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Contents Column: Tim Kalich, 4 Greenwood like no other place on earth
Leflore County Schools, 47 District’s new programs offer new opportunities
4-Way Electric, 99 Recession hasn’t hurt electrical equipment company
Coretta Green, 117 J.Z. George Middle School principal aims to be approachable
Bill Crump, 5 2013 Community Service Award winner
Agriculture, 53 What is Leflore County’s top crop?
Viking Employee Health and Wellness Center, 105 Convenient care helps employees stay on the job
John Stewart, 122 Local entrepreneur quietly goes about his businesses
North Sunflower Medical Center, 9 Wayne Walters makes hospital model of success
Shane Sanders Tree Service, 57 Owner didn’t intend to start tree-cutting business
Dr. Brantley Nichols, 11 Pillow grad has found right work in right place Tallahatchie General Hospital, 15 Charleston hospital stresses customer service Ashley Robinson, 17 Former MVSU star is living his dream Upchurch Plumbing, 21 Family company keeps evolving Turnrow Book Co., 25 Independent bookseller succeeds with personal service Mid-Delta Home Health and Hospice, 29 Clara Reed has been caring for sick, elderly since 1978 Drake Waterfowl Systems, 33 Childhood friends’ company caters to duck hunters Baptist Town, 37 Redevelopment of historic community on fast track Cover Story: Greenwood-Leflore County Branding Campaign, 41 Website part of push to present unified image
Mission Hope, 60 Ministry’s goal to provide help of all kinds Charles Edward Wright, 66 Pioneering businessman had string of firsts Night Life, 69 Quest for food and fun begins after dark Greenwood Public Schools, 73 High-tech devices transforming classrooms Greenwood Cobras Motorcycle Club, 77 Members do much more than just ride bikes Robert Collins, 81 He’s come a long way since Tallahatchie County Mack Allen Smith, 85 Musician chronicles his career Reno’s Cafe, 89 Restaurant serves customers what they like Northwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center, 93 Clarksdale hospital assembles talented medical staff John Paul Walker, 97 MSU grad stays involved as alumni leader
Riley Poe, 109 He was drawn to farming at an early age Dr. Christopher Capel, 113 Surgeon feels at home here
Bettie Ray, 124 Tries to be the best representative of her community Economic Development, 126 Focus on creating jobs, improving quality of life Index of advertisers, 127
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Publisher’s note A
year ago, the cover story of the Profile edition was about the 25th anniversary of home-grown success story Viking Range Corp. A lot has changed in the past 12 months. Viking has been sold to a publicly traded company based in Chicago, which soon after the acquisition downsized the company. Its founder, Fred Carl Jr., has retired. Some of its other corporate executives have moved on. It’s been a difficult adjustment, but hopefully Viking will come back stronger, feel the turnaround in the U.S. housing market and get back to where it was before the Great Recession hit. Viking is a big part of Greenwood’s identity. That’s a given. Its remarkable growth helped transform this community and give it a downtown that other Delta communities envy. The faster Viking rebounds, the better it will be, not only for the company and its employees, but for all of us who have enjoyed the ripple effects of having a globally recognized brand headquartered here. But Greenwood has its own brand, too, that’s going to persevere no matter the fortunes of any one company or enterprise. That brand now has a slogan — “That’s so Delta” — thanks to the joint marketing
Staff Editor and Publisher Tim Kalich
Advertising Director Larry Alderman
Managing Editor Charles Corder
Advertising Sales Linda Bassie Susan Montgomery Jim Stallings Kim Turner
City Editor David Monroe Sports Editor Bill Burrus Lifestyles Editor Ruthie Robison Staff Writers Bob Darden Jeanie Riess Contributing Writers and Photographers Johnny Jennings Ruth Jensen Andy Lo
Graphic Designers Joseph Cotton Anne Miles Production Manager Ben Gilton Circulation Manager Shirley Cooper Business Manager Eddie Ray Editorial and business offices: P.O. Box 8050 329 U.S. 82 West Greenwood, MS 38935-8050 (662) 453-5312
efforts of a handful of bedrock community organizations and local governments. The slogan is not just catchy. It captures a feeling that’s sometimes hard to put into words, but certainly identifiable. Greenwood is a place of contrasts — wealth and poverty, black and white, farming and manufacturing. It’s a place with a fascinating culture, a love for good food and good music, a tradition for hospitality and generosity. It’s a place where people are sincere when they ask about your family, invite you to their church or offer their help when you’re in a bind. It’s not too much of a stretch to say Greenwood is like no other place on earth, and in lots of good ways. That positive uniqueness is what we try to capture each year with the Profile edition. The 128 pages in Profile 2013 shine a big spotlight on the people and institutions that make this community special. It’s full of articles, photos and ads that reflect how vibrant and interesting Greenwood and the surrounding area are. Our cover story is about the new branding campaign, but the whole edition really encapsulates that slogan. We hope you’ll enjoy taking it all in. — Tim Kalich
On the cover These are scenes that epitomize Greenwood’s uniquely Delta identity. That’s the focus of the new branding campaign for the city, Leflore County and several communitybased institutions. Photos by Johnny Jennings and Andy Lo Cover design by Joseph Cotton
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2013 Community Service Award winner: Bill Crump
Atrue leader
Has sought to help others from early age E ven in his youth, growing up in Schlater, Bill Crump had an interest in making his community better. He and his family lived on McNutt Lake, which was very polluted because all of the town’s raw sewage went into it. He played with friends there, but his mother made it clear that if they fell into the lake, they would have to get shots — “and, of course, we fell in the lake a lot,” he said. “I always said that when I got bigger, I was going to do something about that — that I wanted my children to be able to enjoy that lake,” he recalled, “not ever knowing that I would still be living there or anything else.” That idea was still in his head when he was elected to the town’s Board of
Previous winners
Bill Crump lives with his wife, Jane, in the house where he grew up in Schlater. They have two sons: Will, 29, and Josh, 26. In front are Will’s wife, Katy, and Jane Crump; in back row are Will Crump, Bill Crump and Josh Crump. STORY BY DAVID MONROE ! PHOTOS BY ANDY LO AND COURTESY OF BILL CRUMP
2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989
Belva Pleasants Dale Persons Alix H. Sanders Dr. V.K. Chawla Dr. Alfio Rausa William Ware Hank Hodges Allan Hammons Mary Ann Shaw Rev. Calvin Collins Joe Seawright Fred Carl Jr. Donnie Brock Pann Powers Janice Moor William Sutton Charles Deaton Alex Malouf Irvin Whittaker Harold Smith Charles Bowman Howard Evans Aven Whittington
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“I didn’t grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth at all. But I had everything I needed. And I think I learned from (my parents) that there’s nothing nobler than serving other people in some way and helping other people.” Bill Crump Aldermen at the age of 19. After doing some research, he and a friend who worked for an engineering firm put together a package requesting a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency for a sewer system, and they traveled to Atlanta to make their case. They landed a $1 million grant. “We talked them into it,” he said. “I don’t know how.” The addition of that system was a major development for the town, but Crump said its true impact hit him years later, after he and his family had moved to Washington, D.C. One night, he was talking on the phone with his son, who was about 3 and was visiting his grandparents on the lake. His son told him he had caught three fish from the lake — and his grandmother was cooking them. “It’s still a very emotional time when I think about it,” Crump said, “because I knew right then that if my mother was cooking a fish for her first grandchild out of that lake, then I had accomplished what I had set out to do.” After 10 years in Washington, he moved back to that home, where he still lives. He said seeing the lake reminds him what people can do if they put their minds to it. “In the morning I wake up, I get up, get my coffee, and I open the blinds in my bedroom, and I’m looking right down that lake, and there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t remember that,” he said. “So that was really a defining moment, I think, in my life. ... If I had to be remembered for one thing, that’s what I would want to be remembered for.” Now 59, the Viking Range Corp. executive has accomplished many other things since then and still stays busy today. He is active in his church, the Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce, the Greenwood-Leflore Industrial Board and many other organizations. He also has received a great deal of credit for the selection of Greenwood as the primary filming location for the blockbuster “The Help.” For these contributions and others, he is the winner of the Commonwealth’s 2013 Community Service Award. He responds to this distinction with modesty, noting the people who have won the honor before. “To be included with the Mount Rushmore group of Greenwood-Leflore County is quite an honor,” he said. v v v Crump said being raised in a Christian home in a town of 400 people was a great experience. “Schlater was like Mayberry back then,” he said. “There were so many interesting people, characters; it was just a great community to grow up in. It was
Sometimes, he was awestruck by his surroundings. He remembers when Atwater took him to the job on the transition team for the first time and simply said, “We’re going to see the boss” — and soon he was sitting down with Bush, the president-elect. “I was in a daze,” he said. “I had never in my life thought that I would be in a position like that — and didn’t understand how I’d gotten there in the first place.” After Atwater’s death, Crump ran the nonprofit organization Fairness for the ’90s and then served as special assistant to Lynn Martin, the secretary of labor. He enjoyed the work in Washington, but the hours took a toll. He had two sons, Will and Josh, and was concerned about missing their childhoods, since he typically left home at 5 a.m. and didn’t return until 9:30 or 10 p.m. So he decided to move back to his hometown. “If I’d never had children, I’d still be there. I would’ve never moved home,” he said. “But I moved home for them.” This is an image from a campaign ad from when Bill Crump ran for Leflore County circuit clerk. He lost the race to Mabel White, but he says that if he had won, he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to work for U.S. Rep. Webb Franklin in Washington and spend 10 years in the nation’s capital. a thriving little country town. ... I had some dear, dear friends growing up that are still my best friends to this day.” His parents, the late W.B. Crump Jr. and Joyeanne Crump, also were community-minded. His father ran a cotton gin, and his mother was a teacher for 36 years. “I didn’t grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth at all,” he said. “But I had everything I needed. And I think I learned from them that there’s nothing nobler than serving other people in some way and helping other people.” He also developed an interest in politics, and while attending Delta State University, he ran for alderman, hoping to shake things up in his hometown. When he won, he was the youngest elected official in the nation. After the mayor resigned, Crump was appointed acting mayor; then he was elected mayor in October 1975 and continued in that job until 1982, when he moved to Washington. After returning home 10 years later, he was elected mayor again and served two more terms before retiring in 2002. v v v Crump says some apparent setbacks in his life have turned out to be great opportunities. In 1979, he ran for circuit clerk — an experience he enjoyed that helped him meet a lot of people. But after putting a great deal of work into it, he lost the race to Mabel White, who had worked in the courthouse for many years.
“I was crushed — just absolutely crushed,” he said, “because we had worked so hard, and I just didn’t understand.” But a year later, Webb Franklin asked Crump to run his congressional campaign — and after Franklin won, he asked Crump to go to Washington and run his office. Crump said he was so excited that he ran into White’s office, hugged her and thanked her for defeating him. “That devastating loss, which I thought was the end of my world politically, really opened a door that was much wider and gave me 10 years of absolutely wonderful experiences,” he said. Franklin said Crump is a great organizer who showed even as a campaign volunteer that he “had a lot of moxie politically.” “His greatest asset, in my opinion, is that he’s a people person,” Franklin said. “He gets to know people, and they like him, and he does a real good job in whatever he’s assigned to do. ... There are not enough adjectives available to me to describe how much I think of Bill Crump.” Crump spent four years as chief of staff for Franklin and then did the same for U.S. Rep. Connie Mack. He worked on the campaign and the transition team for President George H.W. Bush and arranged trips for Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle. He also spent about two years as deputy to Lee Atwater when Atwater was chairman of the Republican National Committee.
v v v After returning, he bought Baff Printing, a downtown business, and running it proved to be “a wonderful experience,” he said. “It provided me with an immediate immersion back into the community, because I got involved with the chamber and all the different aspects of the community.” He also worked with his wife, Jane, there for a while, until she took a job at Viking as a marketing home economist. In 2002, he took a part-time job in Viking’s incentive program, planning trips for successful dealers. When the stress of the two jobs got to be too much, he closed Baff and moved to Viking fulltime in its governmental affairs office. During this time, he was also active in the chamber and other organizations. Viking has been well-represented in government and civic groups over the years, and Crump said recently retired CEO Fred Carl has had a lot to do with that because he allowed employees to use work time for other endeavors. In fact, Crump replaced Carl on the GreenwoodLeflore Industrial Board and eventually was elected chairman in December 2009. “Fred and Viking have been such a part of the community, and he has encouraged everybody to get involved in as many ways as they can,” he said. Given the many friends he has made there over the years, the recent layoffs at Viking after its sale to The Middleby Corp. were difficult, but he is confident that better days lie ahead. “Even though I realize and know and am confident that this will all end up being very good for the town and for Viking and whatever, it’s a hard thing to
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Bill Crump shakes hands with Richard Nixon while sailing on an Amway yacht in the Hudson River during an event hosted by Trent Lott. Crump was chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Connie Mack at the time. go through,” he said. Now Viking’s director of corporate and governmental affairs, he expects to be taking on more responsibilities, although those are still being worked out. But he said Middleby also encourages employees to be active in the community — and he plans to continue. “I’d like to stay at Viking as long as I can be of help to the company and continue to help the community,” he said. Carl said Crump is a true leader. “Bill is totally devoted to making Greenwood a model community in every way possible,” he said. “He not only has a vision for how we can make our town even better; he knows how the local, state and federal governments work and what’s required to get things done.” Crump also brings great enthusiasm, energy and determination to causes he believes in, Carl said, citing “The Help” as an example. “Bill almost singlehandedly got ‘The Help’ here and was instrumental in ensuring that they had a very positive experience,” he said. Angela Curry, executive director of the Industrial Board, said it has been a privilege to work with Crump. “Bill is a very astute businessman, and that attribute serves our organization and this community well as we engage existing and prospective businesses,” she said.
a film based on Kathryn Stockett’s novel “The Help.” Crump wasn’t familiar with the book then. But he did remember the filming of “Ode to Billy Joe” and “The Reivers” in Greenwood years before, and he realized it could have an impact. So he went to work and used contacts at AT&T Mississippi and Entergy Mississippi to secure needed funding. Taylor said Crump showed great faith in the project, given that it started as an independent film. Then, once DreamWorks Studios got involved, he had to persuade studio people to choose
Bill Crump worked on the transition team for President George H.W. Bush and did travel advance work for Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle. Greenwood over Louisiana, which could offer better incentives. “We had to make the case that Greenwood would be a great character. ... If they found a flaw, Bill Crump found a way to reverse it,” Taylor said. Taylor said Crump understood the movie’s potential and made an investment in the city. “That’s what a smart businessman does,” the director said. “He had a vision of what it could do, and it paid off in spades.” Once Greenwood was selected, it meant a lot more work for Crump, since
v v v As a leader in economic development, Crump has stressed that community leaders needed to focus on more than just “industry-chasing.” “We had to look at retail; we had to look at service; we had to look at other things that could bring jobs and bring money into this community,” he said. One such opportunity came up when he heard some people wanted to look at the Elks Hall building on Washington Street. Director Tate Taylor and Producer Brunson Green said it was for
Actress Bryce Dallas Howard rehearses a scene from the hit movie “The Help,” which was filmed in the Greenwood area during the summer and fall of 2010. Crump was the driving force behind bringing the production of the movie to Greenwood.
he was the primary local contact for the filmmakers. Once again, Carl allowed him time to do it. “Almost every day, I went to the set wherever they were filming,” Crump said. Taylor said when people approached him with questions while he was writing and casting, his typical answer was “Call Bill Crump” — and that turned out to be good advice. He also said he, Crump and others involved in the film became friends and still stay in touch. “Bill’s just a great guy,” he said. A number of people were skeptical about “The Help” at first because of the unfavorable portrayals of Mississippi in some past movies, but Crump believed this project would be done well. “I had several people tell me that I should not be pushing this — that I was creating a problem for Mississippi and for Greenwood,” he said. “And I just didn’t see it that way.” He said he has watched the film probably seven or eight times and sees something new every time — and he’s heard hardly any negative comments about it or anything associated with it. He also has been recognized from his very brief appearance in the film as the lieutenant governor — even by people who didn’t know him before. “It’s amazing the people that I heard from across the country that recognized me and some of the stories that people would say,” he said. “You know, they would jump up in the middle of the theater and say, ‘That’s Bill Crump!’” Years ago, coming out of a small town, he wouldn’t have expected to have a brush with Hollywood — or to do and see many other things he’s done and seen. But he said he has been very fortunate. “If I had to die tomorrow, I would have to say that I have had a wonderful life and that God has been extremely good to me,” he said. !
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North Sunflower Medical Center
Model-making Hospital among nation’s best critical-access facilities
S
ome of Wayne Walters’ peers at Baptist Hospital in Jackson thought he might be making a mistake when he traded city life for rural, moving his family from Madison to become the chief executive officer of North Sunflower Medical Center at Ruleville. However, that has not been the case. Walters had been employed in the business side at Baptist for nearly 11 years when Billy Marlow asked him to head the small rural hospital that had experienced great growth under Marlow’s tenure as chief executive. Walters said it’s been an exciting time. “It’s a model — the way it’s working — being able to create jobs for the community and provide better health care,” he said. “We’re the number one criticalaccess hospital in the nation for patient satisfaction and cleanliness.” Walters said he was “taken aback” when he was asked to take the helm at North Sunflower. “I wasn’t expecting it,” he said. “I had done some consulting for (Marlow) since 2005. I helped him on the revenue cycle side. I came up hunting every year and got to know them. We called on each other on different issues.” Marlow had his wife, Robyn, call Walters when he was on the way to the hospital in Jackson in a helicopter for the second time with medical problems.
“I met him at 2 in the morning. Still on a stretcher, he took my hand and said, ‘Wayne, it’s time for you to come to Ruleville,’” Walters said. “I laughed. In a short period of time, he had a contract ready.” He was happy in his job in Jackson at a growing medical establishment, but the Ruleville hospital has brought him incredible satisfaction, he said. “It’s fun to work in a place where everyone is so committed to customer service,” he said. “Access is the number one complaint people have. We have a rural health clinic open 365 days a year, 16 hours a day. We pride ourselves in getting people into the clinic fast.” Walters said he enjoys his work greatly, as well as the side benefits the Delta provides. “We already came to Greenwood once a year and stayed at The Alluvian. My wife, Jennifer, likes shopping in downtown Greenwood.” The family is living in Greenwood while getting a home ready in Ruleville. “We’re going to live next door to the hospital,” he said. Their 13-year-old son is enrolled at Pillow Academy and enjoying the school and new friends he has made. “It’s funny, but when we drove into Ruleville and Cleveland, we liked it a lot,” Walters said. “We don’t need fancy theaters or big stores. We like small-town
life. Everyone is so friendly — glad you’re here.” The hospital’s success and continued growth are a great source of pride for him. “I’d venture that no other small rural hospital has what we have here,” Walters said. “We’ve created quality health care. The CT scanner saved Billy’s life. We’re trying to have an atmosphere people want to come to.” For North Sunflower Medical Center, Walters and the team at the hospital are planning for continued growth and improvement. “We’re working on a three-year plan,” he said. “One thing we’re doing is working to provide people with less expensive drugs. Mike Gilbow, who owned a pharmacy in Drew, is ready to retire from the ownership of his business in Drew and is going to work for us here as we open a pharmacy in our clinic. We plan to keep a presence in Drew, and we’re also purchasing the Spencer’s Pharmacy in Ruleville.” When he isn’t working, Walters loves to hunt, and Ruleville offers just what he’s looking for in his hobby. “I love being able to go duck hunting two miles from the hospital and then being able to get there by 8:15,” he said. All in all, the move has been great for Walters and his family. “It’s fun to feel a part of building something,” he said. !
Wayne Walters says North Sunflower Medical Center is providing better health care and creating jobs for the community.
“It’s fun to feel a part of building something.” Wayne Walters
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Dr. Brantley Nichols
The right place
Dr. Brantley Nichols stands in the ultra-modern operating room at North Sunflower Medical Center, where he performs surgery each week in Ruleville.
