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INSIDE — Sole insurer in Mississippi insurance exchange faces tax credit fate — Page 9 POLITICS

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State companies await fallout from Trump position on Cuban trade — Page 10

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June 23, 2017 • Vo. 39. No. 25 • 24 pages

The dawning space economy » Governments and private companies are going all-out in what amounts to a new space race, and this region has a foot in both worlds

By DAVID TORTORANO mbj@msbusiness.com

Insurance & Employee Benefits {Section begins P16} » When workers rule » State insurers face challenges

{The List P20-21}

» Mississippi’s Largest Property & Casualty Insurance Firms

District at Eastover {P10}

Sometime next year at a site in south Mississippi, four RS-25 engines and the core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System will roar to life in a teeth-rattling spectacle during a static test at the historic B-2 test stand.

With a combined 2 million pounds of thrust, the engine core test at Stennis Space Center (SSC) will be loud, a testament to the power being held in place at the stand and the blast coming out of the trench. For old-timers, it will bring back memories of the Saturn V tests during the Apollo era.

But the event also will underscore the importance of the I-10 region’s space-related activities. The RS-25 engines all were tested at SSC, and the core stage was built at Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF), some 40 miles to the southwest.

As impressive as it will be, the test is just one event in dynamic new 21st century space age, See SPACE, Page 4

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DINING

PINE BELT

Slowboat Brewing Co. owner says the future is ‘bubbly’

By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com

Kenny and Carrie Mann are making things happen in downtown Laurel. The young couple left their 9-5 jobs to follow their dreams of owning a brewery.

“And they are doing an incredible job,” said Jim Rasberry, chairman of the Economic Development Authority (EDA) of Jones County.

Slowboat Brewing Company distributed its first batches of beer on Dec. 27, 2015, and held the first tour of its facility Jan. 2, 2016.

Kenny Mann said the simplest answer to why they opened the brewery is passion.

“We fell in love with homebrewing and the Mississippi beer industry,” Mann said. “We wanted to be a part of the growth and development of the Mississippi beer culture. Although the Mississippi beer scene is very young compared to most of the country, it is made up of some of the most passionate brewers and advocates you will ever meet. We are extremely proud to be a part of this family.”

Mann said they have been completely floored with the constant support they have gotten from their distribution partners, retailers and consumers in the state.

“Beer is a very subjective product, and many times brands tend to get lost in the fray,” Mann said. “We have yet to experience this, due to the passion of our supporters. On a local level, we couldn’t ask for better support. The Laurel government, Main Street Association and the EDA have been nothing short of amazing to us. The people of Jones County put a smile on my face daily. The sense of pride growing in Laurel is very strong right now. It makes every difficult day in this business worth every second.”

Since opening, they have produced four yearround products, six different limited release products, and a number of specialty beers.

“We work hard, we try our best, and we strive to push the envelope whenever it comes to our brewing,” Mann said. “We have fun with it. We don’t brew what we think will sell well on the market; we brew what we would love to drink. I feel like this has been the secret to our success, thus far.”

Slowboat’s main focus is small batch artisan styles, including farmhouse, sour, spontaneously fermented wild ales, Belgian style, barrel-aged, experimental ales and an ever-evolving collection of popular American craft beer styles.

Slowboat gives people something different to do downtown. Mann said they offer a comfortable, family and pet friendly environment for patrons to enjoy.

“We have made it a point to be a welcoming home to local/regional musicians and artists,” Mann said.

“We strive to be the hub of this amazing downtown Laurel community. But at the end of the day, we are just happy to be a part of it all.”

Slowboat currently employs four people. It hopes to add a salesperson in late summer. As far as plans for future expansions, Mann said they “don’t have

Award-winning chef opening Italian Bistro in Old Town Bay St. Louis

By LISA MONTI mbj@msbusiness.com

Courtesy of Slowboat Facebook page

Laurel brewery opened in 2015 and plans to keep growing ‘organically.”

any massive world domination plans. We started as a small, ‘boot strap’ business and always will always keep that mentality. We simply want to grow what we are doing now to its full potential as organically as possible.”

Mann said the only distribution expansion they plan in the immediate future is the addition of the Oxford market. With the addition of Oxford and its small surrounding markets, Slowboat beer will be available all over Mississippi.

“We hope to strengthen bonds that we have made all over the state, begin packaging our product in cans/bottles, and continue expand/improve our product line,” Mann said. “On the home front, we strive to continually improve our facility and product to the best of our abilities. Every single day is a push forward.”

Like other brewers in the state, Mann said there is room for improvement with state regulations.

“However, our friends from Raise Your Pints have made huge strides in recent years to improve the beer laws in this state,” Mann said. “And thanks to new legislation backed by a coalition of the lawmakers, distributors, retailers and breweries in this state, we will be allowed to begin limited on-site beer sales starting July 1. Having the ability to sell our product directly to the consumer from the brewery will make a world of difference in this industry. It gives small, independently-owned breweries, such as Slowboat, a real chance to thrive in Mississippi. Mississippi better buckle up, because we firmly believe that you are about to see a gigantic boost in the economy and beer culture here.

The future is looking incredibly bubbly.”

Chef David Dickensauge is bringing upscale Italian fare to Old Town Bay St. Louis.

Dickensauge and Lee Parrish are opening Corks & Cleaver Italian Bistro this month in the spot that was vacated by Old Cuevas Bistro after about a year.

The two have partnered on the Italian restaurant through their newly formed restaurant group. The Parrish Family owns the building at 111 Main St. Dickensauge, who recently won Mississippi’s Seafood Cook-Off competition, opened Corks & Cleaver in 2015 in downtown Gulfport.

That restaurant, whose menu offers Mediterranean and Spanish dishes with a Southern touch, is being relocated while the chef and his staff get the Bay St. Louis restaurant up and running.

“I’m going to be in the kitchen daily for the first two months after opening to help assure development of our new Italian brand,” Dickensauge said. “It’s an awesome building and I’m looking forward to coming to Bay St. Louis.”

The owners said they wanted to keep the Corks & Cleaver name “because it has a following and is so successful.” Parrish and Dickensauge have hired David Woodward, the longtime executive chef at the New Orleans Hilton, as a consultant on the new restaurant.

Dickensauge has extensive experience in Italian cuisine. He interned in Italy and worked in the kitchens of some of Chicago’s top Italian restaurants.

The menu won’t be extensive at first, with a few artisan pizzas made from scratch, fresh pasta, small plates and entrees for lunch and dinner.

Offerings will expand over time and the chef plans to create a unique dining experience in the area.

“It will be a bistro with true Italian fare, not just lasagna and eggplant parmesan but dishes you would find in upscale rustic Italian restaurants all over Italy and in New York, Chicago and New Orleans,” said Dickensauge.

Ingredients will include local, sustainable produce from Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama and imported cheeses and meats. All the pasta will be made in house. Wine selections will be eclectic, he said.

Dickensauge promised the “same foodie-style food like at Corks & Cleaver, but with a different flavor profile, ingredients and ambiance.

What we do is not the food everybody else does.” He promises lots of different pastas and other unique dishes, in a relaxed, casual atmosphere. The decor will feature coastal photographs by popular photographer Alex North.

One feature that will set the bistro apart is a Marra Forni brick wood fired pizza oven, one of just a few in the South. Dickensauge said it’s the best of its kind and it was be the centerpiece of the dining room.

“What we are going to do is going to be amazing. The main thing is, we will create a fine Italian dining experience in Old Town,” he said.

Dickensauge and Parrish also will offer catering as well as onsite event space and outdoor seating at the new location, which is near the Bay St. Louis Municipal Harbor and among the city’s many restaurants, bars, shops and galleries in the historic downtown district. Their target opening date is July 1.

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SPACE Continued from, Page 1

where government and commercial players are all vying for a piece of the action. And there’s plenty of that, from launch services to satellite production, and from space tourism to building space habitats.

For established space companies there’s money to be made, and for start-ups there are opportunities to find a niche activity that could be the start of something big.

Goldman Sachs, in its Profiles in Innovation series, recently highlighted the state of the industry, calling space the “next investment frontier.”

“Rocket launches are being privatized, the most ambitious satellite constellation ever is being deployed, man is looking back at the Moon and Mars, and militaries are vying for the ultimate high ground,” the report said, adding, “technological advances and necessity are creating a wave of opportunity as business and governments invest in a new Space Economy.”

What is clear to anyone following the space industry is that it’s in a state of transition with more players worldwide coming aboard. The industry operates at the cutting edge and requires a highly skilled, highly trained work force to build, launch, and utilize space assets. It’s a field any region would love to have.

And this region has a huge foot in the door.

The Gulf Coast is in the exclusive club of locations with NASA centers. SSC is where NASA has tested large rocket engines since the 1960s, and MAF in New Orleans is where huge aerostructures have been built just as long.

Both SSC and MAF have roles in the current NASA deep-space program, the Space Launch System (SLS), designed to send astronauts farther into space than ever before.

SSC is where the SLS launch vehicle engines, the RS-25, and the currently mothballed J-2X are tested. MAF is where the four-engine launch vehicle core stages are being built. It’s also where the Orion crew capsule is assembled.

In addition, both facilities are involved in commercial space ventures, a field that was supercharged during the Obama administration and the push to have private companies take over low-orbit resupply missions.

SSC tests three types of commercial rocket engines, and MAF is where the composite structure for a winged commercial space vehicle is built.

Having a stake in both the federal and commercial sides of the multibillion-dollar space enterprise bodes well for the region.

While NASA’s programs rely on funding provided by Congress, the commercial field is more open-ended and can venture into activities that are not necessarily on NASA’s agenda. It can include everything from traditional satellite launches to the still-developing space tourism industry. On top of all that, both SSC and MAF are actively courting commercial ventures to take advantage of under-utilized NASA facilities.

“Considering the advancements in commercial efforts in space travel and space-re-

lated services, NASA Stennis Space Center has capacity to support those efforts - such as the rocket engine test stands and engine component test facilities,” said Robbie Ingram, executive director of the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology, the incubator and technology transfer office at SSC. “Mechanisms exist to allow commercial space enterprises access to that same infrastructure so these type facilities do not have to be replicated,” he said.

NASA and the South The South’s love of space flight goes back to the early ‘60s, when President Kennedy issued a challenge to beat the Soviets and get a man on the moon before the end of the 1960s. Newly established NASA launched a program to establish manufacturing, test and launch facilities needed to get there, and the South was the big winner.1 It became the home at key NASA facilities because of the availability of large tracts of land and interconnected waterways needed to transport large space vehicles. Longer periods of fair weather flying, the same thing that attracted the military, also played a role.

In addition, powerful, senior Southern politicians recognized the economic benefit the space program would bring.2 Huntsville, Ala., Houston; Cape Canaveral, Fla., Bay St. Louis, Miss., and New Orleans formed the “Space Crescent” in the South. In “Way Station to Space,” Mack R. Herring cited a story in the July 20, 1964 issue of U.S. News & World Report that described the space program as a new industry in the South worth “billions.” Money for facilities was being spent at the rate of “one-million dollars every two hours.”

That the South benefited when NASA dominated the space program is clear. What is less certain is how well the South will do in an age when private players may eventually dominate space. Some areas are already taking steps to ensure they get a piece of the growing field, including establishing spaceports.

In Hancock County, Miss., home of SSC, the Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission found in a recent study that it has the work force to focus on aerospace parts and products manufacturing and navigation and instrumentation manufacturing.

The space industry In its assessment of the state of the industrial base, the Pentagon in 2012 reported to Congress that the overall health of the U.S. space industrial sector remains sound, but is at risk due in part to an increase in foreign competition.

Indeed, the U.S. military now sees it as a possible area of contention. In a strategic shift, the Air Force is no longer treating space as a benign domain used to monitor, sense and report, but instead as a warfighting domain where it would fight, should war start or extend into space.3 “It’s obvious, but it’s probably worth repeating, that the U.S. is heavily dependent on space, and (our adversaries) know it is a vulnerability,” said Air Force Secretary Heather See INDUSTRY, Page 5

PROFILE

Special to the MBJ

Rocket engine testing station at Stennis Space Center in Hancock County.

JOHN C. STENNIS SPACE CENTER John C. Stennis Space Center, north of Interstate 10 in South Mississippi, is a 14,000-acre secure complex surrounded by a unique 125,000-acre heavily wooded buffer zone.

It’s where some of the most powerful rocket engines in the world have been tested, including 27 first- and second-stage boosters for the Saturn V. In 2008 the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics named SSC a historic aerospace site.

Today SSC, which has more than $2 billion in assets, provides test services for NASA, the Department of Defense and the commercial sector. It’s home to NASA’s Rocket Propulsion Test Program, which manages all the agency’s propulsion test facilities.

Over the years, SSC’s activities expanded to include other organizations that set up shop. It now has more than 40 resident agencies and over 5,000 employees. SSC has hundreds of scientists and technicians working in fields as varied as propulsion, geospatial technologies and underwater research. It has the world’s largest concentrations of oceanographers.

The largest tenant is the Navy, which operates its oceanographic research community from SSC as well as one of the world’s largest supercomputers. It’s also the location of the National Data Buoy Center and NASA Shared Services Center. SSC also has data centers, geospatial and earth sciences work and activities of five universities and one community college. It’s also the location of several university cooperative programs.

It’s also a manufacturing center, where Lockheed Martin builds satellite components and Aerojet Rocketdyne assembles RS-68, AR1 and in the future AR-22 engines.

SSC is close to three interstates and two commercial and one general aviation airports, and has access to water and rail transportation.

SSC is one of just four NASA facilities that can test large rocket engines. A former director once pointed out that there’s no other place in the United States where the government or commercial companies can test 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year with no fear of encroachment on surrounding communities.

SSC can test everything from engine components to full-scale engines and rocket stages at its vertical firing A-1 and A-2 test stands, the duel position, vertical-firing B-1/B-2 test stand and threestand E complex, which includes seven separate cells capable of various tests activities. The stands can be used for both acceptance and developmental testing.

