MSBUSINESS.COM | AUGUST 2022 ISSUE VOLUME 45 • NO. 6 | 28 PAGES Pages 8, 15, 16, 23 Health care Brain mapping provides better outcomes with less risk Page 9 Banking and Finance Coalition strives to help underserved MississippiansPage 14 Technology What is driving down the cost of high-speed internet service?Page 21 Tech evangelist gives back with Jackson Tech DistrictPage20
“While there is significant energy and excitement in the project, it is also daunting for the QTED staff and will require multiple partnerships to suc ceed,” the agency wrote in the agreement.
“I was in Marks, Mississip pi, the other day, which is in Quitman County, the poorest county in the United States. And I tell you I saw hundreds of Black boys and Black girls walking the streets with no shoes to wear,” King said at the National Cathedral in Wash ington. “I saw their mothers and fathers ... They raised a little money here and there; trying to get a little food to feed the children; trying to teach them a little something.”
A2H ENGINEERS, ARCHITECTS, PLANNERS VIA AP
As of 2020, Quitman County had one of the 20 lowest medi an income levels of all counties in the country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
“It was this cultural and mu sical phenomenon that provid ed the basis for the prodigious economic success and prof its of the U.S. music industry worldwide,” Wilson stated in planning documents.
2 n Mississippi Business Journal n August 2022 Issue
The conditions in the cotton fields of Quitman County and other parts of the Mississippi Delta were the environment in which early civil rights activists and field workers produced music that’s now identified as blues, gospel and R&B, project planners said.
R&B Hall of Fame headed to small Mississippi Delta town
“The Hall of Fame will be the catalyst to Delta tourism growth and opportunities, and a means to attract business and industry,” said Democrat ic U.S. Rep. Bennie Thomp son, who represents Quitman County.Thecity of Marks donated 5 acres (2 hectares) of land for theAccordingproject. to an agreement reviewed by the AP, the Quit man County Economic Tour ism and Development agency secured a $500,000 appropria tion from the Mississippi Leg islature for infrastructure relat ed to the project. The agency also hopes to secure an $11 million federal grant through the U.S. Department of Trans portation to beef up develop ment around the hall of fame.
This image provided by A2H Engineers, Architects, Planners on Aug. 18, 2022, shows digital rendering of the National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame in Marks, Miss. Organizers are aiming to complete the building in two or three years. The project is the culmination of a 50-year effort to build a hall of fame for R&B musicians such as James Brown, Aretha Franklin and B.B. King.
BY MICHAEL GOLDBERG/AP JACKSON – A small town in the Mississippi Delta that has ties to the civil rights move ment will soon be home to the National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame. Project planners hope to fin ish building the facility in the town of Marks in two or three years, Velma Wilson, director of economic tourism and de velopment for Quitman Coun ty, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Marks is the coun ty seat of Quitman County and has a population of fewer than 2,000Thepeople.project is the culmina tion of a 50-year effort to build a hall of fame for R&B musi cians such as James Brown, Aretha Franklin and B.B. King.
“There is no other hall of fame in the world that is pri marily focused and dedicated to the history of R&B music on a national scale,” LaMont Rob inson, CEO of the NRBHF, said in a news release. “My vision to build a hall of fame to hon or R&B and its contributions to civil rights, America, and the entire world is something that I don’t take Robinsonlightly.”founded the hall of fame in 2010. Since 2013, it has inducted more than 200 artists. Marks appealed to Robin son due to its civil rights his tory. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. chose the town in 1968 as the starting point for his Poor People’s Campaign, which de manded economic justice for poor Americans of all back grounds. On March 31, 1968, in what would be his final Sunday sermon before his assassina tion, King described the pover ty-stricken families he encoun tered in Marks.
Law firm hired in state welfare fraud case
Talmadge
The Mississippi State Per sonnel Board on Thursday approved the Mississippi De partment of Human Services’ request to contract with Jones Walker law firm to replace for mer attorney Brad Pigott in bringing a civil suit against 38 defendants, including a non profit in Tupelo, to recoup around $24 million. MDHS Director Bob Ander son told members of the board that the agency needed to con tract with a larger law firm to pursue the litigation because of the large number of defen dants in the suit and the work required.“Although Mr. Pigott had done a good job of getting the case started, we just felt like we needed a larger firm to take the matter forward,” Anderson said. “I felt like the proposal and esti mate, if you will, that I got from Jones Walker and the team they had proposed to handle this case was the kind of thing that weUnderneeded.”the previous contract, Pigott could bill $275 an hour, other attorneys at the firm could bill $170 an hour and legal assis tants could charge $85 an hour. The maximum amount the firm could bill was $74,500, meaning there is over a 400% increase in the new maximum amount. Tupelo-based attorney Jim Waide sent a letter to the per sonnel board saying the state could ultimately pay a new law firm more in hourly fees than it ever recovers and requested that the board block the Jones Walker firm from replacing Pig ott.Waide represents Austin Smith, the nephew of John Da vis, the former head of the Mis sissippi Department of Human Services, in the litigation. Waide argued that an attorney or law firm hired on a contingent fee basis would be a more prudent way to pursue the litigation.
BY TAYLOR VANCE JACKSON – The state’s wel fare agency is on the cusp of having a new law firm represent it in the state’s ongoing effort to claw back millions of alleged ly misspent federal dollars that were supposed to help Missis sippi’s neediest people.
Anderson declined to an swer questions from reporters after the meeting, and MDHS through a spokesperson did not respond to further questions from the Daily Journal.
Mississippi State Personnel Board Director Kelly Hardwick told reporters that he and the members of the board con sidered Waide’s letter, but ul timately determined that the contract met the board’s guide lines for legal contracts. “That is outside of our pur view,” Hardwick said about the letter. “We’re looking for com pliance with state law. Those are issues better addressed by the agency.”
Alwyn Luckey, the chairman of the personnel board, encour aged Anderson in the meeting to make sure taxpayer money is “spent wisely” in getting the new law firm up to speed with the specifics of the case. Gov. Tate Reeves in a state ment said the law firm will vig orously pursue the case, wher ever it leads. “They will eagerly cooperate with those criminal investiga tors whose mission is to get truth and justice for the mis conduct that occurred during the previous administration,” Reeves said. “And they will leave no stone unturned in the ef fort to recover misspent TANF funds.”
While all parties still techni cally have to sign off on the con tract for it to take effect, inking the deal will largely be a perfunc tory act. Both Anderson and At torney General Lynn Fitch have already signed the contract and Anderson at the meeting said the fees were proposed to him by the law firm itself.
AP PHOTO/ROGELIO V. SOLIS
August 2022 Issue n Mississippi Business Journal n 3 Tupelo 662-842-9410 Columbus 662-687-0689 Talmadge Ray,Tupelo Cindy Sappington, Tupelo Chris Carter,Columbus jtrayco.com We Keep Your Business Going • Serving Tupelo & North Mississippi Since 1988 • Local Sales, Service, Parts, Supplies &Billing • InHouse Lease Program Authorized dealer for Konica Minolta and their award winning Bizhub products.
Bob Anderson, state Department of Human Services director, speaks about his appointment, Wednesday, March 4, 2020, in Jackson.
Cindy Sappington Ray
4 n Mississippi Business Journal n August 2022 Issue
BY DENNIS SEID
THOMAS WELLS | DAILY JOURNAL Scott Mize climbs onto the wing to get into the cockpit of his his Piper PA-28 Cherokee as flight instructor Cameron Triplett looks on.
Now another plane was made available for flight in struction, and Mize Aviation wasMizeborn.said while the plane belongs to him, the success of the business rests on Triplett’s shoulders.“Wewant to build this thing and grow it,” he said. “Our goal in the whole process was to kick the doors open and let everybody know that you can come out here and fly. Any body can come and fly. Even if you have your private license and you want to pursue your instrument or your commer cial, you can do that.”
REACH FOR THE SKY
It may be hard to believe, but Scott Mize – owner of Tu pelo-based Mize Aviation –hadn’t set foot in the sky until last year. It wasn’t for lack of want. Mize had always dreamed of being in the air, flying high in the sky. He even contemplated joining the military so he could fly. But Mize never got the chance to leave the ground. Until last Christmas, at least, when his wife, Missha, sur prised him with flying lessons as a Hegift.was “There’selated.always been some form of flight school or flying lessons here at the airport, but it wasn’t really that well known,” he said. As part of his lessons, Mize had his pick of available in structors. He chose Cameron Triplett, a decision that was, in hindsight, fortuitous. On Mize’s discovery flight, being in the air was every thing he thought it would be and more. He let out a primal scream of sorts as the plane climbed; it wasn’t out of fear –it was from sheer joy. Triplett, though wasn’t fazed.“I’ve kinda seen it all, and I was like, ‘Well, we’re in the air now, let’s see what happens,’” he said. “I knew he was excit ed.” Mize was also able to fly the plane on his own while in the air – with Triplett supervising carefully of course. “I was just over the moon,” heAftersaid. landing at the airport, Mize got in his car to drive home, called his wife and talk ed virtually nonstop about the experience. The flying bug had bitten Mize“It’shard.completely, 100 (per cent) her fault,” he said with a laugh.What resonated with Mize while he was in the air was when he and Triplett hit a little rough spot and the plane kind of bounced two or three times. “Cam looked and me and said it was God just letting us know he’s still in control,” Mize said. “I knew then I had a good CFI (certified flight instructor), and I had a good connection with aviation.” Follow-up flights only rein forced Mize’s new passion, but actually booking time to be in the air proved a bit problemat ic. The plane sees frequent use. That’s a good problem for a CFI, but a frustrating challenge for a student looking for more flight time. The best way to alleviate the problem is to get another plane available.Andthe Mizes did just that. They went in with Triplett to buy their own plane – a Piper PA-28 Cherokee. “I bought the plane with Cam as a partner because I wanted him to be the main CFI,” Mize said. “Not only because of the camaraderie we have, but also our views on life in general and our core beliefs are so much alike. It’s almost like finding a long-lost brother.”
Love of flying leads to aircraft, flight school
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I was attending American University and working part-time on the Hill in 1968 when the Easter riots broke out in Washington, D.C. Four days of burning, looting, and shooting hit the downtown not far from the White House following the April 4 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther KingOnJr.April 5, President Lyn don B. Johnson invoked the Insurrection Act of 1807 and brought an estimated 13,700 federal and Army National Guard troops to assist the overwhelmed D.C. police force. Machine-gun armed Marines patrolled the Capitol while Army soldiers guarded the White House. Rioters got within two blocks of the White House before retreating. Combined federal and policy imposed a strict curfew, patrolled the streets, guarded looted areas, and provided aid. Reports showed 13 killed and about 1,000 injured. Most troops continued on duty through April 12th. Military. com reports this was the largest military occupation of an American city since the Civil War. I can personally report that federal offices and most businesses shut down as the District of Columbia was locked down. Main arteries were closed. Ve hicles trying to enter or exit the Dis trict on side streets were pulled over, searched for weapons and explosives, and turned back. Pray such dark days are behind us. But it might not take much to spark the fire. Violence invoking diatribes and hotheads toting AR15s are not what America needs to settle things down.
America headed to civil war?
BILL CRAWFORD is a syndicated columnist from Jackson. Readers can contact him at crawfolk@gmail.com.
“If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right” – James 2:8.
BILL CRAWFORD
So much for law and order. First crazy Democrats de nounced all police. “Defund police” was the cry. Now crazy Republicans denounce all FBI agents. “Defund FBI” is their cry. Both sides seem to seek no realistic outcome other than destroying respect for law and order.That’s the way things are in loudmouth America today, where so many have hair trigger emotions. Don’t like something? Immediately denounce it, demean it and demand its destruction. So what if it stirs dissension, anger, hatred and violence? So what? Well, the ultimate “what” will be riots, shootouts and then civil war.We’ve already seen riots from the left and from the right. We’ve already seen hate-motivated shootings. Unless cool er heads step in, violence will escalate. Already some hotheads are calling for civilFewwar.may remember the race riots and violent Vietnam War protests of the 1960s. Those of us who do, well, let’s just say those were scary times.
