April 3, 2020 MBJ E-Edition

• Health Care M S B U S I N E S S . C O M

| Apr. 4 - Apr. 17, 2020 | Vo. 42 • No.8 • 32 pages

• Public Companies

{Section begins P12} {Section begins P19} » Hospitals in Mississippi innovate » Sanderson Farms remains for comprehensive COVID-19 focused on quality service response » Methodist Rehab Center provides therapy students with advanced technology, facilities and staff » Being one of last states to be hit by COVID-19 helps Mississippi prepare » Methodist O&P in Flowood answers call to create face shields during COVID-19 crisis

HOW IS HEALTHCARE STAFFING BEING IMPACTED

BY COVID-19 IN MISSISSIPPI?

How are they preparing and reacting? » Page 12

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Consumers have confidence brands can lead in Coronavirus response

By TODD SMITH mbj@msbusiness.com

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delman’s trust barometer has previously identified a shift in consumer sentiment where more people are valuing the actions of brands over institutions like the media and government.

That trend has jumped to center stage in a more significant way as countries around the world scramble to respond to a coronavirus pandemic that has resulted in a climbing human toll and upturned industries.

“This global crisis will fundamentally change how we think, behave, and consume,” Edelman todd smith CEO Richard Edelman wrote in the report. “There is no rapid return to normal.”

However, developing campaigns and products that address the crisis could be difficult in a remote work situation and economic environment where marketers are experiencing sharp budgetary pressures. The risk of botching communications around the pandemic is higher, as consumers are putting a premium on trust and could turn against brands they view as cynically capitalizing on the moment.

Edelman conducted its research across 12 markets, interviewing 12,000 people in the U.S., U.K., China and other countries around the world. A strong underlying theme in the report is the demand for serious, utility-minded marketing strategies and prioritization of people’s safety above all else.

Ninety percent of global respondents

want brands to put their best efforts into safeguarding the health and financial security of employees and suppliers during the pandemic, even if it means taking on “substantial” losses in the near term. Such findings come as workers at companies like

Instacart, Amazon and Amazon’s grocery subsidiary Whole Foods go on strike over health and pay concerns.

Consumer anxieties have also led many brands to adjust their creative and media strategies, dropping campaigns that nod to

Auto insurers giving premium credits because of outbreak

Geico expects credits to average about $150 per auto policy and $30 for motorcycle coverage. The average auto policy has a semi-annual premium of about $1,000 and generally covers more than one vehicle The company estimates the benefit to its 18 million auto and one million motorcycle customers will be approximately $2.5 billion.

Allstate said most of its customers would receive 15 percent of their monthly car premium in April and May, according to The Wall Street Journal. American Family is returning $50 per insured vehicle. That adds up to what American Family’s actuaries say represents what the carrier already has saved—and expects to

By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com

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uto insurers will give Mississippians a break on their insurance premiums to reflect the fact that during the corona virus pandemic they have traveled far less than usual, especially since Tate Reeves and other governors issued stay-at-home orders.

Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney said in an interview on

Tuesday that he expects all auto insurers to issue premium credits.

One of the companies offering coverage in the state, Geico, said in a release on Monday that it will give customers a 15 percent credit to its auto and motorcycle customers when their policies come up for renewal between April 8 and Oct. 7.

Geico said that the average auto policy has a semiannual premium of about $1,000 and generally covers more than one vehicle.

mass gatherings, human contact or other behaviors that could be negatively associated with the virus. Edelman’s report suggests that companies now angling to bring some levity to the situation could be offbase, with more than half of those surveyed calling for a full stop to any light-hearted or humorous messaging. Launching products also poses a challenge, as 54% of people said they will not pay attention unless the new offering is specifically designed to address pandemic issues.

The research indicates areas marketers might instead focus on to engage their audiences during a deeply uncertain time. For example, 84% of consumers want brands to give tips on coping with the pandemic.

This desire has been reflected in an uptick in promotions and free apps centered on health and wellness, meditation and stress relief. Nearly 90% of respondents would also appreciate brands that offer free or lower-priced products to health workers, high-risk individuals and those whose jobs have been impacted by the pandemic.

More purpose-led actions now could be a crucial way for brands to build long-term equity that will last after the worst of the coronavirus passes. Edelman found that 65% of consumers said a brand’s crisis response today will influence their likelihood of purchasing in the future.

The global COVID-19 crisis is fundamentally changing how we think, behave and consume. There is no rapid return to normal, and our new world will have trust at its core, with the brand mandate expanded to solve problems for all, care for all, collaborate with all and innovate in the greater public interest. At the pinnace of deepest global crisis, the public seeks for See BRANDS, Page 5

save through mid-June—as a result of the reduced claim volume.he Madison, Wis., insurer estimates that policyholders drove 40 percent fewer miles in the last three weeks of March. The company operates in 19 states, including Mississippi.

“It is real dollars we expected to pay out this year and no longer have to pay out,” said Telisa Yancy, American Family’s chief operating officer. “We are sharing it back right now when our customers probably most need it.”

Compared with last year, claims were down 20 percent to 40 percent weekly from March 11—when the World Health Organization declared the pandemic — through April 3, Yancy said.

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Dillard’s closes Only eight of Dogwood Festival stores are open during pandemic 200 stores, all Following are the businesses that are currently ogwood Festival Market is normally one six in Mississippi operational, and in what manner: of the most bustling retail centers along

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Lakeland Drive in Rankin County, but only eight of its 37 businesses were open earlier this week, in some fashion, due to the corona virus pandemic, according to Inland National Real Estate Services LLC. The Chicago-based company issued the following statement: “Dogwood Festival is abiding by the state of Mississippi’s shelter in place [order from Gov. Tate Reeves] with only essential businesses being open.”

Dickey’s BBQ, curbside and take-out; Red Wing Shoes, online or phone orders and curbside pickup; MaxFit Nutrition, open; GameStop, phone orders and curbside pickup; Hibbett Sports, not open but manager is fulfilling UPS orders; El Sombrero, drive-through only; McAlister’s Deli, curbside only; Chick-fil-A,drive-through.

— Jack Weatherly / MBJ

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ll six of the Dillard’s department stores in Mississippi have temporarily closed due to the corona virus pandemic.

They are among at least 200 stores closing out of 285 in the Little Rock-based retail chain.

The closing of the Dillard’s in Northpark mall in Ridgeland leaves the mall without any of its three anchor stores, the others being Belk and J.C. Penney.

All stores are maintaining their online sales, according to company spokesperson Julie Johnson Guymon.

The other Mississippi stores are in Biloxi, Meridian, Southaven, Vicksburg and Hattiesburg.

— Jack Weatherly / MBJ

UMMC professor invents $50 ventilator

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n the wake of worldwide shortages of ventilators needed to save lives during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a Mississippi medical school professor has invented a functional ventilator that can be built from commonly available supplies like a garden hose and lamp timer for about $50.

The idea of Dr. Charles Robertson, an assistant professor of anesthesiology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC), was to build the absolute simplest, cheapest, functioning ventilator possible from easily-available parts.

After watching the coronavirus spread from China to South Korea, Italy and Iran, Robertson said he knew that if it came to the U.S., there might not be enough ventilators for the surge in patients.

According to a UMMC press release, the Robertson Ventilators are made from garden hose sections, adapters, valves, a solenoid and a lamp timer, all of which can be bought at a hardware store or online. The parts cost about $50 and can be assembled in less than an hour. The ventilator works when plugged into the standard oxygen line in a hospital room which allows it to be used in more locations than a standard

ventilator.

Robertson said commercially available ventilators are fancier and more efficient, but the basic concept of a ventilator is not sophisticated. Ventilators work by pushing air into the lungs, then stopping for an exhale, then repeating as needed. His design controls air flow using an on-off valve similar to what you’d find in a landscape water

feature or lawn sprinkler controlled by the timer and the solenoid.

Alan E. Jones, a professor and chair of the UMMC Department of Emergency Medicine, said Mississippi doesn’t want to get into a situation like New York and New Orleans where they are running out of medical equipment because of the surge of patients.

“This is our plan for not running out,” Jones said.

Working with a team of registered nurse anesthetists, about 170 of the life-saving ventilators have been built to augment the Medical Center’s existing supply of 150 hospital ventilators. Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Dr. Richard Summers said the ventilators have passed rigorous testing in their research laboratories under broad physiologic conditions and lung pathologies.

Summers said they have applied for an Emergency Use Authorization with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which has indicated interest in these ventilators.

“I think this effort represents the independent ‘can do’ attitude and ingenuity of our physicians and scientists to confront this crisis in the service of the people of Mississippi,” Summers said.

The ventilators would be used as a last resort only if necessary.

Robertson said not only could the inexpensive ventilators save lives in Mississippi, but could serve as a template for other hospitals around the nation and the world to build emergency ventilators as needed.

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Mississippi nonprofits finding new ways to help communities “The sad part is a lot of them don’t have internet access, the parents don’t have computers or have limited awareness of how to use it. At the clubs it’s all set up for rganizations and nonprofits workthem.” ing to help community members During the pandemic closure, the online of all ages are working remotely meetings are welcome by the young club as they try to maintain contact during this members. “When we do conference calls, stay-at-home pandemic. The arrangethey really like to see each other,” he said. ments aren’t ideal but managers say they’re “They miss each other.” making good use of technology to carry out The concern for him now is paying the their missions. staff which normally is provided by grants The Court Appointed Special Advocates based on the number of members who of Hancock County work with abused and come to the clubs. But the communities neglected children in the county court have been helpful, he said. “So many peosystem and arranges safe living arrangeple have reached out and asked how can we ments for them. The staff and volunteers help.” are continuing to check in with the chilDisability Connection on the Mississipdren by telephone and video conferencpi Coast provides social support to resiing. Executive director Cynthia Chauvin dents through a variety of programs, events said they are finding ways to maintain and and outreach. It maintains the comprebuild connections through the utilization hensive Gulf Coast Community Resource of technology.

Guide of free and reduced- cost services, “We are certainly learning to adapt resupplies educational tools for professiongarding our ways of communication and als and hosts community events for people our methods. Volunteers are having in with disabilities, among other activities. some instances more frequent contact Clients usually come in by appointment than before and they are able to develop but the staff is now working from home, an even greater rapport with the child. taking turns checking in at the offices and Our children aren’t used to consistency so fielding calls as usual from people lookhaving their CASA volunteer check in on ing for information or help with food or them via phone and by video chat during a rent and medical equipment among other time like this shows to the child that they emergency needs, said program director matter and that the volunteer is truly in Kathy Stafford. their corner,” Chauvin said.

“We have a couple of volunteers helping The new way of doing us get things out to people when we can,” things is starting to beshe said. “We are continuing to work, uscome familiar, she said. ing social media and helping anybody who “At this point we are » The Mississippi Delta Boys & Girls have had to close their needs our assistance.” getting to more of a During the pandemic, Disability Concomfortable level with doors during the Covid-19 crisis, but club members and staff nection is “trying to help other nonprofits technology and adaptare finding creative ways to stay in touch. with outreach. We’re working together to ing our daily activities provide what we can to help around it. Our physical use nine club sites which have reached out and done people. A lot of churches are office may be closed but are closed because of the daily wellness checks, about helping as well.” court hearings are hapCOVID-19 pandemic. 200 in two weeks. On top of She said she’s been getting pening virtually, our volThere is a new web- that, 114 members are active 15 to 20 calls a day from peounteers are participating site where new videos in character development ple who have no transportain these hearings and still » David Dallas is the Chief Executive and updates are posted distance learning programs,” tion or anyone to help them drafting court reports to Officer of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the weekly. There’s also a he said. Those are continuwith food and other necesensure that the child’s Mississippi Delta free app developed by ing on Facebook, Zoom consities. One woman called best interest is conveyed the Boys & Girls Clubs of America that ference or conference call. because the city had cut off during the court process,” she said.

He said the clubs have her water and didn’t know The CASA staff provides vital guidance accesses games and other activities. The » CASA’s Cynthia Chauvin who to call to get service to the volunteer advocates, Chauvin said, “ app is available to any young people, not been closed in the past beas they assist them in navigating the system just club members. The organization also cause of tornadoes “but we like to stay open restored. Kathy told her to call the mayor as well as the ways we are having to adapt provides virtual lessons through the Zoom when schools are closed. We want the kids and within a few hours the water was back our practices during this time of social dis- and Facebook video capabilities to help to have a place to go.” Attendance almost on. “People are already panicking and don’t doubles in the summertime, he said. with homework and fitness. know what to do,” she said. “Actually I just tancing.”

“The staff in spite of everything has really listen to a lot of people who are stuck at Executive director David Dallas said the The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Mississippi Delta has adopted several ways of nine clubs have almost 2,000 members and created a lot of interesting ideas in program- home and just want somebody to talk to.” serving the young people who belong to or about 500 came at least a couple of times a ing,” he said. They are emphasizing how to week, if not every day. “Of that group we stay well and safe during the pandemic.

By LISA MONTI mbj@msbusiness.com

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» law elevated

NLRA considerations during COVID-19 pandemic

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s if employers and their HR personnel do not have enough to deal with, all must be mindful of the protections and prohibitions found under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) when addressing the many employment-related issues brought on by the coronavirus. Whether you have a union or not, the NLRA can be implicated when making difficult employment decisions in order to ride out the virus wave.

If you do not have a union The NLRA protects employees who engage in “concerted activity” for purposes of improving or changing working conditions. If an employer disciplines an employee for having engaged in concerted activity, the employer will have violated the anti-retaliation provisions of the NLRA and subject to an unfair labor practice charge. This is so regardless of whether the employees are members of a union or not. Concerted activity occurs when two or more employees act together with respect to any matter that is related to the terms and conditions of their employment.

In the COVID-19 context, most, if not all, employee concerns will be prompted by safety issues in the workplace. For instance, employees may mutually decide to wear or insist on wearing masks to work – even though

BRANDS

Continued from, Page 2

brands to be in sync with us – with safety and help top-of-mind.

Brands acting in the interest of its employees, stakeholders and society will reinforce their vision, leadership and trust, significantly increasing the bond with consumers, according to the Edelman study.

The Queen makes a Coronavirus entrance During a troublesome day for Britain, in which Downing Street announced Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted into the hospital for complications due to coronavirus, Queen Elizabeth II emerged for a rare address. Not only were loyal subjects looking for guidance, but the queen enticed a global audience looking for reassurance from the 93-year-old matriarch during this pandemic.

This was only the fifth time the queen has conducted such an address in her 68year reign. Others included a live broadcast after the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, and a statement at the beginning of England’s involvement in the Iraq War. While more of a figurehead than political stakeholder, the queen provides messaging that does not necessarily inform, but inspires and rallies the public. It’s import-

such apparel has not been previously allowed the collective bargaining agreement. by the employer. Since the request would However, some collective bargain agreebe viewed as a safety issue – and thus ments contain language which may permit effecting a term and condition of employeasing or slacking of some bargaining obliment – employers should be cautious in gations of the employer in the event of disciplining those employees. Additionnational or other emergencies over which ally, some employers require employees to the employer had no control – which the wear personal safety gear (hard hats, goggles, COVID-19 pandemic could possibly be timothy lindsAy gloves, smocks, etc.) while performing their viewed. Similarly, some collective bargaining jobs. As a cost-saving measure, many employers agreements may contain a force majeure clause require employees working different shifts to share the which would excuse a party from its contractual obligagear. However, employees collectively may object to tions due to extraordinary and uncontrollable circumdoing so now in light of the virus pandemic and request stances or events. Such language or clauses would work their own gear – refusing to share. Similarly, employees both ways, however. For instance, citing a force majeure may insist on more frequent sanitizing of workstations by clause, union members may decide not to show up for the employer. All such requests should be considered and work due to realistic safety concerns – although the addressed in light of the protections and prohibitions of collective bargaining agreement contained a prohibition the NLRA. against work stoppage or strikes.

After all is said and done, it would be prudent of an If you have a union employer subject to a collective bargaining agreement If some or all of your employees are represented by a to sit down with the union representatives and “negounion, the employer is subject to a collective bargaining tiate” the changes the employer believes are necessary. agreement. As a general matter, the collective bargaining Once the union is on board, the employer can be assured of not being impeded when implanting those changes. agreement requires an employer to bargain over some Otherwise, the employer may find itself spending more changes in terms and conditions of employment before time dealing with charges filed with the National Labor those changes are made – some topics are subject to mandatory bargaining while others may be a permissive subject Relations Board than tending to the efforts of keeping its of bargaining. Even if permissive, and not mandatory, an business operational. employer may be required to bargain with the union over the effects of any proposed changes. In other words, where » TIMOTHY W. LINDSAY has practiced exclusively in the area of an employer is under a collective bargaining agreement, labor and employment law since 1987 and has extensive experience there are few instances where an employer should feel in defending public and private employers against claims involving a comfortable making unilateral changes in the terms and wide variety of state and federal labor and employment laws. conditions of employment for those employees covered by

ant for a public figure to know their place in a crisis, as well as the tone and content an audience is expecting from them, when creating messaging.

In the speech, Queen Elizabeth encouraged citizens and the world that uniting, following protocols and coming together would help us to overcome this disease.

She engaged older Britons, referencing WWII and her first broadcast in 1940, when at age 14, she addressed children evacuated from their homes for their own safety. The separation of families during social distancing and current quarantine issues rang familiar.

Queen Elizabeth also inspired gratitude by thanking health care workers for their service, as well as citizens for staying home, even in the midst of financial turmoil.

She ended her speech with an encouraging acknowledgement that the crisis would end, and the reunions would be worth the temporary setbacks.

It was a beacon of hope moment!

Pressed Mic: White House Press Secretary Leaves Before Formal Press Briefing Stop the presses!

The White House press secretary – Stephanie Grisham – is out after never holding a formal press briefing.

President Donald Trump shook up his

communications team this week, replacing his press secretary and adding new staffers as he grapples with the coronavirus pandemic.

Grisham, who had held the titles of press secretary and White House communications director since last June, will be rejoining the first lady’s office in a new role as Melania Trump’s chief of staff.

Kayleigh McEnany, a top Trump campaign spokeswoman, will take over as Trump’s fourth press secretary. Also returning to the White House is Pentagon spokeswoman Alyssa Farah, according to the Associated Press.

Grisham, who succeeded Sarah Sanders and Sean Spicer, was arguably the nation’s least visible press secretary in modern history, having never held a press briefing during her nine months on the job.

While she made occasional appearances on the Fox News Channel, she preferred to tape her interviews in a studio to avoid having to speak to reporters on the White House driveway after appearing on TV cameras set up outside the executive mansion. Her departure was not a surprise.

Grisham had been largely sidelined since the start of the pandemic, with the press team for Vice President Mike Pence, the head of the coronavirus task force, taking the lead. In addition, Mark Meadows, the president’s new chief of staff, has been working to bring on his own team, includ-

ing senior adviser Ben Williamson.

