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INSIDE — CRAWFORD: How much should manufacturing matter to our future? Page 6

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YEARS

Architects & Engineers

1979

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{Section begins P 10}

» PROFILE: Cindy Rich » Curb appeal takes a turn toward commercial » MSU engineers cited for African water project The Lists {P 15} » Oldest Mississippi-based Architecture Firms » Oldest Historic Places

» Ashley Pittman has built successful career by helping others {P 19}

Tay’s Barbecue grows its business in Pascagoula More, P 8

2014

December 12, 2014 • Vol. 36, No. 50 • $1 • 20 pages

AGRICULTURE

McCormick wins Mississippi Farm Bureau presidency By TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com

Voting by county Farm Bureau delegates to the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation’s annual meeting Monday ended with election of Mike McCormick, a 52year-old cow-calf and timber farmer from Jefferson County, as the 10th president of the MFBF. McCormick, who raises cattle and timber on a 1,200acre farm near Union Church , beat out incumbent Randy Knight for the 2-year term as head of the state’s largest farm organization. Knight, operator of Pelahatchie cattle farm, served two consecutive terms. McCormick’s Union Church farm has been in his family since the 1820s. He primarily runs a cow/calf operation with some stockers and hay. “I have such a passion for Farm Bureau,” said McCormick in accepting the presidency. “Anybody that knows me can tell that I have

this overwhelming passion for this organization. I can’t wait to dedicate my life to it.” McCormick has served for seven years as president of Jefferson County Farm Bureau. He has been a member of the MFBF Board of Directors for four years and has served

Moody’s downgrade of bond cites weak debt coverage » Negative outlook accompanies third blow in three years to $239M water and sewer debt By TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com

five years on the national Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board. He is a former chair of the MFBF Beef and Forestry advisory committees and a former member See

MCCORMICK, Page 4

Three years, three downgrades – that’s the box score for Jackson’s $239 million water and sewer bond issue. The latest assessment from Moody’s Investors Services attributes the latest downgrade to inadequate debt service coverage in 2013, a huge amount of state property that is untaxed and a dwindling pool of money that the city can use without restrictions. In the latest downgrade, one from A2 to A1 See

MOODY’S, Page 2

http://msbusiness.com/events/50-women-nomination-form/

2 I Mississippi Business Journal I December 12, 2014 TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Coming soon: 200 Wi-Fi hotspots around Metro Jackson » Comcast to create the access points for portable devices at high-trafficked public areas in region By TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com

Here’s yet another reason not to leave home without your mobile device: Comcast is setting up a half dozen outdoor Wi-Fi hotspots in Jackson area parks and town squares this month as part of a cyber connection effort that will create 200 access points in public spaces throughout the metro region the first three months of the new year. The hotspots give both Comcast Internet subscribers and non-subscribers access to Web connections on mobile phones, tablets and other portable devices. Xfinity subscribers get unlimited access, while non-subscribers get two hours a month of free access, Comcast says. Here are the initial hotspots: » 1 Braves Way - Trustmark Park, Pearl » 215 E. Government St. – Brandon » Laurel Street Park - 1841 Laurel St., Jackson » Belhaven Park - 1000 Poplar Blvd., Jackson » Fondren Park - 3540 Northview Drive, Jackson » Old Town Square - West Jackson Street, Ridgeland

Courtesy of Comcast

One of the first Outdoor WiFi Hotspot installation locations by Comcast

The additional hotspots are expected to include parks, shopping centers and commuter stations. They will be set up during the first quarter of 2015, spokesman Alex Horwitz said. Comcast Regional Senior VP Doug Guthrie said the company selected the 200 access points as a way to reach a maximum number of people and their mobile devices. “We strategically chose these locations so customers could access the Internet from their mobile devices in high-traffic locations where they typically work, shop and dine,” he said. The new hotspots are in addition to Comcast Xfinity Internet’s nearly 16,000 hotspots that serve small- and medium-sized businesses in Jackson. This is a value-added feature for businesses such as restaurants, offices and retail establishment “that directly improves their patrons’ expe-

rience,” Horwitz said. Comcast in April set up about 14,500 residential hotspots in the metro area, Horwitz noted. These provide customers with Xfinity Wireless Gateways a second “xfinity wifi” signal, or SSID, in their home that is separate from the private home Wi-Fi signal. “This second signal provides visiting Xfinity Internet customers Wi-Fi access without the need to use the homeowner’s private network and password,” Horwitz said. Ridgeland-based telecommunications company C Spire has been in the spot light lately with its one gigabit “fiberto-the-home” initiative around Mississippi. C Spire recently initiated the “one-hundred-times-faster” service in Quitman, Starkville and Ridgeland and will soon be bringing it to Jackson, Batesville, Clinton, Corinth, Hattiesburg, Horn Lake and McComb. Comcast says its fiber-optic infrastructure allows it to offer the same lightning speeds to residential customers and is considering initiating the service in Jackson and other markets, according to Horwitz. “In many markets in fact, we already offer residential download speeds of up to 505 Mbps, and we offer Comcast Business customers 10 Gbps,” he said in an email, and noted Comcast has increased its residential speeds 13 times in 12 years. In 2015, Comcast aims to start testing what's known as DOCSIS 3.1, an upgrade to cable Internet technology cable companies are adopting, Horwtiz said. “DOCSIS 3.1 is capable of delivering 1 to 10 gigabit speeds, and with Comcast's network and DOCSIS 3.1, this has the potential to benefit millions of homes, as opposed to select areas. DOCSIS 3.1 will be the primary way we'll deliver gigabit speeds at scale to the vast majority of our residential customers locally and nationally.” In a demonstration three years ago in Chicago, Comcast showed that its existing network can handle 1 gig speeds when the electronics at connection points are upgraded to DOCSIS 3.1, he noted.

million. The third downgrade in three years More than a year ago Jackson hired “will not deter us,” Yarber insisted, READ MORE Siemens Corp. for $90 million in upgrades though he conceded the latest credit CARSON: Let’s do the that included replacement of two miles of blemish will make utilities department which came on Nov. 26, Moody’s further cited a reluctance debt more expensive in the short term. simple but hard thing sewer lines, installation of new digital by Jackson to raise rates that resulted in a limited rateon infrastructure water meters, creation of a digital billing “We’re embarking on a mission to raising history. The report issued by Moody’s further noted make Jackson a national leader in system and upgrades to the city’s two pg 7 the challenges Jackson has created for itself by not having infrastructure investment,” said Yarber, water treatment plants. developed a financial plan for correcting the fiscal problems whose familiarity with the challenges of More recently, the city hired Charlotte, of the utilities operation. N.C., financial management firm Raftelis Jackson water and sewer operations The bond is still investment grade, though the move from goes back to his years on the City Council. Consultants to assess the financials of the utilities and help A2 to A1 takes it to the second-to-last tier of upperThe downgrade will not affect existing outstanding debt, design strategies to strengthen them. medium grade. The rating declines started in 2011, when Goals the city hopes to meet through the $200,000 said Trivia Jones, director of finance and administration for Moody’s dropped the bond from the highest investment contract with Raftelis’ help are largely general in nature, Jackson. “What may be affected, however, is future debt grade rating of Aaa “minimum credit risk” to A1 “upper including “prioritizing major challenges facing the system,” issuance to support infrastructure upgrades in the form of medium grade” in May of this year to the current A2. creating a long-range financial plan and capital budget, higher interest rates on those debt issuances. The actual A “negative” outlook that accompanied Moody’s strengthening the water & sewer enterprise and improving impact will depend on market conditions at the time of downgrade to A2 noted the dearth of capital planning. The issuance,” she added. oversight. report also warned that such “inadequate planning coupled Raftelis is expected to present a preliminary rate study A backdrop to the newest bad news is a federal and state with limited or reduced financial flexibility could result in and a review of the system’s finances in February 2015. consent decree in which Jackson has pledged to spend at further downward rating action.” Also, according to Moody’s, Raftelis is reviewing “certain least $400 million to address larger sewer inflow and Jackson city officials said in a news statement last week infiltration issues. That work would be in addition to aspects” of the contract with Siemens, signed in they are developing a strategic plan for addressing fiscal connection with the new water meter system, particularly modernizing an aging water system that is seeing 40 flaws Moody’s cited. The city initiated some of the plans the contract’s guarantee of operational efficiencies and percent water losses. this year, including increasing water and sewer rates by 29 Jackson voters in January approved a penny sales tax to increased revenues from the new system. percent and 108 percent, respectively. New management The most immediate concern of the water & sewer help raise money for the improvements. However, lasthas been put in place at the utilities department and enterprise is a projected $7.5 million shortfall on the minute exemptions to the sales tax that state legislators forensic auditing of the system and its contracts has been enterprise’s 2014 budget of $68.5 million. “Water sales, in tacked on have caused collections to fall far below initial implemented, Mayor Tony Yarber said in the news particular, did not produce the results expected from the projections. The city budgeted $13 million from the sales statement. tax but expects a final tally for fiscal 2014 will be only $5.7 higher fees, growing by 11.6 percent per unaudited

MOODY’S

Continued from Page 1

estimates, compared to a 87.7 percent boost in sewer revenues,” Moody’s said in the report on the downgrade. In the first two of the three-notch downgrade, Moody’s emphasized the failure of the utilities enterprise to set rates sufficient to meet bond covenants, noting weak rate setting resulted in five rate covenant violations in the last five fiscal years. “System financial reports seem to indicate adequate coverage in fiscal 2014, but revenues and expenses are still being posted at this time and could affect final net revenues and coverage ratios,” Moody’s said in its late November report. Expect even higher debt as the city sets out to fulfill requirements of the $400 million consent decree and replace its aged utilities infrastructure, Moody’s said. The rating agency warned that a “swap” agreement with Rice Financial Products for 20.5 percent of the outstanding bond amount, or $49.1 million, could prove costly. With the swap, by which a Jackson security was exchanged for a Rice Financial security, the most recent mark-to-market evaluation was a negative $4.9 million in September. “The swap agreement exposes the city to interest rate risk not otherwise present,” Moody’s said. “Further changes to swap related interest rates could increase annual expenditures of the already narrow system, potentially leading to negative rating pressure.”

December 12, 2014

Mississippi Business Journal

LEGISLATURE

MANUFACTURING

Mississippi Phosphates plant to begin shutdown Mississippi Phosphates Corp. will begin eliminating 175 jobs next week as it follows up on its Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition filed Oct. 27. The Pascagoula-based company said in a news release on Friday that it will stop production of diammonium phosphate early next week and that production of sulfuric acid will continue for several more days. About 50 employees will be retained during the next two weeks as the majority of the jobs are eliminated. “At this time, we do not know when DAP production might resume. The company is actively seeking buyers for its assets while we continue to move forward with the other elements of our bankruptcy case,” Chief Executive Steve Russo said in the release Mississippi Phosphates is a Delaware corporation, which, together with its two wholly owned subsidiaries, owns and operates the Pascagoula facilities DAP is the most common form of phosphate fertilizer for all major row crops. The company came out of bankruptcy in 2004. Previously, it had been part of Yazoo City-based Mississippi Chemical Co.