Former Vice President Mike Pence gets it. He understands that our way of life depends upon law and order. “Calls to defund the FBI are just as wrong as calls to defund police,” he said last week. “Our party stands with the men and women who stand on the thin blue line at the federal, state, and local level.”Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, brown and white, rich and poor, we are all Americans and should do our best to maintain a peace ful if argumentative coexistence.
6 n Mississippi Business Journal n August 2022 Issue PERSPECTIVE August 2022 Issue • www.msbusiness.com • Page 6MBJ 132 Riverview Dr., Suite E • Flowood, MS 39232 Main: (601) 364 1000 • Fax: (601) 364 1007 E-mails: mbj@msbusiness.com, ads@msbusiness.com photos@msbusiness.com, research@msbusiness.com, Wevents@msbusiness.comebsite:www.msbusiness.com August 2022 Issue | Volume 45, Number 6 TAMI JONES Publisher tami.jones@msbusiness.com • (601) 364-1011 MARCIA THOMPSON Business Assistant marcia.kelly@msbusiness.com • (601) 364-1044 FRANK BROWN List Researcher frank.brown@msbusiness.com • (601) 364-1022 LYNN LOFTON Contributing Writer mbj@msbusiness.com • (601) 364-1018 TED CARTER Contributing Writer mbj@msbusiness.com • (601) 364-1018 BECKY GILLETTE Contributing Writer mbj@msbusiness.com • (601) 364-1018 LISA MONTI Contributing Writer mbj@msbusiness.com • (601) 364-1018 SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES (601) 364-1000 subscriptions@msbusiness.com Mississippi Business Journa (USPS 000-222) is published monthly with one annual issue by MSBJ 132 Riverview Dr., Suite E, Flowood, MS 39232. Periodicals postage paid at Jackson, MS. Subscription rates: 1 year $109; 2 years $168 and 3 years $214 To place orders, temporarily stop service, change your address or inquire about billing: Phone: (601) 364-1000, Fax: (601) 364-1007 Email: marcia.kelly@msbusiness.com, Mail MS Business Journal Subscription Services, 132 Riverview Dr., Suite E, Flowood, MS 39232 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Mississippi Business Journal Circulation Manager, 132 Riverview Dr., Suite E Flowood, MS 39232 To submit subscription payments: Mail: MS Business Journal Subscriptions Services, 2132 Riverview Dr., Suite E, Flowood, MS 39232 No materia in this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written consent Editorial and advert sing material contained in this publication is derived from sources considered to be reliable, but the publication cannot guarantee their accuracy. Noth ng contained herein should be construed as a solicitation for the sale or purchase of any securities. It is the policy of this newspaper to employ people on the basis of their qualifications and with assurance of equal op-portunity and treatment regardless of race, color, creed, sex, age, sexual orientation, religion, national origin or handicap. A m embe r o f t he M iss ss i pp Press A ssoc iat io n ww w.m spress .o rg THE MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS JOURNAL Company (JPC), Inc. Entire contents copyrighted © 2021 by Journal Inc. All rights reserved.
August 2022 Issue n Mississippi Business Journal n 7
The national policy regard ing wetlands is to prevent any further net loss. To meet this goal, if your activity is per mitted, you may be required to compensate for the loss through mitigation as a con dition for proceeding with the plannedDependingactivity.on what impacts may result from the project, and where the stream or wet land is located, a permit appli cation will determine the exact limitations to the area that can be impacted.
How much wetland or stream area can I impact?
CORPS OF ENGINEERS
Any disturbance to the soil or bottom material of a wet land or waterbody, including a stream bed, is an impact and may adversely affect the hy drology of an area. What is a wetland and why is it important?
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for protecting many of the na tion’s aquatic environments including oceans, rivers, lakes, streams, ponds and wetlands. Work in, over or under waters of the United States may re quire a permit from the Corps. The Vicksburg Office of the Corps of Engineers provides assistance in determining if a permit is required. Its District Regulatory Division is part of the Department of the Army’s Regulatory Program, which is one of the oldest in the federal government. In general, any person, firm or government agency plan ning to work in U.S. navigable waters or discharge dredged or fill material in waters, includ ing wetlands, must first obtain a permit from the Corps of En gineers.Wetlands including swamps and marshes are areas that are inundated by water and sup port vegetation adapted for life in saturated soil. Because wetlands are considered im portant natural resources that support fish and wildlife, they are protected by law. Here are the basics on regu lations and other information regarding permits issued by the Corps of Engineers: What activities require a Corps permit? There are generally two types of activities which re quire a permit from the Corps of Engineers. The first includes activities within navigable wa ters covered by the Rivers and Harbors Act to ensure that the activities will not cause an ob struction to navigation. Typical examples requiring permits are construction of piers, wharves, bulkheads, dolphins, marinas, ramps, floats intake structures and cable or pipeline cross ings.The second major part of the Corps permitting program in volves the Clean Water Act of 1972 which requires prior ap proval to discharge dredged or fill material into the waters of the United States. What types of activities are considered impacts?
Mississippi Valley Division of the Corps of Engineers commanders, directors and engineers.
When should I apply for a permit?
How much does a permit cost? Most permits issued by the Corps do not have a permit fee.
Performing unauthorized work in waters of the United States or failure to comply with the terms of a valid permit can have serious consequences. You would be in violation of federal law and could face stiff penalties, including fines and/ or requirements to restore the area.Enforcement is an important part of the Corps regulatory program. Corps surveillance and monitoring activities are often aided by various agen cies, groups, and individuals, who report suspected viola tions. When in doubt as to whether a permit may be re quired or what you need to do, contact the Vicksburg District Regulatory Office.
Since three to four months is normally required to process a routine application involving a public notice, you should ap ply as early as possible to be sure you have all required ap provals before your planned beginning date. For a large or complex activ ity that may take longer, it is often helpful to have a pre-ap plication meeting during the early planning phase of your project. You may receive help ful information at this point, which could prevent delays later. What will happen if I do work without getting a permit from the Corps?
BY LISA MONTI
The best practice is to avoid all impacts to streams and wet lands. When this is unavoid able, contact your Corps office to determine how to minimize the area impacted and wheth er a permit is needed. Stringent limits are placed on activities that may cause anything other than minimal impacts to the waterbody or aquatic envi ronment. There are additional prohibitions and limitations on special aquatic resources.
Wetlands are areas that are periodically or permanent ly inundated by surface or ground water and support veg etation adapted for life in sat urated soil. Wetlands include swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas. As a significant natural resource, wetlands serve important functions re lating to fish and wildlife. Such functions include food chain production, habitat, nesting spawning, rearing and resting sites for aquatic and land spe cies. They also provide protec tion of other areas from wave action and erosion; storage ar eas for storm and flood waters; natural recharge areas where ground and surface water are interconnected; and natural water filtration and purifica tion functions.
Corps of Engineers permitting process helps to protect wetlands
Architects & Engineers
Individual Permits have fees of $10 for individuals and $100 for businesses, once the permit has been issued and accepted by the permittee.
ar-architects.com601-544-1970
Belinda1990
howortharch.com662-234-7444
5 Dale | Bailey, An Association 188 E. Capitol St, Ste 250, Jackson, MS 39201 dalepartners.com/about-dba601-352-5411 2008 12 Eley Barkley Dale, An Association 1200 Jefferson Ave, Ste 200 D, Oxford, MS 38655
Grammy Museum Mississippi, Cleveland; MSU Indoor Tennis Facility, Starkville; Mississippi Center for Medically Fragile Children, Jackson; Nicholas Air Corp. headquarters, Starkville; Cotton House, Cleveland 12 jH&H Architects/Planners/Interiors, PA 1047 N. Flowood Dr., Flowood, MS 39232 jhharchitects.com601-948-4601 A.1964Bruce Wood, Paul Bagley, Randall Lewis, Benjamin Hall, Adam Haver, Kitchens Ben MSU Fresh Food Dining Complex; CMPDD Office HQ; Germantown, NW Rankin high schools; GHM Academic Complex@Ole Miss; 1st Baptist Madison; Rankin Courthouse; Madison Methodist; MSU Partnership School 12 8 PryorMorrow PC 5227 S. Frontage Rd., Columbus, MS 39701 pryormorrow.com662-327-8990
Doug1995 Dale, Jeffrey Barnes, Leigh Jaunsen, Russ Blount, Jason Agostinelli, Neil Polen
8 n Mississippi Business Journal n August 2022 Issue Largest Architectural Firms Largest Architectural Firms Rank Name & Address WebsitePhone TopFoundedofficers Notable Projects ArchitectsLicensedMS 1 Eley Guild Hardy Architects, P.A. 1091 Tommy Munro Dr., Biloxi, MS 39532 egh.ms228-594-2323
cdfl.com601-366-3110
Ross2018 Barkley, Doug Dale, Jeff Barnes, Leigh Jaunsen, Russ Blount, Jason Agostinelli, Robert B Eley
Robert1987 E. Luke, John K. "Johnny" Olsen Lauderdale County Government Center; Modifications to MSU Davis Wade Stadium; Gulfport School District - Bayou View Elementary Addition, Harrison County Multi-Department Facility; KAFB-Repairs to Wolfe Hall 4 MP Design Group, PLLC 918 Howard Ave, Ste F, Biloxi, MS 39530 mpdesigngroup.us228-388-1950
Danny1938 Cawthon, Steve Davis, Jared Pierce Mississippi Sports Medicine; Pinelake Student Center; Duff Capital Investors Corporate Offices; Beavers Pediatric Dental Clinic; The First, ANBA, Madison; Capital Orthopedics Center 6 McCarty Architects 533 W. Main St., Tupelo, MS 38804 Community Development Foundation; N. Mississippi Medical Center; Delta Regional Medical Center; Methodist Sr. Services 5 Albert & Robinson Architects, PLLC 514 Main St., Hattiesburg, MS 39401
Larry1986 A. Albert, Chris L. Robinson William Carey Health Sciences Building, Columbia Readiness Center, Mississippi Armed Forces Museum expansion, Thad Cochran Theater, PRCC Seal Hall, St. Fabian's church, District at Midtown Hattiesburg, 4 Landry Lewis Germany Architects, P.A. 5211 Old Hwy. 11, Hattiesburg, MS 39402
19 2 Wier
East Mississippi Community College, Center for Manufacturing Technology Excellence 2.0 Mississippi Valley State University, Harrison Recreation Complex Renovation Winston Medical Center, Hospital 9 9 Dean Architecture 661 Sunnybrook Road, Suite 140, Ridgeland, MS 39157 deandean.com601-939-7717
Timothy1949 G Geddie Horne Building; Ridgeland City Hall; Tippah County Hospital; Boldt Southaven MOB; Baptist Health System & Blue Health Primary Care; MRA Middle School & Dining Commons; Jackson Academy Master Plan 8 JBHM Architecture 308 E. Pearl St, Ste. 300, Jackson, MS 39201 jbhm.com601-352-2699
Anne1997 Marie Decker, Roy Decker GSA Greenville Federal Courthouse, beach hotel, Panama City, FL, MS National Guard & MS Air National Guard projects. 6 Canizaro Cawthon Davis Architecture Planning Interior Design 129 S. President St., Jackson, MS 39201 ccdarchitects.com601-948-7337
mccartycompany.com662-844-4400 Kurt1983Shettles
14
Gene1961 Crager, Jesse R. Browning, David Burnet, Matthew Buchanan, Chris Myers, Newell Watkins, Ben Fulton
Dale Partners Architects, P.A. 188 E. Capitol St., Ste. 250, Jackson, MS 39201 dalepartners.com601-352-5411
James1953 H. Eley, W. Taylor Guild, David J. Hardy MSU Engineering & Science Complex, Museum of Mississippi History & Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, Mississippi Aquarium, Port of Gulfport USM Research Building, UMMC, MGCCC Bryant & Student centers Boerner Allin Architecture, PLLC 2727 Old Canton Road, Suite 200, Jackson, MS 39216
