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August 23, 2013 • Vol. 35, No. 34 • $1 • 28 pages

‘An unnecessary dinosaur’ » It’s the end of an era as Choctaw Books closes its doors — Page 24

MBJ FOCUS: REAL ESTATE

Not for faint of heart Large projects are a challenge Page 19

2 I Mississippi Business Journal I August 23, 2013

Special to The Mississippi Business Journal

The University of Mississippi Medical Center has received approximately $55 million annually in federal Disproportionate Share Hospital, or DSH, payments in recent years.

ADDING TO ITS EMPIRE » UMMC takes over $37M in debt, Grenada Lakes Medical Center

By TED CARTER I STAFF WRITER ted.carter@msbusiness.com

From the outside looking in, it would seem now would not be the best time for the University of Mississippi Medical Center — state’s largest hospital operation — to be taking on $37.4 million in new debt carried by Grenada Lakes Medical Center.

In a year or so, Mississippi hospitals could be looking at having to close budget gaps caused by the loss of more than $200 million a year in federal payments for treating uninsured patients — a consequence of the state rejecting Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. In addition, they will become the health-care option for the 300,000 or so working poor left uninsured by the state’s refusal to expand Medicaid to include them.

The University of Mississippi Medical Center has received approximately $55 million annually in federal Disproportionate Share Hospital, or DSH, payments in recent years.

So why is UMMC eager to take over the tens of millions in debt on the books at Grenada Lakes?

The potential for new revenues for one and the enhancement Grenada Lakes offers the academic medical center’s education efforts for another, said Jack Mazurak, UMMC’s assistant communications director.

But at the forefront, he said, is the need to fulfill the medical center’s public health mission.

“No matter what happens, Mississippians are still going to need health care, and somebody has to provide it,” Mazurak said after UMMC’s announcement of a 20-year

Special to the Mississippi Business Journal

Grenada Lake Medical Center in Grenada.

lease of the 56-bed Grenada Lakes Medical Center with an option for 10-year renewals up to 50 years .

Under the lease agreement with the Grenada County Board of Supervisors, UMMC would pay the county about $1.8 million annually to retire the debt and plans to convert the debt from a variable interest rate to a fixed rate.

Future capital improvement, maintenance, insurance and utilities will also be UMMC’s responsibility, the Associated Press reported.

The AP also reported that UMMC will contribute $10 million to $12 million in working capital t the start of the lease, recouping the money from patient revenues.

Beyond fulfilling its public health care obligation, taking over Grenada Lakes helps to further the medical cen-

ter’s education mission both at graduate and under-graduate levels, according to Mazurak.

Dr. James E. Keeton, UMMC vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, said in a press statement that the university will rotate some of its students and residents through GLMC. “Education is a big part of what we do. We need more teaching venues so we can continue training more health professionals for Mississippi. Grenada brings that important element to the table,” Keeton said.

Meanwhile, despite the fiscal uncertainties for the state’s hospital industry created by Obamacare, Mazurak said UMMC is not anticipating Grenada Lakes will become a financial drain on a $1.4-billion hospital operation that ended last fiscal year with a $4.5-million surplus.

While minuscule to the overall budget, the $4.5 million in the plus column represents “a good start” on strategy UMMC has developed to control its costs, he said.

One leg of the strategy is to squeeze savings from everything from “floor wax to heart catheters,” Mazurak added, while putting more attention to keeping patients healthy and less prone to developing more serious – and costly – ailments.

More attention to marketing UMMC’s services to insured patients is another, he said.

And more recently, the cost consciousness has led UMMC to wrangle reimbursement concessions out of Blue Cross & Blue Shield, a strategy that briefly raised fears the giant insurer would pull out of the state.

One of UMMC’s main gripes with Blue Cross & Blue Shield was that it “is providing a lot of specialty services and we are not getting paid sufficiently for them,” Mazurak said.

UMMC argued it received reimbursements for specialized services at rates substantially lower than academic medical centers in neighboring states.

The new one-year agreement with Blue Cross & Blue Shield, Mazurak said, “will increase our revenues so we can maintain our mission.”

August 23, 2013

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Mississippi Business Journal

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INSIGHT INTO MISSISSIPPI

The world’s only stand-up economist to appear at this year’s Thad Cochran Forum on American Enterprise

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f you ask most business professionals, the likely assumption is that the whole subject of economics is not exactly a source of merriment and laughter. At this year’s Thad Cochran Forum, to be held at the Jackson Convention Center on Thursday, Sept. 26, that assumption will be proved wrong.

Appearing as this year’s keynote speaker is Yoram Bauman, the world’s first (and so far) only stand-up economist. He performs regularly at colleges and corporate events, and has shared a stage with everyone from Robin Williams to Paul Krugman. He’s appeared in TIME magazine, and on PBS and NPR, and is the author of the two-volume Introduction to Economics. He’s also the organizer of the humor session at the annual meeting of the American Economic Association. To see a little sample of Yoram’s comedy, visit his website at www.standupeconomist.com.

Yoram says his goals are “to spread joy to the world through economics comedy and help to reform economic education….” That’s where his mission dovetails with that of the Mississippi Council for Economic Education, an organization that is dedicated to furthering economic education in schools throughout Mississippi and “empowering children to be financially successful.” The Council’s programs include professional development for teachers of economics, teaching resources, and the basics of entrepreneurship, personal financial management and more. Few Mississippians would deny the importance

Biloxi baseball stadium site is best in the nation BILOXI — A consultant hired by Biloxi to determine the economic impact of a minor league baseball stadium says the proposed site on U.S. 90 north of Beau Ravage Resort & Casino is a winner.

Charles Johnson IV of Johnson Consulting in Chicago said during Tuesday's report to the City Council he also can't think of a place that needs this type of attraction more than downtown Biloxi.

He estimates the stadium will bring in $34 million a year from games, concerts and other events, or an average of $70 for every person who enters the stadium.

The Sun Herald reports he city paid $25,000 for the report, which Johnson said focused on whether a stadium would bring new business downtown and if existing businesses would do well.

"We expect existing businesses to benefit first," he said, and the $34 million annual impact to be felt immediately.

The city will probably do even better than that the first year, he said, because of the "novelty effect."

Asked to rate the site on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best, Johnson said he gives it "a 9 or 10."

He compared the potential attendance with that of other teams in the Southern League and said, "You are far and away the leader from a tourism perspective."

— from staff and MBJ wire services

of this type of education in the school environment, and MCEE consistently ranks in the top 10 in the nation among all affiliated state Councils.

The annual Thad Cochran Forum on American Enterprise is one of the key fundraising efforts

undertaken by the Council.

To purchase tickets to the event, visit www.mscee.org, or contact MCEE at (601) 974-1325.

This is a great opportunity to help promote financial literacy in Mississippi schools, and have fun and lots of

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MBJ publisher Alan Turner can be reached at alan.turner@msbusiness.com

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4 I Mississippi Business Journal I August 23, 2013

ENERGY and EDUCATION

Energizing high schools » More school districts consider adopting energy curriculum developed by Mississippi State

By CLAY CHANDLER I STAFF WRITER clay.chandler@msbusiness.com

An energy curriculum developed by Mississippi State University for high school students is entering its second year, and the pilot program could add school districts for the current academic year.

Conceived with a handful of the state’s energy companies and developed by MSU’s Research and Curriculum Unit, the program focuses students on several areas of the state’s energy sector. That includes energy generation, industry regulations, major employers and traditional and emerging technologies the first year. The second year delves into alternative sources of energy, including wind, solar, nuclear and biomass.

This is the 17th career pathway MSU’s RCU has developed in collaboration with the Mississippi Department of Education.

The Mississippi Energy Workforce Consortium also participated.

“RCU does a lot of the research as to what the national trends are and the best practices for teaching students, as well as working with industries to write the curriculum,” director of the MDE’s office of career and technical education Mike Mul-

“We’re trying to get people in high school interested in the field so they can go directly into an apprenticeship, do community college programming or go into an engineering field at a four-year institution like Mississippi State.”

LeAnn Miller, RCU instructional design specialist vihill said. “RCU also does the professional development for our teachers to make sure they’re properly trained to teach the students. They help in the assessment, too.

They have the expertise and opportunity to do that type of research and find the trends and best practices. They get us the best coursework that we can get.”

The curriculum was pilot tested in three school districts during the 2012-2013 school year – Lamar and Lawrence counties and Pascagoula city schools. School districts considering adoption of the program include Clairborne, DeSoto and Jefferson counties and Madison County schools.

All those districts sit in close proximity to energy-focused industries. RCU instructional design specialist LeAnn Miller said that was by design, as those businesses

helped design the program.

"We looked at what Mississippi energy industries asked for and took what they had researched because they're going to be the ones who employ our students," she said.

Entergy, Mississippi Power, Gulf Power, Strategic Biomass Solutions, and Alstom are among the participants that helped develop the curriculum. Miller said Southern Power, the Southern Company's electric generation company, as well as the National Center for Construction Education and Research also provided input.

“Mississippi has all these resources in energy — nuclear, oil, natural gas, biomass,” Miller said. “So many people helped develop this energy curriculum, and we want to spread the word that jobs are out there and they’re growing. Mississippi is a key

state positioned to meet this global need.”

Miller said many employees will be retiring from energy industries beginning in 2014-15.

“There’s going to be a gap,” she said.

“We’re trying to get people in high school interested in the field so they can go directly into an apprenticeship, do community college programming or go into an engineering field at a four-year institution like Mississippi State.”

She said studies indicate that universitylevel training in energy could allow graduates to become supervisors making $85,000 a year; natural gas specialists or supervisors, transmission or distribution utility supervisors, or generation supervisors, all $75,000 annually; nuclear plant supervisors, $85,000; chemists, $54,000; or engineers, $63,000.

Miller said these jobs and their prospective annual salaries were determined with cooperation from the Center for Energy Workforce Development, a non-profit consortium of electric, natural gas and nuclear utilities and their associations. They include the Edison Electric Institute, American Gas Association, Nuclear Energy Institute and National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

SPORTS

In second year, Mississippi River Marathon hopes for significant growth

By CLAY CHANDLER I STAFF WRITER clay.chandler@msbusiness.com

The organizers of the Mississippi River Marathon in Greenville and Lake Village, Ark., are hoping to build on last February’s success.

This was the first year for the marathon and half-marathon, which starts in Lake Village and ends in Greenville, but it still managed to attract more than 1,300 participants from 37 states and three foreign countries.

In 2014, officials want that number to jump to at least 2,000 runners for the Feb. 8 race. Online race registration has already started at www.msrivermarathon.com.

“We are encouraged by the success of last year’s race and encouraged by the benefit it will provide to improve the health and wellness of our community,” said Race Committee co-chair Suzette Matthews.

United Healthcare served as the title sponsor for the event. Greg Claus, assistant to Greenville Mayor John Cox., said in a phone interview Tuesday negotiations for United Healthcare to renew its sponsorship

are ongoing.

“Nothing is finalized,” Claus said. He added that if a title sponsor isn’t found, it could be replaced by a consortium of sponsorships. Either way, Claus said, officials are confident they’ll round up adequate sponsorship money.

They will need it. The race’s purse has increased to a total of $3,000, awarded to the top five finishers in the male and female categories.

Also new next year is an additional Community Run, a free event that encourages locals to walk or run one mile along the race course. February’s event featured one Community Run. Like last year, Teach for America will be the signature charity to which proceeds will flow. The 2013 marathon raised $40,000, Claus said, for the organization that places new college graduates in classrooms in impoverished areas.

TFA teacher Christ Marsh was one of the race’s founders. He told the Mississippi Business Journal in an interview shortly before the 2013 marathon that the race could highlight two issues important to the Mississippi Delta – health and education.

