still learn in a very positive manner.”

According Livingston, it costs the Boys & Girls Clubs about $2,500 to provide programs for one kid for an entire year. The organization is trying to get 700 sponsorships at $2,500 each to provide all the program opportunities, operation costs and field trips the kids receive. The goal for this year is to raise $1.5 million.

“A lot of partners are in-kind; they will come in and offer their services for free instead of charging the club,” Livingston says. “A large portion of our funding is from the community. It’s from the donors that live here and want the community to be safe and to help kids that need help. About 20 percent is from corporations with gifts, about 20 percent comes from grants, and a large portion comes from special events, like our Rootin’ Tootin’ Chili Cookoff and Hoops for a Cause.”

The Boys & Girls Clubs Program Community Partners include Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Lucky’s Market, Columbia Mall, the University of Missouri Athletic Department, Maplewood Barn Theatre, Columbia College, The Blue Note, Girls on the Run, Civic Groups, Missouri Contemporary Bal-

Jake Jolley “I believe in supporting the youth of the community, and every day makes me proud to be a member of this great group.”

Dennis Palmer “I was so proud to see the Boys & Girls Clubs expand to our additional location next to Ridgeway Elementary.”

let, Columbia Public Schools, Youth Community Coalition, Veterans United, MU Service Learning Department, Columbia Youth Basketball Association and MAC Scholars.

Looking toward the future, the Boys & Girls Clubs has a goal to serve more teens, and the organization believes the best way to achieve that is to build a gymnasium.

“We hope to kick off our capital campaign in January 2016 to build a multipurpose gymnasium at our Seventh Street site,” Livingston says. “We feel that if we build a new gymnasium, we’re going to automatically be able to serve more teenage kids, and being across from Hickman High School is a prime location to build a gymnasium that older kids will actually want to be at.”

Matt Moore, president of the Boys & Girls Clubs Board of Directors, strongly believes in the power of the organization; he is a former member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Little Rock, Arkansas.

“The club brings a sense of security and structure to a lot of children that have that need,” Moore says. “With the work of an outstanding board and Valorie’s leadership, we have experienced tremendous growth and seen our facilities improve. … I just want the opportunity to give back to an organization that helped develop me.” CBT Not pictured: Melissa Anderson, Jennifer Bach, Heidi Chick, Carolyn Haws, Mark Jones, Steve Kempker, Rebecca Knipp, Matt Moore and Annelle Whitt.

Dana Patrick “The outreach and educations for the children who attend the club are truly amazing, and watching the children interact with society is heartwarming.”

Walter Pfeffer “[I wish that more people knew] that the Boys & Girls Clubs, Big Brothers Big Sisters and Boys and Girls Town are three different organizations.”

columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 63

Pictured: Dr. Tim McGarity Photo by Anthony Jinson

64 \\\ may 2015

new digs

Celebrations ›› Restoration Eye Care

Growth and Vision

Restoration Eye Care to open a cutting-edge facility to accommodate continued growth

By Matthew Patston Last June, golden spades broke ground in a vacant lot on Forum Katy Parkway. Pictures were taken, a speech was given, and bottles of champagne were popped.

This June, the lot on Forum Katy, and the new medical building constructed there, will become the permanent home of Restoration Eye Care. At the groundbreaking ceremony last year, Dr. Tim McGarity wore a navy blue blazer and a golden hardhat. He smiled for pictures and wielded giant scissors, a bulkier tool than the microscopically precise lasers he uses to manipulate corneas and remove cataracts. Since taking over Restoration in 2011, McGarity has fostered growth in his business and vision in his patients. In June, he will have a cutting-edge new building to match his ambition, and he continues to see a bright future for Restoration Eye Care.

The most important sense McGarity comes across as more of a cool bartender than a surgeon; on a recent Friday, his uniform consisted of a gray T-shirt and jeans. He speaks with a gravelly accent that he brought with him from Arkansas, where he earned his medical and undergraduate degrees (the latter in microbiology, with honors).

Fate led McGarity to ophthalmology on a Saturday during his third year of medical school at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. McGarity reluctantly attended a lecture hosted by the school’s relatively small ophthalmology department. By the end of the session, he was hooked.

“I left, and I thought, ‘That’s awesome!’”

McGarity says. “I could do surgery on somebody’s vision, their most important sense, and totally change that person’s life in a matter of minutes.

Who wouldn’t want to do that? I thought that was the coolest thing in the world.”

McGarity was accepted to ophthalmology residency at the University of Missouri, which brought

him and his family to Columbia. After his residency, McGarity stayed on as an assistant professor in clinical ophthalmology, training students at University Hospital and Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital, where McGarity still volunteers.

In 2011, private practice tapped him on the shoulder: Local ophthalmologist Dr. H. Kell Yang recruited McGarity to take over his clinic.