The role of press secretary has been a particularly challenging one under the media-obsessed Trump, who believes himself to be his best spokesman, communications director and strategist, and demands absolute loyalty.

Over the last several weeks, Trump has revived the tradition of the daily press briefing, personally taking the stage in the White House briefing room to try to put a positive spin on the federal government’s response to the pandemic.

Each week, The Spin Cycle will bestow a Golden Mic Award to the person, group or company in the court of public opinion that best exemplifies the tenets of solid PR, marketing and advertising – and those who don’t. Stay tuned – and step-up to the mic! And remember … Amplify Your Brand! » TODD SMITH is co-founder, president and chief executive officer of Deane | Smith, a full-service branding, PR, marketing and advertising firm with offices in Jackson. The firm – based in Nashville, Tenn. – is also affiliated with Mad Genius. Contact him at todd@deanesmithpartners.com, follow him @spinsurgeon and like the ageny on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/deanesmithpartners, and join us on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/ company/deane-smith-&-partners.

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» INSIDE MISSISSIPPI

Thanks to all our heroes helping during this pandemic A

s we Mississippians know well, crises bring Taylor Machine Works in Louisville, using circuitry deout the best and worst of us. Heroes veloped at the High Voltage Laboratory at Mississippi emerge to do all sorts of innovative and State University, is converting hundreds of battery caring things. Villains emerge to take advantage of powered ventilators stockpiled to fill temporary needs the suffering in myriad ways. after disasters to AC power for longer term use at the We should be thankful for the heroes among us University of Mississippi Medical Center.

The University of Southern Miss 3-D printand celebrate them. Here is a small collection of stoing lab, the Eagle Maker Hub, in partnership with ries about those making a positive difference during BILL CRAWFORD the Mississippi Polymer Institute and USM School of this coronavirus pandemic.

Cathead Distillery in Jackson converted its production Mathematics, is making about 350 respirator masks a day from spirits to hand sanitizer and started giving it away in Jackson for Hattiesburg area health care workers. and Oxford. Others shifted production to deal with critical shortages The University of Mississippi Medical Center, spurred by Dr. of medical protective gear.

Charles Robertson, a UMMC pediatric anesthesiologist, is buildMeridian lampshade manufacturer Lake Shore Studios began sewing ing makeshift emergency ventilators with supplies found at local masks for local hospitals. hardware stores. This innovation allowed the hospital to more than Blue Delta Jeans in Shannon shifted from making custom jeans double its limited supply of ventilators. to face guards with much of the production going to the Mississippi Then there are untold numbers of Mississippians making a difEmergency Management Agency. ference hand sewing masks, delivering food to shut-ins, and more.

Kevin Charles Fine Upholstery in New Albany began making thou- One who gained some notoriety is Dr. Laura Vick, an Associate sands of face masks for medical facilities.

Professor at UMMC. She began sewing masks to give to others and Infinity-AP in Waveland shifted from custom storefront fabrica- posted a video on how to make them that went viral. tion to face guards for medical personnel.

UMMC students and volunteers began collecting, assembling La-Z-Boy in Newton also began making protective masks. and distributing “COVID Care Kits” to at-risk families. The kits Facilities with 3-D printers began making protective face shields contain basic supplies such as toilet paper, paper towels, diluted for local hospitals and medical staff, including students and staff at bleach, disinfectant solution, hand sanitizer and bar soap.

St. Andrews Episcopal School in Ridgeland and the Nissan vehicle Caring citizens in Grenada began distributing “blessing bags” to assembly plant in Canton. those in need.

Lazy Magnolia Brewery in Kiln and Queen’s Reward Meadery in Social media networks such as Nextdoor and Facebook show nuTupelo began producing hand sanitizer. merous people offering to shop and provide other services for the Hattiesburg Clinic, facing a shortage of coronavirus test kits, frail and elderly. partnered with the University of Southern Mississippi to produce Thanks to all our hero helpers.

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you” – John 15:12 its own test kits. USM researchers not only provided materials needed for production but also pilot tested the kits to gain Mississippi Department of Health approval to use them. » BILL CRAWFORD is a syndicated columnist from Jackson.

Mortgage process illustrates solving pandemic economy not simple

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t will be a sad and desperate game. When a timeout is called, time in a few months play is suspended and both when millions of laidteams go to their respective sidelines, and the clock stops. off homeowners receive The score does not change. foreclosure notices. Add The football stays in the same to that, the thousands of place. When play resumes renters and commercial everyone goes back to where leaseholders who will face they were when timeout was eviction. called.

Is this a problem that can phil hardwick Congress is taking a swipe at be solved now? And who will solving it. Timeout is the idea behind the solve it?

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic One idea is to simply call a timeout.

Consider how a timeout works in a football Security (CARES) Act. Except it’s called

forbearance instead of timeout. Homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages because they’ve lost a job or income during the coronavirus pandemic can defer paying their mortgage for up to a year.

If only it was that simple.

It is not as easy as it sounds because a mortgage payment is more than just a borrower paying a lender a set sum of money.

There are many sub-transactions along the way as the payment journeys to the lender and is peeled off little by little. Most See MORTGAGE PROCESS, Page 8

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Apr. 4 - Apr. 17, 2020 | Volume 42, Number 8

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» FROM THE GROUND UP

What impact will COVID-19 have on commercial real estate

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s I’m writing this column, my tract rent or leases in place. Quite frankly, family and I have quarantined there will be tenants who just will be unourselves in our home with able to pay rent. This is somewhat tied limited trips to the store, office and to the first point of Economic Stimulus. to see extended family. UnfortunateHowever, not everyone is planning to file ly, both of my parents are recovering for the stimulus relief and there are many from cancer so I have not been able to national tenants who do not qualify. Furvisit either one of them for fear that I ther, many of these national tenants have might possibly bring the virus unknowsent letters stating they are not planning to brian estes ingly to them. I have watched all of the napay rent for 90 to 120 days. Additionally, if you tional news I ever care to watch and like most, are are a residential or multifamily investor, there will be ready for this to be over. Unfortunately, after the virus no evictions for at least 60-90 days or more, dependhas left us, there will be a lot financial mess to clean ing on when the courts open and start hearing cases. I up, especially in the commercial & investment real es- would imagine an eviction case will not be high on the tate market. However, I also want everyone to know radar of most judges when the courts do open. Propthere are a myriad of resources out there to help until erty Owners, both residential & commercial, are going the effects of this virus and economic shutdown are a to have to work with tenants to keep them in place distant memory. until things are more stabilized. Additionally, it is too I have spoken with many clients over the past sever- early to tell how many tenants will not re-open when investment real estate markets will be going through some interesting times over the next 12-18 months. I al weeks about the unfolding events and even though this “shelter in place” is over. times are tough, now is not the time to panic and sell.

Third, is Debt Service. I remember read- know there is a lot of buzz from national economist Most investors should be saving cash to ride out the ing my first real estate investment book and the writer as to whether this will be a V-shaped recovery or a storm and wait until the market has stabilized or nor- boldly stated that debt and real estate is the greatest U-shaped recovery, one thing is for sure….there will be malized, whatever that might look like. There are a lot way to wealth; BUT, it is also the fastest way to ruin. long-term consequences coming out of this event that of active investors, many of whom are clients. Howev- There is no question that investors who are highly lev- will re-shape how we occupy and use real estate in the er, investors buying right now are expecting discount- eraged and over-leveraged are going to feel some pain future. On the bright side, there will also be great oped deals and quite honestly, they probably should. through this process. Most local banks have realized portunities in the chaos and if you are thinking of enDuring my many discussions over the past few weeks, the severity of the issue and have offered some relief tering the investment real estate market, now is a great I have been asked probably several dozen times, what with various options. However, having a lot of debt time to start thinking about your investment strategy.

Stay tuned for my next column when we will disis the impact of the Corona Virus going to have on the and high mortgage payments is going to prove probcuss these long-term consequences of the virus and commercial & investment real estate market? I believe lematic to most investors. In some cases, property the macro economic impacts it will have. If you are inmy answer has probably changed every few days based owners will be lucky to collect the majority of their terested in getting more detail and/or information on on the larger impact and longevity of the “shelter in rental payments which will put a lot of investors into industry resources to help get through these difficult place” requirement for both Mississippi and the rest of negative cash flow. Unless you have a plethora of cash times, please reach out to me and I will send to you. the country. I would also add that the answers should reserves, more than likely, you will need forbearance be given in both a short-term and long-term perspec- from your lender. Depending on your loan covenants, tive. Below, I will discuss three points of interest that this could put your property on the “watch” category, » BRIAN E. ESTES is president and investment advisor with the Estes most investors and property owners are going to have especially if you have a CMBS loan. For properties Group and can be reached at brian@estesgroup.net. to face in the short-term, well after the virus has min- with non-recourse loans, at some point the investors imized its exposure and we are all “back to business”. will choose not to use personal cash reserves to fund First, is Economic Stimulus: How the property. This could possibly much of the $2.2 Trillion will actually land in the hands cause some investors to walk away of the business owners who need it and will it come from their properties. Of course, » RICK NOBLE in time to whether the storm? Politics aside, I don’t all of this depends on the longevithink the federal government had any choice but cre- ty of the virus and impact it makes ate a stimulus package to help small business owners; on the property’s tenants. however, at the time this package was created, nobody Overall, the economy was truly realized the longevity of the virus and the fact that thriving prior to COVID-19 impredictions suggest this will lasts into early summer or pacting our lives. In my previous longer. Will the stimulus be enough? What impact article, “State of the Real Estate does the stimulus itself have on the real estate market? Market”, I mentioned that the real These are questions that will have both a short-term estate market was due for a recesimpact and long-term effects on the economy. Unfor- sion and there were some national tunately, only time will tell. indicators that suggested we were Second, is Economic Occupancy. close. I don’t think anyone would Most experienced real estate investors know the dif- have predicted a Pandemic, but ference between physical occupancy and economic regardless of the circumstances, occupancy. Basically, the difference in these terms is it does appear that the economy what is collected versus uncollected based on the con- and certainly the commercial &

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Reeves gets his Katrina with challenge of virus

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PERSPECTIVE

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ississippi Gov. Reeves said Friday that some businesses are testTate Reeves was ing people’s temperatures a first-term as they enter work. While state treasurer when the some with the virus could state was rocked by a massive have fever, doctors have and expensive disaster with said that many may not Hurricane Katrina in 2005. know they have contracted He worked with then-Gov. the virus until well after they’ve EMILY WAGSTER Haley Barbour to shape the shortinfected others. Most infected PETTUS term response and long-term recovery. people experience mild or moderate Now just a few months into his own symptoms, such as fever and cough that time as governor, Reeves is in charge of clear up in two to three weeks, but a fracMississippi’s response to the coronavirus tion suffering more severe illnesses can repandemic, a global problem that endan- quire ventilators to survive, and as the casegers lives and threatens to destabilize the load rapidly grows, hospitals are bracing for economy. a wave of patients.

The coronavirus is harder on people with Reeves appears to have learned lessons from Barbour, a fellow Republican he underlying health conditions, and Mississippi has high rates of obesity, diabetes, views as a mentor.

Reeves faced sharp criticism for his de- hypertension and other chronic problems.

The state also has the lowest number of lay in issuing a statewide order for people physicians per capita, according to the Mississippi State Medical Association.

For years, Reeves and other Republicans who control state government have opposed the expansion of Medicaid to the working poor, and Reeves has said the coronavirus pandemic has not changed his mind. Expansion is an option under the health care overhaul that then-President Barack Obama signed into law in 2010, and Mississippi is in the minority of states rejecting it.

Democrats have said Mississippi has lost to stay at home to try to slow the spread hundreds of millions of dollars by not exof the highly contagious virus, even as panding Medicaid, and that has endangered case numbers rose rapidly in next-door small rural hospitals, closing some of them.

The nonpartisan HOPE Policy InstiLouisiana. tute, which advocates for programs to help By the time Reeves announced on low-income residents, said in an analysisWednesday that he was setting a shelApril 1 that the coronavirus “will exacerbate ter-in-place order to take effect Friday existing challenges, particularly for low-inevening and extend until the morning of come, rural communities of color.” Using April 20, he did it with the backing of big data from the Kaiser Family Foundation, business groups — a classic approach by HOPE said 188 of the 383 counties or parBarbour, who often rounded up support ishes in Deep South states either don’t have of influential groups before announcing an intensive care unit or don’t have a hospital public policy proposals. at all. Mississippi had 40 counties without an Mississippi Economic Council president ICU, the highest number in any of the states. and CEO Scott Waller and Mississippi After Katrina, Barbour often praised Manufacturers Association president and Mississippians for being resilient and comCEO John McKay issued a joint statement passionate. Reeves is doing the same now, Wednesday praising Reeves’s order and ap- even as he acknowledges the stay-home orplauding health care providers. der won’t be easy.

“This measure will help protect the “We’re not afraid of hard moments. We health and safety of our citizens, while at step up during tough times,” Reeves said the same time recognizing the vital role Friday. “You’re protecting your parent, your essential businesses provide by assuring de- spouse, your friend, your neighbor, and livery of necessary services,” they said. more. By committing to follow the rules, Reeves’s order tells people to work from you’re protecting yourself.” home, where possible. It also deems many types of businesses and manufacturing op- » EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS has covered Missiserations as essential and says they can re- sippi government and politics since 1994. Follow her on main open. This includes poultry process- Twitter:http://twitter.com/EWagsterPettus. ing and shipbuilding.

...the word “mortgage” comes from the French “mort-gage.” “Mort” means death and “gage” meaning pledge.

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mortgage payments are comprised of three major parts – principle and interest, real estate taxes, and homeowner insurance. There may also be HOA dues and mortgage insurance premiums.

A personal example. Last year, my wife and I bought a new home. It was financed by the builder’s mortgage company.

Shortly after closing, we received notice that our mortgage had been sold to another company and that we were now to make our monthly mortgage payment to someone else. Our new mortgage company is a servicer, meaning that the actual mortgage has been sold to someone else, perhaps a quasi-federal government agency such as Federal National Mortgage Association, commonly known as Fannie Mae, Government National Mortgage Association, or Ginnie Mae, or some other provider of funds. Our mortgage is probably bundled with other mortgages and sold to other investors. Our payment is now “serviced” by this new company.

Our mortgage payment is comprised of three parts: principle and interest, real estate taxes and homeowner insurance premium. That payment creates a lot of jobs along the way. Someone at the mortgage servicer makes certain that the real estate taxes are paid, the homeowner insurance premium is paid, and that the principle and interest is forwarded to whomever now owns the mortgage. Someone at the county, the city and the school district is responsible for dispersing that money to the appropriate place. More jobs. In other words, a mortgage payment is not like a direct buyer-to-seller transaction, such as when a customer purchases a vegetable direct from the farmer who grew it. There are lots of other parties and transactions involved in the process. That’s why the timeout idea is not so simple. Many people and jobs are affected.

That monthly mortgage payment does not even count the people/jobs in

the process of setting up that mortgage.

Mississippi is what as known as a deed of trust state. The mortgage is actually two documents, the deed from the seller to buyer and another deed to a trustee whose role it is to sell the property if the buyer defaults on the mortgage payments.

Some states incorporate both documents into one mortgage, and are thus known as mortgage states. Setting all this up, so to speak, is what happens at the real estate closing. Lots of money is accounted for and distributed to others involved in the transaction. Those may include real estate agents, appraisers, home inspectors, termite inspectors, insurance companies and others.

By the way, the word “mortgage” comes from the French “mort-gage.”

“Mort” means death and “gage” meaning pledge. So when a borrower is paying off a home loan they are said to be “killing” it. States, lenders and others affected by the CARES Act are still trying to figure it out. It contains much more than just mortgage relief. And it doesn’t apply to every mortgage. There are many other provisions in the act, not to mention the rules and regulations that will be adopted as authorized by the act. And this is only one of several acts that Congress intends to pass.

The purpose of this discussion is simply to illustrate how complicated transactions in our economy have become and how many jobs are involved in just one transaction, i.e. buying a home. The same is true for commercial and residential leases.

The economic road ahead is a long one.

There will be twists and turns and bridges and obstructions. We will all travel together on this journey. We will not be affected equally. It will be a difficult one because so many things in our economy are interconnected.

But we will make it. » PHIL HARDWICK is a regular Mississippi Business Journal columnist. His email address is phil@ philhardwick.com.

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Mississippi banks ready to assist with CARES Act’s Paycheck Protection Program Loans

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s the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) disease continues to impact communities across the country, Mississippi banks are working around the clock to assist borrowers, including through the new Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Late yesterday evening, the U.S. Treasury Department and Small Business Administration issued further guidance for the CARES Act’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which will provide up to $350 billion in fully forgivable loans to help small businesses maintain payrolls during the coronavirus pandemic.

Banks and the general public received revised guidance for the program after the close of business on Thursday, April 2 for a critical program that launched Friday, April 3. Banks are working to quickly interpret this guidance and provide funds to customers as fast as possible. Many banks still await final approval from the federal gov-

ernment to make these loans. While some banks are now eligible to make these loans, Mississippi bankers ask for patience from the public as the program begins.

“Please remember that PPP loans aren’t the only way that Mississippi’s banks and bankers are helping their customers,” said Gordon Fellows, president and CEO, Mississippi Bankers Association (MBA). “Your banks are continuing to work through understanding all of the options available to best fit each of their customers. We will all have to be patient as we work through this process. Mississippi’s banks understand the urgency of supporting small businesses and are committed to doing all they can to support small employers all around our state that are struggling with unprecedented challenges right now. The SBA PPP program provides a great tool for banks to help customers, and our banks are eager to work with local small businesses to take advantage of this program.”

BancPlus completes acquisition of State Bank and Trust

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ancPlus Corp., parent of BankPlus, announced on Wednesday the completion of its previously announced acquisition of State Capital Corp., parent of State Bank and Trust Company.

The BankPlus acquisition creates the

state’s sixth-largest bank based in Mississippi, with 80 branches throughout Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. As of Dec. 31, 2019, the combined company has approximately $4.1 billion in assets, deposits of $3.6 billion and gross loans of $3 billion.

Kirk A. Graves, chief executive officer of State Bank, has been named senior executive, vice president and chief operating officer of BankPlus. Michael Brumfield has been named executive vice president and regional executive for Louisiana, and

Owen Carty has been named executive vice president and regional executive for south Mississippi and Alabama.

BankPlus anticipates the conversion of all State Bank accounts will occur the weekend of June 12.

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Schools to stay Gray hair, travel deals, ice cream and other serious Covid issues closed through end of semester O

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ississippi public schools will remain closed the rest of the semester, according to Gov. Tate Reeves, because of Coronavirus.

Reeves made those comments during a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

“School buildings will remain closed the rest of the semester,” Reeves said. “That does not mean that school is cancelled.

Distance learning will continue.

