MBJ_Dec26_2014

INSIDE — Col. Jessup couldn’t be more hot for Havana, Page 7

35

Birdwatching generates big bucks for coastal economy

YEARS

1979

www.msbusiness.com

2014

December 26, 2014 • Vol. 36, No. 52 • $1 • 16 pages

More, P 4

A home for Christmas {P 12} » Bittersweet dedication puts family in new Habitat house in time for holidays The Spin Cycle {P 14} » The top 10 toy brands that won holiday social media blitz

R A YE E TH F O N O RS PE S ES N SI BU 14 20 »

F-150s roll into Mississippi {P 2}

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

2 I Mississippi Business Journal I December 26, 2014

MANUFACTURING

F-150s roll into Mississippi, ahead of the pickup pack

By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com

The federal government put the hammer down on the U.S. automotive industry in August 2012 — issuing a mandate that the fuel efficiency of trucks and cars had to more than double by 2025.

Toward meeting that goal, Ford Motor Co. has just rolled out its lighter-weight, allaluminum-body F-150 pickup, the best-selling vehicle in the United States for more than 30 years.

A half-dozen, perhaps the first ones in Mississippi, rolled into the Gray-Daniels Ford-Lincoln lot in Brandon on Dec. 16.

Jimmy Martin, 23, had been gunning to be the first to buy a 2015 F-150 in Mississippi.

It’s not clear if he was, but he drove off the lot with an F-150 Lariat on Dec. 17.

Watson Quality Ford in Jackson got its first two late last week, said Ryan Rousselo, new-car sales manager. He said the dealership has already pre-sold a number of them.

The shipment has drawn curiosity seekers. “We had 10 or 15 people come by yesterday and take pictures of them,” Rousselo said Friday.

Seven of 10 pickups — including Chevrolets, Dodges, Toyotas and other brands — will be aluminum-bodied by 2025 and all major automakers will have aluminum-body program in place by then, according Forbes.com, citing a report by Ducker Worldwide, a research firm.

The aluminum alloy is thicker — and thus stronger, Ford argues — but still lighter than rolled steel.

The retooling of Ford assembly plants in Dearborn, Mich. and Kansas City to turn out the lighter, stronger F-150s delayed the usual early-fall delivery to the week before Christmas.

The switch to aluminum alloy was the brainchild of then-Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally, a former executive at the Boeing Co., where strength and lightness are at a premium.

An engineer with a gift for management, Mulally turned around Ford, which was the only U.S. automaker that didn’t have to opt for a government bailout during the recession.

Mississippi may play a role in the future of Ford’s pioneering venture.

A startup company, American Specialty Alloys, is expected to open a 1.4-millionsquare-foot plant at Columbus to turn out the rolled aluminum alloy.

A Columbus-based spokesman for the company has declined to confirm that the $1.2 billion plant will be built there, but American Speciality has applied for permits from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.

Special to the MBJ

2015 F-150

Courtesy of Gray-Daniels-Ford-Lincoln

Interior of F-150 in Gray-Daniels Ford-Lincoln showroom.

JACK WEATHERLY / For the MBJl

Bob Harper, general manager of Gray-Daniels FordLincoln, shows off one of the F-150s in the dealership’s first shipment.

Tantalizingly, the company said in a detailed Nov. 17 news release that the “transition from steel to aluminum in the truck sector has been accelerated by the launch of the 2015 Ford F-150.”

Ford doesn’t have the No. 1 seller without repeat customers.

The re-engineering and strategizing that have gone into the revamped F-150 are not what brought Jimmy Martin to the Brandon lot.

He saw the new F-150 months ago online and liked the style, Martin said in a telephone interview.

He gets the weight thing — up to 700 pounds less than in the 2014 F-150, leaving more power for hauling, and making for fuel efficiency to offset increases in the purchase prices.

But Martin went for looks and comfort, and more horsepower than in Ford’s more-

economical 2.7-liter V-6. His has the 5liter V-8.

Martin bought a tricked-out F-150 Lariat, very much like the one in the GrayDaniels showroom last week with a $53,000 sticker price. Except he says the one he drove home to Sylvarena in Smith County has a few more extras than the showroom pickup.

Prices start at about $26,600 for the regular-cab version, about $400 more than the 2014 equivalent, and the top-of-the line Platinum is about $3,000 higher than its 2014 counterpart, according to Forbes.com.

Gray-Daniels General Manager Bob Harper said the King Ranch version of the Lariat has a sticker price of about $63,000.

Martin’s a Ford guy. He bought a 2012 F150 and put 60,000 miles on it in the first year driving from Smith County to west Texas, where he is a driller for Helmerich and Payne Drilling in the Permian Basin.

“I work two weeks on and two weeks off.

So I do a lot of driving,” Martin said.

He traded in the F-150 for a F-250 ecodiesel for economy, and had his eye on another F-250 until he saw the new F-150 online and became infatuated.

At that point, he decided that economy was not the top priority for him, telling his wife: “I’ve got to have one of those.”

December 26, 2014

AGRICULTURE

Record soybean yield is valued at $1.17 billion A potentially record-setting production year made soybeans a billion dollar crop and Mississippi’s thirdlargest agricultural commodity in 2014.

Trent Irby, soybean specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said soybeans are expected to yield a record average of 52 bushels an acre.

Soybeans set a new harvest record, keeping this a billion dollar crop and Mississippi’s third-largest agricultural commodity in 2014. “Overall, we had a really good year for soybean production,� Irby said. “Planting season was delayed with the wet spring, but once the crop was planted, we had favorable temperatures for most of the growing season and timely rains in many areas of the state that helped make this year’s crop what it was.�

MSU experts estimate Mississippi’s soybean crop has a 2014 value of $1.17 billion. That figure is down slightly from the 2013 value and the record value of $1.27 billion set in 2012. Poultry remains the state’s most valuable agricultural commodity, followed by forestry. “The value of production has declined because of lower market prices for soybeans, but our producers have realized even higher yield during this same period,� Irby said.

In 2012, Mississippi broke its state-average yield record. Yields dipped slightly in 2013, but the state set a new record in 2014.

Sojourner won her first term in 2011, narrowly defeating longtime Democratic incumbent Bob Dearing. He’s considering a bid to reclaim his old seat.

Sojourner drew statewide notice earlier this year as manager of fellow state Sen. Chris McDaniel’s unsuccessful Republican primary campaign against U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran.

ENERGY

Entergy planning 3 solar-panel pilot projects The Mississippi Public Service Commission has approved three solar power projects to be constructed

by Entergy.

The pilot projects, the first to be sponsored by a utility, will be built in Senatobia, Jackson and Brookhaven, Northern District Commissioner Brandon Presley said in a news release.

Each will have the capacity to generate 500,000 kilowatts of electricity, the release said.

Hattiesburg-based Stion Corp. will install the facilities, which will provide electricity for 175 singlefamily residences.

In a second, smaller project the commission has approved the construction of a solar farm in Chickasaw County, a joint project between the county and Phoenix Solar. The 30-acre site near Okolona will be able to power 300 homes, according to the release.

I

Mississippi Business Journal

Baptist Golden Triangle approved for renovations COLUMBUS — Baptist Memorial HospitalGolden Triangle has won state approval for part of a planned overhaul.

The Mississippi State Department of Health said in a news release that it has approved a certificate of need allowing the Columbus hospital to move its pharmacy, enlarge an existing operating room and build space for a satellite pharmacy in its surgical department. — from staff and MBJ wire services

GAMING

Mississippi casino revenue fell in November, as continued weakness at casinos along the Mississippi River outweighed gains on the Gulf Coast.

State Department of Revenue figures show casinos statewide won $156 million from gamblers in November, down 5 percent from $164 million in November 2013.

The 12 coastal casinos won $82.8 million, up less than 1 percent from November 2013. The 17 river casinos won $73.1 million, down 10 percent from November 2013.

It’s the 25th month out of 29 that casinos have won less from gamblers compared with the previous year.

Coastal casinos are performing much better, with revenue rising slightly over the last year. Statewide revenue rose in October thanks to strength at coast casinos.

The numbers exclude Choctaw Indian casinos, which don’t report winnings to the state.

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POLITICS

Meadville mayor seeks seat; Dearing may be next MEADVILLE — Meadville Mayor Lane Reed plans to run for the state Senate seat currently held by fellow Republican Melanie Sojourner of Natchez.

Reed, a 44-year-old lawyer became mayor last year, winning his first political race. In his Monday announcement, he’s calling for more cooperation with state leaders and local governments in the district.

Senate district 37 includes all of Franklin and parts of Adams, Amite and Pike counties.

Sojourner has not announced her plans and could not immediately be reached for comment.

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4 I Mississippi Business Journal I December 26, 2014 TOURISM

Birdwatching generates big bucks for coastal economy with room to grow

By TAMMY LEYTHAM mbj@msbusiness.com

Wildlife watching - including birding - contributes millions of dollars each year to coastal coffers and with the new Pascagoula River Audubon Center opening in 2015, the sky’s the limit.