McGarity jumped at the opportunity, but the transition came with challenges. “As a small-business owner and a private physician, it's double stress,” he says. “It took several months to get to the point where I felt comfortable owning my own practice. I learned a lot from Dr. Yang early on. He told me the way to be successful is to put good people around you and trust them.”

A bad market compounded the learning curve, as Lasik’s popularity had been declining since the onset of the recession. The challenges led McGarity to quickly adopt new, safe technology to attract patients, and Restoration became the first practice in the area to offer blade-free eye surgery, using a system called iLASIK. “Our two biggest competitors are fear and the pocketbook,” McGarity says. “And that’s potentially something that kept that person from coming to us for years.”

Long-term vision Chris Danforth, marketing director at Restoration, wasn’t sure where to begin describing the past few years. “Yeah, a lot of growth,” he says, smiling. “We’ve grown incredible amounts, year after year, since Dr. McGarity has been here. We’ve been to the point where we’re constrained just by the physical walls with the amount of patients coming in and out.”

Up until 2014, the practice was just known as Timothy D. McGarity, M.D. At the beginning of last year, the name was updated to Restoration Eye

Care: a new brand to reflect the company’s purpose.

When Restoration moves into its new building in June, a year after the groundbreaking ceremony, the business will be taking a big step toward future expansion. Danforth, almost reflexively, comments on the future with a vision metaphor.

“You can’t be myopic about any of this,” he says. “The second you have any short-term vision, you’re dead in the water.”

The new building reflects McGarity’s meticulous dedication to his business. “This is my life, and this is my family,” he says. “Everyone in my family, everyone that I employ, all of my patients, they all depend on this place being successful. There’s no option other than pure dedication.” CBT

Timeline 2001 › Dr. H. Kell Yang moves his ophthalmology practice to the Broadway Professional Park.

2003 › Tim McGarity is accepted to residency at MU and moves from Arkansas to Columbia.

2006 › McGarity begins a five-year tenure as assistant professor of clinical ophthalmology at MU, where he teaches students how to perform eye surgery.

2011 › Yang recruits McGarity to take over his practice. McGarity assumes control in July.

2012 › The practice adds new blade-free technology in eye surgery.

2013 › The clinic begins an outreach program to serve patients in smaller mid-Missouri cities.

2014 › The clinic is rebranded as Restoration Eye Care, and construction of a new building on Forum Katy Parkway begins.

2015 › Restoration Eye Care will move into its new building, which will include an ambulatory surgical center and medical office park. columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 65

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Marketing

›› Monica Pitts talks marketing trends and tips.

chief creative director at mayecreate design

Dress for Success The clothes we wear to a sales call make an impression, and so do the design and message we use to represent our business. You have a dress code for your staff, but do you have a dress code for your marketing?

Unfortunately, your marketing image is a bit more complicated to judge than a dress code infraction. So, how do you know if your business’s marketing image meets the code?

Most business owners have strong sales experience. Without sales, there’s no new business. The outcomes of sales are easy to measure in dollars and cents; it’s pretty concrete. But those same business owners might not grasp the less concrete nuances their marketing design and messaging are sending to potential prospects.

To illustrate the similarities between the sales call and your marketing image, I asked Tony Richards, senior partner of Clear Vision Development Group, to weigh in on how he trains businesses to be interview ready from a sales and leadership training perspective.

Richards explains that marketing and sales are similar because: “Many times leaders and executives struggle a little when trying to put together messages they want to communicate but not because they don’t have something to say. Frequently, it’s because they have so many ideas, they are having a hard time distilling it down into something they can communicate simply and powerfully.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself. When developing your business image, there are so many ways to express who you are and even more ways to present your image and message to the public. How can you tell if you’re making the right first impression?

1. Keep it simple. Saying you do 100 things doesn’t mean someone will hire you to do them all; it might just make them think you don’t do any one thing well. Throughout all or your marketing, keep your message focused. Too much too fast can confuse a prospect, and confused prospects disengage.

Each piece of your marketing puzzle has a specific purpose, so use each medium for what it does best. Your logo is your logo. It’s not your sales pitch, a brochure or your website.

From a sales perspective, Richards agrees. “Your sales message doesn’t have to be complicated or complex to be powerful,” he says. “As a matter of fact, the simpler we can make the message, the more powerful the message is. Of course, details are important, and those should be shared as needed in small group meetings and interactive discussions.”

2. Do your homework. “I tell my clients your business is about the audience, not about you,” Richards says. “When you begin to let your mind start to think about yourself, you will begin to lose your edge. You have what they need; make sure the focus is on giving them what they need.”

You have to know whom you’re speaking to, what they need and why they need it. Research your competition, understand what a competitive business in your industry looks like, and if there are design trends, decide if you want to fit them or stand out. Do all this while keeping a client-centric mindset.