“We will be ensuring that learning will continue to take place.”

Reeves went on to say he will be asking schools and educators to submit plans on how to accomplish that for the entire state.

Educators will also be tasked with coming up with a plan for preparing for classes in the summer and early fall, not as a mandatory measure for students, but as a measure to allow them to keep up without having been in a classroom setting the final nine weeks of the school year.

“We know that this virus doesn’t hit everyone equally,” Reeves said. “The economic damage does not hit everyone equally. And despite the best efforts of our education community, this hasn’t hit all students equally.” » Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves discusses how the state is responding to COVID-19 coronavirus as the numbers of deaths and of those people who have tested positive with the disease continues to rise, during his news conference in Jackson, Miss., Monday, April 6, 2020. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

h great, Harvard would be like without modern researchers are technology? We are staysaying that stress ing connected through the causes hair to turn gray. I miracle of all the things think we sort of knew that I don’t understand but before but now it must be use anyway. For Easter my family had a virtual get toso if Harvard says it, right? gether to see and hear each Show me anyone in the U.S. other. It made my day, but I who isn’t stressed right now LYNN LOFTON have to say the males in the family and I’ll show you a five year old. are looking pretty wooly (see the second In fact my five-year-old granddaughter thinks everything is just hunky dory, and paragraph). A couple of them are growing that’s as it should be. She has plenty of beards too, figuring they might as well go for the total wooly look. years ahead to earn her gray hair.

So does this mean we’ll have a nation On another positive note: more peoof gray heads when we re-emerge into the ple are walking and riding bikes than I world? That’s good news for hair salons can ever remember seeing. It gets us out and barber shops when they’re allowed to of the house and we don’t have to dress practice their trades. But it won’t be just up. Who knows, maybe we’ll come out of about covering the gray; there will also be this pandemic slimmer even though we’ll a pent up demand for haircuts. Currently be grayer. Nah, probably not because I’m there are some wives giving their husbands rewarding my good behavior with things haircuts, but I seriously doubt the wives are I don’t normally eat — bacon, ice cream letting the men take scissors to their heads. with chocolate sauce, etc. Here you have Then there are these fabulous travel permission to fill in the blanks with your deals that are popping up on everyone’s own well-earned guilty pleasures Peace. computers. Flights are cheap, cheap. Going now would mean an almost empty plane but everything is closed when you » LYNN LOFTON is a long-time correspondent for get to your dream destination. Book ahead the Mississippi Business Journal. for the time when we’re released from house arrest? That guessing game will add to the accruing of gray hair (see the first paragraph).

In addition to the plethora of airline deals, there are, and have been for years of course, marvelous online deals for every type of garment.

Why shop now when there’s nowhere to wear new duds? Someone said the big decision of the day is what to wear when taking out the trash. There’s also going to the mailbox; that’s the highlight of my day.

Can you imagine what this confinement

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Homeowners turning to gardening during lock-down

By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com

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ississippians stuck at home during the corona virus lockdown are turning to gardening for food and therapy.

Plant nurseries across the metro Jackson area are reporting record sales in some cases.

“Business has increased exponentially,” said Graham Neeld, assistant manager at Madison Garden Center.

Digging into the earth and planting is “good for mental health and a boost to the immune system,” Neeld said.

He said the Vitamin D from sunshine is especially good for older people.

The nursery at 811 Madison Ave. is seeing “a lot of first-time vegetable gardeners. We are working hard to keep things in stock.” The nursery is offering curbside service and free delivery for purchases of $100 or more, Neeld said.

Maur McKie, owner of Green Oak Nursery, said sales of vegetable plants are “really taking off. We’ve had to reorder several times.”

Overall, McKie (pronounced mackie) said, business is a “mixed bag” for what he called “pretty diversified” enterprise, including “interior scaping,” tending to plants in malls and banks, which he says has suffered because of the statewide lock-down.

He said he had to lay off six to eight workers and has about 28 now, some of whom are doing “double jobs” at the nursery at 5009 Old Canton Rd. in Jackson.

McKie buys his vegetable plants from Standing Pine Nursery in Hinds between Raymond and Terry in Hinds County.

“This is the most vegetables that we’ve sold in years,” said Dody Ogletree, who, along with her husband, Jody Ogletree, owns Standing Pine. Dody Ogletree says there are a “lot of first-time gardeners.”

“We are very low on [vegetable plants] right now,” she said.

Jody Ogletree said sales of veggie plants has been “crazy,” unprecedented for Standing Pine.

Steve Zischke, owner of Lakeland Lawn and Garden in Flowood, said, his business has likewise done a lot of vegetable plant sales, with a spike in March.

Sales have leveled off in April, said Zischke (pronounced ziskie), adding that he has to lay off many older members of his sales staff because of their vulnerability to the virus.

‘Dig into the soil, delve into the soul.’

– Ray Bradbury ‘Dandelion Wine’

» Rob Haralson, garden center manager at Green Oak Nursery, holds a tomato plant. He was expecting another shipment of vegetable plants Tuesday or Wednesday. Photo by Jack Weatherly

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health care Apr. 4 - Apr. 17, 2020 • Mississippi Business Journal • www.msbusiness.com

Hospitals in Mississippi innovate for comprehensive COVID-19 response

By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com

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ospitals in Mississippi have been proactive working to address the largest public health emergency in a little more than 100 years. Some of the innovative things medical providers have been doing in Mississippi to prepare for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) include the University of Mississippi Medical Center inventing a ventilator than can be built from $50 with easily available parts like a garden hose and a lamp timer, and hospitals coming up with technology to decontaminate and reuse N95 respirator masks critical to helping protect healthcare workers.

Both ventilators and personal protection equipment (PPE) such as masks and gowns have been in short supply nationwide as the number of cases in the U.S. had grown to 525,704 with 20,486 deaths as of April 13. Mississippi has seen 2,781 cases with 96 deaths in Mississippi. The largest number of cases were in the higher population areas: Hinds County, DeSoto County, Jackson County, Madison County, Harrison County and Bolivar Counties.

About 30 percent of those testing positive have been hospitalized. Deaths were most common in people more than 60 years old.

St. Dominic Hospital Chief Medical Officer Eric McVey, M.D., Jackson, said as the number of cases continues to rise in the state, St. Dominic’s continues to prepare to meet the evolving needs of the people and communities they serve through surge planning, collaboration with state health officials and fellow hospitals, and innovation in numerous areas to address the many challenges unique to this crisis.

“St. Dominic’s has taken a number of

steps to ensure our hospital remains as safe an environment as possible for our patients, team members and community,” said McVey, an infectious disease expert. “We are certainly facing the same supply chain challenges as hospitals across the country, but our team continues to identify and explore new avenues for acquisition of needed materials.”

One such innovation includes the development of a process using Xenex UV robot technology to disinfect N95 masks for reuse up to five times.

McVey said these robots, also used throughout the hospital, use UV light to quickly destroy all major classes of organisms including viruses, bacteria and bacterial spores without contact or chemicals. “This process is enabling us to maximize the use of this valuable PPE resource,” he said.

St. Dominic Medical Associates and MEA Medical Clinic physicians are visiting with patients via telehealth as well as facilitating COVID-19 symptom consultation and testing through dedicated sites in the tri-county areas.

Caitlyn Thompson, director of marketing, growth & outreach, Bolivar Medical Center, said very day, every hour, every minute is fluid when it comes to supplies.

“Bolivar Medical Center currently has a stable supply of gowns, masks and gloves,” Thompson said. “However, we are accepting donations of unused and handmade medical and protective supplies and equipment. This move is part of Bolivar Medical Center’s ongoing efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for in-

creased needs of PPE, which healthcare providers across the nation are experiencing. We recently issued a press release with the items we can accept, and it is accessible at bolivarmedical. com. These handmade items would be used in the event that we were to deplete our medical-grade stock of PPE.” Like other hospitals across the county, Bolivar Medical Center has taken precautionary steps to help ensure the safety of patients, employees and visitors that

include restricting visitors, closing common areas, limiting entry points, performing screenings per CDC guidelines, supplying PPE as appropriate, transferring non-clinical staff to working from home and See HOSPITALS, Page 13

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CONTROVERSY ABOUT N95 MASKS PUTS OXFORD DOCTOR IN THE SPOTLIGHT

By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com

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aptist Health System, which has 22 hospitals in its system including 10 in Mississippi, is a regional leader in testing, diagnosing and treating COVID-19, said spokeswoman Ayoka Pond.

“We have tested more patients than any other provider in our region,” Pond said. “We also can move patients to larger hospitals in our system if we need to. We have been meeting seven days a week to protect our staff and our patients and have been a leader in best practices and response around our region. We have practiced strict furlough, quarantine, and isolation procedures for staff and patients.”

Pond said they have enough masks and other PPE to protect their team and care for their patients. She said in addition to the masks they wear throughout the hospital, if they’re providing direct care to confirmed or suspected COVID patients, workers are provided with N95 masks.

However, it made national headlines recently when Dr. Samantha Houston filed a lawsuit claiming she lost her job at

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implementing telemedicine appointments at their clinics.

Ochsner Medical Center–Hancock continues to treat COVID-19 patients both through the hospital’s regular bed capacity and critical care bed capacity. Those numbers continue to fluctuate each week.

Alan E. Hodges, CEO, Ochsner Medical Center-Hancock, Bay St. Louis, said they have opened a respiratory care testing clinic on their hospital campus to screen patients for COVID-19 testing.

Hodges Hodges said at this time, Ochsner Health System has been well supplied with PPE and ventilators.

“We continue to plan for the future as well, and have a 2-tier ICU surge plan should the demand for ICU beds increase,” Hodges said. “I am very proud to lead such a dynamic and passionate team of healthcare professionals during this very unusual and challenging time. They are truly heroes, and they are making a difference every day in the lives of our patients and the community.”

Baptist Memorial Hospital-North in Oxford because she complained about lack of PPE for nurses. Houston said she felt safe enough because she had a N95 mask, but felt like nurses were not as safe.

Mississippi Today quoted an anonymous doctor at Baptist Memorial Hospital-North as stating that the hospital’s public message is very different than the message that the staff are receiving in their daily updates being asked to conserve PPE. At least one other doctor in Mississippi has reportedly been fired for speaking out about coronavirus safety.

Pond denied that nurses did not have adequate access to N95 masks.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued guidelines that regular face masks instead of the safer N95 respirator masks can be used when seeing COVID patients unless the health care provider is doing an invasive procedure such as an intubation. CDC has recommended providers consider alternatives in the face of a potential N95 respirator shortage.

Chas Pierce, Gulfport Memorial Hospital senior director, system development, said they are currently treating three COVID patients at Memorial.

“We have sufficient supply of ventilators,” Pierce said. “Currently, all staff entering the hospital are required to wear a surgical or cloth mask. If a staff member is going into a suspected or positive COVID patient room, they are required to wear all proper PPE which includes a gown, a surgical mask or N95 mask, eye protection, face shield, and gloves. We have an adequate supply of all PPE.” Timothy H. Moore, president/CEO, Mississippi Hospital Association, said MHA continues to work to help procure additional personal protective equipment for state hospitals and lobby for additional financial support so the hospitals can keep their doors open to continue caring for their communities.

“In sourcing PPE for hospitals, we have found some trying to take advantage of this crisis by gouging prices for masks, ventilators, and other equipment needed,” Moore said. “We continue to call on the state and federal government to aggressively pursue those wrongdoers. They are putting health care worker and patient lives at risk.”

In addition, MHA is are working to make sure all Mississippians understand and appreciate the sacrifices and dedication

“Use surgical N95 respirators only for HCP (health care providers) who need protection from both airborne and fluid hazards (e.g., splashes, sprays),” the CDC states.

In Italy, an estimated nine percent of COVID-19 deaths have been in healthcare workers. Italy’s national health institute reports 4,824 health care workers have been infected.

In another hard-hit country, Spain, about 5,400 health care workers have been infected representing about 14 percent of cases. Some health care workers in those countries have complained about lack of PPE.

displayed by nurses, doctors, and all other healthcare workers during this crisis.

“They are caring for COVID-19 patients while continuing to care for patients battling other conditions and traumatic injuries - all while preparing for an expected

surge of COVID-19 patients,” Moore said.

“We appreciate all of the businesses that have stepped up to help with donations and to say thank you. We encourage all in Mississippi communities to join those efforts.”

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Methodist Rehab Center provides therapy students with advanced technology, facilities and staff

By CAREY MILLER mbj@msbusiness.com While studying to be a physical therapist at the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s School of Health-Related Professions, Annie Campbell heard nothing but good things about Methodist Rehabilitation Center’s student program.

» Methodist Rehabilitation Center physical therapy student Annie Campbell, at right, works with patient Hailly Bernard of Drew. Bernard was eight months pregnant when she was injured in a tornado. Campbell worked with her on walking while carrying a weighted baby doll that stood in for her newborn son Grayson.

“I heard over and over again that it was such a great clinical experience,” Campbell said.

So she says she jumped at the chance to enroll. And now, after 12 weeks working with and learning from the staff of MRC’s spinal cord injury program, she says it’s more than lived up to the hype.

“It’s a much more team-based approach than I’ve seen in other settings I’ve had a chance to work in so far,” Campbell said. “I loved how involved the entire staff got with the students, that the doctors would come and talk to me about my patients. And also the occupational therapy staff that I worked with would come to me to discuss strategies as well.”

The program offers the necessary clinical rotations for students finishing their degrees in physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. Students are paired with an MRC therapist in their discipline who has at least a year of on-the-job experience.

“It’s an opportunity for them to transition from book learning and labs with their fellow students to actual hands-on learning with patients, under the mentorship of a licensed therapist,” said MRC education director Marcia King, who organizes the program.

Located on the UMMC campus in Jackson, MRC is a private nonprofit that is Mississippi’s only freestanding rehabilitation hospital. While MRC remains independent, it is affiliated with UMMC in the areas of neuroscience research, clinical care and education.

Naturally, many of the program’s students come from UMMC. But MRC has hosted students from schools across the southeast and as far away as the University of Iowa and Duke University.

“We provide these students an enormous amount of exposure to, not only clinical excellence, but also our advanced technology, our research department, our outpatient services—across the entire continuum of care we offer at Methodist Rehab,” said MRC therapy director Suzy Gonzales.

Students can get hands-on with equipment like the LokomatPro FreeD, the ErigoPro and the ZeroG Gait and Balance System. The Lokomat is a treadmill that uses a harness system to partially unload a patient’s weight, while a robotic device attached to the hips, knees and ankles guides the legs in a proper stepping motion. The ErigoPro is a neuro-robotic device that combines three therapies in one—a tilt table, functional electrical stimulation (FES) and robotic leg movements. And the ZeroG is a harness system attached to an overhead track that supports a patient’s body weight and provides a safe, controlled environment for practicing various therapy

» Recent participants in Methodist Rehabilitation Center’s student program at Methodist Outpatient Therapy in Flowood are, from left, Mary Catherine Rigel, Ashley Brewer and Sally Metcalf.

tasks.

Students also have the option to participate in research projects, many of which involve the aforementioned equipment.

And they have the opportunity to interact with the staff of MRC’s two outpatient therapy clinics in Flowood and Ridgeland.

At the Flowood facility, they can also familiarize themselves with the field of wheelchair and seating solutions at MRC’s Assistive Technology Clinic or get some insight into post-amputation care at Methodist Orthotics & Prosthetics.

Methodist O&P is a division of MRC with six locations across the state and one in Monroe, La. They also take an active role in MRC’s education outreach.

“We provide lectures to both physical and occupational therapy programs in the state,” said Methodist O&P director Chris Wallace. “The goal is to educate them on what orthotic and prosthetic components are, how they function in a general sense, and what to look for and address

when they encounter a patient with O&P needs.”

King says that MRC’s facilities aren’t the only reason the program is sought-after, however. Mainly, it’s about the people.

“Most of all, these students get the opportunity to work with our therapy staff with advanced skills and certifications,” King said.

MRC has the largest number of neuro clinical specialists (NCS) in one facility in the state, a distinction for individuals with advanced clinical knowledge in neurological physical therapy. MRC also employs five of the eight seating and mobility specialists (SMS) in the state, which recognizes demonstrated competence in wheelchair assessment.

Campbell’s mentor, physical therapist Chris McGuffey, is a NCS and SMS. He also did his clinical rotation with MRC’s student program before he graduated and joined the MRC staff. Currently, MRC employs several therapists who took part in the student program.

“The training of students is really about investing in the future of our hospital,” Gonzales said. “Our part in the education process is to provide quality care to our patients while providing students with a solid training experience to develop them into excellent clinicians.”

King says the program benefits the hospital in other ways as well.

“The students come from a variety of programs, which can bring different perspectives that challenge our clinicians,” King said. “It’s an exchange of ideas between student and mentor.”

Madison Colley, a UMMC student, has been with the program for two months working with occupational therapist Melissa Kay McCombs.

“She’s more detail-oriented than me, so we have worked together very well,” she said. “She’s helped me to learn to slow down and really think about what I’m doing.”

And the MRC experience has also emphasized the virtue of Colley’s chosen profession.

“The staff is very proactive and hardworking, and really care about the patients and their success,” she said.

“Being here has definitely helped my skills as a future occupational therapist.

I’m seeing firsthand patients come in with major deficits and how much they improve by the time they leave. It’s truly awesome to see.”

16 n

Mississippi Business Journal

n

HEALTH CARE

Apr. 4 - Apr. 17, 2020

Being one of last states to be hit by M a COVID-19 helps Mississippi prepare

d

By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com

I

t has often been said that Mississippi is last in everything, but in the case of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), being one of the last states to see the disease emerge has been a real benefit, said Dr. Claude D. Brunson, MD, executive director, Mississippi State Medical Association (MSMA).

“The virus hit us later than areas like New York, California and Washington state,” Brunson said. “We have had an opportunity to learn a lot. Physicians in our state have been reaching out to physicians in other states to learn how to move patients through the system in the most effective way with the best care. COVID arriving later has also allowed us to have a little more time to figure out how to get the supplies we need.”

Personal protection equipment (PPE) is in short supply all over the country, but Mississippi has additional time to compete to get some of those supplies for when the surge is anticipated here. Brunson said the experience of other states has allowed Mississippi governmental leadership to learn and get ahead. The week before Easter the state was able to find a significant amount of PPE supplies including masks and face shields that Brunson said are expected to help fairly significantly relieve the stress.

“What we are somewhat worried about is surgical gowns,” he said. “Cases in California and New York are at peak sucking up the supply that is coming in.”

The governor has put together a COVID task force, and MSMA is working with the governor’s office and other partners to put together a COVID-19 advisory group.

The group is designing a COVID system of care similar to the state’s trauma care and stroke networks.