The 300-foot-tall A-3 test stand will let engineers simulate conditions at altitudes up to 100,000 feet. SSC will be the only facility in the country capable of testing J-2X engines fully in simulated high-altitude conditions.

SSC tests two engines that will be used in NASA’s Space Launch System: the J-2X, which will power the upper stage, and the lower stage’s RS-25. But SSC is also involved in commercial test programs.

The Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-68 is tested on the B-1/B-2 stand for United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV, and the Aerojet AJ26 was tested for Orbital Science Corp. on the E-1 stand until Orbital dropped the engine in the wake of a malfunction on the launch pad. Blue Origin’s BE-3 engine thrust chamber assembly, the engine’s combustion chamber and nozzle, is also tested on the E-1 Test Stand.

In 2010, officials at Stennis Space Center identified 3,900 acres along existing roadways with existing utilities as prime locations for aerospace companies. Called the Stennis Space Center Technology Park, the site already has Lockheed Martin, Aerojet Rocketdyne, and Rolls-Royce North America, which tests its largest commercial jet engines at an outdoor facility.

SSC also has additional acreage that could be put on the table in the future. In addition, just outside SSC there are other efforts to provide acreage to aerospace and technology companies. The similarly named, privately owned Stennis Technology Park, near Stennis International Airport, is 100 acres but has another 900 to develop.

- David Tortorano

June 23, 2017

INDUSTRY Continued from, Page 4

Wilson during a May 17, 2017 Senate subcommittee hearing. “In any conflict, space will be contested – and we haven’t always assumed that in the past. There’s been a change in culture – a change in planning and training going on in the United States military because we cannot take space dominance for granted.” 4 More than 80 percent of the Defense Department’s space actions are handled by the Air Force, and the service views space as one of its core missions.

“We have to acquire at a pace that allows us to be faster than our adversaries who are all investing in ways to take away our advantage,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein during the Senate subcommittee hearing.5 There’s already a lot of money involved in the field. In 2015, the global space economy totaled $323 billion, according to The Space Foundation’s The Space Report 2016.

That’s down from $329 billion in 2014, due in part to the strengthening dollar, meaning that non-U.S. government budgets and industry revenues appeared smaller even though most experienced growth in their own currencies.

With a total of $246 billion, commercial space activities made up 76 percent of the global space economy. The U.S. government spent $45 billion on defense and non-defense space efforts in 2015, a 3 percent increase from 2014. Non-U.S. government space investment declined by 14 percent in dollar terms, primarily due to exchange rates, to a total of $32 billion in 2015. In reality, most countries increased their budgets for space activities, according to the report.

The 2016 State of the Satellite Industry Report by the Satellite Industry Association said satellite services revenues increased by four percent globally from 2014 to 2015, reaching $127.4 billion, powered by continued growth in consumer satellite television, satellite broadband and Earth observation services. In addition, satellite manufacturing revenues, reflecting the value of satellites launched in 2015, grew by four percent worldwide to $16.6 billion. There were orders for 17 commercial GEO satellites with 11 orders won by U.S. manufacturers for a domestic market share of 65 percent, up from 57 percent in 2014.

The U.S. has the biggest budget for space exploration, spending over six times more than China, according to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development figures for 2013. From the first moon landing to the International Space Station, the U.S. government agency NASA has been leading space exploration since its creation in 1958.

According to the Futron Space Competitive Index of 2014, the United States remains the leader in space competitiveness, but is the only nation to decline for seven straight years. As other countries enhance their space capabilities while the U.S. undergoes uncertain transitions, it should not view

Courtesy of NASA/Special to the MBJ

Above: Orion crew vehicle while at Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans. Left: SpaceX photo of Falcon 9, which has successfully carried out resupply missions to the International Space Station.

its unique space agenda-setting power as guaranteed, the report said.

Commercial space The space race today involves private companies and regions that hope to get a piece of the multibillion-dollar action.

And a lot of new players are entering the lucrative field. According to the Goldman Sachs report, $13.3 billion is the total investment in space start-ups since 2000, heavily weighted toward the past 10 years.

The Aerospace Industries Association estimated in 2013 that space was a $45.6 billion enterprise within the then-$223.55 billion aerospace industry. The missile product group accounts for another $21.84 billion in sales during that year.

The Federal Aviation Administration said 21 percent of orbital launch attempts in 2011 were commercial, earning revenue of $1.9 billion.

According to the FAA’s Annual Compendium of Commercial Space Transportation 2016, the size of the global space industry, which combines satellite services (GNSS) and ground equipment, government space budgets, and global navigation satellite services equipment, is estimated to be about $324 billion.

At $95 billion in revenues, or about 29 percent, satellite television represents the largest segment of activity. Following this is government space budgets at $76 billion, or 24 percent, and services enabled

by GNSS represent, about $76 billion in revenues.

Commercial satellite remote sensing companies generated $1.6 billion in revenues, but the value added services enabled by these companies is believed to be magnitudes larger. Because remote sensing value added services includes imagery and data analytics from other sources beyond space-based platforms, only the satellite remote sensing component is included in the global space industry total.

Global launch services is estimated to account for $6 billion of the $324 billion total.

In 2015, there were a total of 86 orbital launches conducted by service providers in seven countries. Since 2014, U.S. providers have begun to cut into the existing

share of commercial launches occupied by Russian providers due to a variety of factors, including the entry of SpaceX into the field and the launch failures that have plagued the Russian space industry. In the meantime, Europe’s Arianespace remains a steadfast provider, according to the FAA. Commercial interests have, of course, been involved in the federal space program from day one. NASA needed the companies to develop systems, and in many cases those companies established operations close to NASA centers to be near the customer. That’s one reason NASA centers are economic engines.

But in the new age, NASA might wind up being simply one customer. Space flight companies are cropping up nationwide, including Washington and Colorado. Still, the South has some of the most unique capabilities in the world that can be a lure for the new breed. SSC, for instance, is the most capable of NASA’s sites where rocket engines are tested, the last place in the country where NASA can test full-scale engines or whole rocket stages 24/7.

The industry, whether a huge aerospace company that’s worked in the field for years or one of the startups backed by the deep pockets of billionaires, still needs the same things NASA has built up over 60 years. For some companies it makes sense to tap into what’s already available through NASA. Finding new uses It was big news when a NASA facility at Kennedy Space Center that faced an uncertain future with the end of the Space Shuttle program got a new lease on life when Boeing decided to use it to build the company’s CST-100. Space Florida, an aerospace economic development agency, took over the Space Shuttle Main Engine Processing Facility and Processing Control Center and is leasing it to Boeing to build its Crew Space Transportation spacecraft.

A writer in a Time magazine story likened the lease to an aristocrat selling off parts of the family estate. But Florida officials saw it as a chance to attract the commercial space flight industry.

Both SSC and MAF have excess capacity that can be offered to private companies.

And with space flight costs so high, that could provide a savings hard to pass up. In

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addition to idle facilities, SSC and MAF both have thousands of acres available for development.

Patrick Scheuermann, former director of Stennis Space Center, once pointed out that there are a lot of companies with great ideas that are in the laboratory or subscale version. Success with those smaller versions will force them to make an investment in their own back yard or search for a location to test the larger scale.

“Rather than them duplicating infrastructure somewhere or putting their capital dollars somewhere, they’re basically using resources that the taxpayers already paid for once,” Scheuermann said in 2011 when still at SSC. SSC has been looking for a company interested in partnering with NASA or leasing the E-4 site originally designed to test propulsion systems for a now-defunct program. E-4 has concrete-walled test cells and hard stand, a high-bay work area with a bridge crane and adjacent work area, control room space and personnel offices, as well as road and barge canal access.

Work on E-4 was never finished, but NASA says it could be expanded to include Ram Air test capability to support the testing of power packs and engine systems up to 500,000 pound-force thrust. Priority will be given to users that support space exploration for the government or those involved in commercial space.

While it may be uncomfortable seeing parts of the family estate being “sold,” it’s far better having them used by commercial companies than sitting around collecting dust.

Southern politicians realized long ago that the nation’s space activities would be crucial to developing the South. And that has proven to be true. According to The Space Report 2016, the global space industry appears to be going through a period of “reinvention.”

“Efforts to reuse launch vehicles are beginning to bear fruit, and more efficient launch vehicles are being designed and developed, all of which may help to bring launch costs down. The satellite industry is seeing rapid growth in the number of small satellites, as vast constellations consisting of hundreds of satellites for Earth observation and telecommunications are being ordered and built. Large satellites are taking advantage of more efficient propulsion systems that may help increase their usable lifespan. These are but a few examples of how the industry is making space more affordable and consequently more accessible to a broad swath of public agencies, industries, and individuals.”

If that’s not a field with growth potential, it’s hard to know what is.

1 Mack R. Herring, “Way Station to Space,” Chapter 1, Decision for Mississippi, citing Loyd Swenson Jr., “The Fertile Crescent: The South’s Role in the National Space Program,” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 71 (January 1968), pp. 382-87; Edward R. Ling Sr., “The Space Crescent: The Untold Story,” (Huntsville, Ala.; The Strode Publishers, 1984), p. 24.

2 Herring, citing Swenson, p. 388 3 “Senior leaders discuss US space posture,” AFNS report in Space War, May 19, 2017 4 ibid.

5 ibid.

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MBJPERSPECTIVE June 23, 2017 • www.msbusiness.com • Page 6

GOVERNMENT

» #justsayin’ BY FORD WILLIAMS

Wicker first GOPer to test election water after flag stance

Website: www.msbusiness.com June 23, 2017 Volume 39, Number 25

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» INSIDE MISSISSIPPI

Will Mississippi tax cuts have results like Kansas’

I

s Kansas a lesson for Mississippi?

Conservative Gov. Sam Brownback and the Republican controlled Kansas Legislature enacted massive state tax cuts five years ago, making Kansas the national poster child for anti-tax advocates.

Earlier this month, the Kansas Legislature, led by newly elected moderate Republicans, reversed those deep tax cuts following huge budget shortfalls and limited economic growth. The Legislature overrode a veto by Brownback to resurrect $1.2 billion in taxes.

They removed personal income tax cuts and repealed a major tax exemption for small-business owners, basically restoring tax rates to where they were when Brownback took office.

As in Mississippi, Republicans hold super majorities in the Kansas House (85 to 40) and Senate (31 to 9). Yet both houses garnered the two-thirds votes necessary to override the governor’s veto. Reports attribute the tax rollback to moderate Republicans elected to the Legislature last year.

“Moderate Republicans cruise to victories in Kansas primaries,” read the

Bill Crawford

headline in the Kansas City Star, August 2, 2016, as Republican voters ousted two dozen of Brownback’s allies. Most went on to win in the November general election. Working with moderate Democrats, they succeeded in turning around Kansas’s budget crisis.

Brownback touted his 2012 and 2013 tax cuts as “pro-growth” policies, similar to the comments we hear from Gov. Phil Bryant, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, and House Speaker Philip Gunn. But the limited growth following the tax cuts did not come close to offsetting declining state revenues.

Conservatives blamed the Republican-controlled Legislature for failing to reduce spending enough to offset the revenue losses.

“This is nothing new,” Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, told The Atlantic. “You had a legislature unwilling to do the spending restraint necessary.”

“Yet where advocates on both the right and the left agreed is that Kansas, despite its decades-long tradition of Republican governance, simply did not See CRAWFORD, Page 7

ississippi’s Roger Wicker is expected to cruise to an easy victory next year for his second full term in the United States Senate.

And, if that re-election does occur as expected, Wicker will become the first Mississippi Republican to win a statewide election after definitively calling for the state flag to be replaced.

A matter of fact, the Tupelo attorney may be the first Republican to wage a statewide campaign after endorsing changing the state flag, which includes the controversial Confederate battle emblem as a significant part of its design.

Bobby Harrison It should be pointed out that Republican Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann at least hinted that he might support changing the flag in June 2015 months before his re-election. But by the time Hosemann made his statement the deadline for someone to qualify to run against him had passed so he faced no immediate political jeopardy – especially from a fellow Republican.

At the time, Hosemann said, “Our State will be 200 years old in 2017. If the flag does not represent our citizens today, then we, as a body, should select one that does. This discussion must not deter from our efforts to create jobs, address the autism epidemic, reduce crime or educate our children.”

In general terms, most Mississippi Republicans oppose changing the flag while many more Democrats support replacing the banner.

But in 2015, after the mass shooting at a South Carolina African-American church by a white supremacist, some Mississippi Republicans called for replacing the controversial banner.

In a 2015 statement, Wicker said, “After reflection and prayer, I now believe our state flag should be put in a museum and replaced by one that is more unifying to all Mississippians. As the descendant of several brave Americans who fought for the Confederacy, I have not viewed Mississippi’s current state flag as offensive. However, it is clearer and clearer to me that many of my fellow citizens feel differently and that our state flag increasingly portrays a false impression of our state to others.

“In I Corinthians 8, the Apostle Paul said he had no personal objection to eating meat sacrificed to idols. But he went on to say that ‘if food is a cause of trouble to my brother, or makes my brother offend, I will give up eating meat.’ The lesson from this passage leads me to conclude that the flag should be removed since it causes offense to so many of my brothers and sisters, creating dissension rather than unity.”

Wicker went on to stress that the issue of the flag had to be decided by the Mississippi Legislature — not by him and his colSee HARRISON, Page 7

PERSPECTIVE

June 23, 2017 I Mississippi Business Journal

» RICKY NOBILE

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want to go as far to the right economically as Brownback tried to push the state,” wrote The Atlantic’s Russell Berman.

Mississippi’s Republican controlled legislature has passed 43 tax cuts totaling $577 million so far with another $415 million in tax cuts to phase in over 12 years.

Budget shortfalls the past two years have required Bryant to make midyear emergency budget cuts and the Legislature to slash budgets and snatch every dollar of agency special funds it can find to support the general fund.

Touted economic growth from tax cuts has yet to materialize. State Economist Darrin Webb told legislators the state has not experienced two consecutive years of growth since 2008. The Associated Press reported he pointed to emigration reducing the state’s population and said, “People tend to go where the economic opportunities are.”