Illustration by Tifani Carter

3. It needs to match. Mismatched marketing is like mismatched shoes: not what you want people to talk about when you leave the room. Your marketing should be cohesive with your business’s identity, with the tonality, imagery and colors of everything carrying throughout to create a recognizable look and feel.

Your visual marketing message should also be consistent with your company values. Authentically projecting your business eliminates mismatched prospect expectations and attracts prospects that are your ideal fit.

Richards finds that successful companies promote authenticity and consistency throughout the organization. “Businesses can improve their impact with alignment,” he says. “And when I say impact here, I mean authentic impact. They don’t have to manipulate. They cannot just have, but they can be impact. They can be more influential. All of the behaviors a business models send messages throughout the organization that create a culture of success.”

A simple, grounded and consistent marketing image not only creates a dress code for your business’s image, but it also leaves a correct and lasting first impression. CBT columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 69

Our Partners...

573.777.9782 • 9thstreetpublichouse.com

“United Way is the best at using even the smallest contribution to improve the community.”

573.874.2030 • cecoptometry.com

”Because we care about our community.”

are community partners.

To become a member of the LU365 Small Business Circle visit uwheartmo.org/live-united-365 70 \\\ may 2015

Technology

›› Brant Uptergrove reviews the latest trends in tech.

Account Manager at Midwest Computech

Disaster Recovery What would your company do if the facility you work in or the facility that houses your company’s data were destroyed by fire, flood or tornado? In Missouri, all of these are real threats. Sure, it might never happen to you, but if it does, are you ready?

I’m increasingly surprised to see or hear about businesses that don’t have easily accessible and reliable offsite backups of all of their important data and server operating system partitions. A lot of times people back up only some of their data because the costs are too high to back up everything offsite.

There are many different automated offsite backup solutions available today. Some of them merely sync your files to the cloud, while others back up to another data location onsite and then upload the changes to an offsite collocation facility. Every business and industry has different needs.

You should take a good look at several options and have an in-depth conversation with your IT staff/partner to find out what’s the best fit for your company. Also keep in mind that as your business grows and changes, your backup needs may change as well.

Automated syncing and OS backup Automated syncing programs such as Carbonite are nice in small applications. For desktop-level backups, it is hard to beat the cost and ease of Carbonite. You can set which files and directories you would like backed up to their servers, and the process is automated. Keep in mind that if you’re adding and changing large files often, you may have a strain on your Internet connection (this would not be an ideal platform for 20 people in an office).

You’ll need to have advanced program purchases if you want to be able to back up databases, and the timeframe to recover a file is limited (with Carbonite you can only go back three months to recover a file version, and this feature is only available on Windows versions of computers).

Other automated file sync programs for businesses have onsite and offsite backup options with onsite archival options built in. These allow you to back up your files on your network in 15-minute or less increments, and then at night the program will upload your overall daily changes to an offsite collocation facility. The data is backed up and encrypted locally on the server, and then it is sent offsite to a secure facility over a secure connection. You can back up live databases with a lot of these types of backup solutions as well. This type of system is the best of both worlds. You have the onsite backup so you can restore lost or corrupted files, and you have the offsite backup in case of a disaster.

Don’t forget about backing up your server OS. If your server operating system partition becomes corrupted, your entire network may be at a standstill until it can be restored. Even if your data files can be restored, you will still have to reload the OS to access them, which takes time (this could be days or weeks depending on your configuration and policies), resulting in expensive downtime cost.

Illustration by Tifani Carter

Backing it up onsite Why is the onsite backup even necessary? There are several reasons. You can quickly retrieve your file even if your Internet connection is down.

Also, onsite storage will allow you to archive several years of backups for easy access. There are a lot of systems out there that will allow you to virtualize a server on the backup device or restore the server to another piece of hardware should your server crash. If you’re an accountant who only sees a client once a year, and they come in to do their taxes, and their file is empty, then you can have their files restored from a previous point in the year. With a cloud-only backup, you will not have this ability.

The offsite with these systems is easy to monitor and ensure that everything is being completed successfully. Your IT staff/vendor will get notifications if a backup is failed or if the offsite transfer has failed. This ensures your data is safe and easily accessible in the event of a disaster.

At the end of the day, you have to choose which backup solution is best for your business needs. Take the time to familiarize yourself with your backup system, and make sure it is what you want if something were to happen. You can rebuild your office building, but you can never recreate numerous years’ worth of emails and files. CBT columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 71

Join Baer & Edington for their 4th Annual 5k Run/Walk

5K run/walk

When: Saturday, June 6, 2015 at 8am Where: 3005 Chinaberry Dr., Columbia How much: $30 registration fee (includes tee shirt for those registered by May 22nd.)