— Jack Weatherly

DEPT. OF CORRECTIONS

Prisons chief: State prisons could see changes JACKSON — The temporary head of Mississippi’s prison system told lawmakers Monday that he’s trying to improve conditions at South Mississippi Correctional Institution, where workers have complained about long hours and low pay and have expressed concerns about their own safety because of short staffing. Interim Corrections Commissioner Rick McCarty told the House Corrections Committee that he will ask the Legislature during the 2015 session to consider increasing the salaries for guards, some of whom make about $22,000 a year. Rep. Dennis DeBar, R-Leakesville, is an attorney who lives and works near the south Mississippi prison. He said prison guards tell him they often get stuck working significantly longer than eight hours per shift, and that’s a burden as they try to take care of their families. He said he has been told about guards who have been forced to work double and triple shifts with little or no advance notice. “I’ve had several families tell me they’re just working for the insurance,” DeBar said after the committee meeting. DeBar said guards also are concerned about understaffing at the prison, where guards were attacked during two disturbances in September. In the first, the Department of Corrections said an inmate struck a guard with a food tray and the guard fell and hit his head. He was hospitalized. In the second, seven guards were assaulted after a shakedown in another part of the prison. Those guards were treated and released from a hospital. — from staff and MBJ wire services

Top Mississippi lawmakers release FY16 budget blueprint JACKSON — Top lawmakers are proposing a slightly smaller Mississippi budget for the coming year, despite their expectation that state revenue will increase. The 13-member Joint Legislative Budget Committee on Tuesday released its $6 billion spending blueprint for fiscal 2016, which begins July 1. That would be $112.2 million smaller than the current budget. House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, said the plan could be changed once it's debated by the full House and Senate. Lawmakers start meeting in January, and they have an early April deadline to adopt a spending plan. Republican Gov. Phil Bryant last month released his own proposal for a $6.2 billion budget, and it also could be considered during the session. Lawmakers typically pay more attention to their own budget ideas than the governor's. The legislative committee's proposed budget would aside money for the second year of a teacher pay raise, but it would fall about $280 million short for the school funding formula, the Mississippi Adequate Education Program. It would decrease

funding for Medicaid, universities, community colleges, human services and mental health. The legislative proposal would save money by reducing travel, limiting purchase of equipment and eliminating 2,200 vacant government jobs. It also would put millions of dollars into cash reserves. Gunn and Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves — who alternate as chairmen of the Budget Committee — said the proposal would not pay for ongoing expenses, such as salaries, by using sources of money that are available only a single year at a time, such as winnings from lawsuit settlements. During the Great Recession, legislators often used one-time money to supplement the budget, but critics say the practice is a bad habit. "I think we're in fantastic financial shape," Gunn said Tuesday. However, Democratic Sen. Hob Bryan of Amory said the proposal by the Republican-controlled budget committee ignores serious problems in one of the poorest states in the nation. "While leaving our children uneducated and letting our highway system crumble, they're putting money in the bank in Jackson and claiming that's

DEEPWATER HORIZON

AGRICULTURE

High court rejects BP appeal of settlement

Increased disease pressure expected for Mississippi peanuts

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is leaving in place BP’s multibillion-dollar settlement with lawyers for businesses and residents over the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The justices did not comment Monday in rejecting the London-based oil giant’s arguments that lower courts misinterpreted settlement terms and put BP on the hook to pay inflated and bogus claims by businesses. BP wanted the court to consider whether people and businesses seeking payments under the settlement included individuals who haven’t actually suffered any injury related to the spill. The settlement doesn’t have a cap, but BP initially estimated that it would pay roughly $7.8 billion to resolve the claims. But now the company says it can no longer give a reliable estimate for how much the deal will cost.

good," Bryan said. Mississippi's tax collections were higher than expected for the first five months of the current fiscal year, and experts have predicted slow but steady growth in the state economy. Both of those things point toward the possibility that during the final weeks of the budget-writing process, legislators could increase the estimate of how much money the state will have available to spend in the coming year. Legislative leaders also said Tuesday that some form of tax cut could be considered during the 2015 election-year session, when most lawmakers and statewide elected officials are gearing up to seek another four-year term. "I think it's certainly time for us to start having that conversation," Reeves said when asked about the possibility of a tax cut proposal. However, he offered no specifics. Bryant has said he'd like to cut taxes for people earning less than $53,000 a year. The governor estimated last month that about 300,000 households would benefit from the proposed $78.7 million cut. — The Associated Press

Cochran’s Vicksburg park bill goes before Senate

Mississippi producers had another successful year of peanut production, but the honeymoon phase for this crop is probably over. Jason Sarver, peanut specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, said between 2005 and 2011, Mississippi growers produced an average of 18,000 acres of peanuts a year. The majority of this acreage was in Although peanut production has faced relatively light the southern part of the state. disease pressure in recent years, Mississippi State Uni“With an increase in price and an investment in versity experts caution growers to expect a more active infrastructure, acreage increased to 52,000 acres in 2012,” battle in the future. (Photo by MSU Ag CommunicaSarver said. “Much of that acreage was located in relatively tions/Kat Lawrence) new areas of the state, including across the Delta and in the hills of north Mississippi.” Sarver said more peanut-growing regions of Mississippi are beginning to experience significant disease problems. He expects growers next year will have to put more effort and money into the disease battle. “I think we’re right at the leading edge of disease issues in much of Mississippi,” Sarver said. “Outside of south Mississippi, it’s still a fairly new crop across the state, and we’ve not yet had to rely as heavily on fungicides as has much of the Southeast.” — MSU Ag Communications

JACKSON — Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran is expecting a vote in the Senate as early as this week on legislation to allow the Vicksburg National Military Park to add 10,000 acres to protect historic Civil War battlefield sites in Claiborne and Hinds counties.

The legislation addresses three areas: the Port Gibson Unit in Claiborne County and the Raymond Unit and Champion Hill Unit, both in Hinds County. Cochran says the National Park Service designates such areas as a “modified core

TOURISM

battlefield” site. The land includes several historic homes, such as the Shaifer House at Port Gibson and the Coker House at Champion Hill, which the Park Service would maintain if added to VNMP.

4 I Mississippi Business Journal I December 12, 2014 ECONOMY

MDA ranked No. 9 development agency » UM professor notes low-wage states are on top for business friendliness By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com

The Mississippi Development Authority is No. 9 in the first-ever rankings of state economic development organizations in the U.S. by the American Economic Development Institute and Pollina Corporate Real Estate Inc. Meantime, in the annual pro-business evaluation, the institute put Mississippi at No. 21, gaining an overall “B,” including “A's” on incentives, for being a right-towork state (not requiring union membership to gain a job), and for its low unemployment insurance and workers compensation rates. It got an “F” for high school and college completion. Mississippi was ranked 20th in 2013. This year, Missouri is ranked No. 1, followed by Virginia, South Carolina, Nebraska, Kansas, Louisiana, Ohio, Alabama, Mississippi and Utah. Gov. Phil Bryant said in a news release: “I am proud to see the efforts of the MDA team recognized not only around the state,

McCORMICK

but on a national level. The work MDA performs each day to strengthen communities throughout the state is vital to developing and maintaining a healthy economy and to improving the quality of life for Christensen Mississippi’s residents.” MDA Executive Director Brent Christensen said in the release that “while MDA works hard to grow and strengthen the state’s economy, it would not be possible without the great business relationships we have with our economic development partners at the regional and local levels throughout Mississippi.” The annual pro-business rankings examine more than 30 factors, including how effective the organization is at creating a pro-business environment, its reliability of funding, the size of the organization relative to its impact, retention programs and leadership. Dr. Jon Moen, chairman of the Economics Department at the University of Mississippi, said the weighting of indexes is problematical. He wondered why “all the low-wage states are on top for business friendliness.” Moen said he saw little evidence of “serious” economic metrics being used in the

Continued from Page 1

of the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Beef and Forestry advisory committees. He is a founding member of the Farm Families of Mississippi Ag Promotion Campaign and served as the committee vice chair. He currently serves on the MFBF Land Use Committee. He is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. McCormick’s wife, Suezan, teaches in the Louisiana State University School of Dentistry and is a longtime vice chair of the Jefferson County Farm Bureau Women’s Committee. The governing boards of Mississippi’s 82 Farm Bureau counties made the nominations for president. Delegates representing each board cast votes for their county’s nominee at the annual meeting. Nearly 700 Farm Bureau members, representing the state’s county Farm Bureaus, took part in the three-day meeting at which, in addition to the election of officers and directors, the delegates adopted policy to guide the organization’s efforts during 2015. Policies relating to national issues will be forwarded to the American Farm Bureau Federation for consideration at its annual meeting, which is scheduled for San Diego, California, in mid-January. McCormick will reside in the Farm Bureau presidential residence during his term. The post is full time and requires extensive travel around the state for meetings with agricul-

report. That said, the fact that Mississippi has landed two automotive assembly plants in recent years “is evidence of doing a pretty good job.” The economic development agency rankings are actually based on a subset of 13 categories of recruitment, retention and incentive programs.

The fact that Mississippi has landed two automotive assembly plants in recent years “is evidence of doing a pretty good job.”

tural agencies, county Farm Bureaus, legislators and others. Though the state Bureau is an advocacy organization made up of 192,000 member families, it is perhaps most well known to the public for its for-profit insurance arm. McCormick will serve as a voting member of the insurance entity’s board, but the insurance operation is largely overMcCormick seen by an executive vice president. The Bureau’s large membership gives it clout in the Legislature, where in recent years it has influenced action on such issues as immigration and eminent domain. The delegate body that wrapped up its work Thursday identified several areas of interest as priorities for the coming year, including protecting animal husbandry practices based on sound science, opposing the dictation of which foods should and should not be eaten, and support for maintaining an adequate workforce for agriculture. Newly elected or re-elected directors on the MFBF Board include Kevin Simpson, Ashland; Bob Workman, Sledge; Danny Bishop, Baldwyn; Craig Canull, Caledonia; Dott Arthur, Carthage; Paul Myrick, Stringer; James Newman, Rolling Fork; Earl Gay Edwards, Smithdale; Dot Cole, Richton; and Tom Daniels, Gulfport. Kelly Davidson of Ruleville will sit on the Board as Young Farmer & Rancher Committee chair. Jeremy and Beth Graham of Pontotoc County were selected as Farm Bureau’s Young Farmer Achievement Award

The American Economic Development Institute describes itself as a nonpartisan public policy and economics research institution whose mission is to improve the American economy by fostering economic growth and prosperity through employment creation and international trade. “The national effort at economic development is failing,” said Ronald R. Pollina, chairman of the institute and president of Park Ridge, Ill.-based Pollina Corporate Real Estate Inc. “American companies must be located in he most pro-business locations possible.” Lingering effects of the national recession, which officially ended five and onehalf years ago, have remained a drag on jobs creation and output. The National Association of Business Economics on Friday forecast the real gross domestic product to hit 3.1 percent in 2015, compared with 2.2 percent expected for 2014. The NABE's median forecast for the annual average unemployment rate for the nation for this year is 6.2 percent, and 5.6 percent for 2015. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Mississippi's joblessness rate was 5.8 percent in October, the most recent month for which data are available.

winners. Marie Rogers was selected as the Young Farmers and Ranchers Excellence in Agriculture award winner. Dr. Gaea Hock of Starkville won the Young Farmer Discussion Meet, an event that challenges contestants’ discussion skills and their ability to persuade others to see their side of an issue. All of these winners will compete in their respective areas in the national competition at the American Farm Bureau Annual Meeting in San Diego in January. The Farm Bureau’s highest honor, the MFBF Distinguished Service Award, went to Mississippi State University Extension Service Director Dr. Gary Jackson. Dr. Jackson and Extension have an excellent relationship with Farm Bureau and it continues to grow from supporting one another. The late Conrad Mallette of Jackson County received the Excellence in Leadership Award for his many years of service to agriculture in Mississippi. Mark Leggett from the Mississippi Poultry Association won the Ag Ambassador Award for leading the poultry industry’s efforts in the state Legislature. Poultry is Mississippi’s number one agricultural commodity. The Farm Woman of the Year Award was presented to Carla Taylor, a dairy farmer from Prentiss County. Taylor and her husband, Bradley, milk about 110 Jersey heifers on a dairy farm south of Booneville. Emma Jumper of Oktibbeha County won the Farm Bureau Ambassador competition sponsored by the Women’s Program. Jumper will be a spokesperson for Farm Bureau and agriculture during 2015.

