MBJ_Mar07_2014

INSIDE — Bills requiring evaluation of economic incentives make progress ON THE COAST

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March 7, 2014 • Vol. 36, No. 10 • $1 • 24 pages

NATURE TOURISM

George’s Girls put shopping skills to work

Quapaw Canoe gains support in battle with tax department » Page 4

More, P 11

Legislature {P 5} » Bills to force ‘convincing’ need before using alternative tax methods Around town {P 10} » Design studio teaches lessons on sustainability.

MBJ's Businesswoman of the Year never expected her career to take this path

MBJ Double Focus

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

» Agribusiness {P12} » Made in Mississippi {P20} Lists » Forestry Consultants {P17} » Top Exported Products {P20} » Top Exporting Markets {P20}

Pat Thomasson

has been and still is a go-to-place for “round stock offerings,” which include softwood power poles. As innovations in wood uses created new products designed for industrial and Thomasson Lumber has a simple slogan: “Just Pole Folks.” heavy construction uses, The 42-year-old Thomasson Co. That may have been true for the company not too long ago. added the products to its sales inventory and is steadily But today, the Philadelphia-based privately owned increasing sales for such products as crane mats, pipeline business now known as Thomasson Company does much more than provide pressure-treated utility poles, though it See THOMASSON, Page 9

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March 7, 2014

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Mississippi Business Journal

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REAL ESTATE

Report: Mississippi only state to see drop in home prices IRVINE, Calif. — CoreLogic has released its January CoreLogic Home Price Index (HPI) report, and it shows that Mississippi is the only state to show a depreciation in home prices.

Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased 12 percent in January 2014 compared to January 2013. This change represents 23 months of consecutive year-over-year increases in home prices nationally. On a month-over-month basis, home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased by 0.9 percent in January 2014 compared to December 2013.

At the state level, including distressed sales, Louisiana, Nebraska and Texas surpassed their previous home price peaks in January 2014. In all, 22 states and the District of Columbia are at or within 10 percent of their peak home price appreciation. Additionally, over the past year, seven states equaled or grew faster than the nation as a whole, including Nevada, California, Oregon, Michigan, Georgia, Arizona and Florida.

Excluding distressed sales, home prices nationally increased 9.8 percent in January 2014 compared to January 2013 and 0.7 percent month over month compared to December 2013.

Distressed sales include short sales and real estate owned (REO) transactions.

The CoreLogic Pending HPI indicates that February 2014 home prices, including distressed sales, are projected to increase 12.5 percent year over year from February 2013. On a monthover-month basis, home prices are expected to increase 0.7 percent from January 2014 to February 2014. Excluding distressed sales, February 2014 home prices are poised to rise 10.4 percent year over year from February 2013 and 1.1 percent month over month from January 2014.

“Polar vortices and a string of snow storms did not manage to weaken house price appreciation in January,” said Dr. Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. “The last time January month-over-month and year-over-year price appreciation was this strong was at the height of the housing bubble in 2006.”

“Home prices continued to march higher in January and we expect to see more increases as the market comes out of hibernation for the spring buying season,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “Excluding distressed sales, all 50 states and the District of Columbia showed year-over-year home price appreciation for January.”

Highlights as of January 2014: » Including distressed sales, the five states with the highest home price appreciation were Nevada (+22.2 percent), California (+20.3 percent), Oregon (+14.3 percent), Michigan (+13.7 percent) and Georgia (+13.4 percent).

» Including distressed sales, only Mississippi (-0.3 percent) posted home price depreciation in January 2014. » Excluding distressed sales, the five states with the highest home price appreciation were Nevada (+17.2 percent), California (+16.0 percent), Florida (+12.7 percent), Arizona (+11.5 percent) and Oregon (+11.4 percent). » Excluding distressed sales, no states posted home price depreciation in January. » Including distressed transactions, the peak-to-current change in the national HPI (from April 2006 to January 2014) was -17.3 percent. Excluding distressed transactions, the peak-to-current change in the HPI for the same period was -13.3 percent. » The five states with the largest peak-to-current declines, including distressed transactions, were Nevada (-40.1 percent), Florida (-36.4 percent), Arizona (-30.8 percent), Rhode Island (30.5 percent) and West Virginia (-28.9 percent). » Ninety-seven of the top 100 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) measured by population showed year-over-year increases in January 2014. The three CBSAs that did not show an increase were New Haven-Milford, Conn., Philadelphia, Pa., and Rochester, N.Y. — from staff and MBJ wire services

TOURISM

POLITICS

Sen. Cochran supports House’s version of flood insurance bill WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran (R- Cochran Miss.) is praising the passage of legislation in the House of Representatives that, like a Senate-passed bill he helped write, would protect homeowners, businesses and communities from unreasonable flood insurance premiums without jeopardizing the stability of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Cochran said the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act (HR.3370) that the House of Representatives approved (306-91) yesterday evening, would achieve the primary goals of the Senate-passed companion bill he helped author to address problems exposed with implementation of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“The prospect that families and property owners who have played by the rules could be priced out of their homes because of flood insurance costs is real and a threat to the future of the flood insurance program.” Cochran said.

— from staff and MBJ wire services

NPS releases economic impact study of the Natchez Trace TUPELO — A new National Park Service (NPS) report for 2012 shows that 5.6 million recreational visitors to the Natchez Trace Parkway spent $125.9 million in the communities surrounding the Park.

This spending supported over 1,550 jobs in the local area.

The report shows $14.7 billion of direct spending by 283 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 243,000 jobs nationally, with 201,000 jobs found in these gateway communities, and had a cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy of $26.75 billion.

According to the report, most visitors spending supports jobs in restaurants, grocery and convenience stores (39 percent), hotels, motels and B&Bs (27 percent), and other amusement and recreation (20 percent). The report includes information for visitor spending at individual parks and by state.

AUTOMOTIVE

Nissan sets another sales record CANTON — Nissan Group saw total U.S. sales for February 2014 of 115,360 units, an increase of 15.8 percent compared to last year.

Highlights of Mississippi-built products are: » Sales of the Frontier pickup rose 112 percent to 5,791 units » Altima sales totaled 30,849 units in February, an increase of 11 percent » Sales of the Xterra increased by 83.2 percent to 1,795 units » Nissan Sentra sales totaled 12,339 units, an increase in 22.7 percent.

“Despite the frigid temperatures and weather-related challenges, Nissan sales continued with good momentum this month setting a February record — our 11th monthly sales record in the last 12 months,” said Fred Diaz, Nissan’s senior vice president for U.S. sales & marketing, parts & service. “Nissan’s core models, five of which have just launched in the past year and a half, are driving strong retail sales.”

MISSISSIPPI DELTA

Cooper plant earns entry in MDEQ’s enHance program CLARKSDALE — Cooper Tire’s Clarksdale plant was recently accepted into the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality’s (MDEQ) enHance program as a steward.

The plant was accepted based on its record of landfill and energy usage reductions. Cooper’s Tupelo plant was similarly recognized in 2011.

— from staff and MBJ wire services

4 I Mississippi Business Journal I March 7 2014 NATURE TOURISM

Quapaw Canoe Company gains legislative support in battle with tax department

By BECKY GILLETTE I CONTRIBUTOR mbj@msbusiness.com

A small business owner fighting what he feels is unfair state taxation can feel pretty lonely. John Ruskey of Quapaw Canoe Company of Clarksdale has run up $20,000 in legal and accounting bills fighting a $41,000 bill from the Mississippi Department of Revenue (DOR) for sales taxes on Quapaw’s educational canoe tours from 2009 to 2012.

Ruskey hasn’t been collecting sales tax from his customers for trips, and believed he was exempt due to the U.S. Rivers and Harbors Act that prohibits state taxes on businesses operating on navigable waterways. While the Mississippi DOR has turned a deaf ear to the arguments about the federal law, the reasoning found fertile ground in the Legislature. Both the Mississippi Senate and House have recently passed bills that would exempt watercraft operating on navigable waterways from paying state sales taxes on guided tours.

“We’ve had a remarkable legislative breakthrough,” Ruskey said. “If passed into law we, and any businesses like ours, will be exempt from sales taxes for river guiding services in the future. This is good news for the future of nature tourism along the lower Mississippi River.”

Ruskey had sent out an e-mail to customers and supporters detailing his frustrating and expensive disagreement with the tax department. One person who ended up receiving the email was Rep. Brad Mayo of Oxford, co-author of House Bill 1604, which amends state tax code to make guided tours, accommodations and guide services exempt from state sales taxes.

“I just happened to see an e-mail floating around asking Mississippi to comply with federal maritime law that doesn’t allow state taxes for guided tours on navigable waterways,” Mayo said. “I wondered why we were doing that if the feds say we are not supposed to.”

Mayo talked to Ruskey, and learned part of the problem was that Ruskey’s business

was being treated under the state tax code as an amusement business. There was no separate provision for guided tours on navigable waterways.

Mayo said he supported the legislation because he believes it is important to help nature tourism.

While currently there is only one such guided tour business on the Mississippi River, Mayo said there is potential for the Ruskey industry to grow.

The House bill has a three-year repeal provision. After two years, the Mississippi Development Authority Tourism Division will give a report on the consequences of the law.

“Then we will know if this is something we need to keep, or something we need to let expire,” Mayo said.

Sen. Robert Jackson, Marks, said he introduced SB 2972 at the request of constituents in the Clarksdale area.

“I just offered to assist them,” Jackson said. “That kind of business is not covered in the state code, so we had to offer a bill to add their kind of business into the state code that would exempt them from taxes.

When you are in navigable waters between Arkansas and Mississippi, how could you determine whether to collect taxes for Arkansas or Mississippi? Anything we can bring in terms of tourism, especially in the Delta area, is good. We have a huge natural resource running straight through the Delta. This is a great business that we can help bring along and grow to bring more tourists into the area.”

With bills having passed both houses, it goes next to a conference committee to iron out differences between the two bills before being voted on again by both chambers. Jackson expects that since the initial bills easily passed both the House and Senate, the legislation is likely to become law.

The bill isn’t retroactive. It won’t affect Quapaw’s current tax bill, which Quapaw Canoe is appealing. It won’t take care of any legal and accountant fees.

Special to the Mississippi Business Journal

Outdoor enthusiasts from across America have stopped in Mississippi and ridden down the Mississippi River with John Ruskey and the Quawpaw Canoe Co.

“But it will pave the path for future fair treatment on the river for us and any others involved in this type of nature tourism,” Ruskey said. “The river angels must be watching over us. My biggest hope is we can get this set right so it paves the way for more businesses like ours to be able to pursue this very healthy endeavor. Everything about paddling is healthy. It is good exercise. People are reconnected to the environment.

Study after study shows people who engage in outdoor activities are happier.”

Ruskey knows a man in Natchez who wants to start his own river guiding business. “A decision like this would certainly have a positive effect on someone like him making that decision whether to get engaged in such a risky endeavor as a small river business can be,” Ruskey said.

While Quapaw Canoe is the only current guided tour on the Mississippi River, there is a similar business in Moss Point, McCoy River Tours, that operates out of the Pascagoula River Aubudon Center.

Bennie McCoy, owner of McCoy River Tours, said he hadn’t heard of the legislation, but being exempt from sales taxes would be a major boon for his business.

“We’ve had a remarkable legislative breakthrough.”

John Ruskey Quapaw Canoe Company

“It would be tremendous help,” said McCoy, who takes up to 20 people out at a time on his 24-foot-long boat. “It would be enough to help pay for some of my liability insurance.”

McCoy said it would also help because the government keeps adding new fees and restrictions on his business. For example, he operated for about 10 years with being allowed 25 passengers. Now he can only take 20 passengers unless he weighs all of them, and comes in under a certain weight limit. McCoy shuddered at the thought of trying to get female passengers to step on a scale, so he has just complied with the lower passenger count.

McCoy said he was not really surprised the Legislature would help nature tourism.

“There is a big push for nature tourism,” McCoy said. “On the Coast, there are a lot of big industries that are on board with it. They help out indirectly with nature tourism.”

McCoy said they offer nature tours of the unique Pascagoula River and marsh system that allow guests to experience the harder to reach small bayous and sloughs of the swamp and marsh. The Pascagoula River is the largest undammed river in the lower 48 states.

McCoy was aware of one other business on the Coast that provides guided nature tours, this one to the barrier islands.

March 7 2014

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Mississippi Business Journal

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TAXES

Bills to force ‘convincing’ need before using alternative tax methods clear key committees » HB799 and SB2487 require that DOR tax multistate service providers on income earned in the state only when the agency can show strong need to do so in the state, sent the credit reporting company’s annual income tax bill from zero to over $700,000.

The business organization and other supporters of the apportionment bills argue that without new limits on DOR discretion, the state’s image as a friendly destination for businesses could suffer.

The bills that cleared their committees Tuesday require that a taxing

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

Mississippi legislators are moving ahead with plans to raise the bar on the state Department of Revenue’s use of alternative tax methods.

Though the two Republican-sponsored bills clear key committee votes Tuesday, whether the measures make it to conference committee is far from certain. And what any final bill that comes out conference would look like is equally uncertain.

Mostly at issue are cost consequences bills, say Waller both supporters and opponents of HB799 and SB2487.

The DOR projects a more than $300 million price tag would accompany a requirement that it present a “clear and convincing” need to justify taxing multistate service providers on income earned in Mississippi rather than the statutorily allowed cost-performance apportionment method.

Scott Waller, executive vice president and COO of the Mississippi Economic Council, is skeptical of the cost projections but conceded they are a concern as the bills moved toward possible conference consideration.

“The last thing we want to do is something that costs a lot of money,” he said.

With that in mind, Waller said business leaders know any final bill that comes out of the conference committee will be substantially changed to address the issues raised by the DOR. The DOR says it can document and present data to support all of its cost projections.

“We’re standing by those numbers,” said DOR spokeswoman Kathy Waterbury after Tuesday’s committee votes.

HB799 cleared the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday as did SB2487 the House Ways and Means Committee. Both moved forward on procedural moves by which each bill replaced the other. The House panel struck the language of HB799 and replaced it with that of SB2487, while the Senate committee struck HB799’s wording and replaced it with SB2487’s language.

Each of the committees had previously approved their own legislative body’s versions of the bill before passing the bills on for floor votes, where both measures passed

by wide margins.

Each bill must go back to its respective house for another floor vote and decision by the chairs of the originating committees to send them to conference. The conference is where the hard compromises will have to be achieved, Waller said Tuesday.

“The key is to get them to conference,” he said after the committee votes.

Waller said based on sentiment in the Capitol he expects the bills will get votes by their respective bodies but anything beyond that is limited to “hopeful.”

If a bill does emerge from conference, it will be absent the reverse repealers that have afforded comfort to many lawmakers that compromises, especially on the costs side, are reached before the measures go to the conference committee that is to include the originating chairs and selected other members of each body. The chairs have another week to request conference committee consideration.

