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Scott Waller will become interim chief executive officer of the Mississippi Economic Council on May 1; the Legislative Scrambler is one of his innovations.

Waller ready to take reins of MEC

Page 3

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2 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q March 24, 2017

Courtesy of MEC

Scott Waller (left) is designated as interim replacement for Blake Wilson, who will retire on June 16.

Wilson leaving MEC for next director to build on foundation By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com Blake Wilson has continued to make the Mississippi Economic Council a statewide organization. As the third chief executive of the MEC, he said he has built on the foundation established by M.B. Swayze, who led the organization after it was established in 1949. “He went around the state. He had an old Valiant. Everybody told me about Mr. Swayze and his old Valiant.” “He went to all these town meetings.” “I kind of went back to that model, and it worked.” In 1997, there were 478 organization members, and membership has grown to 1,067, Wilson said. Wilson will retire on June 16 after 19 years as president and chief executive officer of the MEC. All told, he has been in chamber and association work for 37 years of his 47-year career, which includes nine years in news-

papering. He and his wife, Ann, plan to spend summers in a cottage that has been in her family for a long time on a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland between Annapolis and Baltimore. Otherwise, they’ll be in Mississippi, near Brandon. “We’re Mississippians,” he said. Swayze was followed by Bob Pittman, who was director for 33 years and “built a very solid program,” Wilson said. But “this organization is not about the director,” Wilson said. “It truly is about the volunteer leadership.” He was executive vice president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce. “I was very careful to not come in here with a bunch of preconceived ideas and plans to make changes.” He went around the state and held 44 small meetings, not amounting to “town meetings,” he said. He asked three questions at each of those meetings: what does your community offer, what does it need, and what “drives

MORE ON PAGE 3 » Waller ready to take reins of MEC

you crazy” locally or in the state. They were impressed with the inroads that Alabama and other Southern states were making in the automotive industry. “We were not a player. We were not going after it.” Then-Gov. Ronnie Musgrove called a special session of the Legislature in August 2000 and Advantage Mississippi was passed. While Wilson says that the MEC had nothing to do with the actual recruiting of Nissan, which selected Canton, it assisted and coordinated. Wilson used the best technology of the era, the facsimile machine, to reach out across the state, and bring people to the

Capitol. The secret weapon in Mississippi is the fact that “everybody knows everybody,” he said. What separates them is the geography of the state. So the MEC “shrank the miles between them with the fax.” Now, of course, the Internet has taken over, and there is live streaming of, say, the Legislative Scramblers, which bring lawmakers and the business community together. “It has become very successful,” he said. While membership has grown, it has become more racially diversiﬁed. The MEC staff of 13 is about 40 percent African-American, and MEC membership, Wilson estimates, is about 20 percent African-American. Whoever succeeds Wilson will have a platform on which to build, just as Wilson did. Meantime, Wilson said he has “a lot of conﬁdence in Scott’s ability.”

March 24, 2017

Mississippi Business Journal

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Waller ready to take reins of MEC By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com

There have been only three directors of the Mississippi Economic Council in its 68 years. Soon there will be a fourth. Nothing is official, but Scott Waller, an 11-year veteran of the MEC, the state chamber of commerce, in February was named interim president and chief executive effective May 1. The same day, the MEC announced that Blake Wilson, who took the MEC reins in 1998, plans to retire June 16. Waller and Wilson, 63, are both reluctant to make any assumptions about what’s next,

“We need to look back and see what . . . we were able to do as the private sector working with public officials [in order] to land the next big thing” Scott Waller executive vice president, COO of MEC

or, rather, who’s next. Waller’s career at the MEC has been a steady upward movement. Not by biding his time, but by earning promotions. Currently, he is executive vice president and chief operating officer. Waller was business editor at The Clarion-Ledger when he got a call from Wilson one day in 2006. Waller ﬁgured it might be some big news. Turns out, it was. But of a personal nature. What’s it about? Waller said. “I want to talk to you about your career,” Wilson responded. Waller had been business editor since 2002.

The first day in that position, he went though a baptism of fire. Bernie Ebbers announced that he was resigning as chief executive of WorldCom, the home-grown telecommunications giant. WorldCom had been the darling of Wall Street. Investors just couldn’t figure out how the upstart was turning those amazing

numbers. Over the next few months and years, the truth came out. WorldCom was cheating. It ﬁled for bankruptcy and Ebbers was convicted of fraud and began serving a 25-year sentence in a Louisiana prison in 2006. That was the year Waller received that call from Wilson.

He started as senior vice president of public affairs. In 2014, he was promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer. Setting goals and achieving them comes naturally for Waller. He was an Eagle Scout, the highest achievement in Boy Scouts, with only 4 percent of boys reaching that status. As for the MEC, Waller quoted Shakespeare: “What’s past is prologue.” “We need to look back and see what . . See WALLER, Page 5

The 2017 class of the Mississippi Business Journal’s Top 50 Under 40 honorees. Abumere F. Akinwale, M.D. Jason Bailey Carlos Bell Chase Blankenship Kelly A. Boutwell Christy B. Bridges Jason M. Brown Todd Butler Ashley eley Cannady Amanda Carraway Chris Champion William Lusk Coppage Kristy M. Daniels Jerry B. DeFatta Jr. Liz Hogue Densmore Lindsay Thomas Dowdle Greg L. Durrell Dr. Lee Gary Sara Elizabeth Stockton Christin Grissom Megan Hall Mark F. Hinton Ryan A. Holmes Aa’Keela L. S. Hudnall Bradley W. Joyner, CMB

Jhai’Obes C. Keeton Dr. Wendy Lewis Justin Javarus Mathis Alan P. McCormick Alison O’Neal McMinn Shenika Kelly- Moore Kent Mortimer Amy Oliver John W. Ridgeway Jr. Scott Rives Chris Roberts Carl Sandberg Dr. Mitchell M. Shears Anne Marie Smith Stephen Daniel Smith Lucien Smith Angie Stallings Selena Lajean Standifer Laura Beth Strickland Scott Tollison Jonathan Varney Robert F. Walker Pamela P. Ware Bryan Williams LaFarra Young-Gaylor, M.D.