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A member of the Mississippi Press Association www.mspress.org

200 North Congress, Suite 400 Jackson, MS 39201-1902 Main: (601) 364-1000 Faxes: Advertising (601) 364-1007; Circulation (601) 364-1035 E-mails: mbj@msbusiness.com, ads@msbusiness.com, photos@msbusiness.com, research@msbusiness.com, events@msbusiness.com

Website: www.msbusiness.com December 12, 2014 Volume 36, Number 50

ALAN TURNER Publisher alan.turner@msbusiness.com • 364-1021 ROSS REILY Editor ross.reily@msbusiness.com • 364-1018 FRANK BROWN Staff Writer/Special Projects frank.brown@msbusiness.com • 364-1022 TED CARTER Staff Writer ted.carter@msbusiness.com • 364-1017 JACK WEATHERLY Staff Writer jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com • 364-1015 BECKY GILLETTE Contributing Writer mbj@msbusiness.com • 364-1018 LYNN LOFTON Contributing Writer mbj@msbusiness.com • 364-1018 LISA MONTI Contributing Writer mbj@msbusiness.com • 364-1018

MBJPERSPECTIVE December 12, 2014 • www.msbusiness.com • Page 6

OTHER VIEWS

Newest ‘Mississippi’ based at historic Pearl Harbor

he USS Mississippi, a nuclearpowered attack submarine, recently joined the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, the most recent in a distinguished line of warships bearing our state’s name. The newest USS Mississippi is a Virginiaclass fast-attack submarine, and it is permanently assigned to Submarine Squadron 1 at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, the Navy announced in a news release. Allison Stiller, deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for ship programs, and the ship’s sponsor, welcomed the submarine to Pearl

The submarine, 377 feet long and displacing 7,800 tons, can carry torpedoes as well as Tomahawk missiles and has features including a torpedo room that can be changed to hold Navy SEALs. Harbor. She was also on hand to welcome the submarine into service at the commissioning ceremony on June 2, 2012, in Pascagoula. Many other states, but not all, have namesake warships. The Navy no longer has battleships be-

» THE OUTSIDE WORLD

See VIEWS, Page 7

» BILL CRAWFORD

TAMI JONES Advertising Director tami.jones@msbusiness.com • 364-1011

How much should manufacturing matter to our future?

MELISSA KILLINGSWORTH Sr. Account Executive

melissa.harrison@msbusiness.com • 364-1030 VIRGINIA HODGES Account Executive virginia.hodges@msbusiness.com • 364-1012 TACY RAYBURN Production Manager tacy.rayburn@msbusiness.com • 364-1019

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cause their era of usefulness has passed, but attack vessels like nuclear submarines are a contemporary equivalent. The submarine, 377 feet long and displac-

» 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.

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» 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 email at editor@msbusiness.com.

he 10 states where “manufacturing still matters,” according to a Wall Street Journal story, include Alabama and Louisiana, but not Mississippi. The WSJ determined this by dividing each state’s manufacturing output (2012 numbers) by its gross domestic product. For example, the top state was Indiana with a ratio of 28.2 percent, meaning 28.2 percent of Indiana’s economic output came from the Bill Crawford manufacturing sector. Second was Oregon at 27.8 percent. Louisiana came in third at 22.6 percent. Alabama was 10th with a ratio of 16.6 percent. States between Louisiana and Alabama were North Carolina at 19.4 percent, Wisconsin at 19.1 percent, Kentucky at 17.1 percent, Ohio at 17.1 percent, Iowa at 16.7 percent, and Michigan at 16.5 percent. Note that Texas, with its booming oil and gas industry, and California, with Silicon Valley, are not included. Texas’ ratio was 15.5 percent, California’s 11.1 percent. Mississippi’s ratio was 14.5 percent. The national average was 12 percent. The rest of the story is that other sectors have become more important to many state economies than manufacturing. In California, real estate was the top sector generating 15 percent of the state’s gross domestic product. Next was professional and business services at 13.3 percent. In Florida, real estate (15 percent), health care (8.1 See CRAWFORD, Page 7

PERSPECTIVE

December 12, 2014 I Mississippi Business Journal

CRAWFORD

» RICKY NOBILE

»INSIDE MISSISSIPPI

Tater don’t need no Common Core

ate Reeves is going to save education in Mississippi by offering an alternative to Common Core. He has gathered some of the sharpest minds in Mississippi politics to come up with a plan better than the one designed and approved by the bipartisan National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers. Whether or not he can do this in time for his run for Governor remains to be seen. Reeves believes that Obama is behind Common Core and that Mississippians should be against it, particularly those Mississippians who vote Republican, which is most of us. Now some leftist, progressive members of the Mississippi Teachers Union are upset with Tate Reeves and Gov. Bryant. These agitator/educators say our state is about to be plunged into idiocy by politicians who care only about their political careers. They argue the Common Core may not be a perfect set of standards, but it is just that, a set of standards. They say if any state needs a set of standards, Mississippi — the state at or near the very bottom in every educational statistic ever dreamed up by all of those Eggheaded Brainiacs — most certainly does. Other op-ed pieces have suggested that Tate is just playing politics with your child’s future. They believe Tate is trying to set himself apart from those GOP-Establishment-CommonCore-Kool-Aid-Drinking Republicans willing to compromise with President Obama, like say… Delbert Hosemann for instance. Really? How cynical can those political observers be? If Delbert Hosemann actually finds the guts to run for Governor of Mississippi, he will have to come out against

Common Core too. It is import to connect with the base and align himself with Mississippi’s anti-intellectual, anti-education vote, the clear cut majority in this state. But Hosemann may be too late. The Reeves Campaign Machine is already in gear. They have even changed our Lieutenant Governor’s name from “Tate” to “Tater” in order to appeal to David Dallas Mississippians who just can’t stop whistling “Dixie.” In fact his new campaign slogan is “Vote Tater Reeves for Governor: Loves God, Guns, and the Confederate Flag, Hates Government, Obama and Learnin.’” Perhaps Tater has gotten frustrated trying to figure out those Common Core math problems floating around the internet. Maybe he’s been trying to help his kids with their homework. Relax Teacher’s Union, Tater would not come out in favor of de-funding Common Core unless he already had a plan in place that would promote business in our state. So what if the State Superintendent of Education, Carey Wright, and Board of Education Chairman, John Kelly, released a joint statement saying it would take years and loads of money to develop a new standard for Mississippi? What if they also think there is too much misinformation being promulgated by those with a political agenda? Who really cares what people, who are actually supposed to know something, really think? See DALLAS, Page 9

Continued from Page 6

percent), retail trade (7.7 percent), wholesale trade (7 percent), and finance and insurance (5.5 percent) production topped manufacturing (5 percent). In New Mexico, real estate (11.8 percent) and professional and business services (10.1 percent) production are significantly higher than manufacturing (6.3 percent). And so on. In many states, like Mississippi, manufacturing is still the top producer but the ratio keeps falling. In 1997, manufacturing output in Mississippi was 20 percent of gross domestic product. A decade later it fell to 17 percent. Now it’s below 15 percent. This is not to say that manufacturing jobs are not important. They are. In Mississippi average manufacturing wages are among the highest of all sectors. But, the output rise of other economic sectors besides manufacturing does give rise to certain questions: Are manufacturing jobs worth what we have to pay for them? State and local governments are called upon to invest ever more resources to land major manufacturing prospects. Why do growing sectors like health care, real estate, and professional and business services not attract such resources? Is our economic development model, crafted almost 90 years ago when Mississippi pioneered using bonds to finance industry locations through Hugh White’s Balance Agriculture With Industry program, wrong for today’s economy? Smart communities already have altered course. Their economic development models focus on capital investment, jobs, and wage enhancement, not how many manufacturing plants they land. Some now choose not to chase after major projects because of the significant costs involved. They focus, instead, on growth of existing businesses, growing their own new businesses, and attracting small businesses. The right question might be how much should manufacturing matter to Mississippi in the future? Bill Crawford (crawfolk@gmail.com) is a syndicated columnist from Meridian.

VIEWS

Continued from Page 6

ing 7,800 tons, can carry torpedoes as well as Tomahawk missiles and has features including a torpedo room that can be changed to hold Navy SEALs. The submarine’s keel was laid down on June 9, 2010. The ninth in the Virginia class of submarines, Mississippi was christened Dec. 3, 2011. In the U.S. Navy’s protocol for naming vessels, attack submarines share a rare status of bearing the names of states. Submarines also can be named for presidents, admirals, politicians, cities and towns. Most Mississippians never will see the USS Mississippi, but the pride felt in having our state’s name placed on the front lines of national defense is considerable. The Mississippi’s home-basing at Pearl Harbor intensifies the memory of that famous base, its place in national history and its inspiration in overcoming an infamous attack by the empire builders of Japan, a nation that now is among our allies. — Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

8 I Mississippi Business Journal I December 12, 2014 SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE

FILE / The Mississippi Business Journal

Tay’s Barbecue offers pulled pork, brisket, ribs and wings. It is prepared with a special dry rub and and a long slow smoking process over a hickory ﬁre. The pulled pork and beef brisket goes on the cooker at 7 p.m. and cooks until 5 a.m.