“Our pitch to everybody was that our race would be kind of a symbol, a way to bring two of the most important issues that people here in the Delta communities face,” Marsh said. “The first one is health, and living a healthy lifestyle by exercising and eating right. The second is education, with the hope that people would take responsibility for getting an education. The

way to do that was to donate all the proceeds to Teach for America.”

Marsh said the first conversation he and fellow organizers had about the marathon was last December. Not long after, they started applying for event permits and firming up memorandums of understanding with government officials in Greenville and Lake Village. The whole time, they pitched the social and financial benefits of the event.

Claus said this week officials surveyed runners once they had finished the race to gauge how much they had spent on hotels, restaurants, gasoline and related expenses while they were in the area. Based on those surveys, Claus said officials estimate the approximately 1,300 participants pumped just more than $500,000 into Greenville. Claus said he expects that number to increase significantly if the number of runners for this year’s race, set for Feb. 8, exceeds organizers’ goal of 2,000.

Runners who competed last year will receive a 15 percent discount on race fees if they register by Aug. 31. That discount shrinks as race day approaches.

August 23, 2013

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Mississippi Business Journal

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AIRGUIDE MANUFACTURING

A win for Clarksdale in reshoring arena » After moves from Mexico and China, HVAC products maker looks at expansion

By TED CARTER I STAFF WRITER ted.carter@msbusiness.com

le B Bu ss un si th dl nes an es s $ 75 for /m o.

Clarksdale is known for its blues music but there’s nothing downbeat about the success the Delta town has achieved on the reshoring front with the arrival of AirGuide Manufacturing.

Rising transportation costs, long lags between orders and delivery and an inability to keep sufficient inventory of manufacturing material on hand led the maker of products for the HVAC industry to shift its operations from Mexico and China to both Clarksdale and the company‘s longtime headquarters in Hialeah, Fla., near Miami.

AirGuide and formerly Houston-based sister operation Arcalux — a maker of specialty lighting for infection control — will soon be joined in Clarksdale by American Green Technology, which is moving its outdoor induction lighting operation from Livonia, Mich.

“We’re looking at adding another 60,000 to 65,000” square feet.

Doug Marty AirGuard CEO

The manufacturers began operations last week in 60,000 the former Taylor Chair plant with a 40-person workforce.

Next up is a doubling in plant size, said Doug Marty, CEO of the half-century-old, family-owned AirGuide, which specializes in making HVAC grilles, registers and diffusers for both the residential and commercial markets..

“We’re making contingency plans for expansion of that already,” Marty said. “We’re looking at adding another 60,000 to

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65,000” square feet.

The expansions are based on anticipated demand for Arcalux’ infection control lighting from hospitals, urgent care centers, nursing homes and daycare centers, Marty said, as well as expectations for high demand for American Green Technology’s energy-efficient lighting for parking garages and highways.

“We’re in the process of closing” American Green Technology’s Michigan plant, he added.

The move to Clarksdale has it origins in AirGuide’s decision to shave its Miamiarea workforce from 240 to around 160 -- a move Marty says AirGuide achieved without declines in production numbers or quality standards.

To make the downsizing work, it needed more rapid production and an increased range of products. The manufacturing outsourced to workers in Mexico and China could not meet the new demands, accord-

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ing to Marty.

“We needed to move rapidly and come out with new products.”

As it ramped up its HVAC product lines, AirGuide did not want to double the materials inventory that would be required at its outsourced operation near Mexico City, he said. “We also had some lag time issues.

They couldn’t get the product out as fast as they could two or three years ago.”

AirGuide’s product transporters frequently encountered two- and three-day delays at the U.S. border with Mexico, according to Marty. “It got to the point we just didn’t want to do it anymore.”

Mississippi was an option “and we went for it,” he said.

As in Mexico, lag times became a problem in China, where AirGuide had a couple hundred contract workers making HVAC See

AIRGUIDE, Page 27

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Website: www.msbusiness.com August 23, 2013 Volume 35, Number 34

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MBJPERSPECTIVE August 23, 2013 • www.msbusiness.com • Page 6

OUR VIEW

Bypassing prosperity and good health orgive us for contemplating what could have been as speakers lined up at Gov. Phil Bryant’s Health Care Summit last week to relate the successes of their respective states in building powerful economic engines through public-private health care partnerships.

A spectator who witnessed the recent defeat of Medicaid expansion in Mississippi could only imagine the dynamism that would have been present at the Aug. 15 summit had the Medicaid vote gone the other way. Mississippi and its medical sector would be preparing for a massive expansion in jobs, facilities and, of course, care levels, thanks to billions of new federal health care dollars.

Instead, it was against a backdrop of pending unprecedented distress for Mississippi’s medical sector that participants in the governor’s festival of hope told their stories of economic success and predicted similar success for the Magnolia State.

We wish it were so.

Gov. Bryant shows strong vision with his strategy of establishing health care corridors around the state through tax waivers and other incentives. The pharmaceutical firms and medical equipment manufacturers offer an immense potential for long-term, high-quality jobs.

But they will need a thriving medical care environment in which to operate. Gov. Bryant’s disdain for any government role in health care beyond incentives for the private sector ensures such an environment won’t materialize.

Gov. Bryant has removed the car battery but expects the engine to start when he turns the ignition key. Not going to happen.

Mississippi won’t be getting the nearly 10,000 new jobs that would accompany expansion of Medicaid to the state’s working poor, all jobs that would have paid state income and sales taxes to help significantly to offset the state’s eventual 10 percent share of the new Medicaid costs. Nor will the state see approximately 300,000 much healthier Mississippians who otherwise would be eligible for both preventive and acute care under the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion.

F

Republican Gov. Phil Bryant waves a building plan for housing along the "medical corridor" near the University of Mississippi Medical School during a health care development meeting Aug. 15 in Jackson. Bryant says Mississippi needs to pursue health care businesses to promote economic growth. Bryant also says the state is working to create the "medical corridors" by offering incentives to private companies such as pharmaceutical firms, medical equipment manufacturers and others.

ROGELIO V. SOLIS / The Associated Press

Want the real lowdown? Go visit a local hospital executive.

You’ll hear genuine fears that an era of bleakness is ahead. In the not-too-distant future, it’s the hospital executives who must figure out how to care for the ranks of the working poor whose incomes disqualify them for Medicaid but are insufficient to buy insurance on the new individual health insur-

» HOW TO WRITE Letters to the editor are one of the most widely read features of the Mississippi Business Journal, and they give everyone a chance to voice their opinions about current affairs.

We’re interested in what you think and we welcome Letters to the Editor for publication. Here are the guidelines: >> Letters should not exceed 300 words in length as a general rule. >> All letters must bear the writer’s address and telephone number. Street addresses and telephone numbers will not be published, but may be used for verification purposes. Letters may not appear without the author’s name. >> Form letters, thank you letters and letters to third parties generally are not acceptable. >> Letters must be typed or e-mailed. >> Letters must conform to good taste, not be libelous and not involve personal attacks on other persons.

See VIEW, Page 8

>> All letters are subject to editing, and become the property of the Mississippi Business Journal. >> Letters can be sent to The Editor, The Mississippi Business Journal, 200 North Congress, Suite 400, Jackson, MS 39201, delivered to the newspaper during regular business hours or emailed to editor@msbusiness.com. They may also be faxed to Ross Reily at (601)-364-1007.

» CORRECTIONS The Mississippi Business Journal takes seriously its responsibility to provide accurate information, and will correct or clarify articles produced by the editorial department if we have made an error or published misleading information. The correction will be placed in the perspective section.

If you see inaccuracies in Mississippi Business Journal news stories, please report the mistake via e-mail at editor@msbusiness.com.

PERSPECTIVE

August 23, 2013 I Mississippi Business Journal

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» RICKY NOBILE » MIND OVER MONEY

Hey Chaney, you are in the hole, quit throwing good money after bad

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»VIEW FROM THE STENNIS INSTITUTE

The boys and girls of August

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t is August. And that means that it is time to prepare to compete.

It has become a modern tradition. Each year during the month of August the intensity reaches a fever pitch. Sweat pours from the brow of those preparing to enter the fray. The coaching is intense from those who will never, themselves, challenge the opposition face-to-face. To them the rules are irrelevant. Rather, it is winning at all costs.

Of course, I am referring to the August Congressional recess.

While we have long been accustomed to a rhythm of the political year that revolved around budget deadlines and the campaign season in election years, we must now add the sultry month of August as a crucial component of the political calendar. When did August become the month for an annual round of bloody, full contact politics?

Clearly, according to many, we have the TEA Party to thank for that, along with the continued evolution of non-competitive districts for the United States House of Representatives.

The combination of these two phenomena added to a more intense than normal antipathy for an incumbent President has produced a transition in this month once given to downtime in the world of politics. August once allowed those who represented us in Washington the leisure time to “press the flesh,” eat the last of the season’s watermelons and admire the jellies, pickles and livestock at a series of county fairs.

In the summer of 2009, however, we observed the maturation of the TEA Party into a fully-armed political fighting force.

All across the nation this group of true believers on the political far right lay in wait for the return to the districts of those sent Marty Wiseman to Washington. In that summer we witnessed the height of confrontational town hall meetings and public demonstrations the likes of which we had not seen since the anti-war movement of the 1970s.

August has become the month of access for citizens and the time of face-to-face accounting to the base of support for those who represent them. The TEA Party has brought an intensity and a demand to avoid compromise at all costs to the front of the room.

At the same time, decades of increasingly technical redistricting efforts have, in many districts, served to purify the political base to the point that the party of the majority in a district is rarely if ever in doubt. With the threat from the opposite party minimized the danger to Congressional incumbents centers on the degree of adherence to the purist in the party base.

Nate Silver, who came to our attention for his uncanny accuracy during the 2012 Presidential election, perhaps best describes this scenario. Silver stated in a New York Times article that in 1992 there were 103 out of the 435 House districts that were competitive between the Democratic and Republican parties.

Now he estimates that only 35 out of 435 are competitive between the two parties. By the same token, Silver shows that

August once allowed those who represented us in Washington the leisure time to ‘press the flesh’ ...

See WISEMAN, Page 8

really don’t understand what Mike Chaney is doing.

At first, Insurance Commissioner Chaney’s office led the way in developing health care exchanges to comply with the Affordable Care Act. States all over the country called asking for help from little ole Mississippi. For once, we appeared to be ahead of the curve.

That plan ran headlong into the hard head of Gov. Phil Bryant. Because of the disagreement between the two officials, this first effort was Nancy Anderson a “no go” and did not get the approval it needed. As a result, the federal government took over the operation of the exchanges.

Undeterred, Chaney proceeded with a different type of exchange. It’s called the Free Market Small Business Health Insurance Option. Maybe the phrase “Free Market” will get it past the governor’s desk, but I wonder if this is a reasonable alternative to what the federal government is offering.

The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) has a clause requiring businesses to provide health insurance to employees.

Of course, it only applies to businesses with 50 or more employees. Over half of businesses in Mississippi have four or fewer employees, so who cares? Right?

Well, every business owner faces the reality of competing for employees. Health insurance is an expectation that most applicants bring to the negotiating table. How do you provide such coverage when you lack the cost advantage of a big company? An exchange seems a logical option.

But there’s a problem. Participants in this exchange won’t be eligible for the federal subsidies allowed on the other exchange.

Won’t my employees be better off going through the federal exchange? If so, the exchange won’t stand a chance without the critical mass necessary to bring down overall costs.

Yet, Chaney persists. He has even applied for additional grant money to continue with this effort. Mike, give it up. You already spent $11 million and had to walk away from the effort. Don’t throw good money after bad!

Won’t my employees be better off going through the federal exchange?

If so, the exchange won’t stand a chance without the critical mass necessary to bring down overall costs.

