MBJ_Aug04_2017

INSIDE — Wicker has strong fund-raising effort for re-election bid — Page 3 THE COAST

www.msbusiness.com

Ocean Springs development part of condo trend

August 4, 2017 • Vo. 39. No. 31 • 20 pages

TECHNOLOGY COURTS

Justice denies expedited hearing of Costco case

— Page 5 Looking north on Highland Colony Parkway to the roundabout.

MBJ FOCUS

Architects & Engineers {Section begins P10}

» Biloxi giving downtown icon a facelift » MSU’s Bagley takes courses southward » Beard+Riser opens new office in Oxford

{The List P14} » Largest Engineering Firms

JACK WEATHERLY/MBJ

Ridgeland sets trial run toward becoming a ‘smart city’

By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com

THE SPIN CYCLE {P19}

» Only 1% of videos go viral new study reveals

Traffic goes with growth.

Ridgeland’s population has more than doubled since 1990 – reaching nearly 25,000 – while the Madison County’s estimated 2016

population likewise more than doubled in that period, hitting 105,000.

And traffic drives much of the waking hours of government and civic leaders in the county.

The population growth “has put a major strain on the existing roadways and intersec-

By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Robert P. Chamberlain has denied a motion by the city of Ridgeland to expedite the hearing of an appeal by homeowners challenging the legitimacy of a rezoning of property for the creation of a phase of the Renaissance at Colony Parkway.

Madison County Circuit Court Judge John Emfinger ruled in April in favor of the city. An appeal was promised.

And intent toward that was signaled by the plaintiffs.

But the city filed a motion that, since the case is a “matter of public interest” and stands to benefit Ridgeland in terms of jobs and tax revenue, it must be put at “the head of the docket.”

However, Chamberlain ruled on July 25 that the motion did not show “good cause” for expedition of the case that began in November 2015, when the plaintiffs in Beard et al v. City of Ridgeland contended that an amendment by the city to a commercial zoning ordinance amounted to special treatment to accommodate Costco, an upscale discounter.

See RIDGELAND, Page 2

http://msbusiness.com/ceo-awards-of-mississippi/

See xxxx, Page 4

2 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q August 4, 2017 TECHNOLOGY

Clinton taking steps toward becoming ‘smarter’

By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com Clinton is taking steps toward becoming a “smart city.”

Mark Jones, director of communications for the city calls them “baby steps.”

One is that the Hinds County city has put in an air-conditioning system with motion sensors in its police and justice building, according to Jones.

The sensors help to determine peak activity so that the system can be used more efficiently, Jones said.

Ultimately, “the goal is to look at our operations across the city, not only to save money, but to maximize our systems,”

Jones said. “A smart city helps us to make smart decisions.”

“We’re already working with Entergy to retrofit our street lights with LED’s. That’s more of a green technology but we realize that is one of the steps we have to take to be able to capitalize on smart technology,” he said.

One improvement that is under consideration is “our street lights, in our walkable areas especially, would sense when somebody is coming and they would brighten up two to three lights ahead of somebody and then stay lit two or three steps behind them.”

And at other times, the lights would be dimmer than others, say, at dusk rather

than midnight.

Jones said that the city has talked with C Spire, the Ridgeland-based telecom that is beginning to expand into the latest data technology itself by running a two-month trial on Ridgeland’s traffic and street lights.

Bill Hetrick, a Realtor and vice president of the Hinds County Economic Development Authority, said he and his wife, Marilyn, “led the effort to get C Spire’s fiber to the homes in Clinton. They were on the verge of pulling up stakes and leaving Clinton.”

“Obviously, I feel that it is important to be on the leading edge of technological opportunities. It’s an era where you’re either ahead or behind.” The Hetricks live in

RIDGELAND Continued from, Page 1

tions and has resulted in traffic congestion on many of the major routes,” according to a study last year for county government

by Neel-Schaffer engineering.

The Nissan manufacturing plant, which started production in 2003, has been the primary reason, the study stated.

Dick Hall, Mississippi Department of Transportation Central District commis- Hall sioner, told the Mississippi Business Journal last year that “we have to spend where the highest traffic is,” and that includes the Jackson metro area with emphasis on Madison County.

It should come as no surprise that the city of Ridgeland is looking for a better way to address the problem. And it is hardly alone across the nation.

“Big data technologies are beginning to transform the way cities work,” an April McGee 16 Wall Street Journal article titled “The Rise of the Smart City” stated.

Ridgeland announced at the Mississippi Municipal League annual conference, which was held last week in Biloxi, that it is teaming with C Spire to do a twomonth test on “smart technology.”

The first-ever such trial in Mississippi will be paid for the Ridgeland-based telecom, and, should it prove to the city’s Miller liking, Ridgeland would, of course, pay for the service.

Mayor Gene McGee said in a prepared statement that “a smart city can optimize traffic flow and commerce on congested roads and arterial streets through data analytics and connected signal sensors, saving time, fuel and operating costs.”

Dave Miller, C Spire spokesman, said the company, which is using Nokia technology, has not set a price.

The smart technology also will address street lighting in addition to traffic signals, Miller said in an interview.

The key to the technology is what is called “the Internet

‘Big data technologies are beginning to transform the way cities work.’

The Walll Street Journal

of Things,” meaning the ability of one device to communicate with another without human intervention.

Part of the population and traffic growth is because of a shift from Jackson to Ridgeland and the rest of the county, which has become the wealthiest in per capita terms in the state.

One area of concern is the Highland Colony Parkway, the north-south boulevard that includes upscale office parks and commercial development, including the Renaissance at Highland Colony.

Proposed expansion of that open-air, village-style mall by a 45-acre satellite has been a source of bitter debate and legal battle for several years between homeowners allied against developers and the city.

In a word, Costco.

Opponents of the expansion contend that the Costco Wholesale would change the tenor of the area, and expose it to a higher degree of traffic, including large trucks making deliveries to the store.

Clinton.

Clinton, population about 25,000 and home of Mississippi College, is considering rolling out wi-fi for the convenience of cellular users but also measuring traffic and whether security needs to be increased, Jones said.

Work toward establishing a digital walking tour with video and audio components has begun and must be finished by the end of the year in order to not lose an $8,500 grant from the Mississippi Bicentennial Commission toward to total of $20,000, Jones said.

“You’re going to see a year-round walkable Clinton [with] 21 historical sites. You can stay in your car if it’s raining,” he said.

The specter of County Line Road has been thrown about by those who are fearful of the development.

County Line, which divides Jackson and Ridgeland and historically has been the dominant retail corridor in the metro area, is the local poster child of bad traffic.

“County Line!” has been the war cry.

But the developers, led by Andrew Mattiace, have downplayed such concerns, saying that delivery trucks would be present in off hours.

Aside from lawsuits, 2,400 residents signed a petition in 2015 opposing the Costco store, contending it would double the traffic and is “entirely incompatible” with nearby neighborhoods.

Some have stated that the roundabout that connects Colony Parkway and Old Agency Road could be lost. The company has stated that the large trucks would make deliveries in off hours.

The Ridgeland-C Spire trial run will address overall traffic flow in the city, Miller said.

Miller said that it has not been decided where the traffic tests will be conducted.

But to illustrate the flip side of traffic management, Miller suggested one scenario.

A red light might be overdoing its purpose at times, such as when there is little or no traffic at an intersection in the middle of the night and a lone vehicle might be needlessly held up.

Additionally, street lights would be equipped to come on and go off given the degree of daylight.

The Wall Street Journal recently published a story called “The Rise of the Smart City,” in which applications of such technology has been used for wide number of reasons.

Mobile, Ala., for instance, made an inventory of 1,200 blighted properties in eight days by using Instagram, and later cross-referenced the list with tax records and out-ofstate ownership to compile a “blight index,” according to The Journal. C Spire serves Mobile and other parts of Alabama, Miller said. And it provides cloud storage technology in New Orleans, another city cited in the article inThe Journal. It offers wireless service in the Memphis area and the Florida Panhandle.

“We’re ready . . . to talk with any cities, counties or municipalities that are serious . . . about [solutions] that are applicable to them,” Miller said.

COSTCO Continued from, Page 1

The appellants argued in their response to the city’s motion that “Ridgeland’s counsel never contacted appellants’ counsel” about the city’s desire to expedite.

The request for a hastened hearing by the Supreme Court would put the appellants in the position of “having to file their opening brief by Aug. 2 – eight days from now,” they said in a response made on July 24.