The MEC and business groups such as the Mississippi Manufactures Association and Mississippi Poultry Association have pushed for passage of limits on alternative tax apportionment standards since last summer’s Mississippi Supreme Court ruling upholding the state Department of Revenue’s use of a non-statutory market-based apportionment method in assessing taxes for Georgia-based Equifax Financial Reporting Services. The non-standard apportionment method, which the DOR argued more accurately reflected Equifax’s business

authority or taxpayer can use the marketbased standard only when they can present “clear and convincing evidence” that the standard apportionment method does not fairly represent the taxpayer’s activity.

The bills also ask for a temporary halt to the DOR’s authority to demand to see a multistate company’s combined tax returns, though when the authority is returned it will be limited to instances in which the DOR can show a “clear and convincing need” to review combined returns. The DOR would be prohibited from making such demands until regulations have been enacted specifying the criteria and circumstances required for showing a clearing and convincing need.

That criteria would include a requirement that the convincing evidence supports a conclusion that intercompany transaction have resulted in shifting of taxable income to another member or members of the affiliated group not subject to Mississippi taxes.

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Website: www.msbusiness.com March 7, 2014 Volume 36, Number 10

ALAN TURNER Publisher alan.turner@msbusiness.com • 364-1021 ROSS REILY Editor ross.reily@msbusiness.com • 364-1018 WALLY NORTHWAY Senior Writer wally.northway@msbusiness.com • 364-1016 FRANK BROWN Staff Writer/Special Projects frank.brown@msbusiness.com • 364-1022 TED CARTER Staff Writer ted.carter@msbusiness.com • 364-1017 LISA MONTI Contributing Writer mbj@msbusiness.com • 364-1018

MBJPERSPECTIVE March 7, 2014 • www.msbusiness.com • Page 6

OTHER VIEWS

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Bond bills need further discussion before end

he advantage of long-term bond financing for major projects empowers issuing entities like Mississippi to take advantage of low interest paybacks while building needed facilities and infrastructure like highways and buildings on college campuses.

Mississippi’s Legislature almost always considers a bill approving the issuance of bonds in a broad category of public needs, and it often reaches into spending that’s focused on economic development and jobs creation.

Legislative leaders in both chambers have said that they intend to hold bond spending

to under $200 million. Yet the House, in various guises, already has approved bond bills totaling $431 million, and the Senate has approved one for $95.99 million, an amount equal to almost half the $200 million total Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves says he wants.

However, the bills are written so that they can be amended, which allows the persuasion and policies promoting bond issues a way to work their way into the remaining month of the legislative session.

The projects passed in House bond bills so far include $46.2 million to complete the new civil rights museum and state history museum in Jackson, $55 million for improve-

ments at the Mississippi Coliseum and Trade Mart in Jackson and $10.5 million for a parkway connecting Byram and Clinton in the Jackson area.

Not so far included is a possible $20 million bond issue for economic development in Lee County/Tupelo to help retain Cooper Tire’s 1,600 employees and production in /Northeast Mississippi. Cooper is considering a $140 million expansion in Tupelo.

The community colleges sought $167 million in bonding authority coming into the See BOND, Page 7

BOBBY HARRISON Contributing Writer mbj@msbusiness.com • 364-1018 TAMI JONES Advertising Director tami.jones@msbusiness.com • 364-1011

» RICKY NOBILE

» FROM THE GROUND UP

Forecasting the future

MELISSA KILLINGSWORTH Sr. Account Executive

melissa.harrison@msbusiness.com • 364-1030 VIRGINIA HODGES Account Executive virginia.hodges@msbusiness.com • 364-1012

“It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.”

TACY RAYBURN Production Manager tacy.rayburn@msbusiness.com • 364-1019

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

— Yogi Berra he World Future Society just issued it list of 20 Forecasts for 2014-2030. I’ve selected several from that list that I think will affect many Mississippi businesses and consumers and offer a bit of commentary about each.

Amish Boom. The fastest-growing religious group in the U.S. is the Amish. Their numbers will reach one million shortly after 2050. The news here is that Amish growth is based on growing family size, not conversions.

The Amish have a long way to go to catch Catholics, with 78 million American members, Southern Baptists, with 16 million members and Methodists, with 7.7 million members. This forecast is of interest not so much in the Amish as it is to the topic of Phil Hardwick Religion in America. It is getting a lot of attention these days because its membership profiles are changing and because religion is again dominating the political and legal landscapes. I predict no slowdown in religious and political controversies in the next decade.

Longevity Revolution Creates Lifespan of “Haves” and “Have-Nots.” This forecast relates to the explosion of medical technologies using gene therapies, stem cells, and organ printing. The result will be will be extended average lifespans. This forecast is not so much about the incredible evolution of medical technology as it is about the influence that medical technology can have on social and medical issues. The problem relates to whether the benefits of medical technology will accrue to the wealthiest among us which will create difficult issues around the distribution of health, wealth, and power.

» HOW TO WRITE Letters to the editor are one of the most widely read features of the Mississippi Business Journal, and they give everyone a chance to voice their opinions about current affairs. We’re interested in what you think and we welcome Letters to the Editor for publication. Here are the guidelines: >> Letters should not exceed 300 words in length as a general rule. >> All letters must bear the writer’s address and telephone number. Street addresses and telephone numbers will not be published, but may be used for verification purposes. Letters may not appear without the author’s name. >> Form letters, thank you letters and letters to third parties generally are not acceptable. >> Letters must be typed or e-mailed. >> Letters must conform to good taste, not be libelous and not involve personal attacks on other persons.

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

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

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

See HARDWICK, Page 7

PERSPECTIVE

March 7, 2014 I Mississippi Business Journal

»FINANCIAL TIMES

Health care costs on Social Security

S

ocial Security provides one of the most dependable sources of income for retirees and their families. In fact, for a majority of retirees today, Social Security accounts for at least half of their income (Source: Fast Facts & Figures About Social Security, 2013). What we are seeing, however, is more of that income being spent on health-related costs each year, leaving less available for other retirement expenses.

The importance of Social Security Social Security is so critical because it provides a retirement income you can't outlive. In addition, benefits are available for your spouse based on your benefit amount during your lifetime, and at your death in the form of survivor's benefits. And, these benefits typically are adjusted for inflation (but not always; there was no cost-of-living increase for the years 2010 and 2011). That's why for many people, Social Security is such an important source of retirement income.

Rising health care costs You might assume that when you reach age 65, Medicare will cover most of your health-care costs. But in reality, Medicare pays for only a portion of the cost for most health care services, leaving a potentially large amount of uninsured medical expenses. How much you'll ultimately spend on health care generally depends on when you retire, how long you live, your health status and the cost of medical care in your area. Nevertheless, insurance premiums for Medicare Part B (doctor’s visits) and Part D (drug benefit), along with Medigap insurance, could cost hundreds of dollars each month for a married couple. In addition, there are co-pays and deductibles to consider (e.g., after paying the first $147 in Part B expenses per year, you pay 20 percent of the Medicare-approved amount for services thereafter).

Your out-of-pocket yearly costs for medical care, medications and insurance could easily exceed thousands of dollars.

Medicare's impact on Social Security Most people age 65 and older receive Medicare. Part A is generally free, but Parts B and D have monthly premiums. The Part B premium generally is deducted from your Social Security check, while Part D has several payment alternatives. In 2013, the premium for Part B was $104.90 per month. The cost for Part D coverage varies, but usually averages between $30 and $60 per month (unless participants qualify for low-income assistance). Part B premiums have increased each year and are ex-

HARDWICK

Continued from Page 6

“Rateocracy” and augmented reality makes corporate reputation a key driver of profitability. If your business has not yet been rated by a customer then do not fret because it probably will not be long before that happens. This forecast says that Yelp.com and Angie’s List are just the beginning in a new wave of “rateocracy” where reputations rule. Restaurants are currently the businesses that get the most reviews, and that may not change because of the volume of transactions. What will change is that almost every business will be subject to ratings by customers.

That means that corporations will closely track the real-time rise and fall of their ratings as closely as they watch their stock prices. Reputations are key drivers of their growth, profitability, and employee retention. Although ratings from magazines, newspapers, independent ratings organizations and surveys will still be important, it is the increasing use of apps and social media that will change the ratings landscape. Reputation management companies are already offering services to businesses and professionals in cases where it is felt that the rating was unjustified or even libelous. Also, it was recently revealed

pected to continue to do so, while Part D premiums vary by plan, benefits provided, deductibles, and coinsurance amounts.

And, if you enroll late for either Part B or D, your cost may be permanently increased.

In addition, Medicare Parts B and D are means tested, meaning that if your income exceeds a predetermined income cap, a surcharge is added to the basic premium. For Ike Trotter example, an individual with a modified adjusted gross income between $85,000 and $170,000 may pay an additional 40 percent for Part B and an additional $11.60 per month for Part D. Note: Part C, Medicare Advantage plans, are offered by private companies that contract with Medicare to provide you with all your Part A and Part B benefits, often including drug coverage. While the premiums for these plans are not subtracted from Social Security income, they are increasing annually as well.

The bottom line What's a concern here is that Medicare premiums and outof-pocket health care costs can eat away at your social security income resulting as a serious drag on your required monthly income. Because of this, you may need to spend more of your retirement savings than expected for health-related costs, leaving you unable to afford large, unanticipated expenses. All in all, these kinds of potential scenarios can seriously impact the quality of one’s financial life in retirement.

This Month's Parting Shot: According to data from Experian Automotive, long-term new car loans (from 72 to 84 months) have jumped 25.1 percent the past couple of years and now make up over 19 percent of all new-car lending. On the other end, short-term loans from 24 to 36 months have fallen 24 percent. With today’s trade-in’s average 11 years, the situation leaves consumers in a predicament. That being; the vehicle’s trade-in value is sure to drop a lot faster than the loan balance.

Ike S. Trotter, CLU, ChFC, is a financial advisor in Greenville. Securities and investment advisory services provided through Woodbury Financial Services Inc., Member: FINRA, SIPC and Registered Investment Advisor, P.O. Box 64284, St. Paul, MN 55164. Tel: 800.800-2638. IKE TROTTER AGENCY, LLC, and Woodbury Financial Services are not affiliated entities.

Information and opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Woodbury Financial Services Inc. that there are companies that provide good ratings even though they never partook of the product or service. That investigation continues.

“Peak Water” may become a bigger problem than peak oil. This is one forecast where some locations in Mississippi will be beneficiaries because of their ample supplies of water. Already, there are so-called border wars over water rights even in the Southeastern United States.

Companies in industries that need a good supply of water will be adding that factor to their location and expansion decisions. This appears to be a global problem as water tables around the world become depleted.

“Lab-on-a-Chip” Technologies Revolutionize Health.

Medical technology in hospitals, labs and even the doctor’s office nowadays was only a dream just a few decades ago.

What was even more unthinkable was the use of devices outside the doctor’s office. What they are talking about here is the technology of smart phone apps to conduct sophisticated lab tests for many different health conditions.

These devices will enable users to know your health status for many different tests on an almost - and in some cases real-time basis. This will be of special benefit in developing countries because it can provide medical diagnostics to those who do not have access to hospitals and labs. This

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» MBJ COMMENTS ONLINE

Here’s to Mississippi tourism RE: “Quapaw Canoe runs into turbulent waters with bills from state tax department” (Feb. 28) ... In 1980, I floated the Mississippi river from the headwaters to Venice, La. Later I went to work for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Vicksburg.

The Mississippi is a huge draw to people from all over the world. Having an ecotourism business based in Mississippi brings business to the state, and provides a valuable service to young people who need to get out and experience the outdoors.

I currently am a multi-media instructor/advisor at a community college in Bend, Ore., and operate the wilderness survival website SurvivalCommonSense.com.

From both perspectives, I have seen a real necessity to provide these types of wilderness experiences to people

Hail to Ruskey RE: “Quapaw Canoe runs into turbulent waters with bills from state tax department” (Feb. 28) ... John and the Mighty Quapaws contribute so much to educating young people, with respect to themselves, others, to the land, waterways, and tourism. John is truly a renaissance man and I think Mississippi should and could support him. What he has to offer the state should be recognized, and applauded. Mississippi needs more people like him, not alienate true good guys.

BOND

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session, but would get a fraction of that under measures so far approved but not enacted.

Reeves has met with Cooper officials, as has Gov. Bryant.

We believe support for proven, major existing employers like Cooper in a bond bill is an appropriate use of state resources.

We also support additional consideration of the community colleges’ capital building needs.

Four weeks is a long time to stand hard-and-fast by proposed bond bills today, especially when the state’s economy is growing again as well as the revenue stream generated by that growth.

should certainly contribute to Bill Gates recent prediction that there will be almost no poor countries by 2035.

The “cloud” will become more intelligent, not just a place to store data. We will be interacting with programs and data on the cloud. For example, everything from planning a family menu to keeping up with fitness levels to personal productivity tools will be available.

“The Internet of Things” Creates a Revolution of Wired Devices. Up to now, we have been dazzled by what computers and smart phones can do when connected to the Internet. The next phase is known as the “Internet of Things.” Trillions of devices— thermometers, cars, light switches, appliances, homes, will also be connected to the Internet—each with its own IP address. Monitoring of real-time data will be possible. For example, our cars will tell us when service is required and our home heating and air-conditioning will adjust automatically.

To read the remainder of the forecasts and learn more about what may come check out the World Future Society website at www.wfs.org.

Phil Hardwick is coordinator of capacity development at the John C. Stennis Institute of Government. Pease contact Hardwick at phil@philhardwick.com.

8 I Mississippi Business Journal I March 7 2014 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Bills requiring evaluation of incentives make progress

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

House and Senate bills that mandate evaluations of the return Mississippi gets on its tax credits, sales tax rebates and other economic development incentives have passed their respective bodies unanimously and now await conference committee action.

The idea is to gauge how well they create jobs and other economic benefits in exchange for the costs to the state.

Sen. David Blount’s SB2640 and Rep. Brad Mayor’s HB1365 would broaden Mississippi's current practice of evaluating the effectiveness of individually selected projects that receive tax and other incentives.

SB 2640 and also HB1365 require the Mississippi Development Authority, the state's economic development entity, to file an annual report on tax credits, loans and grants made for economic development projects.

The executive director of the MDA must judge whether the statutory and programmatic goals of the tax benefit are being met, with obstacles to those goals identified, if possible, according to the bills.

The Senate bill, which has been referred to the House Ways & Means Committee, and House bill, which has been referred to the Senate’s Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committee, are designed to provide a systematic approach for evaluating whether incentives are fulfilling their intended purposes in a cost-effective manner. The bills specify that an analysis of economic development tax incentives and economic development programs enacted before July 1, 2014 must be completed by state economists at least once between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2018 and no less than once every three years thereafter.

An analysis of any economic development tax incentives and economic development programs created after July 1, 2014 must be completed within five years of taking effect, and no less than once every three years thereafter, accord-

The idea is to gauge how well they create jobs and other economic benefits...