Pascagoula High Performing Arts Center, Ole Miss South Campus Recreation Facility & Transportation Hub, Toyota Mississippi Visitors Center, Entergy Mississippi Distribution and Operations Center 8 11 Duvall Decker Architects, P.A. 2915 N. State St., Jackson, MS 39216 duvalldecker.com601-713-1128
Thomas1990 S. Howorth, Deweese Larry, Jonathan Mattox Christ Presbyterian Church, Ole Miss Innovation Hub; State Veterans Memorial Cemeteries, Newton & Kilmichael; L.Q.C. Lamar House Restoration; Saint Leo 4 LPK Architects, P.A. 821 22nd Ave., Meridian, MS 39301 lpkarchitects.com601-693-9990
UMMC Children's Hospital expansion; Ole Miss stadium; Two Mississippi Museums, Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mississippi College Alumni Hall renovation 13
Architects
15 3 Cooke
wbaarchitecture.com601-321-9107
Jamie2009 Wier, Michael Boerner, Jack Allin, Eric Whitfield, Wade Thompson, Ryan Hansen, Russ Markle
Roger1985 Pryor, Chris Morrow, William Dexter, Rud Robison, Corey Ravenhorst, Michael Taylor, Jose Arellano
Brad2007 Patano, Gerrod Kilpatrick, Bradford Jones, Fernanda Silva Biloxi Junior High & Field House; Biloxi Schools Performing Arts Center; Mississippi State Veterinary Referral Hospital; Long Beach High; W. Jackson County Utility Office; Camping World; Rusty Quave Sports Complex; D'Iberville Fire Station; Huntingto 4 21 Beard + Riser Architects PLLC 1723-B University Ave. #305, Oxford, MS 38655 beardriser.com662-455-2581
Mark2018 Davis, John Purdy MCC Softball & Tennis Complex, Dean Aircraft Service Hangar Addition, Threefoot Brewing Company, Davis Purdy Architects Office, Shipley's Donuts, and numerous residential projects. 2 Brumfield Ward & Associates Architects, PA 1050 Northpark Dr., Suite C, Ridgeland, MS 39157 brumfieldward.com601-982-0341
John2007 Beard, Dale Riser FBC Tupelo Master Plan; Greenwood Readiness Center repairs; Greenwood Police Dept.; Milwaukee Tool renovations; Rail Spike Park Pavilion; Mississippi Delta student center 3 Burris/Wagnon Architects, P.A. 500L E. Woodrow Wilson Ave., Jackson, MS 39216 burriswagnon.com601-969-7543
Edward1977 Bowden Wyatt, Michael R Foil Translational Medicine Center UMMC; Lauren Rogers Museum of Art; Riverwalk Casino & Hotel; The Alluvian Hotel; Howard Industries; JCJC; Anderson Regional medical Center 4 Belinda Stewart Architects, PA 61 N. Dunn St. / PO Box 867, Eupora, MS 39744 belindastewartarchitects.com/662-258-6405 J. Stewart Old Main Academic Center, MSU; Bolivar Co. Courthouse restoration; Johnson Commons East renovation, Ole Miss; Delta Blues Museum Muddy Waters Addition, Clarksdale; MSU YMCA; Tallahatchie Co. Courthouse 4 Howorth & Associates P.O. Box 1569, Oxford, MS 38655
Hal1957C. Brumfield, W. Randall Ward Priestley Chapel Church Multi-Purpose Facility, Canton; Additions to WAPT 16, Jackson; The Met Apartments, Hattiesburg; Big 10 Tire, Gluckstadt 2 Allred Stolarski Architects, PA 711 Church St, Ocean Springs, MS 39564 allredstolarski.com228-762-1975 Hoppy1961 Allred, John Stolarski Biloxi VA Nursing Home, Hattiesburg High reno, USM Asbury & Scianna halls, MSU School of Music, MGCCC STEM Bldg, Bay High Admin Bldg, Ocean Springs High 2 Information provided by company representatives and MBJ research and is ranked by number of Mississippi-licensed architects. Direct questions to frank.brown@msbusiness.com.
Richard1970 H. McNeel, Ryan C. Florreich, Joseph S. Henderson, Kimberly J. Buford, William D. Whittle, Brandon P. Bishop
Stan1997 Wagnon, Bill Burris Simpson County Center, Copiah-Lincoln CC; Cafeteria, Delta State; Fant Library, MUW; Northwest Middle School offices, Jackson; MS Dept of Rehab. Services, Madison 3 23 Davis Purdy Architects, PLLC 2303 6th St, Meridian, MS 39301 davispurdyarchitects.com601-282-1655
The Refuge Hotel, Grammy Museum Mississippi; Biloxi Shuckers Stadium; The Mill@MSU; Mississippi; Wind Creek Montgomery (Ala.) BB King Blues Club 13
13
Christian1910 J Landry, Jason K Landry, Shane Germany, Kevin P Lewis Camp Shelby, USM residence hall, William Carey Univ. 4 Foil-Wyatt Architects & Planners PLLC 1510 N. State St., Suite 400, Jackson, MS 39202 foilwyatt.com601-352-3071
Dudy-Noble Field at MSU; MS Trademart; Brandon Amphitheater; MS Children's Museum Meridian; softball, tennis at MSU; The Blake assisted living; Millsaps athletic & academic facilities; UMMC facilities Douglass Farr Lemons Architects & Engineers, P.A. 3221 Old Canton Road, Suite 200, Jackson, MS 39216
llgarch.com601-271-7711
Chohan
Brain mapping before, during tumor surgery provides better outcomes with less risk
the operation, pa tients undergo a sophisticated MRI while a neuropsychologist guides them through different tasks such as tapping fingers, wiggling toes, or thinking of words, and the parts of the brain involved in doing those tasks will light up. Chohan said that gives a rough lay of the land and can show a patient in a visually stunning way where the tumor is and what func tions are close by. Then the de cision is made to keep patients awake during surgery or not. “This is something that I specialize in,” Chohan said. “It is close to my heart. I do a lot of these surgeries. Not ev ery tumor needs awake brain mapping; most tumors don’t need this. On the other hand, we have tumors in the brain previously considered beyond surgery that we can address. We have small tubes with cam eras at the end that are insert ed in very small openings in or around the brain that allow us to reach deep areas in the brain safely. We are starting to offer laser treatment that requires just a few millimeters opening to reach areas unthinkable a few years
The teams consider what kind of treatment will allow people to continue to work, love and “Thoseplay.arethe most import ant aspects of any human,” he said. “Are they able to go back to their work and society and do what they were doing be fore? Are they able to maintain relationships they had before undergoing brain surgery? Are they able to still enjoy the things they were interested in before? Those elements are very important for me to pre serve for my patients.”
Chohan is also very interest ed in epilepsy treatments, and tumor and epilepsy surgery are often similar. Epilepsy sur gery is considered when med ical treatments have failed. He compares the surgeries to de tective work. You have to find a surgical target, and not every patient will have a surgical tar get.“In the workup for epileptic
BY BECKY GILLETTE Advances in surgical and medical treatment of brain cancer are creating better out comes with less risk, said M. Omar Chohan, MD, an associ ate professor of neurosurgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and a neuro surgeon on the UMMC Cancer Center and Research Institute
“Being in a tertiary care set ting has allowed me to have a wide range of options to help my patients,” Chohan said. “It is also good for patients to come to a center like ours that has multidisciplinary teams including medical on cologists, multipletogether.neurosurgeons.oncologists,neuroradiologists,neuropsychologists,radiationsocialworkersandWeallworkWehaveconferencestimesinamonth.
TURN TO CHOHAN, 11F
Anotherago.”option is stereo tactic radiosurgery, a highly sophisticated radiation treat ment that Chohan said is sometimes as good as surgery for certain cancers.
We discuss difficult cases and come up with a plan based on the most recent guidelines.”
August 2022 Issue n Mississippi Business Journal n 9
Health Care
MASON GRAVES
Dr. Omar Chohan, assisted by Dr. Andrew Smith, performed a temporal lobectomy using specialized image guidance and neuromonitoring to reduce or eliminate seizures while preserving critical brain function.
An example is a tumor close to an area related to speech. The UMMC team can keep a patient awake allowing a neu ropsychologist to do language tests while Chohan does brain surgery.“The neuropsychologist talks to patients and tells me to keep going or to back off and stop,” Chohan said. “There is a back and forth. We can be safer and more aggressive removing the tumor at the same time. Before we would be wary of causing the patient harm. Now if they start losing function during surgery, we know when to Beforestop.”
Chohan said they are see ing better outcomes that can add decades to someone’s life. When they can safely remove low-grade tumors in difficult areas of brain, patients can re turn back to full functioning.
infromterinmapping,ticatedcareNervousBrain/CentralInterdisciplinarySystemteam.“WithsophisbrainweareamuchbetplaceevenwhenIwastrainingnotthat long ago,” Chohan said. “Just in the past decade, neurosurgical treat ment of brain tumors has re ally advanced. We are able to reach areas in the brain where neurosurgeons were reluctant to go in the past.” Brain mapping, which is akin to fingerprinting the brain, has greatly improved in the past five to ten years. Chohan said it allows the neurosurgeon to determine if a brain tumor or lesion is close to an important part of the brain with well-de fined functions such as lan guage or motor skills, or even some higher cognitive func tions like planning and atten tion.“We know this area of the brain is critical and plays a predominant role in an indi vidual’s ability to perform that function,” Chohan said. “We can test those functions before surgery and during surgery by keeping patients awake. Awake surgery is not a new concept; it has been around 100 years. What has changed is the so phistication of it. Previously, the only functions that could be tested reliably were motor function – the ability to move hands, arms or the face. Now we have a much more detailed understanding of higher cog nitive functions including lan guage and even music, to some degree. Depending on what mental faculty is critical to our patients’ lives and if the tumor happens to threaten it, we have now the ability to try and pre serve that function.”
Robinson, professor of ob stetrics and gynecology, heads the Cancer Center and Re search Institute Interdisciplin ary Gynecologic Cancer Care team and also was the UMMC/ CCRI liaison with the Ameri can Cancer Society in its 2021 Return to Screening effort that looked at the decline in screen ings during COVID-19 and en couraged people to return to screening.AMemorial Health System spokesperson said the Gulfport facility is now seeing an in crease in screenings following the drastic decline that took place at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.“The screenings that have experienced the slowest in crease include colonoscopies. The initial decrease in screen ings was directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic, similar to national trends in cancer screenings,” the spokesperson said.Memorial continues to en courage patients to maintain their routine screenings to aid in early detection. Over the last year, they have increased their outreach to the commu nity through educational cam paigns and by providing nocost health screenings when possible, the spokesperson said.Lisa Nunnery, R.N., quality outcomes manager for North Mississippi Medical Clinics, looked at the Tupelo facility’s data for both breast cancer and colorectal cancer screening from July 2019 to July 2022. She says 2020 showed the lowest screening rates for mammo grams, which dropped four percent overall, and colon screenings dropped three per cent overall from the previous year.
BY LYNN LOFTON Cancer screenings were among the victims of COVID-19 causing a decrease in the number of these proce dures. Three Mississippi hos pitals in different parts of the state report that 2020 and 2021 were low points. Efforts are being made to encourage pa tients to return to these screen ings. All three hospitals report declines in mammograms and colonoscopies.“Webelieve the number of colonoscopies fell primarily because of a lack of staff,” says Dr. William “Rusty” Robinson of University of Mississippi Medical“ManyCenter.nurses, technicians, and other staff left UMMC during the pandemic and have not returned. That has been a national trend. There is a shortage of healthcare workers across the U.S., and it has been very difficult to find and hire new“Colonoscopystaff. is more heav ily dependent on support per sonnel than are any of the other three procedures, (pap smears, mammograms and chest CT scans) and it makes sense that colonoscopy would be the hardest hit by staff shortages.”
done in April. This (delays in getting colonoscopy) seems to be consistent with the data on the national level.”