The plaintiffs contend that the Costco would create a traffic problem along Highland Colony Parkway, which is lined by office parks and upscale retailers.

The plaintiffs live in upscale neighborhoods in the vicinity.

The amendment, first executed in 2015 in what critics

POLITICS

Wicker has strong fund-raising effort for re-election bid

called a surreptitious manner, was redone in April 2016, out of “an abundance of caution,” said city special counsel James Peden.

But Sheldon Alston, attorney for the homeowners, argued that the amendment to an existing commercial zoning ordinance would allow “gas stations, fast-food restaurants” and other things not in keeping with the area, which is dominated by the Renaissance at Colony Park, which was opened in 2007.

Costco Wholesale stores sell gasoline, as do Sam’s Clubs.

The Costco Wholesale store is to be built on a 45-acre site east of the parkway, along with other retailers. The site has gotten approval from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality on the plan to handle water runoff; trees have been removed from the site and the land has been leveled, awaiting construction.

August 4, 2017

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Mississippi Business Journal

3

JACK WEATHERLY/MBJ

Looking south from the Natchez Trace overpass to the Costco site (top left).

let’s rise. together.

Now Open.

By BOBBY HARRISON bobby.harrison@djournal.com U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, a Tupelo Republican, will be well funded if he is challenged in his 2018 re-election bid.

Wicker, who is seeking his second fullterm in the Senate, has $3.1 million in cash on hand through June 30, according to his campaign finance report filed recently with the Federal Election Commission.

For the current reporting period, Jan. 1-June 30, Wicker raised $1 million from various sources, ranging from national political action committees and professional groups, from fellow Mississippians and from Lee County residents. Wicker has the $3.1 million cash on hand when the funds raised during the current period are combined with funds left over from his past elections.

Of the fundraising effort, campaign spokesman Justin Brasell said, “Sen. Wicker is grateful to conservatives across Mississippi for the outpouring of support for his re-election effort. As shown by the impressive numbers in the latest campaign finance reports, Sen. Wicker enjoys strong support from Mississippi Republicans and will be well-prepared to run a great grassroots campaign in all 82 counties next year.”

Wicker, a member of the leadership for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, headed up the effort in 2016 to elect Republicans to the Senate. He was widely praised for leading the effort to ensure Republicans retained their majority, albeit narrow one, in the U.S. Senate.

State Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ellisville, said last month he is considering a run against Wicker in 2018 or for the open seat of lieutenant governor in the 2019 state elections. Earlier this year, McDaniel, a Tea Party favorite, sent out fundraising letters, stating June 30 as a crucial deadline to contribute money, presumably to be reported on the latest federal campaign finance report.

Q

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4 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q August 4, 2017 SALES MOVES

For the love of sales, not the love of money Do you love sales?

Do you love what you do?

Do you love your product?

Do you love your company?

Do you love your customers?

These are not questions I pulled out of the air. These are questions that directly affect your productivity, your attitude, your income, your success and your fulfillment.

Not to mention your longevity at your present job.

Many salespeople are reluctant to come to grips with “why” they are in sales and “why” they’re in their present job. Some salespeople will respond, “I’m in it for the money,” others will respond, “I need the money,” others will respond, “I have bills to pay and debt to overcome,” and even more will say, “I have a family.” Not many will say, “I haven’t got enough saved up to go to what I really want to do” and even fewer are willing to take the risk.

If you don’t love what you do, you’re doing no one a favor by staying in your present position. Your attitude and morale will be negative, you’ll be complaining about everything, and you’ll be blaming everyone else and their dog for your unhappiness and inadequacy.

And there’s a bonus: Your boss will be all over you to increase your numbers, your customers will be upset for lack of attention and in general, you will rise to a level of mediocrity.

What are you thinking?

Some salespeople hate their job, but stay because they “make a lot of money.” CLUE: The worst reason to keep a job is because you’re making a lot of money.

When money is your motive, then its all about making the sale without regard to building the relationship. A formula for long-term disaster.

Oh, you may have some short-term success, but when you go home at night, you’ll be drowning your misery in television, beer, and in general anything but preparation for the next day.

You can even get away with it for a while, but in the end you’ll be looking in the paper every Sunday, or posting your resume on-line hoping for a better opportunity.

It’s most interesting to me that the salespeople looking for a “better opportunity” are the very ones not looking in their own backyard (see Russell Conwell’s Acres of Diamonds for the full lesson). Most salespeople fail to realize that by building themselves into the best person they can be, that they will attract the right offers rather than seek them.

Let me flip back to the positive side. The purpose of this article is to give you a formula that you can to use to figure out if you are in the right place, or how to find the right place.

Here’s the formula: If you’re in sales and you love

sales, first ask yourself, “If I could sell anything, what would I sell?” If the answer to that question is not what you’re currently selling, therein lies part of the problem.

However, this formula is not about switching jobs immediately, this formula is about becoming the best salesperson that you can in each job you commit to. If you’re going to leave a job for another job, why don’t you set the company record for most sales before you walk out the door?

Selling is a lot like running a road race, you don’t have to win the race, but you do have to achieve your personal best each time you run one.

If your numbers are low or mediocre at one place, what makes you think they will be better someplace else? You see, part of the formula is not just love what you do, it’s also possessing the skills (or dedicating yourself to getting them).

So far we’re at: What would you love to do and dedicating yourself to getting the skills to master what you love.

The third part is believing. Belief in company, belief in product, belief in service and belief in self. If you believe deeply that everything is “best,” then your message will be so enthusiastically delivered that others will catch your passion. A deep self-belief will create enthusiasm and a deep self-belief will create passion.

LOVE TEST: You MUST believe the customer is better off having purchased from you.

And you can’t just believe it in your head – you must believe it in your heart.

The final part is internalizing Gitomer your attitude. Attitude starts from within. It’s the mood you’re in when you wake up in the morning, the mood you stay in all day long and the mood you’re in when you go to bed.

But attitude is not a feeling. Attitude is a lifelong dedication to the study of positive thought and the character/charisma/happiness that you display as you interact with others. If it’s not internal, it can never be external.

So there’s the formula, No, I’m not going to summarize it. If you want it bad enough, you’ll reread it. Love moves mountains – and students.

Editor’s note: Jeffrey Gitomer is on sabbatical. This column originally appeared in the February 24, 2016, Business Journal.

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of 12 books. His real-world ideas and content also are available as online courses at gitomerlearningacademy.com. For information about training and seminars, visit gitomer. com or gitomercertifiedadvisors.com, or email Jeffrey at salesman@gitomer.com.

August 4, 2017

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Mississippi Business Journal

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5

THE COAST

New Ocean Springs development part of condo trend

By LISA MONTI mbj@msbusiness.com The Thrash Group of Hattiesburg is basing its new all-inclusive condo community in Ocean Springs on similar developments thriving throughout the country.

The Inlet will offer an upscale place to live along with a restaurant, shops, a clubhouse and resort-style pool, fitness center, dog park and water views with access to nature trails.

“There isn’t one in Mississippi but we’ve seen it work in other markets like Orange Beach and Destin and we think it’s time to bring something like it to the Coast, especially Ocean Springs,” where the real estate market is robust, said Tracey Ross, director of asset management for the developers.

After presenting several proposals, Thrash got final approval from the city four months ago to proceed.

“We spent years designing a project for this site and are very excited to finally be bringing all of our plans to fruition. Being in our home state, The Inlet is a special project for us and we can’t wait to get started,” Ike Thrash, president of The Thrash Group, said in a press release.

Special to the MBJ

The Inlet will have 95 condos, a 6,000-square-foot restaurant and 6,500 square feet of retail space.

A ceremonial groundbreaking was held last month but rain has delayed the start of construction. “Once we break ground and get going, construction will take about 14 months,” Ross said. “We’re ready to pull permits. We hope to start in 30 to 60 days.”

Even before construction begins, the developers are seeing interest in the $10 million development that’s been in the works for some time.

Potential buyers include retirees and

business professionals looking to own but not maintain a home. “A lot of people don’t want to have to keep up a yard and a pool but they can still have the benefits of ownership,” Ross said.

The Inlet will have 95 condos with one-, two- or three-bedroom floor plans in five buildings. The condos will range from $170 to $185 per square foot.

There will be a 6,000-square-foot restaurant on the bottom floor of one

building and 6,500 square feet for retail tenants in another. The developers are in talks with several restaurants and are considering what residents might want to fill the retail space. “We are trying to encompass the whole lifestyle, where residents can live, eat and shop here,” Ross said.