Tay’s Barbecue grows its family-style restaurant, catering business in Pascagoula By TAMMY LEYTHAM mbj@msbusiness.com

It’s not the sauce that holds the secret to Tay’s Barbecue. It’s the dry rub. It’s a recipe passed to Ramsay Taylor from his grandfather, Millard, who started the first Tay’s Barbecue after World War II in Columbia, Miss. Ramsay Taylor re-started the family business after graduating from Ole Miss in 2000. And it’s grown since then. “My grandfather started with hickory-smoked ribs and chicken. He had a drive-thru. He said it was the first he’d seen,” Taylor said. At first the restaurant didn’t even have a name, just a sign that advertised the food. Eventually, Millard Taylor called it Tay’s — short for his last name — and it developed into a family-style restaurant. Over the years, Millard Taylor would give the dry-rub to family members as Christmas gifts and Ramsay said the barbecue was just part of his life. The Columbia restaurant closed in the 1980s. Fast-forward 20 years to when Ramsay was approached by a friend about opening selling his family’s barbecue in convenience stores across Louisiana and Mississippi. “He said, ‘I’ve never had barbecue as good as your family’s,” Ramsay Taylor said. They opened a location inside the Shell service station on Highway 63 in Moss Point and the Chevron at Ingalls and Chicot in Pascagoula. They offer pulled pork, brisket, ribs and wings cooked fresh daily. Tay’s Barbeque is prepared the old-fashioned way,

starting with a special dry rub and ending with a long slow smoking process over a hickory fire until the meat is tender. In fact, the pulled pork and beef brisket go on the cooker at 7 p.m. and cook until 5 a.m. “We take that off and while it’s cooling, we load the cooker with things that don’t take as long to cook,” Taylor said. That flavorful barbecue found a lunch market, and Taylor catered to industries like Chevron as well, building the business. “About 90 percent of our business was repeat,” said Tay-

“I knew we had to get our product in consumers’ hands cause once they tried it, they’d be back.” Ramsay Taylor

lor who needed a way to reach new customers. “I knew we had to get our product in consumers’ hands cause once they tried it, they’d be back.” So he ran a small ad in the local newspaper offering Twofor-Tuesdays. “That used to be my worst day of the week, now it’s my busiest,” he said. “People would come in with the ad in their hand. It grew our business expeditiously … they come back anytime they’re looking for something good to eat.” They outgrew the Pascagoula service station location and in August he bought the old Adrian’s restaurant location just down the road on Ingalls. “It was a good opportunity for us. To own a place instead of renting,” he said. With the family-restaurant, they have more tables and chairs, TVs and allow customers to bring their own bottle of beer or wine, which has helped build their dinner business. They also needed the additional space to grow the catering business, Taylor said. His business partner and brother-in-law Matthew Mayfield is a Mississippi State grad who also attended the Culinary Institute of America. While the restaurant offers barbecue, with Mayfield on board, the catering operation has the ability to do anything a customer wants, Taylor said. They continue to operate the location in Moss Point and have a location at 119 Colony Crossing Way in Madison, Miss. For more information on the business, call Taylor at 228806-1600 or Mayfield at 228-326-7476 for catering. If you live in Madison, call 601-497-0400.

December 12, 2014

Miss. misses out again on federal preschool money JACKSON — The U.S. Department of Education announced Wednesday that Mississippi has missed out on its share of $250 million in federal money to expand its fledgling prekindergarten program. The state applied for the money in October, asking as much as $60 million over four years to boost a state-paid preschool program for 4-year-olds. Mississippi has spent $3 million a year in each of the last two years. State Superintendent Carey Wright was not immediately available for comment. Wright is a strong proponent of expanding early childhood education so children will be better prepared for school. Recent results have shown most Mississippi kindergartners enter that grade unready for school. Every state that borders Mississippi — Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee were among the 18 states that won part of the grant money. A total of 36 states applied. Mississippi also did not receive funds in earlier rounds of grants, although it applied in 2011 and 2013. The state is likely to benefit from some of the $500 million in awards from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to local groups across 49 states to expand Head Start partnerships with local child care providers to take care of infants and toddlers. Though a large majority of Mississippi 4-year-olds spend their days in child care centers outside the home, experts say not all those centers provide high-quality preparation. "What still haunts me is the huge unmet need in place after place, places like Mississippi, where they've never done anything before." U.S. Education Secretary Arnie Duncan told reporters Tuesday in a conference call previewing the announcement. State Board of Education member Danny Spreitler of Amory, who runs a foundation active in expanding and improving child care in Monroe County, said the loss was "demoralizing." Spreitler said he thought the state's proposal has suffered from "too much bureaucracy and not enough direct money to children" and said Mississippi needs to improve coordination among the groups that fund and regulate child care. The effort run by the state Department of Education granted $2 million to 11 regional consortiums that pay school districts, Head Start providers and private child care centers to enroll four-year-olds. — The Associated Press

DALLAS

Mississippi Business Journal

OP-ED: ON THE JACKSON CITY COUNCIL

Let’s do the simple but hard thing on infrastructure

s I walk door-to-door through neighborhoods during our campaign for Jackson City Council, there is one thing strikes me over and over: the vast quantity of treated water that I see running down our curbs, flooding our streets, and overloading our already-stressed sewer system. To date, the solution to our water problems being proposed by some of our City’s leaders has been two-fold: 1. Hire a consultant whose standard approach is to advise municipalities to raise water rates; and 2. Plan to raise water rates. This approach is short-sighted and does nothing to decrease treated water loss, reduce expenses, improve water quality, or increase efficiency. Like cities nationwide, Jackson’s water supply is being moved through an increasingly aging and deteriorating underground infrastructure. The average water loss nationwide is 16 percent. In Jackson, an astounding 44 percent of treated water is lost in our aging infrastructure. I am unaware of any higher treated water loss rate in the entire nation. As a result, Jackson is facing higher water rates, increased water quality concerns, and rampant sinkholes. Boil-water notices are all too common. Leaks and breaks lead to potential entry points for disease-causing pathogens. Our roads collapse, our sewer system is further stressed, potholes multiply, home foundations crack, and families and businesses suffer. What’s the solution? While out on the campaign trail, I ask residents this question: “What would you do if your house had a 44 percent treated water loss due to deteriorated pipes?” The answer is simple. You would fix it. The solution is no different for a City. The answer for Jackson lies with fixing our crumbling infrastructure. It is a simple solution, but not an easy one. The first and most obvious hurdle is cost. How much will it cost to upgrade Jackson’s water transmission and distribution systems? Jackson has limited funds to fix this aging infrastructure, most of which is over 50 years old. Due to Jackson’s leaders kicking the can down the road from generation to generation for fifty years, it is now estimated that up to $500 million will be needed to upgrade Jackson’s water transmission and distribution systems. To add insult to injury, in August 2011, Moody’s downgraded Jackson’s water and sewer debt. Just a few days ago, Moody’s did it once again. For Jackson residents like me, it is another warning of the impending financial challenges facing our City. Moody’s downgrade is primarily due to Jackson’s aging infrastructure, and the City’s violation of the 120-percent debt-coverage ratio required in the City’s bond covenants. Specifically, the City’s revenues must be 20 percent more than its expenses in order to pay interest on its bonds. This year, Jackson experienced a whopping $12 million shortfall from the $80 million water revenue estimate for fiscal year 2014. The troubling trend for Jackson has been decreasing revenue and rising expenses, which makes it difficult for our City to meet this bond requirement. Even the recent 1% sales tax is only expected to bring in around $13.5 million per year, which is nowhere near

Continued from Page 7

Tater will likely scrap that whole “Board of Education Thang” anyway and just start privatizing. We could throw money at corporations to run our public schools like we do our prisons. That’s been making a whole lot of money for all sorts of folks. It might even be more cost effective if we use the same company that was giving kickbacks to our State Prison Chief, Mr. Epps. Or maybe Lobbyist- turned-Governor-turned-Lobbyist Haley Barbour has some client he can recommend. It’s all pretty disgusting if you care. Make no mistake, Tate Reeves and Gov. Bryant know full well the real problem with our schools is a woeful lack of funding and a lack of broadbased community support. They know they could do some-

Dorsey R. Carson

The good news is that fixing our infrastructure can be done. the $500 million estimated to be needed. Bi-monthly billing does nothing to reduce nonpayment issues (what effective business bills every two month?). Moreover, Jackson is still one of America’s only capital cities which does not receive some form of fee-in-lieu of taxes in order for the State to pay its fair share of use of the public infrastructure. The good news is that fixing our infrastructure can be done. First, we have to formulate and execute a water loss control plan. Second, by upgrading the existing infrastructure, we will reduce the costs of no-bid emergency repair work which often costs taxpayers three times as much as preplanning. Moreover, the recently exposed graft at the Department of Corrections should give us ample warnings of the opportunities for corruption in no-bid contracts. Third, we have to properly train our existing public works employees. Many if not most have had little to no training, and the results are evident in our streets. Finally, we have to hold government contractors accountable. The last 15 of my 18 years of law practice have focused on construction law, including acting as a Special Assistant Attorney General in recovering over $7.5 million for taxpayers for defective construction and design, and fraud. I have learned that quite often our governmental entities lack that level of expertise in order to hold government contractors accountable. The City has to be informed and proactive. Far too often, the taxpayers do not get what they paid for. By implementing a water loss control plan for execution over the next 20 years, reducing no-bid emergency repair contracts, and holding government contractors accountable, we can fix these problems. If we promptly formulate a water loss control program, and are disciplined enough to implement it by using the 1% sales tax to replace our deteriorated infrastructure, we can begin upgrading the worst areas immediately. The time to recover the costs of water loss control is typically months rather than years. Jackson’s tax base is already stressed. If the City fails to comply with debtcoverage ratio requirement, it could result in default, which would make it more expensive for future infrastructure borrowing. Meanwhile, if we continue to ignore our treated water loss, we will all be paying increasingly higher water bills and taxes while our infrastructure crumbles. There is no more time to kick the can down the road. Let’s do the simple but hard thing, Jackson — let’s fix these broken pipes. » Dorsey R. Carson is a Jackson lawyer running for the District 1 City Council seat of Jackson.

thing about the funding. But the lack of community support is another matter entirely and a direct result of the anti-education sentiment of too many Mississippians. That’s why our political leadership feels very comfortable denigrating Common Core, as well as our public schools, teachers, and administrators. Some well off communities may give to a booster club for a winning high school football program. They rarely have booster clubs for arts and academics. If you live in a less affluent community with a losing team or if there are private schools nearby, your public schools may as well dry up and die as far as our state leaders are concerned. With more community support, our public schools would have to be more accountable and our legislators would feel the pressure to build a better educational environment for our children. However, since most Mississippians are happy

to sit back and watch the latest version of “America Being Idol” on television, our legislators know all they have to do is speak in empty platitudes about Lowering Taxes, Loving God and Toting Guns to get re-elected again and again. Throw in a little fear-mongering about Obama sending illegal immigrants to take away jobs that no one else wants or don’t really even exist and they win by a landslide. Let’s hope Tate Reeves really does have an alternative program to the Common Core. One that really will help children in Mississippi learn to think for themselves so that when they are old enough to vote they can vote for some real leadership. » David Dallas is a political writer. He worked for former U.S. Sen. John Stennis and authored Barking Dawgs and A Gentleman from Mississippi.