Packet pickup: June 5th, 4pm-6pm or June 6th 7am-8am Proceeds benefitting Youth Empowerment Zone

Go to BaerEdington.com to register online!

72 \\\ may 2015

Organizational Health

›› Pieter Van Waarde helps guide organizations into good health.

senior pastor woodcrest chapel President sidewalk llc

How Do You Feel Today?

It starts young. It includes a lecture. You probably even remember the day. You make your way to the breakfast table and boldly pronounce, “I don’t feel like going to school today!” What was the response? “I don’t care how you feel; you are going to school anyway.” And that is where it started.

The call to duty is firmly established in your heart and mind. What you feel should not determine what you do. If it is right and good, do it!

In many cases, this serves us well. We are repeatedly beneficiaries of people who do their duty regardless of how they feel. Thank you, veterans.

Thank you, ER docs. Yet, in our celebration of duty, might we also be missing something that has a significant impact on our organizational effectiveness? Are we missing the fact that how we do what we do is actually inextricably connected to how we feel about it?

Periodically I have a chance to teach at the University of Missouri School of Business, and I can always tell there is a bit of a credibility gap when I am introduced as a pastor of a local church. No one says anything out loud, but the sentiment is definitely in the air. What valuable piece of information could a pastor share with students of business?

Once I start talking about team building and leadership development, much of the skepticism wanes — until I start talking about “feelings.”

Then I’m back at square one. Most people who are “serious” about their business typically discount the importance of feelings. What does it matter how I feel? Let’s just get to work! Duty calls!

I understand the tension. And, yes, we are probably more ready to talk about our feelings in the pastor’s study than in the boardroom. But is that a good thing? Doesn’t the assumption that feelings have no place in the hardnosed, numbers-driven world of business actually exacerbate the situation?

Kelly Wright is a trained counselor working on her doctorate. She has served for many years in the area of marriage and family therapy and recently opened her own practice in Columbia (Juniper Tree). But her clients are “normal” people, many of whom work for or own local businesses.

She talks at length about the importance of working through emotions, both at home and in the workplace. “Most people have not been taught the needed skills to process emotions in a healthy way,” she says. “As a result, we react out of unprocessed emotions in ways that are destructive to ourselves and others. We must learn how to process our emotions effectively in order to manage them instead of them managing us.”

Perhaps the connection to business is still unclear. Let me give a couple of examples: • You spent considerable time working on a presentation. You were promised 15 minutes to make it to the leadership team, but another colleague took 10 minutes more than she was supposed to, so now you only get seven minutes to make your case. How do you feel about this? Does this adversely affect your relationship with your colleague or the leadership team?

• A new customer is fidgety during your sales pitch. He won’t look you in the eye, and he checks his watch twice as you are making your closing

Illustration by Tifani Carter

comments. How do you feel about your chances of making the sale? How does that affect your close?

• You overhear a conversation in the break room related to the meeting you just helped lead. It sounds negative. You don’t catch everything, but you were already a little unsettled about how well you did. How do you feel now? How does this affect the rest of your day?

Effective organizations give their team members the opportunity to process what just happened and how it made them feel. In fact, there is encouragement to do so. Questions such as, “Help me understand what you meant by that?” are commonplace. It could be as spontaneous as calling a timeout in the middle of a staff meeting to deal with an issue or something more proactive such as taking senior leaders on a retreat to process an especially difficult round of budget cuts.

Some might argue that they don’t have time for this touchy-feely stuff.

The only real option we have is how and where — not if — people will process. And if we give people healthy and safe places to work through what they’re feeling, then it is much more likely the negative emotions won’t linger and sabotage future scenarios.

So, how do you feel now? CBT columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 73

74 \\\ may 2015

fast facts

Did You Know?

›› Fun facts CBT staff discovered while reporting this issue

Tron Jordheim, this month’s P.Y.S.K. (page 31), started his first business in sixth grade, cleaning windows. In the ’70s and ’80s, he had a dogtraining school and sold protection dogs to private individuals and police departments, in addition to writing a dog-training column for the Columbia Daily Tribune. He has also had a syndicated radio show (in the early ’90s), sold construction material, promoted rock bands, sold ice cream and toys and cleaned offices and residential spaces, among other things. He is currently head of marketing at StorageMart and director of its subsidiaries, the PhoneSmart Call Center and 7Methods sales and customer service consultancy.

2016 will be the inaugural year of Columbia’s first book festival, “Unbound.” The free event, the brainchild of local author and corporate lawyer Alex George, will be held April 23, 2016, to coincide with William Shakespeare’s birthday. Learn more on page 44.