Because birders like to plan trips to areas where they can see multiple natural attractions, the coastal counties are poised for growth in nature-based tourism, said Dr. Mark LaSalle, director of the Pascagoula River Audubon Center in Moss Point.

“On the Mississippi Coast, we’re in the catbird seat - especially Jackson County,” LaSalle said.

In addition to the Audubon Center, Jackson County is home to the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Gulf Islands National Seashore, sites on the Coastal Birding Trail, the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge, USM Gulf Coast Research Laboratory and other sites.

Earlier in December, the Audubon Center and Mississippi Development Authority’s Department of Tourism unveiled the installation of electronic kiosks at the state’s welcome center locations on I-10 in Waveland and Moss Point.

The devices highlight all 44 sites of the Mississippi Coast Birding Trail located throughout the southern six counties. And the involvement of MDA indicates an awareness of how much birding contributes to the economy.

Those digital kiosks are just another tool that can be used to expand and grow nature tourism in South Mississippi, LaSalle said.

“Birders have money, and they will come to areas with a lot of opportunities to view wildlife,” he said.

A birding trail survey conducted at Dauphin Island just across the state line in Alabama, for example, shows the average income of a birder at $87,800 annually. Those birders spend an average of $287 on hotel/motel expenses.

The survey also showed that 73 percent of birders will engage in and purchase local art, making artist communities like Ocean Springs and Bay St. Louis particularly appealing, he said.

“You can’t swing a dead cat around here without hitting

an artist, and some darn good ones,” he said.

In fact, the new $1.6 million Audubon Center will house a dedicated nature art gallery.

“We don’t have a dedicated art gallery anywhere along the Gulf Coast that I know of,” LaSalle said, adding that the gallery will support local artists. “We’ll say, ‘here’s where you can go buy it,’” he said.

The 5,000-square-foot Center sits on 10 acres – some of which are wetlands. In addition to the nature art gallery,

Birders have money, and they will come to areas with a lot of opportunities to view wildlife.

Dr. Mark LaSalle Director of Pascagoula River Audubon Center in Moss Point

it will include an interpretive center and a botanical garden with native plants actively used in the landscaping. And there will be a boathouse so the Center can continue offering boat tours of the Pascagoula River, one of the last free-flowing rivers in the United States. The boat tour is important because it’s an opportunity for visitors to view a multitude of wildlife, including migratory birds, shore and water birds, American alligators and other animals that call the river basin home.

And the Gulf Coast region is the “first place birds land in North America after crossing the Gulf on their migra-

Photo by Grand Bay NERR

A blue grosbeak.

tion north,” according to a 2013 report, making it particularly appealing to birders.

The Wildlife Tourism and the Gulf Coast Economy report was prepared for the Environmental Defense Fund.

It also shows that wildlife tourism revenue brings in nearly $2 billion to Mississippi each year. Wildlife tourism includes hunting and fishing, but also wildlife watching.

Birding alone generates about $13 billion in combined federal and state taxes in the U.S. each year, according to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife report. That report also shows that nationwide in 2011, birders spent an estimated $15 billion on their trips and $26 billion on equipment.

Wildlife watching is defined by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as “closely observing, photographing, and/or feeding wildlife.” In the Gulf Coast region, that includes birding and sea turtle watching, as well as alligator viewing, snorkeling and dolphin cruises.

There are 20 wildlife-watching guide businesses in Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties. Some of those are for other activities such as fishing or kayaking, but include birdwatching.

Jackson County is home to McCoy’s River and Swamp tours that operate out of the Audubon Center. There are also several outfitters for kayak, canoe and standup paddle board tours on local rivers, bays and bayous, as well as trips to Horn Island - part of Gulf Islands National Seashore and Deer Island off the Biloxi coast.

LaSalle said there is a strong coalition of support for nature tourism from county and city officials, local businesses and the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce. With agencies working together, the area can get a bigger slice of a pretty lucrative pie. “I tell folks that nature-based tourism is one color in a color-wheel of opportunity for tourism in Mississippi. And we’re an important element,” he said. “It can grow.”

Photo by Grand Bay NERR

Courtesy of Pascagoula River Audubon Center

Construction continues on the Pascagoula River Audubon Center, set to open in Moss Point in the summer.

Purple Martins migrate to the coastal area after the first of the year.

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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 26, 2014 Volume 36, Number 52

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

MBJPERSPECTIVE December 26, 2014 • www.msbusiness.com • Page 6

OTHER VIEWS

Mississippi’s employment struggles cling over time

M

ississippi’s unemployment rate dropped to 7.3 percent in November from 7.6 percent in October.

That statistic might be more encouraging were it not for the fact that Mississippi’s unemployment rate leads the nation.

Mississippi is among the 41 states and Washington, D.C., that had drops in unemployment rates, but the national rate fell to 5.8 percent, 1.5 percentage points below Mississippi. And every other state was lower.

Only the District of Columbia, which is not a state, had higher unemployment.

North Carolina had the biggest drop in

joblessness last month, down from 6.3 to 5.8 percent. Delaware, Georgia, Maryland and Michigan all had drops of 0.4 percentage points.

The Department of Labor reported: “In November 2014, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 37 states and the District of Columbia, decreased in 12 states, and was unchanged in Idaho. The largest overthe-month increases in employment occurred in California (+90,100), Florida (+41,900), and Texas (+34,800). The largest over-the-month decrease in employment occurred in West Virginia (-5,200), followed

by Mississippi (-4,500) and Kansas (-4,100).

» THE OUTSIDE WORLD

See VIEWS, Page 7

» NOTEBOOK

Google sues Miss. attorney general

MELISSA KILLINGSWORTH Sr. Account Executive

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To place orders, temporarily stop service, change your address or inquire about billing: Phone: (601) 364-1000, Fax: (601) 364-1035, Email: charina.rhodes@msbusiness.com, Mail: MS Business Journal Subscription Services, 200 N.Congress Street, Suite 400, Jackson, MS 39201 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Mississippi Business Journal, Circulation Manager, 200 North Congress Street, Suite 400, Jackson, MS 39201 To submit subscription payments: Mail: MS Business Journal Subscriptions Services, 200 North Congress Street, Suite 400, Jackson, MS 39201.

No material in this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written consent. Editorial and advertising material contained in this publication is derived from sources considered to be reliable, but the publication cannot guarantee their accuracy. Nothing contained herein should be construed as a solicitation for the sale or purchase of any securities.

It is the policy of this newspaper to employ people on the basis of their qualifications and with assurance of equal opportunity and treatment regardless of race, color, creed, sex, age, sexual orientation, religion, national origin or handicap.

The Mississippi Business Journal, is an affiliate of Journal Publishing Company (JPC), Inc.: Clay Foster, president and chief executive officer.

Entire contents copyrighted © 2014 by Journal Inc. All rights reserved.

The largest over-the-month percentage increase in employment occurred in Vermont (+1.2 percent), followed by Hawaii (+0.9 percent) and Delaware, “South Carolina, and Wisconsin (+0.7 percent each). The largest over-the-month percentage decline in employment occurred in West Virginia (-0.7 percent), followed by Mississippi (-0.4 percent) and Kansas, South Dakota, and Wyoming (-0.3 percent each). Over the year, nonfarm employment increased in 48 states and the District of Co-

» 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.

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

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

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

Google Inc. is suing Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood, trying to block him from pursuing criminal charges or filing a civil lawsuit against the company after Hood issued a subpoena for information about some of Google’s operations.

In a federal lawsuit filed in Mississippi, Google said Hood has tried to force the company to restrict access to content through its Internet search engine and advertising and on its video-sharing site, YouTube.

“The Attorney General has engaged in a sustained campaign of threats against Google,” the Mountain View, California-based company said in its lawsuit.

Working with others in the National Association of Attorneys General, Hood has been pushing Google since 2013 to prevent use of the company’s search engine to find illegal drugs and pirated music, video games and movies. Hood said Friday that Google had worked with states’ attorneys general to restrict access to information about child pornography, and the company had agreed to stop some of the search engine’s autocomplete features that mentioned how to buy the painkiller oxycodone without a prescription.

“We have accomplished much, but more needs to be done,” Hood said.

In October, Hood issued a 79-page subpoena demanding information from Google about parts of its operations, including information about advertising for imported prescription drugs.

The Google lawsuit called Hood’s subpoena “punitive” and said it violates settled federal law. The lawsuit says a 1996 federal law, the Communications Decency Act, “explicitly grants Internet service providers like Google broad immunity from a state enforcement action.

— The Associated Press

PERSPECTIVE

December 26, 2014 I Mississippi Business Journal

VIEWS

» RICKY NOBILE

I

7

Continued from Page 6

lumbia and decreased in Alaska (-0.4 percent) and Mississippi (-0.1 percent).”