Bringing together the entire experience and expertise for the COVID-19 disease process, a coordinated system is being designed with three tiers of hospitals. Level one hospitals have the highest number of intensive care unit beds and are staffed with critical care specialists. Level two hospitals have some ICU beds and specialists. The third tier is hospitals that don’t have ICU care, but can serve as convalescent hospitals to take care of recovering COVID patients, freeing up beds at level one and two hospitals for those who are the most ill.

“We have been working very hard and are very happy with where we are in that process,” Brunson said. “We take them up the system as more care is needed and down as they need less care so we keep beds available for the right patients. This is all in coordinator with the Governor’s office and the Mississippi State Department of Health.”

MSMA is creating a mobilization database of physicians in the state with various skill sets who could be called upon to be used at any hospitals that become overwhelmed.

Rural hospitals in the state and the U.S.

Brunson

get to the place you are diagnosed, can you afford the medicine to control the disease process?”

African American also have a higher percent of co-morbidities such as diabetes, heart disease and

lung problems.

“We know that co-morbidities and other disease processes exacerbate negative health outcomes for anything,” Brunson

“Nobody is immune.

If you have lungs and you are breathing, you can get this virus, and it can cause significant problems for you up to and including death.” have been struggling for some time due to being located in areas where residents tend to be older, less affluent and with more serious health problems. In Mississippi, many of those hospitals are located in areas with a higher percentage of African Americans. In Mississippi, 38 percent of the population is African American, but 72 percent of the COVID deaths as of April 7 have been in African Americans.

“That shines a light on a number of things,” Brunson said. “A lot of health inequity is socioeconomic. A larger percent of African Americans is in that lower socio-economic class. This isn’t just about not having active health care. Even if you

said. “The pandemic will shine a broader light on that sort of health inequity.”

The COVID-19 system of care may end up helping rural hospitals and the patients they serve. With the help of funding from Congress, rural hospitals will get an infusion of support.

“Hopefully, at the end of all this, we will have a chance to go back to the drawing board,” Brunson said. “We do need support across the state so the hospitals can be healthy and in place in our rural areas. We are working to shore them up, and they are an important component of our care across the state.”

There are a number of dynamics work-

ing against the African American community, including the myth that AfricanB H Americans can’t get COVID-19.

“We have to do a better job of real education in the community and dispelling those myths,” Brunson said. “We need to do better educating the African American community about all the things that would be helpful like social distancing, staying at home, avoid socializing in large gatherings, washing your hands frequently and wearing a mask when you go out. The safest thing is do everything you can to avoid getting the virus. That is the best way to assure a better outcome in the African American community. We just have to drive that home.”

National health authorities have said the myths and false information being spread on the internet is making the job of protecting Americans more difficult. One popular conspiracy theory tries to make the case that COVID-19 is not dangerous and is a plot by the super wealthy to take control of the world.

“People will get in an echo chamber,” Brunson said. “They get their news from one source that might be a faulty source.

You can’t break through and prove these are not myths. If we could just get most Mississippians to tune in and listen to what medical and science experts are saying, that is where you are likely to get real facts and truth about what is going on. The medical and scientific community as a whole tell the truth and get it out.

“We do have a lot of myths coming out from a lot of different places. It gets told over and over again and then people think it is true. The flip side of that is that it is dangerous to them. It is dangerous if they get out, get infected and take it back to loved ones. We all have the responsibility to protect ourselves in order to protect our families.”

Brunson said the virus is no respecter of social status.

“It is killing people of prominence all around the world, and in this country,” Brunson said. “Nobody is immune. If you have lungs and you are breathing, you can get this virus, and it can cause significant problems for you up to and including death.”

»

HEALTH CARE

Apr. 4 - Apr. 17, 2020

n

Mississippi Business Journal

n

17

» Ingenuity in action

Methodist O&P in Flowood answers call to create face shields during COVID-19 crisis

By SUSAN CHRISTENSEN Health and Research News Service

M

ost days, the staff at Methodist Orthotics & Prosthetics in Flowood focuses on building prosthetic limbs and orthopedic braces.

Now, they’re also creating personal protective gear for workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis.

It all started when Mark Adams, the CEO of Methodist Rehabilitation Center in Jackson, saw a YouTube video about a New York City hospital using 3-D printing » Flowood Emergency Operations Director Nathan to fashion desperately needed face shields. Harvell said he’s appreciative of the 50 face shields do“We don’t have a 3-D printer,” Adams nated to the city by Methodist Orthotics & Prosthetics said. “But I thought the injection molding process used by our orthotics and prosthet- prosthetic limb. ics division might be an option to produce The first batch of shields went to protect shields. I called Chris Wallace, director of residents and staff at Methodist Specialty Methodist O&P, and he said our Flowood Care Center, MRC’s long-term care facilclinic was already working on a prototype.” ity in Flowood. The center is home to 60 “We came up with three or four versions severely disabled residents, who could be and kept refining them,” Wallace said. “I especially vulnerable to infections due to think we can do about 50 a day once we’re conditions such as quadriplegia and ALS. ramped up.”

Methodist O&P also began offering Wallace said the effort has been an “all- extras to other local entities. A call to hands-on-deck” project. And it’s not the Flowood Mayor Gary Rhoads’ office gave first time staff has gotten creative for a MRC an opportunity to provide some help good cause. outside its four walls during the pandemic.

Wallace once created a ball cap liner for On Wednesday, Flowood Emergena young pitcher who needed protection af- cy Operations Director Nathan Harvell ter a skull fracture, but refused to wear a was given 50 shields that will be used by helmet on the mound. Staff also answered the city’s police department during the a call to outfit a three-legged dog with a COVID-19 crisis.

» Luly Johnson of Methodist Orthotics & Prosthetics models the face shields being built in the Flowood clinic’s lab

» Methodist Orthotics & Prosthetics in Flowood, a division of Methodist Rehabilitation Center in Jackson, added making face shields to its normal job of building prosthetic limbs and braces. Staff involved in the project include, from left, Jesse Oaks, Pam Liberatore, Luly Johnson and director Chris Wallace

“I think this was a great gift,” Harvell said. “While this is going on, we are being extra cautious. And this is an extra tool we can use to protect our officers. It really helps and we appreciate that.”

Adams said the effort shows MRC can be flexible to benefit patients and the com-

munity, and he’s proud of the O&P staff’s ingenuity.

Wallace, in turn, said it has buoyed his staff ’s spirit to be of service. “It has been a tremendous morale boost because we have something we can do to contribute to the fight.”

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18 n

Mississippi Hospitals Mississippi Business Journal

n

Apr. 4 - Apr. 17, 2020

Mississippi LargestHospitals Mississippi Hospitals Rank

Hospital / Address

Phone / Website

Mississippi State Hospital 601-351-8000 msh.state.ms.us 3550 Hwy. 468 W., Whitfield, MS 39193 University of Mississippi Medical Center 601-984-1000 2 umc.edu 2500 N. State St., Jackson, MS 39216 North Mississippi Medical Center 662-377-3000 3 nmhs.net 830 S. Gloster St., Tupelo, MS 38801 Baptist Medical Center 601-968-1000 4 mbhs.org 1225 N. State St., Jackson, MS 39202 St. Dominic Hospital 601-200-2000 5 stdom.com 969 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, MS 39216 Forrest General Hospital (Forrest Health) 601-288-7000 6 forrestgeneral.com 6051 U.S. Hwy. 49, Hattiesburg, MS 39402 Singing River Health System - Pascagoula 228-809-5000 7 singingriverhealthsystem.com 2809 Denny Ave., Pascagoula, MS 39581 Anderson Regional Health System 601-553-6000 8 andersonregional.org 2124 14th St., Meridian, MS 39301 Merit Health River Region 601-883-5000 9 merithealthriverregion.com 2100 Highway 61 North, Vicksburg, MS 39183 Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto 662-772-4000 10 baptistonline.org 7601 Southcrest Pkwy., Southaven, MS 38671 Memorial Hospital at Gulfport 228-867-4000 11 gulfportmemorial.com 4500 Thirteenth St., Gulfport, MS 39501 Delta Regional Medical Center 662-378-3783 12 deltaregional.com 1400 E. Union St., Greenville, MS 38703 Merit Health Central 601-376-1000 13 merithealthcentral.com 1850 Chadwick Drive, Jackson, MS 39204 Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle 662-244-1000 14 baptistonline.org 2520 5th St. N., Columbus, MS 39705 South Central Regional Medical Center 601-426-4000 15 scrmc.com 1220 Jefferson St., Laurel, MS 39440 G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center 601-362-4471 16 jackson.va.gov 1500 E. Woodrow Wilson Ave., Jackson, MS 39216 Batson Children's Hospital 601-984-1000 17 ummchealth.com/childrens 2500 N. State St., Jackson, MS 39216 Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi 662-636-1000 18 baptistonline.org 1100 Belk Blvd., Oxford, MS 38655 Alliance Health Center 601-483-6211 19 alliancehealthcenter.com 5000 Highway 39 North, Meridian, MS 39301 Rush Foundation Hospital 601-483-0011 20 rushhealthsystems.org 1314 19th Ave., Meridian, MS 39301 Merit Health Wesley 601-268-8000 21 MeritHealthWesley.com 5001 Hardy St, Hattiesburg, MS 39402 Greenwood Leflore Hospital 662-459-7000 22 glh.org 1401 River Rd., Greenwood, MS 38930 Magnolia Regional Health Center 662-293-1000 23 mrhc.org 611 Alcorn Dr., Corinth, MS 38834 Northwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center 662-627-3211 24 northwestmsmedicalcenter.org 1970 Hospital Dr., Clarksdale, MS 38614 Merit Health Natchez 601-443-2100 25 merithealthnatchez.com 54 Seargent Prentiss Dr., Natchez, MS 39120 Bolivar Medical Center 662-846-0061 26 bolivarmedical.com 901 E. Sunflower Road, Cleveland, MS 38732 Merit Health River Oaks 601-932-1030 27 MeritHealthRiverOaks.com 1030 River Oaks Drive, Flowood, MS 39232 Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center 601-249-5500 smrmc.com 215 Marion Ave., McComb, MS 39648 University of Mississippi Medical Center Grenada 662-227-7000 29 umc.edu/Grenada/Grenada_Home.html 960 Avent Dr., Grenada, MS 38901 Merit Health Biloxi 228-432-1571 30 merithealthbiloxi.com 150 Reynoir St., Biloxi, MS 39530 Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union County 662-538-7631 baptistonline.org 200 Hwy. 30 West, New Albany, MS 38652 Parkwood Behavioral Health System 662-895-4900 32 parkwoodbhs.com 8135 Goodman Road, Olive Branch, MS 38654 Singing River Health System - Ocean Springs 228-818-1111 33 singingriverhealthsystem.com 3109 Bienville Blvd, Ocean Springs, MS 39564 Merit Health Rankin 601-825-2811 34 merithealthrankin.com 350 Crossgates Blvd., Brandon, MS 39042 Garden Park Medical Center 228-575-7000 35 gardenparkmedical.com 15200 Community Road, Gulfport, MS 39503 Methodist Rehabilitation Center 601-981-2611 36 methodistonline.org 1350 E. Woodrow Wilson Dr., Jackson, MS 39216 Baptist Memorial Hospital-Booneville 662-720-5000 37 baptistonline.org 100 Hospital St., Booneville, MS 38829 Merit Health Woman's Hospital 601-932-1000 38 merithealthwomanshospital.com 1026 N. Flowood Drive, Flowood, MS 39232 East Mississippi State Hospital 601-581-7600 39 www.emsh.state.ms.us 1818 College Dr., Meridian, MS 39304 Panola Medical Center 662-563-5611 40 panolamedicalcenter.org 303 Medical Center Dr., Batesville, MS 38606 Brentwood Behavioral Healthcare of Mississippi 601-936-2024 41 brentwoodjackson.com 3531 Lakeland Drive, Flowood, MS 39232 King's Daughters Medical Center 601-833-6011 42 kdmc.org 427 Highway 51 North, Brookhaven, MS 39601 Information provided by hospital representatives and MBJ research. Direct questions to frank.brown@msbusiness.com.

1

Founded

Top Officer

1855

James G. Chastain

704

1955

Dr. LouAnn H. Woodward

697

1937

David Wilson

640

1911

Bobbie Ware

638

1946

Lester K. Diamond

571

1952

Andy Woodard

545

1931

Laurin StPe, Lee Bond

435

1928

John G. Anderson

400

2002

Ben Richaud

361

1988

James Huffman

339

1946

Kent Nicaud

328

1953

Scott Christensen

325

1965

Barry Moss

319

1969

Paul Cade

315

1952

G. Douglas Higginbotham

285

1957

Dr. David M Walker

225

1968

Guy B. Giesecke

224

1989

William Henning

217

1985

Jay Shehi

216

1915

Larkin Kennedy

215

1900

Matthew Banks

211

1906

Gary Gerard Marchand

208

1965

James Hobson

200

1952

Joel T. Southern

181

1960

Lance Boyd

179

1962

Rob Marshall

164

1981

Dwayne Blaylock

160

1969

Charla Rowley

160

1923

Dodie McElmurray

156

1908

Tom McDougal

153

1966

James Grantham

153

1987

Vincent Brummett

148

1968

Heath Thompson, Lee Bond

136

1969

Heather Sistrunk

134

1973

Randy Rogers

130

1975

Mark Adams

124

1949

James Grantham

114

1975

Heather Sistrunk

109

1885

Charles A. Carlisle

108

1977

Licensed Beds

106

2004

Michael Carney

1914

Alvin Hoover

105 99

public companies Apr. 4 - Apr. 17, 2020 • Mississippi Business Journal • www.msbusiness.com

sanderson farms remains focused on quality service

By LYNN LOFTON mbj@msbusiness.com

T

he current health concerns are accompanied by economic concerns as businesses remain closed and the stock market takes a beating. As the third largest poultry producer in the country and the only Fortune 1000 company headquartered in Mississippi, Sanderson Farms has been proactively reassuring customers, bankers and investors.

CEO Joe Sanderson and Vice President Mike Cockrell shared some of the steps the company is taking to deal with the COVID-19 crisis.

Regarding forward looking statements about the business, financial conditions, and prospects of the company, Cockrell said, “There are risks and uncertainties about the effect on our business of the COVID-19 pandemic including the potential for labor shortages and the inability of our contract producers to manage their flocks; supply chain disruptions for feed grains; changes in consumer orders due to shipping patterns; changes in poultry market prices; increases in wage expense; disruptions in logistics and the distribution chain for our products; liquidity challenges and an overall decline in global commercial activity; and a national and global economic recession among other unfavorable conditions.

“The conditions created by this pandemic and its effects on our business are fluid and rapidly evolving.” Sanderson said, ”These are challenging and unprecedented times for all of us. I want to say how especially proud I am of the dedicated work and the perseverance of our employees, our contract producers, our customers, our vendors, the consumers who buy our products, and the communities in the states in which we operate.”

He said the company developed and implemented steps using the Centers for Disease Control guidelines in consultation with local and state health authorities and experts in the fields of infectious disease and epidemiology. “All of our company health professionals have been trained to spot COVID-19 symptoms in our employees and we have reinforced and supplemented our personal hygiene, cleaning and sanitizing protocols in our facilities.”

The poultry industry has been designated by the Federal Government and the states in which Sanderson Farms operates as an essential business. “I think our employees understand that when they make the decision every day to get up and go to work, they are supporting not only themselves and their families but also their neighbors, their state and the nation,”

Sanderson said. “Our retail grocery store customers were simply overwhelmed at the beginning of this crisis. Once states and local communities began issuing shelter-inplace orders and discouraging consumers from gathering in restaurants, those consumers began to stock up on food supplies and cook at home.”

While retail grocery demand remains strong, Sanderson explained that food service demand is poor. “According to the National Restaurant Association, in two weeks alone restaurants have lost over $25 billion in sales, which is a 50 percent decline in sales dollars since March 1; 44 percent of operators have temporarily closed their restaurants and 11 percent already anticipate permanently closing within 30 days.”

“Fortunately, we entered this crisis with a strong balance sheet,” Mike Cockrell said.

“We are talking with our banks on a regular basis. We are confident that we have the liquidity we need to manage through this event. We've run models and assumptions for the balance of the quarter and for the balance of the year, but it is simply impossible in this current environment to estimate with any level of confidence what chicken markets might look like as we move to the next few months.”

Export markets are mixed. The value of

the dollar and the price of oil are creating liquidity issues and making it difficult for some markets to buy the volumes they would like. “Dark meat prices are holding up better than white meat,” Cockrell said.

“The volumes to Mexico, Kazakhstan, Angola and African countries are down. With current uncertainty, most export partners are buying hand to mouth. Leg quarter prices to Mexico, Cuba, and other markets are currently in the mid to high 20-cent range.”

Sanderson stressed that the company's focus is to serve customers. “Some people in the hard-hit areas of our country went to empty grocery stores two weeks ago,” he said. “The inability to get food has heightened stress and anxiety already felt by consumers across the country. We're going to do our best to continue to provide safe, high-quality chicken to our customers. We will do everything we can between now and the end of this crisis to help them survive and emerge stronger on the other side.”

Asked how he thinks chicken sales will hold up compared to pork and beef, Sanderson replied, “The average consumer has about $85 a week to spend at the grocery store. I cannot see them buying a 12-pound tenderloin at $9 a pound. They’re going to buy a package of Sanderson Farms boneless breasts for $3.99 a pound even if the beef is discounted.”