AN MBJ FOCUS: ARCHITECTS & ENGINEE

BUILDING BRIDGE Civil engineer manages time between family and projects By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com

T HAS BEEN SAID that modern women can’t have it all, raise a family while also climbing the career ladder and accomplishing great things at work. But Cindy Rich, a licensed civil engineer who is vice president and engineer manager for the structures department at Neel-Schaffer, Inc. has been able to oversee major engineering projects like the new Greenville bridge over the Mississippi River while also raising three kids who have gone on to get seven graduate colleges degrees among them. Engineers who are lucky have a once-in-alifetime project, one that consumes their professional life for many years. For Rich the U.S. 82 bridge over the Mississippi River in Greenville was that project. She worked on that bridge for about 15 years from the first visioning meetings in 1995 to that day in July of 2010 when the first car drove from the Mississippi side into Arkansas. HNTB was the project manager and designed the navigational span. Rich was part of the Neel-Schaffer team that designed the Mississippi- and Arkansas side approaches. The bridge is nearly two miles long and had a construction cost of $275 million – $86 million for the Mississippi approach and $66 million for the Arkansas approach. “Our design fees stretched into the millions, making it one of the largest projects in terms of fees in the 31-year history of Neel-Schaffer,” Rich said. “In addition to being part of the design team, I was Neel-Schaffer’s primary contact with the Mississippi Department of

Transportation on the construction for both approaches. I worked with the project engineer almost daily.” During that time, she was promoted from design engineer to engineer manager and began managing their structures department. But she stayed heavily invested in the bridge project until the end. Other major projects include being part of the Neel-Schaffer team that provided design and construction engineering and inspection services for the 9.5-mile “Road to Toyota” near Pontotoc in northeast Mississippi. They designed 10 bridges for that $88 million project that was fast-tracked by MDOT and actually finished four months ahead of schedule. Their team designed the Gallatin Street bridge repair for I-20 in Jackson and the Highway 463 Strawberry Bridge in Madison, and provided design and inspection services for the emergency bridge repair for the Popps Ferry Road bridge in Biloxi after the bridge was hit by a barge. Her current work involves supervising engineers and one administrative assistant. In addiSee

RICH, Page 14

Cindy Rich poses for a photo during the construction of the U.S. 82 bridge over the Mississippi River

December 12, 2014 • MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS JOURNAL • www.msbusiness.com

NEERS

GES

Mississippi River at Greenville. The two-mile, $287 million project was overseen by Rich and was completed in July 2010.

Photos courtesy of Neel-Schaffer and Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department

12 I Mississippi Business Journal I December 12, 2014

ARCHITECTS & ENGINEERS

Courtesy of City of Madison

The Sam’s in Madison is not the typical wholesale warehouse made of painted cinderblocks and metal. “The appearance ... is not like the Sam’s you see anywhere else around here,” said city senior administrator Jerry L. Cook.

Curb appeal takes a turn toward commercial By LISA MONTI mbj@msbusiness.com

Business owners from mom-and-pops on Main Street to big-box national retailers are paying attention to their curb appeal as they build new storefronts. The most obvious reason for investing in appearances is to make the stores more inviting to customers but sometimes the improvements are required by the governing bodies where the business is located. The city of Madison has an architectural review ordinance that includes minimum

standards for commercial development including such features as architectural style, building materials and lighting. There also is a landscape ordinance, said Jerry L. Cook, the city’s senior administrator. “In addition to doing a site plan review of where the building is located on the property and where the parking is, we also do an architectural review. That’s where we get into the curb appeal of a commercial building,” Cook said. There are other communities in the country that have architectural reviews similar to Madison’s, Cook said, but the

city is one of a few in Mississippi with such a process. “I don’t know of any one that does it to the extent we do. It’s working really well for us.” When Madison officials meet with any developers, they go over the architectural review ordinance and suggest a tour of the area, Cook said, “to see what’s developed around there so they can coordinate with the architectural style and colors of the buildings in the area. We don’t have buildings looking the same but they blend in with the surrounding buildings.” Madison officials prefer to keep the city’s

commercial developments near a residential scale so the new Sam’s, at 137,600 square feet, was a challenge, Cook said. The result is not the typical wholesale warehouse made of painted cinderblocks with lots of metal and canopies. “The appearance of that building is not like the Sam’s you see anywhere else around here,” he said. Cook said Sam’s developers were prepared when they presented plans. “As a matter of fact, when Sam’s came in with their archiSee

CURB, Page 14

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ARCHITECTS & ENGINEERS

December 12, 2014

Mississippi Business Journal

MSU engineers cited for African water project Special to The MBJ

STARKVILLE â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Mississippi Stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s student chapter of Engineers Without Borders is capturing national attention as its parent organization earns an award for international humanitarian work. Engineers Without Borders-USA recently was honored with the Engineering and Construction Contracting Associationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2014 Spirit Award at a ceremony in Orlando, Fla. The recognition singled out the university chapterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s water project in Zambia as an example of work with farreaching effects but fraught with logistical challenges. With headquarters in Denver, Engineers Without Borders-USA has a membership of 14,700 spread among MSU and some 280 other chapters. Its members are involved in nearly 700 community development projects in 39 countries. For more, visit www.ewb-usa.org. Formed in 2011 and open to all majors, the MSU chapter has more than 100 members. The 2014 Zambian student work team included five females and one male. Chapter president Laura Wilson of Diamondhead was on hand to represent the land-grant institution. While the junior environmental engineering major knew the African project had helped secure the organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s award, she was surprised nevertheless when the MSU team earned the special recognition and she was asked to speak about the experience. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everyone at the conference was very interested in our project and the organization in general,â&#x20AC;? Wilson said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was great to share our story and raise awareness about the problems plaguing so many countries around the world. â&#x20AC;&#x153;EWB has really changed my life and I was glad to be able to show why the organization deserved this award,â&#x20AC;? Wilson said. Once known as Northern Rhodesia, Zambia is a landlocked country in southern Africa that gained its independence from the United Kingdom in the mid1960s. Slightly larger than Texas, it has a current population of some 14 million. The MSU team spent two weeks during the late summer completing the first of eight wells they plan to install by 2017 in the Simwatachela Chiefdom. Their work marked the second year of the chapterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s five-year effort to bring potable water to thousands of Zambians whose current water supply comes largely from polluted, stagnant pools. Chapter adviser Dennis Truax said the project â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the MSU chapterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first of a kind â&#x20AC;&#x201D; â&#x20AC;&#x153;has the potential to improve the lives of thousands of people living in villages throughout Simwatachela,â&#x20AC;? adding, â&#x20AC;&#x153;But installing wells in rural, sub-Saharan Africa is not as easy as drilling them in Mis-

sissippi.â&#x20AC;? Truax, an MSU alumnus who heads the civil and environmental engineering department, and fellow alumnus William C. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Billâ&#x20AC;? Mitchell of Gulfport, the chapterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s technical adviser, accompanied the students. Mitchell is a 1975 civil engineering graduate. Living for seven days in tents in a village with no power, sanitation or running water,

team members experienced many difficulties. In addition to adjusting to life there, they had to learn to overcome technical obstacles that typically arise at remote worksites: flat tires, broken drill rigs, impassable roads and missing tools. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one thing that this project teaches our students, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how to be engineers who think on their feet and can solve problems using just the resources on hand,â&#x20AC;?

Truax said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a kind of in-the-world experience that most students donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just one of the things that makes this such a great opportunity for personal growth for our students.â&#x20AC;? Other student team members included Matthew F. Blair of Clear Springs, Md, Sally J. White of Coffeeville, Ala., Katie Bryant of Jackson, Kristen M. Sauceda of Starkville, and Liz Rayfield of Vicksburg.

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ARCHITECTS & ENGINEERS

14 I Mississippi Business Journal I December 12, 2014

RICH

Continued from Page 13

tion to designing bridges, they also design concrete tanks, foundations, retaining walls, steel structures, sign trusses, below-ground water tanks and high-mast lighting fixtures. They currently have about 50 projects in some stage of development. Rich does very little design work now, but has a hand in everything produced by the structures department. “I have designed bridges and other structures, so I know exactly what projects my engineers are working on and what issues they face in producing quality designs under tight deadlines,” Rich said. “I perform quality control reviews on designs, negotiate contracts, and I handle all billings and personnel issues for our department. While I spend more time in my office than away from it, it’s not uncommon for me to be in the office reviewing designs and plans one day, wearing a hard hat and steel-toe boots while standing in a lift-truck bucket inspecting a bridge in north Mississippi the next, and back in the office mentoring a young engineer the next.” Her previous employment includes working for HNTB Engineering from 1980-83 and the Mississippi Department of Natural Resources from 1983-

87. She took six years off from work while here children were young and returned to work with Neel-Schaffer in 1993. Rich grew up in engineering. Her father, Damon Wall, was an engineering professor at the University of Mississippi. “I’m pretty sure without his influence I would not have chosen the career path I took, since in 1976 it wasn’t a very popular career path for a woman,” Rich said. “I graduated magna cum laude and was the only female in my civil engineering classes.” Two of the children of Rich and her husband, Neal, have also gone into engineering. Tom, 30, has an engineering degree and is a practicing attorney. David, 27, has bachelor and master’s degrees in engineering and is a practicing engineer. Mary Margaret, 23, has bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and secondary education and a master’s degree in education. Rich believes in giving back to her alma matter, and has served on the engineering advisory board at the University of Mississippi for the past 10 years. She is also a member of Highland Colony Baptist Church and sings in the choir. She loves to cook and sew, and she and her husband have begun to travel when time permits. Their most recent big trip was to the Greek Isles.

Courtesy of Neel-Schaffer

Cindy Rich talks to Eddie Boyer of Tanner Construction during work on the I-20 bridge over U.S. 51 at Gallatin Street.

CURB http://www.msbusiness.com

AUCTIONS Q Taylor Auction & Realty, Inc............................................................... www.taylorauction.com

BANKS Q Regions Bank....................................................................................................... www.regions.com

INTERNET SERVICES Q Comcast Business .......................................................................................... www.comcast.com Q TEC ..................................................................................................................................www.TEC.com

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

PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES Q Delta State University................................................................................... www.deltastate.edu

REAL ESTATE Q State Street Group........................................................................www.statestreetgroup.com

TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS Q Synergetics DCS, Inc. ...................................................................... www.synergeticsdcs.com

TELECOMMUNICATIONS Q AT&T................................................................................................................................... www.att.com Q Comcast Business .......................................................................................... www.comcast.com Q MegaGate Broadband................................................................................ www.megagate.com Q Nextiva.................................................................................................................... www.nextiva.com Q TEC ..................................................................................................................................www.TEC.com

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Have your business listed here! Contact your advertising representative at 601.364.1000

Continued from Page 12

tectural drawings, I was pleasantly surprised,” he said. “They had done their homework evidently by looking at the city.” Cook said the review process hasn’t put a damper on developers who want to come to Madison and the city plays fair with all comers. “I can’t think of one we have ever run off,” he said. “There’s no reason because we treat everybody the same. It’s not like we are trying to require one develop’s building to do more than what the others have done. It’s evident when they look at a site.” The Madison rules may be “a little more costly,” Cook said, “but not much, because you can make all kinds of building materials look different. It’s a give and take with the city in terms of building material.” The city also works with a landscape architect who reviews the landscaping around commercial buildings to make sure it complements the layout of the building, Cook said. All new commercial buildings are required to have a sprinkler system so the landscaping can be maintained. Madison’s focus on curb appeal increased over the past decade as the city’s development began taking off. Things are different in South Mississippi where new development often means recreating what was lost to Hurricane Katrina nine years ago. Historic downtowns in Ocean Springs, Biloxi, Gulfport and Bay St. Louis have come back thanks to grant pro-

grams for new building facades and other incentives to encourage historic preservation. Bay St. Louis Architect Edward Wikoff said commercial curb appeal has found new favor as the economy improves. “Certainly in the retail environment it is critical,” he said. “With the uptick in the local economy it is something people will be paying more attention to.” He said many shop owners in the city’s historic district have maintained the historical character of their buildings as best they can. “There are local preservation commissions on the Coast and across Mississippi that can assist owners,” he said. Wikoff ’s projects include the Bay Town Inn, constructed on the Beach Boulevard site of the historic inn lost to the 2005 storm. The three buildings are in the traditional Acadian coastal style. “While the new project doesn’t match the previous house, it gives a sense of age and timeless consistency with the old house,” he said. Wikoff ’s office is in an old residence on Main Street that shares what he calls the inviting character of Old Town’s business community. The porch has comfortable chairs and an inviting facade and for Second Saturday Art Walks or Cruisin' the Coast, guests are welcome to come in and see drawings of projects the staff is working on. “It’s a nice way to invite people in our office like any other retail space and while we are selling architecture, not clothing, people are still interested in seeing what’s going on in the community.”