However, Robinson says there’s the possibility that the number of people who elect to undergo colonoscopies de clined during the pandemic because it’s by far the most “in vasive” of the screenings.
Cancer screenings fell victim to COVID, too
10 n Mississippi Business Journal n August 2022 Issue Health Care
“They (ACS and COC) con tacted all accredited cancer treatment facilities in the U.S. and asked them to provide data on the following procedures: Mammograms; Pap Smears/ HPV(Human Papilloma Virus) testing; colonoscopies, and low-dose chest CT scans,” he said. “Specifically, each facility was asked to look at the num ber of each of those procedures that were done at four differ ent time periods: September, 2019, January, 2020; Septem ber, 2020; and January 2021. Nationally, there were declines in all four procedures, but the biggest decline by far occurred in UMMCcolonoscopies.”hadaprogram in tended to promote cancer screening during the pandem ic at UMMC and in the com munity.“Wepublished bulletins re minding the staff and visitors of the need for cancer screen ing on all the video screens posted throughout the hospi tal,” Robinson said. “We also did video record ings of several of the physician leaders in cancer prevention, who advocated for screening in their specific disciplines. “These included Dr. Pierre De Delva (lung cancer-chest CT); Mildred Ridgeway (cer vical cancer-pap smears/HPV tests), and Dr. Susan Scham berger (breast cancer-mam mography) These videos were posted on the hospital website, YouTube, and Additionally,elsewhere.”Robinson ap peared on the local Mississip pi Public Broadcasting radio program, Southern Remedy in November, 2021, in an episode titled, Cancer Screening in the COVID Era.
“In 2021, we saw a four percent increase overall for mammograms, and we saw a 5% increase overall for co lon screening,” Nunnery said. “That upward trend for screen ing continued through July 2022. Our clinics do outreach for preventive health measures, using a bulk communication tool in our electronic medical record. Our Population Health team also does outreach for colorectal cancer screening by mailing out FIT kits.”
“It requires the most plan ning, the most preparation, and is the most unpleasant. Therefore, it seems logical that people would be more likely to put off doing colonoscopy than any of the other proce dures,” he said. “I admit that I did that myself. I was due for colonoscopy in 2020, but kept putting it off. I finally had it
Robinson pointed out that in 2021 the American Cancer So ciety(ACS) and the American College of Surgeons-Commis sion on Cancer(COC) collabo rated to try to figure out if, and by how much, the number of cancer screening procedures in the U.S. had fallen, as com pared to pre-pandemic.
abstracts.
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August 2022 Issue n Mississippi Business Journal n 11 Cancer Care Centers Cancer Care Centers Rank Name & address Director & hospital affiliation Telephone Website Staff 1 North Mississippi Medical Center Cancer Care 961 S. Gloster St., Tupelo, MS 38801 Domingo Valpuesta North Mississippi Medical Center 662-377-3000 nmhs.net 350 2 St. Dominic's Cancer Center 2969 N. Curran Drive, Jackson, MS 39216 Mechale B. Mayfield St. Dominic-Jackson Memorial Hospital 601-200-3070 stdom.com/services/cancer/ 127 3 Memorial Cancer Center 1340 Broad Ave., Gulfport, MS 39501
and
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Children's of Mississippi Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders 2500 N. State Street, Jackson, MS 39216
Matthew R. Walker Memorial Health System 228-575-1234 gulfportmemorial.com Columbus, MS
articles in peer-reviewed publications, three
Mississippi Baptist Medical Center 601-968-1049 Baptistcancercenter.com
25 15
Tabitha Smith Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto 662-349-2442 baptistcancercenter.com Forrest General Cancer Center 301 South 28th Ave, Hattiesburg, MS 39401
45 9
Chip SingingGinnRiver Health System 228-809-5251 singingriverhealthsystem.com Regional Cancer Center 23rd Ave., Meridian, MS 39301
64 5 Singing River Cancer Center 3 locations: Gulfport,
35 12
56 7
Alan UniversityJonesof Mississippi Medical Center 601-815-6802 umc.edu South Central Cancer Center 1203 Jefferson St., Laurel, MS 39440
Sandeep Singh South Central Regional Medical Center 601-518-7054 scrmc.com Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center 133 Jefferson Davis Blvd., Natchez, MS 39120 Divyang Mehta 601-442-1285 marybird.org/natchez Alliance Cancer Center Greenville 1514 E. Union St, Greenville, MS 38703
Gregg A Dickerson 662-332-6150 alliance-greenville.com Merit Health Cancer Center 1850 Chadwick Dr., Jackson, MS 39204 Tara Howington Merit Health Central 601-376-2072 cancer-care-centermerithealthcentral.com/medical-services/ 7 Cancer Center at Greenwood Leflore Hospital 1401 River Road, Greenwood, MS 38930 C Givens Greenwood Leflore Hospital 662-459-7133 glh.org Merit Health River Region Oncology 2368 Grove St., Vicksburg, MS 39183 601-638-3005 Alliance Cancer Center Clarksdale 581 Medical Drive, Clarksdale, MS 38614 A Dickerson None 662-624-8731 alliance-clarksdale.com and MBJ research. Direct questions to frank.brown@msbusiness.com. need know the are coming Cho han, who is the author of 49 book 40 “Sometimes we have to implant electrodes on the surface and deep in the brain just to monitor what part of the brain is caus ing seizures. This detective work can take a while and is very sophisticated. Once you have found a target, is it safe to remove? It then becomes like a tu mor surgery. Sometimes the patient is kept awake during surgery and some times asleep. We now have tools in ep ilepsy surgery that were not available five to ten years ago, like a neuromodu lator that can be implanted in the brain, much like a pacemaker, that can detect and prevent seizures before the patient is even aware of them.”
1704
40 11
7 19
Robert AndersonGuascoRegional Medical Center 601-485-5081 andersonregional.org
The Mississippi Cancer Institute 1501 Aston Ave, McComb, MS 39648
60 6 Anderson
Daniel Lenard Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi 662-636-4444 baptistonline.org/northmiss Baptist Cancer Center - Desoto 363 Southcrest Circle, Suite 101, Southaven, MS 38671
Kecia ForrestJones-HarrisGeneralHospital 601-288-1700 forrestgeneral.com Baptist Cancer Center 1225 N. State St., Jackson, MS 39202
Chastity SouthwestBurnetteMississippi Regional Medical Center 601-249-5510 smrmc.com UMMC Cancer Center and Research Institute 2500 N. State St., Jackson, MS 39216
30 13
27 14
43 10
Sherrie Jones Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle 662-244-4673 goldentriangle.baptistonline.org Ocean Springs Pascagoula, N/A, MS 39581
8 17
4 20
3 Information was provided by company representatives
seizures
96 4 Baptist Cancer Center (Starkville & Columbus) 2520 5th Street N.,
chapters and
Chohan serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Alzheimer Disease, the Journal of Alzheimer Disease and Par kinsonism, Advances in Neuroscience and the Neuro-oncology Section of Biomed Central Neurology. Chohan, who was born in Pakistan, is married to Aisha Chohan, and has three children. Their oldest daughter, Mar wa, is a freshman in college majoring in psychology. They also have a 13-yearold daughter, Ruya, and a five-year-old son, Orhan. For recreation, he enjoys hiking, bike riding, and world travel.
8
Anderson Collier Batson Children's Hospital 601-984-2700 ummchealth.com/childrenscancer 50 Baptist Cancer Center-Oxford 504 Azalea Drive, Oxford, MS 38655
where
Chohan FROM 9F of smart phone users search for local info on their mobile phones. Is your website mobile-friendly?
Well www.mhpartners.com
As our lives retur ntofamiliar landscapes, ensuring good health is more important than ever.For nearly 30 years, Mississippi Health Partners has made your well-being our priority.Weoffer the right doctors and hospitals to help you make the best decisions to stay healthy
12 n Mississippi Business Journal n August 2022 Issue
HelpingYou Stay
Mississippi Health Partners is alocally owned network of 700 physicians and 12 hospitals, including Baptist Medical Center and St. Dominic Hospital. We provide Mississippi businesses and their employees with the services and value they expect for good health, today and in the years to come. Stay well with us. We areMississippi Health Partners.
“We’re beginning to see bank demand for de posits pick up as we get further away from 2020, but so far this dynam ic has kept the interest rates banks pay on de posits lower than they otherwise might be in an increasing interest rate environment.”
Effects of recent interest rate increase vary for financial industry, consumers
BY DENNIS SEID
The Fed has raised the Federal Funds Rate four times this year including 75 basis points (.75%) in June and torateborrowingovernightmarkbenchmovingJuly,isuparange of Gordon2.25%-2.5%.Fellows, pres ident of the Mississip pi Bankers Association, said with banksmentsforimportantratesraisingit’sborrowerstoreviewthetermsofthecreditagreeand to be in close communi cation with their lenders about potential changes to what they pay on their loans.“Bankers around the state are working closely with borrowers and de positors to assess indi vidual needs to help their customers deal with the challenges that this high inflation environment is creating,” he said. But higher rates also put pressure on banks, which will be challenged with lower demand for refinancing and new res idential loans as rates have risen, Cyree said. “We are starting to see those impacts in the mar kets. The most recent data for investments in mutual funds shows in vestors are liquidating these funds at a faster pace this year than any time since 2020. Mutual fund liquidations are a function of a poorly per forming stock market and better rates for inves tors elsewhere,” he said. Investors may look into CDs, or Certificates of Deposit, which a high er rate of return than traditional savings ac counts, but since there are high levels of deposits in banks, these rates are likely not to go up much in the short run. Said Cyree, “Inter est rates are not keep ing pace with inflation and the rapid increase in prices, but if inflation moderates then the gap between inflation and bank rates will decline. One strategy in invest ing in bank CDs is to use a shorter maturity and then roll over the CD into higher rates later. How ever, the investor should review this decision care fully since there is no guarantee rates will rise later and therefore the investor should at least consider mid-term CDs if the rate is attractive.”
Fellow added that an unexpected impact of all of the COVID-related stimulus passed over the last two years is that bank deposits are at very high levels. From June 2019 to June 2021, according to the FDIC, total money on deposit in Mississippi bank accounts increased from $55 billion to $71 billion“Many of the individual stimulus checks that folks received, PPP loans, state and local grants, and other types of pandemic stimulus were deposited in local banks,” Fellows said. “This money con tinues to move around the state as people buy goods and services, and much of it remains in the banking system. Keeping that money in the state’s banking system is a real ly good thing, but it does mean that at a macro lev el, banks have less need for deposits than they probably would in a nor mal environment, and that loan growth is going to have to catch up to de posit growth before the rates banks pay for de posits begin to approach maximum levels.
August 2022 Issue n Mississippi Business Journal n 13 WE HA VE SER VE D NO RT H MIS SIS SIPP I for more than 90 year s. While we are here for you, you are here for us Together we make our communit ies st rong er We’ve grown, expanded and adapted—al ways with the goal of of ser ving you better Now, we are moving forward with an updated name and logo Our owner ship, leader ship, and st af f will not change. Our dedic at ion to our communit ies will not waver. Thank you for allowing us to ser ve you for nearl y nine dec ades We look forward to ser ving you into the future We’re better together is now Visit bankokolona.com to learn more. Better Together
dennis.seid@djournal.com
FELLOWS FELLOWS
By raising the Federal Funds Rate – the inter est rate at which banks and other depository in stitutions lend money to each other on an over night basis – the Fed is controlling the supply of available funds, inflation and other interest rates. In theory, raising the rate makes it more expensive to borrow, which lowers the supply of available money, which in turn increases the short-term interest rates and helps keep inflation in check. Lowering the rate has the opposite effect, bringing short-term interest rates down.“This means the Fed has recognized the large increase in inflation and is trying to take actions to reduce the inflation ary pressure,” said Ken Cyree, dean of the Uni versity of Mississippi School of Business Ad ministration and the Frank R. Day/Mississip pi Bankers Association Chair of Banking. “These increases will impact banks in several ways. On the positive side, the increase in rates will al low banks to earn larger spreads between lending and deposit rates on the new loans they make. Savers will earn more in savings and CD accounts, but these rates are still historically low, below 1% for most savings ac counts, for example.