Unemployment rates overall, as wire services and other publications described, had a “break out” month.

The South, for unemployment counts, is comprised of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Mississippi had higher joblessness than all the other states in the South.

The Atlantic Southeast subdivision of the South had a 5.8 percent rate, showing strength comparable to the rest of the nation; the East South Central region had 6.5 percent, also better than Mississippi.

The rest of the South outside Mississippi also had another commonality: its education levels are higher than Mississippi, an undeniable fact in economic struggle like the kind Mississippi has had for most of its history.

Like the national failure of 50 years of static policy toward Cuba, Mississippi must find a better way to deal with education, and full funding under laws already passed is the starting point.

— Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

»INSIDE MISSISSIPPI

Col. Jessup couldn’t be more hot for Havana

L

ast week President Obama made smoking a Cuban cigar a little less glamorous.

After 50 years of sanctions, embargoes, a failed invasion, and over a hundred assignation attempts on Fidel “the Beard” Castro – a man that even Mother Nature had some difficulty taking out – President Obama has officially thrown in the towel.

Now, a few good men still consider Cuba a major threat to our nation’s security. They want — no, they need Colonel Jack Nicholson Jessup on that wall. They need to keep Guantanamo Bay open for business. But those few good men can’t handle the truth: our Cold War with Cuba has not been worth the effort.

For more than 50 years, we’ve blown a lot of hot air and rattled a few sabers at the little Commie Nation That Could Barely Take Care of Itself.

We did invade Cuba not long after Castro’s takeover, but our military was not officially involved. Kennedy authorized the use of only a handful of CIA operatives, four U.S. airmen who all lost their lives, and a host of Mafia goons. Yes, the Mafia of the Don Corleone and Tony Montana variety, a Mafia that was eager to regain control of its more lucrative gambling, prostitution and drug operations in Havana.

The plan was to have the Cuban Army revolt and arm ordinary Cuban citizens and retake the country for Freedom and Democracy. The problem was the Cuban citizens and soldiers they met on the beaches that evening were not too much interested and the Bay of Pigs became more than an

embarrassment for Kennedy and the U.S. “The Beard” blustered back at us even more, but the Soviet Union’s attempt to put missiles in Cuba was really the only threat to our nation’s security. Nevertheless, according to U.S.-Cuban-relations experts, our government spent upwards of $50 million per year from 1961-1975 in efforts to bring down the Castro regime, euphemistically referred to as “The Cuba Project.” Reagan ramped up spending, but since then and up until Obama’s announcement, the amount of tax dollars used to destabilize the Cuban government has been somewhat less transparent.

Even when Castro had the perceived might of the old Soviet Union behind him, he could do little to disrupt our American way of life. Therefore, most of our efforts to take back Cuba were little more than show for the Cuban Exiles who had their livelihood and millions of dollars taken away by the Revolution.

Obama’s “Why Can’t We Be Friends” overture to Cuba coincided with the release of Alan Gross, a government subcontractor with the Agency for International Development. Officially, Gross was bringing internet capabilities to the Cuban people. The Cuban government imprisoned him for spying.

Upon his release Gross thanked President Obama and spoke of his concern for the Cuban people. “It pains me to see them treated so unjustly as a consequence of two governments’ mutually belligerent policies,” he said at a press conference. “Five and a half decades of history shows us that

such belligerence inhibits better judgment. Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

David Dallas Gross also said he supported the President’s move to thaw relations with Cuba. He called it “a game-changer” he fully supports.

He added, “I truly hope we can get beyond these mutually belligerent policies.”

While we may not enjoy those clandestine cigars as much anymore, Obama’s move to thaw relations with Cuba will be looked on quite favorably in the not so distant future.

Yes, Castro’s brother is still charge. Yes, Senator Marco Rubio, the Cuban-American Old Guard and those few good men are predicting disaster.

However, a poll by Florida International University points out that 68 percent of Cuban-Americans favor diplomatic relations with Cuba. 88 percent of CubanAmericans under the age of 30 want to move beyond the past and reconnect with their island cousins.

Publicly we never have to admit the wasted years and dollars on a failed Cuban policy. We can discuss it all privately, of course, sitting upstairs at some posh Martini Bar, eating “banned” North Korean Kimchi with James Franco, Seth Rogen, and executives from Sony. » David Dallas is a political writer. He worked for former U.S. Sen. John Stennis and authored Barking Dawgs and A Gentleman from Mississippi.

2014 BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YE

Joe Sanderson Jr. » CEO of Sanderson Farms saved Mississippi’s PGA tournament and propelled Sanderson Farms to an even higher profile around the state

By TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com

You can come at the chicken business a few different ways.

You can get to a point you’re happy with and stay there, you can wait for opportunities to arise, or you can create them the way Joe Sanderson Jr. does.

The CEO of Mississippi’s largest public company prefers to run at full throttle, having doubled the Laurel-based company’s poultry production in the past 10 years and tripled it in the last 20 years.

Patience may be a virtue, but it’s not a business strategy for Sanderson, the third generation of Sandersons to run the 11,500-employee poultry company that started as a seed and grain store in Brookhaven in 1947, the year Joe Sanderson Jr. was born.

“Under Joe’s leadership, we have built the last six plants that have been built” in the United States, CFO Mike Cockrell says.

The growth of principal competitors Tyson Foods and Pilgrim’s Pride has mostly come through acquisitions, Cockrell notes. “Frankly, Joe was not patient enough to wait for an acquisition.

On the other hand, when you go to build a plant you can put it where you want it. He has chosen to grow the company that way.”

Cockrell has witnessed huge growth since joining the company in 1992 after working as a lawyer in Jackson. “We are three times as big now as when he hired me,” Cockrell adds.

The number six plant for the $2.6 billion company in Palestine, Texas, is scheduled to open in 2015’s first quarter. Palestine, which is to cost $140 million and include a hatchery, feed mill and processing plant, will raise Sanderson Farms’ poultry production by 16 percent.

Another plant planned for North Carolina will add another 15 percent to production totals.

A CEO, Cockrell says, can create shareholder value by squeezing more money out of what the company already has. Or the CEO can keep growing the company. That’s the lever Joe Sanderson pulls, Cockrell notes.

So far so good, he says.

The company’s stock price has climbed along with production, reaching $87.10 a share on common stock in mid-December, a pace that would give the stock price an increase of more than 21 percent for the year and around 80 percent for the past two years.

Shares sold at around $45 apiece in 2004, according to Cockrell.

A growing preference for poultry has helped (per capita consumption of chicken surpassed beef in the 1980s). And in recent years, Sanderson and other meat producers have benefited greatly from feed grain price declines brought by rising supplies.

“Profits at Sanderson Farms doubled in the first nine months of this year due to lower costs,” the Financial Times reported in November.

often boneless or skinless, takes it home and cooks it. When my daughter wants to serve chicken, she buys it already cooked, takes it home and serves it.”

The value-added approach, according to the company history, began in 1986 when Sanderson Farms purchased National Prepared Foods, based in Jackson, giving Sanderson an entry into the beef, pork, and seafood segments. The company also diversified by moving into the market for further-processed, or value-added, poultry products.

Position: Chairman & CEO, Sanderson Farms Inc. Born: 1947 Family: Wife Kathy Sanderson, three daughters, six grandchildren Education: Laurel High School, Millsaps College Professional Associations: Director, Mississippi Poultry Association; Director, Mississippi Manufacturers Association; Director, National Chicken Council; Former Director & Chairman, Business and Industry Political Education Committee; Former Director, Mississippi Economic Council; Former Director, U.S. Poultry and Egg Association; Second Generation Member, Mississippi Poultry Hall of Fame; Laureate, Mississippi Business Hall of Fame.

Community & Civic Groups: Former Director, Edora Welty Foundation; Former Vice Chairman, Governor's Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal for the Mississippi Gulf Coast; Former Director, Pine Burr Council of Boy Scouts of America; Former Director, Salvation Army; Former Director, United Way; Former Director, Laurel Chamber of Commerce; Trustee, Mississippi Chapter of The Nature Conservancy; Former Trustee, Millsaps College; Former Director, Laurel School District; Former Director, Alcorn State University Foundation; Past President & Director, Association for Excellence in Education.

The very profitable last two years have led to production increases that Sanderson COO Lampkin Butts expects will cause an oversupply and a drop in prices. “Probably in the second half of 2015 or into 2016,” Butts says.

Some softening of any downturn should come through Sanderson Farms’ broad product mix that appeals to retail, food service, discount, export, and other markets. Integral to that vertical marketing effort is the company’s emphasis on valueadded products, such as boneless, cut, frozen, marinated, or cooked chicken, Sanderson Farms said in a published company history.