Cuts to schools, community colleges, universities, forestry, health, and other state funded services have become serious. More will be necessary as the new tax cuts kick in if economic growth does not generate new revenues.

As in Kansas, these tax and budget cuts will have consequences. It will be interesting to see whom these consequences boost or boot in Mississippi’s 2019 elections – conservative Republicans, moderate Republicans, or Democrats.

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

»FROM THE GROUND UP

What makes for a good mayor?

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ow that municipal elections in Mississippi are over it’s time for the winning candidates to consider their new roles. Those who are assuming office for the first time will discover that being a mayor or board/council member is quite different from being a candidate.

Being a mayor in particular is one of the toughest jobs going. A mayor does not have the influence and authority of a business CEO. Many new mayors are shocked to find that it oftentimes takes more persuasion skills than decision skills to run a city. Some mayors will find that they ran for office on some great issue only to find that it’s much about barking dogs and drainage complaints.

Sometimes, mayors are merely caretakers. They live in communities that are on a track upward or downward. They might live in communities where not much changes and not much is really expected of mayors. Sometimes, mayors sort of grow into the job.

Sometimes, mayors cross the line and become leaders. They change their cities for the better. How do they do it? Most will tell you that they did it by involving people and that they had a lot of help. That is no doubt true. But it starts from within. So this column is about some of those intrinsic things in mayors.

My list should be considered as a discussion starter. Let’s call it traits of a good mayor. Please feel free to add and subtract from the list, or better yet name a mayor who exemplifies one of the traits.

(1) The ability to envision the future. It is said that management is the ability to move others from Point A to Point B, and that leadership is the ability to discern where Point B should be.

The mayor should be the one who provides direction. In a recent Time magazine article the point was made that each of the five best mayors named in the story exhibited a vision for the future.

But having a vision is no good if it cannot be sold to the public.

That is why a good mayor must have the next listed trait.

(2) Good communication skills, especially the ability to listen.

If one of the more effective leadership styles is the ability to envision the future, then convincing others to join in that vision is critical. That’s a difficult thing because the message that is sent is never the message that is received. If you don’t believe that, just ask any mayor if he or she has ever been misquoted or taken out of context.

A good mayor must be able to sell his or her program. Unfortu-

nately, sometimes mayors get too far ahead of their communities and attempt to sell a vision that the community simply does not feel can Phil Hardwick be reached. A mayor must listen to his or her constituents and make them feel that they have been heard. People want their mayor to care about their problems and their vision as well.

(3) The ability to inspire others. A good mayor inspires others.

People want to get involved and be a part of the effort. One thing that good mayors do is start with a successful project and then build on it. One mayor I know even says that mayors should not make their big goals public because it gives their opponents ammunition if they fail. Keep it quiet and just do it, he says.

(4) The ability to delegate. Good mayors provide direction and hire capable managers to implement the plan. In the business world, a good executive hires good people and lets them make the decisions that they would make instead of what they think the chief executive would make. Not so in the political world. Politically-appointed managers must constantly consider the effect of their decisions on the public image of the mayor. Watch out when you hear a mayor being criticized for micromanaging. It might mean a lack of delegation skills and a lack of trust of those who report to the mayor.

(5) A bias for action. Planning without implementing is not leading. Too many mayors spend so much time on the visioning part that they do not accomplish anything. Visioning provides hope, planning provides involvement, but in the final analysis it is action that produces results. A mayor should be judged on results.

(6) Integrity. A mayor without integrity is not deserving of the public trust.

Obviously, we could add many more items to this list. But these characters form the foundation for any good public official. » Phil Hardwick is a regular Mississippi Business Journal columnist and owner of Hardwick & Associates, LLC, which provides strategic planning facilitation and leadership training services. His email is phil@philhardwick. com and he’s on the web at www.philhardwick.com.

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Continued from Page 6

leagues in the U.S. Congress.

At abut the same time in June 2015, Mississippi’s senior U.S. senator, Thad Cochran, also a Republican, came out for changing the flag.

The veteran Cochran was re-elected to the Senate in 2014 and it is unlikely that the 79-year-old will seek re-election in 2020.

But Wicker, age 65, will, no doubt, seek re-election next year.

In 2014, then-little known state Sen. Chris McDaniel of Ellisville, a Tea Party favorite, came oh-soclose to defeating the iconic Cochran in the Republican primary. McDaniel actually led Cochan in the first primary, but did not garner the majority needed to avoid a runoff.

Could McDaniel or someone of his ilk run a serious campaign against Wicker next year? And could the flag be part of that campaign?

Perhaps, but the circumstance will be different. In 2014, Cochran, who was used to being re-elected almost by acclimation, ran a lackluster campaign. By the time it was obvious that McDaniel was a legitimate candidate, it was almost too late for Cochran and his supporters to stop the McDaniel momentum, though, in the end they did.

After seeing what almost happened to Cochran, Wicker will not be blind-sided.

Still, if Wicker faces any election head winds because of his stance on the flag, it might give other Republicans pause before they take a similar position.

Bobby Harrison has been covering Mississippi politics for more than 20 years. Contact him at (601) 9469931 or bobby.harrison@journalinc.com .

DOWNTOWN JACKSON

OFFICES AVAILABLE

Near Capitol Private offices Reception Conference room Storage Kitchen FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:

Alan Turner, alan.turner@msbusiness.com 601-364-1021

June 23, 2017

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TRANSPORTATION

Jackson-Evers International parking aided by ticketless system

By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com If you fly, you probably drive yourself to the airport, which means finding the right parking lot and grabbing a ticket.

That adds one more thing you have to keep up with.

But if you use the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport, you don’t have to worry.

If you opt to use Arrivio, it’s as easy as pointing and clicking, even with the window up.

The new system was installed at the airport last week and simplifies the process, according to company founder and Chief Executive Robin Reyes.

Jackson-Evers is the first airport in the United States to have the system, which Reyes says offers a “premium parking experience.”

In the next few months, Arrivio will be installed at airports in Harlingen, Texas, Mobile and two other cities, he said.

After downloading the Arrivio app on your smartphone, you simply click on the QR code on the gate terminal and to enter and repeat that when leaving. The bill is paid by your credit card or another method

Special to the MBJ

Arrivio Chief Executive Robin Reyes demonstrates the system at Jackson-Evers International.

of payment.

There is a 10 percent fee added to the parking cost, with a cap of $5, Reyes said, adding that there is still the option to bypass Arrivio and use cash or a credit or debit card.

Use of Arrivio was made possible because of the recent installation of cutting-edge parking equipment by a company called Designa, whose software works

HEALTH CARE

Sole insurer in Mississippi insurance exchange faces tax credit fate

By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com

All 82 Mississippi counties will have only one insurer in the federal marketplace in 2018 as things stand now.

Humana will pull out at the end of this year.

The premiums for Ambetter of Magnolia, the sole insurer in the state, have yet to be finalized but they present “no staggering increase,” said Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney.

A key to the rates will be whether the federal tax credit will be around next year, Chaney said.

Congress is wrestling with a replacement of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, a major part of which are tax credits to make insurance through the exchanges affordable.

If that is not in play in 2018, “I think Ambetter will pull out of half the counties they’re in.” Without the credits, Ambetter’s risk “goes up about 100 percent,” Chaney said.

The House version of the American Health Care Act would do away with them, Chaney said.

The Wall Street Journal cited a recent

survey of 14 insurers that found that the average premium increase planned for 2018 is about 20 percent. But “nearly all of the responses assumed that the cost-sharing payments continued. If they didn’t, insurers would seek either further increases or withdraw from the market.”

Chaney does not expect Ambetter to pull out. “Their expertise is in handling people from zero percent of poverty to 250 percent.”

Ambetter is part of the Centene Corp., which announced last week that it was planning to enter exchanges in Kansas, Missouri and Nevada in 2018 and will expand its presence in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, Texas and Washington state.

St. Louis-based Centene stated in a release that its exchange members grew from 537,200 to 1.2 million members between Dec. 31, 2016 and March 31, 2017.

“Centene recognizes there is uncertainty of new health care legislation, but we are well positioned to continue providing accessible, high quality . . . health care services to our members,” said Michael F. Neidorff, chairman, president and chief executive.

Attempts to contact Ambetter were unsuccessful.

with Arrivio.

The airport upgraded the parking system at a cost of $373,000.

“Our goal is to improve the customer experience across our airport which includes updating our parking system. The parking equipment is old and difficult to repair.

The new access control equipment in our parking lots, ticket dispensers and payment process equipment will be connected wire-

lessly and save the company money in the long-run,” Chief Executive Officer Carl D. Newman said in an email. “We want to accommodate all of our travelers, including our more technologically-savvy ones who will appreciate using the new and easy-touse application for parking.”

Reyes said Designa won the contract for installation of equipment at all five New York and New Jersey Port Authority airports.

The company installed its system in Mexico City, a city of 20 million with 4 million vehicles, a nightmarish scene, he observed.

There, Arrivio executives met the international distributor for Designa. “They started seeing the value of this and so they started opening up their software to us,” Reyes said.

“Designa USA wanted it to be a part of the experience of the service they were providing at Jackson International.”

In addition to parking lots, the software can be used in street parking “by bypassing the meter altogether” and routing proof of payment to a parking meter officer, thus saving the city the expense of upgrading parking meters, Reyes said.

10 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q June 23, 2017 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Two more tenants added to the roster at District at Eastover

By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com

The District at Eastover has announced two more additions to its mixed-use roster in Jackson as it moves toward filling what will be 125,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space in the 585,000-squarefoot mixed use development between Meadowbrook Road and Eastover Drive along Interstate 55.

Fine and Dandy, an upscale hamburger and snacks concept, and Beckham Custom Jewelry Co., an established custom, fine jewelry business are the latest named as developers Ted Duckworth and Breck Hines work toward completing the project.

Fine and Dandy will open this fall and Beckham Custom Jewelry will open in July, according to a news release.

“Our vision for The District has always been for it to be a culinary and retail destination, and the announcement of these two additions reinforces that vision,” Hines said.

Fine and Dandy will be opened by Jackson native Ray-Scott Miller and will be in

the heart of the District, with outdoor patio seating adjacent to the common green space, The menu will include a lighter take on American classics including burgers, snacks and cocktails.

It will be across the green from the Cantina Laredo, an upscale Mexican cuisine eatery.

“Fine and Dandy introduces a fresh approach to Southern hospitality that will be evident in the restaurant’s food and service, but also in the modern yet comfortable dining space, thoughtfully designed to deliver an experience perfect for sharing time with family or drinks with friends,” the release said.

Beckham Custom Jewelry Co. will soon relocate to a “visually stunning” space, including a showroom, work studio and two consultation rooms “with an overall more urban, gallery-like aesthetic.”

Beckham designs, manufactures, repairs and services all types of jewelry. Owner and designer Brian Beckham started the business in 2013, finding quick success with his relationship-based approach to doing

Courtesy of Wier Boerner Allin Architecture/Special to the MBJ

Fine & Dandy will offer a ‘lighter take’ on hamburgers and cocktails.

business and artistic, completely custom approach to jewelry.

“I first heard about The District back in 2008 and I knew it’s where I wanted to be,” Beckham said. “We’ve had a wonderful experience in our current location, but it’s always been our intention to move the business to The District.”

These businesses join a lineup that includes BankPlus, Origin Bank, Results Physiotherapy. Previously announced, Or-

ange Theory Fitness and Freshii, are completing their tenant build-out plans and permit, and expect to commence construction in the next few weeks.

Other developments in The District at Eastover are the One Eastover Center office building, the Residence Inn by Marriott, The BankPlus Building and The District Lofts. Residents have recently started moving into the Lofts.

POLITICS

Mississippi companies await fallout from Trump position on Cuban trade

By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com A number of Mississippi companies and investors are interested in doing business in Cuba.

President Donald Trump is not so keen on trade with the communist nation – much less, it seems, than his immediate predecessor.

The Mississippi Development Authority led a group to Cuba in February.

Rose Boxx, director of the MDA’s International Trade Division, told the Mississippi Business Journal in March that “we speak and meet one-on-one-regularly with companies interested in Cuba.”

“We are also in regular communication with our trade contacts at the Cuban Embassy in Washington, D.C. in order to stay informed and continue to enhance Mississippi’s trade with Cuba.”

Now the state’s lead economic development agency is taking a wait-and-see approach.

Efforts by the MBJ to talk with Boxx or anyone else at the MDA for this article were unsuccessful.

Agency spokesman Jeff Rent said in an email that “the president’s position on trade with Cuba is a matter for lawmakers in Washington, D.C.” Trump had harsh words for the Cuban regime on Friday as he vowed to undo steps taken by his White House predecessor to normalize relations between the two countries.

In his speech in Miami he called for an end to “the long reign of suffering” under the communist regime established after the 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro, who died last year. His brother, Raul, is currently president.

The details of the policy Trump laid down in his directive will be worked out over the next month by his cabinet.

Trump stated in the policy memorandum that he “will seek to promote a stable, prosperous and free country for the Cuban people and away from a regime that has failed to meet the most basic requirements of a free and just society.”

The policy calls for ending “economic practices that disproportionately benefit the Cuban government or its military, intelligence or security agencies.”

Free-ranging travel in the island nation 90 miles off the shore of Florida will be scrapped.

Trump said in a speech in Miami on Friday that “easing

of restrictions on travel and trade does not help the Cuban people. They only help the Cuban regime.”

An analysis of the 11-page document by The Wall Street Journal cites two legal experts who suggest that while “it will be limited in its effects for companies . . . . [Trump’s policy] could present challenges for U.S. companies considering new business on the island.”

Michael Casey, an attorney and foreign trade expert, was quoted as saying that “those seeking new business should expect it to be more challenging.”