See

BILLS, Page 9

BIG JOB AHEAD FOR STATE ECONOMISTS IN ASSESSING BUSINESS INCENTIVES » This legislation brings another level of confidence to lawmakers who put their votes on the line for projects, House sponsor says

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

The University Research Center and its economists are accustomed to analyzing the effectiveness of incentives for specific economic development projects.

They are about to enter some more challenging analysis territory.

The Legislature is on the verge of requiring periodic evaluations of the value of tax credits, sales tax rebates and other incentives the Mississippi Development Authority uses to bring business into the state, retain Blount other business and help ones already here expand.

“We’ve already done quite a bit of analysis but it’s on a case-by-case basis,” said Bob Neal, a senior state economist with the University Research Center.

“We’ve also looked at some of the incentives before they’ve become law,” he added. “We’ve had input into changing the structure of some of the incentives.”

“But regular appraisals of the costs and benefits of the individual incentives? We’ve never done that.”

It’s a practice the Pew Center on the States recommended Mississippi adopt after the center in spring 2012 released a state-by-state review of methods for assessing the effectiveness of tax incentives for economic development. The Pew Center report put Mississippi in with 28 other states it described as “trailing behind” other states in the scrutiny given tax incentive packages.

The 29 states, Pew contended, had made no effort to determine the true returns their states are gaining from tax incentives granted businesses in exchange for promises of jobs and capital investments.

Neal said he doesn’t think the Pew report was entirely on target in assessing Mississippi. “It sounded like they were unfairly indicting the model we were using.”

That model is used for the project-by-project evaluations the state performs, he said in an April 2012 interview.

Neal at the time said he looks to ensure the state is not providing more incentives than the economic activity the new business is providing.

“I do an initial run on the project absent any incentives,” he said, and noted he next adds up the incentives based on their expected cost to the state.

The bills that have unanimously passed the House and Senate — Rep. Brad Mayo’s HB1365 and Sen. David Blount’s SB2640 — largely mirror a bill Blount

introduced last year that passed the Senate but died in the House. Early versions of the bill were so broad “we can’t actually do it,” Neal said his department told House leaders.

“We would have had to double our staff here to do that job. They rewrote it (for this year) to be specific enough we could actually do it. We have worked with the sponsors since then,” Neal said in an interview last week. “They have further addressed some of our concerns…. We’re on board.”

Neal said a challenge will be to overcome the problem of determining the value of an individual incentive when packaged with other incentives. “By evaluating individual incentives you are assuming no other incentives were offered at the same time.”

But if two incentives were put in place, one may have provided all the benefits and the other none of the benefits, Neal said.

The job is made even more challenging by the mixand-match approach Mississippi uses in its incentives packages, a method that gives the MDA flexibility to design incentives for a specific company's mission and operation, according to Neal.

The economist said he thinks credible assessments can be made, nonetheless.

“If the bill is passed and implemented, I think we can find a way to proxy the division” of incentives,” he said.

“Even if it is an imperfect evaluation, it's still a good idea.”

Blount, a Jackson Democrat, said he is confident the conference committee will pass a version of a final bill.

The idea, Blount said, “is to make sure the incentives awarded by the state are in the best interest of taxpayers.”

He said the bills should lead to more public information on the effectiveness of specific incentives – something “which is not being done.”

Mayo said he expects the final legislation will be an effective way “to ferret out” incentives that are no longer worthwhile or that were not worthwhile in the first place.

The Mississippi tax code, Mayo said, is littered with incentives for businesses that maybe were smart at the time but we have gone through evolutions” as businesses and industries change.

“I hope this shines some light on” the outdated incentives in the state’s tax code, the Oxford Republican said.

“My expectation,” Mayo said in an email follow-up to an earlier interview, is that the evaluations “will validate our large projects and allow for modernization of our tax code.”

Voters ultimately hold Mississippi’s governor and legislators accountable for incentive agreements, Mayo said. “This legislation would bring another level of confidence to lawmakers who are putting their votes on the line for projects.”

March 7 2014

THOMASSON

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mats, cross arms, cross ties, railroad ties and other goods in the specialty wood category.

CEO Pat Thomasson learned accounting at the University of Mississippi and later put her skills with numbers to work as the first CPA and founder of the audit department of the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office.

But the lumber business — that was the realm of her father, Hugh Thomasson, the founder and force behind the family business over the decades. His daughter figured that’s the way things would stay.

She had no inkling that a supposed short-term arrangement in 1996 to fill in at the company until a replacement could be found for a departing controller would be a life changing circumstance. With a goal of lending Thomasson Lumber a hand, she left behind her pursuit of crooked brokers and investment fraudsters for the fill-in post.

Luckily, the controller decided to stay. And so did Thomasson.

Eighteen years later, Thomasson still crunches numbers on occasion but her main role is guiding and growing an $80-million enterprise that brokers an increasing list of wood-related construction projects throughout the South and the rest of the country.

“In the last five years we’ve about doubled in sales,” said Thomasson, attributing much of the growth to construction mat sales and other new products.

The business growth and stamp Pat Thomasson is putting on the woods products sector led the Mississippi Business Journal to select her as 2014 Mississippi Businesswoman of the Year.

She received the award at the statewide business newspaper's annual luncheon ceremony Feb. 27 honoring the Businesswoman of the Year as well as the state's 50 Top Businesswomen.

Executives of the Mississippi Business Journal invited business leaders make the annual award selections.

In addition to running her growing company,

BILLS

Continued from Page 8

ing to the bills.

The analysis of tax incentives must include: >>> A baseline assessment of the tax incentive, including, if applicable, the number of aggregate jobs associated with the taxpayers receiving such tax incentive and the aggregate annual revenue that such taxpayers generate for the state through the direct taxes applied to them and through taxes applied to their employees; >>> The statutory and programmatic goals and intent of the tax incentive, if the goals and intentions are included in the incentive's enabling legislation; >>> The number of taxpayers granted the tax incentive during the previous twelvemonth period; >>> The value of the tax incentive granted, and ultimately claimed, listed by the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) Code associated with the taxpayers receiving the benefit, if the NAICS Code is available; >>> An assessment and five-year projection of the potential impact on the state's

“We would like to do more piling business and want to add additional mat business” Pat Thomasson CEO, Thomasson Company

Thomasson is an active member of the Women’s Business Enterprise Council South. Through her membership, she advocates for other women in business and is passionate about issues involving the business community.

In 2010, Thomasson became the first woman elected president of the Mississippi Lumber Manufacturers Association. She also serves as secretary of the Rotary Club of Philadelphia. As an Ole Miss graduate, she is founder and director of the Neshoba County Rebel Club.

Staying On Thomasson's 1996 fill-in role at the lumber company never materialized. But other roles did as she began acquainting herself with the family business. “I learned a lot about the operation and the product,” she said in an interview the day after receiving her award and just before a weekend celebration of her 50th birthday.

“I stayed and got more involved in the management of the company,” she said.

After her father reached his 70s, he decided to play more golf and tend to his roses more often. This led to Pat Thomasson taking on an even larger management role and eventually the top job.

“I was CEO before my dad died” in 2008, she said. “I certainly felt the additional responsibilities after he died.”

As CEO, Pat Thomasson opened up the company to

revenue stream from carry-forwards allowed under the tax incentive.

The assessment conducted by state economists must include a cost-benefit comparison of the revenue foregone by allowing the tax incentive compared to tax revenue generated by the taxpayer receiving the credit, including direct taxes applied to them and taxes applied to their employees.

The evaluations would come under the University Research Center whose staff includes state economists who would do the actual work.

Legislators were prepared to pass a similar bill introduced by Blount last year but held back at the request of the MDA. The agency wanted to ensure that the proprietary information it would be forwarding to state economists would remain confidential.

Mayo said drafters this year resolved the confidentiality issue through a provision by which the University Research Center will sign the same confidentiality agreement the MDA has with the state Department of Revenue. “We just mirrored that language and applied it to the IHL economists,” Mayo said.

an outside board of directors, hired new legal counsel and new CPA firm. She also handed managers more control over their staffs, a move she said she made to set the stage for company growth.

Her management slowly steered Thomasson Co. from its roots as a mom-and-pop company to a diversified regional and national wood products seller.

“We expanded our round-stock offerings” to different kinds of buyers, she said. At the same time, Thomasson took the company into the sales of mats for heavy equipment used at large construction sites.

“We had looked at that product going back five or six years,” she said. “Mats are a very cyclical product.

Demand was falling off. A couple of years ago we thought it was ticking up so we got into it.”

It helped that a lot its customers for poles and pilings also buy the heavy equipment mats manufactured from hardwood. “We sell to construction companies and now oil and gas pipelines,” Thomasson noted.

While Thomasson Co. still has a softwood lumber mill in Macon, where it has about 25 workers, the company makes only about 10 percent of the softwood utility poles it sells. “We mostly buy from other people,” she

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said, and added it has a successful relationship with a single source provider of hardwood products. Since “we don't have a hardwood mill, we are buying it and taking care of the selling and transportation issues,” she said.

As the Great Recession of the last decade set in, Pat Thomasson sold off the company lumber plant in Laurel to clear the way for taking on new product lines.

By 2011, Thomasson had positioned the company to win a bid on a logistically ambitious job of buying and moving large utility poles made of Douglas Fir from the Northwest across country to Maine, where the state had decided to upgrade its electrical grid within its central regions.

The poles — $30 million worth of them — went by train and truck. The permitting alone “was quite a trick,” Thomasson recalled.

The huge bid award went to Thomasson Co., she said, because of the company’s reputation for performance and customer service.

In the end, “We think everybody was satisfied. It was a great piece of business.”

Where to from here?

A lot of the same and some diversification within current product lines, Thomasson said.

“Right now we are very pleased with our investorowned utility business and would like to see more utility customers.

“We would like to do more piling business and want to add additional mat business.

“We want to stay with the products we have but may diversify with the products we're selling.”

A key, Thomasson said, will be to keep the teams intact in Macon and Philadelphia, where the company has about 25 people.

“I work with a tremendous team. We came together and we're still together.”

1501 Lakeland Drive, Suite 340 Jackson, MS 39216 601-981-1500

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10 I Mississippi Business Journal I March 7 2014 ARCHITECTURE

Design studio teaches lessons on sustainability

By LISA MONTI I CONTRIBUTOR mbj@msbusiness.com

Lessons learned after Hurricane Katrina are still being spread around the country, in part because of the work being done by the Gulf Coast Community Design Studio, a professional service and outreach program of Mississippi State University’s College of Architecture, Art and Design.

The community design studio was created in Biloxi after the 2005 storm to provide architectural design services, landscape and planning assistance to the coastal communities and others involved with housing, public spaces and neighborhood development.

David Perkes was running the university program in Jackson when Katrina hit and quickly saw what was needed from the state’s only architecture school. “It was pretty clear from the beginning the work would involve replacing housing but also planning and landscape architecture work,” he said. “We started with all that work after Katrina and it has naturally evolved into more long term efforts to make our communities more livable and sustainable.”

The goal is to “make the Gulf Coast aware of what we need to do to be more prepared in general and more resilient so we are able to recover from the next storm,” he said.

The design studio was involved in the repair and new construction of more than 300 houses, with input from the homeowners and other stakeholders. “Our approach always been to do everything we can to make sure people are part of the whole decision-making process,” Perkes said. “The more people involved in decision making processes the better it will be.”

The designers didn’t want the houses to have the same look that would be easily identified as Katrina houses.

“We didn’t want temporary houses that people would move into and then leave to become rental property. We wanted to make sure a house was a good fit for the neighborhood and the family long term so people wanted to stay and then pass them on to their children.”

The owners of the houses done by the design studio had already qualified for various funding programs through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Mississippi Development Authority. “Obviously they didn’t have money for an architect to design their house,” Perkes said. The studio was paid for its professional services through HUD and MDA programs.

Construction on the last three or four houses is wrapping up and the design studio is focusing on several new projects.

One involves the restoration of Bayou

Photo/rendering from Gulf Coast Community Design Studio website at http://gccds.org

Bayou Auguste extends a half mile into East Biloxi neighborhoods, passing through property owned by the Biloxi Housing Authority, Biloxi Public Schools, the City of Biloxi and private landowners. The Bayou Auguste Greenway Restoration project is a community-based effort with several partners working together to improve the natural tidal marsh habitat and the stormwater drainage system that moves water from urban streets to the ocean.

The goal is to “make the Gulf Coast aware of what we need to do to be more prepared in general and more resilient so we are able to recover from the next storm”.

David Perkes Gulf Coast Community Design Studio

Auguste on the Back Bay of Biloxi that started a couple of years ago and is funded by grants. The project has strong community interest and volunteers are helping with cleanup of the bayou. MSU has partnered with the city, its schools and the housing authority along with the Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain.

Bayou Auguste and similar waterways offer critical protection against storms and also serve as a habitat nursery for shrimp. Improving the waterways by cleaning them makes them function better for the long term, he said. “We need to keep them healthy.”

The design studio also is preparing a watershed plan for Rotten Bayou near Diamondhead that community volunteers are helping with.

Officials and consultants in Houston asked the studio to help with the replacement of housing lost during Hurricane Ike. Perkes also is involved in a program in the Northeast to help with Hurricane Sandy recovery. “HUD created a program to bring in design teams to look at their infrastructure and shoreline issues and figure out how to become more resilient. We are part of the team from the Gulf Coast doing work in Bridgeport, Conn.”

Perkes also is working with the Federal Alliance of Safe Homes, producing a user friendly guide for weather resilient housing construction, again based on lessons learned. And the design studio is wrapping up a three-year sustainability plan headed

by Gulf Regional Planning Commission and funded by HUD to make the region more sustainable.

The studio typically has around 10 architects, planners, landscape architects and interns. They recently moved from shared workspace at the HOPE Community Development Agency. “It’s a great partnership and made a lot of sense when our work was with housing,” Perkes said.

The new space in the Vieux Marche area of Biloxi allows the design studio to be more involved in downtown revitalization with merchants and the city’s Main Street and Housing Authority.

Perkes said the projects the design studio works on are not the work of typical commercial design firms so they don't see themselves in competition. They take the role of promoting design and helping create work for architects. For example, the studio helps communities and organization with pre-design work that allows them to hire an architect to do the work. “We see our work often helping an organization make the first step to be able to go beyond that,” he said.

March 7, 2014

LAW AND ACCOUNTING

Butler Snow expands Birmingham office as 19 attorneys join firm BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Butler Snow has expanded the firm’s Birmingham office as 19 attorneys join the firm, bringing the total number of attorneys in Birmingham to 24 and nearly 280 firm-wide.

“We are pleased to have this group of attorneys join us in Birmingham, one of our strategic growth markets,” said Donald Clark Jr., chairman, Butler Snow.

“The depth of experience among this team further strengthens many of our existing practices and we’re very proud that they have chosen Butler Snow.”