Joe Sanderson Jr. put it this way in the company history: “When my grandmother wanted to serve chicken, she caught a chicken, wrung its neck, plucked it, cut it up, and cooked it …. When my wife wants to serve chicken, she goes to the supermarket, buys chicken already cut into pieces,

By the early 1990s, more than 95 percent of all chicken products that Sanderson Farms sold were considered value-added, the company history notes.

MBJ Business Person of the Year The impressive growth of Sanderson Farms under Joe Sanderson Jr.’s leadership makes the CEO an easy choice as the Mississippi Business Journal’s Business Person of the Year for 2014, when combined with his civic involvement and participation in Mississippi’s economic development, including the leadership as chairman of a citizens committee studying the state’s transportation infrastructure needs.

But here is another reason Sanderson stands tall among Mississippi’s business leaders: He kept alive Mississippi’s Professional Golf Association tour event by persuading his board to make Sanderson Farms the tournament’s title sponsor.

The rescue could not have been mo The tour event, held in Mississippi since headed for extinction, and with it the hu thousands of dollars it earned annua Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital on versity of Mississippi Medical Center Jackson.

Thanks to the poultry company’s sup month’s contribution to the Batson Hospital from the Sanderson Farms onship will exceed $1 million, says Joh president of the tournament’s charit Century Club Charities.

Sanderson Farms joined a trio of titl that span decades: Deposit Guaranty, Farm Bureau and Viking.

It’s a marked change from two “Things didn’t look nearly as bright now,” Lang says.

At Joe Sanderson’s urging, the compa gave the tournament a one-year tryo “just to see if it felt right,” Sanderson sa It felt so right that within 45 days of tournament, Sanderson had helped b tournament’s total prize money to mo million and signed up his company for t years as title sponsor.

Building a poultry empire Less than 90 miles separate Brookh Laurel. But what Sanderson Farms h Laurel is a world apart from what Joe S grandfather D.R. Sanderson, uncle D.R son Jr. and father Joe Sr. began Brookhaven.

The early Sandersons ran a Bookhave seed store starting in 1947, where J brother Dewy began working as soon as old enough to make change.

In the mid 1950s, the Sandersons star chickens they sold to processing plants New Orleans and Mobile. “That bu very good,” Joe Sanderson says.

In 1961, the Sandersons bought thei cessing plant, an operation in Hazlehur in Laurel went up in 1965. Joe Sanderso high school in Laurel and headed off to Millsaps College.

“I came home from college in 1969,” says. “I worked on the farms for a coupl Next up was the plant in Laurel. “I di there was to do,” he says, starting as a supervisor on the evisceration line.

A year later, Sanderson became a pac pervisor, then a shipping supervisor an sales representative. He followed that w as a sales manager.

“Then, in 1974, I became division m the Laurel plant.”

By 1979, Sanderson was running a n chased plant in Hammond, La. Then c back in Mississippi rebuilding, expan managing a plant in Collins.

After a year in Collins, Sanderson too executive role back in Laurel as direct cessing and sales. “I worked under O son,” who soon went from director of to company president, opening up the chief position to Sanderson.

See

E YEAR

not have been more timely. n Mississippi since 1968, was and with it the hundreds of it earned annually for the dren’s Hospital on the UniMedical Center campus in

try company’s support, next n to the Batson Children’s anderson Farms Champimillion, says Johnny Lang, rnament’s charitable arm, ies. oined a trio of title sponsors eposit Guaranty, Southern ing. nge from two years ago. nearly as bright as they do

urging, the company’s board a one-year tryout in 2013 ght,” Sanderson says. within 45 days of that year’s on had helped beef up the ize money to more than $1 his company for three more

ire separate Brookhaven from nderson Farms has built in t from what Joe Sanderson’s derson, uncle D.R. SanderJoe Sr. began with in

ns ran a Bookhaven feed and n 1947, where Joe Jr. and working as soon as they were hange. he Sandersons started raising processing plants in Jackson, Mobile. “That business was rson says. sons bought their first proation in Hazlehurst. A plant 965. Joe Sanderson finished and headed off to Jackson’s

college in 1969,” Sanderson farms for a couple of years.” nt in Laurel. “I did every job ays, starting as a night shift ceration line. son became a packaging suing supervisor and finally a He followed that with a stint

ecame division manager of

n was running a newly purmond, La. Then came a job rebuilding, expanding and Collins. ns, Sanderson took on a key n Laurel as director of proworked under Odell Johnfrom director of operations , opening up the operations derson.

See

JOE, Page 10

MISSISSIPPI POULTRY INDUSTRY'S HUB SYSTEM BEHIND TODAY'S SUCCESS » Integrators, broiler growers and breeders all have defined roles in the $2.5 billion poultry sector

UNFOLDING OF A RESCUE....

By TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com To understand how Mississippi's poultry industry has advanced to become the state's top agricultural money maker, think of the hub system the airlines use, says Mark Leggett, Mississippi Poultry Association president.

Developed during the 1960s and '70s, the hub system, or what the industry calls vertical integration, ended segmentation of the industry and ensured a way to meet consumer demand that long ago outpaced that of beef and pork nationally and is projected to surpass pork worldwide in the next five years.

There “could be no marketing until vertical integration took place,” Sanderson Farms CEO Joe Sanderson Jr. explained in a 2012 video produced for the 75th anniversary of the Mississippi association.

Vertical integration brought Mississippi's poultry industry much closer to full production capacity and created economies of scale that keep product costs down, Sanderson noted.

The hub system that evolved in Mississippi starts with the state's half dozen broiler companies serving as hubs, or integrators, Leggett said. “Airlines have hubs. Smaller planes come in and larger planes go out. In the chicken business you have a complex” operated by an integrator that includes a feed mill, hatchery and processing plant.

In addition to Sanderson Farms, Mississippi integrators are Koch Foods, Marshall Durbin Co., Peco Foods, Tyson Foods and Wayne Farms.

Laurel's Sanderson Farms and other integrators work with 100 or so poultry farmers within an approximately 60-mile radius of each of their complexes.

The poultry farmers specialize in one of three areas: growing broilers, breeding for broilers, or raising pullets.

The broiler farmer gets small chickens from the integrator and raises them to required weight. In addition to the chicks, the integrator provides the feed and medication. It pays the farmer based on the weight the chicken reaches. Broilers typically weigh from 3.8 pounds to 8.5 pounds when slaughtered, depending on the target market.

With hens and roosters provided by integrators, the breeding houses ensure production of the fertilized eggs that go to the integrator's hatchery.

The pullet houses raise the adolescent chicken to breeding age and transfer them to breeding houses.

“It's a tightly controlled and complex logistics system,” Leggett noted. “It's more efficient for that one company to control everything from the hatchery to the grocery store.”

Two developments over the past 25 years have contributed significantly to the vertical integration of the industry.

Legislation enacted by state lawmakers in 1990 established the “Emerging Crops Loan Program” by which thousands of poultry See

HUB, Page 10

» How Sanderson Farms saved Mississippi's PGA tour event

By TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com Years from now Mississippi golf fans will tell of how chicken — or, more specifically, a chicken empire — saved the state’s spot on the Professional Golf Association tour.

The rescue required convincing Joe Sanderson Jr. and the board of his publicly traded company that chicken and the sponsor-less True South Classic belonged together under the new tournament name of the Sanderson Golf Championship.

The persuasion job belonged to Johnny Lang, a Jackson financial investment adviser with Morgan Stanley and president of Century Club Charities, a golf-centered organization that serves as the charitable arm of the state’s PGA tournament. The sinking finances of Century Club Charities and the strong likelihood that the PGA would yank the tour stop away from Mississippi unless a sponsor came forward added to the urgency of Lang’s task.

Lang had approached seven corporate entities in Mississippi. Sanderson Farms was the only one not to reply in the negative.

His first pitch to Joe Sanderson didn't bring a “yes.” But importantly, the CEO “didn't say 'no,'” Lang says.

At the urging of former Century Club Charities president and restaurauteur Tico Hoffman, Gov. Phil Bryant pitched in with a call to Joe Sanderson to emphasize the value of the tournament to Mississippi and the urgency to keep it.

Lang recalls that first contact he had with Joe Sanderson: “To his credit, his initial reaction was to speak as CEO of Sanderson Farms.”

First, as a publicly held company, Laurel-based Sanderson Farms’ venture into a sponsorship role would have to show a potential for a return on investment. “We can’t sell chicken over the Golf Channel,” Lang says Sanderson told him.

It was January 2013 and the Sanderson Farms board would be meeting. It would not, however, hear CEO Sanderson propose taking on the sponsorship. “I had to think about that,”

Sanderson says. “I told my board I was not ready to recommend anything yet.”

Sanderson Farms’ television advertising market targeted women ages 25 to 65 – not a prime audience for an all-male golf tournament that lacked big names like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

Sanderson concluded he could not sell his board on the advertising value of the sponsorship. But he could propose an entirely new profile-building approach for the company.