Harry Clark, also an attorney with expertise in such matters, isn’t so sure that the policy changes will have much effect on companies. “It wasn’t U.S. policy, event under [President] Obama, to allow U.S. companies to engage in Cuba in ways that involved the Cuban military or Cuban security services. It may have happened, but it wasn’t supposed to happen.”

Clark said there was “exaggeration on both sides” as to the extent of liberalization under Obama and of the rollback announced by Trump.

Some aspects of relations with Cuba haven’t changed. Agricultural products have been exempted from the embargo for many years.

So the Thomasson Co. of Philadelphia, after visiting Cuba on the MDA-sponsored trip, is preparing to offer a bid on selling wooden poles to the state-owned utility, Thomasson President Brent Gray said in a telephone interview Tuesday.

“Unless there’s some political bad blood, I don’t see an issue” with doing business in Cuba, Gray said.

The company has done business in Central and South America and in the Philippines, he said.

“Cuba needs infrastructure, if it ever opens up,” Gray said.

The embargo still requires cash-only deals with Cuba.

Gray said the Cubans would like to see credit insurance available through the U.S. Export-Import Bank to facilitate trade, which is something that’s not on the table.

“The economy is still tough down there,” Gray said.

Newsmakers

12 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q June 23, 2017

Community Bank changes

Community Bank recently made the following staff changes and promotions: Andy R. Young, a Tennessee native, has recently been named Senior Vice President in Community Bank’s Southaven office.

He has over 17 years of banking experience, most recently as Vice Young President in the Southaven office.

Young is a graduate of Freed-Hardeman University with a Bachelor degree in Agriculture Business. In 2016, he completed the University of Mississippi School of Banking program. Young is Chairman of the Southaven Chamber Ambassadors, and Treasurer of the Southaven Rotary Club.

He is a member of the Southaven Church of Christ.

Katie R. Warren has been promoted to Assistant Vice President-Human Resources.

Warren has been with Community Bank for 15 years, in multiple departments, most recently as Assistant Human Resources Officer.

Raised in Houston, Miss., WarWarren ren graduated from Clinton High School in 1998 and received her BSBA from Mississippi College in 2002. She is a member of Society for Human Resource Management and Association for Talent Development. Warren is also an assistant instructor at No Limit Jiu Jitsu in Clinton.

Warren and her husband Dee Warren have two children Heidi, 6, and Wyatt, 4.

Henry Fox has recently joined Community Bank’s Pascagoula office as a Senior Vice President.

He has over 38 years of banking experience. A native of Pascagoula, Fox is a University of Southern Mississippi graduate with his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and his Master of Fox Business Administration. He went on to graduate from the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University and the University of Mississippi School of Banking.

Fox is involved in many local community activities including: The Pascagoula Redevelopment Authority, Pascagoula River Audubon Center, Catholic Diocese of Biloxi, Kiwanis, The Jackson County Economic Development Foundation, and Sacred Heart Catholic Charity.

Fox and his wife, Patty, are the parents of 3 grown children, Alison, Andrew, and Adam.

Darnell McCormick recently joined Community Bank’s D’Iberville office as Senior Vice President. She has over 32 years of banking experience.

A native of Biloxi, McCormick is a graduate of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, the McCormick University Of Mississippi School Of Banking, and Vanderbilt University’s Commercial School of Banking. She also completed Leadership Gulf Coast in 2005.

McCormick is a member of the Board of Directors for the Biloxi Bay Chamber and an active part of the LeBelle Femme Carnival Association.

She and her husband, Cheyenne, reside in Biloxi.

Together, the couple has six children.

Nissan Builds Habitat House in Canton

Courtesy of Habitat for Humanity Mississippi Capital Area

Nissan and its employee volunteers recently built a Habitat for Humanity house for a Canton family – Mildred Daughtery and her son. Participating in the dedication of the home were (kneeling, from left) Arree Williams, Ruby Beckwith, Mike Quick; (standing, from left) Stephen Griner, Jackie Brown, Stacey Hight, Ashley Avery, Rodney Francis, Joseph Flowers, Rosemary Branch, Kula Bwamba, Jack Blackburn, homeowner Mildred Daughtery, Sylvester Jackson, Margie Miller and grandchildren, Vonda Wright, Steve Marsh, vice president of manufacturing for Nissan-Canton, Dino Areundo, Joel Millsap, Sabrina McClain, Teresa Lopez, Dawn Polo, Gale McGowan, Donna Brown Jacobs, and Merrill McKewen, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Mississippi Capital Area. This is the 10th house that Nissan has built in partnership with Habitat for Humanity Mississippi Capital Area. Five of the Habitat houses have been located in Canton.

Thomas Truhett has been promoted to Loan Officer within the Small Business Administration Department. Truhett has been with Community Bank for 4 years, most recently serving as SBA Specialist.

Truhett, a native of Gulfport, graduated from the University Truhett of Mississippi with a Bachelor of Accountancy.

Truhett and his wife Jennie, live in Brandon. They have one daughter, Jane, and are expecting their second child this fall. They attend Pinelake Church, where Truhett serves in the Middle School Ministry.

Governor appoints Duncan Gov. Phil Bryant has appointed District Attorney Mark Duncan Eighth Circuit Court District circuit judge. Duncan, who has served as DA for the Eighth District since 2003, will replace Judge Vernon Cotten, who retired May 31.

Before Duncan served as DA, he Duncan was an assistant district attorney in the Eighth District for 16 years.

Since starting in the DA’s office in 1988, Duncan has tried more than 800 jury trials. Perhaps his most notable came in his first term as DA, when he led the prosecution of former Ku Klux Klan leader Edgar Ray Killen for the killing of three civil rights workers.

Duncan’s team secured a conviction on three counts of manslaughter that led to a 60-year sentence.

Duncan received his bachelor’s of business administration and his juris doctorate from the University of Mississippi. He and his wife, Joni, have been married 35 years. They have one son, Benjamin Mark “Ben” Duncan. They attend First United Methodist Church in Philadelphia, where Mark serves in a number of lay leadership roles.

Polen joins Dale Partners Neil Polen, AIA, has moved from the Jackson office to the Biloxi office of Dale Partners Architects.

Polen joined Dale Partners in 2014. His portfolio includes Cspire Data Center in Starkville, Wind Creek Montgomery Hotel and BB King’s Blues Club in Montgomery, Polen Ala., CAET Wine Bar in Jackson, Belhaven University Housing in Jackson and signage for the Jackson-Medgar Evers Airport.

On the coast he worked with the new Starbucks in Harrah’s Gulf Coast, and he is working on a medical office building at Tradition and a historical renovation on the Coast.

Polen received his architectural license in 2016.

He received his bachelor degree in architecture from Mississippi State University in 2010 and completed the Business Advantage Program at Millsaps College in 2012.

MDEQ recognizes Cooper The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality has recognized Cooper Tire’s Tupelo and Clarksdale plants as members of its environmental stewardship enHance initiative. A voluntary program consisting of three-year membership terms, the enHance initiative, which stands for “envision heightened awareness nurturing conservation and environmental excellence,” recognizes committed environmental leaders in Mississippi that put in place environmental initiatives beyond those that are required.

The MDEQ enHance program is designed to encourage the reduction of waste and conservation of resources, resulting in long term economic benefit and continuous environmental enhancement. There are four levels of membership: Associate, Steward, Leader, and for non-regulated entities, Environmental Star. The Clarksdale plant has been a member for three years

and has been recognized as a Steward level member for its second three-year term. The Tupelo plant has been a member for six years and has been recognized as a Leader level member, the highest level possible, for its third three-year term.

Foster joins Neel-Schaffer Tommy Foster, PE, has joined Neel-Schaffer, Inc., as a Transportation Engineer, and will work out of the firm’s Arlington, Texas, office.

Foster has more than a dozen years of experience in transportation engineering and project management, including two years Foster with the Texas Department of Transportation. He has been involved in all aspects of roadway design and construction management, including interstates, highways, bridges, interchanges, traffic control, and multi-use trails and paths.

Foster is a Registered Professional Engineer in the state of Texas, and he holds a Bachelor of Science in Manufacturing Engineering Technology from Midwestern State University.

J. Britt Lighting honored Residential and commercial lighting source J. Britt Lighting in Tupelo has been named one of Home Accents Today’s 50 Retail Stars for 2017 by editors of the trade magazine for the home accents industry.

The list recognizes independent brick-and-mortar retailers of home accents – including lighting retailers and interior design boutiques – that are creative in their merchandising, have a positive presence in their local communities and are distinguishing themselves from the competition.

J. Britt Lighting is owned by Britt Caldwell.

Newsmakers Parsell joins Sports Med Dr. Douglas E. Parsell recently joined Mississippi Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center in Jackson as its first-ever research director.

The 17 physicians and seven fellows at Mississippi Sports Medicine currently research with frequency and pave the way for Parsell surgical innovations. The addition of a research director is a strategic move to optimally leverage the combined experience and expertise of MSM’s physicians to advance patient care through research and innovation.

Parsell is formerly of the Governor’s Office executive staff for the Mississippi Division of Medicaid and University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Intellectual Property Development for Strategic Research Alliances. He holds a doctoral degree in materials science and engineering, specializing in bioceramics, from the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Additionally, Parsell holds seven US patents, 24 published works and 13 funded research projects. He is the owner, founder or co-founder of four biomedical companies operating in the fields of biomedical product development, distribution and consulting services.

Trustmark promotes 2 Trustmark recently announced 2 promotions at its corporate headquarters in Jackson.

Clinton Brooks Aycock, Commercial Relationship Manager in the Commercial Real Estate department., is now Vice President. Aycock has 15 years of banking experience and is a Certified Treasury Professional.

He earned a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Delta State University. Aycock completed the Mississippi School of Banking and is currently enrolled in the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University.

Database Administrator Torrey Gibson is now Information Technology Officer. Gibson has 15 years of experience in database administration. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from Mississippi State University.

USM staff wins at CPRAM

The Office of University Communications, along with staff members from various offices at The University of Southern Mississippi, recently captured 12 awards – including a Grand Award in electronic media – at the annual College Public Relations Association of Mississippi conference. Competition was in the senior division, which includes the state’s four-year public and private universities and colleges.

University Communications was presented the Grand Award in electronic media, for its “My Southern Miss Story Video Series,” a series of 11 videos featuring University students.

Award winners include: » 1st place – Single Piece of Artwork (sports) – “USM vs. Kentucky Bourbon Trail Mailer”: Kat VanSkiver, Brittney Westbrook, Heather Graves, Lynn McCarver, Nicole Ruhnke » 1st place – Multimedia Presentation – “My Southern Miss Story Video Series”: Brittney Westbrook, Jerry Santos, Heather Graves, Kristi Scott » 2nd place – Public Relations Innovation – “Choose Southern Miss Coffee Sleeves”: Brittney Westbrook,

June 23, 2017

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Sunray Companies recognized

Courtesy of The Sunray Companies

The Sunray Companies, LLC of Madison was recently named Massage Envy Franchisee of the Year for 2016. The award was presented for exemplary performance and excellence in operations in the Massage Envy franchise system. This is the second Franchisee of the Year award presented to the company by Massage Envy since 2014. Massage Envy has over 1,150 franchised locations. Pictured are, from left: Chris Taylor, District Manager; Monica Harrigill, Co-Founder; Ray Harrigill, Co-Founder; Catherine Sullivan, Senior District Manager; Victoria Chaisson, Esthetician of the Year – Louisiana Region; Rich Navari, VP of Operations; Amber Sukhbaatar, VP of Culture & Marketing; and James Haynes, District Manager., Jenny Tate » 2nd place – Single Piece of Artwork (non-sports) – “Theatre Poster – ‘The Seagull’”: Kat VanSkiver, Heather Graves, Brittney Westbrook, Lynn McCarver » 2nd place – Brochure – “Theatre 2016-17 Season Brochure”: Hillary Lovinggood, Brittney Westbrook, Heather Graves, Lynn McCarver » 2nd place – Annual Report – “Business, Inspired: College of Business Annual Report 2015-16”: Hillary Lovinggood, Brittney Westbrook, Heather Graves, Lynn McCarver, Dr. Faye Gilbert » 3rd place – News Story – “Student’s Research Shows C-USA Baseball Tournament’s Positive Economic Impact”: David Tisdale » 3rd place – Annual Report – “2015 USM Foundation Impact Report”: Kat VanSkiver, Heather Graves, Brittney Westbrook, Lynn McCarver, Amy Martin, Megan Burkes » 3rd place – Brochure – “Career Services & Student Employment Brochure”: Megan McCormick, Heather Graves, Brittney Westbrook, Lynn McCarver, Tonya Williams » 3rd place – Single Piece of Artwork (sports) – “AllStar Party Invitation”: Hillary Lovinggood, Brittney Westbrook, Heather Graves, Lynn McCarver, Jenny Tate » 3rd place – Public Relations Campaign – “Engineering Awareness Campaign”: Kat VanSkiver, Heather Graves, Brittney Westbrook, Jenny Tate, Kristi Scott

Forrest General recognized Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg has received the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award with Target: Stroke Honor Roll. The award recognizes a commit-

ment to providing the most appropriate stroke treatment according to nationally recognized guidelines.

Hospitals must achieve 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month periods and achieve 75 percent or higher compliance with five of eight Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality measures to receive the Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award.

To qualify for the Target: Stroke Honor Roll, hospitals must meet quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator. The hospital also is a Primary Stroke Center.

MSU program accreditated Now in its third year, Mississippi State’s clinical psychology doctoral program has been granted a five-year term of accreditation from the American Psychological Association’s Commission on Accreditation.

Graduation from an accredited program is required by some states for licensure. It also is mandatory for all federal jobs, including those within the Veterans Affairs Health Care System

‘Y’all Vote’ wins honor Mississippi’s new online voter information center, Y’all Vote, has been internationally recognized by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts’ 23rd Annual Communicator Awards. The website earned Awards of Distinction in the Features, Visual Appeal, and Function categories.

Launched in September 2016, Y’all Vote provides citizens with a host of election information including first-time voter registration applications, military and overseas voting procedures, and an explanation of Mississippi’s voter photo ID requirement. County election officials’ contact information and a polling

place locator are also located on the website.