20 n

Mississippi Business Journal

n

Apr. 4 - Apr. 17, 2020

Mississippi Public Companies

MississippiCOMPANIES Public Companies PUBLIC

Employees

Assets/ Revenue last FY

NASDAQ HWC

4,136

$30.6 billion $1.2 billion

NYSE BXS

4,500

$21.0 billion $930.0 million

1889 Gerard R. Host

NASDAQ TRMK

2,844

$13.5 billion $613.6 million

662-680-1601 renasantbank.com

1904 C. Mitchell Waycaster

NASDAQ RNST

2,500

$13.4 billion $597.3 million

Banking/financial

601-268-8998 thefirstbank.com

1996 M. Ray Cole, Jr.

NASDAQ FBMS

500

$3.9 billion $145.0 million

EastGroup Properties 400 W Parkway Place Ste 100, Ridgeland, MS 39157

Real Estate

601-354-3555 eastgroup.net

1969 Marshall A Loeb

NYSE EGP

80

$2.5 billion $330.0 million

7

Sanderson Farms, Inc. 127 Flynt Rd., Laurel, MS 39443

Poultry processing

601-649-4030 sandersonfarms.com

1947 Joe F. Sanderson, Jr.

NASDAQ SAFM

17,176

$1.9 billion $3.4 billion

8

BankFirst Capital Corporation 900 Main St. , Columbus, MS 39701

Banking

662-328-2345 bankfirstfs.com

1888 Moak Griffin

OTCQX BFCC

275

$1.3 billion $65.2 million

9

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. 3320 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave., Jackson, MS 39209

Eggs

601-948-6813 calmainefoods.com

1969 Dolph Baker

NASDAQ CALM

3,500

$1.2 billion $1.4 million

10

Citizens Holding Co./Citizens Bank of Philadelphia 521 Main Street, Philadelphia, MS 39350

Banking/financial

601-656-4692 thecitizensbankphila.com

1908 Greg McKee

NASDAQ CIZN

282

$1.2 billion $5.9 million

11

Peoples Financial Corporation 152 Lameuse St., Biloxi, MS 39530

Banking/financial

228-435-5511 thepeoples.com

1896 Chevis C. Swetman

OTCQX PFBX

148

$592.0 million $20.9 million

12

Merchants & Marine Bancorp 3118 Pascagoula St., Pascagoula, MS 39567

Banking

228-762-3311 mandmbank.com

1932 Clayton L Legear, Mr.

OTCQX Best Market MNMB

142

$576.1 million $4.1 million

13

KFG Resources Ltd. 150-A Providence Road, Natchez, MS 39120

Crude oil, natural gas producer

601-446-5219 kfgresources.com

1987 Robert A. Kadane

OTCBB / KFGRF TSX Venture / KFG

N/A

$739,402 $1.4 million

14

Dewmar International BMC Inc 132 E. Northside Dr. Suite C, Clinton, MS 39056

Brand management; Cannabis R&D, Telemedicine Hemp

877-747-5326 dewmarinternational.com

2003 Don Hunter

OTC DEWM

N/A

$38,661 $144,603

Rank

Company/Address

Service/Product

Telephone Website

Year Founded Top executive

Exchange/ Symbol

1

Hancock Whitney Corporation 2510 14th Street, Gulfport, MS 39501

Financial Services

800-448-8812 hancockwhitney.com

1899 John M. Hairston

2

BancorpSouth Bank 201 South Spring St, Tupelo, MS 38804

Banking/financial

662-680-2000 bancorpsouth.com

1876 James D. Rollins, III

3

Trustmark Corporation 248 E. Capitol St., Jackson, MS 39201

Banking/financial

601-208-5111 trustmark.com

4

Renasant Corp./Renasant Bank 209 Troy St., Tupelo, MS 38804

Personal; business; investment management;estate planning

5

The First Bancshares/The First, ANBA 6480 U.S. Hwy 98 West, Hattiesburg, MS 39402

6

Information provided by individual companies and MBJ research. List ranked by assets. Direct comments to frank.brown@msbusiness.com.

Apr. 4 - Apr. 17, 2020

M

‘Blackwood’ takes us on a journey into the darkness

ichael Farris sounds like Hemingway – and Smith has good Hemingway at that taken two – whom he read while on the Continent, along with Southern jokes and Faulkner and other greats. turned them on their Later books, “Desperation literary heads.

Road” and “The Fighter” Kudzu and ghosts are move into what you might not worthy of serious ficexpect from a Southerner. tion unless in the hands of a JACK WEATHERLY master storyteller, such as Smith “Blackwood,” befitting its title, is in his fifth and latest work of fiction, the most noir of the lot. (Disclosure: I have “Blackwood.” only begun reading “Rivers,” his second novel.)

Set in Mississippi in the mythical town of Red Bluff, “Blackwood” involves people Looking for a geographical inspiranear or at the tion? Just a very bottom of guess, but try society. the kudzu valleys along Poor, ignorant Highway 82 – and haunted. just east of By what?

Carrollton, There’s the myswhich sits tery cloaked in atop a bluff the kudzu valley overlooking whence disemthe Delta. bodied voices If the and almost-hudoomed of man howls seem Red Bluff ’s to emanate. denizens Some are aren’t in the haunted by their lowest circle extremely willful of Dante’s ignorance or a hell, they are traumatic event moving in that in their childdirection. hood.

There is Smith, a no salvation Mississippi State in this book, graduate, fell unlike Smith’s into modern predecessor Southern literworks, not ature on a visit even victories. to Oxford and There is lostness, even (or that especialcaught the disease.

But his first work of fiction didn’t sound ly so?) in the civilized Parisian world of the first one. like what your might expect.

Smith — who unforgiveably was called “Hands of Strangers” is a novella set in William in an earlier version of this piece Paris. Smith had an extended gig pro— is a member of the new generation of moting the NBA in Europe. The novella

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Southern noir and gothic writers, along with Tom Franklin, Matthew Guinn, Greg Iles, Chris Offutt and others.

Those writers live and flourish in Mississippi, third generation offspring of Faulkner, the man who was the sole inventor of Southern literature nearly 100 years ago.

Kudzu was introduced in the South in the late 19th century for erosion control and shade. And no place has been infested more than Mississippi. Is there a connection? Decidedly, there is in “Blackwood.”

Kudzu’s appetite is legendary.

In “Blackwood” the bottom dwellers find new depths in the vines, whose advance seemingly cannot be stopped, like Shakespeare’s Birnam Wood.

The vines’ call, from the other view, seems irresistible, like the siren to the sacrificial Eloi in H.G. Wells’ very futuristic “Time Machine.”

But this time travel is in the other direction. The almost primitive outlook and language of the most wretched of the characters of “Blackwood” – the man, the woman and the boy – grab and pull the reader downward from one bleakness to the next.

The land itself is a character.

“Down from the bluffs the vines hung like ropes. Small thickets of forest had been conquered decades before, the vines climbing to the highest points and reaching out to the farthest limbs, intertwined and forming slumping canopies… . Down below this stretching canvas of green was the blackwood where creatures crawled and sunlight fought through pecks of space between the leaves.”

One of the human characters, who had lived her life in Red Bluff, takes a weary rational stab at what is haunting the little town: “This place is one big ghost story. Stories about the valley. Stories about the man who killed himself. It’s what we do.”

Then things happen that are not so easily waved away.

One person disappears in the kudzu, then another…. » JACK WEATHERLY is the senior reporter for the Mississippi Business Journal. He can be reached at jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com.

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BROAD STREET, BRAVO! REOPENING WITH CURB SERVICE

By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com Bravo! and Broad Street Bakery and Cafe are resuming operations with curbside service this week after shutting down because of the corona virus pandemic.

Co-owner Jeff Good said Broad Street has in the meantime been doing contract work with five stores owned by the Roberts Co. — three Corner Market stores,in Jackson, a Sunflower in Raymond and a Corner Market in Vicksburg, providing all five of those stores in Mississippi with bread for the past two weeks.

The bakery has also been catering for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and for hospitals.

“We were able to do large food production with minimal hands,” Good said in a phone interview. “This was so different from running our restaurants with 35 people per shift.”

The ground-level anchor of Banner Hall in Jackson closed several weeks ago, along with other restaurants owned by Jeff Good and Dan Blumenthal – Bravo! and Sal & Mookie’s Broad Street will reopen on Wednesday from 10:30 a.m. till 3 p.m. Monday through Friday with “a limited togo menu with some ‘new’ 4 for $40 dinner packs along with a breakfast options and lots of other goodies,” Good said in a text.

Orders may be placed online at broadstbakery.com or by calling (601) 362-2900 “We’re setting up a pay station outside, real cleanly and efficiently. We won’t require any signatures.”

Bravo!, which is Highland Village, will resume with curb service Tuesday through Sunday from 4:30 p.m. till 8 p.m. with a limited menu of steaks, fish and pastas and appetizers, plus the 4 for $40 packs to be refrigerated for later consumption.

Meals can be ordered online or called in to the restaurant at 601-982-8111 or at info@bravobuzz.com.

Sal & Mookie’s will probably resume service within the next week, Good said.

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Apr. 4 - Apr. 17, 2020

COVID-19 not seen as serious setback for Vicksburg’s ‘transformational’ innovation center Some delay in project’s first phase expected

By TED CARTER mbj@msbusiness.com

T

he emergence of the cvoid-19 pandemic has so far caused only slight delays for a years-long public-private effort to transform high-tech ideas born in Vicksburg for military and homeland security purposes into job-creating commercial uses.

The virus crisis could also create slowdowns or even funding losses of money pledged from state and local partners for the $22 million project, though the federal government’s desire to ease economic distress could open up more opportunities for obtaining economic development tax credits, project planners say.

The work delay comes as the first phase of renovating the project’s home, the historic

Mississippi Hardware Building at 1622 Washington St., nears the three-quarter completion mark, say principals of the public-private initiative launched by the Warren/ Vicksburg Economic Development Foundation.

“It has set back our releasing the scope of work for the second phase construction (site work and core infrastructure) by probably a month,” said developer Tim Cantwell in a mi-April email.

Cantwell in the middle of the last decade converted the historic 10-floor former Trustmark Bank building into a mixed use now occupied by Trustmark, apartments and the Key City Brewery and rooftop Cottonwood Public House.

The Mississippi Hardware building envelope is “virtually” completed, added Cant-

well, who noted some work has been slowed by the need to maintain physical distancing.

In an interview last month before the virus spread across the country, Cantwell predicted tenant move-ins could begin as early as the first quarter of next year. “We’re starting to line up tenants now,” he said at the time. The Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce, and sister entities the Warren/Vicksburg Economic Development Foundation and the Warren County Port Commission have signed on for space in the approximately 60,000 square foot building. Each floor has about 15,000 square feet.

Hinds Community College is expected to be an early tenant as well.

The county and city business support organizations combined in 2017 under the umbrella of the Vicksburg-Warren Partnership.

How did a project the Vicksburg Post calls “generational” and proclaimed by local officials as “transformational” come to be?

The planned Thad Cochran Center for Technology & Innovation grew largely from Dr. Jeffrey Holland’s conclusion that the U.S. Army Engineer Research & Development Center he led until his retirement there years ago represented a gold mine of innovative ideas, as did the regional headquarters of the Army Corps of Engineers

in Vicksburg. These ideas and innovations carried the potential to create a high-performance economic engine for Vicksburg and the rest of Mississippi through technology transfers, he decided.

Beyond such transfers, Holland’s strategy for the Cochran Center includes grooming small and mid-size Mississippi companies to

Holland

Cantwell

gain contracts from ERDC and the Corps of Engineers.

Holland, now president of the Warren County Board of Supervisors, spent the past several years lining up federal, state and local support for a public-private partnership requiring financial commitments of slightly more than $20 million. His partners in the Economic Development Foundation decided the four-floor circa 1936 Mississippi Hardware building, vacant since 2013, would be the best location.

That made Cantwell a key recruit to the project, since he owned the building. A self-described “bricks-and-sticks guy” with experience around the country restoring historic properties and converting them to commercial uses, Cantwell said he saw great appeal in Holland’s idea of leveraging the mindpower of the hundreds of PhDs and high-level scientists, researchers and innovators employed by the federal government in Vicksburg.

“It gives me chills to think of what might happen if we accomplish just a fraction of what we’re supposed to accomplish,” the California-based Cantwell said in an interview.

At this moment, said Holland, “I’m guessing conservatively a hundred people could develop start-ups from the technology I know is on the shelves at ERDC.” For instance, ERDC’s bomb-crater filling technology is an obvious candidate for transfer to a Mississippi market sorely needing new and efficient ways to fill road craters and potholes, Holland noted.

“We’re working on the transfer to help people not used to working for the Department of Defense. We’ll take stuff that we’re allowed to bring to the public sector,” he said.

“All of those technologies you commercialize represent an opportunity for a small business to be formed and for a little startup to be started right here in this community.”

This is an opportunity, Holland said, to

“turn that kind of technology loose in a state like ours where only 2 percent of workers are working in high-tech.”

Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs said he saw the potential in Holland’s technology transfer ideas right away and helped to persuade the Board of Aldermen to make a $300,000 annual commitment to the innovation enter. “He is the visionary,” Flaggs said of Holland, in an interview. “I am just trying to make sure it comes to fruition.”

The Cochran Center, he said, “is going to be the technology gateway to this state.”

Meanwhile, Cantwell and Holland so far do not see the cvoid-19 crisis greatly impeding progress on conversion of the Mississippi Hardware building.

Just last month the project was a couple months ahead despite weeks in which “it rained like cats and dogs,” Holland said.

Cantwell said meeting historic preservation standards presents a “great deal” of challenges. With the Hardware building, for instance, Cantwell and his partners had to use replacement windows of quarter-inch thickness, an effort that required 5,047 new panes of glass. Along with that expense came higher cooling and heating costs. “It’s not a very energy-efficient building,” he said, and explained that maintaining the historic nature of the structure doesn’t leave much room for energy-saving measures.

“We were not permitted to do a number of things that would improve energy efficiency.”

Workers completed the window replacements and in early April put a new roof on the building.

“The building envelope is completed,” he said.

The overall first phase of the project is about 70 percent finished, according to Cantwell. Yet to be done is some of the interior work such as the building’s signature center stairway, the interior exit stairway on the north end and prepping and patching hardwood floors on the second and third floors.

Next up in phase two is site work, core HVAC installation and putting in permanent power, Cantwell said. The coronavirus pandemic has set back releasing the scope of the work by about a month, he added.

As Holland sees it, the same attribute that makes for successful real estate – location, location, location – provides the key to success with the Cochran Center project.

“That is what makes this opportunity so remarkable,” he said. “You’ve got a $1 billion lab with 350 PhDs and 500 master degree people right here… to leverage.”

Apr. 4 - Apr. 17, 2020

INNOVATION CENTER BACKERS SAY PANDEMIC COULD CAUSE SOME FUNDING HOLDUPS

By TED CARTER mbj@msbusiness.com A mix of private-sector money, federal new market tax credits, historic preservation tax credits and a hefty contribution from the State of Mississippi make up the bulk of funding for the $22 million technology and innovation center scheduled to open next year in Vicksburg’s former Mississippi Hardware building.

The $22 million represents $12 million in a combination of new market tax credits, historic tax credits and other private funds, as well as $5 million in state economic development money. The remainder is expected to come from federal and regional grants, according to Dr. Jeffrey Holland, president of the Warren County Board of Supervisors and a leader in the effort to create the Thad Cochran Center for Technology and Innovation.

An annual contribution of $300,000 from the City of Vicksburg is designated for operating costs.

“The $22 million is for a complete rehab and restoration of the building, counting the parking lot and equipment in the building,” said Holland, who also retired as director of the U.S Army Engineer Research and Development Center, or ERDC. Tax credits are expected to cover “well over 50 percent” of the total cost, he said.

Holland conceived the Cochran Center as a way to transfer innovations developed at the ERDC and Vicksburg’s Army Corps of Engineers regional headquarters to commercial use. He further sees the Cochran Center as a way to prepare Mississippi businesses of small and medium size for doing contract work with ERDC and the Corps of Engineers.

Holland said he and his partners got a hugely positive response when they pitched state government economic development leaders. “The state found that investing in this concept was a very attractive one for workforce development and for future opportunities for growing the economy of the state,” he said.

The state contribution is from $2.5 million in BP oil-spill recovery money and an equal amount forthcoming from state bond bill money, “We’re expecting another $5 million” in state contributions, Holland added.

The 10-year commitment of $300,000 yearly from Vicksburg to help cover operations showed city leaders had sufficient faith in the project to invest heavily in it, Holland said.

“That was a critical cog in this thing,” Holland said. “I can’t envision the State being as supportive as it has been if the City had not jumped in. It showed the locals were serious about investing.”

Vicksburg expects repayment of its contributions to come from tenant lease payments over the 10 years.

Holland said he envisions the Cochran Center to be financially independent after its first 10 years.

As developer and owner of the 60,000 square-

foot Mississippi Hardware building, Tim Cantwell and his 1622 Washington Street LLC are taking on the job of securing the federal and state historic preservation tax credits and the federal new tax market credits, both of which he has had experience with in converting historic properties around the country to residential and commercial uses.

Cantwell’s plan is to turn ownership of the fourfloor building over to the Warren/Vicksburg Economic Development Foundation.

“In real round numbers,” Cantwell said, “you’ve got 25 percent of this as historic tax credits, 25 percent new market credits, 25 percent State of Mississippi” and the remainder from miscellaneous sources that include grants from public-private entities such as the Delta Regional Authority. The historic and new market credits present the private sector contributions, he said.

New market tax credits come from the Treasury Department and are administered through nationwide Community Development Entities created specifically to handle credit allocations. The credits, which developers sell to investors for around 75 cents on the dollar, create private investment in low-income localities across the nation. Individual and corporate investors buy the tax credits and apply them toward their federal income taxes.

With federal historic tax credits, property owners who do substantial fixups on their historic buildings can defray 20 percent of their costs through the preservation credits. Mississippi’s preservation credits can be combined with federal credits and allow for owners of historic properties to offset an additional 25 percent of rehab costs.

Meanwhile, countering the cvoid-19 pandemic has diverted both the Mississippi Legislature and Congress from routine work and could cause “some slippage in funds arrival,” Holland said in mid April.

“On the flip side, the need to stimulate the economy Flagg will likely result in increases to new market tax credit funding, which might actually accelerate the project’s vitality,” he added.

At worst, Holland said, the project may have to extend some timelines. “This is my best crystal ball at present,” he noted.

Developer Cantwell said the government has not yet set the amount of new market credits that will be distributed this year nor which CDEs will get them. But, he added, “I think we are very bullish” on securing the newly allocated credits in sufficient amounts.

Mayor George Flaggs said Monday he expects the City will maintain its $300,000 annual funding pledge, though he can’t determine specifics until city officials get a better fix on lost sales tax collections and other revenue losses caused by the pandemic.

“The $22 million is for a complete rehab and restoration of the building, counting the parking lot and equipment in the building”

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Entergy to build 100-megawatt solar farm in Delta

By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com

T

he Mississippi Delta will soon be home to the largest utility-owned solar farm in the state, after receiving approval from the state Public Service Commission.

Recurrent Energy, a solar facility manufacturer, will build the project on behalf of Entergy Mississippi, LLC. The project should be complete by no later than mid2022. Once built, Entergy will assume ownership for the life of the facility.

The emissions-free, renewable energy plant will sit on approximately 1,000 acres in Sunflower County and will connect to Entergy’s transmission grid in Ruleville.

“We’re happy to have commission approval to move forward,” Haley Fisackerly, Entergy Mississippi president and CEO, said in a release. “The Sunflower Solar Facility will be key in helping us meet changing customer expectations. It will give us

more sustainable ways to meet our customers’ energy needs while diversifying our fuel supply.”

The project will be a single-axis tracking photovoltaic power generator. Its 350,000 photovoltaic modules will be able to generate 100 megawatts of clean energy, enough to power more than 16,000 homes.

In 2016, Entergy Mississippi began studying solar as a renewable energy source.

That year, the company built the state’s first-ever utility-owned solar project. The pilot project consisted of three sites — in Brookhaven and in Hinds and DeSoto counties. These sites helped answer questions about how solar would perform in Mississippi’s varied geographical regions.

The project was the genesis for the Sunflower Solar facility.