“Sanderson Farms had never done any public relations or corporate profiling. I had to come at it from that angle,” he says.

The sponsorship would also mark a change in an approach by which Sanderson Farms did its philanthropy out of the public eye, according to Sanderson. “Every year in October we make our gifts to various charities and institutions. We never publicize it. We always felt like when we support a charity or a college that that was not something we needed to stand on a street corner and tell about.”

The philanthropy includes matching employee donations to the United Way and making contributions to colleges and universities in the states in which Sanderson Farms operates.

As Sanderson thought over the tournament sponsorship, he kept thinking of the financial benefits Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital in Jackson receives through money Century Club Charities raises from the PGA tour stop. “My granddaughter had been a patient at the hospital on more than one occasion. I certainly did not want the hospital to lose the proceeds from that tournament,” Sanderson says of the pediatric medical facility on the University of Mississippi Medical Center campus.

He also dwelled on the potential loss of the $25 million economic boost the tournament gives the state annually. He worried about Mississippi’s image as well, Sanderson recalls. “I thought it would have been an embarrassment for the state to lose that PGA event,” he says.

Between the January and February board meetings, Sanderson met with tournament organizers and his own executive staff. “We discussed this as a way for public relations instead of advertising.”

See

RESCUE, Page 10

10 I MBJ I December 26, 2014

JOE

Continued from Page 8

Johnson had guided the company to significant growth. When he began work for the Sandersons, the company processed 30,000 chickens weekly. When he retired, the number had grown to 2 million.

With capital from going public in 1987, Sanderson Farms was poised for growth for the first time since the Collins plant acquisition a half dozen years earlier.

“In 1990, my team and I developed a plan to double-shift each of our four plants and build a new plant in McComb,” he says.

“Since that time, we have built four more complexes, including Palestine.

In addition to Mississippi and Texas, Sanderson Farms has plants in Georgia and North Carolina. Palestine will be the third Texas plant.

“We built the plants through capital we had,” Joe Sanderson says, emphasizing the company’s preference to stay free of debt.

HUB

2014 BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR For the first nine months of 2014, Sanderson Farms sold 2.27 billion pounds of poultry products compared with 2.21 billion for the same period the previous year, the company noted in its third quarter earnings conference.

Net sales for the quarter totaled $768.4 million, up 3.98 percent from $739 million during the same quarter last year, COO Lampkin Butts said at the earning conference.

Will run on Saturdays COO Butts, whom Sanderson cites as a valued executive with decades of service to the company, lists Sanderson Farms’ strengths thusly: » Talented people who are willing to work hard and are committed to excellence; » A low-cost producer; » A favorable product mix; » A track record of growth; » A strong balance sheet.

Then there is Joe Sanderson Jr. himself, Butts says.

Mississippi's poultry sector annually reaches sales of around $2.5 billion in a process that allows a mix of fresh and frozen products. These include boneless breasts, farmers have been able to get into the business or chicken tenders, battered and breaded pieces and even expand their businesses, the Mississippi Poultry marinated pieces.

Association says.

The sector discovered a bonanza in global demand in The association puts the state's poultry employment at the 1990s, Sanderson explained in the poultry 28,000 direct jobs and nearly equal number of indirect jobs. association's anniversary video.

The next game changer was the poultry association's Americans had always craved white meat but not creation of the “Ten Points List,” which details 10 much else. “That left us with huge parts without practices that ensure fairness and openness in dealings demand,” Sanderson recalled. “Then the Russians among poultry growers and integrator companies. opened up in the 1990s. They preferred the dark meat.

With its long-established vertical integration, The price was right for them and right for us.

RESCUE

Continued from Page 9

“He is a decisive leader and a brilliant visionary,” the COO adds.

“Joe is passionate about the chicken business and Sanderson Farms. He has always believed in working hard to be among the best in our industry. Joe likes to work hard, play hard, and still be able to laugh at the end of a long hard day.”

Sanderson took over the top executive post in January 1998, having experienced firsthand every aspect of the family business. “I enjoyed working on the farms and in the plants, working my way up,” he says. “I had great teachers, my father and Odell Johnson.”

In addition to Butts, several other executives have worked alongside Sanderson for 40 years. “The CFO [Mike Cockrell] has been with me 25 years,” he says, noting as well that several members of the executive committee have been on board a quarter of a century.

“They enjoy the excitement and energy of growth, and the energy of winning and rewarding our shareholders,”

“This opened up multiple markets. We have seen continents – not just individual countries – open up to us.”

By 2010, Mississippi poultry exports reached a value of more than $314 million, or 11.2 percent of total sales, the poultry association says.

After Russian banned imports of U.S. broilers in late 2011, Mexico replaced Russia as the largest purchaser of U.S. poultry, adding 4 million pounds of broiler meat to the more than 967 million pounds of mostly dark meat shipped there in 2010, according to the Poultry Association.

Much of the dark meat from broilers processed at Sanderson Farms' soon-to-open Palestine, Texas, plant

Continued from Page 9

Like Joe Sanderson, company CFO Mike Cockrell struggled to see the value to shareholders. However, the value soon came into focus, he says. “At the end of the day, we thought it would fit our brand and benefit our shareholders to help those children. Once we began to think of it that way, it was an easy decision.”

So was the September 2013 decision to take on a three-year sponsorship extension, Cockrell says.

The marketing analytics folks say the frequent mentions of the Sanderson Farms name throughout the televised tournament make the sponsorship a bargain. Couple that with the enhancement of the corporate image, and the investment's value is even clearer, the CFO says.

“I think our shareholders benefit from every penny” spent on the tournament.

Meanwhile, after the calls from Lang and Gov. Bryant, Sanderson decided he’d recommend giving the tour stop sponsorship a one-year tryout. He invited Lang to come to Laurel to help sell the board.

“He gave me 15 minutes to come down and tell the story,” says the former Ole Miss golfer and several- time amateur competitor in the Magnolia Classic golf tournament, predecessor to today’s Sanderson Championship.

Lang says he strongly emphasized the tournament’s economic punch, its importance to Mississippi's image and the significance of the event as a fundraiser for the children’s hospital. To continue, the tournament critically needed an engaged sponsor, Lang says he told the Sanderson board.

By March 2013, Lang had an agreement from the board. It came with a specific instruction from Sanderson, Lang notes: “Have the best possible tournament event we can have.”

That 2013 tournament generated a $400,000 contribution to Batson Children’s Hospital. This year’s check, to be presented in January, is expected to be more than $1 million, Lang says.

“It’s all because of Joe Sanderson,” he says. “They have been all-in ever since” accepting the role of sponsor.”

With the move of the tournament from Annandale Golf Club in Madison to the Country Club of Jackson this year, tournament organizers could add new events and amenities. That all added to revenue that brought the winner’s prize from $540,000 in 2013 to 2014's $700,000-plus. The enhancement also allowed for the increased contribution to Century Charities.

Further, the Sanderson Farms Championship’s total purse rose by $1 million from 2013's level to $4 million for last November’s tournament.

The move from the thunderstorms and heat of July to crisp fall weather in November proved a winning idea, says Steve Jent, who took over as the tournament’s first full-time executive director slightly more than a year ago.

The move to November also put the Sanderson Championship at the front end of the 2014-2015 schedule, which the PGA predicted would lead players to use the Jackson event to get out of the gates fast and strengthen their early standing in competition for the FedEx Cup.

Sanderson says his managers must be detail oriented and willing to do their homework. “We are very thorough. We value our customers. We will do what they need us to do,” he adds. “If they need us to run on a Saturday, we are happy to run on a Saturday.”

Of course, the extra effort is not without rewards. An annual bonus of up to 25 percent of yearly salary goes to every salaried worker if the earnings per share target is reached. This year, the company is projecting bonus payments totaling $23 million, according to the Q3 earnings report.

Some would argue that the nation’s third largest poultry company should have its headquarters in a state with a higher profile than Mississippi, CFO Cockrell says. The new headquarters building Sanderson Farms built in Laurel in 2006 after Katrina should have put an end to any conjecture on relocation, he says.

“We never considered leaving south Mississippi,” Cockrell says. “It’s home.”

will go to Mexico, the company says.

Hong Kong also became a significant consumer of U.S. broiler meat after the Russian boycott began. Exports there totaled 55.7 million pounds by October 2011, a 45 percent increase from the previous October.

Angola is another emerging market for U.S. poultry. In October 2010, U.S. shipments to the African nation totaled only 14.4 million pounds. However, one year later these shipments rose to 60.5 million pounds, a 320 percent increase.

The poultry association noted that the predominant use of ports in the South makes the poultry export market especially important for Mississippi.

The hiring of a director and Jent’s full time staff of four came at Joe Sanderson’s insistence. Organizers had previously used Birmingham’s Bruno Sports Marketing and Event Management to put on the tournament.