OLDEST MISSISSIPPI-BASED ARCHITECTURE FIRMS Firm

December 12, 2014

Address

Mississippi Business Journal

Phone

Website

Year Founded

Landry & Lewis Architects, P.A.

5211 Old Hwy. 11, Hattiesburg, MS 39402

(601) 271-7711

www.landryandlewis.com

1928

Canizaro Cawthon Davis

129 S. President St., Jackson, MS 39201-3605

(601) 948-7337

www.ccdarchitects.com

1938

Archer Architects

717 Front St. Ext., Meridian, MS 39301

(601) 483-4873

N/A

1947

Dean & Dean/Associates Architects, P.A.

4400 Old Canton Rd., Highland Bluff, Ste. 200, Jackson, MS 39211-5922

(601) 939-7717

www.deandean.com

1949

Brumﬁeld Ward & Associates Architects, P.A.

1030 Northpark Dr., Ste. B, Ridgeland, MS 39157

(601) 982-0341

www.brumﬁeldward.com

1952

Eley Guild Hardy Architects

1091 Tommy Munro Dr., Biloxi, MS 39532

(228) 594-2323

www.eleyguildhardy.com

1953

Barlow Eddy Jenkins, P.A.

1530 N. State St., Jackson, MS 39202-1699

(601) 352-8377

www.bejarch.com

1958

Cooke Douglass Farr Lemons Architects & Engineers, P.A.

3100 N. State St., Ste. 200, Jackson, MS 39216

(601) 366-3110

www.cdﬂ.com

1961

Allred Architectural Group

810 Iberville Dr., Ocean Springs, MS 39564

(228) 762-1975

www.allredarchitecturalgroup.com

1961

JH&H Architects Planners Interiors, P.A.

1047 N. Flowood Dr., Flowood, MS 39232-9533

(601) 948-4601

www.jhharchitects.com

1964

ArchitectureSouth, P.A.

330 W. Jefferson St., Tupelo, MS 38804-3936

(662) 844-5843

www.architecturesouth.com (under construction)

1968

JBHM Architects

2548 Beach Blvd, Suite 200, Biloxi MS 39531

(228) 594-2200

www.jbhm.com

1970

Robert Parker Adams, Architect, P.A.

219 N. Lamar St., Jackson, MS 39201

(601) 948-7722

www.robertparkeradams.com

1970

Jones-Zander, Ltd.

1500 Gate Way, Grenada, MS 38901

(662) 226-7115

www.jones-zander.com

1973

Foil-Wyatt Architects

1510 N. State St., Ste. 400, Jackson, MS 39202-1647

(601) 352-3071

www.foilwyatt.com

1977

The McCarty Company - Design Group, P.A.

533 W. Main St., Tupelo, MS 38804

(662) 844-4400

www.mccartycompany.com

1983

Source: Responses from individual ﬁrms and other reliable sources. All ﬁrms are headquartered in Mississippi. For questions or comments, contact Frank Brown at research@msbusiness.com.

OLDEST HISTORIC PLACES Property

Location

Date

Property

Location

Date Registered

de la Pointe-Krebs House (Old Spanish Fort)

Pascagoula

c.1740s

Blantonia

Lorman

c.1812

Richmond

Natchez

c.1785

Holly Grove Plantation

Centreville

c.1812

Hope Farm (Hope Villa)

Natchez

c.1790

Mercer-Laird House

Natchez

c.1815

Belvidere (Airlie)

Natchez

1793

Reedland (Linden)

Natchez

c.1815

King's Tavern

Natchez

c.1795-1800

Routhland

Natchez

c.1815

Site of Fort Adams

Fort Adams

1799

Smithland Plantation

Natchez

c.1815

Texada (Texada Tavern, Old Spanish House)

Natchez

c.1799

Pecan Grove

Church Hill

c.1817

House on Ellicott's Hill (Connelly's Tavern)

Natchez

c.1800

Jefferson College

Washington

1818

Site of Fort Dearborn

Washington

c.1803

General John Quitman House (Monmouth)

Natchez

1818

Winthrop Sargent House (Bellevue, Gloucester)

Natchez

c.1803

Site of Elizabeth Female Academy

Washington

1818

The Elms

Natchez

c.1805

The Briars

Natchez

c.1818

Springﬁeld

Church Hill

c.1806

Arlington

Natchez

c.1819

Mistletoe

Natchez

c.1807

Branch Banking House (Bank of Mississippi, Wilkinson

Cowles Mead House (Meadvilla)

Washington

c.1808

County Museum-African American Cultural Center)

Woodville

1819

Bedford Plantation House

Washington

c.1820

Rosemont

Woodville

1810 Hawthorne Place (Hawthorne)

Natchez

c.1820

Salisbury (Shepherd House)

Woodville

c.1811 Railey House (Oakland)

Natchez

c.1820

Selma Plantation House

Washington

c.1811 Saragossa

Natchez

c.1820

Auburn

Natchez

1812

Source: Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Please direct questions and comments to Frank Brown at research@msbusiness.com.

NEWSMAKERS

16 I Mississippi Business Journal I December 12, 2014

rina and performed as a lead first responder in natural disasters. Fisher has served as a leader on a number of regional and national governing bodies in the wake of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and has been pivotal in guiding more than $500 million restoration dollars to the state. Fisher holds bachelor’s degrees from the Mississippi University for Women in political science and business administration. She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law, where she was the Editor-in-Chief of the Mississippi Law Journal. She is AV Preeminent-Rated by Martindale-Hubbell and has been named in The Best Lawyers in America for Environmental Law. Fisher has also been named to the Mississippi Business Journal’s 50 Leading Business Women and is a recipient of the Excellence in Government Award, given by the American Council for Technology — Industry Advisory Council. Fisher is a member of the American Bar Association, the Environmental Council of the States, and the Mississippi Bar Association, where she is a past president of the Section on Natural Resources, Energy and Environmental Law.

Duner new Bomgar CFO Bruce Duner has joined the Bomgar, a remote support solutions company, as Chief Financial Officer. Duner has more than 25 years of senior level finance, administrative and general management experience, having previously run financial operations for a variety of technology, manufacturing and healthcare firms. He joins Bomgar most recently from Surgical Information Systems, where he was Senior Vice PresiDuner dent and Chief Financial Officer. As Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of SIS, Duner acted as a corporate officer and strategist, managing and controlling overall corporate risk, in addition to executing a financial plan that contributed to the company’s continued growth. Duner previously served as Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer at Mariner Health Care, where his responsibilities included all financial operations and due diligence exercises for multiple financing and acquisition transactions. Prior to Mariner, Duner served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Wonderware, a $300 million industrial automation software company. He is a Certified Public Accountant and spent five years at the beginning of his career with Deloitte, Haskins & Sells. Duner holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from San Diego State University.

AP promotes Van Anglen Jim Van Anglen, The Associated Press’ news editor for Georgia and Alabama, has been named Deep South Editor for AP, overseeing news reports in Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and Alabama. Van Anglen joined the AP in 2011 and has overseen coverage of a number of significant news stories, including the aftermath of a massive tornado outbreak in Alabama, the debate over Alabama's new immigration law, the arrival of Ebola patients in Atlanta, and hotly contested U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in Georgia. Before joining the AP, Van Anglen spent more than a decade working as an editor at the Press-Register in Mobile, and was involved in a variety of coverage, including local, state and national politics. A New Orleans-based administrative correspondent also will be appointed soon with a mission to report and write high-end enterprise and provide day-to-day management over the territory. Jim can he reached at jvananglen@ap.org and 334262-5947.

Fisher joins Butler Snow Trudy D. Fisher has joined the Butler Snow law firm as a member of the Government and Regulatory practice group. Fisher will focus her practice on environmental, energy, regulatory, and government relations matters, including permitting and compliance issues around air, water, mining Fisher and wetlands. She will also focus on state and federal property development, solid waste planning, crisis management, emergency response and disaster assistance, restoration planning, and large scale project development.

Millsaps dean recognized Courtesy of University of Mississippi

Ken Sufka of the University of Mississippi is the Carnegie Foundation’s CASE Professor of the Year..

Ole Miss’ Sufka wins top honor Kenneth J. "Ken" Sufka, professor of psychology and pharmacology and researcher at the University of Mississippi is this year's Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching-Council for Advancement and Support of Education Mississippi Professor of the Year. Sufka received the prestigious honor Nov. 20 at the U.S. Professor of the Year Awards celebration in Washington, D.C. The program salutes the country's most outstanding undergraduate instructors and is the only national effort to recognize excellence in undergraduate teaching and mentoring. In addition to an all-expenses-paid trip, Sufka got a framed certificate of recognition. Winners were also recognized at a congressional reception and have opportunities to participate in media interviews, speaking engagements, teaching forums and other events. Sufka earned his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from Iowa State University. Before joining the UM faculty in 1992, he conducted research at Drake University, Des Moines University and Duke University. Sufka is a visiting research fellow at Newcastle University and an associate member of the UM Medical Center's Cancer Institute. Sufka teaches several courses at UM, including General Psychology, Biopsychology, Psychopharmacology lab, Physiological Psychology and Teaching of Psychology seminar. A campus favorite among students and faculty alike, he has received the 1996 Elsie M. Hood Outstanding Teacher Award, the 2005 Faculty Achievement Award and the 2006 Thomas F. Frist Student Service Award. His other awards and honors include Top 20 Psychology Professor in Mississippi, Distinguished Alumni Award from ISU's Department of Psychology, Presidential Citation from the American Psychological Association and Top 40 Under 40 Mississippian. Sufka holds professional memberships in the Society for Neuroscience and the Society for the Teaching of Psychology. With research interests in behavioral neuroscience and psychopharmacology, he has written more than 67 refereed papers, 10 book chapters and one book, "The A Game: Nine Steps to Better Grades" (Nautilus Publishing, 2011). Sufka has been the principal investigator on grants and contracts totaling more than $660,000. A prolific author, he has presented more than 120 conference papers and abstracts. Sufka has directed 12 master's theses and eight doctoral dissertations. He is a regularly invited speaker at freshman summer orientation sessions and helped develop the initial Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College curriculum. He also volunteers with the Oxford-Lafayette County Habitat for Humanity. CASE launched the awards program in 1981. That same year, the Carnegie Foundation began hosting the final round of judging, and in 1982 became the primary sponsor.