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4 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q March 24, 2017 BANKING & FINANCE

MADISON COUNTY

New Magnolia State Bank branch adds to excitement of downtown Laurel’s revival

Hearing held on appeal of Costco zoning

By BECKY GILLETTE Hattiesburg Business Today LAUREL — Magnolia State Bank (www. bankmagnolia.com) recently held a grand opening of its new branch of the bank in a triangular-shaped, landmark historic building downtown that housed the Laurel Mercantile in the late 1800s. “They are bringing new jobs and excitement to the area, but they aren’t new to downtown,” said Jim Rasberry, Rasberry Financial Services, who is chairman of the Jones County Economic Development Authority. “They have been part of the growth of downtown since the beginning and Heather Brown has been a leading voice for downtown revitalization.” Magnolia State Bank is a family business. At the grand opening March 2, the building was dedicated to the late Thomas E. Brown, the founder of Magnolia State Bank who passed away a year ago. His wife, Barbara Brown, is now chairwoman of the board. Also involved in the business are the couple’s children, including Tom Brown, Betsy Brown, Drew Brown and Drew’s wife, Heather. Drew is branch president at the new downtown location for the bank that has been headquartered in Bay Springs since being founded in 1975. “We practice what we are preaching about downtown revitalization,” Drew Brown said. “We just wanted to be a part of downtown. We want to be a part of the community, not just a business in the community. There is something special going on down here. You can feel it. It is almost like electricity in the air. It is a good time not just for downtown Laurel, but Laurel and Jones County in general.” The old Laurel Mercantile building used to be a center of commerce in downtown Laurel at a time when farmers from miles around would bring their products to sell. “We have pictures of horses and pigs walking around in the street in front of building,” Brown said. “As soon as my dad, mom and I saw the building, we knew we had to have it, if nothing else, to open it up for people to see. We even kept up the nostalgia by keeping details in the lobby like pretty old-time antique belt fans on the mezzanine.” He describes Magnolia as a true hometown bank. When someone comes in for a loan inquiry, they can expect an answer within a day. That is because decisions are made in-house. “We’re small, but we have all the things the big boys have such as the latest banking technology and any of the other ser-

By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com

Courtesy of Magnolia State Bank

The new Magnolia State Bank branch in the old Laurel Mercantile store drew a crowd at its grand opening.

vices big banks have except on a local scale,” Brown said. “We have very low employee turnover. Our employees take pride in who we are. Many have been here years and years. I just turned 34, and several employees were here before I was born and have known me my entire life.” His mother supervises decorating each branch for the holidays. Even though the downtown branch did not open until February, this year they decorated the windows of the new building for the holidays. “You wouldn’t have found a prettier window display on Times Square,” Brown said. “People came downtown just to take pictures of it. It won the Laurel Main Street contest. Right now we have put up a display, ‘Spring showers bring magnolia flowers,’ which has Magnolia State Bank umbrellas and magnolias that are raining down.” Heather Brown, who grew up in downtown Laurel, said the new three-story branch office is definitely a landmark of downtown Laurel. An active member and promotional chairwoman of the Laurel Main Street organization for about five years, she is past delighted to be a part of the renaissance of downtown Laurel. “It’s crazy and awesome and fabulous,” Brown said. “My office is on the bottom floor of the building, and our location is in the middle of downtown. One recent Friday, I was just blown away from

seeing so many people walking around downtown. Usually I know everyone, but I didn’t know any of these people. It is awesome seeing people coming and going to the new bakery, the butcher shop, the popcorn shop and the home décor stores. People are just actually walking around downtown, which you would never have seen a few years ago.” Brown grew up downtown and earlier in her life when there was little business activity downtown, she never thought she went end up back in downtown Laurel. “But I wouldn’t be anywhere else now with family close and the ability to give back with our business,” Brown said. “Drew has made it a habit to walk to the school our daughter. It is only a couple blocks away. He can stop at the bakery or the butcher on the way if he needs to pick something up. We love being able to shop local.” In addition to the home office in Bay Springs, Magnolia State Bank has a branch in north Laurel, which is important to customers who come from north of town. Other branches of the bank north of town Laurel are Bay Springs, Heidelberg and Taylorsville. There is a branch south of Laurel in Petal. They continue to grow with plans to open at new location on Highway 98 in Hattiesburg mid-April.

Madison County Circuit Court Judge John Emfinger held a hearing Monday of an appeal by homeowners in a protracted battle over the proposed building of a Costco Wholesale store in Ridgeland. The nine plaintiffs contend that an amendment by the city to a commercial zoning ordinance amounted to “spot zoning” designed to accommodate Costco, and opening the door to other uses. Such a change in zoning would only be justified if there were a “substantial change” in a neighborhood, Sheldon Alston, attorney for the plaintiffs, said Tuesday. Plaintiffs contend that the Costco would create a traffic problem along Highland Colony Parkway, which is lined by office parks and upscale retailers. But James Peden, an attorney assisting the city in its defense, said Tuesday that “spot zoning” would be like putting a convenience store in the middle of a residential development. The plaintiffs live in upscale neighborhoods, the closest of which is nearly two miles from the site, according to the city. The amendment, first executed in 2015 in what critics called a surreptitious manner, was redone in April 2016, out of “an abundance of caution,” Peden said. But Alston argued in an earlier interview that the amendment would allow “gas stations, fast-food restaurants” and other things not in keeping with the upscale area, which is dominated by the Renaissance at Colony Park, which was opened in 2007. Costco Wholesale stores sell gasoline, as do Sam’s Clubs. The Costco-dominated 45-acre development would be the third phase of the Renaissance. Andrew Mattiace, lead developer, received approval from the state to get a sales tax rebate of up to $29.6 million collected in the expansion, which would cost about $98 million. Mattiace used the address of the openair mall in the application, but Glenn McCullough, executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority, blocked Mattiace from transferring it to the third-phase location. Subsequently, the city granted the developer a tax increment financing district to divert $12.5 million in taxes to go toward infrastructure. Alston said he thought Emfinger would issue a ruling in a few weeks. The losing side could appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court, which would extend the battle that began in November 2015, with the filing of the lawsuit.