Attorney’s joining Butler Snow’s Birmingham office are Brad S. Anderson, Austin A. Averitt, James C. Barton, Jr., Katie Boyd Britt, Sarah E. Hoffmann, Russell L. Irby, Michael H. Johnson, David R. Kinman, Jerome K. Lanning, Henry Sprott Long III, Margaret H. Loveman, Alan D. Mathis, Bradley C. Mayhew, Randall D. McClanahan, Angie Godwin McEwen, T. Kurt Miller, E. Alston Ray, J. William Rose, Jr. and Caroline D. Walker. They join Helen Kathryn Downs, who recently joined the firm, and four others in the Birmingham office.

“Our team is excited to join Butler Snow as the firm continues to grow throughout the Southeast and across the nation,” said J. William Rose Jr., a leading member of the Birmingham team.

AGRICULTURE

Cal-Maine closes on deal with Delta Egg Farm JACKSON — Cal-Maine Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: CALM) has closed the previously announced acquisition of 50 percent of the membership interests of Delta Egg Farm, LLC from Sunbest Foods of Iowa Inc., a Moark, LLC affiliate.

Delta Egg Farm owns and operates a feed mill and egg production complex with capacity for approximately 1.2 million laying hens, located near Delta, Utah, and an organic egg production complex with capacity for approximately 400,000 laying hens located near Chase, Kan. With the completion of this transaction, Delta Egg Farm is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Cal-Maine.

PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

Two companies fined for violations of ‘No-Call’ law JACKSON — Two companies, including one based in Mississippi, have been found in violation of the state’s ‘No-Call’ law.

Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley announced PSC-ordered fines totaling $40,000.

Higher Impact Inc., of Phoenix, Ariz., was fined $15,000, while Mississippi-based Diverse Solutions, LLC, was fined $25,000.

Neither company registered as telephone solicitors with the state of Mississippi.

— from staff and MBJ wire services

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OLD TOWN BAY ST. LOUIS

George’s Girls put shopping skills to work

By LISA MONTI I CONTRIBUTOR mbj@msbusiness.com Ann Yarbrough and her three daughters have poured their passion and talent for shopping into a growing boutique on the beach in Old Town Bay St. Louis.

Their shop, George’s Girls, started out modestly in November 2011 in a tiny portion of the rambling Maggie May’s collection of shops around the corner on Main Street. Expanding in size and merchandise always was on their minds.

“Initially we started out with bedding and sleepwear, and now we have expanded to tabletop dressings, beach covers, bags and towels, linen and leather handbags, wallets, scarves, jewelry, shower curtains and matching rugs,” said Yarbrough.

The store gets its name from Ann’s late husband, who suffered a fatal heart attack during a family vacation in Michigan.

The couple had worked as a team for Latter & Blum and she briefly returned to real estate after his death but it wasn’t the same.

“It felt very lonely and empty for me so that’s when we got the idea to go into retail,” she said.

So to give Ann another option and in honor of George’s memory, she said, “We decided to do what the four of us do best — and that’s shopping.” The plan to open their shop came together very quickly. “The girls all loved the idea so we emptied our wallets so to speak and went to market in Atlanta,” she said.

Yarbrough and daughter Laura Lucore run the shop. Laura, a mom whose background is in social work, said she never planned on going to retail. “But I really like it a lot more than I dreamed of.”

Daughters Jennifer Yarbrough, of Boston, and Karen Yarbrough, of Chicago, shop for merchandise at market and help out in the store when they are home for visits and over the holidays.

“We all meet in Atlanta for the wholesale market at least twice a year,” Ann said.

The foursome have a method to cover the gigantic market, which covers more than seven million square feet of Laura and Ann Yarbrough of George’s Girls in Old Town Bay St. Louis. space where new lines of home, rug, gift and apparel are unveiled for buyers. and jewelry and donates a portion of its sales to Daufuskie Island.

“We split up and then meet back at the hotel and bring all the different The Yarbroughs said their merchandise adds luxury to the bedroom, the bath purchases,” Ann said. They put all their discoveries on a spreadsheet to help and to customers’ lifestyle. Said Laura, “We carry a lot of things to make your guide them in their buying. Each woman brings her own tastes and perspective home more comfortable: pillows, accessories for the home and bedroom.” to what she thinks would appeal to George’s Girls’ customer. “We try to have Moving to the new French Settlement retail development immediately gave something in the store that everybody will like,” Ann said. the shop more space and when a coffee shop next door closed, another 260 feet Turns out George’s Girls have a real knack for picking items that customers of space became available. like. So much so that they discovered some things even before Oprah Winfrey, “We doubled our space just moving over to French Settlement,” Ann said. “We considered retail royalty, chose them as her famous “favorite things.” The always have been looking to expand because we're very blessed and very well Yarbroughs found the Urban MuuMuu lounge tonic before Oprah. “So Oprah is supported by our loyal customers,” Ann said. “We appreciate their support.” trailing us,” Ann laughed.

Besides local customers, George’s Girls’ shoppers come from Louisiana, The bad news is, once Oprah shines her media spotlight on something, including New Orleanians with second homes on the Coast. “They finally are wholesalers sometimes can’t keep up with demand and orders to shops like coming back after Katrina. It’s taking a long time for all of us.”

George’s Girls can be delayed.

Ann Yarbrough said having the shop has been a learning experience that Still, adding new lines and items keeps George’s Girls fresh. One new line is she enjoys.

Thomas Paul, which makes linen shower curtains in popular coastal designs.

“It’s just fun coming to work. I look forward to coming work and can't stay Another is South Carolina-based Spartina 449, which got raves from The Oprah away. It’s just pure joy.”

Magazine, Southern Living and other publications, makes handbags, accessories

March 7, 2014 • MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS JOURNAL • www.msbusiness.com

AN MBJ FOCUS:

AGRIBUSINESS CROP DUSTING

Mississippi ag aviation plays a critical role in production and profitability

By BECKY GILLETTE I CONTRIBUTOR mbj@msbusiness.com

F OR OR S LE AL AS E E

Agriculture aviation is a bigger business in Mississippi than many people might realize. While there are only about 120-140 ag pilots in the state, they cover a lot of ground, particularly in the flat, row-crop dominant Delta.

“We are an essential part of agriculture in the state of Mississippi, as well as in the country,” said Joey Daniels, president, Mississippi Agricultural Aviation Association (MAAA) and the owner and chief pilot of Daniels Aviation Inc., Hollandale. “We are more efficient than ground application for these chemicals that growers put out that

are very costly. Most times when we put a chemical out, it is a tank mix. You might have as many as four different chemicals in one load. You have thousands of dollars invested in one load and might cover anywhere from 100 to 200 acres.”

When expensive herbicides, pesticides and fertilizer are being applied, growers want precision. Daniels said that is what they get with ag aviation equipment that uses GPS that allows pilots to be accurate within variances of only inches.

And they are fast. Compare a tractor going a few miles per hour to an airplane traveling at the speed of 120 to 160 miles per hour.

“In a day’s time, I can do close to 2,000

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acres,” Daniels said. “We can apply when the ground is too wet for a tractor or if there is a crop there the grower doesn’t want to have a tractor run over. If we want to put out 100 pounds of fertilizer to the acre, that is what it is going to be. There is no guessing anymore. Things have changed in this business in the past 20 years. There is more technology involved, which makes it easier for the pilot, as well as more cost efficient for the grower.”

The industry also places a huge priority on safety.

“We had no accidents this past year, and I think we were the only state in the country with ag aviation that did not have an accident,” Daniels said. “This might be one of the first years Mississippi has not had an accident. To be flying this many airplanes and go through a season without an accident, that is saying a lot.”

Pilots attend meetings every year to get recertified to apply ag chemicals. “Safety training is a third to half of the re-certification process,” said , said Michael Christmas, Christmas Flying Service, Shelby.

Christmas Flying Service was started in 1961 by Charles Christmas, and currently has three family members who fly for their business including Michael, his brother Kenny, and Michael’s son, Shea. A fourth pilot in the operation is Scotty Meredith.

In his 40 years in the business, Christmas has seen the role of ag aviation increase tremendously.

“Ag has become more dependent on it, our productivity has increased with larger airplanes, and the addition of GPS allows us to be very accurate where we apply the chemicals,” Michael said. “Ag aviation is very important to growers, especially when they have inclement weather and can’t get tractors in the field. We can do it by air in a timely fashion. It is much more efficient and profitable than ground spraying. We are providing a service for the farmers to help them to achieve production gains. It is a group effort. It all plays a part in production.”

Agriculture has become so dependent on aviation for row crops like soybeans, corn, wheat and cotton that, in some cases, there would be no other way to make a good crop, said Kelly Peele, chief pilot and manager of Producers Flying in Yazoo City.

“It could be a significant loss and in some cases, a total loss,” said Peele who has been an ag pilot since 1996.

Ag airplanes are so expensive that often a number of producers will join in with an ag pilot or pilots to operate the business.

Producers Flyer is owned by farmers.

See

AVIATION, Page 13

AGRIBUSINESS AVIATION

March 7, 2014

I

Mississippi Business Journal

I

13

Continued from Page 12

“I fly the airplane and manage the business for them,” Peele said. “I just started my own side business, and hired a friend to fly.

By the time I purchased an airplane, insured it and put it to work, the cost was up to about $1 million.”

Peele loves to fly, and estimated that he has logged 18,000 hours in his career — more than the entire Blue Angel Team combined.

“We get a lot of practice at what we do flying more than 1,000 miles in a year,” Peele said. “I enjoy flying. I grew up in agriculture. I have always enjoyed the outdoors and agriculture. I get to help farmers grow a crop and watch it through the whole process. It is rewarding to me at the end of year when they make a good crop to know I was a part of that.”

Weather is critical to aerial application of ag chemicals. Wind direction and speed must be carefully considered to prevent drift of chemicals to adjoining property. The work is inherently unforgiving. Peele learned that early in his career when he took down a power line.

“You can never let your guard down,” Peele said. “As far as the dangers, I would rather get in my sprayer and go to work in an airplane than go to Jackson in my pickup when everyone who passes you has their ear mashed up against a cell phone.”

Special to the MBJ

Main photo: Kelly Peele is chief pilot and manager of Producers Flying in Yazoo City. Inset: Joey Daniels president, Mississippi Agricultural Aviation Association (MAAA) and the owner and chief pilot of Daniels Aviation Inc., Hollandale.

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AGRIBUSINESS

14 I Mississippi Business Journal I March 7, 2014 AG SCIENCE

Research center aim: grow more with less

By LISA MONTI I CONTRIBUTOR mbj@msbusiness.com

FILE / The Mississippi Business Journal

Jamie Whitten Delta States Research Center in Stoneville.

The Jamie Whitten Delta States Research Center in Stoneville is one of the major research establishments of the Agricultural Research Service, the main in-house research arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Dr. Krishna Reddy, acting location coordinator, said the center is working on several aspects of agriculture, starting with crop production and focusing on cotton, soybeans and corn. The goal, he said, is â&#x20AC;&#x153;learning how to grow more with less.

More food, feed and fiber, with less input cost by reducing seed, fertilizer, water usage or pesticide applications,â&#x20AC;? among other options.

The center consists of seven research units, with scientists conducting basic and applied research in biology, genetics, engineering, chemistry, ecology, entomology, physiology, biochemistry, botany, agronomy, aquaculture, soil science, plant pathology, weed biology and pesticide application technology.

Carlean Horton, administrative officer, said the centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s research main commodities are catfish, corn, soybeans and cotton. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are a problem solving agency.

Customers bring us questions about farming and we try to solve their problems,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The work is done in state-of-the-art labs and in field studies. The center includes catfish ponds and fields where cotton, corn and soybeans are grown.â&#x20AC;?

Emphasis of the research is on agricultural problems such as controlling principal crop enemies (pests), equipment development and innovation, genetics and basic physiology; production systems and techniques; safety and human health; and technology of pesticide application.

The center is named for Congressman Jamie Whitten who along with MissisSee

LESS, Page 16

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AGRIBUSINESS

16 I Mississippi Business Journal I March 7, 2014

LESS

project, completed in 1970, was $3.7 million. In todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dollars the total for the buildings and greenhouses would be around $40 million.

The center now has approximately 100 buildings and laboratories over about 77.82 acres, including outlying buildings. The Jamie Whitten Building is currently undergoing major renovations of $45 million.

The ARS Centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission was â&#x20AC;&#x153;to increase efficiency in the production and processing of Mid-South agricultural products to benefit both the farmer and the consumer.â&#x20AC;?

With a 2014 operating budget of ap-

Continued from Page 14

sippi Sen. John Stennis and the Delta Council created the original labs in the 1960s to help Delta farmers. The original concept in 1961 was for a federal weed control lab to enhance state programs and in 1964 two labs for insect control and cotton physiology were incorporated into the plans.

Construction of the federal facility began in 1968 on a site deeded by the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station to the USDA. Cost of the

proximately $32.5 million, the center has a staff of approximately 290, including 55 PhD research scientists and more than 200 support personnel performing research to enhance agricultural production and processing in the state and the MidSouth region.

The MidSouth Area Office is headquartered in Stoneville, where all major research related and administrative decisions and functions are managed for 13 locations and worksites in the five-state area of Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee.

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asset to the state, where agribusiness is key to the economy. According to the Mississippi Development Authority, agriculture and forestry is Mississippiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s number one industry, employing approximately 29 percent of the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s workforce either directly or indirectly. In 2011, Mississippi had more than 42,000 farms covering over 11.2 billion acres.

There also are three other ag research locations in Mississippi. The Southern Horticultural Research Center in Poplarville conducts research on ornamental products including blueberries and strawberries; the Mississippi State research facility focuses on crop science, corn host plant resistance, genetics and precision agriculture, and poultry; and the Oxford location studies national soil sedimentation, watershed physical processes, water quality and ecology.

Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a look at the research areas at the center: The Biological Control of Pests Research Unit conducts basic and applied research on the production and use of biological control agents of agricultural and urban pests.

The mission of the Cotton Ginning Research Unit research is directed toward producing high quality fiber for the textile industry, and ultimately the consumer, in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner, for cotton producers and ginners.

The Aquaculture Research Unit develops technologies that improve the efficiency, profitability and sustainability of fish farming in the United States. Researchers work on improving fish strains and hybrids and developing improved production technologies.

The mission of the Genomics and Bioinformatics Research Unit is to coordinate, facilitate and conduct genomics and bioinformatics research with emphasis on the Mid-South area. The unit is a primary research resource for genomics and bioinformatics to cotton, soybean, corn, and catfish, particularly at Stoneville, where the unit is based.

The Crop Genetics Research Unit studies the biology of cotton and soybean plants including their genetic, physiological and pest resistance interactions with the environment.

The Southern Insect Management Research Unit generates scientific knowledge of arthropod pest biology, ecology and management to modernize farming methods that will promote economical and environmentally stable pest management practices in the southern U.S. The unitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s goal is to be an innovative leaders in ridding farms of agricultural pests through its findings in biology, ecology and management options.