Y’all Vote’s key feature allows Mississippi registered voters who have moved within the state since the last election or changed their name as it appears on their voter registration to update their information online.

Nursing homes win awards The Mississippi Health Care Association recently announced that six of its Mississippi-member nursing homes have won national awards recognizing their significant commitment in the delivery of quality health care. The awards are part of the 2017 Bronze - Commitment to Quality Awards by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living.

The Bronze Awards are the first of three distinctions possible through the AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program, which honors long term and post-acute care providers that have demonstrated their commitment to improving the quality of care for seniors and persons with disabilities.

The six 2017 Bronze – Commitment to Quality Awards winners in Mississippi are: » Tupelo Nursing and Rehabilitation Center » Brandon Nursing and Rehabilitation Center » Manhattan Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Jackson » Senatobia Healthcare & Rehab » Ruleville Nursing and Rehabilitation Center » Camellia Estates in McComb The award program has three levels: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Providers begin the quality improvement process at the Bronze level, where they develop an organizational profile with fundamental performance elements such as vision and mission statements and key strengths and challenges. Bronze applicants must also demonstrate their ability to implement a performance improvement system.

Newsmakers

14 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q June 23, 2017

MSU design, merchandising ranked Anderson

Dawkins

Brown

Glover

Ford

Garrison

Megan Bean / Courtesy of MSU

Bellipanni

Shearer

Poole

HORNE promotes 9

HORNE LLP, an accounting and business advisory firms, recently announced the promotion of Ridgeland team members Roxanne Anderson, Jasmine Brown, Caitlin Glover, Elizabeth Ford, Ali Garrison, James Bellipanni, Clark Shearer, Justin Poole and Scott Dawkins.

Both promoted to senior manager, Anderson serves on the service transformation team and Dawkins serves on the public and middle market team.

Brown was promoted to senior associate on the financial institutions team. All members in public and middle market, Glover, Ford, Garrison, Bellipanni, Shearer and Poole were promoted to supervisor.

Rose joins design firm

Michael Rose has recently joined Canizaro Cawthon Davis Architects Planners & Interior Designers as a Project Architect.

Rose is a Mississippi State University graduate where he earned his Bachelor of Architecture Degree in 2011. He has eight years of architectural design, Rose production and construction experience and has worked on multiple award-winning projects in Mississippi. Rose lives in Flowood with his wife Candace, and daughter Addison and attend Pinelake Church.

Palmer Home expands team Meryl Fisackerly has joined Palmer Home for Children as its Director of Development for northeast Mississippi. Fisackerly has experience in both retail and commercial sales, and has roots in the Golden Triangle.

She is a graduate of Mississippi State University, and is a member of Junior Auxiliary, Vine and Olive Garden Club, and P.E.O. International. She and her husband, Brinton, live in Columbus with their daughter Mamie, 1. They are active members of Main Street Presbyterian Church.

For the second consecutive year, a popular fashion website is ranking Mississippi State among the nation’s Top 50 fashion design and merchandising programs. According to a report from www.fashion-schools. org, the university’s fashion design program is 34th overall and fifth in the South. For fashion merchandising, MSU is 37th nationally; 9th in the South. Pictured in the university’s Moore Hall studio classroom are Charles Freeman (center), MSU assistant professor of fashion design and merchandising, and former students Jesse Newton and Laura Richardson.

Austin takes national post

Jenkins named VP

Gay Austin of McComb has been installed as first vice president of the National Garden Clubs Inc., the world’s largest volunteer gardening organization.

As first vice president for the next two years, Austin will support and promote Plant America, NGC’s Austin new initiative that focuses on gardens and gardening, with an emphasis on community service. She also will serve as liaison to NGC state presidents and regional directors.

Austin also will help guide the national organization and work to advance NGC’s mission.

Austin previously served as second vice president of National Garden Clubs Inc. She has held various positions on a national level, including chairman of the Organization Study Committee and the Award of Excellence initiative to recognize outstanding non-member individuals and organizations that advance NGC causes. Austin also served as recording secretary on the board of directors for National Garden Clubs Inc. She is an accredited master flower show judge and horticulture instructor for numerous NGC flower show schools and symposiums.

On the state and local level, Austin has served as member of the board of directors of The Garden Clubs of Mississippi since 1995 and the McComb Garden Club for nearly 30 years.

She holds an associate’s degree in nursing from Southwest Mississippi Community College in Summit.

As a registered nurse, Austin served in the emergency room at Southwest Regional Medical Center and as office manager of Southwest Mississippi Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic and Austin Medical Consultants Inc. She also is a board member and volunteer at PALS Rescue Inc., a no-kill animal shelter in Pike County.

Ryan Jenkins has been promoted to Vice President/Internal Audit Manager at Renasant Bank.

Jenkins joined Renasant in 2012 serving in various positions including Internal Auditor and Internal Audit Manager. Jenkins previously was Income Tax Accountant for Fortune 500 Auto Parts retailer, Auto Zone, Inc. In his new role, Jenkins will be responsible for managing internal audit staff to independently evaluate the adequacy, effectiveness and efficiency of the system of control within Renasant Bank and the quality of on-going operations.

Jenkins attended the University of Mississippi, graduating with a Bachelors and Masters degree in Accounting. He has also attended the Cannon Financial Institute Trust Audit School and received several certifications including Certified Public Accountant, Certified Internal Auditor, and Certified Information Systems Auditor.

Jenkins contributes to his community through several organizations, including the American Cancer Society and United way. He and his wife Susan have one child, Reagan. The Jenkins’ are members of Old Field Methodist Church and reside in Oxford.

Johnston joins Renasant Russell Johnston has joined Renasant Bank in Tupelo as a Corporate Relationship Officer.

Johnston will be responsible for cultivating and managing relationships with corporate clients in a variety of industries. Johnston is a graduate of North Carolina State University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Business Finance. He received his MBA from the University of South Carolina. He also attended the South Carolina Banker’s School.

Russell and his wife Callie, reside in Tupelo and are expecting their first child in October.

Simpson receives certificate Larkin Simpson of the Economic Development Authority of Jones County and Jones County Chamber of Commerce recently received certification as an Economic Development Finance Professional from the National Development Council.

The certification is a profession- Simpson al credential given to individuals who successfully complete NDC’s intensive economic development finance training series. The training provides individuals working in the field of economic development with instruction in business credit analysis, real estate financing, loan packaging, deal structuring and negotiation as well as the creation and implementation of development programs.

Each of the four EDFP Certification Program courses are an intensive five-day structure with real-world case studies, financial reviews, and problems solving scenarios. Each course concludes with a comprehensive exam. Upon successful completion of all four courses, the candidate is awarded EDFP Certification.

Of the more than 70,000 trained professionals by NDC, there are approximately 3,500 EDFPs with less than 20 in Mississippi.

Cyre-Leike CEO ranked Harold E. Crye, co-founder and CEO of Crye-Leike Real Estate Services, has been named to the 2017 Swanepoel Power 200 list, which lists the 200 most powerful leaders in the residential real estate industry. He was the only Tennessee-based real estate broker in the top 20. The company Crye has offices in Mississippi.

Crye-Leike, a full service real estate company, is ranked the fifth largest independently-owned real estate firm in the nation.

The SP200 is produced and published by the Swanepoel T3 Group, a research and consulting firm.

Crye co-founded Crye-Leike in 1997 in Memphis with partner and president, Dick Leike. More than 3,100 independent real estate agents are affiliated with Crye-Leike and more than 800 employees support them.

Harrigill named to board Ray Harrigill, president and co-founder of The Sunray Companies, LLC, in Madison was recently appointed President of the Massage Envy National Franchise Advisory Board for the 2017 – 2018 term.

Massage Envy provides of therapeutic massage and skincare services and has over 1,150 franHarrigill chised locations in 49 states.

The Sunray Companies, LLC, co-founded by Ray and Monica Harrigill in 1996, owns and operates 14 Massage Envy locations in Mississippi and Louisiana.

The Sunray Companies also owns and operates Hampton Inn & Suites and Holiday Inn Express & Suites-branded hotels, Bumpers Drive-In restaurants and Palm Beach Tan salons.

Newsmakers Link joins People Lease

Jacquelyn Link recently joined the People Lease team as a staff accountant.

She performs financial and reporting activities between clients, employees, and the government.

Link obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from Belhaven University in 2015. Link She lives in Madison and is an outdoor enthusiast who enjoys spending time with family and friends.

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EMBDC holds Leadership Lauderdale graduation

Girl Scouts name 2 to board

Lara Bowman, Executive Director of The Enterprise of Mississippi and Jobyna France, Communication Director for Delta Health Alliance have been elected to the Girl Scouts Heart of the South Board of Directors.

At The Enterprise, Bowman was hired to establish and lead the newly formed regional organization. She has experience in human resources, non-profit organizational management and university level outreach work providing training to business and industry Bowman in technology applications.

Bowman received her Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Arts degree from Mississippi State University with a graduate level Certificate in Economic Development. She is a certified Business Retention and Expansion Coordinator through BREI. Bowman is an active Rotarian, member of the Mississippi Economic Development Council, Southeast Economic Development Council and Mississippi Manufacturer’s Association.

France is Communication Director for Delta Health Alliance in Greenville. She was an educator in the Washington area school systems from 2000 – 2009. She has her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Education from Delta State University and a Bachelor’s of Business Administration degree France from the University of Mississippi.

Her community involvement in the Delta includes: Delta Cotton Belles (Mississippi Delta Breast Cancer Awareness non-profit organization), Kappa Delta Alumnae Association, Greenville Council of Garden Clubs (2015 – 2020), Belhaven Garden Club / Junior Greenville Garden, First Presbyterian Church USA – Greenville, First United Methodist, Greenville Arts, Riverside Cotton, Washington School P.T.O, Neighborhood Watch/ Greenville Police Dept., Warfield Riverfest / Camp Looking Glass.

Bowman and France are serving two-year terms, which ends in April 2019.

New owner at George Bell

Greg C. Smith is the new owner of George Bell Rug Cleaning and Restoration, a 70-year-old Jackson-based specialty cleaning business. A native of Jackson, Smith graduated from Mississippi State University in 1983 with a degree in Business Administration.

After a 22-year career in medical

Courtesy of EMBDC

The East Mississippi Business Development Corporation recently held its 2017 Leadership Lauderdale Graduation, with 27 graduates recognized for completing the program. Graduates, listed alphabetically are; Angeleque Adams, Meridian Cab Co.; Kevin Adams, Anderson Regional Health System; Tracy Alford, Citizens National Bank; Wade Allen, Regions Bank; Kim Amerson, iQor; Kathy Anderson, City of Meridian; Rebecca Brown, Citizens National Bank; Sonya Carrier, Rush Health Systems; Michael Crowe, Great Southern Bank; Terrence Davis, City of Meridian; Ginger Delaney, The Commercial Bank; Debby Delshad, EMBDC; Jonathan Demko, Georgia Pacific Naheola Mill; Luiza Dobbins, A&B Electric Co.; Brad Falls, Mississippi Power Co.; Chasidy Goodwin, Mississippi Air National Guard; Tiffany Hickman, Ross Collins; Denitra Hicks, Meridian Community Living Center; Tammy Johnson, Rush Health Systems; Kristen Marshall, LPK Architects; Cee Cee Martin, Anderson Regional Health Center; Schumpert McIntosh, iQor; Sidney Nolan, Mississippi Air National Guard; Alex Pickett, Gipson Steel; Christy Roberts, EMEPA; Sara Scarbrough, Rea, Shaw, Griffin & Stuart; Sara Smith, Care Lodge Domestic Violence Shelter. sales, Smith retired in 2016 to acquire the company.

The George Bell Company employs skilled artisans to clean, repair and restore rugs by hand.

Realty Alliance taps Brown Steve Brown, president of residential sales at Crye-Leike, Inc., has been named to the board of directors of The Realty Alliance, a network of North America’s elite real estate firms serving all major and mid size markets.

Crye-Leike is the nation’s fifth Brown largest independently-owned real estate firm, and the largest residential real estate firm in Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and the Mid-South.

The Realty Alliance provides opportunities for sharing of ideas among member firms and influences the residential real estate industry. Through the alliance, its members access the best and latest ideas and solutions to make them the most qualified to provide expert analysis and guidance to its members’ real estate agents and their clients.

Brown, a native of Memphis, Tenn. and a cum laude graduate of the University of Memphis, entered the real estate industry in 1974 and has been affiliated with Crye-Leike Real Estate Services since 1980.

Bryant appoints Kilgore

Smith

Gov. Phil Bryant has appointed Steven S. Kilgore district attorney for the Eighth Judicial District.

Kilgore replaces Mark Duncan, who Bryant recently appointed circuit judge for the Eighth District, which encompasses Leake, Neshoba, Newton and Scott counties.

Kilgore has served as an assistant district attorney

in the Eighth District since July 2007. Prior to that, he spent one year in private practice. He received a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a juris doctorate from the University of Mississippi.

Kilgore and his wife, Marjorie, live in Philadelphia. They have one daughter and are expecting another child soon.

years with Bankers Trust Company (now Deutsche Bank), Goldman Sachs, First Boston (now Credit Suisse) and UBS (once Swiss Bank Corporation). From 1994 to 2001, he was a private equity investor with Emerging Markets Partnership.

Konschnik joins Butler Snow Kilgore

Sun leads Innovate program Rich Sun, Jackson resident and member of the Innovate Mississippi Board of Directors, has been named “Entrepreneur in Residence” as part of a new program by Innovate Mississippi that is designed to support tech and innovation-based entrepreneurial development throughout Sun the state.

The position offers an opportunity for Mississippi entrepreneurs to capture insight and guidance from a successful entrepreneur/executive who is willing to share strategic advice based on his experiences and accomplishments, said Tony Jeff, president and CEO of Innovate Mississippi.

Sun’s experience includes 30 startups as investor, advisor, executive and board member.