March 24, 2017

Mississippi Business Journal

TECHNOLOGY

How much should you be spending on cybersecurity?

e often hear clients and prospective clients asking “How much should I be spending on cybersecurity?” That is a very complex question and one that is not easily answered without first having an understanding of what is meant by cybersecurity. There are many different versions of cybersecurity being pushed in the market and there is no “one size fits all” solution despite what your vendor may tell you. The key is in spending for what is right for your organization, not simply deciding that a set percentage should be spent on these solutions. Below are some key questions that you should ask of yourself: Do I want to know the holes in my network, or do I just want the box checked that I’ve had testing done? 99.9 percent of companies offering cybersecurity services today are using automated vulnerability scanning tools and calling it a “penetration test.” This approach is just fine if you are just needing to check a box that you’ve had some testing done. The problem with this approach is that the people performing the “test” are usually only mildly more qualified than you are to do this testing. Why would you pay someone thousands of dollars to press the start button on some software that you could buy yourself? On the flip side, there are a few companies that go the extra mile to make sure that your system is addressed in the same way that sophisticated attackers would interact with it. These companies are going to find the vulnerabilities that are specific to your network configuration and give you a realistic view of where your vulnerabilities are located. They’ll boast of advanced degrees in

WALLER Continued from, Page 3

. we were able to do as the private sector working with public officials [in order] to land the next big thing,” Waller said in a recent interview. In the recent past, nothing has been bigger than the Nissan plant in Canton, which was landed in 2002 and now employs 6,400 and has largely been credited with propelling the state into advanced manufacturing.

computer science or related systems and spare you the listing of certiﬁcations that anyone could get with a two-week training course. The latter is going to be more expensive, but you’ll actually be getting what you are paying for unless you are looking to simply check the box. Now that I’ve done testing, what am I doing to continuously monitor my network security? This is a huge area with a new “product” hitting the market about every 10 minutes. Let me warn you here….. technology is NOT always the answer. While there are some very good products in the market, humans familiar with your network are still needed to put context to the alerts. This is one of the biggest problems we’re seeing lately. Companies are installing the fancy new product, subsequently getting millions of alerts a day, and having no clue what to do with them. What is the point of having these great new devices if you come to the point of ignoring them from being overwhelmed? If your budget allows, look for a provider who can take the logs that you are already generating and put them in a form for you that has context and is applicable to your speciﬁc network environment. While there is generally strength in numbers, I’d also warn you to beware of the gigantic products. There is also strength in diversity, especially in the security monitoring space. There is a new article out almost weekly about how this or that software is going to end security threats. Well, guess which products attackers are going to be studying if a large percentage of companies are using that defense? You guessed it, the one where they can

One of Waller’s “merit badges,” you might say, are the legislative “scramblers,” which was his idea, where people in the business sector get to meet with lawmakers to keep abreast of public policy. Volunteers, who comprise the board of the MEC, are crucial to move the state forward, he said. Likewise, the Mississippi Scholars program and its Tech Master program help to keep the pipeline of leadership ﬂowing by helping high school students prepare academically for attending four-year or two-

gain the most access by ﬁnding ways to bypass it. To summarize, if you have a sizBrad Fuller able security team with good qualiﬁcations, you are probably right to go with a technology approach to monitoring. If your IT team is already strapped for time on daily activities before they even look at security monitoring, you are probably best to bring in a service that does that for you on a constant basis. So when considering what to spend on cybersecurity, keep in mind that it is all in what you are looking for. Also remember that you have to be vigilant to make sure you are actually getting what you think you are getting, as there will be a vendor waiting to sell you anything under the sun. It also makes sense that if a majority of your business is done through network connected devices and applications, that you should be putting a priority on protecting those things. If you absolutely must judge your security spending by a percentage, I’d say that somewhere in the range of 20-25 percent of your IT budget is a good start.

Brad Fuller serves as the Director of Operations for HORNE Cyber. After spending 10 years working in the United States Senate, Brad co-founded Halberd Group LLC, which specialized in offense-oriented cybersecurity and digital forensics prior to being acquired by HORNE Cyber. As Director of Operations, Brad guides clients to fully leverage technology innovations by providing the insights critical to safeguarding their business, customers’ critical data and brand reputation

year colleges. It emphasizes the importance of “life skills” such as good school attendance, discipline and community service, Waller said. Waller’s son, Shane, became an Eagle Scout and was a Mississippi Scholar. He graduated from Mississippi State and is a graduate student at George Washington University. Waller has served as vice chairman of the Policy Center of the Council of State Chambers. He is a graduate of the fouryear U.S. Chamber Institute for Organiza-

tion Management and serves on the board of regents of the U.S. Chamber Institute in Athens, Ga., where he is a lecturer. He is also a member of the national board of regents of the U.S. Chamber Institute program. Whether Waller gets the nod as the CEO, he already considers himself “the luckiest guy in the world” to be where he is now. He credits Wilson for where he is now. “He’s been a great mentor for me.”

The law firm of Young Wells Williams P.A. is pleased to announce that

Walt Terry has joined the firm’s Taxation and Business Law Practice.

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BANKS

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HUMAN RESOURCES Q People Lease.........................................................................................................www.peoplelease.com

INSURANCE AGENCIES Q Account Services Group........................................................... www.accountservicesgroup.com

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

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MBJPERSPECTIVE March 24, 2017 • www.msbusiness.com • Page 6

OTHER VIEWS

» THE OUTSIDE WORLD

Bill brings transparency for Mississippi

Website: www.msbusiness.com March 24, 2017 Volume 39, Number 12

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» INSIDE MISSISSIPPI

Fuel diversification real lignite plant issue for PSC

hat will natural gas prices look like over the next 40 years? Well, over the past 20 years, prices recorded at the dominant Henry Hub distribution center in Erath, La., ranged from a low of $1.05 per million Btu to a high of $18.48. Over the past 10 years prices ranged from $1.46 to $13.31. The current price is $2.60. Forecasts show prices rising over the next two decades, but they vary in pace and amount. The U.S. Energy Administration projects natural gas prices through 2040 using multiple scenarios that encompass demand, supply, exports, and various consumption projections. Its latest forecasts indicate prices may remain below $4.50 or jump as high as $9.20. The only knowable thing about natural gas prices is they are volatile. When Mississippi Power Company proposed its Kemper lignite plant to the Public Service Commission (PSC) over a decade ago, traditional coal-fired plants were under attack by environmentalists and EPA and natural gas prices were high, averaging $7.81 at Henry Hub from 2005 through 2008. The company and the commis-