The Crop Production Systems Research Unitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s six research projects aid in the development of improved crop production systems; irrigation technology; agrochemical application technology; managing herbicide resistance; and addressing soil and water quality issues. The goal of the projects is safe food and fiber production and potential biofuels.

FORESTRY CONSULTANTS Name

March 7, 2014

I

Mississippi Business Journal

I

17

Company

Address

Phone

George Alsworth

George E. Alsworth & Associates, Inc.

P.O. Box 1144, Waynesboro, MS 39367-1144

601-735-2668

alsworthassocinc@bellsouth.net

Chad Anderson

Timber Investment Managers, LLC

P.O. Box 931, Petal, MS 39465

601-584-1009

timcochad@aol.com

John Buckley

Silvitech, Inc.

P.O. Box 1861, Brandon, MS 39043

601-825-3282

jmbuckley@bellsouth.net

Steve Butler

TimberCorp, Inc.

6193 Henderson Road, Brandon, MS 39042

601-591-4006

sbutler@timbercorp.net

Charles B. Campbell

Southern Resource Service, Inc.

P.O. Drawer 1645, Starkville, MS 39760

662-323-9103

bcsrs@bellsouth.net

William Canale

Canale Forest Management Company

P.O. Box 1786, Oxford, MS 38655-1786

662-236-5435

CANALEFOREST@gmail.com

Charles Carter

Mid-South Forestry, Inc.

P.O. Box 823, New Albany, MS 38652-0823

662-534-3628

midsouthforest@bellsouth.net

Mark E. Dale

Forest Pro L.L.C.

P.O. Box 1452, Monticello MS 39654

601-587-4446

theforestpro@bellsouth.net

Bruce Dueitt

Bruce M. Dueitt & Co.

1888 Deer Park Rd., Leakesville MS 39451

601-394-2198

dueitt@tds.net

David Duff

Mid-South Forestry, Inc.

P.O. Box 823, New Albany, MS 38652-0823

662-534-3628

midsouthforest@bellsouth.net

James Elledge

Longleaf Consultants, LLC

212 Myrick Road, Lumberton, MS 39455

601-796-3939

jimelledge@longleafconsultants.com

Joe Foster

Timber Investment Managers, LLC

P.O. Box 1970, Purvis, MS 39475

601-795-2286

timcojoe@aol.com

David Green

Woodland Technologies

22 Mary Norman Lane, Winona, MS 38967

662-283-4276

davidgreen.forester@yahoo.com

Scott GrifďŹ n

The Campbell Group

3850 Old Hwy 45N, Meridian, MS 39301

601-483-6709

sgrifďŹ n@campbellgroup.com

John Guthrie

John G. Guthrie and Sons, Inc.

P.O. Box 400, Wiggins, MS 39577-0400

601-928-4262

John@jgguthrieandsons.com

Randal Guthrie

John G. Guthrie and Sons, Inc.

P.O. Box 400, Wiggins, MS 39577-0400

601-928-4262

Randal@jgguthrieandsons.com

John. Guthrie, Jr.

John G. Guthrie and Sons, Inc.

P.O. Box 400, Wiggins, MS 39577-0400

601-928-4262

JohnJr@jgguthrieandsons.com

Buddy Hairston

Hairston Forestry Consultants, Inc.

4016 Highway 80, Pelahatchie, MS 39145

601-854-7001

hairstonforestry@bellsouth.net

Charles Johnson

Consulting Foresters, Ltd.

P.O. Box 16358, Hattiesburg, MS 39404-6358

601-264-3475

cd.johnson1@comcast.net

Eddie Johnson

TimberCorp, Inc.

6193 Henderson Road, Brandon, MS 39042

601-591-4006

djohnson@timbercorp.net

Scott D. Kiewit

Kiewit Forestry Services

33 Kimberly Drive, Laurel MS 39448

601-319-2856

kiewitforestry@bellsouth.net

Brian Maier

William W. May & Associates, Inc.

124 Fannin Landing Circle, Brandon, MS 39047

601-829-1002

bmforcon@aol.com

Mike Mikell

Mike Mikell Professional For. Serv., Inc. P.O. Box 247, Port Gibson, MS 39150-0247

601-437-8316

mikellpfsi@hotmail.com

John Mitchell

Mitchell Forestry & Wildlife Serices, Inc. 1825 Proper Street, Corinth, MS 38834

662-287-0900

mitchellforestry@bellsouth.net

Jay Mitchell

Mitchell Forestry & Wildlife Services, Inc.1825 Proper Street, Corinth, MS 38834

662-287-0900

mitchellforestry@bellsouth.net

425B Highway 51 South, Brookhaven, MS 39601 601-823-5558

bnaeger@resourcemgt.com

Bob Naeger

Email

E. Lynn Prine

Southern Resource Service, Inc.

P.O. Drawer 1645, Starkville, MS 39760-1645

662-323-9103

lpsrs@bellsouth.net

Ryan Ramsey

ForestSouth, LLC

5719 Hwy 25, Ste 104, Flowood, MS 39232

769-257-5124

ryanramsey@forestsouth.com

Charles Rice

Forest Owners, Inc.

P.O. Box 960, Sumrall, MS 39482-0960

601-758-0437

randy.rice@hotmail.com

Randy Shaw

Forest Resource Consultants, Inc.

P.O. Box 111, Picayune, MS 39466-0111

601-749-9969

frcsms@bellsouth.net

Leslie Shelby

William W. May & Associates, Inc.

124 Fannin Landing Circle, Brandon, MS 39047

601-829-1002

shelby9077@bellsouth.net

Mark Smith

Hancock Forest Management, Inc.

P.O. Box 972, Oxford, MS 38655

662-234-7480

msmith@hnrg.com

Jeff Taylor

Taylor Forestry, Inc.

P.O. Box 328, Summit, MS 39666

601-276-2766

jefftaylormsu@bellsouth.net

Michael Webb

Forest Investments Management

232 Second Street, Columbia, MS 39429

601-736-4956

mcforester@bellsouth.net

Richard Stringer

TimberCorp, Inc.

6193 Henderson Road, Brandon, MS 39042

601-591-4006

rstringer@timbercorp.net

For questions or comments contact Wally Northway at research@msbusiness.com

SALES TAX

18 I Mississippi Business Journal I March 7, 2014 January 2014 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).

January January Year to date YTD CITY 2014 2013 2014 2013 ABBEVILLE $3,671.37 $3,274.85 $24,481.89 $31,613.42 ABERDEEN 65,937.28 78,596.27 454,774.50 480,986.06 ACKERMAN 22,792.92 24,656.36 159,807.39 163,486.61 ALCORN STATE U 378.33 656.57 4,392.96 5,531.70 ALGOMA 2,381.40 2,172.21 15,332.82 13,888.89 ALLIGATOR 836.87 864.09 5,277.90 5,028.34 AMORY 175,271.75 177,938.71 1,083,706.05 1,088,523.37 ANGUILLA 2,163.18 2,462.40 17,345.92 21,167.37 ARCOLA 1,473.59 1,389.86 10,581.31 11,049.60 ARTESIA 1,048.77 713.49 6,543.39 6,262.47 ASHLAND 13,099.97 11,974.89 92,029.43 82,845.26 BALDWYN 44,547.67 48,067.56 307,287.22 319,870.39 BASSFIELD 11,884.88 11,523.45 80,183.84 86,693.09 BATESVILLE 365,736.78 371,245.56 2,332,800.73 2,278,208.67 BAY SPRINGS 53,804.88 54,179.11 365,283.90 356,651.86 BAY ST LOUIS 95,504.62 147,776.59 740,308.63 722,513.46 BEAUMONT 5,560.47 6,297.00 41,265.13 42,990.94 BEAUREGARD 257.69 269.97 1,625.97 1,599.22 BELMONT 24,844.68 22,473.72 171,407.04 158,856.72 BELZONI 42,469.03 66,660.18 295,030.29 329,308.63 BENOIT 6,300.64 6,498.25 44,603.35 45,664.41 BENTONIA 19,475.78 12,700.72 200,616.02 108,992.68 BEULAH 347.03 375.08 2,679.02 2,677.43 BIG CREEK 388.57 386.41 2,412.57 2,656.93 BILOXI 980,528.56 1,040,702.32 6,616,562.37 6,398,050.66 BLUE MOUNTAIN 9,659.01 8,682.43 66,924.55 63,609.96 BLUE SPRINGS 2,461.05 2,428.35 21,221.52 18,147.70 BOLTON 7,358.61 10,017.55 77,294.85 73,470.40 BOONEVILLE 165,679.73 183,104.15 1,055,362.37 1,048,492.64 BOYLE 10,945.73 10,279.16 117,579.42 103,544.46 BRANDON 440,323.01 432,504.66 2,906,010.27 2,974,539.94 BRAXTON 1,374.96 1,274.32 9,171.11 8,058.18 BROOKHAVEN 504,300.18 510,014.26 3,234,859.47 3,045,848.19 BROOKSVILLE 9,705.42 8,596.47 67,775.19 60,923.35 BRUCE 43,409.91 44,266.38 292,009.51 284,050.15 BUDE 11,516.30 11,326.75 85,872.89 72,342.76 BURNSVILLE 12,369.04 12,571.83 84,802.01 83,742.62 BYHALIA 62,404.50 57,345.53 434,888.60 408,263.76 BYRAM 189,888.58 186,417.31 1,165,916.27 1,103,911.27 CALEDONIA 16,731.30 12,924.07 89,568.40 80,403.70 CALHOUN CITY 25,713.68 23,928.27 175,465.78 167,511.93 CANTON 193,401.68 202,553.66 1,421,148.93 1,424,551.89 CARROLLTON 6,581.05 7,156.08 42,546.17 41,856.67 CARTHAGE 140,233.18 147,886.43 917,144.10 917,220.29 CARY 670.67 1,177.00 3,756.40 10,752.60 CENTREVILLE 21,795.36 20,641.36 133,898.23 128,504.01 CHARLESTON 29,797.06 28,908.56 197,320.34 201,614.74 CHUNKY 699.99 569.40 5,626.59 3,862.52 CLARKSDALE 267,001.89 251,614.90 1,592,586.03 1,632,103.85 CLEVELAND 323,199.18 318,199.27 1,975,498.07 2,003,720.11 CLINTON 440,487.30 434,549.48 2,597,221.11 2,622,680.37 COAHOMA 460.08 642.91 3,654.87 3,115.68 COAHOMA COLLEGE 13.09 811.78 1,830.02 2,095.68 COFFEEVILLE 10,019.72 10,461.55 66,917.55 74,121.05 COLDWATER 17,287.71 18,406.92 119,885.29 120,339.68 COLLINS 116,062.07 111,041.73 784,719.12 763,982.58 COLUMBIA 307,045.99 315,398.14 1,996,783.07 1,933,241.67 COLUMBUS 854,934.60 859,109.94 5,065,972.44 5,049,383.66 COMO 15,504.54 10,782.09 103,201.29 100,308.65 CORINTH 585,937.28 565,677.08 3,368,203.15 3,228,133.71 COURTLAND 1,217.33 1,173.67 8,348.06 9,400.70 CRAWFORD 1,395.52 1,463.91 10,815.74 9,115.29 CRENSHAW 5,047.43 5,982.91 31,749.58 35,433.13 CROSBY 5,473.58 884.84 17,149.77 5,292.82 CROWDER 1,409.36 2,031.89 10,706.15 12,804.35 CRUGER 458.70 530.29 3,600.02 4,094.09 CRYSTAL SPRINGS 61,304.93 52,720.51 431,124.85 364,217.52 D'IBERVILLE 645,344.86 624,911.32 $3,589,351.16 3,485,019.38 D'LO 3,324.84 3,046.38 22,505.64 21,522.33 DECATUR 11,543.25 11,367.15 88,102.63 81,860.46 DEKALB 21,951.19 21,866.34 144,175.57 139,726.38 DERMA 5,325.57 4,705.33 38,297.32 34,675.33 DIAMONDHEAD 43,038.04 43,107.15 265,179.90 278,411.20 DODDSVILLE 552.87 708.55 3,866.30 4,327.29 DREW 9,582.79 9,108.69 68,137.26 68,243.37 DUCK HILL 4,203.32 4,344.04 29,652.72 27,006.96 DUMAS 1,148.94 1,067.37 7,654.04 6,980.58 DUNCAN 360.97 1,342.15 5,375.23 7,031.25 DURANT 25,707.31 25,410.21 172,807.09 170,002.78 EAST MS COLLEGE 48.46 36.45 1,846.83 1,705.16 ECRU 12,889.36 12,518.07 85,967.65 76,909.78 EDEN 74.12 57.54 464.20 358.20 EDWARDS 7,005.81 6,419.28 53,212.08 41,605.30 ELLISVILLE 92,982.78 93,356.74 605,483.07 610,670.44 ENTERPRISE 5,897.25 5,817.18 36,495.33 36,018.30 ETHEL 1,704.97 998.20 8,160.56 7,735.01 EUPORA 36,164.16 36,347.22 246,575.72 247,193.81 FALCON 175.66 77.70 857.13 401.49 FARMINGTON 5,549.25 5,022.39 29,764.95 31,934.68 FAULKNER 4,118.79 3,286.83 46,690.60 23,081.62 FAYETTE 19,857.65 17,816.40 124,526.77 115,003.76 FLORA 26,113.96 27,106.33 179,374.74 199,909.12 FLORENCE 63,623.74 63,600.96 451,118.52 416,729.11 FLOWOOD 1,185,301.62 1,226,901.97 6,452,825.42 6,179,672.73 FOREST 204,309.54 191,001.44 1,294,622.39 1,212,902.50 FRENCH CAMP 780.62 794.40 6,827.49 6,778.65 FRIARS POINT 2,276.16 2,345.13 16,217.24 16,997.22

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 MISS. GULF COAST CC MISS. STATE UNIV. MISS. VALLEY STATE MIZE MONTICELLO MONTROSE MOORHEAD MORGAN CITY MORTON MOSS POINT MOUND BAYOU 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

138,073.31 127.90 186,013.23 4,027.58 1,868.54 516.25 12,473.22 5,145.32 3,386.48 623,162.14 393,682.61 369,656.98 1,802,937.31 925.77 15,920.04 476.97 2,166,695.21 119,111.38 26,866.32 289,278.83 4,864.27 5,341.80 410.36 14,986.98 103,279.19 377,219.38 8,384.08 84,327.31 163,417.86 5,289.43 2,409.51 10,635.81 67,405.21 2,915,643.73 4,595.44 514.18 6,414.01 182,648.92 3,662.48 6,334.80 1,727.24 874,902.52 26,525.25 683.76 39,644.52 1,662.17 36,772.03 20,755.25 104,604.76 2,503.40 1,155.70 159,225.79 194,090.23 3,365.89 14,885.46 6,916.39 6,857.32 48,373.39 707,539.26 188,323.21 31,369.21 18,933.68 2,540.41 5,156.88 23,054.94 20,410.32 14,694.48 649.17 532,485.16 1,117.03 6,034.62 10,997.11 50,139.84 1,408,911.75 8,948.80 1,040.16 194.46 27,996.25 81.40 15,047.11 40,633.12 537.06 7,601.12 559.78 42,186.31 165,521.30 4,372.29 8,155.71 4,882.92 521,557.00 26,474.72 274,898.65 14,253.86 8,095.04 93,577.03 3,383.32 9,186.73 5,682.47 418,974.16 26,643.05 779,035.75 5,318.36 663,606.26 520.71 1,667.29 181.36