“The scope and size of the tournament has been elevated,” says Jent, who came to the Sanderson Championship from Greensboro, N.C., where he led sales and marketing efforts for the Windham Golf Championship.

“Moving to the Country Club of Jackson really lays the groundwork for the future,” Jent adds.

A “future” was not at all a certainty for the tournament two years ago.

Without a title sponsor, money to put on the event had to come from Century Charities’ dwindling reserves, Johnny Lang recalls.

After the loss of Viking as main sponsor, the tournament became the True South Classic, a name the sponsor-less PGA event adopted to reflect the contributions received from the state Division of Tourism, which promotes the state with the slogan “Find Your True South.”

By the end of 2012, Century Club had “burned up most of our reserves,” says Lang, who is in his final year as president of the charitable organization.

The tournament came to life in 1968 as the Magnolia Classic in Hattiesburg and gained its first title sponsor in 1986 with the Deposit Guaranty Golf Classic, which remained in Hattiesburg until the move to Annandale in 1994. With the acquisition of Deposit Guaranty by what is now Regions Bank, the tournament got a new sponsor and name change to Southern Farm Bureau Classic. It became the Viking Classic in 2007 and remained so until 2012.

As 2013 approached, Lang and company were feeling the pressure to get a name sponsor. “Had we gone to the tour and said we don’t have a sponsor, they would have found us one,” Lang says. “But when the contract ended, they would have moved out of Mississippi.”

The tournament had to operate at a loss of more than $200,000 to keep its place on the schedule. “We were literally down to our last year when I visited Joe in 2013,” Lang says.

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Schneider Farming Partnership

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12 I Mississippi Business Journal I December 26, 2014 » HABITAT FOR HUMANITY

A home for Christmas » A bittersweet dedication puts family in their new Habitat house in time for holidays

By FRANK BROWN frank.brown@msbusiness.com

A

Peggy Hampton / Courtesy of Habitat for Humanity

Carolyn Madlock is the recipient of the 597th home built by Habitat for Humanity Mississippi Capital Area. The home in the Virden Addition area was dedicated during a ceremony at the house last Friday.

http://www.msbusiness.com

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

s raindrops pelted the roof of Carolyn Madlock’s new home last Friday, inside, teardrops were falling to the flooring.

It was a bittersweet day for Madlock, whose father had died only days before she became the recipient of the 597th home built by Habitat for Humanity Mississippi Capital Area.

“I appreciate everyone’s Kopacz help and prayers after the loss of my father,” she said as emotion filled her voice and eyes during the dedication ceremony. “I just want to say thank you. Believe me, these are happy tears, but I couldn’t have done it without him. We did get to drive by and let him see the house a few days ago.”

Madlock’s father was 68 and died of lung cancer the week before the Friday dedication. On Saturday, she was to attend his funeral. Monday, she was to sign closing papers on the house in the Virden Addition area of Jackson. Carolyn, her fiance and two children will occupy the home.

Carolyn, 37, was still living in a crowded home with her parents when she turned to Habitat for help. She has worked for St. Dominic’s since she was 17, and is now a cafeteria food service supervisor.

“The process really didn’t take that long,” she said. “I applied on April 5 and was approved on May 22. They started construction on Oct. 18.”

The three-bedroom, one-bath, 980square-foot house home was built in nine weeks with the help of Catholic Build, which has helped construct 29 homes in the 29 years Habitat has existed in the Jackson area. Catholic Build is a group of Catholic parishes and St. Dominic Health Services foundation. The parishes are St. Francis of Assisi, St. Peter the Apostle, St. Joseph, St. Paul, St. Richard, Holy Family, Holy Savior, St. Mary, St. Therese and Christ the King.

About 180 volunteers worked on the Madlock home.

“This is encouraging,” said Most. Rev. Joseph R. Kopacz, bishop of Catholic Diocese of Jackson. “The pastors have been steady about doing this over the years, and

we’ve expanded it to include some parishes like Flowood, Clinton and Gluckstadt, which gives us extra participation on the monetary and build side.

“I understand we used to build two houses a year, but cost of building a house has gone up from $25,000 to $30,000 to about $80,000. Contributions don’t go up this quickly.

“It’s always good when the church gets involved in the community, but this is unique,” he said. “I’ve only been here since February, but I learned early that the bishop’s participation can make a big difference and it did. It had slumped a little bit, naturally, year to year, but they have to keep igniting it, and the parishes responded beautifully. They said it generated more actual income and donations than ever before.

So this was great.”

As part of the process, Madlock had to contribute 250 hours of “sweat equity,” where she and/or family members worked the on the construction of her home or another Habitat project. She also is responsible for a mortgage and taxes on the project.

“We have to say over and over that the homeowner has responsibilities,” said Cindy Griffin, executive director of the Jacksonarea Habitiat. “People still think it’s a giveaway, but the homeowner still has to pay

We “will have another big project, which we’ll make public later next year.” taxes and homestead.”

So what’s on the horizon for Habitat?

“We’ll continue to work in the Virden Addition, and we’ll be doing some planning and will have another big project, which we’ll make public later next year,” said Griffin. “This year has been challenging. Sometimes it feels like we’re just now getting hit by the recession. We had eight new builds in 2014, but housed about 30 families by doing some rehabs, which are a more economical way to get families into housing quickly.

“But I think new construction will be picking up in 2015.”

For the Madlock family, a new home means moving in the week of Christmas.

“I’ll be spending a lot of time between my parents house and this house,” said Carolyn.

“I might have to put a tree in that front window.”

December 26, 2014

I

Mississippi Business Journal

I

13

» MISSISSIPPI LEADERS by Martin Willoughby

The Platinum Rule Reeves treats people how they want to be treated

M

ost of us are familiar with the Golden Rule – “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” However, this rule implies the basic assumption that other people would like to be treated the way that you would like to be treated.

Most people are not as familiar with the Platinum Rule. Dr. Tony Alessandra coined this term and teaches that we should “treat others the way they want to be treated." The focus shifts from what we want to understanding what someone else wants and then giving it to them. The Platinum Rule is more challenging because we have to look beyond our own preferences and take time to understand what truly motivates others.

However, the results are worth it because you truly honor people when you treat them the way they want to be treated.

I was reminded of the Platinum Rule in my interview this week of David Reeves who serves as President and CEO of the Metropolitan YMCAs of Mississippi. Reeves, a native of Lubbock, Texas, earned a degree in in Recreational Management at Texas Tech University. After graduating college, Reeves accepted a position with the Department of Defense working in Guam. He shared, “I felt

Up Close With ... David Reeves Favorite Books: Anything by Clive Cussler or James Patterson, most mystery novels and spy thrillers.

First Job: I started working at a barbecue restaurant in ninth grade. I started as dishwasher, moved to busboy, to helping with the catering events.

Junior, the head cook, taught me how to make a mean rack of ribs!

Proudest Moment as a Leader: It’s hard to pick just one, because working with the YMCA has allowed me to be a part of a ministry that has touched many lives and impacted so many families for the better. I am proud that I’ve had several coworkers leave to become successful CEO’s themselves.

I think one of the most important things a leader should do is to help build other leaders.

Hobbies/Interests: Anything that gets me wet, though I’ve slowed down a lot and enjoy the less exciting activities more and more. My favorites are kayaking, paddle boarding, and scuba diving.

this was a great start in my training of being a leader because it really took me out of my comfort zone. It helped me to realize at an early time in my career the importance of differences in cultures and beliefs, and by taking the extra time to let others be heard, and know their opinion matters it is much easier to get people to follow.”

After leaving the DOD, Reeves took a position with YMCA and has remained

with the organization for the last 27 years.

After serving in several leadership positions, he took his current role in 2004. The Metropolitan YMCAs of Mississippi has $7.5 million budget and 6 facilities encompassing 14 counties (25,000 members) located across the state of Mississippi. Reeves shared, “My first YMCA boss had a large influence on my leadership style. I remember after I got the job he said it would be

"If someone is worth working with then they’re worth knowing and appreciated in a way that they actually appreciate.”

David Reeves President & CEO, Metropolitan YMCAs of Mississippi

one of the easiest and best jobs ever. I only had to work half a day six days a week. What I did with the other 12 hours and on Sundays was entirely up to me.

Working with him made me realize the Martin Willoughby importance of humor, but that also as a leader quantity of work does matter because others are always watching.”

Reeves also noted the important influence his sister had on his development as a leader. He shared, “Her ability to make everyone feel valued is incredible. I’ve learned from her that by valuing the people you work with, they become much more like a family than and employee, and their loyalty is immense as is my loyalty to them.”

Reeves also explained, “I don’t think there is one leadership philosophy that ever fits all situations or circumstances so I try to always and remember to break the golden rule. I don’t worry about treating people how I want them to treat me, because what motivates me may do nothing for you. If someone is worth working with then they’re worth knowing and appreciated in a way that they actually appreciate.”