Bill Crawford

sion deemed it prudent for Mississippi Power to pursue an alternative fuel source for its next baseload power plant. The alternatives were nuclear and clean coal. Given Mississippi’s vast, cheap lignite deposits, the clean coal alternative was chosen. All know what happened next. Shale oil discoveries dramatically ramped up gas supplies, driving down prices. And the costs to build the lignite plant skyrocketed. Over the next several months, PSC commissioners will be tempted, and politically pressured, to gaze into a crystal ball and guess what natural gas prices will be over the next 40 years. That’s because the lignite plant will soon come fully online and the commission has linked the “viability” of the plant to natural gas prices. Yes, the technology works. Syngas produced from lignite coal has powered electricity generation which has been delivered to Mississippi Power customers for weeks now. Carbon dioxide has been sequestered, sulfuric acid produced, and both delivered to downstream users. See CRAWFORD, Page 7

new measure signed into law by Gov. Phil Bryant this week will provide powerful oversight for the public regarding the money and assets seized by police agencies, a strong step in the right direction to allowing public entities to function as transparently as pos-

sible. Last week, Bryant signed House Bill 812, which will require the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics to maintain a public website that lists all forfeitures taken through civil court proceedings. The measure also calls for a judge to approve a seizure warrant within 72 hours of a police agency taking property, and for either the local district attorney or the Bureau of Narcotics to handle the forfeiture case in court, as reported by the Associated Press. If a law enforcement agency fails to obtain a seizure warrant within 72 hours, those agents would be forced to give the property back. The measure, supporters say, will guard against potential abuses by requiring police agencies to diligently track forfeitures publicly and by ensuring someone else besides a lawyer hired by the agency handles forfeiture court cases. In Mississippi, local police agencies can keep 80 percent of the value of the forfeiture, while the other 20 percent goes to a district attorney or state agency. As part of the new measure, prosecutors are instructed to upload information – including the name of the seizing agency, a description of the property and its estimated value – and associated legal documentation. The only item not handled in the bill is how these new measures will be funded. Lawmakers must provide funding for the website before it can go live. “I’m a big believer in property rights,” Rep. Joel Bomgar, R-Madison, a supporter, told the Associated Press. “If somebody’s property is seized or forfeited, I think there needs to be transparency.” Bomgar expressed conﬁdence that lawmakers would ﬁnd the money to allow the bill to take effect on July 1 as scheduled The Institute of Justice, a Libertarian legal group based near Washington D.C., said Mississippi and local agencies got more than $47 million from 2000 to 2013 in assets seized in conjunction with federal agencies, according to the AP. It is unknown how much state and local agencies seized in cases without federal involvement. The institute applauded the bill in a statement, but said it would have preferred a law that required agencies to publicly account for how they spend forfeiture money. Members of the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi said they also would have preferred spending oversight. While additional oversight would have only strengthened this measure, its passing is a step in the right direction. We welcome measures that bring more oversight and transparency to public entities. — Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

PERSPECTIVE » RICKY NOBILE

March 24, 2017 I Mississippi Business Journal

CRAWFORD

Continued from Page 6

The final hurdle for the plant to come fully online is for both syngas turbines to operate simultaneously for a specified period of time. When it does, the company will ask commissioners to approve rates to allow recovery of costs for building and operating the multi-function facility. Building costs for the power plant were capped at $2.8 billion. Another $1.4 billion was authorized for the CO2 pipeline, the coal mining operation, and limited other items. Allowable operating costs have yet to be determined. How much cost to allow Mississippi Power to recover from ratepayers will be the great challenge for our elected commissioners. Politicians tend to focus on the moment. Utility companies must focus on multiple decades. That’s why major power generators have diversified baseload fuel supplies. History has shown reliance on a single fuel source over time to be imprudent. So, the real analysis facing commissioners is not what natural gas prices may do, but how much rate payers should invest to provide Mississippi Power necessary and prudent fuel diversification. Bill Crawford (crawfolk@gmail.com) is a syndicated columnist from Meridian.

»FROM THE GROUND UP

Foreclosures and what they mean in Mississippi

re you several payments behind on your mortgage and not been able to get any more relief from your lender? The next person you see at your door just might be Frank the Foreclosure Man. Do not be surprised to discover that Frank is not from your mortgage company. Frank the Foreclosure Man is a composite I made up to describe what is generally referred to as a foreclosure specialist or foreclosure broker. It was the early 1980s when I first met Frank, a man who made his living off foreclosed properties. Back then, interest rates were skyrocketing, homeowners were having trouble selling, and foreclosures were going up. Frank appeared on the scene, sought out desperate homeowners and attempted to get them to sell their homes to him for the amount in arrears. Frank then resold at a higher price or took the unsuspecting owner on the ride of his financial life. Frank disappeared for a while after interest rates went down and the real estate market got hot, but now he is back. It’s not because foreclosure rates are going up. According to RealtyTrac, (www.realtytrac.com) an industry organization that maintains a nationwide database of foreclosures, foreclose rates are going down. Its market summary there are currently (March 2017) 808,143 properties in U.S. that are in some stage of foreclosure (default, auction or bank owned). In February, the number of properties that received a foreclosure filing in U.S. was 1 percent lower than the previous month and 16 percent lower than the same time last year. Home sales for January 2017 were down 26 percent compared with the previous month, and down 76 percent compared with a year ago. The median sales price of a non-distressed home was $215,000. The median sales price of a foreclosure home was $126,000, or 41 percent lower than non-distressed home sales. Nationally, one in every 1,609 housing units were in some form of foreclosure. The Top Five States were as follows: New Jersey —1 in every 581; Delaware — 1 in every 654; Maryland — 1 in every 743; Illinois — 1 in every 886; and

Nevada — 1 in every 1070 In Mississippi one every 2,985 housing units were in some form of foreclosure. The following counties were listed as the Top Five: Hinds —1 in every 589; Pearl River — 1 in every 2,011; Hancock — 1 in every 2,224: Rankin — 1 in every 2,367; and De Soto — 1 in every 2,389. If foreclosures are down, why is Frank back? I suspect it has something to do with television shows and other marketing selling courses on how to buy foreclosed properties and flip them. Whatever the case, it pays for homeowners in mortgage trouble to be especially aware. Let’s learn more about how Frank operates. Frank the Foreclosure Man awakens each day and immediately checks the newspaper. He does not care about the news; he goes straight for the legal notices. There he scans the foreclosure section and makes a list of houses in certain neighborhoods. Some of these houses he will want to buy and others he will want to negotiate with the owner. His goal is to find homeowners who are behind on their payments, but have a lot of equity in their property. He is especially in search of owners who are desperate. He knows that desperate owners feel that they have only two choices – lose their home to a foreclosure sale or negotiate with Frank to keep their home. Frank calls on the owner and says that he may be able to help in these desperate times. In Mississippi a lender can foreclose on a home in a matter of several weeks after giving public notice. In some states it takes several months. Frank points out to the owner that if the property sells for less than the mortgage balance plus expenses then the owner may have a judgment placed against him for the remaining balance. And then there is that nasty matter of a credit rating that will certainly be affected. The owner, not wanting to lose his home, his credit rating and more, listens to Frank. Frank’s offer is rather straightforward. Frank will buy the property for the back payments and then lease the house