The location at 2501 Bienville Blvd. fronts U.S. 90 and is near the beach and downtown’s concentration of restaurants and shops. The development will overlook the Twelve Oaks Walking Trail, a protected property overseen by the Land Trust of the Mississippi Coastal Plain. The Thrashes donated 18 acres to the Land Trust for walking trails, she said.

Cynthia Sutton, executive director of the Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce said, “We were delighted to hear about the new development and see the rendering at the ribbon cutting hosted in June. The development would be a great addition to the community and it would bring in more economic growth to Ocean Springs. This development takes in the nature and walkability of Ocean Springs.”

For more information on The Inlet, visit inletresidences.com.

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» INSIDE MISSISSIPPI

Will GOP congress and legislature become the new ‘death panels’?

I

n the 1960s popular songs like “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” by the Hollies, “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers, and “You’ve Got a Friend” by Carole King echoed a growing mood in the country to care for people in need.

Today, the majority mood has shifted again.

Speeches last week at the Neshoba County Fair by potential gubernatorial candidates Attorney General Jim Hood and Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves reflected this shift.

For example, as reported in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Hood “criticized the Legislature for cuts to the Department of Mental Health, resulting in the closure of the state’s only chemical dependency unit for adult males at a time when many citizens are dealing with opioid addiction.” Hood added, “legislative leadership neglected addressing problems in favor of providing large tax cuts.”

Reeves countered saying, ““I am proud we passed the largest tax cut in state history, and I’m not going to let them deny you the tax break so they can keep spending with reckless abandon.”

This mirrors majority political attitudes in Washington around health

Bill Crawford

care. Tax cuts and costs dominate while commitment to care dwindles.

The long-term outlook for those in need of care is harsh, particularly with regard to Medicaid. Rough comments on the Jackson Jambalaya blog tell the story. “We already have more people collecting benefits than we have working,” wrote one, adding “How much longer can this go on?” Another wrote, “Quit pouring money down a pisshole.”

Reports say Medicaid cuts under consideration in Congress plus cuts coming from the Legislature may soon start forcing retirees out of nursing homes. Nationally, Medicaid pays the costs for about 62 percent of seniors who live in nursing homes, about 75 percent in Mississippi.

Medicaid also serves nearly half a million Mississippi children, about 55 percent of all Medicaid recipients. In June the Clarion-Ledger wrote about seriously ill children who depend upon Medicaid. One was 13-year old Kennedy who is a type 1 diabetic. Her parents signed her up for Medicaid to afford “the nearly $5,000 a month she needs in insulin and medical supplies.”

See CRAWFORD, Page 7

ississippi is running out of time. It must find out why millennials are leaving the state at the highest rate in the United States. And it must find out quickly.

Many millennials leave, not for a job, but for a place they want to live. And those who are leaving for a job are winding up in states where wages are higher. CompTIA, a technology industry trade association, last year ranked Mississippi 50th in average tech wages. That translates into about half of Mississippi State University College of Engineering graduates leaving the state.

"After my wife and I married in summer 2016, we realized job opportunities, specifically in her field, were limited at best," Tyler Hill, of Hurley, told Mississippi Today. "She is a teacher of the deaf. Nationally, school districts and legislatures tend to spend less on special needs programs; in Mississippi, spending in this field is abysmal. The lack of jobs and growth opportunity forces us out of the state."

The other side of that coin, though, is Mississippi is a very affordable place to live. See what kind of home $100,000 will get you in San Francisco, or Boston, or Miami.

The stakes couldn't be higher.

Millennials will be by far the largest segment of the population still in the market for housing and other big-ticket items. And by the time they hit 35 or so, they're likely to be where they'll stay.

And of course we want them to be here. Most would rather be near their families, near their roots.

In a lot of ways, Mississippi makes that tough. Millennials have the highest rate of acceptance of same-sex marriage. But Mississippi's leaders do not share that acceptance or we would not have HB1523.

We don't have the public transportation options they want, and yet, we can't even decide on whether our transportation system needs to be upgraded nor how to pay for it if it does.

We have few walkable, bikeable communities, another option they favor, and few millennials can afford housing prices in the communities that offer those amenities.

And, we have Mississippi's reputation for intolerance, a reputation in many respects undeserved, but one that is referenced by online cranks and legislators who settle disagreement with the refrain, "if you don't like it go back where you came from."

Shivon Hess left after four years in Mississippi.

"Incredible racism and bigotry. There's a bit of that everywhere, but it's so entrenched in Mississippi," said Hess.

We have to stand up to the racists, those who spew hate. People of like minds must stand together and erase this stain on our state once and for all.

There are a lot of reasons to believe Mississippi can win this battle. We just elected millennial mayors from vastly different political points of view. We have a Future Caucus of millennials in our Legislature. It plans a millennial summit every year.

That summit is a great idea. We hope the state leadership offers this bipartisan group encouragement and support. They, and all millennials, have ours.

— The (Biloxi) Sun Herald

PERSPECTIVE » RICKY NOBILE

August 4, 2017 I Mississippi Business Journal

CRAWFORD

I

7

Continued from Page 6

Not getting much attention on the street is what happens when Medicaid cuts do start putting disabled retirees on the street, eliminate extraordinary care for seriously ill children, shut-down rural hospital emergency rooms, and devastate mental health care.

Republicans railed against Obamacare’s so called “death panels” for saving money at the cost of lives. Seems our costcutting Republican-dominated Legislature and Congress will soon take their place, unless more like state Sen. Brice Wiggins have a say.

“I’ve heard different people and groups say we just need to get rid of Medicaid,” Wiggins, chairman of the Senate Medicaid Committee, told the Clarion-Ledger. “Okay, are we not going to take care of our grandmother and grandfather who (are) 90 years old in the nursing home? Medicaid pays for the nursing home.” Earlier in the year he told Mississippi Today, “we have a duty to take care of the least fortunate.”

Meanwhile, we need some new songs like “He’s My Brother, But He Got Too Heavy” and “Lean on Somebody besides Taxpayers” and “You Ain’t Got No Friends No More.”

Bill Crawford (crawfolk@gmail.com) is a syndicated columnist from Meridian.

»FROM THE GROUND UP

Escape rooms are sweeping the nation

K

imberly wasn’t so sure she wanted to participate in the so-called Collaborate Problem Solving Activity that was on the agenda at the conference she was attending. “I hear they lock you in a room with other people and the group has to solve some kind of puzzle to get out.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” someone said. “It’s a lot of fun. I did one of those things in Dallas last year. The time goes by really fast. Besides, there is an escape door if you feel you have to leave. We’ll have to find clues to escape.” She held up both hands and make the quotation marks sign with her fingers when she said the escape word.

Escape Room is a team building/leadership activity that is sweeping the nation. It’s a race against the clock to find clues that will lead to the way to escape from the room. All kinds of groups, from corporate teams to students to family members, are taking the challenge. And if reviews on social media are any indication participants are enjoying the experience.

“This is not a scare room or freak show. It is an exciting game of strategy, critical thinking and fun,” according to one online reviewer.

It just so happens that I was at the conference mentioned above and was asked to serve as the moderator of three rounds of Escape Room games. Each round involved two separate groups being locked in two separate rooms, one of which was themed as The Titanic and the other The Forbidden Tomb. My job was to debrief the participants and asked what they had learned or observed from a team building standpoint. It was a fascinating exercise.

In this case, there were eight people in each group. I’ll call them Group A and Group B. I had the pleasure of sitting inside the control room with the operators and watching both escape rooms via several monitors in each room. It was all I could do not to try to assist the participants in some way.

From a leadership and team building standpoint, I ob-

served two methods of communicating and strategizing that cause of their popularity. They also prowere especially revealing. It involved a clue in the Titanic vide good income for the operators/franRoom that could be found when the participants discovered chisees. According to a July 21, 2015 Phil Hardwick an envelope containing a letter from the captain of the ship.

MarketWatch.com article by entitled The participant in the first group who found the letter read “The unbelievably lucrative business of it to himself very carefully. He may have even read it twice. I escape rooms,” the first investor in an escape room facility would even go so far as to say that he studied the letter. The recovered his $7,000 investment in only a month. By midother members of his group anxiously watched as he read the 2015 the number of permanent rooms world-wide has gone letter. Finally, he told his fellow group members Escape Room is a team building/leadership activity that is sweeping what the letter said. the nation. It’s a race against the clock to find clues that will lead to They began discussing the implications of the the way to escape from the room. All kinds of groups, from corpoletter and whether it led to another clue. Of rate teams to students to family members, are taking the challenge. course it did, so they immediately began searching. Ultimately, they found the sought-after clue. from zero at the outset of 2010.