Nancy Lottridge Anderson, Ph.D., CFA, is president of New Perspectives Inc. in Ridgeland — (601) 991-3158. She is also an assistant professor of finance at Mississippi College.

Her e-mail address is nanderson@newper.com, and her website is www.newper.com.

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PERSPECTIVE

8 I Mississippi Business Journal I August 23, 2013 OTHER VIEWS

Pickering’s handling of DMR scandal undermines public confidence State Auditor Stacey Pickering’s handling of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources scandal has led to waning confidence by many in the public and others.

After months of investigation, Pickering recently made the first move to try to recoup some of the taxpayer money that was misspent at the DMR. Pickering settled a demand for more than $1 million against former DMR executive director Bill Walker for a quarter of that amount.

That episode involved the sale of the Californian and Topaz, two boats that figure prominently in Walker's dual role as director of both a public agency and a foundation supposedly established to support it.

But rather than aggressively pursue Walker for the full amount the Auditor's Office claimed he owed, Pickering let Walker walk away from the debt without even having him sign the paperwork that facilitated the sale of the boats.

If this an indication of what is to come of the ongoing state and federal investigations

into the DMR, then taxpayers are going to be left considerably shortchanged.

Additionally, there is the matter of the Pickering fundraiser held at the home of Joe Cloyd, a recipient of work at the very same DMR that Pickering is investigating. ...

Already an audit by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Inspector General has revealed the DMR to have been a rogue agency, where federal funds administered by the DMR were misused and abused and conflicts of interest within the DMR were rampant.

Surely federal authorities will not be so reluctant as state officials appear to be when it comes to recovering wasted tax dollars.

As for state Auditor Stacey Pickering, he can still fulfill his duty to his constituents by forgoing sweetheart deals and instead aggressively and transparently holding fully accountable all those responsible for their misdeeds at the DMR. — The (Biloxi) Sun Herald

»UNDER THE CAPITOL DOME

WISEMAN

Bryant focusing on prison policy in 2014

F

unding for education versus funding for prisons — it’s a constant source of tension when Mississippi lawmakers write an annual budget.

Now, Republican Gov. Phil Bryant says he’ll push to increase the prison budget as he seeks to focus on public safety during the 2014 legislative session.

“It is unfortunate, but Corrections is something we’re going to have to put more money in, if we are going to keep the really bad people off the streets,” Bryant told reporters during an Aug. 1 interview at the Neshoba County Fair.

The U.S Department of Justice said in late July (1.usa.gov/1acDNpi ) that Mississippi in 2012 had the secondhighest incarceration rate in the nation, only behind neighboring Louisiana.

The Mississippi Department of Corrections budget increased 7.3 percent from fiscal 2013, which ended June 30, to fiscal 2014, which began July 1. Spending on K-12 schools increased by 2.1 percent during the same period. The overall state budget increased 2.3 percent.

Bryant said the abuse of prescription drugs “is a huge problem,” and the state might need to consider treatment options for nonviolent offenders who have used, but not sold, illicit drugs.

During the past decade, Mississippi has established an extensive network of drug courts, which focus on rehabilitating, rather than locking up, people who use illegal substances.

“We are going to have to find that line where we say who needs to go to prison because of that and who needs treatment and who needs to go to the drug court system,” Bryant said.

The governor also said the state might consider whether it’s cost-effective to have some low-security inmates serve time at home, monitored by ankle bracelets. This is less expensive than traditional incarceration.

“I’m open to those discussions, for nonviolent offenders, particularly female,” Bryant said. “Taking that mother out of the home, incarcerating her away from the children, has obviously a detrimental effect on her family.”

VIEW

Continued from Page 7

ance exchange.

With that new burden, Mississippi’s hospitals have assurances from the federal government that they will lose more than $200 million annually that has gone to offset the costs of treating the uninsured. Those federal dollars — estimated nationally at about $20 billion annually within three years —

The Department of Corrections publishes a monthly fact sheet on its website.

The most recent one shows that as of Aug. Emily W. Pettus 1, Mississippi had 26,274 inmates, of which 22,521 were in custody in state-run or privately run prisons. The rest were in other categories: 3,229 in community corrections or medical leave, 483 in “other custody,” 32 listed as escapees or walk-aways and nine hospitalized. The Aug. 1 inmate fact sheet listed 23,904 men and 2,371 women.

The total is higher than on Aug. 1, 2012, when the state had 25,649 inmates, with 21,962 in custody in state-run or privatelyrun prisons.

Bryant said he’s interested in ideas presented by Right On Crime, an initiative supported by prominent national conservatives including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Among other things, its website (www.rightoncrime.com ) says that for a prison to be considered successful, it must reduce recidivism.

Bryant said he advocates a larger role for prison ministries, including one started by the late Chuck Colson.

“Prison Fellowship was founded by Chuck Colson, President Nixon’s ‘hatchet man,’ in 1976,” the group’s website says (www.prisonfellowship.org ). “After he served time in a federal prison camp, Chuck felt led by God to honor a promise he made to remember prisoners and their families. That promise grew into the world’s largest family of prison ministries.”

Bryant said Mississippi needs to find ways to deter crime and to help former inmates stay on track once they leave prison. They might need help finding jobs, for example. The governor said some run into trouble when return to their same old neighborhoods with the same old friends.

“Before you know it,” he said, “they’re violating the same laws.”

Emily Wagster Pettus is a veteran reporter for The Associated Press, covering Mississippi. Follow her on Twitter: http://twitter.com/EWagsterPettus.

will go to fund expansions of Medicaid in other states. Mississippi officials have played a good game of denial on this hospital funding issue, but they should take the Obama administration’s intentions to divert the hospital funding as a promise and not a threat.

By all accounts, a lot of intriguing success stories and even a few good ideas came out of Gov. Bryant’s Health Care Summit.

A new summit is in order, however. This one must address

Continued from Page 7

those districts that are certain victories for one or the other party have increased from 123 (65 Democratic and 58 Republican) in 1992 to 242 (117 Democratic and 125 Republican) today.

This combination of TEA Party fervor and the lessening need to even think in bi-partisan fashion has produced an environment for summer vacation that is fast becoming a dicey situation. The fact that the TEA Party in Republican districts and to a lesser extent liberal groups in Democratic districts insist on broaching no compromise makes the fear of a fractured base and a primary challenge arising out of one’s own party a more salient fear than the old-timey inter-party rivalry.

In a sense, just as is the case with thousands of football teams laboring against each other in the hot August sun, September will bring about the real contests. Major battles loom over the budget and/or continuing resolutions, the debt ceiling, immigration reform, Presidential appointment confirmations and a host of other issues. Certainly “the base” has made August the season of intense political workouts and preparation for the contests to come. Augmented by the new technology made available through cell phones in all of our hands and YouTube and other media outlets at all of our fingertips we all get to examine each position and each gaffe.

Unfortunately, in a system that was built on sometimes intense bargaining to reach decisions the message from “the base” to those who represent them is to engage in compromise at your own peril.

Dr. William Martin Wiseman is director of the John C. Stennis Institute of Government and professor of political science at Mississippi State University. Contact him at marty@sig.msstate.edu.

the survival — not the flourishing — of Mississippi’s health care sector.

Conclusions that come out of this hoped-for-summit can give the governor and his followers in the Legislature an opportunity to meet their obligation to offer a positive replacement for a federal plan of which they want no part.

Gov. Bryant has suggested in the past that Mississippi’s ERs are sufficient as a de-facto health care plan for the state’s uninsured citizens. That explanation is a dereliction of duty.

August 23, 2013

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PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS

There’s nothing simple about PDDs  Districts’ activities are dictated by the area’s needs

BY WALLY NORTHWAY I STAFF WRITER wally.northway@msbusiness.com

L

EONARD BENTZ has been in the headlines of late after it was announced he is leaving the Mississippi Public Service Commission to head up the Southern Mississippi Planning and Development District, one of the 10 planning and development districts (PDDs) in Mississippi.

So, what exactly is a PDD? Turns out, there is no simple answer. “There are a few things all PDDs do, but most of what we offer is dictated by the area’s needs,� said Randy Kelley, executive director of the Three Rivers PDD in Pontotoc whose service area stretches across eight counties in North Mississippi. “We serve at the will and pleasure of our local governments.�

PPDs in Mississippi trace all the way back to the 1960s. They were created to work with and support local economic and community development efforts, addressing issues and challenges that many times overlap political boundaries.

The nature of their work — largely behind the scenes — is a factor in the public’s lack of awareness of PDDs and the roles they play. “We are not out front,� said F. Clarke Holmes, CEO of the Central Mississippi Planning and Development District. “We are the support group.�

Each of the PDDs is governed by a board of directors and managed by an executive director. They are staffed with administrative personnel and specialists in areas such as planning, economic development, community development, job training, social services, transportation, data processing, gerontology, and community-based Medicaid programs.

In short, PDDs provide support services to area governments, offering them resources they do not have in-house, and coordinating and managing regional projects that reach across multiple communities and jurisdictions.

For instance, Three Rivers PDD spearheaded the PUL Alliance that landed Toyota in Blue Springs, and it is managing the 44-mile Tanglefoot Trail project. “One minute I might be working on a major industrial project, and the next I’m talking with some of my team members about getting a grant for a town that needs new police cars,� Kelley said.

Three Rivers’ services show the spectrum of PDDs work. It is heavy into landfill management and financial software packages,

Mississippi Planning and Development Districts Organization Central Mississippi PDD East Central Mississippi PDD Golden Triangle PDD North Central PDD North Delta PDD Northeast Mississippi PDD South Delta PDD Southern Mississippi PDD Southwest Mississippi PDD Three Rivers PDD

Address 1170 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, MS 39236-4935 280 Commercial Drive, Newton, MS 39345 106 Miley Dr., Starkville, MS 39759 711 South Applegate, Winona, MS 38967 220 Power Dr., Batesville, MS 38606 619 East Parker Dr., Booneville, MS 38829 124 S. Broadway St., Greenville, MS 38702-1776 9229 Hwy. 49, Gulfport, MS 39503 100 S. Wall St., Natchez, MS 39120 75 S. Main St., Pontotoc, MS 38863

Phone (601) 981-1511 (601) 683-2007 (662) 324-7860 (662) 283-2675 (662) 561-4100 (662) 728-6248 (662) 378-3831 (228) 868-2311 (601) 446-6044 (662) 489-2415

Website www.cmpdd.org NA www.gtpdd.org (under construction) www.ncpdd.org (under construction) www.ndpdd.com www.nempdd.com www.southdeltapdd.com www.smpdd.com www.smpdd.com www.trpdd.com

Note: Source for the list is the Mississippi Association of Planning and Development Districts. Southern Mississippi PDD has a Hattiesburg ofďŹ ce — the 700 Hardy St., Hattiesburg, MS 39401, and the phone is (601) 545-2137. Please direct questions and comments to Wally Northway at research@msbusiness.com/.

and offers a free severe weather warning service called CodeRED in addition to common PDD offerings such as loan and grant assistance and Medicaid waivers.

The more urban Central Mississippi PDD, for comparison, is more heavily involved in planning, houses and manages the Mississippi Association of Planning & Development Districts.

However, PDDs continue to evolve, providing services such as geographic information systems and other high-tech offerings.

Clarke Holmes has seen most of these changes. He has been with Central Mississippi PDD, which serves seven counties, for approximately 40 years. He lists numerous challenges that he faces as CEO of the organization, the top being federal regulations and the bureaucracy in Washington. “It has become a burden to local economic development efforts,� Holmes said.

He added that this is especially problematic for PDDs as they rely on the contracts they land, some with federal agencies, to fund their efforts. The competition for those federal contracts is fierce, and obtaining them essential.