The local Better Business Bureau website had more than 5.5 million page views in 2014, approximately half of which were customers looking up companies and charities prior to doing business with them. Specific to the mid-Missouri site are warnings posted about local companies that do not uphold high standards of fair and honest business practices, information about local scams and other postings reflecting marketplace ethics and best practices in our area. Learn more about the local BBB on page 80.

Statewide financial support for the arts is 30 percent below the national average.

Missouri spends 79 cents per capita on the arts, with a national average of $1.15.

Learn more on page 54.

1/38

The scale ratio of the Statue of Liberty replica in the city’s Gentry Building to the real Statue of Liberty.

Get more numbers like this on page 79.

On an average festival day in Columbia in 2013, an attendee spent $104.50 on lodging, $80.92 on dining and $164.87 on shopping. In that same year, visitors logged 1.1 million overnight stays in Columbia’s 3,847 hotel rooms, according to statistics from the Downtown Community Improvement District. Learn more about tourism in Columbia on page 40.

30%

The future of True/False, and film in general, at the Missouri Theatre will be much clearer. The University of Missouri recently installed a new high-definition projector system.

“The new projector will have a big impact on the theater’s capabilities going forward,” says Nathan Anderson, general manager of MU Event and Production Services. Read more about the Missouri Theatre on page 26.

Located in the Boone County National Bank gallery, this piece, Spectral Germinator, was produced by David Jawarski. The wood stand beneath it was also commissioned, though the artist’s name is unknown because it was undocumented at the time of purchase.

“What we do know is the base cost almost as much as the sculpture on top of it,” says Mary Wilkerson, senior vice president of marketing.

Learn more about Boone County National Bank’s art collection on page 56. columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 75

Economic Index ›› It’s all about the numbers Housing: Single-family homes sales, February 2015: 106 Single-family active listings on market, February 2015: 649 Single-family homes average sold price, February 2015: $208,485 Single-family homes median sold price, February 2015: $177,200 Single-family homes average days on market, February 2015: 70

Where content

meets creativity.

3

PUBLICATIONS Columbia Business Times Columbia Home Jefferson City

CUSTOM PUBLICATIONS

WE’RE SOCIAL

OUR EVENTS

20 Under 40 • Ones to Watch • City’s Best (Jefferson City)

ON THE WEB

76 \\\ may 2015

Construction: Residential building permits, February 2015: 67 Value of residential building permits, February 2015: $6,729,914 Detached single-family homes, February 2015: 23

THE BUSINESS TIMES COMPANY

ColumbiaBusinessTimes.com ColumbiaHL.com JeffersonCityMag.com

Single-family pending listings on market, February 2015: 169

E-NEWSLETTERS

Value of detached singlefamily homes, February 2015: $4,185,066 Commercial building permits, February 2015: 21 Value of commercial building permits, February 2015: $3,027,650 Commercial additions/ alterations, February 2015: 18

Value of commercial additions/alterations, February 2015: $2,626,064

Labor: February 2015 – Boone County Labor force: 101,331 Employment: 97,177 Unemployment: 4,154 Rate: 4.1 percent February 2015 – Columbia City Labor force: 68,278 Employment: 65,630 Unemployment: 2,648 Rate: 3.9 percent February 2015 – Columbia, MO (Metropolitan Statistical Area) Labor force: 101,331 Employment: 97,177 Unemployment: 4,154 Rate: 4.1 percent February 2015 – Missouri Labor force: 3,083,635 Employment: 2,888,358 Unemployment: 195,277 Rate: 6.3 percent

Utilities: Water February 2015: 47,421 February 2014: 47,063 Change #: 358 Change %: 0.8 percent Number of customers receiving service on March 1, 2015: 47,394 Electric February 2015: 48,062 February 2014: 47,624 Change #: 439 Change %: 0.9 percent Number of customers receiving service on March 1, 2015: 48,047 CBT

Deeds of Trust

›› Worth more than $500,000 $171,687,642 Missouri Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church Boone County National Bank LT 1 Centerstate Plat 4

$2,779,804 Heritage Woods Development LLC Hawthorn Bank LT 109 Parkside Estates Plat 1

$160,000,000 Discovery Office Park LLC Landmark Bank LT 2A Discovery Park Subdivision Plat 2B

$2,562,685 Diamond Capital Development Company LLC Hawthorn Bank LT 5 Tower Industrial Park

$16,400,000 MMII LLC Boone County National Bank LT 2 Watson Place Plat 3 $8,075,000 1650 Heriford Road LLC Suntrust Bank LT 9 West Vandiver Industrial Park Plat 1 $8,075,000 C J C Properties II LLC Suntrust Bank LT 9 West Vandiver Industrial Park Plat 1 $8,075,000 M M C L-C Real Estate LLC Suntrust Bank LT 9 West Vandiver Industrial Park Plat 1 $8,075,000 L A F Heriford Holdings LLC Suntrust Bank LT 9 West Vandiver Industrial Park Plat 1 $4,000,000 Keene LLC Boone County National Bank LT 2 PL 4 Keene Estates LT5 $3,605,000 Alpha MU Association of Kappa Alpha Theta Landmark Bank LT 53 Grange Place