back to the owner until the owner can get financially back on his feet. Frank even promises to resell the house to Phil Hardwick the owner for only a small profit for Frank’s time and effort. Frank whips out a warranty deed and has the owner signs the property over to him. Now it gets interesting. Depending on the circumstances, Frank might just hold onto the deed and collect payments from the owner. He will use that money, plus his own, to make up the back payments so that the foreclosure does not go forward. He might begin advertising the property for sale at market value. If he finds a buyer he might evict the owner, file the deed and then sell to the new buyer. That can result in a hefty profit. Sometimes the old owner does not make the payments to Frank, moves out and leaves a vacant house. In that case, Frank may even rent it if he can get more in rent than the mortgage payment, or he may sell it. So, is Frank the Foreclosure Man in a legitimate business? As long as there are no misrepresentations to the owner or the lender, Frank may very well be providing a valuable service. Websites are also popping up offering programs to teach you how to be a foreclosure specialist. There is probably a cable television program on the subject by now. Is Frank the Foreclosure Man a piranha? That’s what one state attorney general calls foreclosure specialists. If you are a homeowner who has received a foreclosure notice, contact an attorney and discuss your legal rights. I would advise you to contact your lender, but I am assuming that because foreclosure proceedings have begun you have already done that with unsuccessful results. By all means, do not sell your house for less than market value without being fully informed. » Phil Hardwick is a regular Mississippi Business Journal columnist and owner of Hardwick & Associates, LLC, which provides strategic planning facilitation and leadership training services. His email is phil@philhardwick. com and he’s on the web at www.philhardwick.com.

8 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q March 24, 2017 DINING

Alex Jacks/MBJ

Barrelhouse was named for its exposed barrel rolled ceilings that date to 1946, when the property sits in was built.

New restaurant ‘barrels’ into Fondren » Barrelhouse owners hope to provide economically sound business with character to community By ALEX JACKS mbj@msbusiness.com

In the heart of Fondren, where art, entertainment and, most important, ﬁne dining take a front seat, sits the newest hub that combines all three characteristics. Barrelhouse, named for its exposed barrel rolled ceiling and prominent Cajun cuisine roots, recently opened on the Fondren strip. Marty Clapton and Andrew Kehoe, the owners of the establishment, classify Barrelhouse as a Southern gastropub. Kehoe, who also servers as the restaurant’s general manager, said the food covers a little bit of every cuisine type, but primarily focuses on Southern and Cajun. “The menu is not very in depth when it comes to the number of options, but is in depth with ﬂavor and style,” he said. “For instance, we have a meatball menu on the main menu, which is something different that we offer.” Stephen Kruger is the executive chef of Barrelhouse and is the mastermind behind the restaurant’s unusually fun dishes, Kehoe said. “He has done an outstanding job to help create dishes around our concept,” he said. Barrelhouse’s bestselling dish aligns itself with Kehoe’s vision of See BARRELHOUSE, Page 9

Alex Jacks/MBJ

Barrelhouse, a new restaurant and bar, provides guests with a fun, rustic atmosphere to enjoy a night out in Fondren.

AGRIBUSINESS

March 24, 2017

Mississippi Business Journal

HEALTH CARE

Sanderson plans to build Texas facilities with 1,700 jobs By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com Sanderson Farms Inc. plans to build a $200 million processing plant, feed mill and hatchery in Smith and Wood counties, Texas. At full capacity, the facilities would employ 1,700 and process 1.25 million birds per week, the Laurel-based company said in a news release last week. Additionally, contract growers are expected to invest $135 million. Operations are expected to commence in the ﬁrst quarter of 2019, Sanderson said. Sanderson is the third-largest poultry processor in the United States. The plan is contingent on completion of tax abatement and incentives and permitting. “We believe this expansion will enhance our ability to drive revenues and earnings and allow us to continue our record of building long-term value for

our stockholders,” Joe F. Sanderson Jr., chairman and chief executive, said in the release. Sanderson shares rose $2.25 in midday trading on Wednesday on the NasdaqGS market to $97.28. Its 52-week range is $74.07 to $99.40. The company has 12 processing plants located around the South, including seven in Mississippi. Sanderson has been targeted by antitrust lawsuits filed in two federal district courts. Former contract chicken growers filed suit Jan. 27 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma against Sanderson and other major processors, seeking damages for what they contend is price fixing that squeezed them out of their livelihood. Sanderson and 13 other processors were sued along the same lines last fall in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. In both cases, which are still pending,

BARRELHOUSE Continued from, Page 8

providing another form of ﬂavor to Fondren. “So far our bestseller is our Ahi Tuna Poké Nachos,” he said. “Yes, tuna nachos!” As for the drinks, Barrelhouse offers an array of cocktails, wine and beer. “We have a nice little cocktail list that is a little more Bourbon forward, but we are not necessarily a Bourbon bar,” Kehoe said. “Some of the drinks are named from places in the neighborhood, just trying to keep it fun. We have a small and simple wine list that I want to grow some here and there. Our draft beer has 12 lines and comes in a decent size bottle, can or bomber selection.” Clapton, a local real estate broker, originally planned on leasing out the space Barrelhouse is located in, not becoming a restaurateur. After brainstorming with Kehoe — who previously worked with an investment group to open Fondren Public — the two men formed the idea behind Barrelhouse. “Limited existing real estate in the Fondren area led to the location,” Kehoe said. “Our space was the last open spot at the time on the main strip that could handle a restaurant, so here we are.” The concept and name behind the restaurant came from an unexpected historical ﬁnding within the building. “When we got the space, there was a four inch thick dropdown plaster ceiling covering all of the exposed wood and steel trusses,” Kehoe said. “Marty poked a hole in the ceiling early on and we saw what was being hidden from sight. Finding the original ceiling helped us develop the concept and style of what

Sanderson contends it was not guilty of wrongdoing and vows it will fight the allegations vigorously. Sanderson was successful in avoiding the avian flu outbreak that primarily struck processors in the Midwest in 2015 and resulted in the destruction of 50 million birds. However, Tyson Foods, the nation’s largest poultry processor, reported that a particular strain of avian flu was discovered at a contract facility in Lincoln County, Tennessee, according to Reuters news service on March 6. As a result, 73,500 birds had to be destroyed. Last week, officials in Alabama just south of Lincoln County issued a ban on exhibiting or selling chickens as a precautionary move. No cases of the flu have been found in that area of Alabama, officials said. Sanderson does not have any facilities in Tennessee or Alabama.