Took twisting path from Greenwood to Ruleville I t took a while for Dr. Brantley Nichols to find out exactly where he fit in the medical world, but his deliberate search paid off for him. Nichols, a former resident of Greenwood who is now an oral and maxillofacial surgeon in Hattiesburg, travels to North Sunflower Medical Center each week to perform surgery in an underserved area of the state. Bringing him to Ruleville was part of a successful plan by
Billy Marlow, executive director of the hospital, to resurrect it. The journey to where he is — doing something he loves and feels he has talent for — came after taking six months after college to find his place. “A lot of people just drift. I like to analyze things, look at it,” he said. “I wasn’t in a hurry.” He was a quarterback on the Pillow Academy football team and played foot-
ball at Mississippi Delta Community College. While enjoying athletics, he got to know Dr. Ed Field of Oxford, an orthopedist who took care of athletes at Ole Miss and came to MDCC. “I saw his phone ringing off the hook and asked him, ‘What are you going to do when your kids are involved in activities?’” he said. He followed Field and watched him in surgery. He also spent time with general
STORY AND PHOTOS BY RUTH JENSEN
dentist Dr. Rob White of Greenwood, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Charlie Wright and other physicians. “I asked them, ‘What do you think of your profession?,’ ‘Do you have any advice?,’ etc.,” he said. “I wanted to get to those people who are accomplished and see what they’ve done.” One thing he learned was he didn’t want to be on call all the time, as many physicians are. Now, as a maxillofacial
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“When I found maxillofacial surgery, I knew it was for me. Sometimes with facial trauma it’s like putting Humpty Dumpty together again. I like putting people’s faces back together. ‘What am I missing? How can I make this person look good again?’” Dr. Brantley Nichols
Dr. Brantley Nichols relaxes and discusses his work after a day of surgery in the board room at North Sunflower Medical Center. surgeon who works on victims of accidents or other facial trauma, he is on call 20 days a month. He takes off for his family time and for his favorite avocation — hunting. “I chose dentistry because I didn’t want to be on call like Dr. Field,” he said. “General dentistry is an art. I liked being able to have conversations with my patients, but I talk too much. I didn’t get anything done.” After a while, he wanted something different. He graduated from the University of Mississippi Dental School and then completed a residency in maxillofacial surgery at the University of Kentucky. “When I found maxillofacial surgery, I knew it was for me,” he said. “Sometimes
with facial trauma it’s like putting Humpty Dumpty together again. I like putting people’s faces back together. ‘What am I missing? How can I make this person look good again?’” Nichols gets great satisfaction from helping people to look like themselves again “I do one or two cases of facial trauma a week, sometimes pretty big trauma,” he said. “The ‘bite,’ or facial cheek structure, is the foundation of the face. Once you get that lined up, it is easier to build the face. If you don’t do that, you can make someone look funny.” Nichols and his wife, Courtney, live in Hattiesburg with their two young daughters, and the majority of his work is done there. But he flies to North Mississippi
each week to perform surgery at North Sunflower Medical Center in Ruleville. “I work in the clinic in Hattiesburg on Monday. That afternoon I fly into Greenwood and drive to Ruleville,” he said. He sees patients from about 5 a.m. until around 3 p.m., when he returns home. The hospital charters a small jet to bring him each week — part of a successful plan to turn around a dying rural hospital and bring needed medical assistance to the Ruleville area. Nichols, a high-energy person, was beginning to get bored with his Tuesdays off in Hattiesburg. “I had spent six months driving around South Mississippi and meeting referrals (dentists who could refer
patients for surgery),” he said. “You can only play so much golf. “Billy Marlow and Dr. Jerry Tankersley called me. He didn’t know I had finished my residency training. Once I heard about the hospital in Ruleville, I wanted to come here,” he said. “My parents live in Greenwood, and my grandmother lives in Doddsville.” Nichols has nothing but good things to say about the Ruleville hospital. “It has been great,” he said. “The staff here works really hard. The facility is so nice. Everything you have to work with is nice. I am so blessed. Every day I run into someone who knows a family member. “Every time I come in contact with someone I knew growing up, it’s neat. To see this hospital thriving is great.” !
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Tallahatchie General Hospital
Repeat success Charleston hospital stresses customer service
A
fter hearing the incredible turnaround story of North Sunflower Medical Center in Ruleville, board members at Tallahatchie General Hospital in Charleston wondered if their hospital might benefit from lessons learned there. The answer was yes. They asked Billy Marlow, who was then CEO of the Ruleville hospital, to take a look at theirs and suggest possible remedies. Things had gotten so bad, local people preferred to drive to other area hospitals rather than use the one at home. Marlow contracted with the hospital board to put together a management team, and Tallahatchie General was on its way to recovery. One of the first things Marlow did was to ask Jim Blackwood to take the helm. Blackwood, a Jackson attorney and a family friend of Marlow’s, heard about the hospital’s plight and Marlow’s plan to turn it around. “I was working with Billy on some legal things at the time and started talking with him about taking on such a challenge,” he said. He was getting a bit burned out in his profession. “In law practice, even when you win, nobody is happy,” Blackwood said. “I was interested in rebuilding, in creating positive things. I became the ‘boots on the ground’ for Marlow and his team.” He got to the hospital in March 2011. “It was similar to Ruleville — in fact, about the same size in volume, revenue and physical space,” he said. “Here, as there, we had an older facility, built in the mid 1950s. It had financial struggles. Employee morale was low. There had been no pay raises, and they were short staffed. Housekeeping had suffered a good bit, and people weren’t always friendly. It was run-down. “The first thing we did was get the place super clean,” he said. “When you come in, I can guarantee one thing: You will see somebody cleaning something, whether it needs it or not. Doris Ledford of North Sunflower played a key role in this area.” Blackwood also required all employees to go through customer service training. “It was eight hours of mandatory training, and we put in discipline for employees who did not attend, unless they had a proven emergency,” he said. Patient rooms were very small, only nine feet wide. In a critical-access hospi-
tal, which is a designation for hospitals in locales where health care access is limited, there can be no more than 25 rooms. “We demolished rooms and created 17 spacious ones, double the size of the old ones,” Blackwood said. “They’re as nice as anywhere in the state. Our goal was to create an aesthetically pleasing room as in a nice hotel.” Customer service is also key. “We pamper them with good customer service, provide in-house therapy, and good food. Patients have responded, and our census is up,” he said. New diagnostic equipment was also purchased, including a 16-slice CT scanner, new X-rays and new lab equipment. The emergency room, which will get a complete makeover in the next year, now has tele-medicine. “If a doctor has a difficult trauma come through the door, there is a flat-screen television on the wall,” he said. “We can punch a button, and a board-certified emergency room physician appears on the screen. It connects us to University (of Mississippi) Medical Center (in Jackson). We can zoom in on the patient, and the doctor can provide guidance in real time.” They keep up with numbers, he said. “Our goal is to shorten the wait time to see a physician in the ER,” he said. “Now it’s 15 minutes. Our average time between presenting at the ER and discharge is one-and-a-half to two hours. We want to give people an alternative to driving to other hospitals. Customer service is key.” Like Ruleville, Tallahatchie General is also providing a clinic, which seeks to get
patients in quickly and provide access 365 days a year. It’s open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday. One area of expected growth is in swing-bed care, which helps patients who aren’t ready to go home but can’t stay any longer in the hospital. “A lot of the patients are elderly, may have had a hip or knee replacement and need therapy before going home,” he said. A new service that has begun is intensive outpatient psychotherapy for seniors. “It’s group therapy, where seniors can discuss important concerns, like feelings of isolation, loneliness, financial issues, end-of-life decisions,” he said. Blackwood also directs a 98-bed nursing home. “Half of it was vacant. We created one side for patients needing more care, especially with dementia, and set up a better staff-to-patient ratio,” he said. “That side has activities structured especially for them, such as with a shorter duration. It takes into consideration the way they touch, hear things. We have older films they may remember, identify with.” The hospital has made a turnaround but has more to go. “We always have a project under way,” Blackwood said. Blackwood lives in Oxford with his wife, Kelly, and their two boys, ages 3 and 5. Personally and vocationally, heading the hospital has been just what he needed. “There’s a lot of satisfaction. It makes me feel good to see something turn around in a positive way,” he said. “It has exceeded my expectations.” !
“It makes me feel good to see something turn around in a positive way.”
Tallahatchie General Hospital has done extensive remodeling and brought in lots of new equipment. STORY BY RUTH JENSEN ! PHOTOS COURTESY OF TALLAHATCHIE GENERAL HOSPITAL
Jim Blackwood
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Ashley Robinson
Living the dream
First-year Mississippi Valley State University athletic director Ashley Robinson is excited about the challenges that lie ahead for him as he works to build up a program that is strapped for cash.
Ex-hoops star’s plan brought him back to MVSU
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ome people work all their lives and never reach their dream job. Ashley Robinson, however, didn’t have to wait long. He secured his dream job at age 32 at his alma mater when he was named the new athletic director at Mississippi Valley State in late August 2012. When his record-setting basketball
career was over at Valley in 2003, Robinson, the school’s single-season and career record holder in assists (601), went to Italy in hopes of landing a professional contract. But when things didn’t work out, he turned to plan B, pursuing a career in administration with the hopes of one day running the athletic program at Valley.
With no options left in basketball, he started the plan for capturing his dream job nearly 10 years ago. “Did I want to coach, or did I want to become an administrator?” Robinson said. “I said I wanted to be an AD, and there’d be no better place, when I get the experience, (than) to come back and be the AD at Mississippi Valley State
University. “When I said that, people just said, ‘Oh, whatever.’ It was a vision come true. It’s an inspiration to young students … it can be done.” Robinson, now 33, has been on the job six months and says he couldn’t be happier. “It’s everything I had hoped for and
STORY BY BILL BURRUS ! PHOTOS BY BILL BURRUS AND THE JACKSON CLARION-LEDGER
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more,” Robinson said of his new job. “I haven’t stopped long enough to catch my breath. I have been meeting a lot of people in the community, trying to be seen in the community so Valley can be seen. “I will be at a lot of high school sporting events and getting involved in this community. If we’re going to ask the community for support, then we have to support this community.” Talk with Robinson for a short period of time, and it’s evident he has a strong passion for building up Valley’s athletic program and bringing in much-needed revenue. That passion and intensity will be needed. According to a USA Today report detailing the athletic budgets of all NCAA Division I programs last May, MVSU’s revenue of $4.1 million was the second-lowest in the country. Robinson says that this year’s athletic budget is $4.3 million for its 18 sports teams and that some of the richer schools in the Southwestern Athletic Conference operate with a budget of three times what Valley has. But you will never hear Robinson complain about a lack of resources because he refuses to let negativity creep into anything he does. “At the end of the day, it’s not about the size of your budget but about winning championships and graduating your athletes. We plan to work harder and do more with less until we can get things turned around and generate more money through sponsorships and things like that,” Robinson said. “We have to remain positive. Valley has got to remain positive. There is no room for any negatives.” Robinson has launched three athletic sponsorship initiatives, including the Athletic Director’s Challenge, which gives supporters the option of donating as little as $10 per month. “In order for this to work, though, our alumni have to come together as one and become focused on making a difference,” he said. “All gifts, whether small or large, are vital in providing the necessary resources to enhance the academic and athletic experience of our student-athletes.” Valley is using an aggressive social media campaign to reach fans and alumni and recently upgraded its website. “We’re using the Internet, Facebook and Twitter extensively,” Robinson said. “That’s what you have to do in this day and age. The first thing a potential donor or business is going to do is go to your website.” Interest in Valley athletics should be at an all-time high, Robinson says, considering how well the school’s teams have been playing on the field and performing in the classroom. “Five MVSU teams played for a SWAC title during the 2011-12 seasons,
Ashley Robinson (3) is pictured here in 2003 during his senior season as MVSU’s record-setting point guard. He holds the school’s single-season and career records for assists. When hired at Valley in August 2012 at the age of 32, Robinson was the youngest athletic director at an NCAA Division I school. including the baseball, softball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and women’s soccer teams. Three of those teams won conference titles: men’s and women’s basketball along with the softball team, which earned its seventh SWAC Tournament title in the last nine years. Then we had a strong finish in football to give us our best season in more than five years,” he explained. “We had 89 Valley studentathletes earn academic honors by completing a full academic year in residence, maintaining at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA. The women’s soccer team led the way with a 3.52 team GPA.” Robinson’s rise to athletic director has been rapid since he got his start in administration in 2006 as the academic coordinator at Delaware State University. In 2009, he went to Prairie View A&M as the assistant vice president of athletic compliance and academic advising.
When hired at Valley in August 2012 at the age of 32, Robinson was the youngest athletic director in the NCAA’s Division I. Valley softball coach Lee Smith, who served as a student manager on the Delta Devils basketball team while Robinson was playing, wasn’t surprised at all to see his old friend advance through the ranks so quickly. “He was always a feisty guy and a hard worker,” Smith said. “You could just tell he was going to be something special one day because he was a real leader — on and off the floor.” “He was the type of person, he always came in and worked hard and gave it 100 percent,” college teammate Attarious Norwood said. “He worked like he always had a point to prove.” Robinson says that’s because as a 5foot-7 basketball player you have to play with a chip on your shoulder. He was cut from the basketball team as a
sophomore at Murrah High School in Jackson but made the team the next year and then became a starter as a senior. “With my height, I was told I was too short since I started playing in the seventh grade. I knew I had to prove folks wrong,” Robinson said. He developed strong a work ethic at a young age, living in Bolton in a rural setting with his grandparents until he was 10. Robinson was required by his grandfather to cut the grass and take care of many other chores. “He pushed me and instilled a strong work ethic in me and taught me to be a man and to put God first. There were times I didn’t like it or understand it, but, of course, I did as I matured,” Robinson said. “I learned a lot from him. He passed away in 2005, a couple of years after I graduated from Valley. He’s gone but certainly not forgotten.” Robinson also acquired an attention to detail from his grandfather. He preaches about structure and organization, and he makes sure those who work for him follow the same pattern. “I’m a firm believer that it doesn’t take money to be organized and structured,” said the Valley AD. “That’s one of my No. 1 things — I want to make sure we’re organized and structured. I have weekly meetings with my staff so we can all organize our efforts in the same direction.” One of Robinson’s biggest projects is finding the money to fund more football scholarships so the school can play some “big money” games against Football Bowl Subdivision schools. Last summer, Mississippi State University canceled its 2013 opener against MVSU because of a rule prohibiting FBS teams from counting a win against an FCS team that does not meet the NCAA’s financial aid requirements. Valley falls below the guideline, which requires an FCS team to provide scholarships to at least 90 percent of its 63-man roster limit over a rolling twoyear period. If an FBS team plays an FCS team below that average, its win will not count toward bowl eligibility. Robinson said the school funded 41 scholarships this past season and hopes to meet the 90 percent standard in two to three years. The cancellation hits MVSU hard in the pocketbook because MSU was scheduled to pay Valley $350,000 for the game — a payday exceeding Valley’s expected football revenue ($274,000) for the 2012 fiscal year. So what does a man with so much on his plate do away from work? Well, watch sports, read motivational books and think about work. “There is never much off time in athletics,” he said. “When I’m not reading, I am thinking about ways to build this program.” !
“At the end of the day, it’s not about the size of your budget but winning championships and graduating your athletes. We plan to work harder and do more with less ...” Ashley Robinson
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Upchurch Plumbing
Looking for next market 43-year-old family company keeps evolving
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ith work and family wrapped tightly together, a second generation of the Vennis Upchurch family seeks to move the family’s business into the future, continuing where their father left off when he passed away in 1997. Upchurch Plumbing was a traditional plumbing, heating and air-conditioning company with one truck and one helper that Vennis Upchurch began in April 1970. At the end of that year there were four employees working full-time. Now there are approximately 198
employees, down from 264 since the economic downturn. It has not stopped Upchurch, however, from getting some very big jobs this past year, continuing into 2013. Current jobs include the USDA lab renovation at Stoneville; enhancements at the library at Mississippi Valley State University; Central Mississippi Crime Lab in Jackson; Kirk Auto Complex in Grenada; Wise Center renovations at Mississippi State University; Life Help renovations in Greenwood; Leflore County substation in Greenwood; boiler
replacement at the Western Currency Facility in Fort Worth, Texas; Thompson Agco, a new facility in Boyle; and the Johnson Commons renovation at the University of Mississippi. Some recently concluded projects are: Greenwood Leflore Hospital plant renovations; HVAC upgrade Phase I at Mississippi University for Women in Columbus; and Harlow’s Casino addition and renovation in Greenville. Mike Upchurch, 53, is vice president and is one of four siblings who work in the business. His brother Robbie, 54, is
president, his brother David, 49, is treasurer, and their sister, Cindy Hawkins, 48, is secretary. “It’s a company I feel good about — the people, structure. We are downsizing now, but expect to upsize again,” he said. After successfully navigating a number of business markets — including casinos, hospitals, catfish processing and federal prisons — Upchurch is looking for new places to go. “We’re looking for the next market — either one we have been in or a new
Vennis Upchurch founded Upchurch Plumbing in 1970. Now, his four children run the company: from left, Robbie Upchurch, 54, president; Mike Upchurch, 53, vice president; Cindy Hawkins, 48, secretary; and David Upchurch, 49, treasurer. STORY BY RUTH JENSEN ! PHOTOS COURTESY OF UPCHURCH PLUMBING
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“We all have different jobs, but we help and support one another to keep the business working. ” Mike Upchurch one,” he said. “The federal prisons are tapering off. We went through catfish, prisons, casinos, hospitals. We’re still doing a little in all arenas but looking for something new.” Working together as a family is what they’ve always done, Mike says: “It’s how we grew up. I started working at 10 and Robbie at 11.” When they graduated from Greenwood High School, both brothers went to work full-time. David went to Mississippi Delta Community College and then began work at the family business. Cindy went to Delta State University and entered the business. “We all have different jobs, but we help and support one another to keep the business working,” Mike Upchurch said. “When Dad was alive, we did everything with him — ballgames, hunting, going to church together. We still do that. It’s the family culture.” Upchurch says a lot of families depend on the business, and that is motivation for them to all work hard. “Dad treated people fair. He instilled that on us. He respected his employees. It’s the way we try to do it,” he said. Mike says his father didn’t say a lot, but they could tell he was happy they were involved in the business. “We knew he was glad we were here. We just knew it.” Upchurch got into the commercial business in 1972, when they secured a job in Greenville for Holiday Inn, as well as renovation of the main branch of the Bank of Greenwood on Howard Street. They soon spread throughout the Delta. In 1974, the company joined with Universal Steel Builders of Grenada, which was building a number of facilities, particularly manufacturing buildings, in Memphis and Jackson. Another beneficial partnership was with Allen Corporation of Indianola helping to build low income housing projects around the state and in
Arkansas and Tennessee. They were also doing many other types of projects, including one for Boeing in Greenville and others around the Delta. In the 1980s, the company concentrated on catfish processing buildings and then prisons. In the 1990s, it was mainly casinos, prisons and Viking Range Corp. “We were fortunate to be able to work with Viking and continue to work with them today,” Upchurch said. In August 2005, the company mobilized people to help rebuild the coast after Hurricane Katrina. The company also continued to build federal prisons as well as casinos, and in 2009, it got a $16.6 million contract for renovation of the McCoy Federal Building in Jackson. It has also completed numerous hospital and university projects. “Over the last 10 years, Upchurch Plumbing has averaged starting 64.5 jobs each year,” Mike said. The company has started two other companies in Greenwood — Upchurch Building Supply, which they sold in 2003, and Upchurch Rental Company in 2001. In 2002, the company started Upchurch Services, Inc. in Oxford, doing HVAC and plumbing services for commercial and industrial customers. In 2006, it was relocated to Horn Lake, and another office in Jackson opened in 2009. “Today we have 50 service trucks and 68 field employees working mainly the north half of Mississippi, western Tennessee and eastern Arkansas,” Upchurch said. The company won’t rest on its laurels but is ready to go in whatever direction the market goes. Mike Upchurch says he doesn’t just work in the company because he needs to; it’s something he loves. “It’s good to come to work every day,” he said. “It makes you feel good to do something that supports so many people.” !
Projects Upchurch Plumbing has worked on include the McCoy Federal Building in Jackson, above, and the Adams County Correctional Facility near Natchez, below.
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Turnrow Book Co.
Against the tide
Jamie Kornegay said that Turnrow Book Co. won't compete with the slashed prices of discount companies like Amazon because it already offers something they don't: an atmosphere where customers can relax, interact and get book recommendations from people who know them.