As example, Kelley at Three Rivers PDD has a staff of 75, but the organization only collects 172,000 annually in dues from its client-members. The rest is generated by the organization from contracts and other outside funding.

And, Kelley, Holmes and other PDD leaders also face stringent audits and held accountable for their funding. In addition to local and state audits, it is not uncommon to have a federal inspector general drop in for a review.

So, why would Bentz want to leave the Mississippi Public Service Commission?

Sharon Gardner, executive director of the Northeast Mississippi PDD, said it is the building of partnerships and the opportunity to actually see the results of her staff’s

work that keeps her in the Boonevillebased PDD. Still, the work is demanding, and while recent news stories have highlighted the six-digit salary awaiting Bentz at Southern Mississippi PDD, Kelley said he will

earn it. “I’m excited that Bentz is coming. I don’t know him, but I understand he’s a sharp guy,� Kelley said. “I love what I do, but it is competitive. It’s simple — you either produce, or you’re gone.�

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10 I Mississippi Business Journal I August 23, 2013

HEALTHCARE Q&A

Matters of the heart Âť Improving health care in Mississippi is goal of new chair of medicine at UMMC can Board of Internal Medicine.

By STEPHEN McDILL I STAFF WRITER stephen.mcdill@msbusiness.com

The University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson announced Aug. 6 that Dr. William C. Little, a nationally recognized cardiologist and researcher, would be replacing Dr. Shirley Schlessinger as chair of the university’s School of Medicine.

Little earned his B.A. in physics at Oberlin College in Ohio, and his M.D. from Ohio State University College of Medicine. He completed his residency at the University of Virginia Hospital as well as a cardiology fellowship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Little has held faculty positions at UAB, the University of Texas Health Science Center and Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

In 2011, Little was named one of U.S. News & World Report’s “Top Doctors� of the year. He recently spoke with the Mississippi Business Journal about his new job via email.

“We will continue to enhance the quality of the clinical care, further strengthen the educational and training programs that are preparing the next generation of physicians for Mississippi.�

Dr. William Little, Chair of Medicine, UMMC

Q: Dr. Little, since UMMC is a premier research hospital in the country, did you have any professional connections to the school before your current position?

A: Yes, this is one of the reasons why I

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am excited about this position. Like most medical students, I was introduced to the excellence of cardiovascular physiology at UMMC, when I used Dr. Guyton’s textbook of physiology. Because of similar research interests, I have continued to follow the outstanding cardiovascular physiology research at UMMC that is being conducted under the direction of Dr. John Hall.

My former colleagues at Wake Forest have important collaborations with the Jackson Heart Study under the direction Dr. Herman Taylor. Finally, one of my respected colleagues at Wake Forest, Dr. Bettina Beech moved to UMMC earlier this year.

Q: Tell me about your work while you were at Wake Forest.

A: At Wake Forest, I was a busy clinical and interventional cardiologist, served as chief of cardiology for 22 years and conducted research in cardiac function, heart failure and ischemic heart disease. In addition, I was vice chair of the department of medicine and served in leadership positions in Wake Forest University Physicians and North Carolina Baptist Hospital.

Q: You are board certified in internal medicine as well as cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology. Could you explain what interventional cardiology is?

A: Cardiovascular disease is one of the 12 different specialties within internal medicine. Interventional cardiology is a sub-specialty of cardiovascular disease that does catheter heart procedures such as placing stents to open blocked coronary arteries. I have been honored to serve as the chair of the cardiovascular disease board for the last three years and on the board of directors of the Ameri-

Q: Tell me about some of your notable work in cardiovascular research.

A: Our most important research contributions include: The discovery that many myocardial infarctions (heart attacks) are caused by the sudden occlusion (obstruction) of a coronary artery that did not previously have a severe blockage; the causes, diagnosis and treatment of diastolic heart failure; and the use of pacemakers to treat heart failure.

Q: You’ve also done extensive work with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) since 1985.

How has the Institute changed over the years from when you first got involved? What are its current challenges?

A: The cutbacks in NIH funding has resulted in less that 15 percent of research proposals being funded. Thus, it is much more challenging to obtain NIH support for investigation.

Q: Could you summarize some of your latest NIH work?

A: Our current NIH grant supports our research using sophisticated imaging techniques to understand how the heart fills. Such abnormalities in the filling are an important cause of heart failure. Understanding how this happens will improve our ability to recognize and treat heart failure.

Q: You will be heading a huge department at UMMC. Have you set up your agenda yet or do you have any plans to make changes or expand in any areas in your purview?

A: Our goal is to improve heath care in Mississippi. To this end, we will continue to enhance the quality of the clinical care, further strengthen the educational and training programs that are preparing the next generation of physicians for Mississippi, and expand the generation of new knowledge by increasing our research especially in areas most important to Mississippi. These include: obesity, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease.

Q: UMMC does a lot of cardiovascular research and treatments. Do you plan to be involved in any of that?

A: Yes, the opportunity to help translate the important work being being done in physiology and the other basic science departments at UMMC to the care of patients is exciting and important part of my decision to join UMMC.

August 23, 2013

ENERGY AND RATEPAYERS

PSC tenure done, Bentz starts new role at SMPDD Leonard Bentz resigned from the Mississippi Public Service Commission at 7:59 a.m. Monday.

He officially started his new job as the executive director of the South Mississippi Planning and Development District one minute later. Bentz confirmed the transition Tuesday morning.

“We had economic development meetings (Monday) and I’m on my way to Jackson now to meet with the Division of Medicaid,” he said in a phone interview. “We’ve hit the ground running.”

Bentz’ last meeting with the Bentz PSC was Aug. 13. He said afterward that he was comfortable with his decisions regarding Mississippi Power Co.’s Kemper County coal plant. He said then he hopes his successor will adhere to the agreement between regulators and the utility that holds the plant-related costs ratepayers will have to bear to $2.4 billion.

“I own Kemper,” he said then. “I believe it is the right thing to do.”

Bentz’ staff remains in place, he said, and will continue to operate the Southern District PSC office.

The PSC will meet again Sept. 10. Ideally, a replacement will be named by then, but it’s not imperative that happen, Bentz said. Gov. Phil Bryant will appoint Bentz’ replacement. Bryant’s spokesperson Mick Bullock said in an email Tuesday morning that he wouldn’t speculate on a timetable for filling the post.

“The sooner the better, obviously, but I don’t think there will be any decisions that are pertinent at that meeting, but it would be nice,” Bentz said Tuesday.

“Otherwise, it’ll be business as usual at my old office.

My former chief of staff and the rest of the people there have been with the PSC a long time and are very capable of doing what needs to be done.”

— Clay Chandler

EVENTS IN JACKSON

Whiskey tasters gear up for 15th Kindred Spirits tasting JACKSON — The Kindred Spirits Whiskey Tasting, now in its 15th year, enjoys the informal title as the “Largest Whiskey Tasting in the South,” both in attendance and representation of the whiskeys.

Shifting away from the sit-down format, Kindred Spirits allows taster to build his or her own self-paced whiskey tasting. Each admission receives a whiskey glass to keep and 20 coupons to redeem for halfounce pours. With over 40 whiskeys to choose from, pours are redeemed for one to six coupons, depending on the price of the bottle (not its rarity!).

Knowledgeable experts will staff the pouring stations, and additional coupons are available for purchase at the event (cash only).

“This event has always been a great way to learn about Irish and Scottish whiskeys, and a huge value for sampling high-end distillations,” says Perry Launius, one of the Kindred Spirits’ organizers. “With this new format, you make your own tasting itinerary, get answers for your questions, and learn about one of the oldest surviving Celtic traditions.”

Fenian’s Irish Pub furnishes the Kindred Spirits with foods to cleanse the palate. Far from their normal pub fare, the hors d’oeuvres are fit for the subtle tastes coaxed from the spirits.

It is important to the organizers of the Kindred Spirits Tasting and of CelticFest Mississippi that participants drink responsibly. “We always encourage folks to bring a designated driver, and each designated driver will get free admission to CelticFest for that night,” says Launius. Tasting participants can enjoy the stage performances of Celtic music and dance for the rest of the evening.

This event is sponsored by Wine & Spirits in the Quarter with support from Fenian’s Irish Pub to raise funds in support of CelticFest Mississippi. Kindred

Spirits starts at 7:00 pm on Friday, Sept 6. Tickets are available online up until midnight Thursday, Sept 5 for $40, and at the door at $60.

Advance ticketing and more information may be found at www.CelticFestMS.org. Information is also available from Wine & Spirits in the Quarter at (601) 366-6644. Questions about reservations may be directed to Kristen Williams at (601) 573-8642.

JACKSON EVENTS

Get your kilt ready for the 22nd annual CelticFest CelticFest Mississippi will celebrate its 22nd year

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on September 6-8 at the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Museum.

The event was founded and organized by the Celtic Heritage Society and will kick off weekend activities on Friday from 7:00 p.m. till midnight and run from 10:00 a.m. to midnight the following two days.

CelticFest will feature an exceptional variety of Irish and Scottish music and dance on eight stages, plus free Celtic music, dance, and heritage workshops, Celtic Kids area, Highland games demonstration, specialty vendors, and plenty of food and drink.

Because much of the festival takes place indoors, CelticFest is a RAIN or SHINE event.

— from staff and MBJ wire services

August 23, 2013 • MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS JOURNAL • www.msbusiness.com

AN MBJ FOCUS:

CONSTRUCTION

Special to the Mississippi Business Journal

The fitness facility is designed to help people who need rehabilitation, including athletes, but will also provide opportunities for sports and fitness activities.

Madison Healthplex eyes winter opening » Center will provide upscale fitness facility options, as well as medical office clinics

By BECKY GILLETTE I CONTRIBUTOR mbj@msbusiness.com

W

HEN THE NEW, $16-million Madison Healthplex Performance Training Center opens late this year or early in 2014, there is going to be more than a little something for everyone. There will be everything you would find in an upscale fitness facility, or even most college sports performance training complexes and medical office clinics, as well. The facility will be designed to help people who need rehabilitation, including athletes, but will also provide opportunities for sports and fitness activities for the entire family from children to elders and for amateur, high school, college and even professional athletes.

The 96,000-square-foot facility currently under construction is a partnership and joint project of Mississippi Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center and

Baptist Health Systems.

“A partnership like this between Baptist and Mississippi Sports Medicine will create a facility offering services unlike any other offered in this market,” said Baptist Health Systems president and CEO Mark Slyter.

Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler couldn’t be more jazzed about the new offering coming to Madison.

“This is an exciting time in the history of Madison,” Butler said. “This is only the beginning. Madison will one day be the area of specialized medicine for the state of Mississippi."

“We at Mississippi Sports Medicine are excited about this project,” said Mississippi Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center Administrator Robert Lodes.

“This facility is unique to the state of Special to the Mississippi Business Journal

See

HEALTHPLEX, Page 16

About 20,000 of the 96,000 square feet will be for medical office clinics for the Mississippi Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center and the Eye Group of Mississippi.

CONSTRUCTION

August 23, 2013

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A barometer on the economy? » Heavy equipment dealers say they aren’t seeing much activity — except in energy

By LISA MONTI I CONTRIBUTOR mbj@msbusiness.com

Companies that sell and rent heavy equipment are considered good indicators of how the economy is doing. Building a highway or a residential development requires equipment to move dirt, pave and install utilities.

Executives at two of the state’s leading equipment dealers say they aren’t seeing much activity except in one sector: energy.

John Lyle, chairman of the board of Lyle Machinery in Jackson, doesn’t see much going on in the housing or industrial sectors.

“Very depressed” is how he described it.

Things look even worse for construction and maintenance of highways and bridges, except for emergency some work. “It’s probably at the lowest level it’s ever been,” Lyle said. That’s because of lack of funds on the state and federal sides.