we wanted.” In the past, the property was once a Universal Fitness, an antiques market and a few other businesses in between, Kehoe said. “The space was built in 1946 and the barrel rolled ceiling you now see was the original ceiling,” he said. “Having that drop down ceiling for the past 70 years helped preserve the wood. We stained and sealed the wood before we opened.” In Kehoe’s opinion, the history of the space adds to the character of Barrelhouse and Fondren. “We want to be another place that continues to add to the ﬂavor of Fondren,” he said. “The ﬁrst thing that strikes me about Barrelhouse is the atmosphere and design. There really isn’t another restaurant in town that has the rustic warehouse feel. Our three-inch-thick Cypress bar top, steel trusses, Sputnik chandeliers, front side walk patio, good food and drink all help add to the beauty of Barrelhouse and the community.” Kehoe said one of his primary goals in opening Barrelhouse was to bring another thriving, economically sound business to the area. “We hope to bring another successful local business to Jackson and the Fondren neighborhood,” he said. “Fondren is continuing to evolve into something very special, and we just want to do what we can to add another spot to the landscape.” Barrelhouse is located at 3009 North State St. in Jackson. The restaurant is open Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to midnight and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to midnight. For more information about Barrelhouse or to view the full menu, visit www.barrelhousems.com.

Barry Moss

Merit Health Central CEO named

Barry Moss has been named Chief Executive Officer of Merit Health Central effective March 27. Moss comes to Merit Health Central from sister facility Merit Health Rankin, where he has served as CEO since 2015. “For the last two years I’ve been privileged to serve in the Merit Health Jackson/ Vicksburg market, and I look forward to working with the physicians, caregivers and staff as CEO of Merit Health Central,” Moss said. “I’m glad to continue collaborating with our other Merit Health hospitals across the state to help patients access quality care.” Before coming to the Jackson market, Moss served as Chief Operating Officer of Merit Health Wesley, a 211-bed hospital in Hattiesburg. Prior to Wesley, Barry worked nearly 10 years in administration at 235bed Flowers Hospital in Dothan, Alabama. “Barry has been an asset to the Merit Health leadership team, and we are glad to continue working with him in his new role,” Steve Dobbs, CEO, Merit Health said. “I’m certain he will build on the quality and service Merit Health Central already provides.” Under Moss’ leadership, Merit Health Rankin grew the number of patients served by gastrointestinal, neurosurgery and general surgery services. Additionally, the facility expanded its primary care resources for the community with the addition of two clinics. Moss holds master’s degrees in business administration and health administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Birmingham Southern College.

10 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q March 24, 2017 TOURISM

River Ranch, located on the Bouie River, one of the region’s most unique B&Bs

Courtesy of River Ranch/Special to the MBJ

Front exterior of River Ranch

By BECKY GILLETTE Hattiesburg Business Today HATTIESBURG — Jim and Gina Poage like to describe their River Ranch Bed and Breakfast located on the Bouie River as “Luxury meets nature chic.” This unique property is about as different as you can get from a chain hotel. It is located on a 325-acre property with a mile of frontage on either side of the Bouie River. The property that is a working timber farm has miles of trails, white sandy beaches, and the feeling of a private nature retreat even though the property on River Road near Mac’s Fish Camp is only two miles from Interstate 59, and three miles from Highway 49. “We are super convenient,” Gina said. “We feel like guests have the best of both worlds. They are close to Hattiesburg and the Long Leaf Trace (http://www.longleaftrace.org/), and

when they come home from a busy day, we provide them a placid, private, luxurious place to relax and unwind. The main cabin is located right on the Bouie. You look out the back deck to the river. It is breathtaking.” After River Ranch opened in 2010, it quickly became the No. 1 one lodging establishment in Hattiesburg on TripAdvisor, a traveler review website. “Travelers want to get out of the same cookie cutter hotels,” She said. “Everything about River Ranch speaks quality. You are just drawn to it. The lodge is actually an authentic, handhewn log cabin, but it has every modern amenity you can imagine. The lodge is a work of art itself, with logs ranging from 14 to 24 inches in diameter.” River Ranch has more privacy and amenities than the usual B&B located in someone’s home. Instead of a full breakfast, they offer guest a continental breakfast and use of a kitchen for

breakfast or other meals. There are ﬁve in-room suites in the main lodge. Gina’s mother, Freda Galligan, 94, and Gina’s sister, Vicki Galligan, live in a separate cabin on the property, and Vicki operates River Ranch. “My mother and sister are the heart and soul of River Ranch,” she said. “I’m more the backroom type person. My husband and I and our son, Rankin, 16, live in Southern California, where we have a B&B located near San Diego in a genuine California brick adobe house once owned by Bing Crosby. Lots of commercials are shot out there. Guests just love it. It is different, there is extreme privacy and they have so much space.” Gina was born and raised in Laurel, and at one point was Laurel’s Miss Hospitality. Earlier in life, she had a ﬁlm production company in Dallas and later in Los Angeles where she did some public relations work for Harley Davidson motorcycles.

“My dad taught me how to ride a motorcycle when I was six years old,” she said. “Doing the work with Harley opened up a lot of doors for me. After our son was born, I left ﬁlm production to have more time for family.” The couple has no difficulty renting out River Ranch. It is popular for individuals visiting, or the entire cabin can be rented out for family reunions, church events and weddings. Gina said they were initially hesitant about going after the wedding market. It is an industry they had not been familiar with. But having met some wedding planners recently, they decided that is a market they would like to explore. “Imagine having a wedding on a beach in Hattiesburg,” she said. “There is something about the water. You are just drawn to it.” For advertising, they rely primarily See RIVER RANCH, Page 11

March 24, 2017

Mississippi Business Journal

Courtesy of River Ranch/Special to the MBJ

Jim Poage Creek

RIVER RANCH Continued from, Page 10

on word of mouth. “When guests experience River Ranch, they want to share it with other people,” she said. “That is basically how we are marketing ourselves.” The Poages visit River Ranch frequently. “We love the riding and walking the trails,” she said. “We have four wheelers. We have miles and miles of trails. Wildlife is everywhere. We have springs and winding creeks, a pond and sandy beaches. We get out there on our quads. We go mudding. We ﬁsh. We hike. We also have horses there. I used to compete riding cutting horses. My cutting horse retired and lives there along with a few other horses.” Gina still refers to Mississippi as “home.” “When talking about plans for spring break or Christmas, I say, ‘We are going home’,” she said. “We love it here in California. But going to Mississippi with our son continues to provide him with a healthy lifestyle. He can experience things at River Ranch that he can’t in California. He can just