Fisher, an experienced environmental attorney, most recently served as Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ). Before leading the MDEQ, she practiced in the environmental and regulatory sector for over 20 years.

While serving as director of MDEQ, Fisher managed more than 400 employees and an annual budget in excess of $250 million. Under Fisher’s leadership, MDEQ served as the state’s lead in the implementation of more than $600 million in coastal infrastructure construction following Hurricane Kat-

Kimberly G. Burke, dean of the Else School of Management at Millsaps College and professor of accounting, has been named the 2014 recipient of the Outstanding Educator Award presented by the Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants. The society annually recognizes a full-time accounting professor at a Mississippi college or university for excellence in teaching, motivating students, or educational innovation, and for making a contribution to the profession as demonstrated by involvement in professional organizations, research, and Burke work educating the public about accounting issues. Burke will receive the award during the 2015 Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants convention in Sandestin, Fla. Burke was recognized for her more than 19 years of teaching experience, more than 20 peer-reviewed publications, numerous proceedings and research presentations. Burke is also the author of several continuing education courses offered through the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. As dean of the Else School, Burke oversees Millsaps' undergraduate business, accounting and economics programs, an MBA program, an Executive MBA program, and a Master of Accountancy program. In 2008, she was recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education as the Mississippi Professor of the Year. She also plays a role in helping Millsaps graduates secure jobs with leading accounting firms and established an executive shadowing program for accounting students. Burke holds a B.B.A. and an M.S. in accounting from Texas Tech University and a Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University. She joined the Millsaps faculty in 1995.

For announcements in Newsmakers; Contact: Frank Brown (601) 364-1022 • wally.northway@msbusiness.com

NEWSMAKERS

December 12, 2014

Raney takes home award Judy Raney of the Asset Management Division of the Mississippi Department of Transportation has received the Bill Pope Property Award. Raney received the award at the 2014 Mississippi Association of Governmental Purchasing and Property Agents (MAGPPA) annual conference in Tupelo. She served as a “Super User” and trainer for the fixed asset module of the State’s MAGIC system and is known throughout the state as an “expert” in the asset/property field. The Bill Pope Property Award was established by the MAGPPA in 2012 and is awarded, annually, to recognize a member who has demonstrated leadership in the field of property management.

Alcorn chooses Cable Alcorn State University has named Huntsville, Ala., native Jason Cable as associate athletic director for compliance. Cable earned his bachelor’s degree in political science in 2003 and his master’s degree in secondary education in 2005 from Alcorn. He served as the associate athletic director for compliance and CHAMPS life skills coordinator at Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina. Cable later took his talents to Jackson State University where he oversaw all aspects of athletic compliance. He later moved to the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) as the assistant athletic director for compliance and game day operations at Savannah State University in Savannah, Ga. Cable is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in higher education administration at Jackson State University.

Amburgey earns award The Railway Tie Association executive committee gave Terry Amburgey, a Giles Distinguished Professor at Mississippi State University, the 2014 Award of Merit for his contribution to the industry. Amburgey’s career in wood protection spans 50 years. His research has contributed to improvements within the railway tie industry and beyond. Amburgey helped increase the lifespan of railway crossties from eight to 15 years to more than 25 years. At the onset of his research in the early 1980s, he observed that crossties were vulnerable to fungi and insect damage even during the production phase. Amburgey discovered that treating crossties with borates during the air drying process protected the wood from pests. Amburgey served as a professor in the MSU College of Forest Resources for more than 30 years. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry and his doctoral degree at North Carolina State University.

Firm welcomes Williamson Tracey Williamson has joined The Gibbes Company’s strategic communications and advertising team as a senior account executive. Williamson has almost 20 years of experience in communications management. She has also successfully managed digital and online services for clients, and increased their Williamson social media audiences. Williamson holds a bachelor of arts degree in communications from Mississippi State University.

Courtesy of Natalie McGill/ The Nation’s Health

Buddy Draughdrill, Executive Director (center) and Ron Davis, MPHA 2015 President (right) accept the Afﬁliate of the Year award from James Dale, APHA’s Council of Afﬁliates 2013 Chair.

MPHA receives national honor The Mississippi Public Health Association (MPHA) has been ranked the top affiliate of the American Public Health Association (APHA). MPHA received the title of APHA’s 2014 Outstanding Affiliate of the Year at APHA’s 142nd Annual Meeting and Expo held in New Orleans, Nov. 15-19. APHA is the nation’s leading professional organization and advocacy group for public health. “This is a tremendous honor for our Association and our valued members and supporters statewide,” says MPHA President, Kay Henry. “We look forward to continuing to grow the voice for public health in our state.” The cumulative effort over the past five plus years to become the First Line of Defense for public health in Mississippi garnered MPHA the award. MPHA has developed a robust infrastructure, expanded its advocacy efforts, shaped its Annual Conference into the state’s leading public health training event, and increased membership by 48 percent since 2009. In 2013, MPHA launched a communications strategy to improve its internal health communications as well as educating the public on the importance of public health. The organization repositioned itself as the First Line of Defense for public health in Mississippi, rolled out a robust new website, and established a presence on Facebook & Twitter.

Johnson in Fellows class Kristina M. Johnson, partner in the Jones Walker, LLP Business & Commercial Litigation Practice Group, will join the American College of Bankruptcy with 33 others from 24 states and three foreign countries to create the 26th class of American College of Bankruptcy Fellows, who will be inducted on March 13 in Washington, D.C. Johnson is the seventh inductee from Mississippi since its formation in 1989 and is the first female inductee from the state. Johnson is the Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights team leader for Jones Walker. Her professional career focuses on bankruptcy and creditors' rights, workouts, commercial litigation, and collection matters, all areas in which she often lectures and publishes materials. She is also board certified in business bankruptcy law by the American Board of Certification and has served on numerous committees for state and local bar associations, including the Steering Committee to rewrite the Mississippi Local Bankruptcy Rules. She is an annual contributing author to West's Bankruptcy Exemption Manual. Johnson is a Taylor Medalist graduate of the Uni-

versity of Mississippi, where she received a bachelor of business administration, summa cum laude, and earned her juris doctor degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Mississippi School of Law.

Waller accepted by academy William L. Waller III, MD, FAAD, a dermatologist with Dermatology — South, a service of Hattiesburg Clinic, was recently accepted into the Mississippi State Medical Association’s (MSMA) Physician Leadership Academy. Each year, only 15-18 physicians are selected to attend Waller the academy. As a MSMA Physician Leadership Academy scholar, Waller will attend sessions throughout the year. Upon completing the program, graduates are honored as a doctor of distinction. While in law school, she served on the Editorial Board of The Mississippi Law Journal. Johnson is a member of The Mississippi Bar, the

Mississippi Business Journal

Sections of Business Bankruptcy, Litigation, and Alternate Dispute Resolution of the American Bar Association, and the Mississippi Bankruptcy Conference. She is past president of both the Mississippi Bankruptcy Conference and the Mississippi Women Lawyers Association. Johnson has received numerous accolades throughout her career. She has received an AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating in Martindale‐Hubbell and has been listed annually in The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of bankruptcy and creditor debtor rights/insolvency and reorganization law and litigation-bankruptcy since 2006. She was also named “Jackson, MS, Best Lawyers Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law Lawyer of the Year” in 2012. In addition, she was listed in the 2013 edition of Mid‐South Super Lawyers in the area of Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Rights and as one of the “Top 50 Lawyers” and “Top 50 Female Lawyers” in the Mid‐South. She has previously been recognized by the Mississippi Business Journal as one of Mississippi's "50 Leading Business Women" and one of Mississippi's "Top 40 Under 40."

Hansen Corps branch chief The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Vicksburg District recently selected Stephanie M. Hansen as Chief of the Management Support Branch in the Operations Division. Hansen's position requires management over the Corps' lake, river, power plant, and area/resident office facilities' fis- Hansen cal and administrative functions at about 32 locations throughout areas of Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Hansen began her career with the Vicksburg District in 2008 as a Management Services Specialist in the Security and Law Enforcement Office. She earned an Associate's Degree from Hinds Community College and a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting from Mississippi College. Hansen is a native of Vicksburg. She is married to Steven Hansen, and they are the parents of a daughter and three sons. They have one granddaughter, a son-in-law, and one daughter-in-law.

Dales practicing on Coast Memorial Physician Clinics welcomes Linda Dales, MD, in the practice of endocrinology in Gulfport. Dales earned her medical doctorate at Ross University Clinicals: Yale Affiliate, Griffin Hospital in Derby, Connecticut. She completed her fellowship in endocrinology/diabetes/metabolism at Columbia University, affil- Dales iated with St. Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital in New York; and her internship and residency at Columbia University, affiliated with Stamford Hospital, Stamford, Connecticut.

For announcements in Newsmakers; Contact: Frank Brown (601) 364-1022 • frank.brown@msbusiness.com

18 I Mississippi Business Journal I December 12, 2014 THE SPIN CYCLE

Maximize your holiday PR with these tips for your list E

very year, we distribute thousands of holiday season news releases. From gift guides and product launches, events and end-of-year wrap ups, there are many ways brands use news releases to successfully insert themselves into the holiday news cycle. After all, smart PR pros understand that news releases can directly impact end-of-year, holiday sales. To help you maximize your holiday PR program, here are five tips for merry holiday publicity:

Treat Your Release Like A Present What will surprise or delight your readers? Whether you are B2B or a B2C, write a news release that informs the reader and provides enough excitement to drive social sharing and increase coverage. So what are the types of news releases do reporters use during the holiday season? According to our expert sources at MediaPost: »Tips for a better holiday, life or year »Gift ideas: cards, services, products, donations, gifts by age and demographic »Economic/holiday tie-ins »New toys and gadgets »Recipes and holiday foods »Holiday convenience opportunities »Customer spotlights »End-of-year wrap-ups »Holiday-related products »Non-profit donation requests »A new holiday twist on an old offering

ers to share your news – featuring a social friendly headline and hashtags, with one click. 2. Including links to your successful marketing channels – Todd Smith RSS feeds, newsletters, social accounts. Use a written out CTA, vs. hyperlinks, to receive even higher results.

Don’t Pitch On Social – But That Is Where Trends Are Found Once your release is final, reach out to relevant reporters for placement. However, stay clear of pitching reporters via social platforms. Numerous media surveys show that while social channels were important for news sharing and gathering, most reporters loathed pitches from these channels. That said, reporters love to see coverage shared on social channels, and why not? It helps them meet their metrics (story views). So don’t forget to share all coverage of your news to increase impact across online portals. Understanding the Success of Your Holiday News Release One big mistake many communicators make is not accounting for all of the action generated from their holiday PR efforts. In addition to coverage, track multimedia views and shares, social activity, marketing channel registrations, social follower increases and inbound website traffic. Follow these steps this holiday season and watch the ROI of your holiday news release skyrocket. Take the time to understand what your audience is looking for, time your release, include imagery and social action requests, share your coverage, and of course do not forget to track the reactions to your news and create some impact and action this year.