The Group B participant who found the same letter took A search online for Escape Rooms in Mississippi revealed a different approach. Upon finding the letter he announced locations in Tupelo, Starkville, Jackson, Hattiesburg and that fact to his group and told them to “Listen up.” He then D’Iberville. Prices per person ranged from $20 – $25 for a opened the envelope and read the letter aloud. The group 45-60 minute experience. Themes vary. For example, right members immediately began discussing what they had now in Tupelo there is one room titled “The Office Of Seheard. Someone made a suggestion about what the cret Agent 22”, which invites players to, “Step back to 1982 letter/clue meant. The hunt was on for the next clue. They and join the CIA to help find missing Agent 22.” It’s a 60found it in no time. minute game. There is also a 30 minute version called “The It turned out that Group A did not make it out of the Mine,” where players “Find the Copperpot treasure and esroom in the allotted time. To put it another way, they sank. cape before their old family mine is demolished.”

Group B made it out with time to spare.

For corporate team building or family fun check out an The lesson learned was that when time is critical it is best Escape Room near you. that everyone involved receive the same information at the same time. When time is not of the essence then it is cer» Phil Hardwick is a regular Mississippi Business Journal columnist and tainly appropriate for the leader to digest the information owner of Hardwick & Associates, LLC, which provides strategic planning fafirst and then tell his team about new information. cilitation and leadership training services. His email is phil@philhardwick.

Escape Rooms are growing in number, and not just becom and he’s on the web at www.philhardwick.com.

8 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q August 4, 2017 DINING REVIEW

Cantina Laredo: Mexican on the high end

By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com

A Sunday brunch may not be the best test of a Mexican restaurant.

But it was fair, I felt.

So this is how we approached it at the Cantina Laredo, the new, airy eatery at the District at Eastover.

Just to make sure that we had a benchmark order for basis of comparison, my wife ordered her favorite: crab cakes benedict.

I went for something brunchy as well, but more in line with the cuisine.

We had discovered the brand several years ago when we were living in Little Rock. It raised our expectations for southof-the border dining.

So when I learned that one was coming to Jackson, the first in Mississippi and the 36th in the country, in addition to one in London and another in Abu Dhabi, I made a mental reservation to indulge in what I call haute Mexican.

We arrived a bit before noon and there was a low hum of business. We were seat-

ed immediately in one of the booths. And didn’t have to wait for service.

A lime and an avocado awaited in a silver bowl.

What’s a good Mexican restaurant without made-at-the-table guacamole? But that will wait for the next time. We did indulge a bit in the bowl of freshly made tortilla chips and a small dish of roasted tomato salsa and one of tomatina salsa.

The brunch menu is reasonably priced, especially when you consider that a choice of either a bloody Mary, bloody Maria or mimosa, is complimentary. The Mary is made with Tito’s Handmade Vodka, the Maria with Casa Noble organic tequila, and the mimosa with freshly squeezed orange juice.

I ordered a chicken fajita omelet.

Details make the difference.

The chicken was sliced into medallions, instead of the usual stringy fajita cuts. So was the side dish of potatoes.

Covered in chipotle-wine sauce, the omelet was satisfying, as was the price: $13.29.

The crab cakes benedict: the most expensive at $15.79. Jill said they were compara-

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JACK WEATHERLY/MBJ

TOP Cantina Laredo seats 211, including weather controlled patio. BOTTOM The Cantina Laredo offers valet parking.

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ble to her favorite at another restaurant on our brunch circuit.

Let’s talk atmosphere. You can’t eat it but you can taste it.

As mentioned, this is an airy place, made more so by the covered patio, which is air-conditioned or heated depending on the time of year.

And there is flexibility. A good call was made when we were there Sunday. The temperature was a bit low for this time of year in the Deep South, and, more important, the humidity was low.

So the transparent shades were raised and the breeze was delicious, we discovered, even though we ate “inside.”

The décor is understated in a Latin style, from the black rafters below the white in-

dustrial ceiling, to the gray polished concrete floors, to the hint of traditional Mexican orange here and there.

There is no carpeting, which is a good call from an aesthetic and practical perspective. But the clatter of dishes and voices got a bit loud before we left as the place started to fill up its 211 seats.

That’s good business, which stands to get better as the 24-acre District fills in with retailers and residents of the District Lofts.

Parking? Not a problem for us. The restaurant has anticipated that possibility, it seems. A valet service is offered, though we didn’t need it.

Next time: the whole enchilada.

AN MBJ FOCUS: ARCHITECTS & ENGINEE

Biloxi giving downt

The Saenger Theatre’s Neoclassical Revival style, Ionic pilasters and entablature of stone ornamenting its red-brick facade evoke the Georgian and Federal styles of early America.

August 4, 2017 • MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS JOURNAL • www.msbusiness.com

ERS

town icon a facelift » Mayor says the Saenger restoration ‘sits right at the precipice of what we need to do’

By JULIA MILLER mbj@msbusiness.com

B

iloxi is hoping to give its downtown area a facelift, and it’s starting by restoring Saenger Theatre and Community Center to its former glory.

Biloxi Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich believes this project will be an economic boon to the area.

He is so passionate about the project that he even held his recent swearing-in at the theater to showcase it’s beauty.

“The inside is incredible,” he said. “The acoustics are unbelievable.”

Built in 1929, the Saenger points to the art deco and old world elegance indicative of the Roaring ‘20s. In the first part of the 20th Century, the Saenger Amusement Company built several new “movie palaces” to accommodate the new “talking pictures,” as well as vaudeville and other types of live stage performances.

The original interior decoration and the backstage facilities are still mostly intact.. “(Saenger theaters) all had ornate features making a visit to the theater a grand experience,” said Leigh Jaunsen of Dale Partners Architects P.A. The City of Biloxi acquired the facility in 1975 to use as a performing arts center.

“One of the wonderful aspects of the building is that it continues to serve the cultural needs of the city and the Coast — just as it has since its opening in 1929,” said Kenneth P’Pool, deputy state historic preservation officer with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

The project is expected to take between two and four years, depending upon funding. The first phase will include repair of the exterior of the building, including the walls, the roof and the rooftop mechanical units.

MDAH has awarded a $100,000 grant from the Mississippi Community Heritage Preservation Grant Program to assist the roof replacement. Based on an MDAH report,

Courtesy of City of Biloxi

SAENGER FACTS » Constructed 1928-1929. » 30,000 visitors per year. » 1,100-person capacity. » Anticipated cost of Phase 1 is $1.5 million. » Phase 2, for the interior, will be determined by funding. » The City of Biloxi acquired the facility in 1975 to use as a performing arts center.

the anticipated cost for the exterior repairs is expected to be approximately $1.5 million.

“We all look forward to completion of the repairs that will return the old Saenger Theatre to its original glory,” P’Pool said.

One of the most impressive aspects of the Saenger is that it has remained intact through both manmade and natural disasters that have destroyed much of the downtown historic area.

“It’s a survivor, almost like the pyramids of Giza,” Gilich said.

With its longevity comes an emotional attachment for many area natives.

“Generations of Biloxians have grown up with this theater being an anchor for downtown and many have fond memories See SAENGER, Page 13

“(Saenger theaters) all had ornate features making a visit to the theater a grand experience.”

Leigh Jaunsen, Dale Partners Architects P.A.

12 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q August 4, 2017

Architects & Engineers

MSU’s Bagley takes courses southward

By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com

The Mississippi Gulf Coast has one of the most robust job markets in the state for engineering due to major employers like the Chevron Pascagoula Refinery, Huntington Ingalls Industries and others.

A market analysis done several years ago showed a 20 percent growth in the projected engineering jobs in the Gulf Coast area.

» Students can now earn engineering degrees without leaving coast It used to be that Gulf Coast residents who wanted engineering degrees had to relocate. But, starting in January 2016, MSU began offering the option of pursuing an engineering degree on the Coast.

Residents can become engineers without ever leaving the Coast.

MSU now has a partnership with the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (MGCCC) in Gautier where students can pursue an associate of science degree. Many of the classes for that degree, such as chemistry, math and physics can be counted for general education

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requirements and other prerequisites for the MSU engineering degree. After completing the two-year degree, students can take courses from MSU at the MGCCC campus that allow students to get a degree in electrical or mechanical engineering.