136,238.15 202.76 208,558.10 4,092.84 1,667.79 393.88 12,004.11 4,035.71 3,558.57 660,497.33 446,402.00 382,186.99 1,906,663.11 757.31 15,600.58 509.23 2,267,092.62 121,886.76 34,050.40 286,480.65 4,486.27 6,612.51 379.25 14,980.24 110,018.80 381,650.83 7,978.30 89,344.12 168,242.04 5,776.10 1,307.77 11,392.60 66,451.32 3,023,240.16 4,092.81 720.40 6,449.25 192,847.19 4,015.26 7,366.10 3,405.56 847,178.93 26,267.71 461.88 37,872.66 2,070.55 40,297.45 21,964.71 110,393.60 2,680.09 1,058.11 161,024.32 193,992.28 3,194.37 15,897.11 7,220.46 6,900.80 48,534.26 683,699.45 190,847.37 37,344.18 15,818.90 3,602.67 5,090.64 16,711.17 19,792.10 16,146.93 594.78 543,814.89 680.41 6,280.04 11,026.33 50,140.38 1,435,536.86 8,704.34 1,078.35 343.55 23,021.08 135.05 19,512.25 41,100.88 489.29 7,515.48 356.84 39,199.00 135,295.54 4,548.82 8,884.57 4,081.47 524,597.25 24,085.67 265,891.28 14,696.71 8,340.57 98,819.79 3,536.30 11,365.09 6,105.08 475,912.79 28,120.84 732,071.36 5,784.47 640,787.67 624.02 1,851.85 169.09

855,355.99 889.68 1,282,708.39 25,195.82 13,738.21 3,103.28 84,979.07 31,873.17 26,380.31 3,634,885.10 2,541,440.24 2,391,001.75 11,515,951.11 5,680.51 109,193.13 3,070.00 12,759,201.97 738,706.70 212,705.52 1,747,214.74 29,166.00 37,177.69 5,182.26 100,730.98 705,826.83 2,302,754.66 56,700.49 567,730.61 1,121,991.61 35,190.32 17,553.77 81,123.19 461,518.42 18,767,252.40 27,889.21 4,303.38 39,702.13 1,170,545.87 25,066.43 46,293.89 23,017.91 5,698,920.96 187,596.92 3,163.75 313,172.26 11,831.81 269,437.76 135,628.04 784,186.51 17,061.81 7,053.04 1,053,795.77 1,177,625.60 23,403.16 101,650.15 36,400.52 42,670.98 341,159.50 3,794,328.16 1,177,345.86 227,308.32 118,342.70 17,348.60 33,641.07 128,412.39 138,779.57 106,940.06 4,484.71 3,216,826.52 16,011.20 41,528.81 73,487.98 387,851.20 8,821,084.60 50,599.90 7,839.24 3,278.77 171,520.84 7,111.29 107,305.11 268,882.71 3,807.42 58,153.35 4,276.92 287,820.43 1,035,380.31 26,882.44 54,892.22 31,721.30 3,242,065.65 178,722.06 1,687,709.38 104,028.35 53,983.16 599,054.58 22,902.34 60,480.54 40,245.97 2,682,570.38 175,746.67 4,713,010.61 35,956.44 4,375,614.57 3,779.45 12,485.04 1,634.04

838,037.31 920.50 1,307,669.75 25,324.02 11,663.89 2,456.73 78,661.45 30,471.84 24,947.34 3,712,192.36 2,569,661.48 2,339,360.63 11,356,755.20 5,064.64 105,922.19 4,105.49 12,404,350.56 741,818.97 242,007.07 1,675,494.55 28,082.89 42,110.03 5,074.74 100,170.92 697,892.30 2,266,492.63 56,446.91 590,064.43 1,075,855.66 37,580.64 12,498.89 82,348.36 469,288.93 18,380,770.31 26,558.33 5,954.46 41,245.52 1,173,411.96 26,205.04 48,157.89 22,652.49 5,290,515.68 164,139.66 3,214.36 309,507.36 11,499.31 260,688.89 134,453.59 772,103.16 16,571.02 7,254.66 1,014,640.01 1,133,135.98 22,886.85 102,894.06 40,135.61 44,834.00 347,910.01 3,523,129.64 1,159,029.81 243,419.66 114,829.16 19,798.07 33,342.86 112,617.55 137,766.22 108,401.36 3,830.16 3,107,087.28 3,730.98 40,998.93 71,721.88 342,317.20 8,454,849.67 50,314.49 7,703.71 3,315.78 181,401.56 5,269.18 82,384.25 268,150.50 3,505.71 63,857.43 3,993.20 268,185.99 927,603.96 33,858.98 57,886.33 26,130.34 3,129,997.55 164,457.10 1,644,452.40 107,849.26 51,536.15 600,877.83 21,255.97 66,297.83 40,895.96 2,662,179.36 172,302.45 4,398,450.00 39,626.20 4,079,169.89 4,009.88 12,772.67 1,097.81

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 SEBASTAPOL SEMINARY SENATOBIA SHANNON SHAW SHELBY SHERMAN SHUBUTA SHUQUALAK SIDON SILVER CITY SILVER CREEK SLATE SPRINGS SLEDGE SMITHVILLE SNOWLAKESHORES SOSO SOUTHAVEN SOUTHWEST MS CC STARKVILLE STATE LINE STONEWALL STURGIS SUMMIT SUMNER SUMRALL SUNFLOWER SYLVARENA TAYLOR TAYLORSVILLE TCHULA TERRY THAXTON THE UNIV. OF MS TISHOMINGO TOCCOPOLA TREMONT TUNICA TUPELO TUTWILER TYLERTOWN UNION UTICA VAIDEN VARDAMAN VERONA VICKSBURG WALLS WALNUT WALNUT GROVE WALTHALL WATER VALLEY WAVELAND WAYNESBORO WEBB WEIR WESSON WEST WEST POINT WIGGINS WINONA WINSTONVILLE WOODLAND WOODVILLE YAZOO CITY TOTAL

504,038.14 110,680.38 151.18 887,590.66 28,983.62 207,544.68 381,206.90 382,277.37 7,786.57 402.88 3,913.51 355.57 199,289.67 2,245.95 54,878.88 21,215.83 8,180.65 36,285.46 7,454.14 62,597.47 48,750.39 16,944.10 16,072.83 2,106.22 434,358.43 29,922.12 1,280,494.97 4,306.75 110,501.64 36,080.12 10,121.41 1,478.90 18,908.47 1,998.89 47,383.13 82,489.43 24,907.31 460.06 841.89 5,679.35 15,920.30 12,691.46 185,786.78 13,317.97 7,249.74 9,003.03 8,977.09 3,929.09 1,743.47 860.12 380.32 3,194.25 357.30 2,126.71 6,246.28 428.60 14,314.16 1,359,773.64 35.57 535,946.68 11,437.24 7,028.32 3,551.26 28,144.12 18,741.54 36,697.81 1,509.06 282.46 1,640.46 26,115.34 7,041.41 27,411.43 3,440.54 12,882.56 8,574.51 500.37 1,736.06 47,095.19 1,857,843.71 3,724.87 55,501.52 30,144.31 10,303.84 10,967.12 11,046.58 17,719.98 702,942.82 5,250.45 16,172.41 7,026.52 1,837.57 41,399.44 197,019.40 194,656.73 6,709.29 2,229.63 11,851.43 1,778.74 209,310.64 148,301.13 93,020.81 175.97 6,461.77 33,394.93 142,747.64 $38,505,434.10

463,804.37 107,882.79 127.84 762,865.52 25,925.35 212,041.56 374,315.15 312,497.05 8,619.48 413.85 3,903.43 348.47 211,613.32 4,195.91 49,753.17 21,813.52 8,665.36 37,084.01 8,670.76 51,264.04 45,867.25 18,000.85 15,549.52 2,783.33 387,483.72 28,981.07 1,351,796.53 2,826.12 113,020.47 39,400.44 10,923.32 1,511.04 18,601.88 2,276.06 74,290.80 54,319.47 25,817.42 412.74 1,043.34 5,114.92 15,979.49 11,772.43 169,514.30 11,036.61 7,169.73 12,536.57 10,073.90 3,959.39 1,869.96 758.93 418.48 2,515.61 493.06 1,524.87 6,046.59 133.02 13,848.38 1,424,829.36 124.32 530,504.69 9,330.80 7,358.91 3,001.05 30,451.88 2,428.53 36,145.10 1,511.89 277.32 1,992.30 26,777.55 7,741.72 27,712.49 3,175.60 180,959.79 8,656.18 575.76 1,572.54 40,895.24 1,971,055.19 3,789.85 59,493.11 28,936.63 12,023.38 12,403.81 10,639.42 20,488.75 741,331.81 2,450.28 16,854.28 7,388.35 1,422.76 41,219.86 203,117.32 180,389.94 7,181.64 2,311.33 15,021.38 1,535.31 204,129.48 151,622.16 97,274.99 354.65 5,890.77 37,413.61 169,278.92 $39,215,719.38

3,221,829.16 3,065,156.02 684,040.05 651,758.51 1,039.51 788.63 5,350,168.64 4,835,299.38 218,970.06 186,185.08 1,340,451.74 1,261,937.57 2,380,448.20 2,244,204.60 2,462,100.19 2,314,527.61 53,141.19 56,154.51 2,941.75 3,194.23 26,830.64 25,578.39 2,740.18 2,968.98 1,331,922.90 1,278,070.07 16,374.88 27,234.78 387,515.98 357,797.00 138,635.34 138,330.12 53,141.38 62,015.61 251,365.43 243,195.33 60,186.62 61,302.37 429,915.83 397,072.06 326,901.63 299,576.70 119,252.21 114,940.32 114,464.20 114,649.43 17,607.45 19,561.70 2,932,099.12 2,697,396.13 186,994.33 183,337.73 7,416,846.45 7,081,191.30 27,693.03 17,935.41 709,148.05 718,041.92 256,959.09 246,575.01 64,734.51 71,641.41 10,528.68 9,742.01 136,250.44 131,854.36 14,305.16 15,524.33 371,588.23 431,265.89 472,634.70 414,868.81 171,611.15 171,434.84 2,696.85 2,885.29 7,287.94 6,772.69 42,805.95 46,208.58 108,669.66 106,271.53 83,676.78 77,369.46 1,189,526.39 1,071,605.82 86,347.50 100,080.57 46,681.82 44,722.21 63,758.38 69,130.28 77,711.13 78,397.50 27,176.59 24,654.90 13,853.16 12,949.26 6,003.74 5,440.42 2,640.83 2,679.83 20,983.58 20,109.22 1,847.34 2,158.04 12,746.95 10,628.51 40,367.19 39,473.25 2,869.09 892.67 87,529.75 98,936.35 7,518,082.60 7,394,767.86 532.85 1,473.36 3,486,095.06 3,336,463.14 73,562.07 60,494.22 47,785.94 45,916.51 19,376.83 29,585.11 229,710.15 215,108.61 44,726.01 28,954.26 260,378.02 243,284.66 14,367.56 15,153.43 2,047.27 2,232.79 13,818.10 13,286.91 177,064.52 173,877.43 51,076.37 50,350.84 169,574.60 168,899.87 24,967.34 21,031.98 159,452.07 300,849.94 59,756.85 58,034.54 3,844.22 3,968.93 12,709.75 12,041.00 321,416.99 284,569.86 10,633,912.63 10,640,496.35 27,763.72 26,737.83 379,582.93 378,078.48 204,802.01 202,306.08 84,385.81 83,768.18 66,306.64 74,300.47 74,945.94 75,625.65 131,064.87 138,573.48 4,492,400.38 4,410,729.52 34,229.24 23,306.83 117,013.53 116,364.36 46,709.50 45,641.72 13,107.47 12,880.75 278,277.58 278,968.89 1,266,603.11 1,256,112.56 1,237,629.35 1,203,124.08 58,993.89 56,105.27 15,326.76 16,534.99 95,051.46 101,739.35 12,023.39 10,859.66 1,315,283.76 1,251,741.44 1,020,947.72 980,517.89 598,277.69 618,726.55 1,481.37 2,275.00 43,526.20 38,484.92 204,480.76 183,759.52 980,388.85 1,055,052.39 $239,989,959.30 $233,130,966.34

NEWSMAKERS Lambert, Harrison get new roles Penn National Gaming Inc. has made leadership changes at its three Mississippi properties. Steve Lambert, acting general manager of Hollywood Casino Perryville (now owned and operated by Gaming & Leisure Properties Inc.) since July 2013, has been named general manager of Hollywood Casino Tunica. Lambert, a 33-year veteran of the gaming industry, has been with Penn National Gaming since June 2005 when he joined the company as assistant general manager of Hollywood Slots Hotel & Raceway in Bangor during the property’s successful startup phase. In August 2011, he became vice president of operations at Bullwhackers Casino and served in that role until the property’s sale in July 2013. Prior to joining Penn, Lambert served as senior vice president of operations at Casino Nova Scotia from May 1995 to June 2005 and in a variety of key operational leadership roles for both Sands and Bally’s Park Place in Atlantic City as well as at the Aruba Concord Casino in Aruba. He holds an A.A.S. in general technology.

In addition, under a change in leadership structure for the company’s properties in the Gulf Coast region, Chett Harrison, general manager of Hollywood Casino Bay St. Louis since May 2010, will add the role of general manager of Boomtown Casino Biloxi, effective April 2014, replacing the retiring Kees Eder.

Harrison joined the company in January 2001 as director of marketing at Boomtown Biloxi and was first promoted to assistant general manager in August 2006 before being named general manager in January 2007. He was named general manager of Hollywood Casino Bay St. Louis in May 2010 where he has served since. Prior to joining Penn, he spent over six years at the Copa Casino in Gulfport, including five years as senior marketing manager. During that time, he was also responsible for similar duties at the affiliated Sands Regency Hotel and Casino in Reno, Nev. Harrison also served for a year as director of marketing at the Palace Casino Resort and Hotel in Biloxi. He holds a B.S. in advertising from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Roark gives lecture Dr. Everett Roark, director of the Master of Biomedical Science Program and assistant professor of genetics and microbiology at the William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine, recently served as a speaker at the Mississippi Osteopathic Medical Association.

Roark presented a lecture titled, “Overview of Medical Genetics in Primary Care,” which will count toward continuing medical education for physicians in attendance. His lecture covered Roark a variety of topics, including laws that govern genetics, direct-to-consumer genetic products, and the latest advances in medical genetics.