Entergy Mississippi, LLC provides electricity to approximately 450,000 customers in 45 counties.

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Apr. 4 - Apr. 17, 2020

Cleveland newspaper closing Baptist Clinics offering online and after long loss of ad revenue telephone-based care for patients

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newspaper in the Mississippi Delta is closing at the end of April because of economic difficulties exacerbated by the loss of advertising income to social media sites, its owner says.

The Bolivar Commercial has been in business for 104 years in Cleveland, Mississippi. It currently publishes a print edition on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Lee Walls is president and CEO of Walls Newspapers and owner of The Bolivar Commercial. He said in an article published online Wednesday that he has spent “years and a great deal of money” to keep the paper open.

The newspaper industry has sustained steep declines in ad revenue because of the new coronavirus, causing furloughs, layoffs, print reductions and closures across the U.S.

munity newspapers.

“With social media, a user can choose to have a ‘news’ feed of legitimate stories, incorrect stories, hateful rhetoric, harmful gossip and defamatory commentary. As if that’s not enough, they can have all of that in the form of video or text. You get all of that by simply giving up your personal data and privacy, no money required,” Walls said.

“We don’t have the option to compete against that business model because we are held to a higher standard,” he said. “Based on very objective statistics, it is clear that people are choosing social media and to give up their privacy, over community journalism.”

The Bolivar Commercial’s publisher, Diane Makamson, said the newspaper has nine full-time employees and one part-time

Cleveland is home to Delta State University. The city and Bolivar County both have a poverty rate higher than 25%, and the area has lost population for decades.

Walls said the newspaper was hit hard by the sharp decline of ad revenue during the recession of 2008-09, including the loss of a local car dealership. He also said Facebook and other social media sites have hurt com-

employee. They have a combined 222 years of working for the paper.

Walls, whose father bought the newspaper in the early 1980s, said: “I have nothing but respect and pride for all of my employees and their hard work, which is why I have personally covered the losses for many years now to keep the paper running.”

— The Associated Press

B

aptist Medical Group clinics in the Jackson area are offering several options for patients to contact their physician remotely without leaving home or traveling.

The service provides a benefit to those patients needing medical care, but are social distancing due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Patients can reach health care providers at Baptist Medical Group clinics in several ways, including video visits, e-visits or telephone consultation. To secure a virtual appointment, patients can call their Baptist Medical Group physician or call FastPass at 855-SEE-U-TODAY. Once you have been scheduled, a Baptist representative will recommend the method that’s best for that individual.

During a time when patients are being urged to maintain social distancing and limit travel, the Baptist telehealth options allow individuals to reach their doctor to discuss a need or health care issue. It may be as simple as talking to the doctor over the phone or arranging a video consultation via internet connection.

“These are options that allow individuals

to avoid travel, waiting rooms and unnecessary exposure,” said Justin Rhodes, CEO of Baptist Medical Group in Central Mississippi. “If a patient needs to see their doctor, or if they are having symptoms they’d like to discuss, they can reach out from their remote location.”

Anyone who has a web-enabled computer, smartphone or tablet can use this new service to receive care for a wide variety of conditions, including cold and flu symptoms, fever, sore throat, rashes, coughs, respiratory conditions and much more.

Patients who have previously visited a Baptist Medical Group clinic and have a MyChart account can access on-demand video by simply logging into the app and clicking on “video visit.” Or, they can log into their account from their computer at mychart.baptistonecare.org, and then from the “Quick Links” section on the right side of the home page click on “Video Visit.”

“This is not just a matter of convenience, but as everyone is trying to limit their contact during this COVID-19 crisis, it can also be a smart choice,” said Rhodes. “That’s particularly true for older patients or those with underlying health conditions.”

C Spire offering free wireless data for schools

C

Spire is working with Mississippi schools to offer free wireless data for approved learning sites for K-12 students as they prep for school from home during this time, it was announced Monday.

“During health emergencies, hurricanes, power outages and daily life, peo-

ple depend on our wireless services,” said Brian Caraway, general manager of C Spire’s wireless division. “We have a proven history of helping our customers and communities stay connected in times of need, and we’ve spent years preparing our networks, data centers and other services for situations like this one.”

Apr. 4 - Apr. 17, 2020

Mississippi inflated dome to store exports to Asia, Europe

A

storage dome was inflated in Mississippi to house wood pellets that will be used as sources of fuel abroad.

Enviva, the world’s largest producer of industrial wood pellets, announced Tuesday on Facebook that it has inflated the dome at the port of Pascagoula in Jackson County. It will be used to store materials that will be exported through a new terminal at the port to markets in Asia and Europe, WLOX-TV

reported.

Construction on the $90 million terminal has not stopped amid fears over the coronavirus pandemic. It is expected to employ about 30 workers and support 150 other direct and indirect jobs.

Another storage dome is also expected to be inflated at the terminal before the end of the year.

— The Associated Press

Merit Health Medical Group now offering telehealth visits

M

erit Health Medical Group has made it possible to see their doctors using a smartphone, tablet or computer. Telehealth or virtual visits allow you to talk with a provider just as you would in the doctor’s office, but without leaving the comfort of home. Appointments are available for new and existing patients.

“Continuity of care is important to us, as is the safety of patients and staff during this time when social distancing and staying at home are critical, ”says Sharon Grant, VP of Physician Practices. “Telehealth can be a solution for many reasons someone may want to see a doctor.”

Although some appointments require a physical examination in order for the doctor to meet the standard of care and make fully informed decisions, many visits can be man-

aged well through virtual interaction. These may include certain visits for: • Minor illnesses such as colds and allergies • Minor injuries such as sprains • Follow-up care • Medication management • Chronic disease management • Back pain • Other specialty care Many insurance plans cover telehealth visits. Video visits are typically required, although some payers will cover visits by phone only. Check your plan coverage or ask when you make an appointment.

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Prather, 1st woman Mississippi Supreme Court justice, dies

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aptist Medical Group clinics he first woman to serve as a Mississippi Supreme Court justice has died at the age of 88.

Retired Justice Lenore Loving Prather died Saturday at her home in Columbus, according to a news release issued by the court Monday.

Prather was appointed to the nine-member court in 1982 by then-Gov. William Winter. She was also the first woman to serve as chief justice, holding that role from January 1998 until her retirement in January 2001.

“She served with class, character, scholarship and impeccable integrity,” one of her Supreme Court colleagues, Bill Waller Jr., said in the news release.

Prather was interim president of Mississippi University for Women from July 2001 to June 2002. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the school in 1953, when it was still called Mississippi State College for Women. She was one of only three women in law school at the University of Mississippi when she started studying there in 1953. She completed her law degree in 1955.

Prather became a city judge in her hometown of West Point in 1965. She held that post until September 1972, when then-Gov. John Bell Williams appointed her as a chancery judge for Chickasaw, Clay, Lowndes, Noxubee, Oktibbeha and Webster counties. She was the first woman to serve as a chancery judge. Chancellors’ duties include hearing land disputes, divorces, child custody cases.

As a Supreme Court justice, Prather wrote a decision in a case that specified factors to determine a child’s best interests in a custody dispute between parents. She wrote a decision in another case that set guidelines for equitable distribution of marital assets in divorce, which included giving women credit for non-financial contributions to the family.

Waller retired as chief justice in early 2019. He said in the news release Monday that he considered Prather a mentor. He

said she played an important part in the design and funding of the current Gartin Justice Building in Jackson, which houses the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals.

Mississippi University for Women

» In this Feb. 26, 2004, file photo, retired Justice Lenore Prather, a volunteer with the "The Glory of Baroque Dresden" exhibit in Jackson, Miss., takes a look at several firearms from the 1700s in the display.

The first woman to serve as a Mississippi Supreme Court justice has died at the age of 88. The court said in a news release Monday, April 13, 2020, that Prather died Saturday at her home in Columbus.

awarded Prather its Medal of Excellence in 1990 and the MUW Alumni Achievement Award in 1993. The University of Mississippi inducted her into its Hall of Fame in 1986. The University of Mississippi School of Law named her alumna of the year in 1995, and inducted her into its Law Alumni Hall of Fame in 2012. Then-Gov. Haley Barbour awarded Prather the Mississippi Medal of Service in 2009.

Funeral arrangements were incomplete Monday.

— The Associated Press

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NEWSMAKERS

Apr. 4 - Apr. 17, 2020

Newk’s creates new Ross and Yerger position, names first COO promotes Haralson Newk’s Eatery has named Joe Pate as chief operations officer, a new position that was created to expand the company’s operations team for continued growth.

Pate comes to Newk’s with 35 years of experience in the restaurant industry, serving more than 20 years with Dallas-based la Madeline French Bakery and Cafe, most Pate recently as vice president of operations, where he oversaw la Madeline’s largest franchise group.

At la Madeleine, Pate oversaw operations, catering and support functions. Pate led and grew with the quick-casual concept from 12 to more than units, where he helped transition the company, moving the company from a corporate based concept to a franchise-driven growth company in 2017. As vice president of the largest franchise of la Madeleine, Pate and his team grew the franchise from 25 to more than 40 units in just three years with company-leading results.

Red Cross selects Grist North Mississippi chapter executive director The American Red Cross is pleased to announce that KC Caldwell Grist is the new executive director of its North Mississippi Chapter.

Grist, a Tupelo native, has worked for more than 25 years with nonprofit organizations in Mississippi and the Southeastern United States. For the last decade, she has owned and operated a consulting firm, KC Grist Grist Consulting, focused on helping organizations to set and reach their goals and fulfill their missions. Some of her work has been for the American Cancer Society, Boys and Girls Clubs of North Mississippi and City of Tupelo. She has extensive experience in government and community relations, board development and training, and fundraising.

Jacob Haralson was recently named a Vice President at Ross & Yerger. In addition to a VP, Haralson is also a Shareholder and a Producer for the Oil & Gas Services Division. Haralson has his Masters of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from The University of Mississippi.

He and his wife Anna Haralson reside in Jackson with their two children Smith and Carter

Weeks named VP at Ross and Yerger

Holley Weeks was recently named a Vice President at Ross & Yerger. In addition to a VP, Weeks is also the Risk Management Analyst in the commercial lines division. Weeks is a graduate of Mississippi State University with a Bachelors of Business Administration in International Business and a BBA in Economics and a BA in French. She also Weeks has her Masters of Business Administration from Millsaps College.

New adult hospitals CEO Keesler Federal names continues UMMC journey Brian Bates branch manager Keesler Federal Credit Union has named Brian Bates to excellence as Branch Manager of its recently opened Mobile Patient safety and quality, excellence in hospital operations and financial stability in health care are all important in Britt Crewse’s book.

As the new chief executive officer of the adult hospitals at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, he’s detailing performance goals in each of those areas to further the health care enterprise’s commitment to patients statewide.

“We have scorecards in each Crewse of these areas, because we should be focused on them all,” Crewse said.

Crewse, UMMC chief operations officer of adult hospitals since November 2018, is taking on a new role that enhances his previous responsibilities. As COO, Crewse oversaw operational leadership in radiology, clinical laboratories, pharmacy, trauma, respiratory care, dialysis, biomedical engineering, patient equipment, language services, neurophysiology, facilities, Ambassador Services and palliative care.

Crewse also worked on operational improvement, which includes UMMC’s use of the “100-Day Workout,” a nationally recognized quality improvement initiative that brings together multidisciplinary groups of employees to tackle performance, quality, safety or other issues.

He also had responsibility for contract management and oversight for environmental services, linen and food services, and nutrition services.

In his new position, Crewse will oversee operations in the adult hospitals, which include University Hospital, the Wallace Conerly Critical Care Hospital and the Winfred L. Wiser Hospital for Women and Infants, all on the Medical Center’s Jackson campus.

Westwood Plaza branch, located at 7756 Airport Road, Suite 201.

In his role Bates will oversee the daily operations of the branch, including assisting members with deposit and lending needs. He also will represent KFCU in the community.

Bates comes to Mobile from Pascagoula, where he served as a branch manager.

Bates Keesler Federal, Mississippi’s largest credit union, recently expanded into Alabama for the first time. The Biloxi-based credit union also is well established in Mississippi and Louisiana.

“Keesler Federal is extremely excited to be entering the Mobile market, and Brian Bates’ knowledge of both the region and Keesler Federal’s operations made him the right person to help lead our expansion in this market,” said Andy Swoger, Keesler Federal President and CEO. “Keesler Federal has experienced tremendous growth in recent years and our customer satisfaction rates are well above the credit union and banking industry averages. We are looking forward to being successful in Mobile and meeting the needs of our expanding membership.

Bates, a Mobile resident, has worked at Keesler Federal for three years and previously was employed at another Coast financial services company.

In Pascagoula he was active in the community, serving as treasurer of the Kiwanis Club of Pascagoula and recently being elected President for the upcoming year. He is active in the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce and fosters animals from Mobile and Baldwin counties. He is a graduate of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.

With assets of $3 billion, Keesler Federal is a not-forprofit, member-owned cooperative, the largest credit union in the state. Founded in 1947 to provide banking service to Keesler Air Force Base employees, it now has 40 locations, including branches in the Jackson, Hattiesburg and New Orleans markets as well as on the Mississippi Coast. Membership exceeds 250,000.

MS Farm Bureau Employees Credit Union becomes part of Keesler Federal

Keesler Federal Credit Union continues its strong growth and branch network expansion with the merger of the Mississippi Farm Bureau Employees Federal Credit Union.

The MFBEFCU became part of Keesler Federal on February 1, 2020, following a vote of the MFBEFCU membership and both companies’ boards, and approval by the National Credit Mitchell Union Administration.

The branch, located at 1401 Livingston Lane in Jackson, is unique in that it is only available to members who work in the Farm Bureau building The merger expands the Keesler Federal branch network to 40 locations and will be the sixth in the metro Jackson area for Keesler Federal. The state’s largest credit union has opened branches in the past 14 months in Madison, Ridgeland and Flowood. Keesler Federal also has expanded in the New Orleans market and recently entered into Alabama with two locations in Mobile.

With assets of $3 billion, Keesler Federal is a not-forprofit, member-owned cooperative. Founded in 1947 to provide banking service to Keesler Air Force Base employees, membership now exceeds 240,000.

“This merger represents a wonderful opportunity for the Mississippi Farm Bureau Employees Federal Credit Union members,” said Candi Mitchell, MFBEFCU Manager/ CEO who is now branch manager at the new Keesler Federal location.

Brunini named VP at Ross and Yerger

Tony Brunini was recently named a Vice President at Ross & Yerger. In addition to a VP, Brunini is also a Shareholder and a Producer for the Property Management Division. Brunini has his Masters of Business Administration from Millsaps College and Bachelor of Arts degree from The University of Mississippi.

Brunini has three children, Brockman, Elliott and Adeline and he and his wife Christianne reside in Madison.

Brunini

For full versions of Newsmakers visit www.msbusiness.com

NEWSMAKERS Hancock Whitney establishes new presence in Metro Jackson

Today, Hancock Whitney announced plans to expand into metropolitan Jackson by hiring a well-known, experienced team of local commercial bankers. Hancock Whitney will open a loan production office which the bank plans in the future to transition into a financial center focused on serving business and commercial clients throughout the region.

Gulfport based Hancock Whitney, the largest bank headquartered in Mississippi, has had a trust office in Jackson for many years.

“Expanding Hancock Whitney’s presence in greater Jackson has been a long-term goal. We’re very pleased it’s now a reality,” said Hancock Whitney President and CEO John M. Hairston. “We’ve recruited a team of top local commercial bankers to serve some of the region’s leading companies. Those seasoned financial professionals will help us introduce more of our metro Jackson neighbors to the strength, integrity, and service that have set Hancock Whitney apart for 120-plus years.”

Veteran Jackson banker LEIGH PACE will serve as Hancock Whitney Jackson Market President. He will oversee day-to-day activities and lead the Hancock Whitney Jackson team from the loan production office on Highland Colony Parkway. An expanded 6,000-square-foot financial location in the same

Apr. 4 - Apr. 17, 2020

building is currently under renovation, with plans for completion this summer.

A local bank executive for more than 28 years, Pace knows the Jackson business, community, and financial services arenas well. In 2016 the Mississippi Business Journal recognized him as a Leader in Finance. Pace serves with many Pace area organizations, including former board member of the Madison County Habitat for Humanity, past president of the Canton Rotary Club, as well as Canton Academic Foundation, Inc., and Leadership Madison County. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Mississippi State University.

“Hancock Whitney is an institution with deep Mississippi roots, solid core values, nationally recognized strength and stability, and proven commitment to the hometowns we serve,” said Pace. “As we expand in Jackson, I believe people and businesses here will welcome the client-centered way in which we help make dreams real with expertise and warm 5-star service.”

Hancock Whitney first opened in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, in 1899, with founding core values that have stayed fundamental to the bank’s business philosophy, central to its long history of helping communities during disasters, and paramount to its growth in Mississippi and the Gulf South.

“Like our founders, we believe in building a business that never knows completion—a trusted financial partner that continues to grow and be even better for and because of the people and communities we serve,” said Hancock Whitney Mississippi President Emory Mayfield. “We’ve helped Mississippians succeed and people, businesses, and communities come back from crises for more than a century. Now, we’re here to serve more Jackson area clients according to those timeless tenets at the heart of who we are as an organization.”

In addition to Pace, the Hancock Whitney Jackson banking team comprises bankers with more than 70 years of collective industry experience.

MELISSA PETERS joins Hancock Whitney as a senior vice president and commercial banker, with more than 16 years of experience in helping Jackson area businesses grow. Peter’s portfolio includes extensive expertise in asset-based lending, equipment financing, commercial real estate, and commercial construction. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Mississippi State University Peters and graduated from the Mississippi School of Banking.

Recognized as one of Mississippi Business Journal’s Fifty Leading Business Women, Peters serves with many area community and non-profit organizations.

Jones College inspires three generations at Blackwell Timber Company

ELLISVILLE – The Ricky Blackwell family tree is full of foresters and Jones College graduates. In 1993, when Ricky Blackwell Jr. came to Jones to major in forestry, a family tradition began that now spans over three generations. Technically, his father, Ricky Blackwell Sr. planted the “forestry bug” in his son and grandsons while hauling pulpwood. He also had previous experience working for the Mississippi Forestry Commission as a crew leader and then a surveyor on a seismograph crew before coming home to haul pulpwood. However, at 45 years of age, Ricky Sr. was forced to make a career change.

“A tree fell on my leg and I had to have surgery,” said Ricky Sr. “That’s what made me decide to come back to school to learn how to buy timber instead of cut and haul timber.”

Jones College forestry instructor at the time, Jim Walley signed up Ricky Sr. for the forestry program as his son Ricky Jr. was about to graduate in May 1995.

Walley taught both of the Blackwells and is proud to welcome Ricky Jr.’s oldest son Brady, who is currently taking forestry classes under one of Walley’s forestry graduates, Jeff Keeton.