& Finance
The Federal Reserve’s increases to a key inter est rate to tame runaway inflation also have had an affect on adjustable mortgages, auto loans and credit cards.
Fellows said that while interest rates that banks pay customers for de posits are starting to tick up, there are supply and demand forces that are holding deposit rates down from what those rates might otherwise be. “As part of their core function, banks use de posits to fund the loans they make. So of course the interest rates banks pay on CDs and other deposit products are im pacted by the Fed fund rate, but those deposit rates are also impacted by the bank’s demand for deposits to fund loan growth,” he said.
Banking
As comprehensive as the list of services MCFAC pro vides, Robinson said, “We are constantly assessing our pro grams for effectiveness and relevance. We have not added any new services in the last few years. Actually, we refined our services to adhere to demand and to focus on the areas with the greatest need and the most capacity.”Inthenext year, MCFAC will be fine-tuning its services to better serve Mississippians. “In the coming year we will be looking to expand into small business development and support, expand our home ownership program, establish a financial literacy program for youth and provide information and support for FAFSA com pletion,” Robinson said. “We will be looking to add addition al issues in our policy work to push for more consumer pro tections for Mississippians.”
Banking Finance
ROBINSON
14 n Mississippi Business Journal n August 2022 Issue
Robinson said MCFAC pro vides critical financial educa tion support to families across Mississippi.In2012, MCFAC partnered with Guaranty Bank and Trust Company, Mississippi State University Extension Services, NeighborWorks America, and FDIC Money Smart, to launch a five-week Financial Educa tion program. “Our five-week Financial Education Bootcamp provides training which enables fami lies to improve their financial outcomes by attacking and managing their debt, improv ing credit scores and under standing investing and asset protection,” Robinson said. This Financial Education Boot Camp has grown as MC FAC has continued to add financial institutions, stake holders, community and faithbased based organizations as it expands throughout the state. Robinson said MCFAC also creates a pathway for college education for participating families by seeding Children Savings Accounts as a savings mechanism for college. The program started in 2011 when Mississippi was selected as one of three states to implement a pilot program to establish a children college savings pro gram.InSeptember 2011 in part nership with the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED), Delta State University (CCED), Hope Credit Union, Southern Bancorp, the City of Jackson Early Childhood De velopment Centers, Leland El ementary School, Washington County Head Start, and fund ing from the Kellogg Foun dation, MCFAC launched the Mississippi College Savings Account“Finally,Program.weprovide a home buyers education course for potential homebuyers,” Rob inson said. “People are able to access our services virtually or through in person participa tion. Participants are able to gain invaluable knowledge to change the course of their fi nancial future.”
&
BY LISA MONTI Leaders of the Mississippi Community Financial Access Coalition say MCFAC is “driv en by a desire to see families prosper and to disrupt gener ational poverty in Mississippi.” MCFAC grew out of a Com munity Financial Access Pilot conducted in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Trea sury and the Mississippi FDIC Community Affairs Office. In 2009, the group came togeth er to form MCFAC, which is a member of the FDIC Gulf Coast/ Delta Alliance for Eco nomic Inclusion. The coalition is “committed to bringing awareness of the need for more financial prod ucts and services that support our unbanked, under banked and MCFAC’sarraypartnersfamilies.”icoverallpromotingpopulation;underservedandtheeconomsecurityofallWithdozensofandanofservices,primary goal is to co ordinate, promote and expand access to personal financial education, access to credi ble financial institutions and products, economic inclusion and consumer protection for all Mississippians, particularly those in low wealth communi ties and rural areas. The MCFAC official believe working together with their partners can have a greater impact within communities by working together. “More spe cifically, by helping individu als create wealth we transform and enhance the quality of not only their lives, but those of their neighbor, their commu nity, their state, their nation,” they“Wesay.address these issues through our three flagship pro grams: Financial Education Bootcamp, Children Savings Accounts and Home Owner ship,” said executive director Paheadra Robinson. “We also address consumer protection issues through policy advoca cy.“The goals of the programs are to teach individuals finan cial literacy education and to provide them with tools, strat egies, and access to low cost banking products and services to help build or re-establish credit and establish the base for overall financial wealth building.”SinceMCFAC’s inception, more than 5,000 families across Mississippi have been served through the Financial Boot camp Workshops, Children Savings Account and Home Buyer Education Program, she said.MCFAC calls itself “an agen cy for agencies” because the 501©(3) non-profit operates in an inclusive collaboration of diverse partners that in cludes more than 20 profit and non-profits and community based organizations, financial institutions, colleges and uni versities, public entities and municipalities and faith-based organizations.MCFAC’snetwork was built with partners that could help create wealth building oppor tunities, products, services and policies for “vulnerable consumers in communities throughout the state.”
Coalition helps under-served Mississippians with financial services, education
August 2022 Issue n Mississippi Business Journal n 15 Credit Unions Credit Unions Rank Credit union / Address Phone Website Founded Top Officer Members Assets 1 Keesler Federal Credit Union 2602 Pass Rd, Biloxi, MS 39531 228-385-5500 kfcu.org 1947 Andrew Swoger 297,775 $4,235,920,637 2 Hope Federal Credit Union 4 Old River Place, Jackson, MS 39202 601-944-1100 hopecu.org 1995 Bill Bynum 35,474 $535,992,791 3 Navigator Credit Union 6012 Highway 63, Moss Point, MS 39563 228-475-7300 navigatorcu.org 1939 Sonya Jarvis 45,300 $444,936,223 4 Mutual Credit Union 1604 Cherry Street, Vicksburg, MS 39180 601-636-7523 mutualcu.org 1931 Michael Mathews 23,361 $301,562,490 5 Sunbelt Federal Credit Union 6885 US 49, Hattiesburg, MS 39402 601-649-7181 sunbeltfcu.org 1953 HammondChristopher 38,520 $289,197,381 6 Singing River Federal Credit Union 6006 Highway 63, Moss Point, MS 39563 228-475-9531 srfcu.org 1953 James Smith Jr. 21,140 $266,280,608 7 Rivertrust Federal Credit Union 409 Riverwind Drive, Pearl, MS 39208 601-664-2085 rivertrustfcu.com 1935 Kevin Long 7,564 $172,482,904 8 Statewide Federal Credit Union 295 E Layfair Dr, Flowood, MS 39232 601-420-5535 statewidefcu.org 1949 Casey Bacon 20,811 $169,158,233 9 Mississippi Federal Credit Union 2500 N State St, Jackson, MS 39216 601-351-9200 msfcu.us 1996 Mike Lightsey 21,971 $169,037,436 10 Magnolia Federal Credit Union 240 Briarwood Dr, Jackson, MS 39206 601-977-8300 magfedcu.org 1935 Michael Waylett 19,659 $167,167,364 11 Members Exchange Credit Union 107 Marketridge Dr., Ridgeland, MS 39157 601-922-3350 mecuanywhere.com 1954 Mitzi Tate 14,395 $142,026,036 12 Gulf Coast Community FCU 12364 Highway 49, Gulfport, MS 39503 228-539-7029 gulfcoastcommunityfcu.org 1935 Lisa Graham 12,267 $120,452,444 13 Triangle Federal Credit Union 160 Simler Blvd Ste 325 , Columbus, MS 39710 662-434-6052 trianglefcu.com 1959 John Gibbons 13,963 $118,790,942 14 Jackson Area Federal Credit Union 5675 Hwy 18 W, Jackson, MS 39209 601-922-7055 jacksonareafcu.com 1953 Leigh Bridges 14,155 $112,358,660 15 Ferguson Federal Credit Union 1026 E Broad St, Monticello, MS 39654 601-806-3328 fergusonfcu.org 1968 Vernon Clevenger 9,816 $95,102,812 16 1st Mississippi Federal Credit Union 600 19th Ave, Meridian, MS 39301 601-693-6873 1stms.com 1972 Rebecca Cooper 10,522 $75,800,320 17 CenturyFirst Federal Credit Union 3318 Hardy St, Hattiesburg, MS 39401 601-450-4114 centuryfirstfcu.com 1956 John Harmond 8,447 $66,706,271 18 Eagle Express Federal Credit Union 567 S. State Street, Jackson, MS 39201 601-355-6363 eagleexpressfcu.com 1935 Katie Nelson 4,111 $65,449,318 19 Meridian Mutual Federal Credit Union 809 26th Ave., Meridian, MS 39301 601-693-1900 meridianmutualfcu.com 1953 Debbie Smith 6,461 $56,972,326 20 MUNA Federal Credit Union 4400 Highway 39 N, Meridian, MS 39301 601-693-8563 munafederal.com 1962 Biffle "Bo" Pittman Jr. 6,530 $51,555,913 21 Brightview Federal Credit Union 713 S Pear Orchard, #101, Ridgeland, MS 39157 601-977-9468 brightviewcu.com 1950 Sheila Bridges 3,151 $41,909,097 22 Securtrust Federal Credit Union 3870 Goodman Road, Southaven, MS 38672 662-890-8760 securtrust.org 1949 Martha Rushing 3,226 $37,848,576 23 Mississippi Public Employees Credit Union 613 S West St, Jackson, MS 39201 601-948-8191 mspecu.org 1966 Debbie Cox 5,811 $31,310,520 24 Mississippi National Guard FCU 142 Military Dr, Jackson, MS 39232 601-932-5194 msng.com 1962 Vickie Bourne 2,605 $30,325,971 25 Gulf Trust Federal Credit Union 2533 Denny Ave, Pascagoula, MS 39567 228-762-0659 gulftrustcu.org 1973 Jennifer Spiriti 3,384 $28,922,741 26 ECM Federal Credit Union 665 Highland Colony Pkwy, Ridgeland, MS 39157 601-605-8600 ecmfcu.com 1967 Jennifer Lovett 2,122 $26,148,463 27 Camp Shelby Federal Credit Union Warehouse Ave, Bldg 82, Hattiesburg, MS 39407 601-544-5421 campshelbycreditunion.us 1967 Denise Collier 2,814 $25,816,933 28 Meridian Mississippi ANG FCU 6225 M St Bldg 305 , Meridian, MS 39307 601-483-7307 meridianangfcu.org 1963 Darlene Wilkerson 1,463 $24,533,131 29 First Neshoba Federal Credit Union 547 E Main St, Philadelphia, MS 39350 601-656-1183 fnfcu.org 1964 Dustin Moore 3,580 $22,886,937 30 Old South Federal Credit Union 148 N. Shields Lane, Natchez, MS 39120 601-442-4382 oldsouthfcu.com 1953 Stacy McCann 2,733 $20,981,910 31 AMPOT Federal Credit Union 40481 Old Highway 45 S, Hamilton, MS 39746 662-343-8793 ampotfcu.org 1969 Melissa Carter 1,786 $17,938,131 32 Elevator Federal Credit Union 8279 Frontage Rd, Olive Branch, MS 38654 662-895-2964 1967 Pamela Collier 1,753 $17,332,279 33 N. Mississippi Health Services Employees FCU 830 S. Gloster St., Tupelo, MS 38801 662-377-3235 nmhs.net/creditunion 1982 Daphne Burson 2,700 $15,870,153 34 CM Members Federal Credit Union 1968 6th St N, Columbus, MS 39701 662-327-3030 cmcreditunion.com 1986 Casey Halbert 1,780 $15,659,857 35 Pine Belt Federal Credit Union 1808 Evelyn Gandy Parkway, Hattiesburg, MS 39401 601-583-3242 pinebeltfcu.org 1942 Brian Green 2,127 $12,594,858 36 Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol FCU 1900 E Woodrow Wilson Ave Ste 204, Jackson, MS 39216 601-987-1290 mhspfcu.com 1964 Tracy Burleigh 1,372 $12,477,016 37 Southern Coastal Federal Credit Union 1042 Howard Ave, Biloxi, MS 39530 228-432-0284 socofcu.org 1973 Alison Lynd 1,546 $12,314,127 38 Vickswood Federal Credit Union 107 Thalweg Drive, Vicksburg, MS 39183 601-636-4434 vickswoodcu.com 1967 Terrie Falls 1,482 $12,165,184 39 Vicksburg Railroad Federal Credit Union 2101 Cherry St, Vicksburg, MS 39180 601-638-3134 vrcums.com 1934 David Bell 1,067 $11,635,660 40 First Unity Federal Credit Union 122 5th Ave Ste B, McComb, MS 39648 601-680-4419 2014 Samuel Hall 3,609 $11,107,666 41 Treasury Employees Federal Credit Union 100 W. Capitol St., No. 1059, Jackson, MS 39269 601-355-5411 1948 Daniel Quinn 476 $11,098,109 42 Biloxi Teachers Federal Credit Union 1445 Father Ryan Ave, Biloxi, MS 39530 228-436-5126 biloxischools.net 1965 Sherry Deshamp 1,419 $10,672,736