Reeves and his dedicated staff are making a positive difference in the communities they serve around the state of Mississippi. I came away inspired by Reeves’ focus on understanding how to truly motivate and inspire others by honoring them and showing appreciation in a personal and authentic way.

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.

A new twist on dystopian fiction

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» Station Eleven

By Emily St. John Mandel Published by Alfred A. Knopf $24.95 hardback

f I were to tell you that a book about the end of the world (as we know it) could somehow leave you optimistic and encouraged, I doubt you’d believe me. But the incredible novel Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel, would prove me right, despite its often harrowing twists and turns.

A finalist for this year’s National Book Award, Station Eleven takes what has come to be a standard apocalyptic trope (world ends, people flee, all hope’s lost, everything’s bleak) and turns it upside down. True, in Mandel’s imaginary world (which, incidentally, does not feel too far off from our own current world) a fast-moving flu wipes out an enormous percentage of the earth’s population and people do indeed flee, into seemingly hopeless, bleak times.

But the similarity to other books of this kind ends there, thanks to her brilliant character development, intricate plot, and the overall feeling of the story. Several characters’ lives unfold before us, as time jumps back and forth, and we learn about them both before and after the pandemic. Included in

this number is a huge Hollywood star, a photographer-turnedparamedic, a Shakespearean stage actor, and the members of what’s known here as the Traveling Symphony.

After the collapse of civilization, with people spread out into small groups and communities, the musicians and actors in the Traveling Symphony go from place to place to perform concerts and Shakespearean plays. In a time when most people are struggling to just merely survive, the Symphony’s belief in the importance of preserving beauty and art is admirable – and often risky. The members want to give their fellow human be-

ings who made it through the worst of it, as they did, a reason to remember what was beautiful and meaningful about the world before the pandemic.

Mandel writes with such precision and care, and her book is paced perfectly, so that you’re compelled to just keep reading, to keep finding out what happens to these characters you grow to care about so much. She has you rooting for them, and more than that, rooting for art and literature and culture, and hoping that maybe those things would actually endure in similar circumstances.

Whereas some other apocalyptic stories can seem so spare and so dark, Mandel gives this book rich details and a lifelike feeling. Of course, her observations of what the end of the world would be like are, naturally, unsettling and upsetting.

They have to be. But that’s not the end of it here. She gives us so much more than that, in this beautiful and ultimately hopeful book.

— LouAnn Lofton, mbj@msbusiness.com

14 I Mississippi Business Journal I December 26, 2014 THE SPIN CYCLE

Top 10 toy brands that won holiday social media blitz

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hat holiday toys generated the best social media buzz during the holidays?

To find out, Brand Chorus analyzed the biggest sellers from online retailers Amazon, Toys “R” Us and Target and the results are in on the 10 top brands that have official social pages. (Some popular items like Disney’s Frozen toys actually don’t have dedicated pages, believe it or not.)The brand consultancy then examined nearly 1,000 Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest posts through November and December, crunching likes, shares and comments data for its StoryScore grading system, which shows bigger isn’t always better. Just look at how GoldieBlox is outperforming Hot Wheels with one-fifth the number of Facebook fans.

Top toy brands of 2014 holiday social media campaigns: 1. Lego – StoryScore: 89.

It gained traction with how-to YouTube videos for aspiring builders. It boasted 514,000 YouTube views and 10 million Facebook fans.

2. Monster High – StoryScore: 88. No marketer posted more on Instagram. It scored 2.2 million Facebook fans and 100,000 followers on Instagram.

3. GoldieBlox – StoryScore 84. This was the most prolific brand, averaging 7.5 million posts a day. It boasted 23,000 Twitter followers and 200,000 Facebook fans.

4. Barbie – StoryScore 83. This toy icon had the largest audience across platforms, including 12.7 million Facebook fans, 520,000 Instagram followers and 423,000 YouTube views.

5. Fisher-Price – StoryScore: 81. The company nails engagement with a #LetsTalkToys series. It attracted 31,000 Twitter followers and 2.8 million Facebook fans.

6. Alex Toys – StoryScore: 79. Twitter is the brand’s favorite domain, tweeting 4.2 times daily. It boasted 126,000 Twitter followers and 8,400 Pinterest followers.

7. LeapFrog – StoryScore: 77. This educator is big on social coupons, and attracted more than 21,000 YouTube subscribers and 203,000 Facebook fans.

8. Melissa & Doug – StoryScore: 67. It mixes Facebook with doses of blog content. More than 30,000 Twitter followers ensued, and more than 204,000

Facebook fans joined the celebration.

9. Hot Wheels – StoryScore: 61. The Mattel car brand often targets collectors, not kids. It zoomed off with nearly 150,000 YouTube

subscribers and 30,000 Instagram followers.

10. VTech Toys – StoryScore 56. This brand would have scored higher if it cut down on contests – but it scored more than 21,000 Twitter followers and 733,000 Facebook fans.

2014 year of millennial media consumption The media world remains obsessed with Millennials. The generation born roughly between 1980 and 2000, Millennials are the largest demographic in the U.S., representing a third of its population. They wield enormous spending power and even greater social influence.

To publishers, brands and marketers, Millennials are potential lifetime customers, if managed appropriately. That’s why those groups spend enormous sums of time and money attempting to understand (and appeal to) the millennial audience.

We kept a careful eye on Millennials this past year, too. Here are five things the experts at Digiday – a leading digital media, marketing and advertising monitoring company – learned: Millennials haven’t abandoned traditional publications. A raft of media companies cater specifically to Millennials, operating under the assumption that traditional publishers don’t do a great job reaching the 20-something crowd. But it turns out traditional news publications do just fine with Millennials, while other self-proclaimed millennial publications, such as Ozy and Vocativ, actually attract an older crowd.

Using data comScore provided to Digiday, we created a millennial-traffic breakdown for select media stalwarts (New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New Yorker, etc.) and upstarts (BuzzFeed, Vice, Elite Daily, etc.).

The New York Times reached more than 64 million unique visitors across desktop and mobile platforms in October, according to comScore data. More than 20 million (32 percent) were Millennials. The New Yorker received 5.5 million total unique visitors, nearly 2 million (36 percent) of who were Millennials.

During the same period, Vice racked up close to 25 million total visitors, including more than 15 million Millennials. Vice enjoyed a higher portion of millennial visitors —

61 percent — than the Times, but a smaller aggregate millennial audience. Of the 14 publishers studied, Elite Daily has the largest proportion of millennial visitors: 21 million of the site’s 28 million uniques (a number which makes it bigger than Vice, it should be noted).

BuzzFeed dominates both categories with more than 74 million unique visitors, including 39 million in that desirable 18-to-34-age range. That means more than half of Webbrowsing Millennials in the U.S. (75 million) visited BuzzFeed at least once, according to comScore.

Millennial dudes dig online video.Millennial men watch a copious amount of online video, more than any other demographic, according to research Nielsen released last week. In the U.S., the average millennial male spends 2 hours and 15 minutes each week consuming videos on the Internet. This group also spends the least amount of time watching traditional television: just 20 hours each week, compared to 23 hours for millennial women and 28 hours for Gen X males.

There are major discrepancies among different ethnic groups’ consumption habits, Nielsen found. African-American millennial males spend more time watching both traditional TV (33 hours) and online video (3 hours) than the average, while Asian-American millennial males watch less TV (11.5 hours) and even more Web video (nearly 4 hours).

Millennials prefer socially responsible brands.Millennials are a passionate bunch.

High school seniors today are more likely than previous generations to say that making a contribution to society is extremely important to them, according to an October 2014 report from The White House’s Council of Economic Advisors. Among the slightly older segment of the generation, 92 percent of millennial employees felt they were actively contributing to a company having a positive effect on the world, according to research from Achieve.

Whether their cause of choice is global warming or animal rights, Millennials’ sense of social responsibility affects their brand purchases, according to a global report by Noise|The Intelligence Group. Millennials are three times as likely to wear clothing from socially conscious brands over luxury brands, the report asserts. Moreover, four in 10 are willing to pay more for products and brands that are environmentally friendly. In China and India, which have serious pollution problems, 65 percent and 60 percent of Millennials respectively say they’re willing to pay more for eco-friendly products.

Like everyone else, Millennials are very fond of Amazon.Amazon sits atop multiple lists of Millennials’ most-loved brands. After surveying 3,000 U.K. Millennials between the ages of 18 and 24, youth insights consultancy Voxburner placed the brand atop its annual “Youth 100” list last month. Impressively, 94 percent of respondents expressed a positive sentiment toward Amazon. YouTube and Google sneaked in just behind the online retail giant, each garnering a 93 percent positive sentiment among Voxburner’s sample.

Facebook, YouTube and Pandora still dominate millennial smartphones.Despite its rapid growth, Snapchat still lags far behind Facebook, YouTube and even Todd Smith Pandora with millennial app users, according to comScore data. The primary Facebook app had over 47 million unique visitors between the ages of 18 and 34 in October, an 8 percent increase from the same period last year, according to comScore. That makes it the biggest mobile app among the millennial crowd.