Human touch key to bookstore’s success W
alking into Turnrow Book Co. is like walking into a brain. There’s the creative side — from a section labeled “creative truths” to traditional fiction — and there’s the formulaic, organized side, marked by histories, cookbooks and other reference volumes. On tables and shelves, the bookstore’s owners, Jamie and Kelly Kornegay, have made it clear where their own favorites lie; there’s a section for
Southern and regional literature, which pulls from the abundant source of the Mississippi Delta, and there’s a whole wall devoted to staff picks, which hungry readers check frequently for updates from employees they’ve come to know and trust. The whole business also is complemented to the highest degree by the warm smells of grilled cheese and tomato soup. With locally baked bread and easy access to William Faulkner’s “A
Light in August,” how could a place so rife with culture and hominess have anything to worry about? In the age of discount America, quite a bit. With companies such as Amazon and Walmart frequently slashing book prices in half, independent bookstores across the country have struggled to keep customers. Many have been forced to close. Some have turned to alternative sources of revenue, such as charging customers to attend author readings
STORY AND PHOTOS BY JEANIE RIESS
and signings, since it’s become commonplace for readers to hear an author read at a local bookstore and then go and buy the book at a better price elsewhere. But Jamie Kornegay says Turnrow will never consider competing for prices or charging for other services. For Turnrow, the aim is fostering an atmosphere that creates a cohesive community. “It’s unsustainable for us to beat them
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“We purchase, arrange and display books based not on how much a publisher has paid us to put them there, but on their quality and their significance to local readers.” Jamie Kornegay
Turnrow's "Creative Truths" section highlights favorites from the literary nonfiction genre. The shelves are lined with recommendations for all kinds of readers from Turnrow employees who have read each book.
on price, so we have to excel in every other way we can,” he said. “First, our physical space is one of our most popular features. And within that space, we’ve created an environment that is friendly to all members of the community and to all ideas. This is neutral ground, where people of all kinds, or varying opinions, can meet and interact meaningfully.” Turnrow has stayed successful based on the human component of its brick-andmortar store. Amazon may recommend a book to you based on a computer-generated algorithm, but Jamie or any other Turnrow staff member can recommend a book based on personal knowledge of the book’s content or personal knowledge of a customer’s interests. Kornegay said publishers commonly pay Amazon to promote certain books over others. So it’s likely a book is being advertised to customers even if its endorsement is based solely on a cut of cash. “We purchase, arrange and display books based not on how much a publisher has paid us to put them there, but on their quality and their significance to local readers,” he said. Hiring a well-read staff is another way Turnrow provides customers with meaningful recommendations, said Kornegay. “We hire people who know about books and who constantly read new books, so we’re able to make recommendations based on the tastes of individual customers,” he said. “We have people who live across the country who’ve asked us to send them books of our choice regularly because they’re confident we know what they enjoy.” Kornegay went on to say that including a wide variety of signed books also helps keep Turnrow competitive with dropping prices. But lying at the heart of other companies’ price slashing is the toll it takes on our value of books. For words to get from an author’s head to a reader’s palms, a lot has to happen, and the process involves a
huge number of people. Agents, editors, publicists, printers, carriers, sales representatives and finally bookstores are all involved in the distribution of a book, not to mention the author. “I’d go so far as to say they’re devaluing books and literature in this country. We pay the appropriate price for a book, which goes to pay (all the people involved),” he said. The business model that big discount companies employ relies on roping customers in with low prices and then convincing them to buy many more products than they originally intended. “Some of the chains sell books at a loss just to get you into the store, said Kornegay. “They’ll operate at a loss to win you as a customer.” Last year, Amazon received criticism for encouraging people to go into brick-and-mortar shops, get recommendations from local shop owners and then scan the bar codes of items with their smartphones to find better prices online. “Who gets rewarded for the work there?” asked Kornegay. Ultimately, though, Kornegay is confident enough about what Turnrow offers to Greenwood to have faith in its continued success. By providing the community with a space that’s consistently warm, inviting and diverse, the bookstore has become a center of not only Greenwood but a larger Delta community. Supporting businesses like that of whatever ilk is important, Kornegay said. “Whether it’s books, apparel, food, jewelry or any other type of store we have in Greenwood, the question comes down to this: ‘Am I glad this store is in my town?’” he said. “If the answer is yes, then you should support it. What would we have without the stores and services in Greenwood? A town is not an assembly of ports you can plug into and get everything you need shipped in. It’s a symbiotic relationship.” !
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Mid-Delta Home Health and Hospice
Answering call Reed has provided care for sick, elderly since 1978
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ike most entrepreneurs, Clara Reed saw a need and decided to fill it. The 70-year-old CEO of Mid-Delta Home Health and Hospice, which is headquartered in Belzoni, has made taking care of sick, often elderly, people her life’s work for the past 35 years. “As a nurse, I saw the frequency of readmissions to the hospital of patients recently discharged — often because they didn’t know how to manage their illness,” she said. “I made a decision to do home care.”
Besides the vision she had of helping others, she also hoped to spend more time at home with her two children. That part didn’t work out too well, she said with a smile, although both her son and daughter work with her in the business of health care. She quickly learned there was so much more than just the health care part. “When you own your own business, you have to do everything — staffing, marketing, payroll,” she said. She started with just herself and four part-time employees.
“I had no assets to borrow on,” she said. “It was March of 1978. I was just able to get $2,000, and I used it to buy gas and see patients. I couldn’t bill for services until August. I kept up with employees’ time and paid them when we began to get paid. “In August we got approved by the Mississippi Board of Health and got a provider number. I literally drove claims to Jackson. During September we started to get paid. Before the end of the year we started to get salaries. We haven’t missed a paycheck since then.”
Now Reed’s companies have around 850 employees. In addition to professional nurses and therapists, she is proud of having helped train some people formerly on welfare for various jobs. “Some of them are still with us,” she said. Her companies include the home health care and hospice agency, an adult day care and a durable medical devices company, as well as a personal care group, supervised by registered nurses. “We didn’t want to get into medical
Clara Reed has run Mid-Delta Home Health and Hospice since she founded it in 1978. Now she’s planning to slow down and pass more of the work to her children. STORY AND PHOTOS BY RUTH JENSEN
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Mid-Delta Home Health and Hospice offers adult daycare at its facility in Belzoni. equipment, but many people did not have insurance or the ability to pay,” she said. “A lot of patients wanted to donate equipment back to us.” Her company also owns Mid-Delta Home Health of Louisiana, in Vidalia, and in April 2011 acquired Quality Home Health Inc. in Bastrop, La. Home care is especially important now, with the Affordable Health Care Act going into effect, Reed said. There are penalties to hospitals that readmit patients for the same illness within 30 days, so there is more need to teach patients how to care for themselves, Reed said. One asset in the battle of managing chronic illness is technology, Reed said. Her company uses telemonitoring to remind patients to weigh themselves, eat, take their medications and monitor their oxygen levels. “It’s all done to promote patients’ learning to take care of themselves,” she said. Mid-Delta also uses the ZOE system — a box with an EKG program with electrodes — to monitor congestive heart failure. “It tells us two weeks ahead of the normal time if a patient is beginning to build up fluid and we can intervene,” Reed said. “It decreases emergency room visits.” The focus of Mid-Delta is the whole patient, she said: “They may be diabet-
ic but may have something else going on. You have to pay attention to symptoms early.” Mid-Delta offers services in psychiatric nursing, occupational, speech, respiratory and physical therapy, diabetic foot care, enterostomal therapy, services by a registered dietitian and other services as needed. Since not everyone is suited to home care, nurse turnover is high, Reed said. “We have about 100 to 150 nurses,” she said. “Home care pay is higher in some areas, but paperwork is hard. It takes a special person. There is no one to come behind you, like in the hospital. You have to be thinking ahead. It’s not just what you see, but what could happen.” Reed feels some patients could be managed at home and not have to go into nursing homes if they had a caregiver. Leflore and Carroll counties are two of the 22 Reed’s company serves with both home health and hospice services Four others are served for hospice needs. Mid-Delta has recently purchased the old Western Sizzlin building on U.S. 82 in Greenwood and is transforming it to house a personal care service. Mid-Delta Home Health is the first and only home health agency in Mississippi to become dually accredited by the Community Health
Accreditation Program Inc. and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization. Mid-Delta also underwent a rigorous evaluation by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations in 1995 and was given the highest level of commendation from the nation’s largest accrediting body. In 2009, Reed was inducted into the Mississippi Business Hall of Fame, just one of her numerous awards. Reed plans to slow down this next year and turn over much of the work to others — husband Henry Reed Jr., son Henry Reed III and daughter Pamela Reed Redd. “I want to go fishing,” she said. Not one to just sit down, however, she has another calling. About eight years ago, she felt a call to become a minister and completed graduate studies from Wesley Biblical Seminary in Jackson. She currently serves as pastor of Upper Room Fellowship Ministries and is enrolled in Trinity Theological Seminary in Belzoni, to further her seminary studies. She had no idea when she began what would happen,and how large her company would grow. “I was young and foolish,” she said. “It wasn’t about making a living. It was about serving needs. I’ve enjoyed all of it.” !
“As a nurse, I saw the frequency of readmissions to the hospital of patients recently discharged — often because they didn’t know how to manage their illness. I made a decision to do home care.” Clara Reed
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Drake Waterfowl Systems
Drake-ology Pillow grads turned ‘Delta boy common sense’ into business
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Greenwood natives Tate Wood, left, and Bobby Windham Jr. stand in Windham’s Olive Branch office. The two Pillow Academy graduates formed Drake Waterfowl Systems more than 10 years ago and have grown it into a hugely successful business. STORY AND PHOTOS BY BILL BURRUS
ate Wood remembers the first year of Drake Waterfowl Systems as lean times. The 47-year-old Greenwood native and 1983 graduate of Pillow Academy recalls all too well struggling to put the money together to travel the United States to promote their product samples in 2002. “I can remember going to that change jar you never think you’re going to need to put gas in my car,” said Wood, who co-founded the duck hunting supply company with fellow Greenwood native Bobby “Bejae” Windham Jr., also a 47year-old 1983 Pillow graduate. The co-owners went 11 months without a paycheck in 2001 while they put together their first line made up of eight apparel products. It was apparent early that their hard work, smart designs and sacrifice would pay off when their door-to-door sales efforts led to 150 independent retailers adding the Drake brand in-season. In that first year, Wood and Windham did it all, including answering the phone, writing orders, building their own show booth and taking out the trash. “When you start a business, everyone needs to have an all-hands-on-deck attitude,” Wood said. At the end of their first selling season, the company hired a graphic designer to join the group. Fast forward 10 years, and Drake employs 13 in its marketing/sales office in Olive Branch, has 20 sales reps around the country and produces 4,500 different items from clothing to decoys and from blind bags to footwear. The company is the biggest name brand in waterfowl apparel outside of the big box retailers such as Bass Pro and Cabela’s, which have their own private clothing lines but still offer Drake products. Windham says Drake sales have grown an average of 22 percent every year and have doubled over the last three years. This past year, Drake sold products to 870 retail locations in 40 states. “We have been able to achieve this growth by offering products that duck hunters wanted because we are duck hunters. We differentiated our products in the marketplace from day one and keep our line fresh for the consumers by offering different product features that
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“Plain and simple, it’s just some good ol’Mississippi Delta duck hunting experience coupled with hard work that has paid off.” Bobby ‘Bejae’ Windham Jr.
Drake Waterfowl Systems co-founders Tate Wood, left, and Bobby Windham, both 47, have been good friends since the sixth grade and business partners since 2001. we wanted to use ourselves,” Windham said. “Take our quarter Eqwader pullover, for instance. Nobody had a waterproof arm and chest area with a breathable body, and now people all over the world wear and use this product. “Plain and simple, it’s just some good ol’ Mississippi Delta duck hunting experience coupled with hard work that has paid off.” Wood sums it up neatly: “Good ol’ Delta boy common sense.” Windham and Wood have been good friends since meeting in the sixth grade at Bankston Elementary School. Their relationship grew through their high school years and then culminated in 2001 when they decided to develop their own company based around their passion for duck hunting. That’s when the term Drake-ology was first coined. What started out as nothing more than a buzzword around the office has evolved into the science of
how the company develops each product. It’s where generations of duck hunting experience meet today’s technological advances. Rather than trying to be all things to all hunters, Wood and Windham started this company with a pursuit-specific brand. They introduced Ol’ Tom Technical Gear in 2005 for turkey hunters and then RutWear NonTypical Gear for deer and big game hunters the following year. In 2010, Drake increased its footwear line to include several different types of waders, boots and shoes and started its Migration Nation, a Web community supported by a television show that airs 26 times a year on the Sportsman Channel. The biggest recent explosion for Drake has been its stylish Waterfowler 365 line, a casual sportswear collection that hit stores in 2012. The line includes shirts, vests, fleece pullovers
and hoodies, pants and shorts. Drake also has a line of Mississippi State University-licensed clothes that features the company’s distinctive logo and an MSU logo on shirts, vests, pullovers and coats. That deal started in 2011, and the company now has a licensing agreement with the University of Southern Mississippi and will be putting out a University of Mississippi line this fall. The partnership for Windham and Wood has blossomed through the years, and Wood says the sky is the limit for where Drake can go in the future. “Several years back, I would occasionally worry about our running out of ideas. Since then, I’ve come to realize that’s never going to happen. Ideas we’ve got plenty of. It’s executing your ideas that separates most companies,” Wood said. “When we decided to start Drake, we had both been around the block enough times to know trust is the
most important part of a partnership. Along with trust, it’s critical you each have similar values. Having been close friends for 30 years, we knew we could depend on one another and what to expect. “This is a great partnership because Bejae and I are blessed to have completely opposite skill sets that complement one another’s strengths and weaknesses.” Another thing they share, outside of a passion for duck hunting and good business sense, is a knack for tinkering and improving things. That’s how they keep building on their innovative designs to keep the Drake brand growing. Wood’s love of duck hunting sprouted at an early age under the tutelage of his father, Avery Wood, who before his death in 2001 was one of Greenwood’s most knowledgeable duck hunters. Now Tate is passing it on to his 12year-old son, Wil. !
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Baptist Town
Greenwood’s historic Baptist Town community has a rich musical history. Efforts to improve the community in terms of housing and beautification are beginning to bear fruit.
Revival
Historic community’s redevelopment on fast track T he redevelopment of Greenwood’s historic Baptist Town community, which started more than four years ago, is proceeding at a rapid pace, according to officials with the program. The city has finished rehabbing 12 homes there in partnership with the Fuller Center for Housing, said Greenwood Mayor Carolyn McAdams. That program, which totaled some
$60,000, was completed in December. It is just part of a larger $209,000 grant from the Foundation for the Mid South for the community. The next element — beautifying the entrances to Baptist Town — will use the remaining $149,000 in grant funds for landscaping and lighting, McAdams said. Work is expected to begin soon. Brantley Snipes, the executive direc-
tor of Main Street Greenwood, who earned a master’s degree in landscape architecture from North Carolina State University, is serving as landscape designer. “What we’re doing is working to create an identity for the community through the landscape,” Snipes said. Beautification projects will be centered on Avenue A, Pelican Avenue and
STORY AND PHOTOS BY BOB DARDEN
Pearl Street. “We are looking at streetscape elements to reflect the character of the community,” Snipes said of the yearlong project. Those efforts include street lighting, road striping, crosswalks and the installation of sidewalks at each of the entryways. Plans also call for a “pocket park,” which will feature outdoor seat-
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ing, at the corner of McCain Street and Stephens Avenue. In addition, McAdams said, work on placing nine “Katrina cottages” in Baptist Town is slowly proceeding. These are the type of houses that were used to replace Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers on the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency has given its approval for the cottages to be used as permanent homes, and the Greenwood Zoning Board has already approved variances for their placement. McAdams said the project is in the hands of the Greenwood Housing Authority. Gregory Flippens, director of the Housing Authority, said the plans to place eight two-bedroom cottages and one three-bedroom one in Baptist Town are proceeding. Under the agreement with MEMA, the houses will be made available for two years under a lease-purchase agreement with the Housing Authority. Flippens said the Housing Authority will execute an agreement with the foundation regarding the cost associated with moving the cottages to their sites, attaching them to foundations, constructing driveways and walkways and doing landscaping. The Housing Authority will manage the cottages on a day-to-day basis and will provide homeownership readiness training for families who lease them. Flippens said the Housing Authority would require that work be completed within 45 days once a contract is executed. Emily Roush Elliott, an Enterprise Rose Fellow with Enterprise Community Partners Inc. of Boston, is working on the Baptist Town project in conjunction with the GreenwoodLeflore-Carroll Economic Development Foundation and the Carl Small Town Center of the School of Architecture at Mississippi State University. “It’s going great,” she said. “I can’t believe how open and excited people are.” Elliott, who will be working on redeveloping Baptist Town for the next three years, said the placement of the cottages is a paramount concern simply because they offer a tangible demonstration of
Brantley Snipes, executive director of Main Street Greenwood, is serving as landscape designer for the Baptist Town project. Here, she inspects new crosswalk striping at the intersection of Pearl and McLemore streets at one of Baptist Town’s entrances. outside efforts to help. She complimented the Harvard Group, a group of students from the Kennedy School of Government who began working in Baptist Town in 2009 and brought the residents of Baptist Town the feeling of solidarity. McAdams said this is the final year for the Harvard Group’s involvement since the goals it set have been largely accomplished. “This project is one of the main reasons we were given Emily,” the mayor said. Robert Benford, a resident of Baptist Town for 40 years, said he’s seen the neighborhood transformed from a com-
munity of shotgun houses to one littered with vacant lots and back again to a community with families. For Benford, a retired Greenwood Fire Department battalion chief, the work started in 2009 is beginning to take shape. “Everything seems like it is going to work,” he said. The efforts at revitalization are appreciated, Benford said: “You’ve got to give somebody a chance.” Still, he said, homeowners will ultimately be responsible for Baptist Town’s future. “Actions speak louder than words,” Benford said. !
“What we’re doing is working to create an identity for the community through the landscape.” Brantley Snipes
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Greenwood-Leflore County Branding Campaign
Asense of place
The website at the heart of the county’s new branding campaign went online in October.
New website presents unified image A
room full of Greenwood and Leflore County residents sat in the main conference room of the Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce last spring to toss out ideas about what it means to live here. They talked about how people in the region unite for common causes. They talked about community involvement
and volunteering. They talked about the spirit of Greenwood and the places they eat and drink and socialize. But lying under all of those concrete details of living here was something unspoken and impossible to define, said Angela Curry, executive director of the Greenwood-Leflore-Carroll Economic Development Foundation.