16 n Mississippi Business Journal n August 2022 Issue www.R iver trustFCU.com Phone: 601-664-2085FreeCheckingFree Mobile Banking Free Mobile Deposit Auto & Personal Loans Home Mortgage Loans Credit Unions Credit Unions Rank Credit union / Address Phone Website Founded Top Officer Members Assets 43 Mississippi DHS Federal Credit Union 767 N President St, Jackson, MS 39202 601-354-6544 msdhsfcu.com 1952 Rosalind Bailey 2,018 $9,947,188 44 Memorial Federal Credit Union 4500 13th St Rm 11, Gulfport, MS 39501 228-865-3142 memorialfcu.org 1962 Karen Lizana 1,546 $9,468,073 45 Healthplus Federal Credit Union 500H E.Woodrow Wilson Av, Jackson, MS 39216 601-354-6633 healthplusfcu.com 1948 Matthew Baker 2,369 $9,398,097 46 McComb Federal Credit Union 913 Delaware Ave, McComb, MS 39648 601-684-7764 mccombfcu.com 1940 Laura Burris 1,348 $7,370,979 47 Delta Federal Credit Union 2339 Highway 1 S., Greenville, MS 38701 662-332-7184 deltacu.virtual.cu.net 1992 Barbara Rodgers 1,140 $6,340,435 48 Northeast Mississippi Federal Credit Union 101 3rd Ave S, Amory, MS 38821 662-256-9697 1964 Sandra Vaughn 963 $6,287,884 49 Tombigbee Federal Credit Union 1010 True Temper Cir, Amory, MS 38821 662-256-2791 tombigb.virtualcu.net 1966 Carolyn Logan 1,117 $6,239,054 50 Water's Edge Federal Credit Union 1976 Popps Ferry Road, Biloxi, MS 39532 228-896-0038 watersedgefcu.com 1953 Amy Olier 779 $5,686,333 51 Community Partners FCU 102 Old Highway 15 Loop, Newton, MS 39345 601-683-3322 communitypartnersfcu.com 1971 Deloris Little 2,052 $5,595,693 52 Meridian Postal Federal Credit Union 2100 9th St Ste 5, Meridian, MS 39301 601-693-7413 1932 Linda Payne 375 $5,424,792 53 MUW Employees Federal Credit Union 1100 College St., No. 41, Columbus, MS 39701 662-327-2500 homecu.net/fi/muwfcu 1965 Tova Hamm 644 $5,127,459 54 Mississippi Central Federal Credit Union 5134 Highway 80, Morton, MS 39117 601-732-8887 1986 Susan Pinter 2,454 $4,332,500 55 Shelby/Bolivar County Federal Credit Union 630 Gaines Hwy, Boyle, MS 38730 662-843-0060 1955 Barbara Black 2,125 $3,855,485 56 Choctaw Federal Credit Union 203 Choctaw Town Center, Choctaw, MS 39350 601-656-0055 choctawfcu.org 1976 Steve Ashton 1,891 $3,546,390 57 Armstrong Federal Credit Union 1085 Highway 80 W, Jackson, MS 39204 601-960-5240 1956 Betty Pitts 344 $2,991,015 58 Mississippi College Employees FCU 200 Capitol St Farr Hall, Clinton, MS 39056 601-925-3895 1958 Angela Poole 186 $2,542,622 59 Mid Delta Federal Credit Union 623 Sunflower Ave. Ext., Indianola, MS 38751 662-887-4347 1965 Faye Vance 919 $2,518,527 60 Ellisville State School Employees FCU 1101 Highway 11 S, Ellisville, MS 39437 601-477-5635 1973 Debra Perkins 457 $2,444,092 61 Pearl Municpal Federal Credit Union 2420 Old Brandon Road, Pearl, MS 39208 601-939-3126 pearlcu.com 1981 Karen Williams 624 $2,014,637 62 Natchez Educators Federal Credit Union 10 Homochitto St, Natchez, MS 39120 601-445-2851 1961 Teresa Ford 420 $1,515,935 63 Issaquena County Federal Credit Union 111 Cedar St., Mayersville, MS 39113 662-873-4393 1969 Ruth Evans 499 $1,255,296 64 Citizens Choice Federal Credit Union 101 Saint Catherine St, Natchez, MS 39120 601-442-5888 citizenschoicefederal.com 1966 Patricia Smith 417 $1,017,317 65 JPFCE Federal Credit Union 600 E McDowell Rd, Jackson, MS 39204 601-559-6100 1952 Sharecia Atkinson 188 $685,804 66 United Methodist of Mississippi FCU 9 County Road 1191, Booneville, MS 38829 662-617-0088 1961 Marilyn Rowland 280 $632,211 67 Forrest County Teachers Federal Credit Union 610 Dumas Ave, Hattiesburg, MS 39401 601-282-8751 1961 Keidra Roberts 255 $225,595 Information from the Mississippi Credit Union Association is ranked by total assets as of March 31, 2022. Direct questions to frank.brown@msbusiness.com.
August 2022 Issue n Mississippi Business Journal n 17 Today’smarket calls fora financial team you canrely on. ©2022 Regions Bank. Banking products provided by Regions Bank. Only banking deposit products are FDIC insured. All loans and lines subject to credit approval. |Regions and the Regions logo are registered trademarks of Regions Bank. The LifeGreen color is atrademark of Regions Bank. Working with adedicatedteamdriven by a shared vision canmakeall the difference. Regions Commercial Relationship Managersknowthatdeveloping astrong understanding of your business and its unique operations helps us provide highly responsive, personalized solutions. Let us leverage our capabilities and create a comprehensivefinancial strategy to help guide and strengthen your business. Robert Leard Mississippi Commercial Banking Executive 601.790.8397 |robert.leard@regions.com Commercial Banking |Treasury Management |Capital Markets Specialized Industries regions.com/commercial-banking
18 n Mississippi Business Journal n August 2022 Issue
“Any time you are moving an aircraft carrier in the other direction, it takes time,” Watts said. “A new venture like this allowed us to go to market more quickly than some of the existing pro viders at the time. It was obvious at that time that convergence of voice and data was going to happen in the near fu ture. There was not going to be a separate phone line and internet connec tion. It was not hard to sell it. There were two major advantages. One was cost; it allowed people to save money. The second reason was the technology allowed customers to have more func tions and features than traditional ana log telephone service. You paid less and gotInmore.”addition to the convergence of voice and internet, Watts said they are seeing increased popularity of their managed service product that provides support at your desktop. They consider managed services as the third leg of the stool of their bundled services.“Itallows us to be a one-stop shop for your telephone and internet services, and we also be come your IT guy or girl,” said Watts, who was born and raised in Jackson. Most of their employees are from the Metro Jackson area. “We do have some employees around
BY BECKY GILLETTE
Technology
Fuse.Cloud has grown to provide phone, internet and IT services in 40 states Fowler Sims Watts
Mississippi generally lags behind other states with new technology being available to businesses. But that can also create opportunities for nimble entrepreneurs to provide new types of services and a level of personal custom er service that the largest carriers might lack.Fuse.Cloud
Watts, who had worked eight years for a technol ogy company that sold telephone services before founding Fuse.Cloud, said he thinks major pro viders of telephone services in Missis sippi at the time probably thought it was not worth the investment to get into the new technology.
“In 2006, no one in Mississippi was selling VoIP,” said Watts. “That was one of the catalysts for why I started the company. An example of the func tionality of VoIP is the ability to be in multiple geographical locations and be on the same phone system. For exam ple, you can have offices in Nashville, Jackson and Memphis and can trans fer calls between your locations. That is one of the ways we got exposed to customers in that many states.”
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is a phone, internet and IT services company based in Madison that has grown since being founded in 2006 by Gary Watts to now serving businesses in 40 states.
August 2022 Issue n Mississippi Business Journal n 19 From a young age, you’ve squeezed the most out of your potential. And finding trusted advisors has helped turn this positivit y into produc tivit y. At Or igin, we love connecting people to their dreams, because shar ing in their passion is always so refres hing Ever y great relations hip has an Or igin stor y. Star t your s today at Origin.Bank/ YourStor y CO NNE CT ING PE OP LE TO TH EI R DR EA MS ME MBE R FD IC Fr om Da yd re am to Dr ea m Jo b
“It makes it a very nice indoor and out door venue,” she said. “We have plenty of parking. People can reach out to us if they have ideas for leasing or potential developments for the Jackson Tech Dis trict.”Bean Path Marketing Director Ange lyn Irvin said they have been around since 2018 starting by doing programs around the Metro Jackson area including at libraries. When the pandemic hit, they had to pivot to virtual programming. That allowed them to have access to par ticipants from other areas of the country.
Sephus gives back with Bean Path
“We started out operating in a physical space offering tech assistance, but the pandemic required us to be more cre ative with the way we delivered our pro gramming,” Irvin said. “Now that we are back in person, some of the programs we were able to implement during the pan demic will stay. But a lot of traction peo ple get is in person.”
COURTESY: BEAN PATH Nashlie Sephus of Bean Path Technology
Sephus was chief technology officer for the startup company Partpic, which was later sold to Amazon. She was able to take some of that capital and invest back in Mississippi in a 14-acre proper ty with eight buildings on North Galla tin St. near Jackson State University, an area of town in need of renewal. The first building to be developed houses the non-profit Bean Path organization that provides technical advice and guid ance to individuals and small business es in the community. Bean Path will be celebrating its fourth anniversary Octo ber 8 with a grand opening of their Mak erspace from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mak erspace is a collaborative work space with tools for making things, learning, exploring and sharing. Sephus said the four-year anniversary with Bean Path will be a family-friendly event featuring food, music and give aways. It will be combined with an open house for the Makerspace. They had a soft opening this past summer in coop eration with the Jackson Public Schools and other schools with 60 kids regis tered who focused on AI and robotics, architecture and designs, and fashion tech. Participants learned about work ing with 3D printers, laser cutters, print ing presses, and sewing and embroidery machines. They also got to work with virtual reality equipment donated by Meta, the parent company of Facebook. “That was really a cool event,” Sephus said. “We thank our sponsors, including Microsoft who funded the teachers to help with the summer camp. Amazon was a sponsor of our future engineer pro gram, and helped us to finish our reno vation.”Sephus said the impetus for purchas ing the property was that Bean Path needed a space. They have plans for live, work and play throughout the entire Jackson Tech District (jxntechdistrict. com).“We have a vision of this space includ ing housing, retail, offices, opportunities for companies, and resources for entre preneurs,” she said. “My goal is to turn this space into a self-sustaining village where people can live, work, play, and eat.”She has started with Jackson and then intends to work to create a similar tech ecosystem throughout Mississippi. She said giving people opportunities and empowering them with tech tools is not about changing our culture and who we are in Mississippi.