“I’m proud that three generations of the Blackwell family have confidence in Jones and have come through our forestry program over the years,” said Walley, current V.P. of External Affairs and former forestry instructor. “The Blackwell Timber Company started about 23 years ago and when they expanded their business they looked to our graduates and hired them. I’m glad we were able to offer a solid foundation for their family and their business.”

Ricky Blackwell Sr.’s family tree is full of foresters and Jones College graduates with Jones College forestry instructors, Jim Walley and Jeff Keeton teaching the three generations. Pictured left to right is JC freshman, Brady Blackwell, JC graduates, Ricky Jr. and Ricky Sr., and JC forestry instructors, Jim Walley and Jeff Keeton.

Having taught the elder Blackwells, and now Brady, Keeton said he believes the family’s success is due partly because of their work ethic.

“Ricky Sr. had a family and was working while going to college. If you want an education, you’ll get it. He worked nights, weekends, and whatever he had to do and made ‘As’ and he graduated at the top of his class. He never complained and he was 45 years old,” said Keeton. “Education is 50 % and work ethic is the other 50% of the equation for success. That’s the secret to the Blackwells’ success; they have both.”

Blackwell Timber Company was established in Jones County, just down the road from Jones College, after the father and son team both graduated with their forestry degrees from JCJC. Initially, the two worked out of Ricky Sr.’s home before moving the operation to the former Ellisville Woodyard near the JCJC campus in 1997.

“When a lot of people said I couldn’t do it, I wanted to prove to myself that I was capable of being successful and running a timber business without a four-year degree,” said Ricky Blackwell Jr. “I learned the ropes and met a lot of people in my first job at Georgia-Pacific in Columbia, which helped me feel more confident.”

Forestry related jobs were plentiful, but for Ricky Blackwell Sr., moving away was not an option. Starting a timber business with his son seemed like the best solution.

“We’re established here in Jones County but starting a business isn’t easy. We didn’t have a financial backer and we went out on our own,” said Ricky Sr. “My son left a successful job with a great salary and benefits so we could go into business on our own.”

Eventually, Blackwell Timber Company grew with hard work, self-discipline and wise money management. Ricky Jr. added, his desire to work with his dad and his

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JUSTIN GAUTHIER brings 15 years of experience to his role as a Hancock Whitney vice president and business banker and has called metro Jackson home for more than 25 years. As part of the Hancock Whitney Jackson team, Gauthier will provide clients expertise in small business lending, commercial lending, and private banking. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Mississippi State Gauthier University and graduated from the Mississippi School of Banking.

ADAM R. COX joins Hancock Whitney as a senior vice president and commercial relationship banker with 11 years of metro Jackson banking experience.

Cox specializes in commercial real estate lending, relationship management, and business development.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in business from Mississippi State University and is a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University and the Mississippi School of Banking.

Cox is also an active member in community and industry organizations, including the Mississippi Young Bankers.

Cox

determination to succeed may have also helped to keep each other from making mistakes.

“I’m appreciative of everything Jones College has done for my family. I feel like the ties we’ve made and the people we’ve met here have made a difference in our success rate. Jim Walley and Jeff Keeton have always been there if I needed them, and I trust them with my son, Brady,” said Ricky Jr. Brady Blackwell knows his future is in forestry.

Growing up and hearing his dad and granddad talk about forestry and watching the crews work in the woods is a way of life he’s anxious to begin.

“Years ago, my younger brother and I would go out and play on the four-wheelers and act like we were logging, pulling trees around,” said Brady.

“Since I was little, I also knew I would come to Jones for forestry. We would pass by the campus every day and I knew one day I’d be here. It’s a family tradition now.”

The Blackwell’s love for the outdoors and forestry has grown to include helping other Jones students understand the work-world they love. The family of foresters is often seen in the JC classroom and on the job site sharing their wisdom with other Jones College students. Staying connected with the college and the friendships they made because of Jones, is important to the Blackwells.

“A lot of the people I graduated with, I still do business with,” said Ricky Jr. “They may work in another facet of forestry or the same, but we’re still connected and that’s important.”

For Walley and Keeton, working with three generations of the same family has been a unique experience.

“The Blackwells have a great reputation in our industry, and it’s been a pleasure to be involved in their education and watching them as they’ve grown their business over the years,” said Keeton.

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NEWSMAKERS

Apr. 4 - Apr. 17, 2020

Merit Health Madison adds 3D mammography for breast imaging

Merit Health Madison is the latest health care facility to add innovative breast imaging technology called 3D breast tomosynthesis that results in advanced diagnosis for patients undergoing mammograms. The innovation vastly improves breast cancer detection, reducing false-positive findings and the need for additional testing while offering a more comfortable experience for women.

Studies definitively show 3D mammogram technology detects breast cancer better than traditional 2D mammography. While standard 2D mammograms solely examine the top and bottom side of a patient’s breast, the new technology captures multiple images of the breast from many angles all in less than 13 seconds.

Following the exam, a computer produces a 3D comparison of the patient’s breast tissue in one millimeter slices, providing greater visibility for the radiologist to view breast detail in a way never before

TPSD awarded District Of Innovation Distinction In the midst of unparalleled uncertainties regarding education due to COVID-19, the Tupelo Public School District received some highly-anticipated news Thursday morning when it was named a District of Innovation.

The 18-month process, led by Innovative Program Facilitator Stewart McMillan, was officially finalized during the Mississippi Board of Education’s meeting in Jackson with a unanimous vote.

This coveted distinction, which was also awarded to Rankin County, allows TPSD to outline how it will support college and career readiness from Pre-K through 12th grade.

“Our District of Innovation process at its core focused on identifying the greatest needs of our community and finding innovative ways to meet these needs,” McMillan said. “It is validating to receive this status from the State Board of Education, and I look forward to the community and district staff continually committing to our focus on making sure all students are college and career ready.”

The core plan tenets are emphasizing career opportunities at three levels.

For the lower elementary schools, the central

Members of the Imaging Services Mammography team at Merit Health Madison are: from left, Bryan Burnside, RT (R) (CT), director, Imaging Services; Elyse Tolbert, RT (R) (M) RDMS (AB) RVT (VT); Wendy Freeman, RT (R) (M) and Sheree Givens RT (R) (M).

possible. Physicians say the process of viewing multiple images of a patient’s breast is as easy as flipping through the pages of a book within the space of a few minutes.

“Merit Health Madison is extremely proud to bring the 3D technology needed to this community to combat breast related health issues. We are offering patients increased accuracy in the most comfortable

focus is career fairs and Project Lead the Way. At the middle school, it’s career exploration with targeted programs for subgroups of students (EL, over age/under credited, and students on the edge of proficiency) and Project Lead the Way (PLTW). At the high school level, it’s career enhancement with accelerated opportunities such as Middle College, Project SEARCH and future Career Academies.

During the 2019-20 academic year, TPSD successfully launched, PLTW, the Middle College (a joint partnership with Itawamba Community College) and Project SEARCH in collaboration with the North Mississippi Medical Center and the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services.

“As a parent of one and soon to be two children that will be TPSD students, the District of Innovation status gives me confidence in our community commitment to innovation and college and career readiness,” McMillan added. “Our process exemplified the best of our community where people came together to actively discuss and participate in dialogue to support our most valuable asset, our students.”

This intense and complex process was fueled outside the classroom with 14 community meetings seeking input and needs assessments from nearly 900 people. The data received, along with various surveys, was thoroughly analyzed and became the thesis of the application.

MCA inducts Mangum into Hall of Fame Mississippi Concrete Association was honored to have Stacy Mangum accept the Hall of Fame Award, posthumously awarded to her husband Stanley Mangum at its Winter Meeting in Ridgeland. Industry peers in the association voted Mangum, a longtime member of MCA with this prestigious Mangum award.

Lloyd Stanley Mangum was born on July 8, 1955. He grew up in Magee, where he graduated from Magee High School in 1973 and Copiah-Lincoln Community College in 1975. Stanley was a self-employed truck driver until 1996 when he began working for MMC Materials as a ready-mix concrete salesman. MMC quickly became one of his passions.

Stanley was Vice-President of Business Development at MMC at the time of his death.

Throughout his career at MMC, Stanley was an integral part of various industry trade associations, including Associated General Contractors of Mississippi, Mississippi Road Builders Association, Associated Builders and Contractors of Mississippi where he served as Chairman in 2012 and was honored as “Construction Man of the Year” in 2016 and the Mississippi Concrete Association of which he was President in 2016 and the first ever recipient of the “Extraordinary Member Award” in 2019.

Stanley was tremendously committed to the relationships that he made during his 23 years in the industry. He was a regular attender of MCA meetings, conventions, events and fundraisers. A friend to many, Stanley led by Christian example. He touched the lives of countless people, young and old, as advisor and mentor.

Stanley was married to his childhood sweetheart, Stacy Magee Mangum, for 38 years. Together they raised their three children, Maggie, Martha and Clayton. He was an exemplary husband and father.

setting possible,” said Merit Health Madison Chief Executive Officer, Brit Phelps. “Additionally, we are pleased to offer central Mississippi’s only high resolution (Clarity HD) detector, which results in the sharper 3D images, further enhancing physician’s ability to make a timely diagnosis. This new technology not only enables us to improve the patient experience by providing them with a more comfortable mammogram, but more importantly allows us to do so while improving clinical accuracy.”

A measure that further enhances patients’ overall experience is the curved design of the compression paddle, which mirrors the shape of a woman’s breast and applies uniform compression over the entire breast for additional comfort.

Phelps noted that in addition to the advanced 3D technology, this half a million dollar renovation includes a new bone density unit, a remodeled mammography suite that includes a tranquil, relaxing setting, warm robes for the patients, and special mammogram cushions used during the exams for increased comfort.

The entire suite was designed with patient comfort and clinical accuracy in mind.

Hattiesburg Clinic recognizes employees at annual banquet Hattiesburg Clinic recently held its annual Employee Recognition and Awards Banquet at Southern Oaks House & Gardens in Hattiesburg. »

» The Annie Ruth Johnston Employee of the Year award went to Melissa Smith with Satellite Management. » The Faris Allen Nurse of the Year award was given to Shelia Morse with Plastic Surgery. » The Medical Support Employee of the Year award went to Renee Williams with EpicCare. » The Satellite Employee of the Year was awarded to Jodie Adams with The Family Clinic – Purvis. » Administrative Support Employee of the Year was Teresa Brannan with Heart & Vascular. » Receptionist of the Year was Jennifer Keith with Endocrinology. » Dialysis Employee of the Year went to Tina Green with Nephrology. » The Volunteer of the Year was given to Penny Davis, with Coding.

NEWSMAKERS

Apr. 4 - Apr. 17, 2020

Immigrant-turned-citizen has found her place at Stennis Space Center Linh Lam understands firsthand how it feels to be in a minority and need to work to find a place to belong. Her life has been an ongoing story of facing – and overcoming – obstacles to find a place with NASA

became a U.S. citizen.

“I realized this accomplishment would open doors that could change the trajectory of my life,” said Lam, who works as a reimbursable accountant in the NASA Office of

Linh Lam, a native of Chauvin, La., and resident of Gulfport, Miss., overcame various challenges to find a place to belong with NASA at Stennis Space Center.

.

at Stennis Space Center.

Lam considers Chauvin, Louisiana, her hometown. However, she only reached the Bayou State after her family fled as refugees from their Vietnam homeland in 1989. The move brought the predictable challenges any immigrant to a new country and culture faces.

Lam overcame those, eventually arriving on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where she earned accounting degrees from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and the University of Southern Mississippi and a Master of Business Administration degree from William Carey University. Twenty years after arriving in the country, Lam

the Chief Financial Officer at Stennis and also serves as the site’s Special Emphasis Programs manager for women. “Looking back, becoming an American citizen greatly increased my qualifications and opportunities to be hired by the federal government.”

The opportunity was not immediate, even though she lived in the shadow of Stennis. Lam had not grown up exposed to NASA. “Working for NASA wasn’t even a thought,” she said. “I was just hoping I could have a job to support myself and, hopefully, also help my family.”

Engineer has enjoyed varied test career at Stennis Space Center

Skip Roberts has worked as an engineer at Stennis Space Center for 20 years, which means he has been involved with numerous propulsion test projects.

That makes it understandably hard for him to point to a particular project or achievement as his proudest. “Each program comes with its own unique challenges to overcome,” said Roberts, a native of Thomasville, Georgia, and resident of Gautier, Mississippi.

Upon reflection, though, Roberts is able to settle on an answer. “It is the first time we light a new test article,” he said. “The expressions on people’s faces are priceless, knowing all of the hard work has finally paid off.”

Roberts has seen a lot of priceless expressions in his 20 years at Stennis. He arrived

on site through a co-op program with the University of South Alabama. In 2000, he was hired as a test engineer, which enabled him to work on numerous projects. These included testing of both engine components and full-scale engines, from lowthrust engines to those powerful enough to launch space shuttle missions.

In 2010, Roberts began a two-year stint as test director on the A-2 Test Stand.

During that time, he oversaw testing of the new J-2X engine, planned to provide upper stage propulsion for travel to deep space.

Roberts even served as test conductor for the first J-2X engine hot fire.

He then served four years as test director for the E-1 Test Stand, where he shepherded several test projects. These included a series of tests on the AJ26 engines that initially powered commercial cargo missions to the International Space Station.

In 2016, Roberts was named a senior project engineer, which means he now provides technical assistance to managers of various test projects at Stennis. “During the test campaign, I monitor test results to ensure that the facility is performing as expected,” he said. “I also assist the New Business Office with testing concepts and configurations for companies coming to Stennis.”

staple cotton adds tatum to marketing team Staple Cotton Cooperative Association (Staplcotn) is pleased to announce the addition of Crawford A. Tatum to its marketing team. He began on April 7, 2020, as Director of Economic Research and Market Risk Analyst.

Tatum, a graduate Tatum of Auburn University, began his career in 1997 by joining The Montgomery Company in Opelika, Alabama. After gaining six years of valuable experience and a broad exposure to domestic and international cotton markets, Tatum moved to Memphis, Tennessee where he joined The Seam, an internetbased cotton trading company, as Director of Trading. After four years at The Seam where he interacted with nearly all U.S. cotton merchandising firms, Tatum was tapped to start a U.S. cotton merchandising and trading division of a multi-commodity firm based in Hong Kong, The Noble Group. Shortly after joining Noble, he was promoted to Global Head of Cotton.

During his time at Noble, the business grew into one of the world’s largest commercial cotton trading firms.

In 2017, The Noble Group sold their agriculture division to China Overseas Oil and Foodstuff Company (COFCO). Tatum continued to serve as their Global Head of Cotton for several months before opting to return home to Auburn, Alabama, and pursue other interests.

During his career in the cotton industry, Tatum has provided expertise and leadership to many industry organizations including chairing The Intercontinental Exchange Cotton Committee and serving as a board member and vice president of the American Cotton Shippers Association.

Staplcotn President and CEO Hank Reichle believes Tatum is a perfect fit for Staplcotn. “Our membership will benefit from Crawford’s broad experience in the global cotton industry and his unique set of skills when it comes to providing sound research and market analysis for managing risk. With Crawford, we add even more expertise to our team which is complimented by his understanding of our local cotton economy and values,” he said.

Tatum and his wife, Charmoin, have two children and enjoy spending their time at local athletic events, church, and on their farm in Alabama.

Muse hired as CTO at BankPlus

BankPlus has announced Fred Muse has joined the bank as Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer. Fred has 30

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years of Retail and Information Technology experience, spending the last 23 years at Hudson’s Bay Co./Saks Fifth Avenue. He began his career as a retail buyer responsible for purchasing men’s clothing. Fred transitioned into the technology discipline after returning to college and studying computer science. Fred also spent several years in the Treasury Department of Deposit Guaranty Corporation performing investments and loan portfolio analysis using model simulations and data analytics.

Fred earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Marketing Management from The University of Arkansas and expanded his undergraduate studies in Management Information Systems at Iowa State University.

Originally from Hot Springs, Arkansas, Fred currently resides in Ridgeland, MS, with his wife of 30 years, Jude. They have two children, Jake (26) and Audrey (23).

Fred enjoys fly fishing and he and his family are members of St. Richards Catholic Church.

BankPlus hires Ruffen as Regional Commercial Bank Officer

BankPlus has announced the addition of Witt Ruffin to the Commercial Lending Group in Mobile. Witt will serve as Senior Vice President & Regional Commercial Bank Officer and he joins BankPlus with 15 years of prior banking experience. His most recent position was as Ruffen First Vice President in Trustmark Bank’s Corporate Lending Group. After spending 12 years in Jackson, Witt recently relocated back to his hometown of Fairhope. With his ties to the Mobile Bay area, Witt brings a wealth of professional expertise, and an extensive knowledge of the local landscape.

Witt earned a Bachelor of Science from Auburn University in 2004 and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2005.

He is a 2009 graduate of the Mississippi School of Banking and a 2012 graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University.

While in Jackson, Witt was an active member and past president of the Rotary Club of North Jackson, past board member of Metro Jackson YMCA, past board member and treasurer of the Phoenix Club of Jackson, and past president of the Central Mississippi Auburn Alumni Association. Since relocating back to the Mobile area, Witt has been actively involved in the Rotary Club of Mobile and is a member of the Reese’s Senior Bowl Committee.

In his spare time, Witt enjoys playing golf and spending time with his wife, Sabrina, and their two boys Harry (5) and Frank (3).

Bank Holding Companies

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Bank Holding Companies Bank Holding Companies Bank Address

Telephone Website

Top Officer Additional Locations

Regions Financial Corporation 1900 5th Ave. N., Birmingham, AL 39157 Hancock Whitney Corporation 2510 14th Street, Gulfport, MS 39501 BancorpSouth Bank 201 South Spring St, Tupelo, MS 38804

800-734-4667 regions.com 800-448-8812 hancockwhitney.com 662-680-2000 bancorpsouth.com

Cadence Bancorporation 2800 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 3800, Houston, TX 77056

800-636-7622 cadencebank.com

Trustmark Corp./Trustmark National Bank 248 E. Capitol St., Jackson, MS 39201 Renasant Corp./Renasant Bank 209 Troy St., Tupelo, MS 38804 Origin Bancorp, Inc./ Origin Bank 1511 N. Trenton St., Ruston, LA 71270 The First Bancshares/The First, ANBA 6480 U.S. Hwy 98 West, Hattiesburg, MS 39402 Community Bancshares/Community Bank 1255 W. Government St., Brandon, MS 39402 BancPlus Corp./BankPlus 1068 Highland Colony Pkwy., Ridgeland, MS 39157 CBS Banc-Corp./CB&S Bank 200 S. Jackson Ave., Russellville, AL 35653 Southern Bancorp Inc. 605 Main St., Arkadelphia, AR 71923 Citizens National Banc Corp./Citizens NB of Meridian 512 22nd Avenue, Meridian, MS 39301 First Financial Banc Corp.