“We asked people, ‘What do you think of the community you live in?’ And of course we got really good feedback,” she explained. “But we also noticed that a lot of the community members were saying the same things, and they would end with, ‘It’s just so ... Delta.’” That tagline was quickly appropriated to represent Greenwood as part of
STORY BY JEANIE RIESS ! PHOTOS BY JEANIE RIESS, JOHNNY JENNINGS AND ANDY LO
the city’s new branding campaign. According to Beth Stevens, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce, the need to rebrand Greenwood came out of a desire on the part of the city’s various entities to provide a more cohesive identity. “We all have different audiences, but we are all working toward the same
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“The Delta in itself is a unique place. Even with the obstacles characteristic of the Delta, though, I think Greenwood has been able to progress. I think that only speaks to the united front and our willingness to unite, to make this community a really good community.” Angela Curry thing,” said Stevens. Stevens said the original idea was a centralized website for the chamber, Main Street Greenwood, the Economic Development Foundation, the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the city. But when the heads of those groups got together to dream up what a website for all five of them would look like, they realized that they need to go back to the drawing board and rebrand the city and the county. “We asked ourselves, ‘How are we
going to pull this all together?’” said Stevens. “A few months into the process of actually doing the website, we realized we all had a different color scheme, a different look. We had to redesign our brand.” The Economic Development Foundation received a grant of $145,000 from the Foundation for the Mid South to develop a marketing plan that would include a new comprehensive website for the county, the city, tourism, economic development, Main
Street Greenwood and the Chamber of Commerce. The meetings, said Curry, were a series of “Charrettes” — forums for feedback from local stakeholders — in which two design firms in charge of the project asked attendees to describe what makes Greenwood Greenwood. The key here, said Curry, was that both designers were outsiders. Randy Wilson, whose design firm, Community Design Solutions, is based in Columbia, S.C., teamed up with Chicago-based
John Maldreaux of Maldreaux and Associates to come up with a tagline and marketing campaign that would instantly say, “That’s Greenwood.” “Sometimes it takes someone else coming in and saying, ‘Wow, this is a really great community,’” said Curry. The power of the brand is in its simple, coherent statement: “That’s So Delta” says what cannot be said about Greenwood — the city is a world apart, a place you have to visit to truly understand. Never mind stereotypes,
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Greenwood is wholly original. “Those words always seemed to come out. ‘It’s just so Delta,’ or ‘That’s so characteristic of this place,’” said Curry. “That’s what the Delta is known for — its culture and cohesiveness.” But why should one city be emblematic of the whole Delta? “We were a little bit conceited in our assumption that we epitomized the Delta,” said Stevens, laughing. “But we’re OK with that. Greenwood, we feel, stands out in the crowd. It has a lot of things going for it. I’ve had a lot of other towns say that’s such a great tagline, but we got it first.” Greenwood as a stand-in for the whole Delta, Curry said, is a touchy subject, but she agrees that the town’s success speaks for itself. The city is one of the few Delta towns that hosts homegrown industry, from Viking Range Corp. to Staplcotn to local businesses and restaurants. “The Delta in itself is a unique place. Even with the obstacles characteristic of the Delta, though, I think Greenwood has been able to progress. I think that only speaks to the united front and our willingness to unite, to make this community a really good community. We’ve seen other areas of
the state decline. And we always get the comment, ‘You all seem to be doing so much better than other places,’” Curry explained. She went on to say that a huge part of that success is as simple as using the resources you already have, rather than throwing all of your energy into recruiting talent from afar. “It’s using your assets, using your old buildings, using the talented people in your community to create jobs,” she said. “That sets Greenwood apart.” Curry paused a moment and laughed: “Of course, you have other places that say the same thing!” So far, feedback from the community and beyond has been positive. Nearly 300 people from all across the community attended the website’s launch party in October, and Curry said that the branding package has been useful in selling Greenwood to potential visitors and businesses. “It’s useful in advertising and promoting our community,” Curry explained, “because now, you’re going to see the same design, and that’s the whole point. When the chamber does an ad, it has to adhere to our branding report. You have to use a certain font, photo and look.”
Curry said that a brand serves to identify a community. “No matter where you are or where you go, if you see ‘That’s so Delta,’ you know that’s Greenwood. And we want people to see it over and over,” she said. But for branding to be successful, everyone, from all branches of the community, has to come together. The oftmentioned “two Greenwoods” must be one, something that both chamber representatives feel has been very successful. “You’ve got to get the entire community to share their thoughts on this thing, and that’s what we did from the very beginning,” said Curry. Stevens said that the branding companies were successful in getting different parts of the community to add valuable feedback to the initiative. “It’s very inclusive,” she said. “We’re all striving for the same thing. We’re all working toward the same goal. Regardless of where you live or the color of your skin, we’re all in this together. “And at the end of the day, that’s what makes a good community. All of our organizations have a great ability to bring all of the different sectors to the same table.” !
“We’re all striving for the same thing. We’re all working toward the same goal.” Beth Stevens
Thomas Gregory, second from right, the city of Greenwood’s chief administrative officer, shows the county’s new unified website to, from left, Brianna Elam-Perryman, Charles Robinson and Leflore County Supervisor Wayne Self during the website’s launch party last October.
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Leflore County Schools
Fresh opportunities
Beverly Quinn, left, is now the instructor of the Leflore County School District’s health science program, which is located at Leflore County High School. This year, Quinn is teaching students about careers in health care. Here Quinn is seen with some of her students, from left, Zaria Crockett, Ladarius Stewart, Sarah Shinn, Romonia Harper and Stephanie Ramsey.
New programs bring higher expectations I
n August, the Leflore County School District added health sciences and Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps to its curriculum. Instructors Beverly Quinn and Sgt. 1st Class Dwight Washington say the knowledge and confidence their students have gained in the past few months are prompting them to raise their expectations. Quinn, the health science instructor at Leflore County High School, served as the district’s nurse for seven years. One day in 2012, Dr. Viola Williams
McCaskill, the district’s superintendent of education, asked her to consider teaching the soon-to-be-launched course. Quinn said she’s beginning to get the hang of teaching. “It’s getting better. It’s like I’m learning a new career,” she said. In fact, she is once again a student herself, because she has to take classes to be a health science instructor. Quinn took on the job of developing the district’s health science curriculum from the ground up and accepted a
teaching position despite a seemingly insurmountable hurdle — no budget. That might have stopped others in their tracks, but Quinn simply turned to her contacts at Greenwood Leflore Hospital — Key Britt, the hospital’s associate director of administrative services, and William Massey, director of material control. The hospital ended up donating items worth several thousands of dollars to the program. “They donated seven hospital beds and a bunch of equipment to get my program started,” Quinn said. “Without
STORY AND PHOTOS BY BOB DARDEN
them, I wouldn’t have these beds. I wouldn’t have that Dynamap, which checks blood pressure and such.” The program is open to any students who are interested in careers in health care, not just in nursing. One student dropped the course early, but 15 students — eight from Leflore County High and seven from Amanda Elzy High — are still in it. Several of her students want to become nurses, but others are interested in a variety of health-related jobs, including athletic training, dental
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“I give them a little edge because I’ve been out in the working world. They can relate to me. I can tell them stories and teach about the experiences that I’ve gone through in the nursing field.” Beverly Quinn
hygiene and social work. “I teach anatomy and physiology, but in it, I throw in my nursing skills or health care skills,” she said. “I teach them how to check vital signs, how to use the equipment and basic nursing skills.” The two-year course, which is open to 10th- and 11th-graders, has high standards. Each student must average “C”s and above and not have a record of disciplinary problems. “They’ve got to want to be here,” she said. Initially, some students thought the class, which runs two periods, would be an easy “A,” but it takes hard work, Quinn said. “Right now, we’re learning all the different parts of the heart,” she said. “They are going to have to learn about the function of the heart. We’re doing real anatomy and physiology. We also have fun, too.” Quinn said the training gives the students an edge to continue their health care training upon graduation. “I give them a little edge because I’ve been out in the working world,” she said. “They can relate to me. I can tell them stories and teach about the experiences that I’ve gone through in the nursing field.” In addition to classroom hands-on instruction, Quinn said, her classes take field trips each month to see health professionals at work. Already they’ve visited the hospital, a nursing home and a dentist’s office. “When we toured the hospital, we went to medical records, billing, where they do the computers, central supply,” she said. “Health care is just not nurses and doctors.” Quinn, who earned her degree in nursing from the University of Mississippi Medical Center, has worked in health care for 20 years, including hospital, home health and clinic settings. Becoming a school nurse, responsible for the district’s seven schools, made sense simply because it was easier to schedule time with her family. Quinn said she’s seen her students catch onto the idea of a health care career. “We’re required in this class to buy scrubs. When these kids put on those scrubs, they wear their scrubs like on our field trips or for anything special that we do,” she said. “They think they have hung the moon. They love putting on those scrubs; they love walking around on campus. They make them feel important.” Quinn said she’s already preparing to recruit prospective students for next year in a few months.
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Sgt. 1st Class Dwight Washington is the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps instructor at Amanda Elzy High School. This year, Washington is providing 44 students with military instruction and physical training. Washington stands in front of an image of the school’s fighting Panther mascot, which was done by his students. v v v Sgt. 1st Class Dwight Washington said the Junior ROTC program at Amanda Elzy High School has come a long way since August. “When I first got here, really, nobody wanted to be in the program,” he said. “Then, when I started explaining to them the things that we were going to be doing, how this program can be beneficial to them, then that caused a few more to say, ‘OK, I might want to stay in this thing.’” The esprit de corps of the unit is infectious. “There are a lot more who want to get in now, but it’s too late in the year,” Washington said. Washington, 48, a veteran infantryman, served 22 years with the Army, later serving as an instructor and as a recruiter. He spent five years as a Junior ROTC instructor in the Jackson school district before coming to Amanda Elzy. Now he has 44 students in the district’s Junior ROTC program, with all but one coming from Amanda Elzy.
The program, which is open to students in ninth through 12th grades, provides five hours of instruction and physical training per week. If a student completes two years of the program, it replaces the normal physical education and health component. The cost of the program is borne by the district this year, but the U.S. Army will underwrite successive years. Washington said he’s honest with those students who are interested in enrolling. “It’s going to get tough. But you’ve got to keep pushing on,” he said. “In order for you to be successful, there are going to be obstacles in life. You can’t quit.” Washington said students have a different walk when they wear their uniforms. Putting on the uniforms transforms them, both both mentally and physically, he said. Still, often classmates not in the program ridicule them. “I’ve got some kids that don’t want to wear the uniform because other kids poke fun at them: ‘Oh, you’re wearing the pickle suit,’” Washington said.
“I try to get mine to understand — ‘Let them talk about the pickle suit,’” he said. “You tell them that uniform has a lot of history. You explain to them that is the uniform that our young men and women wear across the world, in different locations, who are fighting for this country so that you and I can be in a free country. Freedom is not free. “When you put that uniform on, you’re putting on history, every single time you wear it,” Washington said. Students in Junior ROTC advance through four levels of Leadership, Education and Training, known as LET. In LET I, they are introduced to basic concepts of military doctrine and physical training. In LET II, they receive more advanced training. By the time of LET III begins, Washington said, he’s already groomed the most promising students to staff the unit’s battalion commander and battalion executive officer positions. Washington said it was fortunate that two established Junior ROTC students — a LET IV and a LET II —
transferred into the school district at the beginning of the school year. Three days of classroom instruction — Monday, Wednesday and Friday — are balanced with military dress and drill on Tuesday and physical training on Thursday, he said. The program hones the students’ abilities and gives them focus. It also helps the students work on their communication skills and helps make them more well-rounded. “Our mission is to motivate young people to be better citizens,” he said. Upon completion of the four-year program, students are eligible to apply for appointment to the service college of their choice, not just West Point. Washington said his students participated in marching in the Roy Martin Delta Band Festival and Christmas Parade in December and are looking forward to the next one. They also credit him for making a difference in their lives, he said. “A lot of them have told me they want to be just like me. I tell them to be better,” he said. !
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Agriculture
Still No. 1 Soybean continues reign as county’s top crop
A
A combine makes a pass in a soybean field during harvest time. Soybeans are the top crop in Leflore County, according to farmers, because the beans command a high price and have lower growing costs than other crops. STORY BY BOB DARDEN ! PHOTOS BY BOB DARDEN AND U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
lthough corn and peanuts may have commanded the headlines, the simple soybean remains Leflore County’s top crop. “Acreagewise it’s going to be soybeans and then corn,” said Jerry Singleton, an agent with the Leflore County Extension Service. In official numbers for 2011, soybeans accounted for 95,000 acres, corn came in at 69,000 acres and cotton was third with 42,000 acres. In 2012’s unofficial numbers, soybean production jumped to an estimated 110,000 acres, and corn increased to 74,000 acres. As in 2011, cotton came in third with 27,000 acres. In fact, Singleton said, with the sole exception of 2001, soybeans have remained in the top spot in terms of planting each year since 1995. He said the combination of high prices and good yields makes soybeans and corn good prospects compared to cotton. “You pencil out a better profit than with cotton right now,” he said. He expects to see cotton acreage drop off again this year — a drop of 50 percent from 2012. By contrast, he said, the county had approximately 850 acres of grain sorghum and another 850 acres of peanuts in 2012. Bud Tate, general manager of Farmers Grain Terminal, said that although the largest increase in acreage will be for soybeans, corn is still a big player. “In 2007, 930,000 acres of corn were planted in Mississippi. That’s the most I can remember in my career,” he said. “In 2012, that number was around 700,000 acres.” Still, with some farmers averaging 200 bushels of corn per acre and with a price of $6 per bushel, corn is a natural choice, Tate said. Yields on corn have ranged from a low of 150 bushels per acre to a high of 230 bushels, he
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Despite good prices for corn and peanuts, most farmers in Leflore County have consistently chosen to grow soybeans, seen here in the field before picking.
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“Acreagewise it’s going to be soybeans and then corn. ... You pencil out a better profit (with those crops) than with cotton right now.”
said. Typically, soybean yields are running around 60 bushels per acre, Tate said. Farmers would have to consider input costs of soybeans and corn in their planting decisions. Those costs run between $500 and $750 per acre respectively. Jerry Singleton Farmer Ricky Belk said he’s planning to go with corn in a big way this year. “I’ll probably be about 85 percent corn. The price on corn is good, and the fertilizer has gotten a little cheaper,” he said. Belk said an added benefit with corn is that the herbicides used in treating it are good at taking care of persistent weeds, such as pigweed. He said he’s heard of various yields but has never gotten near 200 bushels of corn per acre. “There were some good crops around here; I’ve never had one that high, though,” Belk said. Farmer Mike Sturdivant said that although there’s been a heavy push to corn and soybeans, he’s still planning to plant some cotton this year along with some grain sorghum. “Price is driving the soybeans and the corn because of our infrastructure. With corn, you’ve got to have a separate corn head for your combine, and you need a lot of trucks,” he said. He said other farmers are making similar calculations based upon their expected yields and their ability to handle the crop at harvest time. “With 200 bushels of corn versus 60 bushels of soybeans, you’ve got that many more trucks, that many more trips to make,” Sturdivant said. Although cotton is near the bottom in acreage countywide, Sturdivant said he has no regrets about sticking with it, particularly since the farming operation has a cotton gin as part of its infrastructure. Still, he said it’s “debatable” whether cotton will come back as a major crop in the Delta. “We’re going to try it for one more year,” he said. Farm manager George Jeffords, who works for farmer Tommy Gary, said his crop mix is still uncertain. Bobby Pierce, a control operator with Farmers Grain Terminal, surveys the grain board inside the grain elevator. The board, which Pierce calls He said corn planting his “bible,” provides information about the amount of corn and soybeans stored within the elevator’s 147 bins, along with other critical details, could start as soon as the such as moisture content within each bin. last week of February. !
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Shane Sanders Tree Service
An idea that grew
Shane Sanders, the owner of Shane Sanders Tree Service, says his business has grown over the past 11 years because of the pride he and his crew take in their work.
Sanders didn’t intend to start tree-cutting business S hane Sanders didn’t start off with the idea of making a living by cutting trees; the idea just grew on him over time. Now, Shane Sanders Tree Service employs five people in both Minter City and Greenwood. The business, much like an acorn, started small and has grown over the past 11 years. To hear Sanders tell it, it all started
with a bucket truck. “Me and my daddy, Johnny Sanders, we were in the construction business, building houses together,” said Sanders, 34. “We bought a bucket truck to work on some buildings.” Sanders, who has also worked as a car and heavy equipment salesman, did landscaping work with a bulldozer and a backhoe before his dad got the bucket
truck, but the addition of the truck really expanded business opportunities. Soon Sanders was using it to trim trees on the side, and business picked up. “It took me about three years to really get rolling — to get the business up to where it could stand on its own,” he said. Now the business boasts four bucket trucks, most of which are garaged at
STORY BY BOB DARDEN ! PHOTOS BY BOB DARDEN AND LINDA BASSIE
the company’s Greenwood location on LaSalle Street. The Minter City location is convenient to Sanders, who lives in Minter City. Over the years, Johnny Sanders has continued to help his son with the business. For the company’s first four years, Sanders said, his father and another
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“It took me about three years to really get rolling — to get the business up to where it could stand on its own.” Shane Sanders
Mike Parker, an employee of Shane Sanders Tree Service, uses a chainsaw on some downed limbs.
Mark Warfield cuts limbs from a bucket truck. The company’s origins sprang from the purchase of such a truck.
worker helped. Since then, business has continued to grow and prosper, and more employees have been added. In 2010, once business was beginning to hum, Sanders opened the Greenwood location in order to be more centrally located, he said. Sanders said his business benefits from positive word-ofmouth from his customers. “Everybody in Greenwood knows me now, since I’ve been here so long. It’s just picked up everywhere,” he said. Sanders said his tree trimming business serves people in area cities including Greenville, Grenada, Winona, Clarksdale, Sumner, Webb and Charleston. He has handled jobs for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers but prefers doing residential work because it involves less paperwork. Sanders said he’s also developed a lucrative sideline with his tree business — selling firewood. Contractors are required by law to dispose of branches and tree trunks from a job site rather than simply putting them out on curb for pickup. Since most homeowners just want the debris removed, it is a simple matter of splitting the
more salvageable pieces of a tree into firewood. The unusable remainder is taken to the landfill for final disposal. Not only does repurposing the wood provide an economical way to get rid of the unwanted trees, but it also gives Sanders’ employees something to do over the winter months, when business slacks off because of wet weather. Even in winter, business can sometimes be brisk, thanks to the occasional winter storm. “We stay busy year ’round. In the winter, we’ll get a high wind or a storm or whatever and business picks up tremendously,” he said. Sanders said his crews have a way to get onto soggy ground without leaving a mark. Plywood planks are placed on the ground, and the heavy trucks can roll into an area saturated with rain. “We never make a track,” he said. Sanders said his business has taken off because “we take a lot of pride in what we do.” It never fails: The more work he does, the more business comes his way. “The more calls I get, the busier it makes me,” he said. !
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Mission Hope
Give and take
Ministry has been blessing to workers, too
T
he purpose of Mission Hope of Winona is to save people from hunger and want of life’s necessities, such as clothing and household goods, but it did quite a lot for its coMission Hope co-directors Mandy and Randy Dees stand behind bags being prepared directors, Randy and Mandy Dees, as for people who need food assistance. well. STORY AND PHOTOS BY RUTH JENSEN
“I went straight into the woods to work as a logger as soon as I graduated from high school,” Randy said. “I worked at it a long time, but the industry was going down because of high fuel costs and low timber prices. I told the Lord, ‘I need to get out of this. I need
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“There aren’t a lot of jobs. Some factories are down in number, and some are closing. People come needing help in different ways.” Randy Dees something else to do.’” He set a date when he would be out of logging, and within a couple of days, someone had called from the Carroll Montgomery Baptist Association, wanting to talk to him about directing a ministry to people in need. “It was definitely a God thing,” Mandy says. That was five years ago, and the two of them are still hard at work providing whatever help they can to those who come to the building on Church Street in Winona. The building, a former factory site, was given to the ministry by Montgomery County. “It’s a large building, able to hold furniture, clothing and food. Sometimes we get unusual objects,” Mandy said. “We’ve had pianos that no longer work and things nobody knows what to do
with. One lady gives a donation and takes almost anything and recycles it. She makes all kinds of things to sell.” Randy had already been involved in missions in a serious way, taking teams of people to Alaska to rebuild and remodel churches and once to Japan for the same task. So his name came up when the Baptist Association was looking to start the ministry. He said there is great need in the area. “There aren’t a lot of jobs. Some factories are down in number, and some are closing. People come needing help in different ways.” Each month on the first and third Tuesday nights, the ministry gives 168 bags of food to those who have certified with the ministry as to their need.
Then again on the following Wednesday mornings, food is passed out. “We get food from the Mississippi Food Network and from local churches and individuals,” he said. Food collected is mostly non-perishable, although they will accept perishables and give them out immediately. Several people volunteer regularly, and sometimes people just show up. “Everyone is welcome,” Mandy said. “We have some who just want to get out of the house and who come and visit and help us. The ladies of First Baptist Church of Winona’s Women on Mission group come each food delivery to pack the bags.” The Carrollton Baptist Women on Mission group comes on the third
Tuesday to help counsel and certify people. Randy does a lot of counseling with people. “They talk about anything they want to get off their chest. And we tell them about Jesus,” he said. One regular volunteer is Chuck Haggerty of the Coila area, who says the ministry has helped him a great deal. Haggerty, 70, is retired from the Navy and moved to Carroll County from North Carolina. “I was looking for something to do with my time, and Brother Dees came and spoke to our church. He told of the need,” Haggerty said. “It was an answer to my prayers. I’ve been here Monday through Friday ever since.” He said the work fits his personality
From left, Lori Palmertree of Poplar Creek, Mandy Dees and Elizabeth Bailey of Greenwood sort through items donated to Mission Hope. The ministry accepts clothing, food and household items to be distributed to those who come in needing help.