Courtesy of River Ranch/Special to the MBJ

River Ranch Road

be a kid. He can do all these things you can’t do in California. There is so much more freedom. It is more Americana. Also, we are extremely conservative, proud believers in Jesus Christ. California is extremely liberal. Sometimes that is not exactly easy. That

makes it sometime even more beautiful when we go home to Mississippi.” River Ranch was the ﬁrst “green” lodging facility in the Hattiesburg-Laurel area. Their fence along River Road was built from trees the farm lost in Hurricane Katrina. The

cabin Gina’s mother and sister live in was also built from trees on the property lost during Katrina. “We were implementing conservation practices long before it was the trend,’ she said. Gina said they enjoy the reviews they get from guests. “My favorite reviews are the handwritten ones from military families who have stayed with us just before being deployed, or who have just returned from active duty,” she said. “The emotion in the thank you notes written by these service-men and [service] women give new meaning to the word sacriﬁce. They share their hearts about how special River Ranch is and how they felt when they were here. It’s actually extremely rewarding, especially since our roots run deep with military history.” One guest wrote in an online review: “River Ranch makes you forget the chaos that awaits you back home-truly a place for a family to rejuvenate!” For more information, visit the website www.visitriverranch.com.

AN MBJ FOCUS: ARCHITECTS & ENGINEE

Working in technolog » 3D CADD programs helping engineers design better roads By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com

ouldn’t it be nice to actually see how a road is going to look before building it? What if you could anticipate problems before encountering them in the middle of construction, thus avoiding delays that cost time and money? With the use of modern three dimensional computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) programs, engineers can come close to achieving that by being able to see the project in 3D on the computer screeN. “The world of technology is changing and MDOT has to change with it,” said Gregory Geno, a CADD engineer for the Mississippi Department of Transportation. “It only helps us do our jobs better.” MDOT uses the Bentley “OpenRoads” program to design projects from the ground up (surveying through construction), as well as using the software to create 3D models for projects that have already been designed in 2D. “The 3D technology allows us to accurately design since it is actually designing a road based on a maximum of five-foot sections, as opposed to 50-foot sections like we did in 2D,” Geno said. “This allows for not only higher accuracy, but for finding issues that will need to be addressed during the design process as opposed to the construction process. This in turn saves money on the front end so that issues are less likely to pop up in the field during construction. When these models are used for construction in the field, it also helps keep people out of harm’s way because it helps remove stakes from a project since it is GPS based. This promotes a safe environment for MDOT surveyors and contractors.” Currently, there are no projects in the MDOT construction phase that have been designed from the ground up in 3D. However, Geno said they have converted some 2D plans to 3D models. A few examples of this are the Lakeland Drive sixlane widening project, the Highway 98 and State See CADD, Page 15

Gregory Geno, a CADD engineer for the Mississippi Department of Transportation, says 3D designs. provide better accuracy, safety and help lower costs

March 24, 2017 • MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS JOURNAL • www.msbusiness.com

ERS

gy’s fast lane

Education, experience, examination key to becoming an architect By NASH NUNNERY mbj@msbusiness.com

o, you want to be an architect? Nobody enters the field of architecture solely on the premise that it’s cool. Not even downtrodden Seinfeld character George Kostanza, who often introduced himself as architect extraordinaire Art Vandelay in certain social situations. Actually, the process to becoming an architect can be a bit arduous. It involves finding the right college, passing the National Council of Architecture Registration boards, participating in an Intern Development program and getting licensed. Owen Enter the Mississippi State Board of Architecture. In Mississippi, an applicant for initial licensure must have a NAAB accredited professional degree in architecture. Additionally, the applicant also must complete the Architect Experience Program, a structured McNeel internship of approximately two years, and pass the national Architectural Registration Examination. “Education, experience and examination are the keys to the process,” explained MSBOA executive director Jenny Owen. “Our agency regulates not only architects but also landscape architecture and certified interior designers. By law, we are pledged to protect the public’s life, health and property with respect to the professions regulated.” MSBOA board and committee members – all 15 of them - serve as volunteers and are appointed by the governor for a five-year term. There is no residency requirement for licensure or examination in Mississippi, according to Owen. However, out of state applicants are required to meet the same essential licensure requirements as a Mississippi applicant. A partner with Jackson-based JBHM Architects, Richard McNeel serves as the MSBOA’s president. “Our work with building officials is very vital to the process,” McNeel said. “They are, after all, the ones with their feet on the ground in our communities. Remaining engaged with them and code See ARCHITECTS, Page 15

Courtesy of MDOT

14 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q March 24, 2017

Architects & Engineers

EDUCATION

Bagley launches biomedical degree program » MSU engineering school now offers 12 different undergraduate programs Special to the MBJ

The Bagley College of Engineering at Mississippi State University in Starkville has expanded its undergraduate degree offerings to include a new opportunity in biomedical engineering. The approval made by the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees will allow Mississippi State students to formally enroll as biomedical engineering majors during the 2017 fall semester. With the introduction of a biomedical engineering degree, the Bagley College of Engineering now offers 12 different undergraduate degree opportunities across eight departments of study. “The Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering is one of the fastest growing, most diverse departments in our

college and also within Mississippi State University,” said Jason Keith, dean of the Bagley College of Engineering. “The addition of the biomedical engineering degree should lead to even greater Keith student interest, while also aiding with faculty recruiting.” The inclusion of biomedical engineering (BME) as an undergraduate degree program is not a new concept for MSU engineering faculty or students. In addition to an existing graduate degree in BME, Bagley College’s Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering has also offered a degree in biological engineering with a concentration in biomedical engineering since 2004. Steve Elder, MSU’s graduate coordinator for biomedical engineering programs, was active in preparing the curriculum and the new program proposal to the IHL Board of Trustees. He has high hopes for how an undergraduate program in biomedical engineering will enhance the

Bagley College of Engineering. “I believe it will have a strong, positive impact (on MSU’s Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering),” said Elder. “The new program has the potential to enhance student recruitment by presenting a clearer career path in regard to pursuing a degree in biomedical engineering, compared to a concentration in BME.” To expand engineering electives, and in anticipation of potential degree opportunities, the BME concentration curriculum was altered in 2015, therefore requiring no additional changes to become an undergraduate degree-granting program. “Because they are following the exact same curriculum, we expect many students to transfer to the BME major from the concentration and graduate in the spring of 2018,” said Elder. The growing interest and enrollment in biomedical engineering courses made its inclusion as a degree program a natural progression for the MSU engineering program. Elder also thinks the addition will increase opportunities for students,

after they obtain a BME degree from MSU. “I believe an actual degree in biomedical engineering will increase the competitiveness of our students in the job market, and will increase our visibility to the biomedical industry, which may lead to more opportunities for students, such as internships or research partnerships,” Elder said. Career opportunities look bright for biomedical engineers, as the development of new medical technology pairs with an aging population. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a growth of 23 percent in the employment of biomedical engineers from 2014 to 2024, with potential employment environments ranging from government regulatory agencies and manufacturing facilities to medical, educational and research institutions. For more information, on biomedical engineering at MSU’s Bagley College of Engineering, visit abe.msstate.edu, or go online at bagley.msstate.edu and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram by searching for @msuengineering.