$2,332,426 Marco Investments Inc. The Bank of Missouri LT 5 Watson Place $1,572,374 Twin Ventures LLC Commerce Bank STR 4-47-13 //SW SUR BK/ PG: 564/275 FF PT OF TRACT 1 $1,300,000 Rowe Enterprises LLC Landmark Bank LT 108B Village Square Plat 1B $986,000 J P S & C A S Trust Landmark Bank LT 45A Pepper Tree Estates Block 3A $843,750 Old Hawthorne Plaza LLC Boone County National Bank LT 2 PL 1 Old Hawthorne Plaza $740,000 Shirley Investments LLC Exchange Bank of Missouri STR 1-51-13 //NE SUR BK/ PG: 775/185 AC 2.310 $660,000 JPI LLC Platte Valley Bank of Missouri LT 3A Curtis Rollins Sub Blk 1 LT 3

608 Deeds of trust

were issued between March 3 and 30

$653,000 SHJ Properties LLC Boone County National Bank LT 15 Cedar Lake Sub Blk 2 $628,772 AG Marketing Partners LLC Exchange Bank of Missouri LT 5 Nowells Sub/Machir Place $614,795 East Meets West LLC First Midwest Bank of Poplar Bluff LT 2 Trade Winds Park Plat 1 $595,000 Real Estate Investment LLC Payne Enterprises LLC STR 4-47-12 //NE SUR BK/ PG: 4251/31 AC 19.89 $572,000 Costa, Leon N. and Debra E. Landmark Bank LT 221 Thornbrook Plat 7 $552,000 The Crider Joint Revocable Living Trust Pulaski Bank STR 16-47-12 //NE SUR BK/ PG: 759/389 FF TRACT 8 $526,824 Payne Enterprises Inc. Merchants & Farmers Bank of Salisbury LT 1A Industrial Park of Columbia $500,000 Hackmann, Michael B. and Jennifer L. Family Trust US Bank LT 721 Old Hawthorne Plat 7 CBT columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 77

New Business Licenses ›› Columbia residents and their upstarts

Jared W. Reynolds, CFP® Carroll Wilkerson, CFP®

Artful by Design 211 N. William St. Arts, crafts and jewelry Ashley Joy Photography 110 Orr St. Photography Black and Gold Ice Cream 4502 Ria St. Ice-cream truck Bronze by Design 501 Fay St., Suite 102 Spray tanning

Is it their agenda or yours?

FIND A BETTER WAY:

Candlewood Suites Hotel 1400 Creekwood Parkway Extended-stay lodging Classic Buildings 1608 N. Providence Road Portable building sales and outdoor furniture Code Lab LLC 1233 Ridge Road Software development

573.875.3939 • WRWEALTH.COM

Columbia Tennis Academy and Training 609 Big Bear Blvd., Suite 101 Tennis lessons and instruction Como Driving School 110 Parkade Blvd.

Driver instruction services Country Financial 1700 East Pointe Drive, Suite 201 Sell and service insurance policies and finance

78 \\\ may 2015

Cruz Customs 4475 Brown Station Road Residential construction and remodeling Designer Body Oils 112 N. Greenwood Ave. Online website selling body oils and lotions Dickey’s Barbeque Pit Trailer 1412 Forum Blvd., Suite 130 Food trailer

Moser’s Foods 900 N. Keene St. Grocery store Pancheros Mexican Grill 2900 Trimble Road, Suite 109 Mexican grill Pela Cura Anti-Aging & Wellness 1603 Chapel Hill Road, Suite 103 Medical spa, wellness center

EBB & Flow Massage 19 E. Walnut St., Apt. 1 Massage therapy

PepperJax Grill 2900 Trimble Road, Suite 105 Restaurant

Great American Cookie Company 2300 Bernadette Drive, Suite 5528 Cookie and drink sales

Purefit Meals 501 Fay St., Suite 102 Healthy meals pickup or delivery

Hair Mechanix 611 Big Bear Blvd., Suite A Hair salon Hertz Rent-A-Car 2200 I-70 Drive SW Rent vehicles for leisure and business Lee Street Deli 603 Lee St. Food establishment, deli Mattress Firm 2900 Trimble Road, Suite 101 Retail mattress store Mid-MO Pumping 105 Snow Peak Court Waste hauler/pumping

Sauna Space 2206 Nelwood Drive Manufacturer of saunas Seoul Taco 1020 E. Broadway, Suite F Tacos Strange Donuts 1020 E. Broadway, Suite F Donut shop The Painting Guy 101 W. Leslie Lane Painting services Wakefield Biochar 4401 Sussex Drive Online sales of gardening products CBT

By the Numbers ›› Boone County statistics

Columbia wouldn’t be CoMo without a vibrant arts, retail and entertainment scene. CBT dug up the numbers to see how these industries make the city tick.