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Mandy Dees shows computers that were donated to Mission Hope. She has a master’s degree in instructional technology and teaches basic computer classes. and keeps him active. He is also a handyman and helps with repairs. Mandy said Haggerty helps keep things light, which is nice for those who come in, often embarrassed to ask for help. “It makes it easy for people who have sincere needs,” she said. No one pays anything. “The churches didn’t want us to charge, so anyone who needs it can get help,” Mandy said. Sometimes people leave a donation, which is given to the association for accounting. “We have some ladies who come to do their yard sale shopping without having to get out,” Mandy said. “They always leave a very nice donation.” It’s sometimes the things you wouldn’t think about that make a difference to people, Mandy says. Even toilets can be a needed item. “They get broken, and they’re expensive. People are glad to get them.” Mandy says very few items are not used. “We get mostly usable items,” she said. “Sometimes people come to get gifts for Christmas or birthdays. They’re not new but are in good shape.” Often, women come to Mission Hope after leaving an abusive situation. “They don’t have anything but the clothes on their backs when they show up at a mother’s or grandmother’s house,” Mandy said. “They’re very happy when they see what we can give them.” Sometimes people call with serious situations. “One lady called and wanted to commit suicide,” Mandy said. “Randy talked with her, and she felt better.” They also get help from Becky
Norman James of Winona looks through the assorted items at Mission Hope. Bennett, a licensed counselor in Winona who volunteers at Mission Hope. There are several events each year. On Thanksgiving they cook a meal, and on Christmas there is toy distribu-
tion. Last year more than 300 toys were given away. This April there will be a baby shower for all babies under 1 who come to the mission. “A lot of our moms are single and
don’t have a lot. Even a pacifier can be extra,” Mandy said. “We need diapers and wipes and any other baby items.” The last weekend in July, they host a Vacation Bible School. Area church members come to help with the teaching, crafts, music and fun. “People are great about donating. We take everything but cars,” Mandy says. Other big items are definitely needed. “We need refrigerators and stoves that work, and we’re low on furniture right now,” Mandy said. In addition to her work helping to keep things going at Mission Hope, Mandy gives basic computer classes and is certified to teach adult reading and writing. She says many are ashamed to admit they cannot read and don’t want to try, especially if they are older. She has a master’s degree in instructional technology and is certified to teach kindergarten through eighth grade. She also has been certified to teach adult literacy and to instruct others in teaching it. The Deeses are paid by the Baptist Association. As members of Mission Service Corps, they get assistance other than financial. Once a year they meet with other ministries of the same type and discuss how things are done in other places. The Dees want more people to know about Mission Hope and to come for help. “We’re the best-kept secret in Montgomery and Carroll counties,” Mandy says. And a secret is not something they want to be. “Everyone is welcome. It’s been amazing.”
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Charles Edward Wright
Local pioneer Businessman had impressive string of firsts C
harles Edward Wright, an 18th century and 19th century Greenwood businessman, left a legacy of institutions and services in the city. The city’s first steam power plant, which is now a part of Greenwood Utilities, the city’s first artesian well, an ice plant, coal company, an ice cream factory and a bottling company all bear the imprint of Wright — a Yankee who hailed from McComb, Ill. According to Wright’s grandson, Charles Lee Wright, city president of CB&S Bank, it all started with a river journey back in October 1893. “How did he get to Greenwood? He was going down the river, clearing logjams on steamers. He got to Greenwood and said, ‘This is where I’m going to get off,’” Charles Lee said. Somehow, Wright, who didn’t have a lot of money, managed to apply himself, his grandson said, adding, “He started off with nothing really, just like everybody else.” Once in Greenwood, Wright met his future wife, Josephine Price, whom he nicknamed “Daisie.” Josephine was the daughter of a Methodist minister, Charles Lee said. The Wright family home, located at 414 Fulton St., which was built by Wright, is named Daisie in his wife’s honor. Charles Lee said Greenwood was a vastly different place when his father, Charles Edward Wright Jr., was growing
Portrait of Charles Edward Wright as a young man. Wright is credited with building Greenwood’s first power plant and water system. The astute businessman, a native of McComb, Ill., brought Yankee ingenuity to Greenwood beginning in 1893. up, since everything north and west of the Yazoo River was pretty much farmland. “Downtown was the place to be,” Charles Lee said. He remembers how his father described it. “He said, ‘Son, when I was growing up, there were more horses than there were cars. Fulton Street was dirt, and across the street from my house was a dairy,” Charles Lee recalled. Many of Wright’s businesses were with-
in walking distance of the family’s home on Fulton. The power plant, which opened in March 1894, and the artesian well, which was successfully drilled in May 1895, are just across the street, appropriately named Wright Place. Charles Lee said his grandfather used a little subterfuge when he was building the family’s home on Fulton Street. “He told his wife, ‘Someone is building a house right next to my plant.’ She never knew it was going to be her house,”
Charles Lee said. “I’m sure it wasn’t hard to do that in those days. Now, my wife would shoot me. You don’t go out and buy or build a house without your wife knowing what’s going on,” he said. Wright was involved in other business ventures with his partner, T. Staige Marye. Together the pair owned Marye & Wright, which sold ice, soda water, fancy lump coal and electricity. Wright also had an ice cream plant, which also sold butter and milk to local stores. In 1897, Wright installed the city’s first water system. In 1901, the Greenwood City Council authorized a referendum on a franchise to Wright for the construction of a waterworks, electric lights and sewage system for the city. The city reserved the right to purchase the utilities at any time. Between 1901 and 1902, the entire system consisted of a steam powered generating plant with a 90-kilowatt alternator. The waterworks had a 4-inch flowing well, which was approximately 700 feet deep and two steam-driven pumping engines with a 100,000-gallon elevated tank. In 1904, the city exercised its option to buy the entire complex for $123,000. Wright was close friends with Joe Biedenharn, who began bottling CocaCola in Vicksburg in 1894, Charles Lee said.
A variety of soft drink bottles that bear Wright’s name. He was the first to bottle Coca- A picture of an ice cream factory in Greenwood that was part of a thriving business Cola in Greenwood. empire Wright built over the course of 27 years. STORY BY BOB DARDEN ! PHOTOS BY BOB DARDEN AND COURTESY OF CHARLES LEE WRIGHT AND ALLAN HAMMONS
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Wright’s family home, Daisie, located at 414 Fulton St., was named in honor of his wife, the former Josephine Price. Wright nicknamed her “Daisie.” The house is located across Wright Place from Greenwood Utilities.
Wright had shares in Coca-Cola. His wife, a devout Christian, made him sell them once she found out that the soda contained cocaine, he said. Even though Wright was no longer a stockholder in the company, he began bottling Coca-Cola in Greenwood. Charles Lee said he owns several of the bottles used by his grandfather’s bottling operation. Some have “Coca-Cola” blown in the glass while others don’t. People are still finding the bottles at construction sites in Greenwood, he said. Unfortunately, Wright’s promising life was cut short on Sept. 29, 1920, when he was struck by a switch engine in the Southern Railroad Yard, not far from his family’s home. He was 58 years old. Greenwood historian Donny Whitehead said the Southern Railroad Yard later became part of the Columbus & Greenville Railway. According to the Commonwealth published at the time of Wright’s death, the entire city paid tribute to him at his funeral. Charles Lee said his grandfather’s contributions to the growth and prosperity of Greenwood are still evident today. “His life is a wonderful success story,” Charles Lee said. !
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Night Life
After dark W
hen work is done and the sun goes down, many people like to go out, whether it’s to a restaurant or a club. They meet with friends or family for a meal, a drink, to listen to music, to dance or have fun in
From left, Michelle Koob, Marlene Wyatt and Lauren MacLean search for answers on Team Trivia Night at Webster’s Food and Drink.
Josh Crump, left, and Kelvin Scott converse over coffee at BitterSweet Coffee Company.
other ways. There are plenty of night spots in Leflore County. Some are wellknown and others are hidden away. Sometimes, you have to do some searching to find a good time.
Thomas Gregory hosts Webster’s weekly trivia contest.
Luke Brumfield and Mika Krienke dine at Capricorn’s Internet Cafe in Itta Bena.
PHOTOS BY ANDY LO
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The sister trio Southern Halo — from left, Natalia, Christina and Hannah Morris, all of Cleveland — performs at The Alluvian.
From left, Nancy Tharp, Katherine Cole, Bill Crump and Mayor Carolyn McAdams chat at Giardina’s Restaurant.
Things get hot in the kitchen for Cameron Shaw at Giardina’s.
Julianna Holland and Courtney Hodges enjoy drinks in the bar at the Flatland Grill.
Adam Carpenter and Noah Carpenter chat over a couple of cold ones at Flatland.
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Barbara Day plays darts at Joe’s Place.
Marcus L. Harvey lines up a shot during a game of pool at Joe’s.
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Greenwood Public Schools
Davis Elementary School science teacher Ryan Melton assists students, from left, Takiyah Johnson and Tierra Martin with the Promethean board.
High-tech teaching
Electronic devices transforming classroom
I
t’s not uncommon to pass a small child in the grocery store clicking away on a cellphone. Where little girls have traditionally dragged baby dolls behind them, now come iPad-toting toddlers, playing games and watching movies from little devices that rest on their laps. Although some question the value of the ever-expanding dependence on tech-
nology and the Web, especially the ways those outlets occupy the creative, absorbent minds of the young, there’s one place that screens and gadgets seem to have found an appropriate place in the lives of children: in school. Students in the Greenwood Public Schools are learning to use computers and other devices to enhance their learning, according to Interim
Superintendent Jennifer Wilson. “Children are being introduced to technology at a very early age, often before they learn to speak and write effectively,” she said. Since technology is fun, cool, new and innovative, so too becomes learning, and Wilson said that students approach classroom topics with more eagerness knowing that they get to post their
STORY AND PHOTOS BY JEANIE RIESS
answers on the one of the district’s 21stcentury Promethean boards, white boards that are connected to computers, so that teachers and students can draw, type and surf the Web in front of the entire classroom. “When students are asked whether they want to attend a class with or without a Promethean board, the response in overwhelmingly ‘... with a
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Greenwood High School teacher Shavonda Johnson helps student Raven Cotton navigate through an online energy tutorial in the computer lab on campus. Promethean board!’” Wilson said. Enthusiasm for the technology translates, if accidentally, to enthusiasm for the academic subjects the tools are taught to teach. “They exhibit enthusiasm, rapid response, when asked to go to the board,” Wilson said. “(There’s) a sense of eagerness to be up and in front of the class. ‘Can I go next?’ is one of the many questions teachers are being asked when it comes to teaching with advanced technologies.” Greenwood Public Schools has also implemented SMART Boards (a different brand of classroom technology similar to Promethean boards), visual tools like digital cameras, student response devices that allow students to answer questions quickly, tablets and graphing calculators. Many teachers in the district evaluate students via online assessment sites, tools that provide immediate feedback and can help educators learn quickly who in a class is catching on and who isn’t. Wilson explained: “When checking for understanding, a teacher can pose a problem to the class, have all students solve the problem and then post their responses using their Promethean clickers. Within a matter of seconds, the teacher can identify which students got it and which ones did not.” Computer proficiency has also become a key part of hiring new teachers. “It’s critically important, since our district has regularly scheduled and
“As a result of the interaction and involvement (with technology), students are better equipped to compete globally and meet the workplace demands of the 21st century. Every student needs to have access to and become proficient in the use of technology because this is fundamental to being productive in a global society.” Dr. Jennifer Wilson continued technology professional development and requires teachers to integrate technology into the classroom,” Wilson said. “The computer proficiency of new personnel is very relevant, an integral part of the interviewing and hiring process, and serves as a vantage point in determining the rigor in the instructional process.” Although technology sees no bounds, Wilson said good teaching and quality educational standards are still most important in the classroom and are valued still more highly than even the most high-tech chalk board. “Nothing can replace an excellent
teacher who provides direct instruction, constantly checks for understanding and provides encouragement and targeted feedback,” she said. But Wilson was quick to point out that high-tech tools can make the effects of good teaching go further: “The use of technology can enable a teacher to do his or her job more effectively and efficiently.” The district has also put a great deal of effort into making sure parents are not left out of the tech bubble. When kids come home and ask for homework help, a parent must be up-to-date on the technology that the student is
using every day in the classroom. “They attend monthly training sessions at each school site to become better prepared to assist their child technologically with projects, homework, research and presentations,” said Wilson. She added that parents can also keep up with their children’s progress up-tothe-minute, with a Web portal that includes updates on attendance, grades and discipline. “Parents have the opportunity to see the application of technology at all levels withthin the district from the central office to the teachers’ classrooms,” she said. Teachers have always been tasked with the difficult enterprise of making learning fun. Students don’t like every subject, but they need to learn, and technology is just one way that students at Greenwood Public Schools are engaging in interactive learning, instead of being lectured to at a desk. “Students respond to technology and become engaged immediately,” Wilson said. But to Wilson, the implications of a sound technological education reach far outside of the classroom. “As a result of the interaction and involvement, students are better equipped to compete globally and meet the workplace demands of the 21st century,” she said. “Every student needs to have access to and become proficient in the use of technology because this is fundamental to being productive in a global society.” !
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Greenwood Cobras Motorcycle Club
From left, Ronnie Stevenson, Quince Epps and Korine Crigler are three of about 50 members of the Greenwood Cobras Motorcycle Club.
More than bikers
Club offers opportunities for community service, fun
T
he Greenwood Cobras Motorcycle Club has been going strong since its inception in 1971, but the club isn’t just about riding. The club has 50 members, but not all of them own motorcycles. That’s because the Cobras are known for giving back to the Greenwood community. “Those members who don’t ride first heard about what this club is doing in the community and wanted to be a part
of the good things our club is doing,” said Cobras president Cleveland Woods, who joined the club in 1974 and has been at the head of the table for nearly 20 years. Greenwood City Councilman Ronnie Stevenson, a member of the Cobras since 2004, loves a good ride on his Honda 1800 Gold Wing, but he gets even more pleasure from the nonprofit club’s charitable deeds. “We do everything from put on an
STORY AND PHOTOS BY BILL BURRUS
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Members of the Greenwood Cobras Motorcycle Club line up outside their new clubhouse on Johnson Street.
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“I find that more and more people are looking for a positive experience and to be a part of a group that is doing good things and having a lot of fun.” Henry Brooks
This sticker adorns the front door to the Greenwood Cobras Motorcycle Club’s clubhouse.
annual Easter egg hunt for kids to handing out Christmas presents to kids at the Gilliam Head Start Center,” Stevenson said. “The club also rides in many Christmas parades around the Delta and participated in the Greenwood parade for the first time this past year.” Henry Brooks, 50, a Cobras member for 32 years and the MC’s current vice president, says the club started with about 12 members, and membership has tripled to around 50 in the last seven years. “I find that more and more people are looking for a positive experience and to be a part of a group that is doing good things and having a lot of fun,” Brooks said. “We have a diverse group that includes some female members and a good many members from local law enforcement groups. “I really enjoy the freedom that comes when we are out riding as a group and spending time together doing fun stuff as a club.” Club get-togethers are much easier these days since the Cobras opened their clubhouse on Johnson Street in Greenwood last summer. The club leased the building with an option to purchase, and all of the work to spruce up the place was done by GCMC. “With the clubhouse, it’s so much easier and quicker to meet, and that allows us the opportunity to get together more frequently,” said Brooks, who rides a 2011 Harley-Davidson. The Cobras are part of a fiveclub organization that is hosting the National Black Bikers Association roundup in early August in Tunica. The event, which Stevenson calls probably the second biggest nationally behind Sturgis, drew more than 50,000 bikers in Dallas last year. “We’re expecting just as many this year in Tunica. Obviously, not everyone can stay in Tunica, so we’re planning to have to fill up the Greenwood motels,” Stevenson said. Twice a year, the Cobras host a motorcycle rodeo at Little Round Lake south of Greenwood. The club is one 15 groups that make up the Mississippi Motorcycle Association. “During the warm season, we go from Jackson to Starkville on the weekends to ride,” Stevenson said. !
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Robert Collins
Climbing the ladder Dropout found success in business, politics S
“I feel good. I’m enjoying my life. When I turned 50, something went off in my head that time is all you have, and you gotta start living your life.” Robert Collins STORY BY JEANIE RIESS ! PHOTOS BY JEANIE RIESS AND CHARLIE SMITH
itting on a tractor when he was 11 years old, Robert Collins stared at the boss’ house on the plantation where he worked and knew that he wanted to make something of himself, though he didn’t know how to go about doing that. He was already working full-time as a farmhand in Tutwiler at that point, and although his feet could reach the pedals of the tractor he drove, the lack of power steering in the heavy machine was enough to make his arms sore. “We stayed in little shotgun houses. We didn’t have running water, and the toilets were in the back. There were chickens running around the house. And the boss’ house was a big house, with water running, and a big old pretty yard,” he said with a smile. “And I would be out on that tractor in the day time, and that was my dream. But I didn’t have any idea how to go about it.” More than that, a bright future with a big house seemed unattainable to Collins, who stopped going to school when he was just 11 years old, since, in those days, kids had to wait till they got the crop out for the day before they could trot down to the local elementary school. “I didn’t think it was possible” he said. “When you’re making $2.50 a day, it was kind of difficult to see that far down the road.” Today, Collins is president of the Leflore County Board of Supervisors and is a successful entrepreneur. A road is exactly what he’s been on; he started Collins Truck and Tractor here in Greenwood with just one truck, growing the business to 12 trucks and an auto repair shop. When asked how he got from the boy on the tractor to the jovial, successful business man he is today, though, he said it’s all in attitude. “I think it’s my attitude toward other people,” said Collins. “I’ve always said yes sir, no sir. If you come into my business and you’re 20 years old, I’m going to say yes sir, no sir. That’s the way I was raised.” Of course, there were many steps along the ladder before he began running his own business. Collins moved to Greenwood when he was 21 with a baby and wife in tow. He bought a house, and the next day he went about looking for a way to pay for it.
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Wayne Self, back left, turns over the presidency of the Leflore County Board of Supervisors to Robert Collins in January 2012. In front are County Administrator Sam Abraham, left, and Vice President Phil Wolfe. Collins was elected to the District 5 seat in 2007. “I looked all over Greenwood, and I went to National Picture Frame, and there was a really long line. People went in and said, oh, they’re not hiring.” Undeterred, Collins went in to see for himself. “I started talking to the personnel manager,” he explained, “ and he said, ‘We aren’t hiring.’ I told him, I need a job, that I had come off the farm and had been working there all my life.” The man offered Collins a job in the Industrial Park, spray-painting the finish on picture frames. Three weeks later, he was the line leader. Two months after that, he became the night shift supervisor. His secret to success? The only thing he had ever known: hard work. “It’s amazing how hard work paid off,” he said. Like everything difficult in his life, however, Collins is casual about the days he spent toiling at the factory. Describing the work he did there, he said with another big smile, “It was cool.” From National Picture Frame, Collins found a job at Staplcotn. It was there that he learned the ins and outs of running a business and driving a truck, two skills that would come in handy when he opened his own truck-
ing company. Although Collins has been successful without a traditional education — he said his experiences are what gave him the knowledge he needed to be successful — he urges young people to stay in school and get a sound education. That message is reflected in the success of his four children. Collins has been married twice. He raised two of his own children, and with his current wife, Shameka Collins, he raises what are technically his stepkids, though he doesn’t like the label. “They’re just like mine. I’ve fed them so long they look like me,” he said, laughing. His oldest daughter graduated from Alcorn State, holds a doctorate and was the teacher of the year last year in the Leflore County Public School District. The desire to see others succeed is also what motivated Collins in his political life, which began about five years ago, when he and his wife went to hear a speaker from Jackson at the Leflore County Civic Center. The speech had an impact on Collins. “She said that people are always complaining about things being bad, but there are too few people who step up and do something about it,” he said. That caused him to spring into action. “And on my way back home I said, I
think I’ll run for supervisor of our district, cause I think I can do a good job at that. My wife said oh, you can’t win at that. But we won,” said Collins. Collins added that although his political life started only five years ago, he wished he had known how happy it made him 25 years ago. “That’s the life I’d want to have. I enjoy working for people,” he said. Although he didn’t get to politics until later in life — Collins is 63 — he said he does not have anything to complain about. “I feel good. I’m enjoying my life. When I turned 50, something went off in my head that time is all you have, and you gotta start living your life,” he said. Collins attributes most of his current happiness to his wife. “My wife motivates me and keeps me going. If I didn’t have a young wife and those two kids, I’d probably be somewhere watching TV. But we’ve got a lifestyle where we’re going and going,” he said. His current bliss stands alone as remarkable, but it’s made all the more precious by a past that wasn’t always pleasant. Collins did not know his mother until he was in his 20s. She gave birth to him when she was just 13 years old, and he was raised by his grandmother.