BY BECKY GILLETTE
20 n Mississippi Business Journal n August 2022 Issue
Dr. Nashlie Sephus grew up in Jack son and got interested in engineering after being exposed to it in the eighth grade. It changed her whole perspective of what she wanted to do with her career path. After graduating from Mississippi State University with a degree in com puter engineering in 2003, she went on to earn her Ph.D. in the same subject at Georgia Tech. She was often the only woman and only Black student in her classes and later on in her work teams and circles. Today things have improved, but there are still big gender and racial disparities in jobs in Science, Technology, Math and Engineering (STEM) careers. Sephus now wants to see that others are exposed to same career path that she has found so“Irewarding.havebeen fortunate to work for companies such as GE, IBM and Delphi,” Sephus said. “I currently work in artifi cial intelligence (AI) at Amazon in Atlan ta, Ga., where I was an applied scientist for five years before I switched roles to tech evangelist, which is promoting ed ucation and training around responsi ble AI. It is all about mitigating biases in technology and helping people under stand we should make sure technology provides equal positive experiences for all of us. One way of going about that is putting a priority on diversity, equity and inclusion in tech.” She found during her career that be ing the only woman or Black person on a team wasn’t a disadvantage. “I finally realized the difference I bring to the table is truly valued,” Sephus said. “It really contributes to the greater good of everything. I take my own personal example of the direction we need to be heading, how I am solving this problem of making tech more inclusive. We have a real opportunity to do that in Mississip pi and in Jackson. It plays into a lot of the current initiatives that large and small tech companies are needing.”
“It is about bettering your everyday life,” Sephus said. “No matter what field you are in, it is understanding how tech can make you better at whatever you are doing. If we aren’t intentional, change will happen at a slower rate than we would like to see.”
The outside of the building will be dec orated with a mural by Reshonda Per ryman, who did the murals at the Two Museums.Peoplecan get involved in supporting the effort with memberships which allow access for a monthly fee. There are op portunities for sponsorships, and access to space to hold activities like recruiting events, birthday parties, other celebra tions and fundraising programs. The building has 6,500 square-feet of mostly open space with an office in front. It sits on two acres.
Although there was a push to be vir tual because of the virus, Irvin said the way Jackson functions, people like to gather in person whether it is going to homecomings, the State Fair or different restaurants.“Ithelpsour culture to have a place to congregate and exchange ideas,” Ir vin said. “You miss out on connection building when you don’t have a physi cal space to engage with other people. You want the inspiration. You want the synergy that comes from sharing space with someone. The other thing is there is a lot of equipment in Makerspace that creators can use such as vinyl cutters, a woodworking station and computers with computer-assisted design pro grams. All of these things you have to be there to use. You can’t necessarily do vi nyl cutting in your home. We want you to be able to come into the space and actually make things.”
Tech development, she said, is not something reserved for Silicon Valley, New York or Atlanta. She said Jackson can be the next Austin, the new Detroit.
“Companies are investing,” said Irvin, who worked at Google for three years before coming back to Jackson. “We might not be the first place to come to mind when you think of tech, but we are working on being a place that does come to mind. I really appreciate how much Nashlie has invested in devel oping the Jackson community and the state. There are people in Mississippi and in Jackson who have the skill set, desire and talent to make a major im pact.”
TAYLOR VANCE I DAILY JOURNAL
Toby Dubois, vice president of Home Services for C Spire, says streaming services is a hot topic with consumers these days. “More consumers now watch their favorite programs via streaming services than traditional cable now. Most streaming services have actual ly increased prices over the last year. We are aware of stream ing service costs changing as we continue to face rampant inflation during a challenging economy,” he said. “It is more important than ever to listen to what consumers are saying. “C Spire has always been customer inspired. Home in ternet and internet streaming are vitally important for to day’s families in a connected world constantly in motion. With internet service, fiber connectivity is very important. C Spire is eighteen months into a committed $ 500 million dol lar investment across Missis sippi to expand fiber to more residents and more businesses as well as expand 5G wireless service. Our fiber offers up to 940Mbps, nearly 100 percent reliability and bandwidth for the fastest internet on all de vices, all at once. There are no data caps, no long-term con tracts and no early cancella tionHorwitzfees.” added that Comcast has also been focused on pro viding multi-gigabit speeds to residents and businesses alike, offering the fastest speeds to the most homes and business es.The company’s $30-a-month unlimited internet and stream ing plan with no contract is fa vorable to consumers. “We are pleased to provide an offering that brings such flexibility to our customers,” Horwitz said. “We have created numerous internet service offerings that meet the unique needs of res idents and businesses. This is another example of how we’re working to fit into our custom ers’ lives, providing a superior online experience at an afford able price point.”
BY LYNN LOFTON In some cases prices for in ternet and streaming services are dropping. Is that caused by competition? Comcast and C Spire say no, that it’s a response to customer demand. These communication companies also comment on some of the latest trends, including fiber and“Comcastcybersecurity.hasbeen focused on providing several tiers of in ternet service to meet the needs of our customers. For example, a large family may have differ ent broadband requirements than a person living alone. We also understand people have different budgets, so we’ve based our offerings around this model,” says Alex Horwitz, vice president of public relations for Comcast.“It’simportant to highlight our Internet Essentials offering. Since 2011, Internet Essentials from Comcast has connected a cumulative total of more than 10 million people from low-in come families to the Internet at home. Those who qualify re ceive internet service for $9.95 a month, plus the option to purchase heavily discounted laptops and receive free digital literacy training.”
Suzy Hays, general manager of C Spire Business, says the company offers a full suite of services and products that give businesses the IT tools and solutions they need for suc cess in the marketplace, from internet and VoIP to cloud and managed services.
“Businesses depend on consistently reliable connectivity in today’s evolving marketplace. C Spire, for exam ple, buries fiber instead of using aerial to ensure that internet services are not impacted by weather, builds in redundancy and designs networks to ensure fast, consistent and depend able service always,” she said.
What is driving down internet prices?
Technology TURN TO INTERNET, 23F
Horwitz says that as busi nesses move data-intensive applications and work flows off-premises, the growing ex pectation is for those resources to perform as if they were inside the company’s network, with out frustrating transmission delays or interruptions. “Com cast Business offers private, lay er two Ethernet connections to address these challenges. With Comcast Business you have access to over 600 data centers across the United States, and secure, direct connectivity to leading cloud service provid ers including AWS, Microsoft Azure and IBM Cloud,” he said.
Several federal and state officials watch as Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, seated, signs a bill into law that establishes a new statewide broadband office. The governor has appointed former state Sen. Sally Doty to run the office.
Hays adds that the market place demands robust IT ser vices and technologies, and C Spire strives to deliver expertise and managed services to all businesses, from small to me dium companies with small or negligible IT teams to giant cor porations that boast expansive IT“Largedepartments.businesses leverage our engineering expertise as a value-added reseller of infra structure from such industry leaders as Cisco and Dell. Com panies of all sizes utilize our cloud and managed IT services, such as end user care, disaster recovery and security, so they can focus on advancing their core business,” Hays said. There are evolving trends in communication technology and Hays says one is fiber.
August 2022 Issue n Mississippi Business Journal n 21
“Today’s connected world demands the fastest, most re liable fiber internet services. Usage continues to skyrocket. We offer high-speed fiber up to 940Mbps, nearly 100 per cent reliability and bandwidth for the fastest internet service around. There are no data caps, no slowdowns, no long-term
22 n Mississippi Business Journal n August 2022 Issue Imagine Schedule a tour for your business today! www.careerconnections.tours Schedule Business Tours Now for Fall 2022 Businesses Create Tours School Staff Register Students For Tours Students Tour Businesses 1 2 3 Career Connections allows businesses in Northeast Mississippi to provide tours to high school students across seventeen counties ser ved by the CREATE Foundation, Inc.
August 2022 Issue n Mississippi Business Journal n 23 NOR TH MISSISSIPPI’S WAREHOUSING PROVIDER PUBLIC WAREHOUSING CONTRACT WAREHOUSING ORDER FULFILLMENT & E-COMMERCE You can reach us by phone at 662.350.3628 or by email at info@stewar dshipwar ehousing.com WA REHOUSING AND LO GIS TICS stewardshipwarehousing.com Internet Service Providers Internet Service Providers Rank Company Address Phone Website Services Offered EmployeesMississippi 1 AT&T Mississippi 209 E. Capitol, Jackson, MS 39201 601-592-6580 att.com/local/mississippi Entertainment, video, broadband internet, and voice services – mobile and fixed. 2,000 2 Comcast Mississippi 5915 I-55 N., Jackson, MS 39213 601-982-0922 comcast.com High speed interenet; cable tv; Internet phone service; inhome wifi; business services 1,000 3 C Spire Fiber 1018 Highland Colony Pkwy., Ste. 340, Ridgeland, MS 39157 855-277-4735 cspire.com Business and residential broadband internet access, VoIP phone systems, live streaming TV, digital home phone and smart WiFi services. 300 4 MaxxSouth Broadband 105 Allison Cove, Oxford, MS 38655 800-457-5351 maxxsouth.com Cable TV; high-speed Internet; digital phone 250 5 TEC 700 S. West St., Jackson, MS 39201 601-353-9118 tec.com Serving business customers with IP Voice Services, Fast Fiber Internet, network management along with personalized customer service. 200 6 Sparklight 786 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Biloxi, MS 39530 877-692-2253 sparklight.com Residential & Business high-speed internet with Gig speeds, advanced WiFi solutions, cable and phone service. MS offices: Batesville, Biloxi, Clarksdale, Cleveland, Columbus, Grenada, Gulfport, Long Beach, McComb, Natchez, Pascagoula. 198 7 Netlink Voice 400 Liberty Park Ct., Flowood, MS 39232 601-707-9000 netlinkvoice.com Telephone, Internet, Managed IT, Cloud, and Network Engineering 50 8 Fuse.Cloud 1510 N. State St, Suite 400, Jackson, MS 39201 601-926-6000 fuse.cloud VoIP, Fiber Internet and Managed IT Services 30 9 TecInfo Communications, LLC 601 N. Deer Creek Dr. E., Leland, MS 38756 800-863-5415 tecinfo.net Business Internet Solutions, VoIP Hosted Voice Services & Network Security. Products include Fiber, Fixed Wireless, Broadband, Voice Lines, Hosted PBX, Managed CyberSecurity and Co-Location 22 10 Metro Network Solutions, Inc. 1900 Dunbarton Dr. Suite E, Jackson, MS 39216 601-366-6630 metronetworksolutions.com Internet Access, Email Hosting, Network Security, Telephone Service, Data Network. 10 11 Dixie Net Communications, Inc. P.O. Box 28, Ripley, MS 38663 662-993 2000 dixie-net.com Fixed Wireless Internet, DSL broadband Internet; T-1; web hosting; dial-up Internet; computer repair; business services; telephone services; VoIP phone services; telephone systems 8 12 Complete Computers 118 Public Square, Batesville, MS 38606 662-563-0806 completecomputers.cc Fixed Wireless Broadband, VOIP, Networking 7 13 Internet Doorway, Inc. (Netdoor) 812 N. State St, Jackson, MS 39202 601-969-1434 netdoor.com Business Internet, Colocation, Virtualization and IT service Consulting. 5 List is ranked by Mississippi employees. Information was provided by company representatives and MBJ research. Direct questions to frank.brown@msbusiness.com. contracts and no early cancellation fees. Just blazing fast internet!” Horwitz observes that connectivity is becoming central to our daily lives, and Comcast is constant ly reimagining what it means to have a great In ternet experience. “This means giving our customers the fastest speeds, WiFi coverage throughout the home, control features to man age their in-home WiFi, and the tools they need to keep their network se cure,” he said. “xFi gives customers a powerful inhome connection with wall-to-wall coverage. xFi Advanced Security comes included, helping protect devices on our custom er’s home network from malware and security threats. In addition, xFi customers control their home network with fea tures like WiFi pausing and screen-time schedul ing, all done through the Xfinity app, or through X1 andCybersecurityFlex.” is driv ing today’s business world, and it is now more important than ever to protect your businesses, organizations and com munities from these daily threats, rampant hacks and internet fraud, he points out. “It is imperative to de fend against these risks with robust firewalls, di saster recovery and back up technology strategies. We offer a suite of services such as disaster recovery, cybersecurity and end user care products to pro tect customers from the ever-changing landscape of cyber Cloud-basedthreats. technol ogies are the wave of the future. Companies of all sizes are migrating to cloud applications for greater efficiency, acces sibility (anywhere with any device), streamlined operations, centralized data security, higher per formance, cost savings and business continuity. Cloud computing also makes collaboration a simple process for em ployees to share infor mation more easily and securely. Internet
24 n Mississippi Business Journal n August 2022 Issue CLAY SHOR T (662) 231-4262 cshor t@tr irealesta te.net BARRY REPLOGLE (662) 321-1201 breplogle@tr irealesta te.net CHRIS WINDERS (662) 255-4404 chr is@tr irealesta te.net TRI INC. COMMERCIAL | WW.TRIREALESTATE.NET | 662-842-8283 “NORTH MISSISSIPPI’S COMMER CIAL REAL ESTATE COMPANY”
The Division of Medicaid pays man aged care organizations a set rate per patient to administer those benefits. The other two organizations who are set to receive contacts – Molina and Magnolia – are for-profit managed care entities who are also currently adminis tering portions of the state’s Medicaid benefits.