Transportation Development Districts Source: gocolumbiamo.com/Maps/TDD

Columbia utilizes Transportation Development Districts, which allow for certain areas to charge up to an additional 1 percent in sales taxes within a retail area. Columbia has 12 TDDs. 9

Sales tax as percentage of total revenue, over time

1

Source: gocolumbiamo.com

15

3

14.23 14.05 13.6

percent

12.84

4

12.57 11.97

12.2

11.41

11.05

10.8

11.35 11.46

2

11

8

12 5

10.67

Transportation Development Districts 10

9.4

0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

YEAR

General Fund sales tax revenues, annual growth/decline Source: gocolumbiamo.com

7.5

7.01 6.89

1. Blue Ridge Town Center TDD 1% 2. Broadway - Fairview TDD 0.5% 3. Centerstate TDD 0.5% 4. Columbia Mall TDD 1% 5. Conley Road TDD 1% 6. Cross Creek TDD 0.5% 7. Grindstone Plaza TDD 0.625% 8. Lake of the Woods TDD 0.625% 9. Northwoods TDD 0.5% 10. Rock Bridge Center TDD 0.625% 11. Shops at Stadium TDD 1% 12. Stadium Corridor 0.5%

6

10

7

5.84

percent

5

5.81

5

2.5

1.74

1.99

2

1.28 0

The District Columbia’s busiest hub of art, entertainment and retail is downtown.

Some quick numbers on The District:

festivals Columbia hosts roughly 191,000 convention, exhibit or festival attendees each year. These attendees spend:

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

3,288

-2.5

-4.2 -5 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

fiscal YEAR

1.8 percent of Columbia’s workforce is employed in arts, design, entertainment, sports or media, as opposed to 1.3 percent of the national workforce, but Columbians make $6.76 less per hour than the average employee in the field ($19.96 to $26.72).

The number of pedestrians who walk through Ninth and Broadway between the hours of 8 and 9 on a Saturday night

16,959 7,139

Cars that pass through Broadway and Ninth in 24 hours

Workers within The District

80.92

$

In Daily Dining

104.50

$

in daily lodging

164.87

$

in daily shopping

columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 79

6 Questions

➜ 3610 Buttonwood Drive Columbia, MO 65201 573-886-8965

›› Get to know your professionals

Business of Trust

Mike Harrison, regional director, Mid-Missouri Better Business Bureau

2. The BBB prospects successfully vetted businesses to become dues-paying accredited businesses that pledge to adhere to the BBB Code of Business Practices. How many mid-Missouri members do you have, and what benefits do you extend to your members? There are 415 accredited businesses in mid-Missouri, proudly displaying the trusted BBB seal and logo on their websites and marketing materials. These businesses enjoy the benefit of having the BBB as a local partner to help answer consumer questions, customize seminars, investigate unethical business practices and monitor advertising for truth and accuracy. Continuing education and networking events are planned for our accredited businesses, giving them the opportunity to share best practices and cultivate new and existing relationships with other trustworthy businesses. We are planning the first mid-Missouri TORCH Awards in the fall to recognize companies and charities committed to exceptional standards of ethical business practices and service.

Fun Fact: 80 \\\ may 2015

3. The BBB also serves as an intermediary between consumers and businesses. How many disputes does the midMissouri BBB see annually, on average, and what are the most common disputes?

Although the mid-Missouri BBB handles almost 1,000 consumer complaints each year, they only represent about 10 percent of all inquiries we receive. A majority of these disputes involve issues with customer service, sales practices, advertising issues, billing and collections and contract disputes across a wide range of industries.

Photo by Sarah Redohl

1. How would you describe your job? My job is to provide services and programs to assist both consumers and businesses to help promote an ethical marketplace where buyers and sellers can trust one another. On a daily basis, I work with local media to ensure there is a constant flow of consumer education and business development information and to update consumers on any current scams in the area.

4. The BBB was founded in 1912. How has the BBB modernized with the times to continue to be relevant today? With today’s online, interconnected, global economy, people need, appreciate and expect an unbiased source to provide reliable, comprehensive and accessible information to guide them as they make important decisions.

Because the BBB website is one of the top 300 websites in the United States, it enhances SEO of websites of accredited businesses.

Technology and social media are really the driving forces behind the BBB’s ongoing successful efforts to modernize and adapt to the everchanging landscape of business and industry.