Racism was so common growing up, said Collins, that it wasn’t even something to noticed — until a young black boy from Chicago was visiting his relatives in Leflore County and was murdered by white men in 1955 after reportedly whistling at a white woman. That boy was Emmett Till. “I was scared the day Emmett Till got killed. I was small, real small then. That was my scariest time. I remember it like it was yesterday. We were scared,” he said. Still, Collins said that being raised on a plantation helped him become who he is today. Much of that was in the discipline he received. He learned to work hard, and he was raised by an entire community, where each person took responsibility for his upbringing. That fear he once felt helped to motivate him. And now, he said, it’s in the past. “It made me realize that I had to do more to succeed. And a black person in business, it’s kind of harder for him to succeed. Now, it’s getting better, but back then it was hard,” said Collins. “But that’s in the past, and I focus on the future.” Not only his future, but that of the next generation: “I try to teach my kids that you can get more in life by being nice.” !
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Mack Allen Smith
Reeling in the years “Praise the Lord, I’m having fun. Please don’t let it end anytime soon.” Mack Allen Smith
Singer-songwriter chronicles career in new book R ock-a-Billy Hall of Famer Mack Allen Smith of Greenwood has written a new book, “Rock-ABilly Rebel,” detailing experiences with many of the musicians he has shared the stage with — some local artists and many from across the Mid-South. In the book are 106 photos, including such people as Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Ace Cannon and many lesserknown artists. Throughout his music career, Smith’s band, with its Delta sound, has changed. Today Mack Allen Smith and the Flames consists of Smith, Laney O’Briant, Barry Smith, Jamie Williams, Benny Rigby and Stephen Winters. Others who play from time to time are Bill Walker, Murry Moorman, Steve McGregory, Sanford Horton, Gloria Hathcock, Jamie Isonhood, Randy Williamson and Michael Bole. Smith, a songwriter and singer, has recorded 178 songs, 73 of which he
wrote. One of Smith’s songs, “I’m Not Drunk, I’m Just Drinking,” was featured in an HBO special in 2012. He’s still writing songs and still trying to get them recorded. “I pitch them all the time,” he said. He owned a nightclub in Greenwood, called Mack Allen Smith’s Town & Country Nightclub, which he kept open from 1971 to 1976. In 1973, a black singer, James Govan, sang in the club. “He was the only black singer to sing there and was the best,” Smith said. Govan is one of the many artists who have a chapter in the book. Smith said he wrote this book to showcase many artists he knew personally, unlike other books written from secondhand knowledge. One singer Smith put early in the book was Warren Smith — not a relative — who came to Greenwood in 1960 and called Mack Allen. Mack Allen Smith, center, at a 1980 gig at the Delta Queen in Vaiden with, from left, “I will be staying here in Greenwood Paul Melton, George Thomas, Larry Acey and Laney O’Briant.
STORY BY RUTH JENSEN ! PHOTOS BY RUTH JENSEN AND COURTESY OF MACK ALLEN SMITH
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at my mother’s house for a few months, so I’d like to hook up with a good band for a few gigs. I’ve been told you have the best band around these parts,” he said. Warren joined his band, and they played throughout north Mississippi for three months. Smith already had a big country hit on Liberty Records called “I Don’t Believe I’ll Fall in Love Today.” Before he left Greenwood and headed back to California, Liberty released his second single, “Odds and Ends, Bits and Pieces.” Sun Records released other records by Warren Smith. Another friend detailed in the book is Johnny Vincent, a ’50s studio owner whose studio, Ace Records, was best known for “Sea Cruise” by Frankie Ford, “Just A Dream” by Jimmy Clanton and “Rockin’ Pneumonia and a Boogie Woogie Flu,” by Huey Piano Smith, as well as many other releases. “Besides Sam Phillips, Vincent was certainly a major contributor in shaping music for future generations,” Smith said. “In my opinion, Vincent would have to be rated second behind Sam Phillips.” In 1975, Smith signed a contract with Vincent to record for Ace Records. This resulted in four record releases on Ace. “I consider it an honor to have known Johnny and be listed on his roster of Ace recording artists,” Smith said. “And the fact that we became good friends is priceless.” During the early 1980s, Smith and his band shared the stage of the Country Music Palace in Vaiden and the Delta Queen with Ace Cannon, who is best known for “Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain.” “My band backed up Ace at these gigs and did a great job,” Smith said. Cannon also played at Smith’s Greenwood club. “I got to meet and hear him live in May 1971 at my club outside Greenwood,” he said. “My club was packed, and Ace knocked everyone’s socks off, including mine. He had a great backup band, and his sax playing was the best I had ever heard. I haven’t heard anyone since that even come
Mack Allen Smith, center, and the Flames perform at the old Black Hawk school in 2009. Playing with Smith are, from left, Barry Smith, Laney O’Briant, Jamie Winters (behind Mack Allen), Stephen Winters and Benny Rigby. close to Ace Cannon.” Smith says he “never got famous or made a lot of money from his music,” but throughout his career he recorded many albums and played in countless honky-tonks. In 1979 he toured England for two weeks. These days, he makes an occasional appearance but no longer in honkytonks. In 1956, Smith’s band, Mack Allen Smith and the Flames, was formed. They played at the 51 Club, at the VFW in Kosciusko and in Greenwood. Smith joined the Marines in 1957 and took his music with him. He played at the USO Club in Oceanside, Calif., and with a black band in Los Angeles. Smith and the band, first called The Carroll County Rock & Roll Boys, played for a radio program each Saturday afternoon. It was broadcast from the Greenwood VFW. There he met his wife of 50 years, Lois. They also performed at a ballpark in Greenwood with Sun Records artists Warren Smith, Sonny Burgess and
Charlie Feathers. “Bob Neal, a popular disc jockey from Memphis who promoted the show, talked to me about coming to Memphis for an audition at Sun Records,” Mack Allen says. A band member, Ellis Hopper, tried to get him to forget college and go to Memphis to try to make it in the new Rock-A-Billy Revolution that was sweeping the nation, but he didn’t go. “I probably should have gone to Sun Records for an audition, but I didn’t,” he said. “They had some good artists on Sun, and I may or may not have gotten a contract. Nevertheless, it wouldn’t have hurt anything to give it a try.” Hopper tried again later to get Smith to go to an audition with Sun and when he refused, quit the band. In 1959, Smith did go to Sun and recorded four songs. He was asked to come back into the studio and record with the studio band, but a band member, David Lee Cox, wanted to see if another studio would record the band.
Mack Allen Smith, in dark coat, performs at the Moose Lodge in Greenwood in 1965 with, from left, Terry Jenkins, Hardin Browning, Bill Bole, Buddy Miller, Barry Smith and Murry Moorman.
“Another bad career move,” Smith says. “It never happened.” However, after 40 years, the master tape of those songs was released in the Netherlands on Redita Records. Along with writing songs, Smith is also working on his second novel. He says he has disowned the first one, which was pretty risqué and was banned in the library across from his house. However, he is proud of his memoir, “Looking Back One More Time.” He also spends some time doing genealogical research. Smith was born and raised in Carroll County, and he says he got most of his musical ability from his mother, who was an outstanding guitar player, and the Herbert family. Fannie Mae Herbert played guitar and sang old Jimmie Rodgers songs, while her brothers, Jimmy and Archie Herbert, played guitar, fiddle and bass and sang all the country songs that were popular at the time. He got a guitar for Christmas at age 10 but didn’t take to it. On most Saturday nights, the Herberts would play for country dances at their home. They were family style, without any alcohol, he recalls — unlike the later days, when he needed a fifth of Jack Daniel’s and a few packs of cigarettes to fuel his music. “I got loosened up with alcohol,” he says. But after a while, it all got to be too much. He quit drinking in 1984 and smoking in 1970. He even quit playing his music. He didn’t want to miss his son’s football games at Pillow Academy, and he didn’t want to go back to the honky-tonks. The Smiths also have a daughter, Cindy. In 2002, his brother asked him to play at a gathering at Black Hawk. He’s played ever since, mostly for local gettogethers. In addition to appearing with the band, Smith takes a one-man show, accompanied by karaoke CDs, to nursing homes, parties and other venues. “Praise the Lord, I’m having fun,” he says. “Please don’t let it end anytime soon.” !
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Reno’s Cafe
Familiar fare
Reno's owner LaUnice Gray’s menus of breakfast and lunch fare offer options for even the most creative diner.
Customers keep coming back for home-style cooking
W
alking into Reno’s Cafe for the first time, it might feel like you’ve been here before. The scene is eerily familiar, like one you’ve read about in a dime novel or seen in a film by the Coen brothers, with the smell of bacon and smoke filling the restaurant’s dark corners. A jukebox blares ’70s-era hiphop and R&B tunes, while the
restaurant’s regulars grace its marked-up tables, waiting for steaming plates that LaUnice Gray makes to order. Indeed, familiarity is what makes this small Baptist Town restaurant run; Gray has 20 orders in her head that she says she never gets wrong, each belonging to the same customers who eat at the restaurant almost every day of the week.
The restaurant has been serving tamales, hamburgers and traditional breakfast fare for 26 years under Gray’s leadership, but the 52-year-old Greenwood native said Reno’s existed for about 30 or 40 years before she took it over. It’s always operated on West McLaurin Street, though it’s moved from door to door. It currently resides at 201 West McLaurin St., across the street
“A lot of people come from out of town, they’ll say, ‘Oh, so-andso was talking about Reno’s so I had to come see for myself.’”
STORY BY JEANIE RIESS ! PHOTOS BY JOHNNY JENNINGS
LaUnice Gray
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Reno's Cafe has been in Baptist Town for at least 50 years, operating under different owners and at different storefronts.
LaUnice Gray makes tamales the way her mother taught her — braised in tomato sauce instead of wrapped in corn husks. It takes four hours to make about 40 dozen tamales.
from McLaurin Park. No food suppliers visit Gray’s kitchen. She purchases all of the food she cooks at grocery stores around Greenwood, so that she can control exactly how much food to prepare for the day’s customers. “Everything is always fresh because I go to the grocery store the night before,” she said. Gray can operate Reno’s this way because she knows her customers, she said. Four breakfast staples — eggs, grits, bacon and pancakes — are arranged in 32 different combinations. “I tried to think of every possible combination that someone would order, so that I could price it,” Gray explained. Gray lives right next door to her restaurant, so cooking for her family is never a problem, even when Reno’s is busy. “My family, they all love the food. We just come over here and cook dinner,” she said. Gray has four sons, ages 35, 33, 26 and 6. She has one grandson, who is 16, and two more grandchildren who are both babies. Reno’s is open daily for breakfast and lunch. Gray said breakfast is the busiest time of day, most likely owing to what Gray called “the best homemade pancakes,” but lunch is also popular. All of the hamburgers are made from fresh ground beef. “We never use patties,” said Gray. The tamales, which were perfected by Gray’s mother, Pearl Johnson, are not your average run-of-the-Delta fare; they are cooked and served in a tomato-based sauce. Johnson learned to make the tamales when she was just 18, working at Lucas Barbecue on Avenue
F.
When Gray started running Reno’s, Johnson stepped in to make the tamales. Recently, however, Gray’s mother fell ill, and now Gray and her brother, Bubba Willis, are left with the difficult task of preparing them. “It takes four hours to make about 40 dozen of them,” said Gray. Gray said there’s no secret ingredient to the tamales, which have drawn attention from out-of-town customers. “Customers love it,” she said. “A lot of people come from out of town, they’ll say, ‘Oh, so-and-so was talking about Reno’s, so I had to come see for myself.’” “You just have to get it right,” she said. A recipe for tamales is not the only cooking tip Gray learned from Johnson. While Johnson was working at Lucas Barbecue, Gray would work one of her days for her a week, so that she could learn the business and perfect her own recipes. “I started working with my mama, and anything I did wrong, someone would say, ‘Baby, you gotta do this this way’ or ‘No, you don’t do it like that,’” she explained. “No matter how much you think you know, somebody always knows more than you. You have to learn from others,” she said. Gray also worked at other restaurants, such as Wendy’s and Pizza Hut, where she learned about management, stocking and other tricks of the trade. Those skills are important, but Gray said the most important element of running a successful business is liking what you do. “You gotta love it,” she said. “You have to care about what you’re doing.” !
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Northwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center
Top recruits
Discussing the newly accredited Inpatient Rehab Unit at Northwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center are, from left, Michael Smith, director of plant operations; Charles Meyers, assistant director of plant operations; Margaret Swartzfager, director of rehabilitative services; and Dr. Patricia Hampton, chief nursing officer.
Hospital adds talent to medical staff N
orthwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center is focused on adding new talent to its staff while continuing to provide the best care for its patients, its CEO says. The Clarksdale hospital is recruiting physicians in internal medicine, primary care and family practice, as well
as obstetrician/gynecologists and a general surgeon, said CEO Bill Buck. In the last year, Northwest has brought in a new nephrologist, another infectious-disease physician, a sports medicine rehab specialist and a gastroenterologist. Another pediatrician also has been brought to town, he said.
“For the next year, most of our future is going to be looking at providing the right level of talent or medical expertise to support the means of the community,� Buck said. In addition, the hospital has a new inpatient rehabilitation unit that has been accredited by the Commission on
Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. This year, the hospital will be refurbishing its cardiac catheterization lab, including replacing some equipment and adding space for things such as a pre-op patient holding area and a recovery area.
STORY BY DAVID MONROE ! PHOTOS COURTESY OF NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER
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Northwest will be trying to expand its wound care program this year, too, Buck said. Other than that and the additions to the catheterization lab, most of the the ongoing building-related work this year will be routine maintenance rather than additions, he said. “We’re just trying to focus on what we do best, and that is hopefully taking care of our patients,” he said. The 195-bed acute care hospital has between 400 and 420 employees, depending on the time of the week or month, Buck said. He said Northwest is “moderately busy.” It has experienced the usual increase in patient numbers this season because of respiratory illnesses and the flu but has enough staff to serve its patients well, he said. In general, “we’ve seen decreases like most other providers in the Mississippi area, but our volume since December has really started to climb,” he said. According to its website, Northwest had more than 52,000 patient interactions in 2011 and is one of Coahoma County’s largest taxpaying entities and employers. In 2011, it had a total economic impact of more than $92.4 million, including more than $37 million in employee wages and benefits, $29.7 million worth of uncompensated care and more than $1.7 million in taxes paid. It has invested $10 million in facility and service improve-
“We’re just trying to focus on what we do best, and that is hopefully taking care of our patients.” Bill Buck ments in the last five years, including the da Vinci Physician Assisted Robotic Surgery System, renovation of the inpatient dialysis unit and a CT scanner upgrade.
It also offers a variety of educational programs on smoking cessation, childbirth and other topics. Buck became CEO in June 2012, when he came from Texas.
Previously he had been doing subcontracting work with other corporations and hospitals. “Clarksdale’s a very nice community — wonderful people,” he said. !
Northwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center, one of Coahoma County’s largest employers, had a total economic impact of more than $92.4 million in 2011.
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John Paul Walker
Bulldog for life Stays involved with MSU as alumni leader J
ohn Paul Walker grew up in Schlater dreaming of being a Mississippi State Bulldog one day. After graduating from Pillow Academy in 2001, Walker went to Mississippi State University and graduated in December 2005 with a bachelor of arts degree in communications with an emphasis in public relations. Walker, 30, has remained active with MSU in the eight years since his graduation with his work with the MSU Alumni Association. He just finished serving his second year of a three-year term as the young director for the central region for Mississippi for the National Board of Directors for the MSU Alumni Association. The young directors must be between the ages of 26 and 31 during their term in office and are responsible for helping grow the number of recent MSU graduates on the dues-paying alumni roll and representing the younger demographic of the MSU Alumni Association to the governing board of directors. Walker was approached by a school representative at a football game about applying for the position. He did just that and got the non-paying position. Walker is thankful to have the opportunity his alma mater has given him. “Being a part of the alumni association at this level is an excellent way to get other alumni involved and promoting our university, and it’s a way for me to stay involved with Mississippi State — which has been such a special part of my life as a kid, then as a student and now as a proud alumnus,” Walker said. “I will always stay involved with the alumni association in some capacity, but I have no idea in what capacity it will be.” Walker attends two national board meetings a year and helps the national board serve food at one MSU Southeastern Conference football game a season at the alumni tailgate tent in The Junction. Walker said he’s proud to have been a part of the alumni association recently while it surpassed its annual membership goal for a fifth consecutive year — breaking the all-time record for active alumni with 43,568 members. Walker says the total membership worldwide is more than 125,000. “Active members not only provide critical financial support to MSU, but they also volunteer their time in our many alumni chapters,” Walker said.
John Paul Walker just completed his second year as a member of the MSU Alumni Association’s National Board of Directors. “Our alumni worldwide are literally Mississippi State’s voice around the world. “I travel to MSU alumni functions within my region and encourage people to join and stay plugged into our university. Mississippi State has a lot to offer when it comes to our alumni. MSU not only provides an atmosphere to receive a great education, but it becomes a part of you.” Walker is also the president of Leflore-
Carroll Chapter of the MSU Alumni Association. This group put one of the most successful “Our State Tour” events of 2012 last May at the Leflore County Civic Center, where more than 400 folks turned out to hear Bulldog head football coach Dan Mullen, MSU head basketball coach Rick Ray and others speak. “We had a lot of people pull together and put in some hard work to make that event such a success. I am very proud that we had the largest atten-
STORY AND PHOTO BY BILL BURRUS
dance outside of the Central Mississippi Extravaganza in Jackson,” Walker said. “That was a pretty big deal for our local alumni association.” When Walker isn’t working as an independent insurance broker in Greenwood, traveling on behalf of MSU or attending State athletic events, he spends his time coaching and refereeing youth basketball games and serving as the public address announcer for Pillow Academy home basketball games. !
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4-Way Electric
Powerful growth
Derrick Starks works on a recloser at 4-Way Electric in Greenwood. The company currently employs about 80 people.
CEO confident more success lies ahead B
ob Hunter is not your average electrician, and 4-Way Electric is not a place you call to wire your house — but often people think so. “We get calls every day asking for a price on wiring an addition to someone’s house,” Hunter said. “Some lady argued with me that we were the ones that
fixed her washing machine.” Actually, 4-Way is a re-manufacturer of transformers and other equipment needed by electrical power companies. This past year its sales volume was near $12 million, Hunter said. The company is owned by Hunter, 74, who is chairman and CEO, and Jeff
Coleman, 50, who is president. Hunter says he doesn’t anticipate retiring. “I’ve done nothing but work all my life. Why stop now?” he said. Both men, plus two others, bought out Jimelco, a much smaller Greenwood company that did what the company does now, in 1991. The other two part-
STORY AND PHOTOS BY RUTH JENSEN
ners left. Coleman had worked at Jimelco after working for Air Products next door. Hunter had retired from Ford Motor Company in Lorain, Ohio, and then took a job that brought him to Kosciusko and later to Greenwood, where he also worked for Jimelco. Things have changed a lot since then.
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Jeff Coleman, left, and Bob Hunter, above, were among four partners who bought a smaller company in 1991 and created 4-Way Electric. The other two partners left, and now Coleman, 50, is president, and Hunter, 74, is CEO and chairman. “In the beginning, Jeff and I did everything,” Hunter said. “Now we have about 80 employees. We’re in flux right now. We didn’t lose anything during the recession. We actually added employees. Our growth has been tremendous.” From one building that included offices and manufacturing facilities, the company now has three — one for corporate offices and two for manufactur-
ing. Painting was outsourced but is now done in-house. Hunter says the Greenwood Leflore Industrial Board and its executive director, Angela Curry, were a great help in getting the needed buildings. Hunter attributes 4-Way’s success to the attitude that surrounds whatever the company does: “We take care of our customers — get it done, and done right, the first time.”