Chang elected fellow Mississippi State University food scientist Sam Chang has been elected a fellow of the International Academy of Food Science and Technology and will represent MSU in this field’s largest academy in the world. A certified food scientist, Chang is professor and head of the MSU Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion. He was elected as a

March 7, 2014

fellow based on his outstanding contributions to the field of science and technology.

Chang will be recognized and inducted as a new fellow of the academy at the 17th World Congress of Food Science and Technology in Montreal, Canada, Aug. 17-21.

Breland wins runoff Mississippi State Hospital director of support services Kelly R. Breland of Clinton has been elected as a state employee representative on the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi board of trustees. At its Feb. 25 meeting, the board certified results of the runoff election between Breland and Mississippi Department of Archives and History human resources director Breland Diane Mattox of Madison.

Breland is filling an unexpired term for one of two state employee representatives on the board. The term runs through Dec. 31, 2018.

Gulfport, Hattiesburg, Laurel and Pascagoula. Prior to joining Neel-Schaffer, Twedt worked for 23 years as an engineer with the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

Twedt is a graduate of Mississippi State University.

He is a licensed professional engineer in Mississippi and Alabama.

Brooks selected for OGC Talbot Brooks, director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Geospatial Information Technologies at Delta State University, was recently selected to work as part of an Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) team addressing the United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management activity. According to Brooks, the plan is to engage OGC and International Organization for Standardization Brooks members and staff over the next few weeks to scope the document.

Firm brings in Butts

OSD recognizes Robinson

The William Morris Group, P.A. has hired Roy H. Butts, CPA, to be vice president and CFO of the firm.

Prior to joining The William Morris Group, Butts was senior vice president and treasurer of Parkway Properties Inc. He is a lifelong resident of the Jackson area and graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi.

Butts volunteers with Junior Achievement and Habitat for Butts Humanity.

Oxford Elementary School principal LaTonya Robinson is the Oxford School District 2013-2014 Administrator of the Year. Next school year, Robinson will be the new principal at Della Davidson Elementary School. Robinson joined the Oxford School District in 2011 after serving as an assistant principal in the Natchez Adams School District.

She has also taught in the South Panola School District, Jackson Robinson Public School District and Clarksdale Public School District.

Robinson received her undergraduate and masters degrees in elementary education from the University of Mississippi. She earned her educational specialist degree from Delta State University in educational leadership.

Robinson is married to Dr. Marvin Robinson, and together they have three daughters — Makaili, Makenzie and Peri Shaw.

Morrow retires from KFCU Judy Morrow, senior accounting clerk at Keesler Federal Credit Union, is retiring after 40 years of service. In 1974, Morrow began with the credit union as a telephone operator and then became a teller before transferring into the Accounting Department. She has been a member of Keesler Federal Credit Union’s Hope Committee, served as a volunteer for the Special Olympics and as a participant in the American Can- Morrow cer Society’s Relay for Life events. She received Certificates for Achievements for Member Advantage, Integrity Coaching and Christmas in April.

Morrow plans to enjoy her retirement, pursuing her hobbies of beekeeping, photography and travel.

Firm promotes Twedt Steve Twedt, PE, has been promoted to vice president in charge of Neel-Schaffer’s South Mississippi operation. A native of South Mississippi, Twedt joined Neel-Schaffer in 2010 as area manager and works out of the Biloxi office, coordinating work among the Neel-Schaffer offices in Bay St. Louis, Biloxi,

Twedt

Games welcome Gianakos Krilecia Gianakos has joined the State Games of Mississippi as the director of marketing & development. Gianakos is known in the local area for her work with New South Radio as an account executive. She also has experience with the Georgia Games, serving as administrative assistant while working in Georgia.

She attended Mississippi State University and has been active in Meridian events and or- Gianakos ganizations, including the Junior Auxiliary of Meridian, the Meridian Museum of Art, Meridian Main Street and the Young Professionals of Meridian. Gianakos is also an ambassador for the East Mississippi Business Development Corporation.

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JMAA board set The Jackson Municipal Airport Authority board of commissioners has elected Pastor James L. Henley Jr., to the position of chairman of the board and Evelyn O. Reed as vice chairman. Henley is a native of Jackson, and serves as pastor of Fresh Start Christian Church and as a Chapter 13 bankruptcy trustee for the Southern District of Mississippi. Henley is a certified public accountant, attorney and holds a certification in financial forensics from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He is a graduate of Millsaps College and Mississippi College School of Law. He is extensively involved in the development of inner-city youth through Fresh Start Ministries Inc. He previously served on the boards of Bethany Christian Services, Jackson Metropolitan YMCA and Jackson Young Lawyers Association. Henley and his wife, Vivian, have four children.

Reed received both her bachelor of business administration and MBA degrees, with an emphasis in economics and finance, from Jackson State University.

She retired after 27 years of service from the U. S. Probation Office for the Southern District of Mississippi, as a special assistant. Reed currently serves as an on-air personality at WXKI (KIXIE 107.5 FM), a local radio station. She received the Jackson Music Award (“The Jackie”) for R&B Disc Jockey of the Year 2013. She is active in the community and serves as secretary for the board of the Mississippi Association for the Preservation of Smith Robertson Museum and Alamo Theater, and is a former board member of the Jackson Metropolitan YMCA. Reed is an active member of the Rho Lambda Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Jackson State University Alumni Association, Leadership Greater Jackson (Class Representative), Capital City Toastmasters and is also a graduate of Leadership Madison County.

The full board of commissioners includes: Henley; Reed; LaWanda D. Harris; Vernon W. Hartley Sr.; and Jeffery A. Stallworth. Harris is a registered nurse and has worked in the health care field for nearly 20 years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing science and a master’s degree in health services administration from Mississippi College.

Hartley is owner and CEO of Greentree Advantage, LLC, a veteran-owned, professional environmental consulting company in Jackson. Throughout his 26 years of civil service, Hartley has held positions as environmental administrator with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and solid waste manager for the City of Jackson. During his 30 years of military service with the U.S. Air Force, he has held many management positions and has facilitated leadership workshops throughout the United States and Europe. Harley holds a bachelor of science degree in community health sciences from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Stallworth is the bishop and senior pastor of Word and Worship Church in Jackson. Stallworth is actively involved in aviation through the Knight Flight 101 program. He is a graduate of Jackson State University, where he received a bachelor of science degree in psychology. He also received a master of divinity degree from the Interdenominational Theological Center and has also done doctoral studies at Emory University Candler School of Theology.

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

March 7, 2014 • MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS JOURNAL • www.msbusiness.com

AN MBJ FOCUS:

MADE IN MISSISSIPPI RETAILING

Mississippi Gift Company selling the best of the state

By LYNN LOFTON I CONTRIBUTOR mbj@msbusiness.com

Greenwood-based Mississippi Gift Company began in 1993 with the mission of searching and bringing together the best the state has to offer to fill orders for Mississippi-made products. The company started with 14 products and 20 years later business is thriving with a wide array of products.

“During this time we have collected the largest selection of Mississippi-made items available anywhere. We now carry more than 750 food and gift items handcrafted by more than 150 Mississippi gourmet food companies, entrepreneurs and artists,” said owner Cindy Tyler. “The Mississippi Gift Company is proud to say we remain the only company that exclusively specializes in products made in Mississippi.”

Tyler doesn't disclose sales numbers of her privately-owned company, but she does note the growth from 14 products to more than 750 and is pleased with that growth.

The shipping department has grown to 1,200 square feet, which is expanded to 3,000 square feet during the holiday season to accommodate corporate gifts and increased orders from the catalog and internet site. The boom in Internet sales has made a big impact.

“We have shipped to customers in every state in the U.S. and have also shipped to

FILS / The Mississippi Business Journal

Mississippi gourmet snack basket (left) and Mississippi applique hand towel brown chevron (right).

many foreign countries in the past, but have stopped shipping to other countries due to the cost and trouble with customs and returns,” she said. “The Internet has made our Made in Mississippi items easily available to everyone. If you live in the state of Mississippi and order, you will usually receive your gift the very next day. We have free shipping for orders over $99 and $9.95 flat rate shipping for orders under $99 every day.”

The best sellers in volume include Peters Pottery and many of the gourmet foods such as cheese straws, comeback dressing and Mississippi Mud cakes and pies. “We have a great selection of Mississippi-

Mississippi Top Exported Products

Mississippi Top Exporting Markets Country Panama Canada Mexico China Netherlands Brazil Peru Singapore Belgium Colombia Honduras Japan United Kingdom

2013 Value 2,168 2,000 1,301 671 483 477 420 347 344 296 252 222 207

2012 Value 2,159 1,961 1,166 863 247 348 366 137 333 277 413 214 205

2011 Value 1,548 1,763 1,148 502 234 426 134 135 397 444 403 141 153

2013 2012 % Share % Share 17.5 18.3 16.2 16.6 10.5 9.9 5.4 7.3 3.9 2.1 3.9 2.9 3.4 3.1 2.8 1.2 2.8 2.8 2.4 2.4 2.0 3.5 1.8 1.8 1.7 1.7

shaped items, pottery, jewelry, ornaments, picture frames, applique towels and pillows — these are customer favorites, as well,” Tyler said.

Although Tyler and her staff receive a lot of inquiries about product placement, they are very discerning when it comes to choosing the products they offer. “We look for items that are unique and different, made of the highest quality,” she said. “If it is something that we would not place in our home or give as a gift, we will not offer it to our customers. We are hand selecting the best of Mississippi to provide to our discriminating customers.”

Tyler feels she's helping spread positive

thoughts about Mississippi with the specialty products she sells. “The Mississippi-made foods and gift items that we carry are a reflection of our heritage and a part of who we are. When people give our gifts, they are givTyler ing a piece of our culture and a piece of themselves,” she said. “Mississippi businesses love to give our Mississippi-made gift packages to their clients because it allows them to share who they are. It also allows them to support Mississippi entrepreneurs and artists while keeping needed tax dollars in our state.”

Looking to the future and more growth, Tyler plans to continue giving customers the best service and most unique food and gift items made in Mississippi. “We encourage everyone to visit our website at www.TheMississippiGiftCompany.com or www.MSGifts.com and sign up for our enewsletter,” she said. “We send specials, discounts and promotions on a regular basis. We also have product giveaways that thousands of people follow and get excited about. We will continue to offer personal shoppers online via live chat on our site.

Customers simply visit the website and a personal shopper is available to answer any questions and help select that perfect gift.”

2011 % Share 14.2 16.1 10.5 4.6 2.1 3.9 1.2 1.2 3.6 4.1 3.7 1.3 1.4

Commodity

2013 Value Petroleum 3,070 Light oils 1,115 Pigments 796 Cotton 551 Passenger vehicles 270 Motor vehicles 268 Chicken 226 Diammonium phosphate (fertilizer) 179 Artificial joints 172 Medical needles, catheters, etc.

159 Civilian aircraft, engines, parts 144 Kraftliner (packaging) 118 Electronic integrated circuits 116 Para-xylene (feedstock) 110

2012 Value 2,719 1,115 923 705 252 118 226 197 0 127 164 134 137 159

2011 2013 2012 2011 Value% Share % Share % Share 2,633 24.8 23.1 24.4 0 9.0 9.5 0 1,063 6.4 7.8 9.7 551 4.5 6.0 5.0 133 2.2 2.1 1.2 132 2.2 1.0 1.2 193 1.9 1.8 1.9 177 1.4 1.7 1.9 0 1.4 0 0 103 1.3 1.1 0.9 123 1.2 1.4 2.1 142 1.0 1.1 1.3 151 0.9 1.2 1.4 164 0.9 1.3 1.5

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Value in millions of dollars Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Value in millions of dollars

March 7 2014

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» MISSISSIPPI LEADERS by Martin Willoughby

A matter of trust Burckel leads growth of Southern Bone & Joint

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common trait that I see in the leaders that I interview is the ability to build a high trust organization. Stephen M.R. Covey wrote a bestselling book on this topic titled “The SPEED OF TRUST, The One Thing That Changes Everything.” In particular, I like Covey’s statement, “The first job of a leader — at work or at home — is to inspire trust. It’s to bring out the best in people by entrusting them with meaningful stewardships, and to create an environment in which high-trust interaction inspires creativity and possibility.” In my own experiences as a business consultant, I have found it virtually impossible to build a high performance company in a low trust environment. The topic of “trust” was a recurring theme in my interview this week with David Burckel, CEO of Southern Bone & Joint Specialists, P.A. (SB&J), a leading health care organization based in Hattiesburg.

Burckel is a native of Mandeville, La., and earned an undergraduate degree in engineering and an M.B.A. from the University of New Orleans. His first job out of college was with Chevron, but he soon landed his first health care job with Na-

Up Close With ... David Burckel Title: CEO, Southern Bone & Joint Specialists, P.A. Favorite Books: “I enjoy reading about ancient history and economics. One of my favorites is Ben Hur by Lew Wallace.”

First Job: “I worked at a small bank in Mandeville when I was in high school.”

Proudest Moment as a Leader: “I am very proud of the way our team took the risk to expand our facilities and service offerings in spite of the belief of some people that it would never work. We are positioned for success today because of the hard decisions we made years ago. “ Hobbies/Interests: Hiking, basketball, tennis, reading, and family time

tional Medical Enterprises. Burckel learned of a position in Hattiesburg with the Orthopedic Clinic (predecessor to SB&J), and in 1987 he moved his young family to Hattiesburg where he has been ever since.

At the time, the clinic had seven physicians and 18 employees. Today, SB&J has 15 physicians, over 150 employees, an imaging center, surgery center, a physical therapy facility and three satellite locations. Burckel has navigated the organization through a period of tremendous growth

and seen the industry dramatically changes in his 27 years.

Amidst the stress and challenges of managing a thriving medical practice, Burckel maintains a calm demeanor. He shared, “I try not to take things personally. I try to find the best in everyone and every situation and try not to back people into a corner when they are throwing out opinions about something.” He strives to create a structure where everyone wins. He noted, “There is no need to have winners and los-

“I try not to take things personally.”

David Burckel

ers. I try to get everyone on the same page and pulling in the same direction.” Burckel has great skills in building consensus, but he also acknowledged that sometimes you can’t please Martin Willoughby everyone. In those times where “no” is the answer, he is able to keep everyone united because of the trust he has developed in the organization. They know that he is fair and has the organization’s interest as the priority. Under his leadership, SB&J has never lost a physician except for health reasons, and they have a steady stream of physicians who seek to join the practice.

For future leaders, Burckel emphasizes the importance of integrity. “Doing the right thing will never disappoint in the long term. In the short term, it might hurt a lot, but not in the long run.” Burckel acknowledges that sometimes it’s hard to know what the right thing is especially dealing with other employees. He shared, “I think about it and pray about it and try to make the best decision that I know how.” Burckel is a leading health care executive in this state and the success of Southern Bone & Joint under his leadership is a great example of the importance of integrity. As leaders, we can all grow in our ability to build real trust in our organizations in order to accomplish great things.