In addition to his experience with startups, Sun’s educational and professional achievements include earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton University, a Masters of Business Administration from New York University and designation as a Chartered Financial Analyst. He also served as a banker for 22

Kristin E. Konschnik – an experienced U.S. and international transactional tax attorney – has joined Butler Snow, expanding its London office. Konschnik will be a member of the firm’s Business Services and Tax Groups, focusing her practice on cross-border tax and transactional matters for both Konschnik individuals and corporations.

Konschnik has experience advising on U.S. and international transactional tax matters

Vitter joins Butler Snow Former U.S. Sen. David Vitter has joined Butler Snow in an of counsel role in Louisiana. Vitter will practice in the firm’s business department, focusing on business and economic development in the energy sector and other areas. He will be in the New Orleans office.

Vitter Vitter will continue his role as vice chairman of Mercury Public Affairs.

Vitter served 12 years in the U.S. Senate and five in the U.S. House of Representatives. Before that, he was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives and a business litigation attorney. He was also an adjunct professor at Tulane and Loyola Law Schools.

June 23, 2017 • MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS JOURNAL • www.msbusiness.com

MBJ FOCUS: INSURANCE, EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

Courtesy of Morton Buildings

Robert Bell joined Morton Building in 1996, and is now construction center general manager for the Pearl office

When workers rule » Morton Buildings is one business that is now 100% employee owned

By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com

W

hen Robert Bell went to work for Morton Buildings Inc. in Pearl in 1996, he was drawn by the fact that it was a family-owned business.

“It was a large company, but it was

not corporate America,” said Bell, who is construction center general manager for Morton Buildings Inc. in Pearl. “Just like UPS or other private companies of the day, we have grown tremendously as far as our product line and construction innovations.”

Morton Buildings was founded in 1903 and has been in Mississippi for decades. It specializes in metal buildings for farm equipment and residential storage, large churches and residences. And now Bell has even more at stake because he is also an owner of the company. Morton Buildings recently became 100 percent employee owned through an Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP).

“Owner employees are getting the benefit of being rewarded on an annual basis with stock in our company,” Bell said. “We already had an ESOP

with small ownership of the company. Now our stock was optioned to buy out the limited private ownership from the family that owned the company prior to us.”

Bell said the ESOP program is an incredible tool for allowing Morton Buildings to attract and retain top-level talent.

“Through no effort other than being a committed employee and part owner, a substantial retirement can be obtained not only through our stock ownership, but also contributing to a 401(k),” Bell said. “The company contributes to 401K contributions made by employees. Also, based on the local construction center’s profitability, the annual profit sharing can be quite substantial.”

See MORTON, Page 19

Insurance & Employee Benefits

June 23, 2017

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State insurers face challenges » Commissioner Chaney encourages education to consumers, sellers

By ALEX JACKS mbj@msbusiness.com

I

NSURANCE PROVES to be one of those expenses in life that no one wants to pay for, but everyone knows they need. From car insurance to health insurance, every aspect of Mississippians’ lives can be affected by it. Due to the influence insurance plays in all walks of life, the insurance industry constantly faces challenges.

According to the Mississippi Insurance Department, there are a number of challenges facing the insurance industry in Mississippi — one of the biggest being the education of consumers.

“The education of consumers is a constant challenge,” a statement from the Mississippi Insurance Department said.

“The department depends on agents to help with consumer education. We also provide a large variety of information to consumers through department outreach efforts.”

Mississippi Commissioner of Insurance Mike Chaney encourages all persons purchasing insurance to be informed through education.

“Changes in the insurance industry are happening daily, and anyone considering purchasing insurance in Mississippi needs as much information as possible in order to make an informed decision before they purchase a policy,” Chaney said. “Keeping the consumer informed is one of the biggest challenges facing insurance professionals in the state. The Mississippi Insurance Department works alongside agents in the state to provide consumers with the most current information available.”

Since the Mississippi Insurance Department regulates all insurance types in Mississippi, it faces difficulties with property and casualty insurance and healthcare insurance.

One of the biggest issues revolving around property and casualty insurance is the uncertainty surrounding the reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program and the reform of the program to allow for more competition from the private market, according to the Mississippi Insurance Department.

“We are also closely watching the factors driving the cost of auto insurance —frequency from distracted driving, texting and driving, and the rising cost of auto collision repairs,” a statement from the department said. “Fire safety and fire

safety education will always remain high priorities for us in helping to control fire deaths in the state.”

As far as automobile insurance goes, the department said the factor that influences the increasing rates the most is accident frequency caused by distracted driving, such as using cell phones. Deteriorating road conditions also tend to lead to more traffic congestion and accidents, the department said.

When discussing the health-care side of the industry, the department said rising

health-care costs, the drastic increase in the number of people addicted to opioids and Medicaid coverage are great concerns.

“Approximately 760,000 Mississippians depend on Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program for health care,” according to the department. “If approved by the House, the American Health Care Act will move the entire program to a block grant program where the state would receive a fixed amount instead of a certain percentage of the costs. It aims to cut $839 billion from Medicaid budgets

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nationally.”

In addition to the federal insurance programs already being cut, the department is concerned with how to continue cost sharing reduction payments.

“While these payments are critical to subsidizing out-of-pocket costs for individuals up to 250 percent of the federal poverty level, Congress has offered mixed messages as to whether these payments will be continued,” a statement from the

See INSURANCE, Page 18

18 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q June 23, 2017

Insurance & Employee Benefits

INSURANCE Continued from Page 18

department said. “Without cost sharing reduction payments, it is expected that insurers will continue to leave the individual marketplace and individuals could see double digit increases in their premiums.”

If passed, the American Health Care Act would repeal cost sharing reductions and payments to insurers for cost sharing reductions beginning on Jan. 1, 2020, the department said.

“Until then, the Administration and Congress will need to decide a path forward to ensure a stable marketplace,” according to the department. “There will be a great impact on plan participation if cost sharing reductions funding is lost. If federal reimbursements cease, insurers will have four potential options: 1) Absorb the cost; 2) request a midyear premium rate increase; 3) exit the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act marketplace; or 4) exit the entire individual market and no longer sell plans to individuals on or off the marketplace.”

Despite the stalemate in Washington, the department has addressed several issues — like the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) policy — which have helped stabilize the health insurance market in Mississippi.

“The Mississippi Insurance Depart-

“A younger generation certainly pushes the industry to become more creative with how they deliver and service their products.”

Mike Chaney Mississippi Insurance Commissioner

ment was instrumental in obtaining approval from The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services to extend transitional policy relief until December 31, 2018,” a statement from the Mississippi Insurance Department said. “Without this extension, policyholders with non-grandfathered coverage in the individual and small group market would have seen devastating rate increases on December 31, 2017.”

The CMS also recently issued a wavier to the Mississippi Insurance Department to ensure that children 14-years-old and under would not see large rate increases for health insurance coverage.

“The Mississippi Insurance Depart-

ment requested and received approval from The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services to use the current age band rules, which the state has been using since 2014,” according to the Mississippi Insurance Department. “Without the waiver, beginning January 1, 2018, many younger enrollees would have seen significant rate increases under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.” Another aspect of concern the insurance industry faces revolves around its younger consumers. While handling insurance claims and questions digitally has become beneficial to all consumers, there are several drawbacks to its efficiency.

“A younger generation certainly pushes

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the industry to become more creative with how they deliver and service their products,” the department said. “The younger generation also doesn’t rely on the agent as much for their point of sale. Doing so can sometimes result in consumers being misguided with their protection needs and how a policy works. Younger consumers are quickly discovering there are aspects of coverage that they need to discuss with an agent.”

When agents do not have the opportunity to inform young consumers, it can have a negative effect on the insurance industry.

“Another issue of concern involving young consumers is that some forgo purchasing health insurance coverage because paying the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act penalty may be more economical for them,” a statement from the department said.

“This has a negative effect on the insurance industry by affecting the risk pool balance. The risk pool is required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act when developing premiums. If there are not enough young and healthy individuals to help balance the risk pool then this is what causes the increase in healthcare cost for older individuals.”

Insurance & Employee Benefits MORTON Continued from Page 16

Bell said being an owner gives employees a greater stake in ensuing the success of the company, which he said is geared towards customer satisfaction.

“It makes us as owners more responsible in terms of how we deal with every aspect of our work with the reward being an excellent retirement,” Bell said. “Employees will do all we can to make local construction centers profitable, which drives the amount of stock given out to employees. It is going to be an incredible recruiting tool.

For anyone who looks at what is out there as far as retirement, it is unmatched as far as what we offer.”

The National Center for Employee Ownership has conducted research that shows that ESOP companies perform better and create more jobs than non-ESOP businesses. According to NCEO, Morton Buildings with 1,700 employees will be one of the top 75 largest ESOPs in North America.

John Russell, president and CEO of Morton Buildings, said an ESOP provides a stable, long-term plan for the company — which helps ensures the longevity of a company that has already been in existence for more than 100 years.

“This ESOP transaction will have an overwhelmingly positive effect on the company by further strengthening the historical bond among our very capable and committed employees,” Russell said.

Bell said business decisions are made by a combination of local and regional management working together.

“We all contribute to the ownership of our company, and we take that down to the hiring process,” Bell said.

Bell said their customers have responded favorably to the company becoming 100 percent employee owned.

“It has been a key tool to separate us from other manufacturers out there,” Bell said. “You can see advertisements in magazines for cheaper metal building packages. But they don’t have a fully integrated process. With Morton, we design and manufacture our product in eight company-owned manufacturing plants nationwide with our local Southern plant being just across the state line north of Birmingham, Ala. We deliver our product on our own fleet of trucks. We unload our product, unlike manufacturers who require you have equipment there to unload it. And then Morton employee crew members show up with Morton-issued equipment to make our customers’ dreams a reality. We can build the shell or be the complete general contractor for the entire project. We have almost 300 crews on a nationwide basis we can use in any circumstance that requires more manpower to be brought in.”

Bell said their buildings have some of the highest performing energy values of any structure available as a result of a combination of high R value insulation

June 23, 2017

“This Employee Stock Ownership Program transaction will have an overwhelmingly positive effect on the company by further strengthening the historical bond among our very capable and committed employees.”

John Russell President & CEO, Morton Buildings

and ventilation. They also come with a five-year unlimited wind load velocity warranty.

“It doesn’t matter if it is a Hurricane

Katrina times 10,” Bell said. “If it is damaged or devastated, Morton will replace or repair the shell product at no charge to the customer. We had in excess of 50 build-

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ings on the Gulf Coast during Katrina and didn’t lose a single building.”

Bell said the type of buildings in most demand varies across the country. Some areas do primarily farm equipment storage while a lot of companies in the East focus on commercial buildings.

In Mississippi, their focus has been on churches, suburban accessory buildings and homes.

“We literally can’t keep up for the requests for information on the Morton residential homes,” Bell said. “Normally we build as a shell and let the owner be the general contractor.

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Mississippi Business Journal

20 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q June 23, 2017

Insurance & Employee Benefits

MISSISSIPPI’S LARGEST PROPERTY & CASUALTY INSURANCE FIRMS

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Insurance & Employee Benefits

June 23, 2017

Q

Mississippi Business Journal

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22 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q June 23, 2017 May 2017 sales tax receipts/year to date, July 1 MISSISSIPPI STATE TAX COMMISSION Here are cities’ earnings through sales tax collections. Sales tax has a three-month cycle.

Month 1 — Tax is collected by the retailer. Month 2 — Tax is reported/paid to the Tax Commission by the retailer. Month 3 — Sales tax diversion is paid by the Tax Commission to the cities.

This report is based on the month the tax is collected at the Tax Commission (Month 2).