So the oil and gas business, Lyle said, “is the only thing going strong across the country.”

It’s pretty much the same from Dean Hennigan’s perspective. He’s vice president of sales for Puckett Machinery, also headquartered in Jackson.

“In general terms, the construction industry is pretty flat. You’ve got some hot spots here and there,” Hennigan said.

He also sees highway construction and road paving as flat for the last few year because of lower federal and state tax revenues.

Hennigan does see an uptick in residential construction, which he said has been down dramatically in the past. “Business is coming back. We’re seeing a little bit of life in that.”

He’s also seeing a little upturn in commercial construction of shopping centers and drug stores, which he said goes hand in hand with residential construction.

“When you see things in the paper or hear about an expansion, we try to be in the forefront of that.”

Dean Hennigan Vice president of sales, Puckett Machinery

Hennigan believes that the oil and gas industry has the most going for it now and in the future.

He said Mississippi’s oil patch around Brookhaven and Natchez has an abundance of oil and potential for success. “It’s a pretty good oilfield for Mississippi and that business is starting to pick up.”

The practice of hydraulic fracking is widely believed to be on its way to those South Mississippi oilfields, Hennigan said.

“Texas has done tons of business related to hydraulic fracking and it’s going like gangbusters. If that takes off in Mississippi, you’ll see a huge economic boom in that part of the state.”

In the energy sector, which includes power generation, he said, “Construction is pretty strong and has been for the last few years.”

Some leading projects include Mississippi Power’s Kemper County plant now under construction and a new pipeline being built between Sims, Ala., and the Chevron Refinery in Pascagoula.

Companies such as Hennigan’s and Lyle’s have had to adjust to survive economic downturns.

Puckett is the CAT dealer in the 42 counties in the southern half of Mississippi. It’s one of about 50 dealers in North America.

The private company has 400 employees and services multiple industries with

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parts, service, sales and rentals. CAT sells about 350 products to general construction companies and in the residential, forestry and energy sectors.

“It’s grown-up boys playing with bigger toys,” he said.

In order to stay competitive, Puckett tries to get ahead of large projects coming to the state.

A recent example is the wood pellet industry in Gloster. “We got several machines sold and rented for building the mill down there,” he said.

“When you see things in the paper or hear about an expansion, we try to be in the forefront of that,” said Hennigan.

Lyle said his family-owned company has

learned to diversify as the economy has shifted demand for their equipment from highways, bridges and home building to moving materials at ports and putting pipelines down.

“The market for the typical equipment sales to Mississippi contractors is depressed,” he said.

Lyle has about 110 employees and locations throughout Mississippi from Jackson to Gulfport and into Pensacola and Mobile.

Lyle is a dealer for Komatsu, Bobcat, Wirtgen, Sennebogen and Sany, representing products from the smallest to the largest in size in the world.

Said Lyle, “We’re working harder than we ever have. When the economy is booming, you can get one deal and miss one.

Today you don’t want to miss any.”

After such a long turndown, Lyle believes things are bound to change for the better.

“At some point, at some time, the economy is going to boom,” he said.

PARTNER OF EDUCATION SPONSORS Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, LLP SUPPORTING SPONSOR

The event benefits Mississippi Association of Partners in Education, a 501(c)(3) that has served as a statewide network of educators and community partners since 1984.

Water Resources

Rebuilding the Coast

ssssssxxxxxx / The Mississippi Business Journal

Work on Phase One of Pascagoula’s Lowery Island project has begun with the rehabilitation of a pier that burned a couple of years ago.

» Reconstructing piers, bulkheads and bridges is Parnell Construction’s niche

By LYNN LOFTON I CONTRIBUTOR mbj@msbusiness.com

B

UILDING PIERS, bulkheads and bridges is a construction specialty that’s a good match for Mississippi’s coastal counties where there’s boating and fishing as recreation and business and roadways must cross bodies of water. Parnell Construction, based in Vancleave, stays busy with this niche construction.

The company recently completed the $270,000 Magnolia Street bird-watching pier in Pascagoula and has the Lowery Island pier that’s part of that project’s Phase One under way. The Magnolia Street project consisted of concrete pilings with treated decking and handrails and a roof on a small cutoff of the Pascagoula River. Dyke Parnell, president of the company and grandson of the company founder, says it took two and one-half months to complete.

Work on phase one of the city’s Lowery Island project began with the rehabilitation of a pier that burned a couple of years ago. Darcie Crew, Pascagoula’s Parks and Recreation director, says the fire was ruled accidental. Lowery Island, separating the East and West forks of the Pascagoula River, is the land motorists

Special to the Mississippi Business Journal

Parnell Construction recently completed the $270,000 Magnolia Street bird-watching pier in Pascagoula.

drive across on Interstate 10 between Gautier and Pascagoula.

“We started by tearing off all the burned timbers and spicing the pilings with short pieces to bring them up to our grade,” Parnell said. “It’s a $100,000 project and will be complete by Nov. 12.”

In addition to the lack of money for projects of this type, he says getting material on time is a big challenge. “Getting

wood on time is a problem. Rain holds up lumber cutting and then it has to be milled and treated,” he said. “Rain has slowed us down a lot.”

Finding skilled workers is not a problem for this type of construction. “I don’t have to have someone trained. A lot of it is simple now,” Parnell said.

“It requires being able to use a chain saw and drive nails. I just need someone

trained to run a crew.”

Replacing the burned pier is a small part – phase one – of the total Lowery Island project which is a $3.5 million-project using Mississippi Development Authority Katrina Recovery Block Grant Development funds. Crew says phase two will be done in parts A and B. “The first part will include getting environmental approval and doing the engineering,” she said.

“Then there will be some demolition of the mismatched things, including the parking lot and lights, which are there.”

The work will involve bringing in fill material to prevent flooding, adding asphalt parking with curbs and gutters, a new sign, landscaping and dredging for a boat launch.

“We hop to go to bid about February 2014 for phase two B, which includes some additional areas for parking and a highand-dry boat storage with fuel dispensers, and water and sewer work,” Crew said.

In addition to building piers for the city of Pascagoula, Parnell Construction is building a fishing pier in Long Beach for Harrison County, a boat ramp for the city of Long Beach and two county bridges.

“We have a good bit of work,” Dyke Parnell said.

“We have ten employees all the time and hire more as we need them.”

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CONSTRUCTION

16 I Mississippi Business Journal I August 23, 2013

HEALTHPLEX

Continued from Page 12

Mississippi and supports our community outreach programs.”

The facility follows a new concept for medical offices combined with fitness and sports facilities. About 20,000 square feet of the space will be for medical office clinics for the Mississippi Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center, and the Eye Group of Mississippi. The rest will be for exercise and sports activities including the Healthplex Performance Training Center with facilities similar to existing Baptist Healthplex in Clinton and Jackson. Amenities include locker rooms, exercise rooms, weight training rooms, steam room, sauna and indoor aquatic therapy with warm water therapy pool, a hot tub and cold plunge therapy pool and a HydroRX therapy pool that includes an underwater camera to monitor exercise of athletes or other persons using the pool, which is primarily designed for rehabilitation purposes.

From a construction standpoint, the project is progressing well, said David Carpenter, who is director of the two existing Baptist Healthplex facilities, and is going to be director of The Madison Healthplex Performance Training Center. The general contractor is Brasfield & Gorrie, based out of Birmingham, Ala. Carpenter said most of the performance side of the building is dried in, and workers

“The indoor field house will have a turf surface of approximately 22 yards by 40 yards. This turf field will be used for the training of athletes in speed, agility and balance. It will be used for other various group exercise classes such as cross fit or boot camp programs.”

David Carpenter, future director of Madison Healthplex Performance Center are beginning some inside detail work.

“A portion of our parking has been paved,” he said. “We are continuing to do work on the outdoor and indoor turf field.

The indoor field house will have a turf surface of approximately 22 yards by 40 yards. This turf field will be used for the training of athletes in speed, agility and balance. It will be used for other various group exercise classes such as cross fit or boot camp programs.”

The outside turf field is 45 yards by 55 yards, with an outdoor sprint track that is 70 yards long. Carpenter said the beauty of indoor and outdoor facilities is being able to utilize both. While most of the year athletes can train outside, if the weather is extremely wet and cold, athletic training can continue inside.

There will be a performance weight training area containing more advanced

weight training equipment specific for training athletes of all ages from middle school to the professional athlete.

Carpenter said the fitness facility will have everything those seeking a healthier lifestyle could ask for including all the cardio equipment such as treadmills, bikes, stair steppers, rowers, elliptical trainees and adaptive motion trainers. There will be a traditional fitness center with weight training equipment, and a functional training area for body weight training and working with kettle bells and medicine balls. There will be an indoor track around the general fitness area that will be about a twelfth of a mile long.

Another component they feel will be popular is an area for after hours fitness— a big trend especially helpful for people who do shift work. A portion of the facility will be available to members after normal oper-

ational hours.

Still another innovation is a wellness type clinic integrated into The Madison Healthplex Performance Training Center. The center will be staffed by a nurse practitioner offering help with preventive medicine, nutritional advice including help with weight loss, and developing an exercise program.

Group exercise classes will include Zumba dance, yoga, body sculpt and boot camp type classes. There will be group water exercise classes in the aquatic facility, which includes a warm water pool with programs for arthritis patients.

Various programming will be available such as tri-athlete training. The facility will have the ability to host NFL combine, as well as high school combine.

The facility will be a one-stop fitness shop for the entire family. “If someone has a family, the mom and the dad can be in healthplex fitness area participating in a class or doing cardio training, and the children can be on sports side doing sports performance training,” Carpenter said.

They are looking forward to a soft opening in December, hopefully to coincide with the Christmas on the Ice program that Baptist is putting on for the second year. The grand opening is planned in January at the facility located just a few hundred feet north of the present Baptist Madison medical office building. For more information, visit the website www.healthplexperformance.com.

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18 I Mississippi Business Journal I August 23, 2013 Company/Address

Phone

Web Site

Top Officer

The Chamblee Co. Inc. 4349 Lakeland Dr., Flowood, MS 39232

(601) 939-1281

www.chambleeco.com

Rodney Chamblee

COMVEST Properties, LLC 286 Beauvoir Rd., Ste. 200, Biloxi, MS 39531-4004

(228) 594-3400

www.comvest.net

D. Brooks Holstein

Duckworth Realty Inc. 308 E. Pearl St., Ste. 200, Jackson, MS 39201

(601) 914-0800

www.duckworthrealty.com

H.C. Bailey Companies 1022 Highland Colony Pkwy., Ste. 300, Ridgeland, MS 39157

(601) 853-8000

www.colonypark.org

Kerioth Properties P.O. Box 16436, Jackson, MS 39236

(601) 368-9950

www.kerioth.com

London & Stetelman Commercial Realtors 3906 Hardy St., Ste. 20, Hattiesburg, MS 39402

(601) 268-8770

www.londonandstetelman.com

The Mattiace Company 4600 Old Canton Rd., Jackson, MS 39211

(601) 352-1818

www.mattiace.com

T. Andrew Mattiace

Peters Real Estate 2906 N. State St., Ste. 201, Jackson, MS 39216

(601) 362-8440

www.petersdev.com

Mike Peters

Ridgway Lane 10 Canebrake, Ste. 110, Flowood, MS 39232

(601) 936-9910

www.ridgwaylane.com

T.L. Brown Properties 1991 Lakeland Dr., Ste. J, Jackson, MS 39216

(601) 981-1170

www.tlbrownproperties.com

Tim Brown

Tellus Development, LLC 12287 Hwy. 49, Gulfport, MS 39503

(228) 832-8302

www.tellusdevelopment.com

T. Davis Gordon

Watkins Development, LLC 300 W. Capitol St., Ste. 201, Jackson, MS 39203

(601) 354-3660

www.watkinspartners.com/DowntownJackson/downtownjacksonpage.htm

David Watkins

Ted Duckworth H.C. “Buster” Bailey Jr. Clint Herring Andy Stetelman

David L. Lane, CPM

Individual companies and other reliable sources were used in compiling this list. Please refer questions or comments to Wally Northway at research@msbusiness.com/.