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

CEO, Southern Bone & Joint Specialists, P.A.

Revisiting the story of the traders who were too smart for their own good

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» When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management

By Roger Lowenstein Published by Random House $14.95 softback

wenty years ago, a hedge fund in the high-class, big-money New York City suburb of Greenwich, Conn., opened for business. This, in and of itself, was not unusual. Greenwich had been home, and continues to be home, to Wall Street’s elite power brokers.

What made this particular fund, Long-Term Capital Management, stand out was its impressive roster of both brilliant academics and highly successful Wall Street traders. Indeed, with two Nobel Prize-winning economists on staff, it seemed a virtual certainty that Long-Term Capital would make its investors money and be around for, well, the long term.

For the first four years of its existence, all went according to plan. Long-Term Capital, which focused primarily on bond trading and arbitrage, returned investors more than 40 percent a year

and seemed to have eliminated volatility and risk altogether.

Driven by computer-trading systems and with full faith in their algorithms, Long-Term Capital was more than fulfilling on the implied promise that its illustrious staff brought to the table. Namely, that promise was that “genius” coupled with the power of computers could rule the financial markets, foresee any and all risks ahead, and generally outsmart anyone and everyone.

Alas, it was not to be. In the fall of 1998, Long-Term Capital was reeling. Big bets on Russian bonds went against them, and thanks to the use of derivatives, many of Wall Street’s biggest

“Inthefallof1998,Long-TermCapitalwasreeling.”

banks and investment houses were entangled in the mess, as well. By August of 1998, the fund had capital of $3.6 billion.

Five short weeks later, it would all be gone.

Roger Lowenstein’s excellent book, When Genius Failed, details the story of Long-Term Capital from beginning to bitter end.

Riveting and well written, he introduces us to the people and personalities behind Long-Term Capital. Perhaps the most famous (or infamous) of these is John Meriwether, who went from a humble childhood in a rough neighborhood in Chicago to heading up the bond arbitrage unit of Salmon Brothers in the 1980s to starting Long-Term Capital Management thereafter.

Lowenstein also walks us through the world of arbitrage and hedging. He paints a vivid picture of a culture infested with unbridled egos, absolute faith in financial modeling and equations, huge leverage, and a lack of respect for the unexpected. No one, especially them, thought these luminaries could get it wrong.

And yet they did. The story of what happened, and Wall Street’s response to it, continues to be a fascinating cautionary tale.

— LouAnn Lofton, mbj@msbusiness.com

22 I Mississippi Business Journal I March 7 2014 THE SPIN CYCLE

Not milk! It’s end of era for milk industry’s iconic ‘Got Milk?’ campaign

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ou have to say they milked this for all it was worth!

The iconic “Got Milk?” campaign that vaulted the national milk industry to the pinnacle of brand awareness and positioned this bovine nectar in the hearts and minds of generations has been put out to pasture. The Milk Processor Education Program retired the fabled ad slogan to march out a new campaign and tagline — “Milk Life” — to emphasize a new direction that focuses on milk’s nutritional benefits and protein content.

The change is part of a national campaign aimed at returned the sluggish dairy milk category to growth. The milk industry had been using the "Got Milk?" tagline since 1995 when the phrase was licensed from the California Milk Processor board. The state group began using the tagline in 1993 after it was created

by San Francisco ad agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.

The California processors are keeping the tagline, which is one of the most recognizable and parodied phrases in the history of advertising.

But the national group, whose agency is Lowe Campbell Ewald, N.Y., is moo-ving in another direction as it looks to boost milk sales, which are suffering as other beverages gain ground and cereal sales stall. Euromonitor International recently estimated that drinking-milk retail sales volume declined by about 1 percent last year.

The national group, known as MilkPEP, plans to spend more than $50 million on the campaign, which will include TV, print, digital, retail promotions and PR. One TV ad visually depicts liquid milk powering consumers through activities like running, playing basketball or playing in a rock band. Print ads feature a young woman playing an electric guitar and is captioned: "What 8 grams of protein looks like when you unleash your inner rock star."

The organization began the transition in recent months with "protein fight club" ads that positioned milk against other alternatives, like omelets, which are depicted as being messier.

The nutritional pitch is a very different positioning from the original concept that spurred the creation of "Got Milk," which was to dramatize situations in which consumers suffer without milk to accompany foods like cake and cookies. One of the original ads created for the California group showed a man who failed a radio contest quiz question — “Who shot Alexander Hamilton?” — because he lacked milk to clear his mouth after munching on a peanut butter sandwich.

The national group, conversely, is zeroing in on mornings, which accounts for an estimated 50 percent of milk consumption.

But the group will be fighting consumer

headwinds that have made dairy milk less relevant at sunrise. "Americans in decades past may have had a bowl of breakfast cereal with cow's milk in the mornings," Euromonitor stated in a report. "Now, consumers are skipping breakfast, picking up a breakfast sandwich at a fast food restaurant, or eating yogurt or energy and nutrition snack bars instead."

The milk industry might soon get a boost from the cereal industry. Kellogg Co. is creating a new "masterbrand" campaign that will include elements of plugging milk and cereal together. For its part, MilkPEP plans to focus on milk from a glass, which it says accounts for 57 percent of volume.

The marketing investment comes as cow's milk is battling newly aggressive nondairy milk brands. The Silk brand, which makes almond and soy milk, is running a new campaign that plugs its plant-based milks as having "delicious taste that is better than dairy milk." The effort features a new animated character that Silk execs refer to as "Phil." That is a reference to chlorophyll, which is the green pigment found in plants.

Stay tuned to see if the cow chomps on this cud competition!

Got Brand Friends?

Forget friending someone. It seems friending something is all the rage. People have quadrupled the friending of brands on Facebook, with the average consumer boasting 29 brand friends on the social networking site — up from just seven a year ago.

Digital trendsetters have a much higher number — 76 brand friends.

But that doesn't necessarily mean we're spending time with them. Less than half of us (39 percent) interact with brands regularly or all the time, with the rest doing so occasionally (33 percent) or hardly/never (28 percent), according to the latest edition of The Curve Report from NBCUniversal Integrated Media. Clearly, brands could be more proactive in keeping consumers interested.

The chief reason given by people who don't engage with brands on social networks is that they only "like" brands to cash in on a deal.

The survey highlighted some interesting brand trends: » 56 percent said brands are very or somewhat effective at grabbing their attention » 22 percent were neutral » 9 percent felt they were somewhat effective or ineffective.

Why the social brand shortcomings and lack of brand engagement? » 24 percent just like brands to get a deal » 21 percent feel brands don’t take the necessary steps to build community » 18 percent say brands don’t act authentic » 17 percent say brands try to hard to interact and become turn-offs » 8 percent feel brands don’t update

their websites or interact with their community enough.

10 Words To Put In The Marketing Trash I have always been enthralled with words, and have built my career on positioning words to create lasting meaning and impact. Many of my colleagues have taken to calling me WordSmith over the years. From time to time, I like to reflect on the lexicon of our lives — and the buzzwords that fuel our passion.

Some of the words that buzz around us far too often are in dire need of a blast of wasp spray. Here’s a collection of overly — and overtly — used marketing terms that are beginning to cause hives to the Spin Cycle: Top 10 Overly Used Words: 1. Revolutionary — Why? Marketing speak.

This adjective was particularly popular in the 90s, and used to describe even the slightest of company or product improvements. Did your product or service cause people to bow down to your brand or completely change the way of thinking in your field? Did it cause a paradigm shift? Most “revolutionary” claims are revolting.

2. Qualified — this word is overly used and too generic. Refrain from using this word to publicize a product or service. Never include it in a new release. It’s the quickest way to tick off an editor and end up at the bottom of the round file. Instead, give details that answers some of the 5Ws: Who, what, when — and most importantly, why. Include the facts or avoid the term completely.

3. Talent acquisition — this is just hokey business jargon. In other words, this is called recruitment, a much better, more descriptive word.

4. Mission critical — although this word launched with such promise and good intention, it has become tired and lazy. It’s now used on everything from government relations to peanut butter.

5. Cloud-computing — this is just ill defined. There are three aspects to the NIST definition of cloud computing: Software as a service; platform as a service; and infrastructure as a Service. These three terms are only linked because they use the Internet for something more than transmitting files.

Strive to use the specific term of the aspect you mean.

6. Customer-focused — this is just glaringly obvious. Companies and brands exist — and succeed — because they are customer focused. It’s inherent, and shouldn’t be necessary if you are up to your marketing snuff.

Tell us how you’re customer-focused, how you go above and beyond. Use this space to show your differentials, highlighting your customer-focused brand.

7. Experienced — most times, this is misleading. A robber is experienced. Experience

doesn’t equate to effectiveness. Evidence is the key here — the effect your company has had on the industry, the stability you provide to the market.

Prove you are experiTodd Smith enced — back it up!

8. Generally — an overused, noncommittal term. Copy should be factual and authoritative. Sweeping and ambiguous adverbs do not give the impression of reliable and valid text.

9. Unparalleled — seriously? This really is about being different. Standing out. Be stronger in your descriptive adjectives. Leading-edge is much better — but never cuttingedge, that, too is an overused, tired cliché!

10. Leader — hyped way too much. Research into the most overused words in PR news releases between 2006 and 2010 tapped “leader” as the most overused word.

Apparently, more than 311,000 PR agencies were all leaders in the last four years!

So the next time you plan a news release heralding your need for talent acquisition of experienced and qualified employees for your generally customer-focused revolutionary cloud-computing business, the leader of its field — dial-up another wellcrafted — and fresh — message!

Golden Mic | Oscar Winners Lupita Nyong’o, Matthew McConaughey & Cate Blanchett When it came to the Oscars, Lupita Nyong’o (Supporting Actress, “12 Years A Slave”), Matthew McConaughey (Best Actor, “Dallas Buyers Club”) and Cate Blanchett (Best Actress, “Blue Jasmine”) stole the show.

After claiming their golden statues, they delivered the best lines and messages of the Academy Awards. Nyong’o had the most memorable: “When I look down at this golden statue, may it remind me and every little child, that no matter where you’re from, your dreams are valid.” The Golden Mic goes to these Silver Screen stars.

The Oscars themselves delivered an overarching message that Hollywood has been advancing for quite some time — acknowledging gay rights with “Dallas Buyers Club” claiming three awards; the depiction of mental illness with “Blue Jasmine;” girl power, with the wins for “Frozen” and its anthem, “Let It Go;” and stories about the African American experience.

Each week, The Spin Cycle will bestow a Golden Mic Award to the person, group or company in the court of public opinion that best exemplifies the tenets of solid PR, marketing and advertising – and those who don’t. Stay tuned – and step-up to the mic!

And remember … Amplify Your Brand!

Todd Smith is president and chief communications officer of Deane, Smith & Partners, a fullservice branding, PR, marketing and advertising firm with offices in Jackson. The firm — based in Nashville, Tenn. — is also affiliated with Mad Genius. Contact him at todd@deanesmithpartners.com, and follow him @spinsurgeon.

SALES MOVES

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» JEFFREY GITOMER

Writing my own legacy. One word at a time. Yours?

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

hat do you do when you get up every day? Anything to do with your legacy? I doubt it.

Here’s a short version of your morning: Shower. Coffee. TV. Get dressed.

Check your calendar. Check your email. Check your social media. Maybe even make a followup call (or two) or read a few pages. No legacy there. More like “routine.”

Me? I write something. And while I confess I do not do it every day, over the past 22 years I have written more than 1,100 columns, 12 books, 10 ebooks, 4,000 tweets and recorded more that 300 videos on my YouTube Channel.

Numbers? With more that 3.4 million views and more than 19,000 subscribers on my YouTube Channel, my weekly email magazine goes out to more than 350,000 people a week, my twitter followers number more than 70,000, and I have more than 18,000 LinkedIn connections — all from writing.

Yes, I have enjoyed “reader acceptance” and “reader response” — and that combination has more than helped my legacy grow. But… REALITY: I didn’t start out with 12 books. It started with consistency, and 20 years later, BOOM! I started with ONE idea, one column, one tweet and went from there.

It’s not a book, it’s a writing project. It’s not my column, it’s a captured idea and my weekly self-disci-

pline. It’s not my tweet, it’s my documented, posted thought that hopefully will get a positive measurement by being re-tweeted more than 50 times.

Over the past eight years, I have grown my social network to a substantial presence. One follower, one reader, one subscriber, one re-tweeter at a time.

And I basically did it while you were watching TV. And for the record here — that’s not a brag of mine — it’s a wake-up call of yours.

What will your legacy be? Watching news?

Watching reruns? Getting drunk on the weekends?

Going to parties? Watching SportsCenter?

INSIGHT: Legacy is something you have to be socially aware of and intellectually on top of. It requires both self-discipline and self-sacrifice — without regret. If you wanna be remembered for it, you gotta love it and give it everything you’ve got. And you have to become known for it. And in my case — you gotta write about it.

In today’s world, writing and being published is no longer a mystery. Blog something, tweet something, post on your LinkedIn page, Facebook something, post a video on YouTube, create your own email magazine, post a quote on Instagram, and BOOM, you are published. Create followers, and BOOM, you have acceptance and a reputation. Do that for 20 years, and BOOM, you have a legacy.

No longer do you have to “submit” your writing and wait for acceptance to be published. You can do

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it yourself. And in fact, if you do it yourself AND submit, the discerning editor will Google you and find everything. Cool, eh?

START HERE: Ask yourself these legacybased questions: • What do you love to do?

Jeffrey Gitomer • What are you passionate about?

• Where do you excel?

• Do you have a philosophy about how you live your life?

• What do you want to be remembered for?

• What do you want said at your eulogy?

• What do you want written on your tombstone?

The answers to these questions will uncover legacy potential and create a starting point. Keep in mind, this may be the first time you have ever contemplated your legacy — explore a little.

Here are a few things you can do to get started: • Decide “what” you want to be remembered for.

• Write to clarify your thoughts and affirm your intentions.

• Dedicate 15 minutes a day — an apple a day.

• Include some kind of journal or scrapbook to document your progress.

• Talk about your intentions with those closest

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to you.

• Begin writing and posting.

• Ask people on your list to follow you and contribute their ideas.

• Start now!

AFFIRM IT: I am a writer and a speaker. I am a dad, granddad, and friend. I love what I do, and I love life.

REALITY: Legacy takes years to create, but achieving it is not a matter of patience. It’s a matter of self-discipline and dedication to your passion, and building your expertise to legacy level. Legacy is not created in a day – it’s created day-by-day.

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of “The Sales Bible”, “Customer Satisfaction is Worthless” “Customer Loyalty is Priceless”, “The Little Red Book of Selling”, “The Little Red Book of Sales Answers”, “The Little Black Book of Connections”, “The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude”, “The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way”, “The Little Platinum Book of ChaChing”, “The Little Teal Book of Trust”, “The Little Book of Leadership”, and “Social BOOM!” His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at salesman@gitomer.com.

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