The settlement, though, hasn’t stopped White’s office from continu ing to examine the billing practices of PBMs. White’s office in March signed an agreement with data analytics firm In telaform Services to collect and analyze a wide breadth of data involving PBMs that do business with the state. The contract between White and In telaform authorizes the private firm to investigate and analyze data generated by PBMs, pharmacy benefit adminis trators and managed care organizations that conduct business with state agen cies – a wide scope of data.
Another surprising development from the division’s announcement was that United Healthcare, a managed care firm who was already administering part of the state’s Medicaid benefits, was not awarded any contract.
Senate Public Health Chairman Hob Bryan told the Daily Journal he thinks that having a not-for-profit and tra ditional managed care organizations managing Medicaid benefits in the state at the same time will be a “great con trolled experiment.”
The division’s decision comes at a time when traditional managed care or ganizations have come under scrutiny by some physicians, independent phar macists and lawmakers. Hospitals leaders and independent pharmacists have criticized managed care firms and PBMs for putting profits ahead of patient services. But managed care organizations largely contend that they’ve accomplished their goal of con trolling the state’s fluctuating Medicaid costs.
“Our mission is to ensure Mississippi ans can easily access their benefits to live healthier lives, while prudently manag ing state resources,” the proposal reads.
The new contracts come at a time when the House and Senate Insurance Committees are set to convene a hear ing on Aug. 29 to examine PMBs and the state’s insurance plan.
Medicaid contracting with nonprofit to administer benefits
Groups have seven calendar days to protest the division’s decisions on who should receive contracts, but it’s unclear if any organizations who submitted pro posals intend to file a protest petition. After the protest period lapses, the contracts will go before the state’s pro curement review board for approval.
The organizations who submitted ap plications to the Division of Medicaid are still technically under procurement rules that require them to be silent, meaning entities are limited in what they can publicly say.
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State Auditor Shad White inked an agreement in April 2019 with Ridge land-based law firm Liston and Deas to help investigate if Magnolia Health, the Mississippi subsidiary of health giant Centene, was over-inflating its bills to the state Medicaid division, as previous ly reported by the Daily Journal. The investigation by the outside at torneys, White and Attorney General Lynn Fitch centered on one portion of the managed care system: pharmacy benefitThesemanagers.subcontractors, known as PBMs, serve as middlemen between insurance companies, drugmakers and pharmacies. They manage drug bene fits, negotiate drug prices and reimburse pharmacists on behalf of companies.
Centene settled with the state in June 2021 for $55.5 million. The company did not admit any wrongdoing in the agree ment, and the state said the company was providing quality health services.
“I think this is a great opportunity,” said Bryan, D-Amory. “The Hospital As sociation for years has said they can do a better job of providing these benefits. Well, here’s their chance to prove it.”
Mississippi’s Medicaid managed care system provides health insurance ben efits for about 480,000 poor adults and children, disabled people, pregnant women, and others.
Photos by: The Club at Diamondhead BY TAYLOR VANCE JACKSON • The state Division of Medicaid will award a new contract for managing insurance benefits for Mis sissippi’s most vulnerable citizens to a not-for-profit backed by some in-state hospitals and two other private organi zations.Thedivision said in a press release on Wednesday that it intends to award TrueCare, Magnolia Health and Molina Healthcare with the lucrative contracts for administering Medcaid’s managed care system, called MississippiCAN, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.Twostate agencies investigated Mag nolia Health, the Mississippi subsidiary of health giant Centene, over allegations tied to pharmacy benefit managers. TrueCare is a not-for-profit formed by some private hospitals and the Mis sissippi Hospital Association over their belief that in-state hospitals can provide better services to patients, which is dif ferent from a traditional managed care organization. To manage the benefits, TrueCare partnered with CareSource Manage ment Services, an Ohio-based man aged care operation. CareSource will manage the day-to-day operations and TrueCare will provide “local expertise and oversight,” according to TrueCare’s proposal it submitted to the division.
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– Gamify your budget If you’re still struggling, Mc Creary recommends that you gamify your budget and turn it into a “Maybechallenge.there’s an outcome involved. Like ‘Hey, if we save enough money, we can get a new TV or go on vacation,’” sheExamplessaid. of gamification include giving yourself a small reward after a certain amount of time or money that you have saved.Apps such as Mint, which rewards the number of times you check your budget, and Acorns, which allows users to invest with their spare change, can help. Yotta and Save to Win allow users to create sav ing bank accounts that rewards them for the amount that they save.For accountant Tiffona Stewart, gamifying her savings meant using the envelope sys tem, where you put cash in en velopes for specific expenses.
As with any lifestyle change, having people around you to support your decisions and encourage healthy habits is crucial, McCreary said. That could include talking with your significant other about your finances, telling your friends that you will start budgeting, or explaining to your children how the family is now spend ing money.
5 tips to help getting started on budgeting
3. Make a realistic plan If 50/30/20 isn’t realistic for you, there are still ways to save and tackle debt. Start setting aside small quantities of money every month or set small goals, such as choosing a restaurant where you won’t spend more than $40, McCreary said. “Small steps lead to prog ress,” she said. “It’s really about progress, not perfection.” McCreary recommends starting with one goal each week, whether that’s saving a certain amount or reducing the amount you spend on non-ne cessities.“Don’t overcomplicate it, don’t make it too hard for yourself,” she said. Rogers, for example, usually tries to save as much money as possible when buying grocer ies. “I get the sales papers and mark what we need and if it’s on sale. I try to do a triangle of the stores to save time and gas” she said. She also buys in bulk, sticks to her grocery list, and goes shopping by herself to avoid her son and husband convincing her to buy extra items.Websites such as Flipp, which shows digital flyers from major retailers around you, and Groupon, where you can find coupons for products and services, can make it easier to save money. But keep in mind that this only works when you use coupons for items that you really need or were planning to buy anyway. If your income just covers your necessities, reducing credit card debt can be chal lenging. Pelayo recommends that even if you live paycheck to paycheck, you might want to add at least $10 above the min imum payment of your credit card with the highest interest rate. And if you can afford it, she recommends paying 10% more than the minimum pay ment per month. 4. Make it a habit To achieve your financial goals through a budget, you have to change your mindset, Pelayo said. “You have to look deep in side yourself and say, am I will ing to change my habits?” she said.Once you are mentally ready, you can start setting goals. – Set a time goal Building new habits can be hard, and it’s even more
Rogers’ 11-year-old son now knows that if there is not a cou pon for the item, they don’t get it. In Stewart’s case, using cash when going out with friends helped. If you only take $100 out with you to the bar and don’t bring your credit card, and you want to pay for anoth er round but you only have $20 left, you simply can’t spend any more, she said. “You need everybody who’s involved in those decisions, to commit with you to be sup portive of it,” McCreary said.
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Stewart also started a busi ness selling envelopes and budget binders on Etsy as a way to encourage and promote financial literacy. She sells “one month challenge” pack ages meant to help save $1,000 in cash. “You play those games and you make these things your own. You’re trying something new, there’s nothing wrong and right, you might get it wrong one month and then get better the next one,” she said.
daunting to think about having to maintain them for the rest of yourMcCrearylife. recommends that your first goal can be two weeks of keeping a budget. Af ter achieving that, you can set a longer timeline, such as 30 days or six months, until it is embedded in your routine.
5. Involve family or friends
“This is tailored to your life and what you want to save for, so that’s what I like about it,” Stewart said.
Writing down your after-tax salary and then adding your ex penses in a notebook or a blank spreadsheet might be enough to make a plan. But if you need help visualizing what’s coming in and going out, there are re sources“Thereavailable.arelots of online templates that’ll help you look at spending categories and ex pense categories for person al finance. And they’re really helpful,” Pelayo said.
“A lot of people think it’s over-complicated and a hard thing to do,” McCreary said. “Much like going to the gym, the hardest part is showing up, so you just have to decide that you’re going to try it out.”
The Federal Trade Commis sion offers a budget template in a PDF format that can be printed, and Microsoft offers Excel templates for special occasions such as saving for a wedding or home construc tion. If you prefer apps, Mint, PocketGuard, and EveryDollar are among Bankrate’s top five budgeting apps.
Even with prices high due to inflation, Elena Pelayo, ed ucator at How Money Works, a financial literacy organiza tion, said there are small steps you can take to manage your money. These include looking at how many online subscrip tions you pay for or how often you eat in restaurants and cut ting back where you can. Here are five important steps when you’re ready to create a budget: 1. Write it down Writing down all of your ex penses is crucial, said Pelayo. She suggests recording every penny that you spend rather than trying to approximate, which can lead to errors. Pelayo recommends using whatever method fits you best, whether that’s writing it down on paper, creating an Excel spreadsheet or using a website. Next, she recommends cat egorizing where your income should be spent. Always start off with covering your basic needs.
A well-known budgeting sys tem is the 50/30/20 rule, where 50% of your income is allocat ed for necessities like food and rent, 30% for things you want, and 20% for savings and debt repayment.WiltriceRogers of Allen Park, Michigan, has used this system for more than 30 years. “It helped me to see how beneficial it is, and that we have more discretionary funds when I follow this method,” said Rog ers, an intake coordinator for a nonprofitWebsitesorganization.suchasNerdWal let or Money Fit offer 50/30/20 calculators to help. This method works for many people, but it might not be right for you if necessities eat up more than 50 percent, in which case you’ll need to allo cate less for savings or things you want to do or buy.
2. Budget format
BY ADRIANA MORGA ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK – Budgeting is key to managing your finances, whether you’re trying to pay off debt, start a rainy day fund or deal with the consequences of inflation.Creating a budget is much like trying to eat better or exer cise more – everyone tells you it’s good for you, but it’s hard to get into the habit, said Colleen McCreary, consumer financial advocate at Credit Karma.
28 n Mississippi Business Journal n August 2022 Issue Saving energy saves money. We’re here to help you do both. Energy efficiency isn’t just good for the planet. It’s good for your wallet. So Entergy Solutions offers free programs to reduce your energy usage and your energy bill. Schedule your services at EntergySolutionsMS.com • Free A/C tune-ups • Free home energy audits • Up to $1,100 in HVAC savings A message from Entergy Mississippi, LLC ©2022 Entergy Services, LLC. All Rights Reserved. The Entergy Solutions program is an energy efficiency program and not affiliated with Entergy Solutions, LLC. Prices are subject to change without notice