5. The BBB is among the top 300 most-visited websites in the U.S. How popular is the mid-Missouri branch’s website? What can you find on the mid-Missouri branch site that isn’t available on the main site? Although we still offer services over the phone, more and more people are turning to the BBB’s website for information. The local BBB website had more than 5.5 million webpage views in 2014, approximately half of which were customers looking up companies and charities prior to doing business with them. Specific to the midMissouri site are warnings posted about local companies that do not uphold high standards of fair and honest business practices, information about local scams and other postings reflecting marketplace ethics and best practices in our area.

6. What activities does the BBB do in the Columbia area to bolster business success? Our annual Shred Day event, offered in conjunction with the Missouri Attorney General’s office, gives consumers and businesses the chance to safely dispose of sensitive documents at no cost to them. Aside from the networking, educational and other opportunities available to our accredited businesses, the BBB’s presence in the mid-Missouri area helps to create and maintain a local business culture in which the most ethical companies can thrive. CBT

➜ Fxxxx Head online to read more about Harrison and the Mid-Missouri Better Business Bureau.

Accounting Plus...............................................83 Alzheimer's Association..................................9 Anthony Jinson Photography...................... 11 Baer & Edington LLC.......................................18 Brady's Glass......................................................10 Budget Blinds....................................................45 Caledon Virtual....................................................8 Carpet One...........................................................3 Central Trust & Investment Co....................5 City of Columbia Water & Light....................4 CMSE Giving Gardens................................... 24 Columbia Art League........................................7 Columbia College............................................ 32 Columbia Regional Airport.......................... 33 COMO Connect............................................... 77 Deck The Walls..................................................61 Designer Kitchens & Baths.......................... 74 European Wax Center...................................16 Hawthorn Bank.................................................84 Heart of Missouri United Way....................70 Hub & Spoke......................................................34 Inside The Lines...............................................66 Job Point.............................................................. 74 Landmark Bank...................................................2 Lincoln University............................................68 Logboat Brewing Company........................ 28 Macadoodles.......................................................6 Magnolia Med Spa...........................................29 Massage Envy.....................................................16 MayeCreate Web Design.............................20 Mediacom............................................................14 Midwest Block & Brick...................................68 Midwest Computech..................................... 67 Naught-Naught Insurance Agency.........29 PCE Inc.................................................................. 13 PhoneSmart - 7 Methods............................29 Ram Jack of Mid-Missouri............................45 Shortwave Coffee............................................61 Starr Properties.................................................81 State Farm Insurance - Stephanie Wilmsmeyer.......................................................81 Superior Garden Center/ Rost Landscape............................................... 72 Tech Electronics.............................................. 33 The Bank of Missouri......................................30 The Village of Bedford Walk........................70 University of Missouri College of Arts and Science................................................................ 67 Visionworks..................................................18, 76 Wilkerson & Reynolds Wealth Management..................................................... 78 Wilson's Fitness................................................ 12

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columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 81

Flashback ›› Then and now

➜ The Columbia business landscape is always evolving, but it’s important to remember our historical roots.

By Torie Ross PHOTO BY BEN MELDRUM

Downtown Columbia is an area in transition. As construction of The Lofts on Broadway comes to a close, storefronts change and move and the population of downtown Columbia continues to grow, it’s easy to forget how far the city center has come.

The stores that line East Broadway often mix the old with the new. Of the buildings that make up downtown, more than 50 are 100 years old or more. Eighty-one buildings downtown are registered historic buildings with the National Register. For example, Buchroeders jewelry store, which now sits wedged between Jimmy John’s and Roxys, opened in 1896 and is one of Columbia’s oldest businesses. Buchro-

eders has owned the building it occupies at 1021 E. Broadway since it was built in 1911. When the building was constructed, the average life expectancy for men was 47 years, around 8 percent of homes in the United States had telephones and the average worker brought home a yearly wage of between $200 and $400.

In the 1960s there was a push to modernize the downtown area to compete with the shopping malls that were being constructed. Buildings such as the Virginia Building, which now houses several businesses, including Tiger Spirit and Woody’s Clothiers, were wrapped in metal siding to give them a more contemporary look. The building, which was given

the new look in 1965, was not unwrapped until 2003. In 1968 a concrete canopy was constructed along both sides of East Broadway. In 2004, a few store owners decided to remove the canopy directly in front of their businesses. This paved the way for Columbia’s Special Business Board to vote in favor of removing the canopy in its entirety. By 2006 the canopy was gone, and the storefronts were once again visible.

As Columbia’s downtown district melds new construction with century-old buildings, only time will tell how the landscape of East Broadway will continue to change in the years to come. CBT

➜ We love Columbia business history. If you have any interesting photos and stories, please send them to Editor@BusinessTimesCompany.com 82 \\\ may 2015

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