“We have some space on the Gautier campus of MCGCC where we are delivering about 64 hours towards a 128-hour degree,” said Bagley College of Engineering Dean Dr. Jason Keith. “We are teaching the second two years of that program face-to-face for the most part.

But some classes taught here on the MSU campus are recorded and made available to view by students on the Coast. We have a track record of delivering graduate and upper-level undergraduate elective courses to South Mississippi, the rest of the state and all over the U.S., in some cases.”

Currently MSU expects to have 60 students enrolled in the program in the fall. Keith said that includes a mix of traditional students, as well as non-traditional students who may already be in the work force and interesting in improving their skills.

“There are a lot of employees at Chevron, Huntington Ingalls and Mississippi Power, as well as other large and small firms on the Coast that may have people with an associate’s degree who would like to complete a bachelor’s degrees from MSU, and now they can do that,” Keith said.

Travis Adcock, an electrical engineering student, said what he appreciates about the engineering program on the Coast is that he can take classes at night, which is the only way he could finish his degree.

“I have a wife, and a baby due in August, so I could not go back to school during the day and afford to live,” Adcock said.

“So, the flexibility of the MSU Gulf Coast curriculum, as well as the help from Dr. Lokesh Shivakumaraiah, has allowed me to progress towards completing my electrical engineering degree and better provide for my family.”

Coast industries have been very supportive. Chevron has given MSU about $2.9 million in support in the past six years. That includes a recent donation of $383,000 that is part of a $1.15-million pledge to support the Bagley College of Engineering over the next three years.

Chevron, one of the leading employers of MSU engineering alumni, has helped help fund student scholarships, as well as laboratory spaces in Starkville and on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

“The entire Bagley College of Engineering has benefited from the programs supported by our long-term relationship

See ENGINEERS, Page 13

Architects & Engineers

August 4, 2017

Q

Mississippi Business Journal

Q

13

Beard+Riser opens new office in Oxford Special to the MBJ

Beard + Riser Architects of Greenwood has opened a new office in Oxford, to be located in The Edison at 1450 University Ave. The new office will be led by Dale Riser, who has over 22 years of leadership and project management experience. Prior to forming Beard+Riser in 2007, Riser worked for four years on primarily federal and military projects and spent eight years with firms in San Antonio and Austin, including five years with 2004 AIA National Firm of the Year Lake/Flato Architects.

He is a 1995 graduate of Louisiana Tech University.

“Moving into the Oxford market is part of an ongoing strategy to expand our reach and expertise further into Mississippi and increase support for our clients in close proximity to local markets,” Riser said in a

Courtesy of Beard+Riser

John Beard and Dale Riser

news release.

He said the firm intends to add staff to assist in both their Oxford and Greenwood offices.

“I look forward to building our presence in Oxford and getting to know people, as well as continuing our relationships in the

ENGINEERS Continued from Page 12

Courtesy of City of Biloxi

The Saenger Theatre grand opening in 1929.

SAENGER Continued from Page 11

of attending events in there,” Jaunsen said. “This project will help restore this anchor to its original grandeur and continue to create memories for many generations, providing a continuity of experiences for the community.”

Gilich hopes the Saenger restoration is just one part of a move away from the urban renewal project the City underwent to move to a pedestrian-only traffic pattern. The city’s five-year action plan to restore the historic downtown district includes a return to two-way traffic to Howard Avenue and retiring the name “Vieux Marche.”

“I’ve only been mayor for two years, but I’ve been in Biloxi my whole life,” Gilich said. “(The Saenger project) sits right at the precipice of what we need to do.”

with Chevron,” Keith said. “For years, students have benefitted from scholarship support. In addition to these scholarships, this most recent gift will support several exciting projects.”

The recent contribution will support a new laboratory in the planned MSU campus building, that will be the home of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Keith said it will also help fund a thermo-fluids lab on the Gulf Coast, which is used to help students study the principles of fluid flow and heat transfer.

The types of engineering degrees that can be pursued on the Gulf Coast include electrical engineering, which has seven laboratory courses, and mechanical engineering, which has three laboratory classes.

“We currently have 15 electrical engineering students and 45 mechanical engineering students,” Keith said. “Mechanical engineering is our largest degree program here on our campus. We have about 1,000 students enrolled in mechanical engineering out of a total college enrollment of 4,450.

We offer 12 different undergraduate degrees. We added petroleum engineering in the fall of 2014 and biomedical engineering in 2016.”

In addition to support from Chevron, Keith said Mississippi Power has provided support for

Delta, putting together a team that stands by our vision and develops associations that successfully deliver our clients’ desired experiences,” Riser said.

“Oxford is perfect for the type of work we do,” said principal architect John Beard, “and we think we’ll be a good fit there.”

Before forming Beard + Riser, Beard worked for 10 years for Belinda Stewart Architects and seven years for firms in New York, Philadelphia and Mississippi, including Mockbee Coker Howorth. He is a 1991 graduate of Mississippi State University.

Beard + Riser Architects has completed over $37 million in design and construction services, serving education, civic, commercial, religious, preservation and residential markets. The firm’s principals are licensed in Mississippi, Tennessee and Louisiana.

The firm’s recent projects include the Rail Spike Park Pavilion in Greenwood, Mississippi Delta Community College Vandiver Student Union, Greenwood Police Department and Municipal Court Renovation, Milwaukee Electric Tool Co. Expansions, Standard Industrial Corp.

Renovations in Clarksdale, and Yazoo County Courthouse ADA Repairs.

their electrical engineering lab and International Paper has supported a controls lab in electrical engineering.

Keith said that the Bagley College of Engineering provides a great benefit to Mississippi’s economy.

“We’ve seen an increase over the past five to ten years in the number of engineering jobs in the state,” Keith said. “We work very closely with the Office of Research and Economic Development at MSU and the Mississippi Development Authority to try to attract new industries into the state of Mississippi. About half of our graduates stay in the state, and we are working hard to increase that amount because our students do want to stay here because that is where they are from.”

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Architects & Engineers

14 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q August 4, 2017

MISSISSIPPI’S LARGEST ENGINEERING FIRMS

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Newsmakers

16 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q August 4, 2017

Butler Snow hires 2 Patricia C. Gandy has joined Butler Snow as the firm’s first full-time pro bono counsel and Susan Davis Egger is the firm’s new chief human resources officer.

Gandy most recently served as the founding director of the Mission First Legal Aid Office, established by Mississippi College School of Law and Mission First, Inc. With this position, Gandy and her team provided civil legal services to qualified residents Gandy of Hinds, Madison and Rankin counties. The Mission First Legal Aid Office works with more than 300 volunteer attorneys to serve approximately 1,200 Mississippians per year. Gandy previously served as an attorney in Butler Snow’s litigation department from 1998 – 2006.

She completed her undergraduate education and Juris Doctor at Mississippi College and clerked for the Mississippi Court of Appeals.

Egger has over 30 years of human resources and accounting experience. For the last 20 years, Egger has worked for Parkway Properties, Inc., where she served in various human resources roles, including vice president of human resources, vice president of people and director of human resources. Eager During her tenure at Parkway, she helped established the Parkway University Training Program. Prior to her time at Parkway Properties, Egger was the director of human resources for the Eastover Group of Companies and served as Controller for EastGroup Properties. Susan received a Bachelor of Public Accountancy from Mississippi State University, graduating Cum Laude. She is a Certified Public Accountant and holds certifications as a PHR and SHRM-CP.

Bradley’s Clark honored

David W. Clark, who is Of Counsel in the Jackson office of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, has received the Mississippi Bar’s Distinguished Service Award for 2017.

The award recognizes an attorney or lay person for outstanding achievement and/or Clark a significant contribution to the legal community.

A long-term and steady advocate for the legal profession, Clark has been recognized as a national leader in civil justice reform by the American Tort Reform Association, which named him a Legal Reform Champion. He also has worked to improve access for clients to the justice system through his leadership roles with the Mississippi State Bar, for which he has served as chair for the Litigation and General Practice Section, and the American Bar Association (ABA). For the past eight years, Clark has represented Mississippi as the state delegate to the ABA House of Delegates. He also has served in a variety of leadership roles with the ABA Section of Litigation, including as a member of the Section Council from 2009-2012. In addition, Clark served as the Fifth Circuit’s representative on the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary from 2008 to 2011, and he continued serving the Standing Committee in an unofficial capacity until 2014.