Hunter says the company has expanded about 300 percent from those early days, and there is room for more growth: “We have about 15 acres here, and we’re only using nine.” Until 2007, the people who delivered the products also acted as salespeople. But as the company continued to grow, it added two outside regional salespeople, as well as one inside salesperson. Hunter and Coleman keep their eyes
on all orders that come in, and Hunter stays out in the manufacturing area most of the day, which starts just before 6 a.m. and ends around 6 p.m. Coleman is the one who most often goes into the field when an outage occurs and service is needed by one of their customers, along with a crew that does repairs. Hunter says the company strives “to give great service to its customers, keep
Felix “Bubba” Ashmore, left, and Will Bowers work on a large regulator at 4-Way Electric. The company re-manufactures equipment used by electrical utilities throughout the southeastern United States.
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“We didn’t lose anything during the recession. We actually added employees. Our growth has been tremendous.” Bob Hunter
Shane Floyd, an employee of 4-Way Electric, welds a transformer can.
our quality high, and expand our capabilities to serve our customers.” And, he said, “we’re always trying to expand our territory.” In addition to re-manufacturing transformers, regulators, reclosers and controls, 4-Way is an authorized dealer for Cooper Electric, one of the largest makers of new transformers and other equipment used by electric utilities around the world. “We service their products in our shop, and we go out to do service when it can’t be brought to us,” Hunter said. “When Cooper has a problem in our area, they call us.” When damaged equipment is brought in, it is repaired and sent to its owner. If the company can’t take it back, then an adjustment is made on remanufactured equipment that is sold to the cus-
tomer, and the damaged equipment is kept and made like new. 4-Way sells to most of the electric utilities in Mississippi, as well as many in Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma and part of Texas. The company added field service work and substation maintenance and repair a few years ago. With new technology as well as many government regulations on the electric utilities, Hunter and Coleman stay up-to-date by attending seminars a couple of times a year and by reading their field’s publications. Hunter and Coleman say they expect the future to hold more success for 4Way Electric. “You have to grow,” Hunter said. “You can’t stay where you are.” !
Bob Hunter confers with employees Jay Sanders and Scott Dees about an order. Working behind them are Tavares Martin, left, and Derrick Starks.
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Viking Range Corp. Employee Health and Wellness Center
Healthy results
Employees save time, company saves money
S
ince opening in January 2012, the Viking Range Corp. Employee Health and Wellness Center has made a difference in the company’s bottom line, as well as employees’ health. The clinic, which is run by Biloxibased Medical Analysis, offers a wide variety of services. Just a sampling of those includes physicals, screenings, Xrays, lab tests, health-related classes, and treatment and education regarding diabetes, cholesterol, weight management, hypertension and other topics. Suzi Bogard, CEO of Medical Analysis, said it was evident very soon that the clinic was getting results. Employees don’t have to pay co-payments or deductibles, and the company saves money because visits to doctors’ offices are down, as are costs for pharmaceuticals and lab work. “We received an e-mail from their insurance company that after the first six weeks of operation, we had already saved them over $100,000 in health care claims,” Bogard said. Beth Tackett, Viking’s human resources director, said it’s not just about limiting costs but about encouraging healthy living — a priority of Viking Chief Executive Officer Fred Carl Jr. “I think that goes back to show how dedicated Viking — and, in particular, Fred — is to maintaining the healthiest lifestyles possible for our employees,” Tackett said. v v v
Tackett said other vendors had approached Viking before about opening such a clinic. However, the timing was right this time, and Medical Analysis proved to be a good match, she said. “We specifically were interested in Medical Analysis because of the great reviews that we got from the different municipalities and organizations that already used their services but also because they are a Mississippi-based company like we are,” she said. A space on Howard Street was selected becase it provided convenient access for employees at all of Viking’s locations, as well as their dependents. The clinic opened Jan. 4, 2012, offering all of its Maggie Robinson, an employee of Viking Range Corp., is given a check-up by Katherine Hughes, a nurse practitioner at the com- current services from the beginning. “It has been up and running at a pany’s Wellness Center. STORY BY DAVID MONROE ! PHOTOS BY BOB DARDEN
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Matt Finke, left, an employee of Viking Range Corp., has some blood drawn by Margaret Hayes, the clinic coordinator at Viking’s Wellness Center in Greenwood. great capacity since that point,” Tackett said. “The employees have been really, really happy about the opportunity to be able to come here.” The clinic now has two staff members: Margaret Hayes, who is its coordinator, and Katherine Hughes, a nurse practitioner. It offers 20-minute one-on-one appointments with the nurse practitioner, with the opportunity to extend that time if necessary. It can handle some lacerations, but emergency cases and situations that the clinic is not prepared to handle are referred elsewhere. Viking also has a good relationship with other area providers who work well together, so the nurse practitioner doesn’t have to do everything. Each employee is allotted $300 a
year for wellness services. All of these services are voluntary and confidential, and that helps employees speak more freely with Hughes, Tackett said. “She’s able to really develop that relationship with the employees where they can have more of a real educational experience and that nurturing opportunity for them to really get to ask questions and learn more about their health issues,” she said. For example, people with diabetes or hypertension can discuss those conditions and get advice on nutrition and exercise. Some employees who had been diabetic for years only recently learned about preventive measures that can help improve their lives, she said. Viking also allows employees to make appointments during the work
day. Scheduling a clinic visit is much easier than scheduling a hospital visit, which usually requires blocking out half a day, Bogard said. “You take somebody off a production line, it slows things up,” she said. “So they were really pleased that they were able to rush them over to the clinic and get them back, and business keeps going.” The clinic now can see 30 to 35 people a day. Bogard said she would know better at the end of winter whether it might need to add a third person. The priority is to make sure everyone can be seen within a day or two of requesting an appointment, she said. “We want to get everybody in as quick as possible,” she said. “Get them in, get them well and get them out —
back to work.” Medical Analysis has more than 30 clinics in Mississippi, Louisiana, Missouri, Alabama and New Jersey. A Tennessee location is scheduled to open in March. Its clients include some school districts, and Bogard said they expected to lose some of that business because of state budget cuts. But this hasn’t happened because the districts are saving money on workers’ compensation claims, she said. Generally speaking, the locations offer the same services, and Medical Analysis has served some clients as long as 11 years. “Because we are a free clinic to the employees, our utilization is wonderful,” Bogard said. !
“We want to get everybody in as quick as possible. Get them in, get them well and get them out — back to work.” Suzi Bogard, CEO of Medical Analysis
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Riley Poe
Farming in his blood
Drawn to agriculture at early age
F
arming comes easily to Riley Poe. You could even say it runs through his veins. “I think I started to work when I was 12,” said Poe, who is now 36. “I think I started out driving tractors.” Back then, he was working for his father, Bobby Poe. They farmed independently until about 2011 before joining forces. Today, they have a partnership, Poe Planting Co., and farm some 1,900 acres together. “It made things simpler. We were helping each other anyway, so we just put everything together — all of our equipment, everything together,” Poe said. “That simplified a lot of paperwork.” A 1996 graduate of CrugerTchula Academy, Poe attended Mississippi Delta Community College before deciding to devote all of his time to farming. The 2012 crop was one for the record books, he said. “It’s the best year I’ve ever had,” he said. “We needed it after 2009. That was horrible.” Poe said typically every year there’s a trade-off. “The corn might be good and the beans weren’t, or the beans were good but the corn wasn’t,” he said. And that’s not even taking into account the crops’ prices. But the 2012 harvest was a happy confluence of good yields and good prices. “The beans and the corn were good, and the prices on both were good,” Poe said. “Our inputs weren’t quite as bad as they normally would be. Fertilizer was high, but it wasn’t as high as it was in ’08.” One good thing for the farming partnership is that only about 350 acres are dry land, and the rest are irrigated. In 2012, adequate rainfall kept irrigation to a minimum, Poe said. “Rain water is always better than irrigation,” he added. By mid-December, Poe had gotten his fields ready for planting. Corn and soybeans will be the primary crops this year, and he’ll begin planting them in March. Most of Poe’s farmland is rented from landowner K.K. Henderson Kent, who says the young farmer knows his stuff. “Riley Poe is a hell of a Delta Leflore County farmer Riley Poe has been involved with farming for many years. Poe and his father, Bobby Poe, operate Poe Planting planter. He does an excellent job,” Co., which farms some 1,900 acres of corn and soybeans. STORY AND PHOTOS BY BOB DARDEN
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she said. She said Poe also keeps a neat and organized shop. “That’s something that maybe only a woman landlord would notice, but it is appreciated, and it says volumes about his character and the kind of man he is,” she said. Poe said an advantage of partnering with his father is the ability to share equipment. He said the operation has moved from two smaller eightrow combines to a larger model. The larger, more efficient machine helps reduce labor costs for both operations. Bobby Poe, 68, said he wasn’t surprised by his son’s interest in agriculture. “He’s loved it all his life. He was raising stuff in the yard — milo and rice — when he was a kid,” Bobby Poe said. There’s also been a bit of a role reversal between father and son, Bobby Poe said: “Now, I go to ask him what we’re going to plant. ... I just about let him do about all of it now.” The lure of farming didn’t hold as much appeal for Riley’s brother, Wayne, now a Bobby Poe, left, says his son, Riley Poe, right, showed an interest in farming at an early age by plant- Greenwood firefighter. ing milo and rice in the family’s yard. However, Riley Poe is hoping to
bring a new generation of farmers up with the help of his wife, Tricia. The couple, who live in Greenwood, have three sons: John Riley Poe, 6, and twins Jacks and Yates, 3. John Riley isn’t as passionate about farming as his younger brothers, but once he’s on the farm, he warms up to the idea, Poe said. On the other hand, the twins are crazy about farming and always have been, Poe said. A farmer has to have a lot of optimism, and getting into that field on the ground floor is a daunting prospect for anyone, he said. “I don’t see how you could get into it without somebody to help you — somebody who’s already in it,” Poe said. In addition, since the farm economy began to boom a few years ago, “it’s hard to find land,” he said. “Now, with the way prices are, I haven’t heard of any land that’s swapped hands this year or come up for rent or anything like that.” Poe said he’s committed to farming for the long haul. “You have to like it to do it, that’s for sure,” he said. !
“I don’t see how you could get into (farming) without somebody to help you — somebody who’s already in it.” Riley Poe
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Dr. Christopher Capel
‘I love this place’
Dr. Christopher Capel practiced in Greenwood from 1997 to 2003 before taking a job elsewhere. Leaving, the surgeon says, was a mistake. He returned here in May.
Surgeon feels at home professionally, personally W ith a steady hand and compassionate heart, Dr. Christopher Capel at Lucas Surgical Group can surgically mend many problems. And the Utah native says he’s happier than he’s ever been practicing general, chest and vascular surgery in
Greenwood. “I practice here in Greenwood because I love this place,” he said. “I’m not here because this is the only place I can practice. I’ve practiced at plenty of other facilities, and this really is the best one.” Capel practiced at Greenwood Leflore
Hospital from 1997 to 2003 before taking a job elsewhere. He said it didn’t take long to learn he had made a mistake. “The only reason I left is that at the time we didn’t have tort reform and our malpractice premiums went through the roof,” he said.
For the next 10 years, he practiced in Kentucky, Washington and Arizona, but in his mind, nothing compared to Greenwood. “I looked for any opportunity to come back,” he said. “I called the hospital shortly after I left, but they had already hired another vascular surgeon and did-
STORY BY BETH THOMAS ! PHOTOS BY BETH THOMAS AND COURTESY OF GREENWOOD LEFLORE HOSPITAL
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n’t have an opening. I was gone for 10 years before an opening became available. I called (Dr. John Lucas III), and soon afterwards my family was making the move back here.” Capel started practicing again at Greenwood Leflore Hospital in May 2012, and he said he isn’t leaving again. “When I made the decision to move back to Greenwood, I made the decision to finish my practice here,” he said. “I’m 52 now, and I plan to practice until I’m at least 70. I want my family to grow up in this town.” Capel said there’s something special about Greenwood, and he’s never enjoyed practicing anywhere else more. “I had the best years of my life in Greenwood before I left, and I’m having the best again now that I’m back,” he said. “And it helps that our hospital here is the best in the Delta.” v v v Capel has seen a number of big-city hospitals and small-town clinics, and he said most of the time, the best care is offered in the smaller facilities, where the doctors and patients know one another on a first-name basis. “I want to get rid of this myth that ‘bigger city’ means ‘better doctors,’” he said. “Sure, you can go to Jackson or Memphis for medical care, but what we have right here in Greenwood is phenomenal. And going to a bigger city doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to get better care.” The closeness of community and opportunities to provide state-of-the-art medical care drew him to Greenwood in the first place. “I grew up in St. George, Utah, which is also a small town. But I absolutely fell in love with the South, Southern people and Southern culture,” he said. “Even though I’m not a Southerner, I feel like I’ve been adopted and accepted into it.” He even jokes about being an honorary Southerner because he has a Southern family member. “My youngest son was born in Mississippi, so he’s a real Southerner,” he said with a laugh. “That counts for something.” He also likes being able to care for his patients from start to finish. “There’s nothing you need done surgically that I can’t do right here in Greenwood and do well,” he said. “My patients have complete support and continued care from one person. I take care of them from start to finish, and they never have to worry about being turned over to another physician. “Patients want a relationship with a physician who is going to be there for them, and I want my patients to know that I truly care about them,” he said. “If I didn’t believe that the best health care they could get on planet Earth was here, then I’d send them somewhere else.” Through his practice, Capel said he’s formed wonderful relationships with his patients, and he remembers everyone he operates on. “The thing I love most about Greenwood is the size,” he said. “... I feel like I share a common bond with it.
“I want to get rid of this myth that ‘bigger city’means ‘better doctors.’ Sure, you can go to Jackson or Memphis for medical care, but what we have right here in Greenwood is phenomenal. And going to a bigger city doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to get better care.” Dr. Christopher Capel And it’s always a big advantage when you have positive outcomes after surgery, and people are happy to see you out places, and you’re happy to see them.” Just as he did before, Capel takes his job seriously. “Whenever I operate on somebody, I feel a bond with that person; it’s like a marriage,” he said. “I will always be connected to them, and I think about my patients all the time.” During his first tenure, Capel performed 100 carotid artery surgeries a year. The surgery restores proper blood flow to the brain and reduces the risk of a stroke. “I have 16 years of experience in chest and vascular surgery, and that
makes my practice unique. Also, because of the services I provide, I’m able to see a lot of the same patients year after year,” he said. “When I operate on a patient, they know they’ll have the same doctor taking care of them at the hospital and following up with them in the clinic. That’s one of the things that make a small-town clinic so wonderful. It’s more than just an operation; they become both a long-term patient and friend.” v v v Capel lives happily with his wife, Marilee, and children Britney, Bryan and Benjamin. The family also has a singing cockatiel named Yugioh and two
Jack Russell terriers, Ginger and Lizzie. He said he likes Greenwood’s small size for his children’s sake. “There are advantages to everybody knowing who you and your kids are, and they watch out for them. Of course, they also tell you when your kids are doing something bad,” he said with a laugh. “If you live in a big city, you probably don’t find that out.” Capel spends a lot of his time at work and doesn’t travel much, but he’s OK with that because he loves what he does. But when he’s not at the clinic, he probably can be found in the woods hunting deer or on the lake catching fish. “Living in Greenwood is perfect for doing all those outdoor activities,” he said. !
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Coretta Green
Family touch George Middle principal tries to be accessible
P
Coretta Green, who grew up in Greenwood and Carroll County, was named principal of J.Z. George Middle School in 2012. STORY AND PHOTOS BY RUTH JENSEN
rincipal Coretta Green is up close and personal with her students and teachers at J.Z. George Middle School in North Carrollton, and believes that’s one of the keys to bringing success to her school. The day starts early for Green, who is at work well before her students begin to arrive at 7:20 a.m. She and some teachers are always there to greet and direct them to classes. During the day, she is usually in the halls and classrooms, making sure students are behaving and learning. While she expects respect, and she’s tough, Green doesn’t want students to feel she is unapproachable. “The overall number one thing for me is making myself accessible to students and parents. Students can come up to me and say ‘we need to talk’ or slip me a note. It decreases confusion and increases good relationships between students and between students and teachers,” she says. “We operate like a family. We take care of students as much as we can. Sometimes parents call and ask for help in dealing with an issue.” Then Green brings the child in to discuss whatever problem there is. “I do a lot of counseling, especially in the earlier part of the week,” she says. Green believes in cultivat-
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J.Z. George Middle School Principal Coretta Green chats with students and bus drivers as school dismisses. ing a good relationship with parents and requires teachers to email her their list of parental contacts each month. “I take notes when we have a parent/teacher conference and ask teachers to give me an update on those students. If they have improved, I ask teachers to communicate that improvement to parents,” she said. “We let parents know when students have done something good, as well as unsatisfactory.” At least once each nine weeks, Green meets with each class to discuss where they are in growth for the year. “I show them how to figure the QDI, or qualitative distribution index, that shows whether a student meets growth,” she said. “I help them understand the purpose of tests and the importance of performing well.” The goal at George Middle School is to have each student achieve at least a full year academically each year. “It’s all about growth. It’s not just for the tests, but to be able to go on and do well in school and life,” she said. “I want them to have choices.” George Middle went up significantly in its scores on state-mandated tests during Green’s tenure, particularly this past year, and she believes a hands-on policy is important to that success. To find out if students are learning, Green goes into classrooms regularly and questions students to see if they’ve actually learned what the teacher is imparting. If not, then she suggests to the teacher to work further on that subject matter. After her first year at George Middle, there were some changes in staff “that were necessary,” she said. “Last year, most teachers remained.
Now we have a group of people who work hard to see our students achieve,” she said. She makes sure each department has time to meet together by having planning periods the same for all teachers in a department. “We mentor newer teachers.” It’s academics first, and it’s studentcentered, Green says. And she’s not above giving incentives for students who exhibit good behavior, as well as improve their test scores. She’s keeping tabs on discipline referrals and hopes incentives will help reduce those by 10 percent from last spring semester. “We won’t know until the end of the semester, but I believe they’re going to be reduced,” she said. For fewer discipline referrals at the end of a month, a class gets to do something fun. So far this year, the sixth grade has won twice and has earned a movie day and a fun day. The class with the best attendance is rewarded at the end of the week. “We work on attendance, and in October had a 97 percent attendance rate. They get to have a jean day,” Green said. Normally students wear uniforms. Before coming to George as a principal, Green was assistant principal at Hathorn Elementary School in Vaiden, and then principal after Shirley Lester retired. Hathorn received the “high performing” designation. Green gives credit for that to hardworking teachers and students, as well as some good parents. “Mrs. Lester had laid a good foundation, and we worked hard to keep achieving. “We were a lower socioeconomic group, and we outperformed expectations. We were highly recognized,” she said.
After Hathorn was closed and students moved to Marshall Elementary in North Carrollton, the district was rearranged to accommodate the new students, and the high school was divided into a middle school for students in grades six through eight, and a high school for grades nine through 12. Green was named principal. A former teacher, Green taught family and consumer science for nine years at J.Z. George High School and one year at Oxford High School. She said one of her biggest challenges as a principal was getting familiar with the entire curriculum. “I did a lot of reading, networking and attending workshops,” she said. Green, 43, grew up in Greenwood and Carroll County, and graduated from Vaiden High School, where she was an outstanding basketball player. She earned a scholarship offer from Mississippi College, where she played basketball and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in family and consumer sciences. She still enjoys playing “when I have the time.” She also likes to work out. After graduating from MC, which she says she “loved,” Green earned a Master’s degree from Mississippi State University and later became certified in school administration. Her days as a principal are busy, and certainly never dull, but it’s a job she relishes. “When I was a teacher, I didn’t think I wanted to be a principal, but I would get frustrated when I wanted to do something for my students and couldn’t. I feel I can accomplish more from the top, and I can affect more students. I love it.” !