May May Year to date YTD CITY 2017 2016 2017 2016 ABBEVILLE $4,913.15 $7,261.69 $54,773.19 $56,301.55 ABERDEEN 70,654.01 78,629.91 771,499.76 736,780.34 ACKERMAN 20,728.92 27,181.89 257,376.58 256,655.36 ALCORN STATE U 6,543.54 507.18 10,516.25 14,602.70 ALGOMA 2,494.02 2,657.68 28,027.58 28,038.61 ALLIGATOR 386.55 851.12 4,784.06 5,617.08 AMORY 169,430.98 170,509.78 1,818,228.13 1,781,943.97 ANGUILLA 2,582.84 3,029.34 30,767.59 29,746.95 ARCOLA 1,248.01 1,613.48 14,723.44 15,851.59 ARTESIA 900.68 1,196.59 9,052.85 9,625.40 ASHLAND 13,342.16 16,158.61 146,770.97 147,884.59 BALDWYN 44,470.83 54,035.51 498,312.69 486,666.50 BASSFIELD 12,931.99 13,115.48 133,715.96 129,302.92 BATESVILLE 366,720.43 394,986.10 4,117,656.01 4,088,211.15 BAY SPRINGS 56,778.89 62,083.08 615,271.60 618,810.23 BAY ST LOUIS 141,620.01 133,168.61 1,376,776.84 1,346,964.76 BEAUMONT 8,799.95 8,050.78 91,188.63 64,216.10 BEAUREGARD 245.94 233.13 2,569.69 2,832.03 BELMONT 26,491.56 25,156.19 290,925.65 298,472.83 BELZONI 40,744.51 41,523.13 442,859.49 444,225.38 BENOIT 2,677.89 7,129.07 28,988.58 66,076.73 BENTONIA 18,608.18 13,605.27 138,171.20 167,883.29 BEULAH 301.99 768.45 3,476.94 3,873.09 BIG CREEK 227.09 716.50 3,163.84 4,932.66 BILOXI 1,121,247.89 1,041,332.87 11,486,508.16 10,684,378.00 BLUE MOUNTAIN 11,828.22 13,094.77 123,313.96 120,709.22 BLUE SPRINGS 2,513.62 5,390.98 27,867.20 27,314.94 BOLTON 16,571.84 14,997.86 141,439.28 117,399.82 BOONEVILLE 157,105.68 170,480.46 1,756,062.16 1,721,001.81 BOYLE 16,231.98 19,523.56 179,089.71 147,013.85 BRANDON 516,437.45 509,057.97 5,257,047.62 4,977,595.50 BRAXTON 1,668.04 3,784.30 17,609.01 14,746.74 BROOKHAVEN 493,234.21 513,448.84 5,306,163.57 5,210,734.56 BROOKSVILLE 10,070.61 12,510.15 113,367.90 116,388.14 BRUCE 44,857.70 45,475.70 474,606.93 477,872.05 BUDE 11,296.26 11,886.54 127,111.45 123,178.39 BURNSVILLE 14,249.31 15,807.05 156,061.67 160,646.12 BYHALIA 68,237.97 69,071.71 683,520.26 693,076.07 BYRAM 217,601.36 221,966.07 2,417,487.02 2,058,566.10 CALEDONIA 14,471.24 17,747.00 156,586.26 155,723.80 CALHOUN CITY 23,972.59 30,444.46 276,288.30 297,295.27 CANTON 240,076.20 266,317.25 2,697,546.74 2,642,227.86 CARROLLTON 6,336.93 9,284.90 74,149.72 75,090.75 CARTHAGE 147,059.21 147,205.24 1,624,842.55 1,578,349.21 CARY 853.82 1,095.92 11,219.75 12,097.90 CENTREVILLE 19,440.35 20,053.54 214,831.85 213,627.65 CHARLESTON 29,100.25 30,751.46 310,299.05 313,510.99 CHUNKY 773.75 1,210.76 7,551.14 7,615.81 CLARKSDALE 224,299.16 240,905.76 2,566,301.21 2,458,770.50 CLEVELAND 318,234.71 313,159.02 3,427,322.87 3,395,073.08 CLINTON 384,114.39 403,443.46 4,237,404.77 4,356,571.28 COAHOMA 718.12 1,039.14 6,701.30 7,142.81 COAHOMA COLLEGE 14.76 22.11 2,628.60 3,356.82 COFFEEVILLE 13,065.65 11,992.90 119,846.15 117,788.95 COLDWATER 18,546.41 26,991.02 233,725.39 208,575.22 COLLINS 121,264.49 175,184.30 1,374,378.24 1,446,881.91 COLUMBIA 268,251.40 276,812.53 2,942,701.45 2,894,383.24 COLUMBUS 790,556.49 836,246.66 8,997,459.22 9,317,785.78 COMO 15,253.38 17,238.03 172,718.64 143,603.96 CORINTH 515,366.88 542,898.56 5,695,423.57 5,788,101.04 COURTLAND 1,570.66 4,036.81 17,841.69 18,697.80 CRAWFORD 1,397.49 2,508.03 16,727.45 15,657.12 CRENSHAW 4,736.12 6,269.44 56,154.82 64,690.83 CROSBY 636.91 1,288.01 7,737.19 9,651.53 CROWDER 1,904.44 2,048.61 22,486.80 21,203.67 CRUGER 407.55 710.40 4,389.35 4,788.53 CRYSTAL SPRINGS 61,173.01 69,846.09 683,206.42 673,396.50 D LO 1,899.83 2,958.49 23,893.65 29,871.13 D’IBERVILLE 607,818.22 578,144.86 6,691,062.70 6,690,672.46 DECATUR 11,342.13 13,008.88 134,946.33 138,713.19 DEKALB 17,482.09 19,577.14 192,425.59 199,343.32 DERMA 9,050.62 5,370.50 92,124.04 100,105.35 DIAMONDHEAD 46,659.31 53,955.13 512,449.09 504,653.38 DODDSVILLE 640.65 815.36 7,306.78 8,071.91 DREW 6,490.56 9,243.08 81,955.19 108,592.15 DUCK HILL 4,408.26 5,504.52 43,647.54 44,314.52 DUMAS 1,234.74 1,894.56 13,945.43 16,429.32 DUNCAN 512.44 755.87 5,497.01 9,191.14 DURANT 36,565.62 27,721.06 453,145.65 319,778.57 EAST MS COLLEGE 26.54 33.27 2,534.50 1,772.69 ECRU 11,224.94 21,734.73 145,004.65 270,478.14 EDEN 78.73 59.30 815.36 760.51 EDWARDS 5,930.41 9,302.13 61,933.15 68,753.47 ELLISVILLE 79,687.94 85,826.44 884,250.76 836,401.40 ENTERPRISE 5,848.31 6,934.92 66,830.15 67,884.21 ETHEL 2,385.28 1,130.40 25,971.62 13,696.93 EUPORA 34,789.94 42,422.67 396,497.95 399,591.59 FALCON 113.91 182.08 1,298.58 1,267.99 FALKNER 5,914.63 6,013.26 67,322.34 60,355.99 FARMINGTON 2,135.91 2,879.03 29,597.33 43,490.19 FAYETTE 18,102.89 22,482.45 197,505.89 194,790.51 FLORA 29,774.51 32,020.97 327,846.35 301,424.39 FLORENCE 69,701.19 97,416.53 794,799.76 814,146.77 FLOWOOD 955,192.65 949,861.22 10,618,353.05 10,739,351.05 FOREST 196,985.98 205,597.29 2,173,381.14 2,132,791.50 FRENCH CAMP 1,631.94 1,729.57 15,690.80 14,536.28 FRIARS POINT 2,126.87 2,742.43 33,603.54 21,802.30

FULTON GATTMAN GAUTIER GEORGETOWN GLEN GLENDORA GLOSTER GOLDEN GOODMAN GREENVILLE GREENWOOD GRENADA GULFPORT GUNNISON GUNTOWN HATLEY HATTIESBURG HAZLEHURST HEIDELBERG HERNANDO HICKORY HICKORY FLAT HINDS COMMUNITY HOLLANDALE HOLLY SPRINGS HORN LAKE HOULKA HOUSTON INDIANOLA INVERNESS ISOLA ITTA BENA IUKA JACKSON JONESTOWN JUMPERTOWN KILMICHAEL KOSCIUSKO KOSSUTH LAKE LAMBERT LAUREL LEAKESVILLE LEARNED LELAND LENA LEXINGTON LIBERTY LONG BEACH LOUIN LOUISE LOUISVILLE LUCEDALE LULA LUMBERTON LYON MABEN MACON MADISON MAGEE MAGNOLIA MANTACHIE MANTEE MARIETTA MARION MARKS MATHISTON MAYERSVILLE MCCOMB MCCOOL MCLAIN MEADVILLE MENDENHALL MERIDIAN MERIGOLD METCALFE MIZE MONTICELLO MONTROSE MOORHEAD MORGAN CITY MORTON MOSS POINT MOUND BAYOU MS GULFCOAST MS STATE UNIV MS VALLEY ST MT OLIVE MYRTLE NATCHEZ NETTLETON NEW ALBANY NEW AUGUSTA NEW HEBRON NEWTON NO. CARROLLTON NOXAPATER OAKLAND OCEAN SPRINGS OKOLONA OLIVE BRANCH OSYKA OXFORD PACE PACHUTA PADEN

132,361.54 121.93 190,616.98 3,138.42 3,341.28 311.77 12,210.73 4,161.43 3,399.70 490,260.69 375,540.17 368,343.13 1,746,583.45 792.29 17,233.95 283.64 1,856,021.52 109,545.15 14,702.84 310,043.18 5,129.08 5,568.38 863.38 14,237.38 113,337.79 421,864.17 8,220.03 89,246.87 161,802.05 6,435.35 2,226.49 10,956.52 71,380.67 2,398,048.81 1,850.92 599.89 5,110.73 176,009.29 3,542.98 12,241.27 2,875.22 728,991.38 25,927.61 574.26 41,452.83 1,818.37 33,743.81 23,575.39 126,911.87 2,063.83 1,252.39 152,969.19 182,797.43 2,901.79 14,067.62 1,956.19 7,923.01 48,159.74 660,222.91 173,336.64 33,003.14 18,073.67 2,640.78 4,761.87 17,890.24 15,646.28 17,998.54 713.09 485,614.78 754.33 4,165.12 11,695.76 54,888.71 1,145,601.05 6,770.23 793.69 8,104.82 41,297.87 138.08 7,058.17 501.46 41,860.13 155,894.84 3,052.61 255.28 39,351.01 196.35 9,902.34 4,745.98 443,655.45 29,339.02 278,460.70 11,669.30 6,227.36 87,327.32 3,975.79 7,827.64 6,328.75 411,279.16 22,510.49 845,245.10 4,940.36 813,847.66 419.07 1,621.60 67.35

139,532.53 310.77 196,206.51 3,912.20 3,494.24 680.84 15,245.37 7,369.73 3,700.57 531,174.54 371,205.62 366,940.47 1,793,523.17 1,263.64 17,756.79 334.63 1,841,507.40 112,783.22 21,405.72 287,317.53 6,323.13 7,119.22 917.37 16,424.54 119,871.77 412,918.51 9,865.48 93,853.89 167,823.43 5,588.65 2,677.47 14,028.03 75,066.54 2,601,454.96 3,634.02 588.84 6,591.43 173,420.13 3,237.83 9,334.55 4,155.48 734,020.67 29,002.36 505.44 44,175.65 3,950.96 37,108.08 27,838.22 123,710.88 4,139.70 2,869.05 172,178.95 213,099.88 3,007.20 18,811.51 2,662.54 8,457.21 55,386.33 587,658.66 181,820.66 37,390.58 20,238.67 3,945.71 5,570.22 17,996.05 20,985.57 18,299.33 1,041.88 477,503.25 1,964.99 5,855.24 12,470.90 62,929.20 1,217,580.81 8,259.84 1,327.26 9,470.62 49,221.73 165.92 9,276.59 964.08 47,939.49 173,404.90 4,594.65 278.48 49,107.44 237.68 11,685.74 7,031.32 475,518.26 32,496.20 279,589.11 13,797.04 8,171.54 85,331.83 3,497.38 9,327.52 8,197.77 425,384.51 28,760.23 850,223.39 7,229.17 833,155.60 810.45 2,504.37 101.86

1,461,397.05 1,281.91 2,042,275.22 36,419.50 29,951.37 3,788.88 138,404.15 53,499.32 41,520.01 5,778,422.92 4,256,561.01 4,076,907.22 19,106,474.53 9,066.43 194,964.85 3,367.47 20,393,563.08 1,211,805.75 201,920.71 3,155,469.86 66,226.11 64,623.20 8,264.96 164,191.13 1,251,379.05 4,321,417.98 95,075.40 998,712.02 1,824,562.14 58,201.02 24,812.12 130,861.76 792,608.60 27,234,560.77 29,393.59 4,296.86 61,218.07 1,934,514.22 36,957.45 118,518.43 28,629.08 7,554,368.27 282,123.05 7,471.53 482,149.34 20,013.04 378,633.37 245,567.33 1,289,126.04 26,496.47 13,385.71 1,731,308.47 2,010,483.46 31,725.48 155,690.16 24,072.16 86,427.62 552,041.94 7,387,297.47 1,902,971.11 384,278.04 203,439.66 28,019.27 53,066.90 215,878.88 186,347.88 169,743.13 9,702.78 5,393,409.20 11,956.00 48,883.23 131,761.48 568,478.95 12,872,137.91 79,303.66 9,822.23 84,086.18 460,737.01 1,715.27 92,221.30 5,515.16 463,948.39 1,695,137.31 41,837.98 5,482.16 417,995.32 7,835.87 112,602.49 53,966.48 4,974,675.88 321,360.75 3,006,183.27 132,657.32 76,203.79 938,483.18 33,120.84 92,705.68 70,337.45 4,550,809.80 259,668.70 9,075,380.41 57,433.43 8,691,555.03 5,627.23 19,276.02 714.01

1,415,135.15 1,562.23 2,044,541.23 39,595.50 23,294.84 5,288.61 135,502.38 55,971.29 36,851.18 5,958,538.20 4,065,652.19 3,937,268.17 19,044,003.79 9,594.73 188,034.19 3,917.81 20,647,478.32 1,228,586.62 221,091.16 2,957,336.04 58,928.81 61,912.07 7,422.01 156,253.56 1,251,720.47 3,978,932.79 86,397.18 974,636.02 1,815,629.92 56,717.86 30,009.44 130,531.52 763,713.33 29,412,208.38 31,975.82 6,071.75 66,217.94 1,896,666.96 38,893.51 71,383.49 21,105.08 7,994,921.37 283,565.60 6,564.63 455,364.89 19,204.75 386,370.16 239,711.14 1,243,109.73 27,641.63 15,628.44 1,775,217.42 1,997,256.99 31,591.12 152,816.22 22,983.16 86,406.10 558,881.48 6,720,676.33 1,934,304.66 365,328.37 222,421.43 30,183.29 48,814.66 204,024.43 216,883.86 167,100.29 10,611.77 5,237,755.17 18,232.71 59,100.45 131,978.11 582,495.16 13,487,901.88 77,246.33 12,202.37 95,431.71 472,609.83 3,970.74 96,014.44 6,206.60 455,682.81 1,677,042.59 45,327.89 5,167.68 418,461.34 7,585.76 106,916.21 52,980.74 5,043,441.74 340,368.16 2,970,636.23 149,642.12 81,409.55 918,203.40 36,925.78 88,935.95 70,899.12 4,520,482.00 268,707.25 8,726,101.11 57,884.35 8,079,344.61 6,209.85 20,962.43 2,030.80