Southern Miss AOP chapter installs new officers

Kelly Dunn / Courtesy of USM

The University of Southern Mississippi Chapter of the Association of Officer Professionals recently installed new officers for 2017-18. The new officers include, from left: Jennifer Lewis, President (Compliance Coordinator/Office of General Counsel); Katie Kitchens, President Elect (Reservation Specialist/Thad Cochran Center); Elizabeth Killinger, Vice President (Disability Specialist/Office of Disability Accommodations); Jennifer Brown, Secretary (Office Manager/Gulf Park-College of Education and Psychology); Erin Sessions, Treasurer (Administrative Assistant/Theatre); and Cory Williams, Immediate Past President (Systems Administrator/iTech). The Chapter was recently recognized with the Rachel Maynard Communication Award at the National Association of Educational Office Professionals for its newsletter, The Voice. Killinger, disability specialist with the USM Office of Disability Accommodations and vice-president for the USM AOP chapter, is editor for The Voice.

Clark’s service to the legal community also includes his pioneering pro bono work on post-conviction death penalty cases.

In his law practice, Clark focuses on commercial litigation involving a broad range of clients and issues in state and federal court, arbitration and regulatory agencies. He is a member of the American Arbitration Association National Roster of Neutrals. Clark was an early adopter of alternative dispute resolution in Mississippi. He also is a member of the American Law Institute, and he has taught or written on antitrust law, federal courts, discovery, mediation, and tort reform.

Brewer joins Millsaps staff LeAnne Brewer of Madison is the director of executive education at Millsaps College, a newly created role in which she works with the Mississippi business community to develop professional education and training programs that use the expertise of professors in the Else School of Brewer Management at Millsaps.

Brewer served as executive director of the former Foundation for Public Broadcasting in Mississippi from 2013-2016. From 2011-2013, she worked as a consultant and assisted Gretchen and Bill Cook of Parents & Kids Magazine with the launch of three new market areas for the magazine.

Brewer began her career in television ad sales management with LoveComm. She continued her career with Comcast Spotlight after it purchased LoveComm.

The Winona native is a 1988 magna cum laude graduate of Millsaps who earned a B.A. in English.

She is married to Maj. Gen. Allen Brewer, retired assistant adjutant general, Mississippi Army National Guard. The Brewers are the parents of two children — Will, a 2016 Millsaps graduate who is working on a doctorate at Baylor University, and Shelby Leigh, a sophomore at Mississippi State University.

Brewer is a Rotarian who has served as president of the Rotary Club of Jackson. She has been a board member of the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi since 2005 and has served on the boards of The Community Foundation of Greater Jackson and the Better Business Bureau of Mississippi.

Woodward adds new post Dr. LouAnn Woodward has taken over as chair of the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, which sets standards for U.S.- and Canadian-chartered medical education programs run by universities or medical schools.

Woodward, Mississippi Medical Center’s vice chancellor for health Woodward affairs and dean of the School of Medicine since 2015, has served simultaneously as chair-elect of the LCME for the past year after being confirmed unanimously by its board.

Since 2013, she has worked on the executive committee and as chair of the subcommittee on International Relations for the LCME, which is sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Medical Association.

As LCME chair, Woodward’s reach will extend beyond the United States: She will represent the organization as a voting member of the Council for Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools, which sanctions M.D. programs in Canada, in cooperation with the LCME. In 2012, Woodward helped steer the School of Medicine through its accreditation process. After weighing the school’s performance for around 130 measures, the LCME reported that the education program complied in every area, a rare occurrence for any medical school.

A native of Carroll County, Woodward is also a professor of emergency medicine. She earned her undergraduate degree from Mississippi State University and, in 1991, her M.D. at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine in Jackson, where she also completed her residency training.

For several years, she was associate vice chancellor for health affairs and vice dean of the medical school.

Mackey gets Jackson post Patrick Mackey has been promoted to service center manager in Jackson for Southeastern Freight Lines, a regional less-than-truckload service.

Mackey started his career with Southeastern as a part-time freight handler nearly seven years ago,

in Waynesboro, Va.. He has since served in a variety of roles, including: full-time freight handler, management trainee, inbound supervisor, pickup and delivery supervisor, outbound supervisor, operations manager and, most recently, assistant service center manager in Nashville.

Mackey will move to Mississippi from Nashville.

Mackey

Pietz approved as dean Kady Pietz has been approved as dean of Business Services at the Jefferson Davis Campus by the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Board of Trustees. Before joining Gulf Coast, Pietz, of Pass Christian, served as the director of Operations and Outreach at The University of Southern Mississippi Pietz on the Gulf Park Campus. She holds a master of science in Political Science with an emphasis in Public Administration and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Human Capital Development, both from USM. She previously served as the executive director of Hancock County Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program and as chief administrative officer of the Mississippi Automated Systems Project with USM. Pietz is active in the community and has previously held executive officer positions for National CASA Rural Advisory Board, Coast Young Professionals, CASA Mississippi, Southern Miss Staff Council, and Long Beach Grid Iron. She is a 2010 graduate of Leadership Gulf Coast and currently serves on the board of directors for the Gulfport Chamber of Commerce. In 2017, she received an Award of Excellence for her leadership in the Southern Miss Jazz and Blues Festival and was also named a recipient of Coast Young Professional’s Forever Young award.

An avid golfer and New Orleans Saints season ticket holder, Pietz spends most of her personal time outdoors. She considers advocacy, volunteerism, and active mentorship the most significant contributions in her life for others.

Newsmakers

August 4, 2017

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Mississippi Business Journal

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17

MSU campus safety official recognized Boykin

Hood

Watson

Dyse

Stewart

Smith

Russ Houston / Courtesy of MSU

Wadlington

Mason

Deer

Alicia F. Musselwhite (center), Mississippi State’s fire prevention and life safety officer, was recently named 2017 Fire Code Official of the Year by the Building Officials Association of Mississippi, the professional organization whose members administer and enforce state building and related codes. Musselwhite, a Florida native who holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from MSU, assumed her current duties in 2009. She previously was laboratory manager in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences. Her current role is part of MSU’s Office of Environmental and Health Safety, a division of the Office of Research and Economic Development. B.J. Malley, deputy state fire marshal, (second from left) presented the award. With them are (from left) Michael S. Parsons, MSU environmental and health safety director; Amy Tuck, MSU vice president for campus services; and Glynn Babb, emergency and safety officer for the Board of Trustees, State Institutions of Higher Learning.

Baker to run fitness center Chase

Culpepper

Gardner

jRobinson

Wallace

Wilson

HORNE promotes 15

HORNE LLP, a top 50 accounting and business advisory firms nationally, recently announced the promotion of 15 Ridgeland team members. » Ben Boykin (Government Services), Senior Associate. » Chris Hood (Government Services), Supervisor. » Ted Watson (Government Services), Supervisor. » Sam Dyse (Government Services), Supervisor. » Malanda Stewart (Government Services), Supervisor. » Holly Smith (Government Services), Manager. » Bill Wadlington (Government Services), Senior Manager. » Derrick Mason (Healthcare), Senior Associate. » Hayley Deer (Healthcare), Supervisor. » Heather Chase (People FIRST), Associate. » Katie Culpepper (Marketing), Senior Associate. » Marla Gardner (Marketing), Senior Associate. » Kendra Sue Robinson (Marketing), Senior Associate. » Ryan Wallace (HORNE Cyber), Supervisor. » Betsy Wilson (People Growth and Engagement), Supervisor.

Chris Baker, who formerly managed the University Wellness Center in downtown Jackson, has been named the executive director of Downtown Fitness,powered by Baptist Health Systems, which has moved into the facility at 100 E. Capitol St., Suite 107.

Baker has more than 20 years Baker of experience in the fitness facility industry and holds numerous fitness certifications.

With approximately 17,000 square feet of space, Downtown Fitness – Powered by Baptist Health Systems, will boast the latest in exercise equipment, group exercise classes, and executive-style locker rooms. The center will offer a total body toning boot camp, indoor cycling, low-impact/high-output cardio machines complete with integrated TVs, total body training selectorized strength machines, and a comprehensive free-weight training area. There will also be a Baptist Medical Clinic for facility members and corporate health clients.

Ellard gains ABA honor Wendy Huff Ellard, a shareholder with Baker Donelson, has been named a recipient of the 2017 American Bar Association “On the Rise – Top 40 Young Lawyers” award.