Melted Movie Mic | White House throws Sony under bus President Obama was quick to secondguess Sony Pictures Entertainment for its handling of the North Korean terrorist threat, which has critics asking why a movie studio has been left to conduct foreign policy instead of the White House. “This is not something Hollywood is equipped to handle, which is, ‘How do you battle a foreign country?’” said Hemanshu Nigam, a cybersecurity expert who previously headed worldwide Internet enforcement for the Motion Picture Association of America.

“That’s the job of the White House, and if anyone needs to show leadership in that area, it’s the White House,” he said.

Sony pulled the “The Interview” after a 9/11-style threat from hackers linked to North Korea prompted cinema chains to back out of the film’s scheduled Dec. 25 release. The threat came following a megahack of Sony’s computer system that resulted in the leak of thousands of private emails and documents as well as several unreleased films. Mr. Obama had said little publicly about Sony’s predicament before the studio cancelled the film. Since then, however, the president has played the role of Monday morning quarterback, contending that Sony “made a mistake” and scolding the studio for bowing to pressure from North Korea, a rogue communist state that recently tested a nuclear device. For that, President Obama and the White House get a Melted Movie 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.

NEWSMAKERS

December 26, 2014

C Spire makes promotions C Spire, a diversified telecommunications and technology services company based in Ridgeland, and the nation's largest privately held wireless communications company, has promoted the following team members: Daniel Hansen has been promoted to Manager of System Support and is responsible for the daily operations of the company’s internal helpdesk and System Support Operations, including first line support for all applications and end user hardware for all areas of the company. Hansen joined Hansen C Spire in 2005 and has held various positions in the company’s award-winning IT department.

He is from Beloit, Wisc., and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management Information Systems from the University of Mississippi.

Marcheta D. Walker has been promoted to Manager of Billing Operations. She is responsible for the oversight of daily billing operations which includes creation of new services, provisioning, mediation and rating of usage, and accurate and quality billing delivery to C Spire customers. She Walker joined C Spire in 2007 and was previously a software developer and system analyst in the company’s award-winning IT department.

Prior to joining C Spire, Walker worked in Washington, D.C., and Fairmont, W.V., as an analyst with the federal government. Her hometown is D’Iberville, and she earned Bachelor of Science and Masters of Science degrees in Computer Science from Jackson State University.

Kevin Thomas has been promoted to Manager of Financial Planning and Analysis. In this role, Kevin is responsible for managing the company’s dayto-day analysis, planning and forecasting, and reporting of metrics, peers and industry topics. Thomas joined C Spire in Thomas 2009 as a financial analyst.

Prior to joining C Spire, Thomas was a licensed stockbroker and investment advisor representative. His hometown is Jackson, and he graduated from the University of Mississippi with a degree in Managerial Finance and has also has earned a Masters of Business Administration from Millsaps College.

Camgian has top product Camgian Microsystems of Starkville has won TMC’s 2014 Cloud Computing Product of the Year award for its product, Egburt.

The Cloud Computing Product of the Year Award, presented by Cloud Computing magazine, honors vendors with the most innovative, useful, and beneficial cloud products and services that have been brought to market in the past year.

"We are honored to receive this award from Cloud Computing Magazine," said Gary Butler, Chairman and CEO of Camgian Microsystems. "Recognition

Courtesy Army Corps of Engineers

Lt. Col. Jonathan Howell and his family at his recent retirement ceremony. Howell was serving as deputy commander of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center in Vicksburg when he retired..

ERDC deputy commander retires Lt. Col. Jonathan D. Howell, deputy commander of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center in Vicksburg is retiring after 21 years of military service. Howell’s service includes serving in multiple positions at ERDC from January 2010 through December 2014.

Howell’s service to ERDC was recognized during a special ceremony. Col. Jeffrey Eckstein, ERDC commander, officiated at the event, which included presenting certificates of appreciation to Howell and his wife.

While both of Howell’s parents are Mississippi natives, his first visit to his roots was in 2010 when he joined ERDC as the military deputy commander, providing training to Forward Engineer Support Teams and other military organizations with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Reachback Operations Center. Howell was born in Japan during his father’s 24-year career with the Army.

Howell’s previous assignments include serving as executive officer for the 50th Engineer Company (Assault Float Bridge), providing theater river crossing to the Eighth U.S. Army in the Republic of Korea during 1996. He deployed to Iraq from 2007 to 2008 as a combat adviser to the Iraqi Army, and was selected to lead the Iraq Area Office in the Corps’ Middle East District from 2012 to 2013. During this deployment, Howell worked with the U.S. State Department, as well as the governments of Iraq and Kuwait, in merging the Iraq and Kuwait Area Offices into the Gulf Area Office. He returned to ERDC in 2013 to serve as program manager in the Directorate of Public Works. Howell’s efforts focused on research support to ERDC’s laboratories, along with master planning projects focusing on infrastructure development and maintenance. Howell is a registered project management professional and certified engineer-in-training with the state of Georgia.

Howell received a bachelor’s in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1994. He also holds master’s degrees from Louisiana State University and the U.S. Army’s Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. His decorations include the Bronze Star, the Bronze Order of the DeFleury Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and the Combat Action Badge, among others.

Howell and his wife, the former Irina Syromiatnikova, reside in Clinton with their daughter and newborn son, along with Irina’s mother Natalia. with the Product of the Year Award for Egburt is a testament to our team's commitment and dedication to excellence in product innovation within the emerging Internet of Things space."

Egburt, released Oct. 28, is a complete end-to-end solution that applies real-time analytics across multiple sensor feeds in the field to provide enterprises with immediate operational intelligence and control.

Utilizing a revolutionary new "edgeware" computing architecture, Egburt combines both cloud and edge computing to lower the total cost of ownership of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions by decreasing communication costs, increasing battery life and eliminating some of the challenges of processing big

data. While the current focus of Egburt is in smart retail, Egburt's flexibility and interoperability with a wide variety of commercial off-the-shelf sensors, enables implementation over a broad range of additional applications such as smart cities, infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing, and facilities management.

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Mississippi Business Journal

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15

who have gone beyond their normal range of activities in promoting Mississippi agriculture, and it isn’t presented every year – only when Farm Bureau feels that it has been earned. The award was presented to Leggett during Farm Bureau’s annual membership meeting in December.

Leggett and his MPA staff serve as the voice of the state poultry industry for growers, processers and a group of allied members. The organization lobbies and represents the industry in the Mississippi Legislature on state, federal and regulatory interests.

Through the years, MPA has worked with Farm Bureau and other groups to form powerful coalitions to successfully work for not only the poultry industry but state agriculture as a whole. A recent accomplishment was to get the sales tax removed off of energy – propane, electricity and natural gas – used in manufacturing and on farms.

The Mississippi Poultry Association attempts to get the farmers’ stories before the consuming public.

The organization has been one of the biggest supporters of the Farm Families of Mississippi Ag Promotion Campaign and helps get some of the major poultry companies to be a part of the program.

Grahams win award Dairy farmers Jeremy and Beth Graham of Thaxton were recently named state winners of the 2014 Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers and Ranchers Achievement Award. They were recognized for their farming innovations, leadership skills and involvement in Farm Bureau and their community. In January, the Grahams will compete for the national title at the 2015 American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Meeting in San Diego.

The couple operate a dairy begun by his grandfather in the early 1930s. Jeremy sits on the Pontotoc County Farm Bureau Board of Directors, and Beth serves on the county Women’s Committee. The Grahams have served on the Young Farmers & Ranchers State Committee. Jeremy has served as a voting delegate to state convention and sits on the MFBF Dairy Commodity Advisory Committee. They participate in county and state Farm Bureau activities and meetings.

Jeremy serves on the Mid-South Dairy Herd Improvement Association Board of Directors, chairs the State Extension Advisory Committee and sits on the board of directors of the American Dairy Association. The Grahams are involved in many agricultural activities, 4-H, their church and community. They were selected regional YF&R Achievement Award winners in 2010.

Beth is a radiology technologist. The Grahams have two daughters, Mary Hatley, 4, and Kendall, 1.

As state Achievement Award winners, the Grahams received a new Ford pickup truck, the use of John Deere and Kubota tractors, $500 from Watson Quality Ford and $1,800 toward the purchase of technology from Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation.

Each regional winner in this competition received $500 from Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company and $500 from Southern Ag Credit.

For more information about the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers & Ranchers Program, contact YF&R Coordinator Kristen Johnson at 601-977-4277.

Leggett is Ag Ambassador Mark Leggett, president of the Mississippi Poultry Association (MPA), is the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation Ag Ambassador Award recipient for 2014.

The Ag Ambassador Award recognizes individuals

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

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