“When I was a teacher, I didn’t think I wanted to be a principal, but I would get frustrated when I wanted to do something for my students and couldn’t. I feel I can accomplish more from the top, and I can affect more students. I love it.” Coretta Green
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John Stewart
Quiet success
John Stewart started working at the Delta Oil Mill right after he graduated from Mississippi State, and he gradually worked his way up to become the mill's manager.
Stewart stays busy with businesses, real estate
J
ohn Stewart might not seem like a ferociously ambitious entrepreneur out to cut his competition to shreds. That’s because, contrary to the typical vision of a successful businessman, he’s not. Stewart is polite and soft-spoken, and from across the desk from him at the Delta Oil Mill, which he manages, among a slew of other projects around Greenwood, it’s clear he catches his flies with honey. “I don’t know if there’s one most important thing to running a business. It’s a combination of getting feedback from customers and being willing to put forth your own effort,” he said. In addition to managing the oil mill, Stewart also rents out property with business partner Mark Singleton. The duo owns The Village Shopping Center, among other retail and residential buildings. When he is not tied up with those two enterprises, Stewart is managing, along with co-owner Matt Gnemi, the other businesses he’s more locally famous for: Webster’s Food and Drink and Riverfront Liquors. How can one person spread himself among so many different businesses? For Stewart, the opposite would be far more
challenging: “I’m just not suited for a nine-to-five; I don’t know what I would do.” A Greenwood native, Stewart, 47. attended Pillow Academy before heading to Starkville to earn his bachelor’s degree from Mississippi State University. He came back to his hometown just after graduating in 1988, and he took a job “on the bottom of the totem pole,” as he put it, working for Delta Oil Mill. Stewart was hired as a management trainee, but at that time there were smaller mills run by the company across the state, and he dabbled in various positions in those places before returning home a few years later. When he returned to the Greenwood processing plant, he began working in shipping and sales for the company. After a few years, he worked his way up to management. One amazing feature of the oil mill is that one thing goes into the factory, and about a million different things come out. Stewart explained that the mill takes the cotton seed from the gin. First, the lint is removed from the seed. That part, said Stewart, is used for bonded paper, currency, the casing for processed meats, camera film, gunpow-
der and countless other items. “Then you’ve got the seed without the lint,” said Stewart. The hull of the seed is used to feed dairy cows. Stewart said it’s a lot like hay, in that it is not high in nutritional value but mixes well with protein. Finally, the cotton seed oil is the vegetable oil that goes into cooking. Stewart said it’s a moore healthful cooking oil than most because it has fewer saturated fats than others, and it’s useful because it doesn’t taste like much, so it doesn’t mask the flavor of, say, fried chicken. Of course, an oil frequently used for frying chicken might have some unfortunate olfactory side effects. Driving past the mill, which is on U.S. 82, one might find the smell of the processing oil to be either nauseating or appetizing, depending on the day. Stewart said that the smell changes mostly depending on the weather. On a recent rainy day, he said it smelled “awful” because “with all the rain and everything, you can’t help but have some spillage, and when it spills, it immediately goes bad in this kind of weather.” The finished products of the mill are sent out regionally and nationwide. After he had settled into his career at
STORY AND PHOTOS BY JEANIE RIESS
the mill, Stewart began buying property with Singleton in the 1990s. “We don’t have a lot of stuff; it’s just a couple of things scattered around,” he said. Though he said it’s not much, the conglomeration is a good case study for successfully going into business with a friend. The relationship is symbiotic because each does what the other eschews. “Mark does the legwork stuff, and I keep the books on it,” said Stewart. “It makes for a good fit. He doesn’t like to do details, like keeping up with the books, and he’s more into the other stuff.” Stewart said the rental business also added a nice balance to his life at the office. “It’s very different from what I do here,” he said. Stewart’s involvement with Webster’s, however, engaged a more emotional nerve than an enterprising one. When he was growing up in Greenwood, Webster’s was one of his favorite local spots. He came home from college and hung out there, and he said he has many memories of the establishment that was such a big part of his youth.
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“I don’t know if there’s one most important thing to running a business. It’s a combination of getting feedback from customers and being willing to put forth your own effort.” John Stewart
Wester's was a favorite hangout for Stewart while growing up in Greenwood, and he gladly accepted the challenge of keeping it going into a new era.
When he moved back home after college, his affection for the restaurant endured. “Even before I owned it, I ate dinner there almost every night,” he said, laughing. So, when the previous owner of Webster’s decided to call it quits, Stewart encouraged two young Viking employees to take on the project of buying the business and renovating it. Gnemi and another Viking employee, Robert McBryde, bought Webster’s in 2005. When McBryde decided to leave the operation, Stewart swooped in. Around the same time, Stewart purchased Riverfront Liquors, the store that stands across the street from Webster’s. The purchase was mostly one of convenience, said Stewart. “At Webster’s, we’ve got a limit of inventory, and if all of a sudden you have a big group that comes in and they want some specialty item that we only have one or two bottles of, we send someone across the street,” Stewart explained. Owning so many businesses might seem exhausting, but Stewart said the good fortune of having stellar partners keeps him pretty relaxed. “The way it works, and I really have
the better end of the deal, is that Matt really does a lot more work than I do,” said Stewart. “He doesn’t get enough credit for it.” Stewart said that the responsibilities are also evenly divided between the two of them, which helps in terms of management. “Matt does more of the work at Webster’s, and I do more at Riverfront. And that way we’re not stepping on each other’s toes. We’ve known each other forever; we trust each other, and no one’s stealing from anybody,” said Stewart jovially. “It just seems to be a good fit.” Stewart is still a frequent patron of the restaurant of his youth, and it’s not just because he owns the place. “I go over there nearly every night, get something to eat and have a drink or two. If somebody needs anything, I’m there, and I’m watching, but I’m not really working all that hard,” he confessed. As for his success, Stewart is humble at best. He owed his good fortune to his business creed: It’s good people willing to listen to their customers who run a solid business. “We’re not the smartest people around,” said Stewart, “but we’ve been really fortunate.” !
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Bettie Ray
‘The best representative’
Nick Joseph, left, the Greenwood city clerk, shares a laugh with Bettie Ray, right, the mayor’s executive secretary, and Greenwood Mayor Carolyn McAdams. Ray is the chairman of the Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce’s Ambassadors.
Mayor’s secretary leads chamber ambassadors B ettie Ray, chairman of the Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce’s Ambassadors, has a lot of experience in business and in selling. Ray, 71, who is Greenwood Mayor Carolyn McAdams’ executive secretary, said the ambassadors serve an important, often unappreciated, function: They sell the city and what happens there, not
just the chamber. “What an ambassador should do is be the best representative that they can be for the city, because the more people you can convince that the city is important, the bigger the chamber’s going to be,” she said. Ray, a native of Memphis, was involved in chambers in several other places — Memphis, Orlando, Fla.; Miami, Nashville, Tenn., and the San Francisco
Bay area — before moving to Greenwood in 2006. This is her first time to serve as chairman of the Ambassadors. The chairman serves a one-year term. Initially, Ray came to Greenwood to serve as the concierge at The Alluvian. She held that job for three years before joining McAdams at City Hall. While working at The Alluvian, Ray
STORY AND PHOTOS BY BOB DARDEN
met McAdams, who arranged for the reservations of executives from the Corrections Corporation of America, which ran the Delta Correctional Facility. Ray said being an executive secretary is different from her other jobs. “In all the jobs I’ve ever had before this one, I either owned a business, was the manager of a business or was in sales and marketing,” she said.
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Still, those perspectives have proves invaluable. “I know the value of being able to step into somebody’s office and say, ‘Not only do I want to talk to you about my product, but I also want to speak to you about the importance of being a member of the chamber,’” Ray said. When Ray was in California and in Memphis, most businesses she dealt with had plaques on their walls proclaiming membership in the chamber. “It’s real simple to go in and say, ‘Ah, I see you’re a member of the chamber of commerce. I’m an ambassador for them. Tell me what you want them to do for you,’” she said. By being in business and serving as an ambassador, a person can promote a business and the chamber at the same time. “That’s why I got involved in it here,” Ray said. v v v The ambassadors meet on the first Friday of every month. Their next meeting will take place at The Alluvian. “Instead of having a lunch meeting, which we usually do, we’re going to have breakfast at their wonderful buffet,” she said. Ironically, Ray said, about 80 percent of the ambassadors have never been inside the boutique hotel. “What better person to go in and see what’s happening at a hotel than somebody who is going to go out and talk
about it?” she said. Ray said it’s important for ambassadors to visit the Museum of the Mississippi Delta and the GreenwoodLeflore Public Library and to become familiar with all the city has to offer tourists. “I think the ambassadors should sell the city. That’s the greatest marketing tool,” she said. But it goes beyond mere cheerleading. “You’re representing the businesses that belong to the chamber,” she said. “It’s important if you go in one business and they say, ‘Oh, I’m looking for such and such,’ you can say, ‘Oh, let me tell you about who’s a member of the chamber; it’s so-and-so, and I think they could probably help you with that.’ You’re the goodwill ambassador who is spreading the word.” She said she is optimistic about Greenwood despite the recent layoffs at Viking Range Corp. “Greenwood will continue to exist because its people are strong-willed,” she said. “It’s a very smart community. People want this city to be successful. I think Greenwood is going to be stronger because of this.” v v v Ray spent several years as a sales and marketing executive with Holiday Inn in Memphis and Florida. When she married her second husband, Jerry Ray, a native of Fulton who
had lived most of his life in California, the couple went into business together as Ray & Associates, which sold to mass merchants. “I sold everything from Liz Claiborne clothing to Chanel fragrances and Pioneer electronics,” she said. Jerry Ray died in 1998, and his wife moved back to Memphis, where she worked for eight years for the Memphis Business Journal. She came to Greenwood in 2006. She said her late husband’s business philosophy still rings true. “The secret to success is to find a need and fill it,” she said. “I think that’s good advice, no matter what business you’re in.” There were other words of wisdom, as well. “The person who can talk the most and make the biggest impression is not always the best salesman,” she said. “The best salesman is the one who shows up on the same day on the same month at the same time. Everybody knows they’re dependable.” McAdams said Ray has been a great addition to City Hall. “People tell me all the time how courteous and professional she is,” the mayor said. “That’s what you want. Sometimes, she can calm the storm before it comes into my office.” Ray said she hopes her tenure as chairman of the ambassadors will be a successful one. “It’s been a fun ride, and I hope it continues,” she said. !
“Greenwood will continue to exist because its people are strongwilled. It’s a very smart community. People want this city to be successful.” Bettie Ray
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Economic Development
Resurgence Foundation focuses on quality of life
T
he middle of a global economic recession might not seem like the best time to be taking chances by thinking outside the box, but for the Greenwood-Leflore-Carroll Economic Development Foundation, it was in with the new, and watch the old improve. The foundation made encouraging strides in 2012 with respect to new businesses and industry, but it also crossed thresholds of another sort: making sure it was courting a wide range of projects that both created jobs and improved the quality of life in the region. “We’re focused on creating a well-rounded economic development program that doesn’t just focus on one element of the community,” said the foundation’s chairman, Bill Crump. “We’re not just looking for industries with smokestacks. We’re also looking for retailers and restaurants. Our goal is to vary it, and hopefully in the future we will get more involved in educational opportunities like Teach for America,” he said. That kind of thinking, coupled with what Executive Director Angela Curry calls a “creative economy,” has helped turn things around for the Greenwood area in the past year. “For the past couple of years, economic development was just really slow,” said Curry. “That was true for Greenwood, Clarksdale and just about any other state in the country.” The year 2012, however, brought with it significant changes. Tractor Supply Company, a nationwide chain, chose Greenwood for its latest expansion. A second McDonald’s location
has also opened on U.S. 82. “Over the last few years, the interest in locating industries and businesses has waned,” said Crump. “But we did not have as many requests for information then as we’ve had in the last year and a half. We’re getting a lot more site visits and a lot more people asking for information. We’re very encouraged that things are turning around.” Curry said that in the past year alone, more projects have come across her desk than in the previous several years combined. Those businesses are not just factories and manufacturing plants. One of this year’s highlights is the Baptist Town Neighborhood Revitalization Project, which has made significant progress under the leadership of architecture fellow Emily Roush Elliott. Elliott was brought on with significant help from the foundation, and she will live and work to improve conditions in Baptist Town for the next three years. “It’s not just creating jobs,” said Curry. “It’s also about improving the quality of life for your citizens.” In addition to the good of the cause, investing in community development helps bring more businesses to the area. Curry said many businesses looking to expand investigate not only buildings, infrastructure and monetary incentives but also local schools, safety and livelihood. “Often they don’t even tell us that they are touring schools or exploring our neighborhoods,” she said. In that way, community development drives economic development, and when
McDonald’s opened a second store in Greenwood in 2012.
Tractor Supply Company is opening a location in Greenwood on U.S. 82 West. one improves, so does the other. Business also drives business, which is one reason the foundation has reached out to a diverse group of retailers and manufacturers to look into moving to Leflore and Carroll counties. “We are now working on three projects,” Curry explained. “One is a distributiontype project; one is an alternative energy project; and the other is a wood product manufacturing company.” The variety continues. Of those companies, one is an established international company, and the other is a start-up. Per Curry’s “creative economy,” the foundation has put a great deal of effort into encouraging entrepreneurship. A creative economy is one that uses its internal talent and infrastructure to create jobs and opportunity, as opposed to seeking industry from outside. “When the economic situation was really slow, we had to look at nontraditional projects. You look at the assets you have in your community, and you try to play off those assets,” said Curry. “If we have blues assets, let’s make a blues museum or open up a small blues club. You use your local talent to create jobs.” Offering potential homegrown companies support is a key ingredient to that success. “When a company closes, that displaced worker might say, ‘Hey, I might just think about going into business for myself,’” Curry explained. And that’s where the foundation steps in. “We’ve had a greater focus on entrepreneurship,” Curry said. One program the foundation offered, called Operation JumpStart, called 17
STORY AND PHOTOS BY JEANIE RIESS
existing and prospective small business owners to complete an eight-week microenterprise development program. Out of the program, three very different businesses have successfully gotten started. According to Curry, the program was invaluable to the success of those companies. “It provided technical assistance and guidance to people already in business who needed help staying in business, or help to those people who are looking to get into business and are looking for the best way to start,” she said. Another way the foundation has sought to support ingenuity was by organizing a social media workshop for local businesses. “It’s about bringing resources to people who might not know a lot about social media,” said Curry. “We had people who were looking for that kind of information and were looking for that help. We plan to do more of those.” Curry said the foundation has also taken a personal interest in smaller businesses trying to take off. One such example is Greenwood’s newest chiropractor, Kimberly Jefferson. “When she first came to town, she contacted me, and she is a prime example of how it should be done,” Curry said. “She took her time; she covered all the bases; she contacted all the right people. She got her ducks in a row, and now she has a successful chiropractic business. And I’ve caught up with her business and watched her grow.” “It’s not just big business for us anymore,” she said. “It’s everything. It’s about helping residents be able to have a better quality of life.” !
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Greenwood Commonwealth/Thursday, February 28, 2013
Index of advertisers
Accountants Directory Advanced Rehabilitation Ag Spray Equipment Alfa Insurance Alluvian, The Anel Corporation Annette & Shelia's APAC Artrageous T's Ashley Furniture Attic 82 Attorneys Directory AW Tree Service Ayers-Delta Implement Inc. Bank of Commerce Barnes Paper Beard & Riser Beattie Massage Therapy Bond's Towing Bowlin Heating & Air C&C Auto Capital City Beverage Capps Center Carroll Academy Carrollton Family Clinic Cash Plus & Title Plus Charles Spain Auto Chawla Hotels China Blossom Restaurant Clevenger's Jewelry & Gifts Clint Williams Co., The Compass Pointe Conerly’s Shoes Country Meadow Personal Care Home Crystal Grill, The Crystal Health and Rehab, L.L.C. Custom Glass Daughters of the American Revolution Delta Distributing Delta Emporium Delta Farm & Auto Supply Inc. Delta Health Alliance Delta Irrigation and Supply Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Delta Steam Laundry Dixie Roofing Doctors/Dentists Directory Dubard Realty E&H Realty Eastland Law Offices, PLLC Edward Jones Investments EMI Staffing Entergy Expressions Family Dental Associates Fast Cash
8 48 86 114 40 80 62 90 46 125 102 54 106 62 112 60 34 52 62 116 118 10 96 104 71 102 104 86 58 2 68 14 12 32 12 118 30 67 22, 114 121 102 75 90 67 52 80 74, 75 12 62 86 94 108 96 26 14 120
First Presbyterian Church 26 First South Farm Credit 98 First United Methodist Church 16 Flatland Grill 14 Four Paws 82 Franklin Coffey Estates 110 Fred T. Neely & Co. 120 Fresh Laundry 110 Friends of the Museum of the Mississippi Delta 67 Gingko Tree, The 18 Golden Age Nursing Home 34 Greenwood Animal Hospital 18 Greenwood Commonwealth 121, 128 Greenwood Downtown Drugs 84 Greenwood Leflore Hospital 20 Greenwood Leflore Public Library 123 Greenwood Market Place 110 Greenwood Rotary Club 67 Greenwood Utilities 48 Greenwood, City of 1 Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce 22, 28, 108, 120 Greenwood-Leflore-Carroll Economic Development Foundation 36 Harold Floyd Heating & Air 38 Homefront Home Improvement Center 56 Horan & Horan 123 Hughes, Chris DMD 114 J.D. Lanham Supply Company 14 Jack’s Package Store, Inc. 112 Jim Neill 125 Jim’s Home Furnishings 8 Johnson-McAdams 62 Jones Electrical Supply 72 Jones Sign Co. 30 Kenneth R. Thompson Jr. Builder 94 Kirk Brothers 62 Kornfeld's 34 Kosciusko Medical Clinic 116 Lamb’s Photography 18 Leflore Ace Hardware 71 Leflore Ace Hardware (3.1.8) 36 Leflore County Board of Supervisors 94 Leflore County Chancery Clerk 46 Leflore County Schools 92 Life Help Mental Health Center/Denton House 56 Life Help Mental Health Center/Garden Park 68 Lusco’s 28 Lynbar Jewelers 3 Magnolia Home Center 96 Mai Little China 3 Mallette Furniture 32 Malouf Construction 62 Malouf Furniture 50 McCaleb Discount Furniture 72 Mid Delta Home Health 42, 43
Mid Delta Rental, LLC. 72 Mid South Copier Systems, Inc. 32, 108, 120 Mike Rozier Construction 62 Mississippi Gift Company, The 12 Mobile Auto Glass & Truck Accessories 3, 16 Norris Bookbinding Company 62 North New Summit School 50 North Sunflower Medical Center 64, 65 Northwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center Inside Back Cover Old Time Farmers Market 18 Park Café 22 Parker Wrecker & Salvage 106 Patmar Computers 118 Pillow Academy 16 Pinkston Seablue 58 Pioneer Credit Company 116 Prime Time Plumbing 48 Puddleducks 82 River Heights Healthcare Center 92 Riverview Nursing & Rehabilitation Center 26 Sanders Tree Service Back Cover Scott Petroleum Corporation 24 Sequel Electrical Supply 100 Shell Rapid Lube 116 Sims & Rice Realty Development 90 Southern Ag Credit 62 Southern Duplicating 77 Southern Tire 8 St. Francis Church/Immaculate Heart of Mary 38 St. John’s United Methodist Church 58 Staplcotn 104 Stark Exterminators 80 Steve Daves Heating & Air 52 Sunflower Home Health 106 Tallahatchie General Hospital Inside Front Cover Terrace Gardens 36 Terrace View 100 Thompson Machinery 88 Top Dog Powersports 38, 84 Tri-Lakes Medical Center 68 Triple M Irrigation 10 Trustmark National Bank 84 University of Mississippi 82 Upchurch Plumbing, Inc 112 Upchurch Rental 48 Upshaw Law Office 100 Viking Range Corporation 30 Village Car Care 46 Westerfield Plumbing 56 Westminster Presbyterian Church, PCA 28 What's Cooking? 50 Whole Foods Store, The 52 Williams and Lord 62 Wilson and Knight 62
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