The annual award, presented by the ABA’s Young Lawyers Ellard Division, recognizes 40 young lawyers nationally who “exemplify a broad range of high achievement, innovation, vision, leadership, and legal and community service.” Ellard is a member of the ABA, serving on the ABA Standing Committee on Disaster Response and Preparedness and as a member of the ABA Commission on Women

in the Profession. She has also served on the ABA YLD Disaster Legal Services Team since 2014 and received the “Star of the Quarter Award” in 2016 for her work as vice-director.

Ellard maintains a national regulatory practice focused on disaster recovery, government contracting and public policy. She has extensive experience with the intricacies of the Stafford Act and regularly represents public and not-for-profit entities, contractors, and industry associations to support grant eligibility and federal procurement compliance. Ellard is a member of the National Emergency Management Association, the Mississippi Bar Association and the Mississippi Women Lawyers’ Association where she served as 2016-17 President. Since 2015, Ellard has been listed as a “Rising Star” inMid-South Super Lawyers, and she was recognized with the “Outstanding Service Award” from the Capital Area Bar Association in 2016.

Jeuitt takes Red Cross post Tamica Smith Jeuitt was recently named the director of communications and marketing manager for the American Red Cross Mississippi Region.

She was employed with the Red Cross from 2008 through 2012 as a local chapter communications officer. Before her return Jeuitt to the organization, Jeuitt was the senior communications specialist for the Mississippi Conference of The United Methodist Church.

Jeuitt also worked as the weekend news anchor and reporter for WJTV in Jackson. She has 23 years combined work experience in broadcast journalism and public relations with media groups in Louisiana, Alabama and Indiana. She earned a bachelor’s degree in broadcasting from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Jeuitt lives in Madison County with her husband, Rob Jay, and daughter, Madison.

Miller joins People Lease Wendy Miller has joined People Lease, a payroll, benefits andcompliance firm based in Ridgeland. Miller has over 20 years of experience working in Business Administration and Customer Service.

Miller has one daughter at Miller Oklahoma State University. Currently residing in Flowood, Wendy enjoys spending time with her family and friends.

Coast plant wins top honor The Jackson County Utility Authority’s Pascagoula-Moss Point Wastewater Treatment Facility has been awarded the Most Outstanding Wastewater Treatment Facility for 2017 by the Mississippi Water Environment Association.

All four of the JCUA’s treatment plants have won the Outstanding Plant of the Year Award. The Gautier Facility in 1999, the Escatawpa Facility in 2010, the West Jackson County Facility in 1996, and the Pascagoula- Moss Point Facility in 1988, 2004 and for the third time in 2017.

The Pascagoula-Moss Point Wastewater Treatment Plant treats the wastewater south of the Escatawpa River.

The plant was purchased from the City of Pascagoula in 1981, and since that time has been owned and operated by the Mississippi Gulf Coast Regional Wastewater, and then the Jackson County Utility Authority.

The JCUA has been the recipient of millions of dollars of federal grant funds to make the extensive renovations, extensions and improvements to the plant required to meet legal standards for wastewater discharge.

18 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q August 4, 2017

Nelson unretires for JSU Longtime academician Dr. Ivory V. Nelson, a three-time university president and one-time community college chancellor, has assumed the role of interim provost at Jackson State University.

The native of Shreveport, La., had retired in 2011, but was asked Nelson to return by new JSU President William B. Bynum Jr. In 2000, Nelson, then the 12th president of Lincoln University in Pennsylvania (1999-2011), hired Bynum as his vice president for student affairs and enrollment management. He worked for Nelson for 9 years, said Nelson, 83.

Nelson was part of a review team for JSU’s re-accreditation by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education in the 1970s and was among finalists for the presidency when Dr. James Hefner was ultimately selected in 1984.

Nelson previously was the first black president of Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Wash., from 1992 to 1999, and later president emeritus.

During the early 1980s, he was acting president of Prairie View A&M University for nine months.

A chemist and pioneering figure, Nelson began working in higher education in 1963. He’s known for other groundbreaking firsts. Among these include: First male graduate from Grambling State University to receive a Ph.D. (He graduated from Grambling in 1959 and received his doctorate in analytical chemistry from the University of Kansas, where he was the first black graduate from UK to receive such a degree in 1963).

First African-American to become chancellor of the Alamo Community College District in San Antonio, Texas (1986).

First black chemistry Ph.D. graduate to be inducted into Phi Beta Kappa at the University of Kansas (1964).

First African-American to become executive assistant to the chancellor of Texas A&M University System (1983).

Aside from working at Prairie View for 14 years, he spent three years at Southern University at Shreveport as chairman of the Division of Natural Sciences.

Also, Nelson is distinguished as a Fulbright scholar, recipient of a Phi Beta Kappa key and has published more than 12 technical articles on chemistry topics. As well, Nelson has been involved in numerous other fraternal organizations, including Kappa Delta Pi Honor Society, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Nelson is also a U.S. Air Force veteran.

Bradley joins Community

Todd Bradley has recently joined Community Bank’s Hattiesburg office as Senior Vice President. Prior to joining Community Bank, Bradley was the owner of Floyd’s Formals and also served as a commercial lender and branch manager for Regions. He will manage a portfolio, focusing Bradley on growing loans and deposits in the Hattiesburg market, while representing the bank in the community.

Bradley is a 1985 graduate of Mississippi State University, with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, as well a 2012 graduate of Regent University with a Master of Arts in Biblical Studies. In 2013,

Newsmakers

Silver Slipper recognizes top June employees

Courtesy of Silver Slipper Casino

Silver Slipper Casino recently recognized its June Employee and Supervisor/Manager of the Month Nominees and winners. Nominees (and winners) with General Manager John Ferrucci (center) are, from left: Jeffry Carlson (Employee of the Month), Slots; Martin Navarro (Supervisor/Manager of the Month), Buffet Sous Chef; Samantha Reis, Group Sales; Mary Oakes, Facilities; Gillian Joseph, Soft Count; Brandon Schmid (Employee of the Month), Player Services; and Charlie Nieves, Executive Chef. Nominees and winners each received gifts and prizes including cash and gift certificates. ,

he completed The Mississippi School of Banking at Ole Miss.

He is an active member of Sunrise Rotary Club of Hattiesburg, and Parkway Heights United Methodist Church.

He and his wife, Mary, have 2 daughters, Julia and Caroline.

Bradley’s Cupples elected Margaret Oertling Cupples, the managing partner of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP’s Jackson office, has been elected as a member of the American Law Institute, a leading independent organization in the United States producing scholarly work to Cupples clarify, modernize and improve the law.

A member of Bradley’s Appellate, Litigation and Environmental Law practice groups, Cupples focuses her practice on civil appeals and commercial litigation.

Her work centers on asbestos, benzene and silica mass-tort and products liability cases, and also includes insurance sales practices, consumer finance and general commercial litigation. She has participated in more than two dozen appeals in Mississippi’s Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, and in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Ms. Cupples earned her J.D. (magna cum laude) from Washington & Lee University School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts (magna cum laude) from Trinity University.

The ALI drafts, discusses, revises and publishes its Restatements of the Law, Model Codes, and Principles of Law, which are influential in the courts and legislatures, as well as in legal scholarship and education.

Herrington in Hall of Fame Checky Herrington, Mississippi State University’s marketing research analyst in the Office of Public Affairs, has been inducted into the Southern Public Relations Federation’s Hall of Fame. A native of Louisville, he has more than three decades of experience in public relations, marketing and brand-strategy development.

Since joining the university in 2014, Herrington

has spearheaded the “We Ring True” branding initiative, which has garnered numerous awards, including Best of Show for the Public Relations Association of Mississippi’s recent Prism Awards competition. The Office of Public Affairs also has been recognized Herrington by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education District III for branding/identity and external communications, and last year “We Ring True” won 23 awards at the Southern Public Relations Federation’s annual conference, including four Lantern Awards, the organization’s top honor.

Before returning to his alma mater, Herrington enjoyed a 30-year career with Entergy Corp., leading the company’s communications efforts. During this time, he received many awards and honors, including recognition from the Public Relations Society of America with the Silver Anvil Award for work as a team member during and after Hurricane Katrina.

In 2014, Herrington received the Accreditation in Public Relations designation from PRSA’s University Accreditation Board, and in 2015, he was inducted into PRSA’s College of Fellows.