PASCAGOULA PASS CHRISTIAN PAULDING PEARL PELAHATCHIE PETAL PHILADELPHIA PICAYUNE PICKENS PITTSBORO PLANTERSVILLE POLKVILLE PONTOTOC POPE POPLARVILLE PORT GIBSON POTTS CAMP PRENTISS PUCKETT PURVIS QUITMAN RALEIGH RAYMOND RENOVA RICHLAND RICHTON RIDGELAND RIENZI RIPLEY ROLLING FORK ROSEDALE ROXIE RULEVILLE SALLIS SALTILLO SANDERSVILLE SARDIS SATARTIA SCHLATER SCOOBA SEBASTOPOL SEMINARY SENATOBIA SHANNON SHAW SHELBY SHERMAN SHUBUTA SHUQUALAK SIDON SILVER CITY SILVER CREEK SLATE SPRINGS SLEDGE SMITHVILLE SNOWLAKESHORES SOSO SOUTHAVEN SOUTHWEST COMM STARKVILLE STATE LINE STONEWALL STURGIS SUMMIT SUMNER SUMRALL SUNFLOWER SYLVARENA TAYLOR TAYLORSVILLE TCHULA TERRY THAXTON TISHOMINGO TOCCOPOLA TOWN OF WALLS TREMONT TUNICA TUPELO TUTWILER TYLERTOWN UNION UNIV OF MISS UTICA VAIDEN VARDAMAN VERONA VICKSBURG WALNUT WALNUT GROVE WALTHALL WATER VALLEY WAVELAND WAYNESBORO WEBB WEIR WESSON WEST WEST POINT WIGGINS WINONA WINSTONVILLE WOODLAND WOODVILLE YAZOO CITY TOTAL

Sales Tax

441,476.77 460,796.90 115,780.95 114,617.96 214.69 516.23 814,124.31 848,225.51 34,788.98 39,544.74 225,046.45 225,451.87 334,714.58 383,776.95 418,681.34 413,392.99 5,541.70 6,339.38 1,705.57 2,232.42 5,061.31 5,877.58 1,078.71 973.31 211,638.98 234,231.17 3,560.30 5,366.34 69,215.55 74,512.18 26,590.31 23,430.22 8,596.13 10,185.52 33,867.81 39,540.04 9,466.35 8,947.32 90,661.92 74,251.94 48,890.51 49,508.69 15,087.92 18,497.82 18,219.15 20,797.32 2,407.94 1,931.44 453,921.89 446,625.75 28,524.01 32,997.87 1,064,854.43 1,125,049.93 4,364.71 7,450.04 116,688.60 122,845.37 32,931.82 32,012.20 9,446.93 10,866.29 1,604.16 3,777.82 22,494.02 24,211.12 1,767.39 2,236.28 68,059.88 81,905.72 32,180.78 10,257.41 29,160.81 30,882.36 316.48 683.65 976.87 1,327.87 8,859.36 8,013.84 14,961.54 22,782.21 13,439.61 16,011.77 187,696.70 197,850.39 12,900.39 15,128.92 7,151.84 7,694.28 8,615.55 11,201.92 31,874.80 41,990.09 3,885.90 4,968.02 3,082.32 3,242.95 532.24 1,000.45 406.89 581.22 2,579.25 5,598.52 85.78 158.49 1,324.31 1,931.26 5,880.24 7,994.79 101.88 141.26 9,300.56 14,093.59 1,147,886.60 1,219,299.17 45.71 39.41 588,555.61 628,783.55 11,686.20 13,116.71 5,930.24 6,691.87 1,864.65 4,017.39 37,331.22 49,639.48 3,922.68 3,899.06 46,683.65 35,933.77 3,205.70 3,345.02 173.29 255.32 2,347.02 2,059.91 28,035.23 32,901.91 6,389.76 7,000.37 28,985.62 34,376.18 3,407.31 4,737.47 13,624.58 12,821.75 327.62 303.20 7,028.66 9,513.79 1,348.20 2,073.91 26,922.85 44,176.41 1,702,139.02 1,716,592.39 3,883.46 5,313.68 56,704.21 64,959.08 24,830.52 34,347.19 19,756.72 9,642.54 8,669.47 12,291.39 8,200.42 9,889.56 10,881.89 11,620.95 13,137.01 20,601.32 661,123.96 670,001.51 20,453.33 22,241.38 4,653.97 7,712.45 950.80 1,595.64 42,836.44 48,163.57 202,973.53 198,000.49 177,065.62 184,047.75 7,215.15 7,456.23 3,281.03 2,433.74 12,957.28 18,806.45 944.30 1,528.42 171,713.88 213,910.25 162,749.86 164,257.27 88,761.76 96,415.01 211.65 429.83 7,097.39 6,493.65 30,850.18 36,075.98 166,922.17 145,023.28 $36,288,726.91 $37,619,162.17

4,788,675.43 4,896,031.01 1,255,635.69 1,162,241.74 2,162.10 2,190.38 9,114,540.21 9,176,589.44 349,999.83 341,433.17 2,365,656.18 2,296,493.53 3,810,022.80 4,012,000.43 4,399,502.34 4,265,736.89 69,590.54 75,001.62 18,944.10 14,712.96 50,334.19 51,593.49 12,696.41 4,352.67 2,224,510.87 2,249,313.49 36,040.64 34,629.79 709,205.01 690,005.46 310,769.00 219,717.24 85,139.95 80,168.19 380,143.74 414,137.34 90,519.08 102,159.12 971,668.41 774,713.55 510,567.39 501,078.81 173,435.76 181,991.36 215,467.85 211,815.62 22,434.88 26,517.33 5,195,072.89 5,097,613.62 321,234.02 316,558.58 12,230,648.99 14,133,474.45 50,229.51 52,549.22 1,237,054.30 1,205,247.57 365,209.84 345,374.68 115,650.37 113,278.77 18,365.50 17,589.86 216,082.16 210,821.79 18,981.61 18,984.53 732,088.88 969,928.60 366,024.24 139,905.32 287,119.59 311,510.56 4,023.89 4,139.04 10,805.46 10,177.72 88,777.76 78,943.97 176,255.51 184,610.03 148,527.12 146,013.71 2,056,520.83 2,069,642.59 142,112.63 131,497.11 77,105.33 90,063.19 105,468.97 103,313.40 333,860.75 336,217.61 43,766.91 42,074.69 31,389.44 23,055.47 5,946.81 6,884.62 4,741.52 5,153.69 28,206.67 31,795.67 1,721.24 2,752.52 16,499.13 17,922.20 64,932.28 69,317.42 1,296.33 3,769.75 116,412.20 145,526.13 13,185,252.26 13,349,808.84 820.46 884.63 6,439,488.33 6,271,061.79 129,249.52 119,508.99 66,279.69 65,907.38 28,887.21 33,595.27 406,039.85 400,345.07 41,617.86 38,674.76 511,925.62 430,336.56 35,653.95 29,568.17 2,759.41 3,104.68 25,300.91 17,735.85 300,292.38 304,935.19 74,481.63 81,407.09 329,606.42 305,661.65 40,357.69 39,020.16 134,471.19 114,092.63 3,323.46 3,003.87 81,771.72 83,880.10 14,981.63 15,020.39 298,401.07 436,164.41 18,951,665.19 18,261,249.09 47,678.42 47,539.17 631,034.89 605,023.11 297,236.92 369,005.62 402,793.24 374,359.13 98,472.98 100,344.59 95,465.26 110,372.83 129,248.64 113,715.55 173,127.36 212,491.79 7,240,114.92 7,334,844.97 208,204.26 247,847.78 61,905.00 62,020.98 13,494.16 19,519.75 474,983.40 481,754.84 2,229,621.07 2,150,156.04 1,957,349.94 1,924,216.71 79,206.16 79,527.44 35,758.91 20,325.38 142,841.04 149,626.23 11,485.42 15,585.74 1,900,421.95 2,241,371.72 1,775,796.02 1,712,507.92 959,013.93 957,247.86 2,852.53 3,033.03 55,073.30 54,451.09 335,380.66 341,931.16 1,629,744.78 1,583,421.40 $399,624,627.65 $400,375,020.82

June 23, 2017

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Mississippi Business Journal

Q

23

THE SPIN CYCLE

Brands benefit from trusted news source partnerships

R

euters called this past year “the year the media became the headline” in the release of its Tomorrow’s News 2017 report. The news publisher surveyed more than 1,700 Reuters.com users in April and May to discuss advertising, awareness and perception of other news websites.

As the news cycle has developed, the study from Reuters has found that news consumers are fact-checking their news stories with other sources more often than before and they’re also more inclined sniff out sensationalism.

Of those surveyed, 57 percent agreed that trustworthy content is the top factor that makes online news brands appealing, and 54 percent believe they are more likely to notice an ad if it appears on a trusted news site.

This study is released two days after a MediaRadar report found conservative-leaning sites like Breitbart has lost 90 percent of their advertisers in the past three months; 242 brands were partnered with Breitbart in March 2017 and that number, according to MediaRadar, fell to 26 brands as of May 2017.

Traffic to Breitbart has also fallen by 13 percent from last year to 10.8 million unique views in April 2017.

Other conservative news sites, such as Townhall, The Blaze and National Review, also saw declines in advertisers, though none as steep of a decline as Breitbart’s.

A large majority of responders to the Reuters survey, 87 percent, agreed that it is damaging for a brand to advertise on a news site associated with a fake news story. Fifty-seven percent of those surveyed agreed that they would have a more favorable opinion of a brand if it appeared on a trusted news site.

And 83 percent tend to trust well-known news brands and always check the accuracy of shared news from other sources, that’s up 6 percent from 2016.

This is the second year Reuters has conducted the Tomorrow’s News survey across its global users and will be discussed at two separate panels in New York and London.

New York Times’ Reader Center Aims to Connect with Readers Don’t expect The New York Times new reader center to pick up where the public editor left off.

That’s the word from Hanna Ingber, the editor who was appointed to run the new, reader-focused initiative for The New York Times at the end of last month. Ingber, who was previously an editor on the international desk, now leads a handful of staffers whose mission is to forge stronger connections between the company’s journalism and its consumers.

But it won’t be watchdogging the paper’s journalism or issuing formal responses to reader complaints, Ingber told the Poynter Institute. Although the launch of the reader center coincided with the elimination of Public Editor Liz Spayd, Ingber and her team will not take up Spayd’s public-facing duties.

“I don’t think you’re going to see a reader center Twitter handle, for example, responding to complaints,” Ingber said. “We would, ideally, be helping the desks and helping the standards editor, working behind the scenes and being one of many voices that’s helping sort this out.”

Instead, Ingber’s team will be “a convener,” working with a variety of teams to infuse reader-centered thinking across the newsroom: the standards desk (which issues corrections and editor’s notes), the marketing team (which promotes New York Times initiatives) and the audience development team (which engages with users).

Since the reader center is new, many of the specifics of the initiative are still being hammered out, Ingber said. But underlying all of its efforts will be a focus on bringing readers closer to New York Times journalism.

A recent project saw White House correspondent Mike Shear sending text messages to new subscribers in a reprisal of the paper’s approach to the 2016 Olympics. Ingber and her team still haven’t determined whether the experiment was a success – or even what

“success” would look like – but she says readers who received texts from Shear said they felt as if “they were getting digital postcards” from President Trump’s trip abroad.

“We’re also looking at it from a quantitative perspective: How many people signed up who were invited?” Ingber asked. “Did this lead to people reading more New York Times stories? Did this lead them to keep their subscription or not? Did that have any impact or not on whether they stayed a Times subscriber? That’s all to be determined.”

Facebook Working with Publishers on Paid Subscriptions Facebook is working on plans to let people pay to subscribe to publications through its app by year-end, according to publishers.

Publishers have lobbied Facebook for this since the platform introduced its fast-loading Instant Articles two years ago. Instant Articles was designed to keep people in the app, rather than clicking through to the publisher’s site, where the publisher could offer them subscriptions.

There are a lot of details to be worked out, including what the model would look like, what subscriber data publishers would get and how the revenue would be distributed. Facebook has moved toward a metered model, and while nothing is final, the latest proposal involves a metered model where users could read up to 10 articles for free a month before being required to subscribe.

Publishers would be able to decide if each article is subject to that meter, free or behind a hard paywall, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Facebook seems interested in giving publishers more than one option. Initially, it proposed letting users pay one price for access to all publications, like the Netflix model. That raised questions about how publishers would be paid, whether based on time users spend with the publication or the publication’s subscription price. Facebook subsequently proposed a metered model, first with a 20-article limit, then 10. Still,

one concern is that publishers wouldn’t be able to tailor offers based on a user’s reading history, as they can on their own site.

Stay tuned!

Todd Smith

Golden Mic | Smashville Cashes In on Stanley Cup Run Smashville is Cashville after the Nashville Predators’ historic Stanley Cup playoff run – which generated more than $50 million for Music City.

For the first time in franchise history, the team sold out all 41 regular season home games and all 11 home playoff games. In addition, the Predators had the most successful ticket sales season and the highest renewal rate to date. Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final had average audience of 11.5 million across North America.

During the 2017 playoff run, about $2.7 million was generated for Nashville through ticket, merchandise and concession sales.

Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final alone generated about $8 million in economic impact, and that game was the most watched Stanley Cup playoff game in North America since Game 6 of 2013 when the Chicago Blackhawks played the Boston Bruins. It pulled a 28.3 rating on NBC – the highest-rated Predators game ever in the Nashville market – and reached a TV audience of 11.5 million across the nation. That’s called striking gold!

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 full-service branding, PR, marketing and advertising firm with offices in Jackson. The firm — based in Nashville, Tenn.

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

LOGISTICS

Cosmetics chain to open distribution center in DeSoto, create 400 jobs

By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com Sephora Americas will open a distribution center in Olive Branch this summer. The new 720,000-square-foot distribution center in Prologis Park features state-of-the-art technology.

The expansion of distribution operations is expected to create approximately 400 jobs during the next five years. Operations will begin this

month and shipping is expected to begin in late summer.

“We are very pleased to be opening new distribution operations and along with it creating new jobs,” Mike Racer, senior vice president, Supply Chain, Sephora Americas, said in a release. Sephora is a French chain of cosmetics stores.

Sephora is working with Ability Works, a division of the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation that provides vocational assessment, job training, and work experience for individuals with disabilities.

Through this partnership, Sephora is looking forward to filling a mean-

ingful number of positions in the new distribution center.

“Ability Works is a terrific organization with an important mission and we are thrilled to be partnering with them to help with the hiring at our new distribution center,” Racer said.

Sephora would not reveal the cost of the facility.

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