THREE LEGACIES

ONE VISION

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Developing large projects not for weak

By LISA MONTI I CONTRIBUTOR mbj@msbusiness.com

T

HE COMPLEXITIES OF developing a largescale project from concept to ribbon-cutting aren’t for the faint-hearted. Dealing with plans, permits, titles and unimagined obstacles can take years and even then, things can go awry on any given day and it’s back to the drawing board. And then there’s the courtship of tenants for retail space and people to fill residential space. Financing and staying on your construction budget within an environment of ever increasing materials cost is yet another challenge. Long lead times create all sorts of issues. “Supply and demand can change, construction costs change, political administrations can change, the list goes on,� said Breck Hines, a partner in The District Land Development Co., LLC of Jackson.

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PROJECTS, Page 20

The District at Eastover, just an idea in 2006, is now in the process of beginning construction in Jackson.

REAL ESTATE

20 I Mississippi Business Journal I August 23, 2013

PROJECTS

Continued from Page 19

Hines described the path he and other developers of The District at Eastover in Jackson have traveled as “a long road” from what was just an idea in 2006 to turning dirt this summer.

Breck said now that things are beginning to happen at the site of the Old Blind School, “You’ll start seeing buildings coming down and dirt moving.”

The master developers closed on the property last February. “We’ve been working on the master plan and all the different layers inherent in a mixed-use development ever since,” he said.

The developers all lived around the site, Breck said, “and had an interest in seeing something happen” with it. They spent several years working with the state to convince officials to dispose of the property so that it could be put to a higher and better use, he said. “By default, we became experts.”

Now the work focuses on utilities and infrastructure plans, site grading and demolishing the dilapidated buildings. Crews will start demolition and site work within the next 45 days.

The site has multiple old buildings and houses that will be removed and reused to keep material out of the landfill, he said. Some of the concrete and brick

6 Level Parking Structure 1400 Spaces Total

5 Story Hotel 130 keys

Development plans for The District at Eastover..

buildings will be crushed on site to Department of Transportation standards and used for roadbeds around the 21-acre property, he said.

“In the first phase we will start construction next spring on the hotel and office building and residential lofts building which has a retail component on bottom

The area is known for high-end neighborhoods and government buildings.

Cinema Above Given the dense daytime population, he said, “We’ve had some wonderful interest in and response from restaurants and retailers who would not have looked at Jackson otherwise.” he said. “We’re talking to everybody and would love to see new concepts.”

The type of development it will become is new to Jackson but not to bigger cities like Scottsdale, Arizona, and Austin and Houston, Texas, which provided inspiration to the developers.

“We spent a lot of time N looking at other developments and what they had Special to The Mississippi Business Journal done right and wrong.

We’re taking what we’ve learned and applying the Jackson scale to it.” floors,” he said. “We’ll also start building the The project has gotten support from the green space in the middle.”

The District at Eastover is situated on I- surrounding neighborhoods and the metro 55 between Lakeland and Eastover, consid- area, he said. “Everybody loves something ered midtown or the city center. “The new and people are excited to see this projmetro area is expanding in every direction,” said Breck. “We truly are right in the middle See DEVELOPMENTS, Page 22 of it.”

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REAL ESTATE

22 I Mississippi Business Journal I August 23, 2013

DEVELOPMENTS

Continued from Page 20

ect in Jackson. That’s encouraging.�

The first phase of construction includes a Residence Inn by Marriott, Community Trust Bank, the main office building, 190 lofts for residents, a boutique movie theater and a modern Mexican restaurant.

The value of the 585,000-square-foot project will be between $85 million and $100 million.

Another example South of Jackson in the young city of Byram, a mixed-use project began with ceremonial fanfare but has yet to get off the ground.

Officials broke ground May 17, 2011, on Byram Town Center with the traditional ceremony at the 70-acre site. Participants represented the Hinds County School District and SouthEast Properties, LLC, partners in the public-private project.

Yandell Wideman, president of SouthEast Properties, had been working on the project since 2007 and said in a press release at the time of the ground breaking that “while the economy has changed since we started working on this project, our vision for Byram Town Center has not.�

Using New Urbanism concepts, Byram

Byram mayor Richard White expects an announcement of a “big box store� for Byram Town Center in the next 30 days.

Town Center touted green space for outdoor activities, various retail and office space, large sidewalks along narrow streets and civic anchors such as a library and a community center.

Wideman did not return phone calls for an interview but did respond by email. “I am not yet able to discuss this project as we have envisioned significant changes which I should be able to discuss with you hopefully by the end of the year.�

However, Byram Mayor Richard White said he expects an announcement shortly from Town Center. “I think that we are going to have somebody come that’s going to do real well,� White said. Without giving away any details, he said he expects an announcement that a “big box store� will be made in the next 30 days.

After that, White expects more tenants to move in. “I think there is a good possibility that they are going to fill it up pretty fast,� he said.

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NEWSMAKERS

August 23, 2013

I

Mississippi Business Journal

Profiles of growing young professionals in Mississippi

Hall, Ross promoted Gold Strike has promoted Ron Hall to director of guest experience for MGM Resorts International Mississippi Properties. In addition, he will serve as corporate marketing liaison for M life, Partnership Marketing, marketing systems support and training administration support at Gold Strike Casino Resort and Beau Rivage Resort & Casino. Hall is a seasoned executive with a diverse background in the gaming Hall and hospitality industry. He has served many years with MGM Resorts International and has been a valued team member since 1991 at the formerly owned Mirage property, the Golden Nugget. He most recently served as executive director of food & beverage for Beau Rivage. Prior to that, Hall was executive direcRoss tor of banquets, catering & conference services.

Hall has been actively involved with the community and has shared his insight and time with several business affiliations such as Leadership Gulf Coast, Leadership Mississippi, Coast Young Professionals and the Mississippi Main Street Association. Additionally, he has served on the board of trustees for the George Ohr Museum, Biloxi Little Theatre, Gulf Coast Community Foundation and was recently appointed to the Leadership Gulf Coast Board of Trustees to assist in guiding its development. Hall has continually shared his vision within MGM Mississippi and is a founding member of the Beau Service Council. He was actively involved in the launch of M life and continually gives his time as a volunteer through MGM Resorts Diversity and Community Council.

Also, Lissa Ross has been promoted to director of human resources for Gold Strike Casino Resort. Ross began her career with MGM Resorts International in 1999 when she joined the employee relations team at Beau Rivage. In 2006, she was offered the position of employee relations manager with Gold Strike where she served as manager until her promotion in 2011 to HR manager/assistant director of Human Resources.

Ross is a member of SHRM, Society of HR Management and was responsible for implementing the 45day evaluations for new hires.

Ross is a Diversity Champion and serves as a per-

Mentoring younger chefs and developing a future line of his own restaurants are two things that Wallace says he hopes to be doing as he continues in his career.

“My passion is to develop younger chefs to discover their own talents in the same way I was taught,” he says.

When he’s not in the kitchen, Wallace enjoys relaxing with a good book, volunteering at the Boys & Girls Club and writing up recipes. He also visits Jackson public schools each year to teach about community garden work, “farm to table” meals and healthy eating.

— By Stephen McDill

manent member on the Diversity Council. She is also a recent graduate of the Gold Strike Management Development Program. In 2008, Ross was recognized for her hard work and dedication with a Supervisor in the Spotlight nomination. Ross is deeply involved in community activities volunteering her time and participating in events such as MPACT Week, Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure, and Make-A-Wish of the Mid-South.

Ross is from Biloxi, and attended the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg where she received her bachelor of science degree in speech communications.

Five inducted in Hall Five public relations professionals were recently inducted into the Southern Public Relations Hall of Fame. Neal W. Cirlot (posthumously) of Diamondhead retired from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Mississippi where he worked as the public relations director for 27 years. In his earlier career, he served in the Coast Guard from 1942-1943 and U.S. Navy from 1943-1945.

Betsie Gambel of New Orleans, La., has more than 25 years of experience in all aspects of public relations. She founded her public relations agency, Gambel Communications, in 2009 and has seen the business grow tremendously in just four years. She has been recognized by New Orleans CityBusiness as a "Woman of the Year" and named a "Role Model" by both the YWCA and the Young Leadership Council.

She also was recognized as a New Orleans Magazine 2013 Woman of Achievement.

Carol A. Mann, of Mobile, Ala. Mann is an accredited public relations professional and has been a member of SPRF and PRCA since 1987. She is a past president of SPRF, PRCA and the PRCA-Mobile Chapter. She is a recipient of the SPRF Professional Achievement Award and the PRCA Philip R. Forrest Jr. Practitioner of the Year Award. Last year, she received PRCA's Grover C. Smith Lifetime Achievement Award, the organization's highest award honoring distinguished service to the profession and to PRCA. Charles "Chuck" Saucier (posthumously) of Alexandria, La., served as president of SPRF in 1994, is a founding member of the PRAL Central Chapter and mentored many future public relations practitioners throughout his career. During his 20-year military career, he was a public affairs officer in the Air Force before beginning a second 20-year career in higher education at Louisiana State University in Alexandria.

He volunteered for many community organizations

23

Age: 33 Executive Chef, King Edward Hotel

Keeping our eye on... NICK WALLACE When “Best Chefs America” featured Nick Wallace along with other outstanding chefs in the state, it was just more validation for the Edwards-born foodie.

“With my deep Mississippi roots, I love to turn the tables and give an unexpected twist to create new Southern favorites,” Wallace says. “If I could invite people to my home every evening to cook for them I would do just that.”

Wallace says he wants his diners to savor with each dish not only his Mississippi roots but the pride he takes in delivering some of the best food in the Capitol City.

Wallace is a 1998 graduate of Hinds Community College and his first restaurant job was at Fernando’s near the Ross Barnett Reservoir followed by the Marriot Hotel in downtown Jackson.

I

Heroes: John Besh, John Currence, John T. Edge, Derek Emerson, Marcus Samuelsson

Favorite hang out spots: Downtown Jackson, New Orleans

Favorite Mississippi food: Okra Favorite TV show: “House” Twitter handle: @reflectionchef

Read the full biography at www.msbusiness.com and served in every leadership role for PRAL Central and SPRF. He passed away after an 11-month battle with cancer in 2011.

John Wittig of Hoover, Ala., has been a valued member of the Department of Communications Studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham since 1981. He also directs the department's public relations program. He is an acclaimed scholar, lecturer and author who has published numerous books and journal articles in the fields of communication studies and public relations. Wittig has served on a multitude of university committees and received numerous awards for his work, including the Practitioner of the Year Award by PRCA and the Communications Award by the Birmingham Area Chapter of the American Red Cross. In 1990, the student chapter of PRCA was renamed as the John W. Wittig Chapter in recognition of his leadership. He earned his APR in 1991. During his tenure at UAB, the school's chapter of PRCA/PRSSA has won PRCA's Alabama Student Chapter of the Year more than 20 times in the last 25 years.

Metropolitan adds to team Metropolitan Bank has added two new members to its Flowood team. Max Cathey has joined Metropolitan as a mortgage specialist and Donna Hines as a loan operations specialist. Cathey joined Metropolitan with over 40 years of work experience. He spent the majority of his career with Bellsouth as a construction manager, where he took early retirement at the end of 2005. Most recently, Cathey served as director of fleet management for the Department of Corrections. He served in the Mississippi National Guard and Army Reserve in excess of 36 years, retiring in 2010 at the rank of sergeant major. While serving, he was deployed to Afghanistan in 2004 where he earned the Joint Service Commendation Medal and upon retirement was presented the Legion of Merit. Cathey is a graduate of Belhaven University and received a graduate degree from American Military University.