214 N. Washington, El Dorado, AR 71730 BankFirst Capital Corporation 900 Main St. , Columbus, MS 39701 Citizens Holding Co./Citizens Bank of Philadelphia 521 Main Street, Philadelphia, MS 39350 State Bank & Trust Company 916 Highway 82 Bypass, Greenwood, MS 38930 Planters Holding Co./Planters B&T Company 212 Catchings Ave., Indianola, MS 38751 Guaranty Capital Corp./Guaranty B&T Co. 210 N. Hayden St, Belzoni, MS 39038 First Trust Corp./First B&T 909 Poydras St., New Orleans, LA 70112 First National Bankers Bankshares,Inc. 7813 Office Park Blvd, Baton Rouge, LA 70809

800-243-2524 trustmark.com 662-680-1601 renasantbank.com 318-255-2222 origin.bank 601-268-8998 thefirstbank.com 601-825-4323 communitybank.net 601-898-8300 BankPlus.net 256-332-1710 cbsbank.com 870-246-5811 banksouthern.com 601-693-1331 yourcnb.com 870-863-7000 ffb1.com 662-328-2345 bankfirstfs.com 601-656-4692 thecitizensbankphila.com 662.453.6811 statebank1898.com 662-887-3363 planters-bank.com 662-247-1454 gbtonline.com 504-584-5900 fbtonline.com 225-924-8015 bankers-bank.com

22

First State Corp./First State Bank 708 Azalea Dr, Waynesboro, MS 39367

601-735-3124 firststatebnk.com

23

PriorityOne Capital Corp./PriorityOne Bank 220 N. Main Ave., Magee, MS 39111

601-849-3311 priorityonebank.com

Liberty Financial Services/Liberty B&T P.O. Box 60131, New Orleans, LA 70160 Peoples Financial Corporation 152 Lameuse St., Biloxi, MS 39530

504-240-5288 libertybank.net 228-435-5511 thepeoples.com

Security Capital Corp./First Security Bank 295 Highway 6 West, Batesville, MS 38606

662-563-9311 firstsecuritybk.com

Merchants & Marine Bancorp 3118 Pascagoula St., Pascagoula, MS 39567 Commerce Bancorp Inc./Bank of Commerce 310 Howard St, Greenwood, MS 38930

228-762-3311 mandmbank.com 662-453-4142 bankcom.com

First Southwest Corp./First Bank 100 S. Broadway, McComb, MS 39648

601-684-2231 firstbankms.com

Concordia Capital Corp./Concordia B&T 904 Carter St., Vidalia, LA 71373 BNA Bancshares 133 East Bankhead St, PO Box 811, New Albany, MS 38652 First Commercial Bancshares/First Commercial Bank 1300 Meadowbrook Road, Jackson, MS 39211

318-336-5258 concordiabank.com 662-534-8171 bnabank.com 601-709-7777 firstcommercialbk.com

Citizens Corp./Citizens Bank of Columbia 814 Main St., Columbia, MS 39429

601-271-8517 citizensbk.com

The Peoples Corporation/Peoples Bank of Ripley 305 East Jefferson, Ripley, MS 38663 First National Holding Co./FNB Oxford 101 Courthouse Square, Oxford, MS 38655 Southwest Security, Inc./United Mississippi Bank 75 Melrose-Montebello Parkway, Natchez, MS 39120 First Valley National Corp./First NB Clarksdale 402 East Second St., Clarksdale, MS 38614 Magnolia State Corp/Magnolia State Bank 28 Highway 528, Bay Springs, MS 39422 Bancorp of Lucedale/Century Bank 4282 Main St., Lucedale, MS 39452 RiverHills Capital Corp./RiverHills Bank 1400 Highway 61 N., Vicksburg, MS 39183

662-837-8191 peoplesripley.com 662-234-2821 fnboxford.com 601-445-7000 unitedmsbk.com 662-627-3261 fnbclarksdale.com 601-764-2265 bankmagnolia.com 601-947-7511 centurybank.net 601-636-1445 riverhillsbank.com

Robert Leard Approximately 1,500 locations in 15 states John M. Hairston 217 locations, including 39 in Mississippi James D. Rollins 310 full service branch locations in 8 states Jerry Toney 11 locations in Mississippi; 87 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas Gerard R. Host 192 Systemwide (AL, MS, FL, TN, TX) C. Mitchell Waycaster More than 190 statewide and regional Drake Mills, Lance Hall, Larry Ratzlaff Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas M. Ray Cole 78 locations in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia Charles Nicholson 51 statewide and regional locations William A. Ray over 55 locations statewide Mike Ross, Craig Robinson 55 branches in 3 states, 14 in Mississippi Darrin Williams, John Olaimey, Joseph Ricotta 18 offices in Mississippi, 30 in Arkansas Archie R. McDonnell, Hampton Thames 27 statewide branch locations; Corporate Office in Meridian.

Brad Ogletree Carthage, Senatobia and 8 branches in Arkansas.

Moak Griffin 16 Mississippi and 6 Alabama branch Greg McKee 26 branches, plus LPO in Oxford Lee Seago, Kirk A. Graves 35 statewide and regional locations Alan H. Hargett 19 locations statewide Hue L. Townsend 19 locations statewide Gary B. Blossman Offices in Ocean Springs and Biloxi, and 15 in Louisiana and Florida Paxton Mogenson Offices in Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee Jeffrey B. Lacey Buckatunna, Clara, Leakesville, Lucedale, Meridian, Quitman, State Line, Laurel, Ellisville Robert J. Barnes Magee, Ridgeland, Flowood, Richland, Brandon, Mendenhall, Collins, Seminary, Hattiesburg, Morton, Pelahatchie, Pearl Alden J. McDonald 9 offices nationwide, including 1 in Jackson Chevis C. Swetman 18 branches in Hancock, Harrison, Jackson and Stone counties.

A. Frank West, Justin Hill Barton, Como, Crenshaw, Hernando, Marks, Olive Branch, Pope, Robinsonville, Sardis, Senatobia, Southaven, Tunica Clayton L Legear 10 Mississippi locations and 3 Alabama locations Bryan E. Thornhill, Zach S. Luke Greenwood, Oxford, Starkville, Columbus, Charleston, North Carrollton James W. Covington Brookhaven, Liberty, Magnolia, Monticello, Osyka, Summit, Madison, Hattiesburg, McComb Patrick R. Biglane Woodville, 3 in Natchez and 4 in Louisiana James R. "Bo" Collins Belden, Myrtle, Saltillo, New Albany, Oxford Alan H. Walters Ridgeland, Oxford, Southaven Lee H. Fedric U.S. 98 Columbia, Hattiesburg, Tylertown, Magnolia, Sumrall, Seminary, Laurel Mary Childs 6 offices in Ripley, Walnut and Blue Mountain John L. Barrett Tupelo, Oxford Bruce M. Kuehnle, Adrian Sandel Natchez, Fayette, Centreville, Woodville, Bude, Gloster. 2 in Louisiana Russell S. Bennett Oxford Kris Mangum, Lillous Ann Shoemaker Hattiesburg, Heidelberg, North Laurel, Downtown Laurel, Petal, Taylorsville, Peter D vanLingen Ten regional and statewide locations in Mississippi and Alabama Robert D. Gage IV Madison, Port Gibson, Vicksburg

Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

Deposits as of Dec. 31, 2019

Assets as of Dec. 31, 2019

$99,836,000,000

$125,641,000,000

$23,803,575,000

$30,600,757,000

$16,410,699,000

$21,052,576,000

$14,809,069,000

$17,778,013,000

$11,245,557,000

$13,497,877,000

$10,238,795,000

$13,387,533,000

$4,228,612,000

$5,324,626,000

$3,082,224,000

$3,934,554,000

$2,909,369,000

$3,274,046,000

$2,609,358,000

$2,971,297,000

$1,593,938,000

$1,898,751,000

$1,231,879,000

$1,499,803,000

$1,226,079,000

$1,421,227,000

$1,141,351,000

$1,416,850,000

$1,109,791,000

$1,280,613,000

$900,732,000

$1,195,261,000

$999,601,000

$1,150,836,000

$958,355,000

$1,098,217,000

$920,908,000

$1,040,564,000

$843,625,000

$977,512,000

$399,589,000

$856,071,000

$664,763,000

$809,576,000

$578,255,000

$696,736,000

$514,700,000

$601,545,000

$476,883,000

$592,038,000

$508,454,000

$580,035,000

$484,047,000

$576,106,000

$493,066,000

$569,937,000

$478,735,000

$561,010,000

$444,832,000

$533,363,000

$442,245,156

$516,910,929

$363,344,000

$422,335,000

$370,703,000

$421,145,000

$362,168,000

$417,025,000

$309,607,000

$367,278,000

$310,702,000

$350,113,000

$297,551,000

$345,442,000

$304,235,000

$339,343,000

$274,842,000

$333,665,700

$266,980,000

$327,551,000

Bank Holding Companies

Bank Holding Companies Bank Holding Companies Rank 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52

Apr. 4 - Apr. 17, 2020

Bank Address

Telephone Website

Top Officer Additional Locations

First Federal Savings and Loan Association Pascagoula 903 Jackson Ave, Pascagoula, MS 39567 Central Louisiana Capital Corp./Delta Bank 1617 Carter St., Vidalia, LA 71373 Pontotoc Bancshares Corp/First Choice Bank 19 S. Main St., Pontotoc, MS 38863 Peoples Bancshares/Peoples Bank 160 E. Maud Ave., Mendenhall, MS 39114 Great Southern Capital Corp/Great Southern Bank 218 22nd Ave. S., Meridian, MS 39301 First American Bancshares/First American NB 1251 First American Drive, Iuka, MS 38852 PCNB Corp./Pike National Bank 350 Rawls Drive, McComb, MS 39648 Holly Springs Bancshares/Bank of Holly Springs 970 Hwy 7 N, Holly Springs, MS 38635 Yazoo Capital Corp./Bank of Yazoo City 104 N. Main St., Yazoo City, MS 39194 Cleveland State Bancorp/Cleveland State Bank 110 Commerce Avenue, Cleveland, MS 38732 Mechanics Bank 319 N. Main St., Water Valley, MS 38965

228-762-4034 firstwithus.com 318-336-7173 deltabk.com 662-489-1631 firstchoice.bank 601-847-2210 peoplesbank-ms.com 601-693-5141 gsnb.com 662-423-9551 fanb.net 601-684-7575 pnb-ms.net 662-252-2511 bankofhollysprings.com 662-746-5421 bankofyazoo.com 662-843-9461 clevelandstatebank.com 662-473-2261 mechanicsbankms.com

Copiah Bancshares/Copiah Bank 101 Caldwell Drive, Hazlehurst, MS 39083

601-894-2831 copiahbank.com

Weldon Perkins Gautier, Hurley, Moss Point, Ocean Springs, Vancleave James Brown 1 location in Natchez, 4 in Louisiana Buddy R. Montgomery, Shane Clayton, Julie L Henry Pontotoc, Ecru Dennis A Ammann Collins, Magee, Mendenhall, Richland, New Hebron (video teller) Jeff McCoy Decatur, Enterprise, Hattiesburg, Quitman, Waynesboro Tommy Chamblee Belmont, Booneville, Burnsville, Fulton, Iuka Saltillo, Tishomingo, Tupelo E. James Wicker, Jennifer S. Wallace Brookhaven, McComb, Tylertown Steven M. Gresham Abbeville, Potts Camp, Slayden, Holly Springs Van K. Ray, Philip C. Williams Yazoo City, Flora, Flowood, Crossgates West Daniel F Whalen, Harrry L. Lott Grenada, Merigold Cam Tyler Oxford Steve Bozeman Byram, Clinton, Crystal Springs, Florence, Richland, Wesson, Hazlehurst, Flowood Jay Tindall Coldwater, Hernando, Southaven, Independence, Oxford John A Herrod Houston, Mantee, Bruce Allen Breland Flowood; Walnut Grove

Tate Financial Corp./Sycamore Bank 662-562-8201 sycamorebank.com 301 E. Main St, Senatobia, MS 38668 Bancorp of Okolona 662-447-5403 54 bankofokolona.com 227 W. Main St, Okolona, MS 38860 First Forest Corp./Bank of Forest 601-469-3663 55 bkforest.com 211 W. 3rd Street, Forest, MS 39074 First National Corp. of Picayune/First National Bank of 601-749-3200 David B Hemeter 56 Picayune fnbop.com Poplarville, Wiggins 121 E. Canal St., Picayune, MS 39466 First Federal Bancorp/First Southern Bank 601-736-6378 R. Scott Davis 57 fsb-ms.com Oak Grove, Petal, Picayune, Richton 1075 Highway 98, Columbia, MS 39429 Kilmichael Bancorp/Bank of Kilmichael 662-262-7844 Bertram (Buddy) Mortimer, Kent Mortimer 58 bankofkilmichael.com Winona, Mathiston, Eupora, Kosciusko 120 North Depot Ave., Kilmichael, MS 39747 Lafayette Bancorp/Oxford University Bank 662-234-6668 David Guyton 59 oubol.com Bank of Pontotoc, A branch of Oxford University Bank 1500 University Ave., Oxford, MS 38655 Bank of Wiggins 601-928-5233 James O. Rabby 60 bankofwiggins.com McHenry 109 W. Pine Avenue, Wiggins, MS 39577 Haven Capital Corp./Bank of Brookhaven 601-835-3033 61 Bill Sones, Robb Massengill bankofbrookhaven.com 411 Brookway Blvd., Brookhaven, MS 39601 Commercial Capital Corp./Commercial Bank 601-743-5871 Michael J. Dudley 62 commercialbankms.com Collinsville, Meridian, Philadelphia 175 Hopper Ave., De Kalb, MS 39328 Independent Bancshares /Community Spirit Bank 256-356-4445 Bradley M Bolton 63 communityspirit.bank Belmont, MS, Red Bay, AL, Russellville, AL, Vina, AL 200 4th Ave. SW, Red Bay, AL 35582 CB&T Bancshares/Citizens Bank & Trust 662-326-8047 64 Tunica, Walls cbt-co.com 239 East Main St, Marks, MS 38646 Franklin Bancshares/Bank of Franklin 601-384-2305 Bradley B Jones 65 bankoffranklin.com Brookhaven, Bude, McComb, Meadville 9 Main St. E., Meadville, MS 39653 Pyrimid Financial Corp./Bank of Anguilla 662-873-4346 Andy C Anderson 66 bankofanguilla.com Cary, Rolling Fork, Mayersville 130 Holland St., Anguilla, MS 38721 Commerce Holding Corp./Commerce Bank Corinth 662-286-5577 Hull Davis, Frank A. Davis 67 commerce-bank.com 700 Taylor St., Corinth, MS 38834 The Jefferson Bank 662-759-3543 Todd Turner 68 thejeffersonbank.com Rosedale, Greenville 600 Main Street, Rosedale, MS 38769 Bank of Winona 662-283-3231 Eddie Hammond 69 bankofwinona.com 312 N. Applegate, Winona, MS 38967 Holmes County Capital Corp/Holmes County B&T 662-834-2311 Goodman, Vaiden, West 70 holmesbk.com 316 Court Square, Lexington, MS 39095 First State Capital Corp./First State Bank 662-252-4211 Sam P. McClatchy 71 firststatebankms.com Mount Pleasant, Holly Springs 146 W. College Ave., Holly Springs, MS 38635 M & F Bancorp/Merchants & Farmers Bank 662-252-1341 H. Gregory Taylor 72 mandfbankhs.com Byhalia, Ashland, Hickory Flat 650 Craft, Holly Springs, MS 38635 Home Bancshares/Home Banking Co. 731-645-6166 Jim Rickman 73 homebankingco.com 1 office in Corinth, 4 in Tennessee 795 E. Poplar Ave., Selmer, TN 38375 Merchants & Planters Bank 601-857-8044 T. H. Kendall, Henry A. Logue 74 mpbank.net Bolton, Clinton 308 Raymond Square, Raymond, MS 39154 Grand Financial Corp/Grand Bank for Savings, FSB 601-264-1467 Edward J. Langton, Chris Sawyer 75 grandbankfsb.com Petal 204 Westover Drive, Hattiesburg, MS 39402 Amory Federal Savings and Loan Association 662-256-9323 76 amoryfederal.com 213 2nd Ave N, Amory, MS 38821 Covington Capital Corp./Covington County Bank 601-765-6551 Chris J. Hull 77 covcobank.com Seminary, MS 102 S. Dogwood Ave., Collins, MS 39428 Marshall Financial Corp./Citizens Bank-Byhalia 662-838-2146 Barton, Victoria 78 citizensbyhalia.com 8077 State Highway 178, Byhalia, MS 38611 Morton Bancorp/Bank of Morton 601-732-8944 Martha J Rogers 79 bankofmorton.com None 366 S. 4th St., Morton, MS 39117 Centon Bancorp/Richton Bank & Trust Co. 601-788-6301 William S. Granberry, Ralph S. Olier 80 richtonbank.com Richton 114 S. Front St., Richton, MS 39476 First Federal Savings and Loan Association Aberdeen 662-369-2772 Dale Tate 81 firstfederalaberdeen.com 111 W. Commerce St, Aberdeen, MS 39730 Information provided by individual companies and FDIC reports. Direct questions to frank.brown@msbusiness.com.

53

n

Mississippi Business Journal

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31

Deposits as of Dec. 31, 2019

Assets as of Dec. 31, 2019

$190,801,000

$310,390,000

$279,349,000

$309,638,000

$266,188,000

$309,001,000

$273,493,014

$307,191,255

$264,557,000

$294,044,000

$238,920,000

$274,497,000

$214,977,000

$253,845,000

$197,021,000

$243,789,000

$207,983,000

$239,056,000

$202,847,000

$230,782,000

$201,763,000

$230,335,000

$185,493,000

$227,306,000

$202,202,000

$227,265,000

$180,181,000

$206,590,000

$175,133,000

$204,622,000

$170,019,000

$202,876,000

$172,579,000

$195,772,000

$158,025,000

$178,940,000

$150,243,000

$168,631,000 $166,379,000

$140,592,000

$163,577,000

$137,902,000

$162,688,000

$131,660,000

$152,607,000

$116,395,000

$146,951,000

$128,373,000

$146,168,000

$117,910,000

$141,083,196

$107,788,000

$129,242,000 $124,815,000

$103,736,000

$122,938,000

$102,106,000

$120,102,000

$99,900,000

$114,667,000

$88,531,000

$102,939,000

$79,733,000

$91,149,000 $91,107,000

$66,425,000

$84,543,000 $80,565,000

$69,836,000

$77,930,000

$65,922,000

$76,189,000

$54,792,000

$67,527,000

$44,518,000

$55,663,000 $43,503,000