Think Visual! Holiday Content Needs Imagery If 65 percent of humans are visual learners, then it makes sense to include images in your release to increase the impact of your news. To increase readership and build emotional connections, reporters rely on company-provided assets – photos, logos and video to round out their articles. Take photos of your products, create interactive capsules of your holiday content, add screen shots or PDFs, repurpose last year’s assets, use testimonials, or create Vine videos of your holiday tips in practice. Showcasing your offering visually increases 7 Holiday E-mail Marketing Tips to Avoid coverage and social sharing opportunities. Common Mistakes It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Jumpstart Social Sharing We have officially kicked off the holiday People who open a news release are inter- e-mail-sending bonanza, and the one item ested in your news. Turn that interest into on every e-mail marketer’s wish list is a holly, action by including calls-to-action such as: jolly response rate to his or her campaigns. 1. Adding in click to tweet to allow readBattling the competition will be more dif-

ficult as everyone sends more and more messages. What’s the secret to rising above the noise of the inbox over the next month? These seven holiday e-mail marketing tips will help you avoid an avalanche of holiday woes and ensure your marketing is merry and bright. 1. Ditch reporting? You’re getting coal. It’s a busy time for all of us. But this is no time to ignore your metrics. If your subscribers aren’t reacting well to your holiday e-mails, you may have to do a switcheroo. You should be tracking your metrics like NORAD tracks Santa in December. 2. Stay off the naughty list by using responsive design. A hefty chunk of mobile commerce sales comes during the holidays. According to Adobe’s Digital Index report, 26.2 percent of 2013’s holiday season mobile commerce sales came on Black Friday, and Cyber Monday contributed 18.3 percent. Not only must you use responsive design to make sure your emails render across all screen sizes, it’s important your load time is short and sweet so potential customers don’t get fed up and leave. 3. Don’t be a Grinch: Remember your loyal customers Make it a point to make your loyal customers feel special during the holidays. Start with an e-mail that expresses your thanks for their business. Include a reminder about their point balance, a VIP-only sale or discount, an exclusive gift-with-purchase, or special holiday products or services only available to loyalty program members. 4. Keep testing, ya lazy animal What, no testing? You can’t beat the clutter of the holiday inbox with boring and undescriptive subject lines or hastily put together content. Stand out from the onslaught of competing e-mails by testing your messages for the best engagement. 5. Wise men use word-of-mouth Encourage subscribers to buy even when they don’t know what they’re looking for. Clueless customers will turn word-ofmouth recommendations and reviews into prompt buying decisions. Consider working these into your holiday e-mails for more conversions. 6. Make spirits bright with lots of suggestions Give the gift of a good suggestion via upselling, cross-selling, and sending automated abandoned shopping cart e-mails. Wish lists are also a great way to keep subscribers’ gift ideas at the top of their minds. 7. The weather outside is frightful, but your e-mails

shouldn’t be ‘Tis the season to be jolly, so make sure you’re not sending error-riddled messages that could put a gloom on your good time. Double check every e-mail that goes out for grammar and spelling, and make sure all links work as intended. Also, don’t forget to manage unsubscribes, bounces and abuse complaints so your inboxing report brings you good tidings.

All is calm, all is bright By following these holiday e-mail marketing tips, you’ll fend off common blunders commonly committed at this time of year. Don’t let the rush of the season get to you. Instead, keep your campaign’s priorities front and center and check the important items off your list. Fumbled Mic | Big 12 ‘One True Champion’ Ad Campaign, Commish Sacked Playoff Chances All year long, the Big 12 has been advancing a “One True Champion” ad campaign as the college football playoff heated-up – but by crowning both Baylor and TCU as coconference champs, Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby not only sunk both teams’ chances of making it into the final four, he put an exclamation point on arguably the worst sports ad campaign of all time! In the wake of final playoff rankings that has Alabama, Oregon, Florida State and Ohio State in the Final Four, the Big 12 has a serious credibility problem on its hands. A conference that is considered by the sports pundits as one of the top two in the nation, is suddenly on the outside looking in. And Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby – with some serious poultry product on his face – should be fitted with a new kind of Egg Bowl crown! Shortly after Baylor’s handling of Kansas State (they beat TCU head-tohead), Bears coach Art Briles let Bowlsby know exactly what we were all thinking about this embarrassing double-standard. "If you have a slogan and say there's one true champion, all of a sudden, you're going to go out the back door instead of going out the front," Briles said. "Don't say one thing and do another.” The Spin Cycle’s sentiments exactly! And the Big 12, along with its rudderless commissioner, gets a deflated, fumbled mic! Each week, The Spin Cycle will bestow a Golden Mic Award to the person, group or company in the court of public opinion that best exemplifies the tenets of solid PR, marketing and advertising – and those who don’t. Stay tuned – and step-up to the mic! And remember … Amplify Your Brand! Todd Smith is president and chief communications officer of Deane, Smith & Partners, a fullservice branding, PR, marketing and advertising firm with offices in Jackson. The firm — based in Nashville, Tenn. — is also affiliated with Mad Genius. Contact him at todd@deanesmithpartners.com, and follow him @spinsurgeon.

December 12, 2014

Mississippi Business Journal

» MISSISSIPPI LEADERS by Martin Willoughby

Following her passion Attorney has built successful career by helping others

aising a daughter, I think a lot about the workplace that she will likely enter in a few short years. She will find a significantly different marketplace than the one her mother, and particularly her grandmother, entered. There will be considerably more opportunities for her; however, I find that the world still sends very confusing messages to women in marketplace. Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, rekindled the public discussion about successful women in the marketplace with her best-selling book Lean In. She noted, “We can each define ambition and progress for ourselves. The goal is to work toward a world where expectations are not set by the stereotypes that hold us back, but by our personal passion, talents, and interests.” My interviewee this week, Ashley Pittman, is a great example of someone who has achieved success by following her own passion and interests. She is a successful attorney and has built a career in helping others. Pittman is a native of Jackson and earned her undergraduate and law degrees at Ole Miss. Upon graduation from law school, she clerked for a year with the Mississippi

Up Close With ... Ashley Pittman Title: Attorney, Stubbleﬁeld & Yelverton, PLLC; General Counsel, Hurst Review Services, Inc. First Job: I worked as a hostess at Steak & Ale. Proudest Moment as a Leader: I was honored when Professor Bell asked me to write a chapter in her book and to speak to her classes. Hobbies/Interests: Travel and family activities

Supreme Court before joining the law ﬁrm of Stubbleﬁeld & Yelverton, PLLC. During her 15-year legal career she has also been raising two children and went back and earned a LLM in tax law from the University of Alabama. Today, her practice areas include Estate/Tax Panning, Asset Protection, Fertility Law/Assisted Reproduction Technology (ART) Law, Establishment of Parental Rights, Surrogacy, Embryo Donation and Adoption. In addition, Pittman serves as General Counsel for Hurst Review Services, an international test preparation company based in Brookhaven.

Pittman is in the forefront of the emerging area of Fertility Law. She explained, “Through my estate planning and probate work, I became interested in the impact of modern fertility technology on both estate planning and parental rights.” Pittman serves Of Counsel to the International Fertility Law Group, Inc. and the Reproductive Law Group, Inc. She noted, “Fertility medicine and reproductive technologies are rapidly changing, and the law is trying to keep up.” Based on her expertise, Pittman was asked to write a chapter in Professor Debbie Bell’s book Bell on Mississippi Family Law,

“Fertility medicine and reproductive technologies are rapidly changing, and the law is trying to keep up.” Ashley Pittman Attorney, Stubbleﬁeld & Yelverton, PLLC; General Counsel, Hurst Review Services, Inc.

and Professor Bell has Pittman speak each semester to her family law class at Ole Miss on the topic. I asked Pittman about the secrets to her success in juggling a busy career with Martin Willoughby family and other life responsibilities. She noted, “I have been very fortunate to work with colleagues who have provided me flexibility over the years.” For young women, she emphasizes that there is a way to find some balance but you have to work hard to achieve it. She said, “Females need to approach the work force with a strong positive attitude. As long as they do that, good things will follow.” Pittman also shared, “The career path that you may envision today may change as you progress. As you gain life experience, you will also gain new interests and passions. Allow your path to change and adjust your goals along the way.” We also discussed how important it is to ask for what you want. While you may not always get exactly what you want, you never get what you don’t ask for. Mississippi has many success female professionals and executives. Many of these are acknowledged each year in the MBJ’s Top 50 Leading Business Women. I was encouraged by Pittman’s positive attitude, her passion for her work, and her encouraging words for future generations of Mississippi’s women leaders. I hope you will be too. 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.

Story of a physician’s early years is inspiring

» Intern: A Doctor’s Initiation By Sandeep Jauhar Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux $16.00 softback

ardiologist Sandeep Jauhar’s memoir, Intern, about his residency at a New York City hospital is a touching, honest account of the difficulties young doctors face when they leave medical school and attempt to become practicing physicians. In particular, the first year of residency, known as internship, is legendarily grueling and the learning curve steep. Even those of us not in the medical field have likely heard about the all-nighters, the exhaustion, and the overwork. After reading Jauhar’s book, this view doesn’t seem to be an exaggeration. In addition to making his readers feel like we’re right alongside him in the hospital late at night with blurry eyes and twitchy nerves, Jauhar’s book is also interesting because of his own unique path to becoming a doctor. Unlike many of his fellow interns (as well as his older brother), who’d wanted to be doctors for their entire lives, Jauhar majored in physics in college, was working towards a PhD in that field, and had always wanted to be just about anything but a doctor. A change of

heart drove him to switch from physics to medicine. During his internship, however, self-doubt about his decision arises repeatedly. His candidness about this ongoing ambivalence towards his chosen profession and his understandable worries that maybe he’s just not cut out to be a doctor make his story so relatable. And they underscore how emotionally draining that ﬁrst year of residency is. Jauhar also struggles with how to balance the need to be efﬁcient and decisive when it comes to treating patients and

his desire to have an emotional connection to them. He wants to be a good doctor, but he also wants to be a good person, and he discovers that those two goals are often at odds. Some of this is related to the sheer workload and the very real time constraints interns are faced with, and some of it, as he notices with older residents, appears to be a coping mechanism. Doctors see so much pain and encounter so many awful stories that some of them have to resort to dark humor about their patients or, worse, a callousness that Jauhar wants no part of. He promises himself that he’ll become a different sort of doctor. Reading this book deepened my appreciation for doctors, their hard work, and the complicated choices they’re often faced with. I also empathized even more with my friends who’ve become doctors. Of course, I’d heard about their sleepless nights, but this book gave me whole new insights into the relentless nature that’s required to become a physician.

— LouAnn Lofton, mbj@msbusiness.com

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