Hines came to Metropolitan from Trustmark Bank where she worked in the loan operations department.

Most recently, Hines worked in the collateral vault area where she processed paid out loans, oversaw negotiable collateral, and assisted with loan file setup as well as assisted with audit preparation.

Little replaces Schlessinger Dr. William C. Little, a cardiologist with research interest in cardiac function, has joined the University of Mississippi School of Medicine as professor and chair of the Department of Medicine. He succeeds Dr. Shirley Schlessinger, who served as interim chair of the department the past three years Little is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology. He earned his B.A. in physics at Oberlin College in Ohio, and his M.D. from Ohio State University College of Medicine. He completed an internal medicine residency at the University of Virginia Hospital, followed by a cardiology fellowship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Law school honors attorneys Mississippi College School of Law has selected X.M. Frascogna Jr. as the 2013 Lawyer of the Year.

Frascogna is the senior partner in the law firm of Frascogna Courtney, PLLC. He received his bachelor’s degree from Mississippi State University and master’s degrees from Mississippi College. In this role, he has served as a special master to numerous circuit courts throughout Mississippi. Frascogna co-authors “This Business of Artist Management,” which is the standard reference work on artist management in the music business. In addition, he has co-authored five books about the unique culture surrounding high school and junior college football in Mississippi.

Frascogna recently released the film “Mississippi Gridiron Gold.”

The law school also selected Davetta Cooke Lee as the Young Lawyer of the Year. Lee serves as the executive director of the Mississippi Access to Justice Commission. In this role, Lee works with legal aid providers across the state to reduce barriers to the justice system by addressing laws, court rules and policies that affect access to the judicial system. The 2006 MC Law graduate received her bachelor’s degree from Xavier University of Louisiana. She serves as chair of the Diversity Committee for the Young Lawyers Division of the Mississippi Bar and co-chair of membership for the Capital Area Bar Association.

For announcements in Newsmakers; Contact: Wally Northway (601) 364-1016 • wally.northway@msbusiness.com

24 I Mississippi Business Journal I August 23, 2013 SMALL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: CHOCTAW BOOKS

‘An unnecessary dinosaur’ » Era ends as Choctaw Books closes its doors

By STEPHEN McDILL I STAFF WRITER stephen.mcdill@msbusiness.com

By STEPHEN McDILL I STAFF WRITER stephen.mcdill@msbusiness.com

C

HOCTAW BOOKS owner Fred Smith is emphatic that customers understand why all of his books are marked down 30 percent.

“It’s a store closing sale. I’m not going out of business,” Smith says from behind a desk piled high with books and appraisal orders. “Its not like I’m dying.”

It’s been a busy month for the Jackson book dealer. His fourth grandchild was born last week and he’s in the middle of tracking down books for the Grant Presidential Library at Mississippi State University.

Smith is also counting down the days until Choctaw’s Sept. 30 closure when he will check the aisles, turn out the lights and lock the doors one last time at his little book shop on North Street.

It will be the end of the line for one of the Southeast’s oldest surviving used and rare book dealers.

“I’ve been open six days a week for 31 years,” Smith says. “I won’t know what to do with myself. It’s nice to have something to do everyday.”

Smith says he will keep his phone number listed and will keep appraising books for clients, a lost art that’s become extremely valuable for historical archives, libraries and universities.

“The used bookseller retirement program never existed,” Smith says.

Choctaw Books began as the personal library of Fred’s father, Frank Smith, a newspaper editor and Mississippi congressman that President Kennedy appointed to the governing board of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Over the years the collection grew, with Fred Smith adding titles from used and rare book catalogs, estate sales and walk-ins.

While authors don’t make any money off the sales, local writers Willie Morris and Eudora Welty would frequently stop by to chat with Smith and sign copies for his store.

Hardly anyone stops in anymore and Smith says that’s part of the problem.

“We’ve always had a double whammy of the lowest per capita spending on books in the country and the highest illiteracy rate,” Smith says. There’s barely any room to walk the Choctaw aisles with stacks of books towering to the second and third shelves.

“Over the years so many of my good customers have died,” Smith says. Others have moved away or stopped collecting. “The

State booksellers are skeptical of crowdfunding

Photos by Stephen McDill / MBJ

Choctaw Books owner Fred Smith says his store has been in slow decline for the last decade. The Jackson used and rare bookshop will close its doors on Sept. 30.

younger folks you either lose them when they get married or when they have children,” Smith says. “Baby needs shoes so we can’t buy any books.”

In the last decade, Amazon.com has grown into one of the country’s leading booksellers, even challenging national big box retailers like Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million.

Richard Howorth with Square Books in Oxford would often recommend people to Choctaw Books but says its much easier to find used books today on the Internet.

“That’s the way most used booksellers are operating today,” Howorth says. While brick-and-mortar dealers like Smith continue to close their doors, younger dealers are logging onto Amazon and eBay and making a living there.

“I’m unintentionally a non-profit,” Smith says. “I’m not necessary and now I’m a dinosaur. Most of my friends that have stores in the Southeast gave up a long time ago. I was just a little too stubborn — kept thinking it’ll work; things will get better.”

Lemuria Books owner John Evans says Choctaw’s closure is “a great loss for our community.”

“I’m going to miss talking to Fred about books,” Evans says. “We had a very considerate, cohesive relationship even though we shared some customers.”

Evans says the greatest loss will be the mountains of background knowledge Smith has on literature, Mississippi history, politics and the millions of anecdotes that he throws in along the way.

Another issue is online book retailers that often price books based on scarcity rather than condition. Smith could shoot down those prices with one look.

“A lot of the children's books — things that my kids read growing up — they were $300,” Smith says. “Richard Scarry and the Berenstain Bears don’t need to be that kind of price.”

Some dot com retailers are just downright dishonest or ignorant. “I wouldn’t buy a signed Faulkner off the Internet unless I knew exactly who the dealer was,” Smith says.

Evans blames the lack of tourist traffic in Jackson and “serious book consumers” for the business slowdown.

“I think its too hard to make a living — too hard to get the knowledge that you need,” Evans says.

The question that remains is where will all the old books go? If an estate sale or family member has a collection they want to sell there are only a few bookstores in the state to go to.

Smith says paperbacks can be traded in or sold at local shops and Evans says libraries accept rare books but often resell them for a dollar apiece with no condition or value appraisal. The Book Shelf in Ridgeland and Pentimento Books in Clinton deal in rare and used books.

Smith says he will miss the people the most. “Helping people build collections of Mississippi history and the Civil War. That was always the joy of having somebody come in and find something they’d looked for for years. They’re excited,” he says.

He is open to ideas on the future of his collection and will keep the building for storage.

“Depending on the quality of what’s left I could sell this stuff on the Internet for the rest of my life,” he says. “That’s never been bookselling to me.”

Crowdfunding, the Internet’s trendy new way to fund everything from music videos to medical procedures, has caught the eye of independent booksellers struggling to keep their doors open.

The New York Times recently reported that book dealers in San Francisco and New York City were resorting to asking for donations on popular crowdfunding sites like Indiegogo and Kickstarter.

While they raised more than $50,000 with their public appeal for financing, a store in Asheville, N.C., only raised $5,000.

Some of Mississippi’s well-known book dealers just think the practice is a gimmick akin to putting a BandAid on a head wound.

“I think its a way to buy some time but I’m not sure thats going to make your business a good business,” says John Evans with Lemuria Books in Jackson. “If what you’re doing isn’t working without donors why is it going to work with donors?”

Fred Smith of Choctaw Books said the fad reminded him of a time years ago when a struggling bookstore in Memphis sent a letter to its customers basically asking for money so they could stay open and continue to be a part of the neighborhood.

“This is not a permanent fix,” Smith says. “If it got to the point that I had to do that then I probably didn’t want to be in the business anyway. You’re not going to be able to bring in the people that you need to with that money.”

Richard Howorth with Square Books in Oxford just doesn’t think the idea is good business. “I think I would go out of business before I started asking my customers for money,” he says. “Once it’s become an unsustainable model its time to do something else.”

Business has been tight for bookstores across the country: A double shot of competition from Amazon.com and e-readers chased with lagging sales and foot traffic in a recovering economy.

Howorth says today’s bookstores are little more than showrooms for many readers. “People come in here all the time and browse and talk to us, and then they walk out the door and pull up their phone and order it on Amazon,” he says.

Evans believes the practice is a byproduct of the chain bookstore mentality and the down economy.

Customers just want to save money and don’t appreciate the experience of going book shopping.

“I’m a big believer that customer service will win but with the recession its hard to think that the consumer is going to be that authentic,” he says.

And what about those popular e-readers?

“Ninety-seven percent of e-readers continue to read real books,” Howorth says. “I have always been more confidant that the physical book is simply a preferable format. It was a great invention to begin with like the bicycle or sailboat.”

August 23, 2013

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» MISSISSIPPI LEADERS by Martin Willoughby

Straight shooter Pace uses childhood lessons to lead Circle Seven Outpost & Provisions

I

have the fortunate opportunity to assist a lot of my clients with their hiring.

I believe it is critical to get the “right people on the team” and to make sure you have a cultural fit with the organization. One of the things I look out for as a “red flag” is when I come across job candidates who have inflated egos or otherwise think they are better than others for some reason. To me, respect for your co-workers and customers is a must for a well-functioning organization. There is no room for arrogance and disrespect in the workplace; unfortunately, it is far too common. Most of the successful leaders I have interviewed have a sense of humility and respect for others. They are likeable and people want to follow them or do business with them. I recently re-read Dale Carnegie’s classic book How to Win Friends & Influence People, which provides a great overview of how to build great relationships in life.

Will Pace, owner of Circle Seven Outpost & Provisions, learned these lessons of winning friends and influencing people early on in life. Pace, a native of Monticello, grew up watching his father, Dr. Brantley Pace, serve patients throughout the area. Pace shared, “My father was a ‘country doctor’ and taught me the value of hard work and how to do a little bit of everything.” In high school, Pace worked at a local hardware store that taught him many life lessons. He noted, “My experience at the hardware store taught me

Up Close With ... Will Pace Title: Founder, Circle Seven Outpost & Provisions First Job: “I worked for a local hardware store in Monticello, MS.” Favorite Books: Best Guns (Michael McIntosh) Proudest Moment as a Leader: Being a husband and a father.

Hobbies/Interests: Shooting sports about the ‘down home’ principle of relating to all types of customers – to treat both the business CEO and the guy buying corn the same way.”

Pace, a Belhaven graduate, further learned about treating people right and customer service while working at the Skip Barber Racing School. He served as a lead instructor and test driver for the prestigious racing school. He and his co-workers would lead

groups of 50-70 people every weekend on how to become better racers. His customers were usually twice his age and very independent and successful.His experience there taught him how to deal with all types of people. Pace said, “I had the privilege of working with celebrities, green berets and the overall-wearing farmer — this was a very important lesson. Everyone at the school had the same purpose that particular week-

“My father was a ‘country doctor’ and taught me the value of hard work...”

Will Pace Founder, Circle Seven Outpost & Provisions

end, learn how to become a better driver.”

Pace took his diverse experience and combined it with his passion for the outdoors and hunting to launch Circle Seven in 2007. Through his re- Martin Willoughby tail store in Madison and online storefront, Pace is serving clients around the country and making lots of friends along the way. He shared, “My business philosophy is to treat every customer with dignity and respect, and help them to leave as a satisfied customer from Circle Seven.” By treating people with sincerity and genuine respect Pace has developed strong friendships with coworkers, suppliers, and his customers.