Baker Donelson recognized Baker Donelson has been named by Working Mother magazine as one of the 2017 “Best Law Firms for Women” in recognition of using best practices in retaining and promoting women lawyers. The annual list recognizes 50 U.S. law firms for their policies in the advancement of women and for the implementation of work-life balance initiatives.

At Baker Donelson, female attorneys serve as leaders across the Firm. Currently, women serve as president and COO, on the board of directors, as office managing shareholders, and as practice group and committee chairs. Women lead numerous administrative departments within Baker Donelson as well, such as Knowledge Management, Recruiting and Professional Development. This year’s class of new shareholders at the Firm was comprised of more than 50 percent women, making it the third consecutive year women have made up nearly or more than half of the Firm’s newly elected shareholders. Baker Donelson

offers an industry leading parental leave policy that allows for 16 weeks of paid leave that both male and female attorneys are eligible to take as primary caregivers, and offers intermittent leave, allowing both primary and non-primary caregiver attorneys to continue work during leave and transition back to full-time practice at their own pace.

Fisher Phillips recognized Fisher Phillips has been recognized by both Working Mother magazine’s 2017 list of the 50 “Best Law Firms for Women” and Law360’s “Best Law Firms for Female Attorneys,” which both recognize U.S. firms implementing best practices in retaining and promoting women lawyers and fostering environments committed to achieving that success.

To be selected to theWorking Mother list, firms completed an extensive application in the areas of workforce profile, flexibility and development and retention of women. Law360’s Glass Ceiling Report includes 40 law firms that the publisher notes have an aggregate workforce that is more than 40 percent female. Fisher Phillips ranked fifth in the category for law firms with 300 to 599 attorneys.

Fisher Phillips focuses on recruiting, developing, mentoring and retaining women attorneys. The initiative aims to foster female leadership, both within and outside the firm, through programs and projects. The firm has more than 32 offices, including Gulfport.

Hankins joins Peoples Bank Josh Hankins has joined Peoples Bank and will serve as a Loan Officer in the Collins Office.

Hankins, a lifelong resident of Magee, is a 2013 graduate of Simpson Academy. He attended Copiah Lincoln Community College before transferring to the University of Southern Mississippi, Hankins where he completed studies in 2017 with a Bachelor’s degree in Finance. While attending USM, Hankins worked in the Collections Department of another community bank.

He is the son of Billy Wayne and Stephanie Hankins, and is a member of Corinth Baptist Church.

August 4, 2017

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Mississippi Business Journal

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19

THE SPIN CYCLE

Only 1% of videos go viral new study reveals

O

nly 1 percent of videos posted to Facebook actually end up going viral – but it probably helps if your video is square rather than horizontal or vertical, is engaging in ways beyond likes, and/or is geared toward Spanish speakers, an analysis by social video production company Wochit found.

Wochit analyzed more than 5,000 social videos that were created by more than 100 publishers between March and May 2017.

It compared the results to the three-month period between December 2016 and February 2017.

Wochit uses artificial intelligence to create and help distribute short-form social videos around trending topics for various media companies including Time Inc., Gannett, and Der Spiegel. (Last year, The New York Times’ John Herrman took a look at Wochit and its rival video automation company, Wibbitz.) This study was based off of the video content it has developed and shared for its clients. » More video, more money: Earlier this year, 75.95 percent of Wochit’s publishers said they planned to push video as a strategy for increased engagement and revenue.

The analysis found a strong correlation between the number of videos posted on a Facebook page and the total number of views received. » Strong videos evoke strong feelings: Views, comments, and shares are up 20 to 30 percent per video on average, but likes are actually dropping. People reacted – a.k.a. responded with love, sad, wow, haha, or angry – almost 40 percent more between March and May 2017 than they did between December 2016 and February 2017. Likes went down by nearly 17 percent, according to Wochit’s numbers. » Being square is no longer a bad thing: Who needs vertical or horizontal framing when you can go for a square shot, which takes up 78 percent more “screen real estate in the [mobile] social feed”? Average views for square videos rose 136.6 percent over horizontal videos, with increases in the double digits for shares, likes, and comments.

Most videos are still published as horizontal shots, though the number of square videos produced climbed about 10 percentage points, to 39.8 percent. » The elite one percent: Wochit defines “going viral” as hitting one million views, and the number of videos in its arsenal reaching that benchmark is consistent: 1.1 percent.

It’s considered the “lion’s share of total engagement, receiving 43.2 percent of total views and 63.98 percent of total shares.” » Going South: The only countries that view/share videos more than the United States are Spain and Mexico.

Google’s newest feature helps people in a crisis Google’s latest feature is SOS Alerts, which displays relevant information in search results and in Google Maps to help those affected by a crisis. Google has been testing the feature but publicly announced it last week.

When Google marks an event as a crisis, it will provide certain details to those within the vicinity of the incident, such as relevant news stories, a feed of instructions from local authorities, a map of the affected area, links to shelter information, and phone numbers for reporting details or listening to updates.

Those outside of the region will also see things such as news stories and ways to donate to those in need. Google will push notifications to those in the area that points them to this information as well.

“This is really about how to address people’s needs during a crisis in terms of giving them basic information,” said Yossi Matias, a vice president of engineering at Google.

“What’s going on, where is it, what should I be doing?”

Google Maps, meanwhile, will show a specific icon for the incident in addition to helpful phone numbers and websites.

Google also says changes resulting from the crisis, such as road closures, will appear in real time.

For SOS alerts, the company is currently focusing on large-scale global emergencies rather than local accidents such as train derailments.

“The factors we take into consideration [are] the level of impact, how many people [are affected], public interest, and most importantly how helpful can we be to the people that are interested in the crisis,” Matias said.

The new feature builds on Google’s existing safety tools, such as Google Person Finder, which helps people reconnect with loved ones after a disaster, Google Crisis Map, and Google Public Alerts.

Google isn’t the only company using it’s massive reach to help those impacted by catastrophes. Facebook’s Safety Check feature, initially launched in 2014, allows

those in affected areas to mark themselves as safe in order to let family and friends know they’re unharmed.

Dysfunctional Mic | President Trump & White House redefining dysfunctional politics President Trump – and his disengaged White House – has hit a new level of dysfunction.

The Donald’s continuous belittling his own Attorney General Jeff Sessions over his recusal amidst the Russian investigation is unprofessional and irresponsible.

His handling of his White House team is so beguiling that the presidency is beginning to look more and more like a reality TV program, than the highest office in the land. The constant drumroll against his former chief of staff, Reince Priebus, and his potty-mouthed, vulgar, vile communications director Anthony Scaramucci, whose wife filed for divorce soon after the volcano of negativity erupted escalated the soap opera factor. Then, before the ink dried on The Spin Cycle, Scaramucci was removed as the White House communications director by Priebus’ replacement – Trump’s Homeland Security secretary and Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly – just 10 days into his post.

It’s evident Kelly is seeking to impose more discipline in a misguided White House, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

And the dysfunctional cherry on top of all this – and perhaps one of the biggest missteps of his presidency – was his political rant at the Boy Scouts National Jamboree.

Presidential addresses are a rich tradition in scouting, since every president is also an Todd Smith honorary president of the Boy Scouts. These quadrennial Jamborees are the perfect platform for inspiring hope in our future leaders, but instead, Trump went rogue, bragging about his election, threatening a cabinet member (Sessions), chastising Congress on the health care reform debacle and again mocking his predecessor.

Instead of offering a message about living by the Scout Oath and Scout Law, serving and working for the common good, he wallowed in the same swamp he has promised to drain.

While all this played out, The Spin Cycle contemplated the tenets of the Scout Law: trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. Unfortunately none of these represent Trump or his tirade. In light of the many recent missteps at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, the president – and his wayward administration – would be well served to take a page out of the Boy Scout handbook!

Todd Smith is president and chief communications officer of Deane, Smith & Partners, a full-service branding, PR, marketing and advertising firm with offices in Jackson. The firm — based in Nashville, Tenn.

— is also affiliated with Mad Genius. Contact him at todd@deanesmithpartners.com, and follow him @ spinsurgeon.

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BANKS

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HUMAN RESOURCES Q People Lease.........................................................................................................www.peoplelease.com

INSURANCE AGENCIES Q Account Services Group........................................................... www.accountservicesgroup.com

LAW FIRMS Q Victor W. Carmody, Jr. P.A........................................................................... www.mississippidui.com

PAYROLL Q People Lease.........................................................................................................www.peoplelease.com

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