He emphasized, “I believe that a person’s biggest asset is being a genuinely caring friend.”

While we live in a digital age, Pace prefers face-to-face communication whenever possible. He understands that much of our communication is non-verbal, and we lose that through email and text. He advises young leaders to develop their people skills and learn how to communicate effectively. In a “Twitter” world, this is a refreshing perspective. Pace’s principles are sound and have allowed him to build a thriving business.

We all need a reminder now and then of the importance of being a good listener and friend and to always treat each other with respect.

Martin Willoughby is a business consultant and regular contributing columnist for the Mississippi Business Journal. He serves as Chief Operating Officer of Butler Snow Advisory Services, LLC and can be reached at martin.willoughby@ butlersnow.com.

Beautiful Ruins is a tale of two worlds and several decades

J » Beautiful Ruins

by Jess Walter Published by Harper Perennial $15.99 softback

ess Walter is a new author for me. Beautiful Ruins is his sixth novel and was named one of the 100 Notable Books for 2012 by the New York Times Book Review.

It's an unusual book with a twisting plot that moves from the 1960s to the present day again and again without being confusing.

The action takes place on the rocky Mediterranean coastline of Italy's Cinque Terre region, Hollywood, Seattle and rural Idaho. There are some characters who were real people but are used fictitiously here, and there is an interesting parade of fictitious characters.

From the moment it opens in the tiny Italian village of Porto Vergogna in 1962 when a daydreaming young innkeeper looks out over the water and spies a mysterious woman approaching on a boat — the only way to arrive in this village — the

novel is a roller coaster of a story.

Would you believe Richard Burton is one of the main characters? Yes, THAT Richard Burton.

One of the quotations used in the front of the book is telling: (Dick) Cavett's four great interviews with Richard Burton were done in 1980... Burton, 54 at the time, and already a beautiful ruin, was mesmerizing.

Liz Taylor is only on the fringes of the action, but a young aspiring actress, Dee Moray, is at the center of the story, along

“It’s a surprising and entertaining read...”

with the young Italian innkeeper, a World War II veteran struggling to become a writer, an up-and-coming producer who rises rapaciously to the heights of the film industry and scores of other flawed individuals. I liked the way this book entertains; it's tragic, humorous and so very real while at the same time teetering on the edge of the possible and the unbelievable.

It's a surprising and entertaining read from a writer who must surely have a very creative mind. Esquire magazine calls Beautiful Ruins the book of the year, and there are numerous other stunning endorsements.

Jess Walter lives in Spokane, Wash., and is the author of The Financial Lives of the Poets, and the National Book Award finalist, The Zero. His collection of short fiction, We Live in Water, was recently published by Harper Perennial.

— Lynn Lofton, mbj@msbusiness.com

26 I Mississippi Business Journal I August 23, 2013

GREG HANKS, founder, Southernerds

Deep South intelligence Hanks and Southernerds looking to promote education

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reg Hanks is founder of Southernerds, a retail company in Meridian focused on advancing education and promoting “nerd and geek culture.”

Q — What’s the idea and the goals behind Southernerds?

A — The company is my attempt to try and make changes in the perception that some people have of the region. I started the business in hopes that I could promote education and the pursuit of learning in the South. There are so many great people and industries that have originated or are still here in the South, it's a shame not to know more about them all. I have learned an immense amount of things about the South since I started the company and can't wait to learn more. Although Southernerds is first and foremost a retail business, I have philanthropic aspirations as well.

Q — What led you to create it?

A — I have always been the type of person who likes learning about a variety of subjects and find it disconcerting when it's assumed I am less intelligent because I was born in the South. I'm finishing up my master's degree in public relations right now (and I used to be an electronics technician in the military), so I have a pretty diverse educational background. I guess the bottom line is that I really just want to be a good role model to my children and let them know I think education is important. Southernerds is essentially an extension of my own desires to promote learning and education. I want kids (and adults) to know it's ok to want to keep learning and to be inquisitive.

Q — You say on your website that knowledge comes in a lot of forms, and there should be no limit to learning. Elaborate on that.

A — Really the premise is that anyone can be a nerd or geek about anything. The whole notion that being a nerd/geek is a bad thing is really counterproductive. If people were really honest with themselves, they would realize that they, and everyone they know, are really passionate about at least one subject. That's really what being a geek or nerd is; enjoying something so much that you want to learn everything about it. The subject matter isn't what makes you the geek or the nerd, it's the passion and desire behind that particular thing you love so much.

More on Hanks: Must have Mississippi food: “I have eaten a ham and egg biscuit for breakfast from the gas station in town (Nance's Short Stop) every morning for over two years. I can't think of anything more Southern than that.”

Favorite movie: ”The Omen, I have two of the three versions of Damien tattooed on my left arm. I still need Damien from Omen II.” Last book read: Fascinate: Your Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation by Sally Hogshead Website: www.southernerds.com Twitter: @southernerds Facebook: www.facebook.com/Southernerds

Q — How would you characterize the perception of geeks and nerds in the South? What are the dynamics that lead to that perception?

A — Like anything, it's a subject that's misunderstood by some. For some people, I guess it automatically gives you two strikes to start off with. The thing is, not every geek or nerd looks the same, nor do they all like the same things. I'm also living proof that geeks/nerds can play sports. I've played almost every sport throughout my life (and I'm now obsessed with golf ) but I also easily consider myself a nerd. That's not supposed to happen according to the stereotypes. I think the dynamics that have led to the general misconceptions about geeks and nerds in the South are no different than those of any other group: misinformation and the lack of desire to simply find out the truth for yourself. Even though geek and nerd culture is much more mainstream than it used to be, there's still a weird stigma attached. Being from the South just adds to it in some people's eyes.

Q — What do you hope is the future for Southernerds?

A — First off, I want people in the South to be proud to be a geek or nerd. It's a badge of honor for me and I want to share that pride with anyone who wants to join me. In a bigger picture sense, we hope to get successful enough as a company so that we have a positive impact on the educational standards in the South, as well as being able to be offer financial support by way of scholarships and other monetary support to education in the near future.

—Interview by Clay Chandler

SALES MOVES

August 23, 2013

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Mississippi Business Journal

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Âť JEFFREY GITOMER

Using Instagram is not an option; it’s an opportunity!

QUESTION: Why did Facebook pay one billion dollars for Instagram?

ANSWER: So that instead of worrying about how many people joined Instagram (and abandoned Facebook), they could brag about it.

Are you on Instagram? I am. All of my family is.

ALL of my family is. Daughters, granddaughters, in-laws, outlaws. All of them. All of my close friends are too. And a few hundred other people I don’t know, who looked me up or found me through a hash tag. Are you on?

Do you post on Instagram? I do. Almost every day. Why? Because I take pictures on my iPhone that I believe are worth sharing. That’s what Instagram is all about.

With more that 130 million “users� Instagram is what’s new and what’s next. If you doubt it, ask yourself why Facebook bought a company — that never made a dime of profit — for a billion dollars.

I’m certain that in a Facebook research-marketing lab someplace in Silicone Valley they’re talking about Instaface or Facegram.

Instagram is an app of the future. It’s really only useable on mobile and tablet devices. But it makes sense because mobile is where you take pictures.

Take a look at mine @jeffreygitomer Here’s what Instagram offers to your social media mix: • It’s instant. Shoot the photo, minor edit, short description, add the people you’re with and or the location the photo was taken, and post it.

AIRGUIDE

• It takes less time than other social media. Not just for you, but for everyone else you’re connected to. • People typically post positive things. They “likeâ€? it, and they can say a few words. • No drama. Facebook is a soap opera. Instagram is a happy place. • It’s a document of your daily life. In a light and non-time-consuming way. • It’s personal. Family sees family. Friends see friends. And you are able to stay in touch with family friends in a personal way. KEY: Invite your family and friends to join you. • It’s available to others. Your business friends and close customers can get a glimpse of your personal side without all the Facebook crap and your past life. • You don’t have to be a writer, just a smartphone user. Very few words are needed – just photos and short videos. • There’s a chance to be “liked.â€? For your photos, your travels, your creativity, your career, your achievements, your cute kids, your passions, and your family. • There’s a chance to comment. And you can send words of praise to those you follow. • There’s a chance to acknowledge others.

When you appear in a photo with others or want to send them a message. • It’s fun. It is by far, my favorite of the social media options.

YOU MUST: Get your parents, kids, close relatives and friends involved to “share� the sprit of Instagram.

IT’S NOT A TREND, IT’S A MOVEMENT: Kids are ON IT, and ALL OVER IT. My grandchildren have all Jeffrey Gitomer but abandoned Facebook in favor of Instagram.

NOTE: I just texted Morgan, my 15-year-old granddaughter, and asked her when her last post on Facebook was. “September 16, 2012� (Almost a year ago — and she was on it every hour before then). Last post on Instagram? “Yesterday.� Morgan has 447 followers (knows most of them), is following 272 people, and has posted 584 photos.

She is the future of Instagram — and Facebook knows it.

WAKE UP — Microsoft Word still thinks the word Instagram is a misspelling. Sad. WANT MORE FOLLOWERS? Besides your inner circle of people and family, if you want more followers, take great photos and #hashtag key words and places of interest when you post a photo or video. Others go searching for those words and places, find you, and (some) will fol-

low you.

Here are a few more things about Instagram that will help you learn more and take full advantage of the opportunity: • Hashtag (#) search for a few things you love, and find a few people to follow that have similar interests. I follow people who photograph Paris. It has led me to other amazing photographers. • Be authentic — post your own photos. • Study the experts. There are hundreds of them on Instagram.

Do it. If you’re already doing it, improve and expand your doing. It’s an easy way to share joy, memories, and passions. Oh, and it’s FREE. Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of “The Sales Bible�, “Customer Satisfaction is Worthless� “Customer Loyalty is Priceless�, “The Little Red Book of Selling�, “The Little Red Book of Sales Answers�, “The Little Black Book of Connections�, “The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude�, “The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way�, “The Little Platinum Book of ChaChing�, “The Little Teal Book of Trust�, “The Little Book of Leadership�, and “Social BOOM!� His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at salesman@gitomer.com.

Continued from Page 5

products. However, unlike Mexico, the decision to leave China came hard for AirGuide, which had a substantial equipment investment in its operation there, Marty said. “We owned the dies and the tooling, but we got into the same situation [as in Mexico] with logistics. From the time we placed an order and received it, it was about 75 days. “The quality was good but the logistics and amount of inventory we had to carry� became problematic, he said.

The capper came with “severe� import tariffs on aluminum announced by President Obama, Marty added. “We got out before the tariffs came back. What we did there is now primarily in Florida and partly in Clarksdale.�

Marty first scouted Clarksdale at the invitation of a friend Director of who had some specific buildings in mind. But riding around on his own, Marty spotted the buildings vacated by Taylor Real Estate Chair. “They looked like they would work,� he said, praisDevelopment ing the help he later received from Gov. Phil Bryant, the Mississippi Development Authority, Clarksdale Mayor Bill Needed to oversee the Housing Luckett and Clarksdale/Coahoma County Chamber of Montgomery Commerce Executive Director Ron Hudson in gaining use Authority’s housing development, rehabilitation, and of the publicly owned building.

Marty sees more manufacturers returning to the United redevelopment programs.

States from Asia, Mexico and elsewhere. Production costs Applicants will possess a — including wages — are drawing ever closer to levels that bachelor’s degree, 7 years experience in public housing can be achieved in the United States, he said. real estate development, and But if Washington wants to add some serious speed to the two years of supervisory process, it must get more generous with export incentives experience or equivalent. and give U.S. manufacturers more ability to compete globApplication and job information ally, Marty added. is available online at: “We are in the Dark Ages when it comes to that.� www.mhatoday.org

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