Architects & Engineers

March 24, 2017

Mississippi Business Journal

CADD Continued from Page 12

Route 44 relocation in Marion County, and the State Route 501 bridge replacement in Scott County. “Most contractors around the state use 3D models that were created using MDOT plans to generate a 3D model,” he said. “The Split Diamond Interchange in Madison County between Old Agency Road and Highway 463 on Interstate 55 are examples of projects generated in 3D using MDOT’s 2D model.” Geno not only uses the technology himself, but teaches it to others. He recently conducted a class. “I teach a three-and-a-half-day class two to three times per year to various design consultants and MDOT employees,” Geno said. “Most recently I taught the program to a group that included an employee who needed a refresher, an employee who had been here for 29 years but had never taken the class, and a new employee in his third week.” A number of different types of professionals at MDOT benefit from learning how to use these programs. Geno said MDOT environmental staff benefit because it makes creating a model on a proposed alignment for environmental impact study very quick and easy. MDOT roadway designers benefit from using the software. And MDOT area engineers benefits since they will be evaluating models. Geno said MDOT field staff also benefit from it as it will be using these models in the field to build these projects. As with any new technology development, it takes time and effort to learn how to efficiently use the programs. Geno said

ARCHITECTS Continued from Page 13

enforcement specialists is mutually beneficial. “We learn about issues they are facing with respect to design shortcomings, and even practitioners who are not meeting the standards.” An example offered by Owen would be the simple act of entering a hospital or shopping mall. Most people would take for granted that they’d have an accessible and clear exit path in case of fire or other emergency. “Architects, certified interior designers and landscape architects make that happen through the design of a code compliant and safe building,” she said. “A safe layout and fire-safe finishes and materials, and exterior vehicular and pedestrian paths allow you to get out of the building safely.” Along with similar agencies in other states, MSBOA is a member of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. Members of the agency serve on various boards and committees within the NCARB structure, including the preparation of

Courtesy of MDOT

MDOT uses the Bentley “OpenRoads” program to design projects from the ground up, as well as using the software to create 3D models for already-designed projects.

students studying civil engineering today are learning with these programs. “It is completely different from 2D which, of course, presents a learning curve,” Geno said. “Engineers who have been designing in 2D are learning to change their design methods.” The Alabama Department of Transportation used 3D CADD software to create a 3D virtual model of its $850 million I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway Widening project proposed along Interstate 10. The 3D CADD program was used to help visualize projects to increase capacity for the existing bridge, reduce congestion, and provide a more direct route for transporting hazardous materials while minimizing effects to Mobile’s maritime industry. Edwin Perry, project manager for the

BY THE NUMBERS Licensed Mississippi architects: » Architects, 368 resident and 1,437 non-resident » Landscape Architects, 108 resident and 160 non-resident » Certiﬁed Interior Designers, 52 resident and 8 non-resident

exam questions. Continuing education for architects licensed by the state of Mississippi is not only vital, but a requirement. “Architects must have 12 hours of coursework every year,” McNeel said. “This is continuing education that must be health, safety and welfare related.” Much like the BAR for lawyers, the MSBOA can censure architects, landscape architects and interior designers for wrongdoing. When a complaint is ﬁled, the agency investigates to determine if charges against the registrant are warranted. If formal charges are issued, the MSBOA is represented by

ALDOT 1-10 Mobile River Bridge project, said the 3D real-life, virtual visualization helped create stakeholder buy-in to construct a new six-lane, 215-foot vertical clearance bridge across Mobile River, and widen the current bridges across Mobile Bay from four to eight lanes. ALDOT used 3D CADD software to help people visualize how the expanded existing road and the proposed new bridge would ﬁt in with the existing George C. Wallace Tunnel, the Battleship National Park and the skyline of Mobile. “A lot of 3D renderings were used for the public hearings to give the public a better feel for the project and how it would ﬁt in with the existing landscape,” Perry said. “There are a lot of issues with 1-10 in this area. Hopefully, by continuing with this project, we will be able to solve a

the state attorney general’s office. “The accused receives due process, either through an administrative hearing or through a negotiated settlement agreement,” said Owen. Revocation is the most extreme course of action for offenses that are deemed “grossly negligent” or an “ethical breech.” Owen said she was not at liberty to discuss past or active cases. “If the Board ﬁnds the accused guilty of unprofessional or unethical conduct by clear and convincing evidence, we have the authority to issue a reprimand, to suspend or revoke the license, or to levy a monetary penalty of up to $5,000 for each violation,” McNeel added. State government oversight of the profession is critical, said Owen. “From design through construction, regulation ensures that they have the knowledge and skills necessary to design a safe structure of space,” she said. “Otherwise, citizens would be unable to protect themselves from unqualiﬁed practitioners as they use buildings and space.”

lot of those.” Currently, drivers have to slow down for a big curve before entering the Mobile Bay Tunnel headed east. The tunnel is only four lanes and has no shoulders. “You can’t really widen a tunnel,” Perry said. “That is why we have to look at these various different alternatives.” Perry said currently about once every three days, there is an accident in the heavily traveled corridor that causes traffic delays. The project is currently in the process of obtaining environmental permits with design work expected to begin in about a year. Perry said 3D CADD is getting more incorporated in their standard designs. “More of our projects in the near future will be in 3D,” Perry said.

Architects & Engineers

16 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q March 24, 2017

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Newsmakers

18 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q March 24, 2017

Hodge joins Visitors Bureau Forrest Hodge has been hired as the Sales and Marketing Coordinator at the Greenwood Convention & Visitors Bureau. Hodge is a native of Greenwood and a graduate of Delta State University, where he received a Bachelor of Business AdminHodge istration degree in Marketing. His experience ranges from the hotel industry to coordinating programming for the Greenwood-Leﬂore Public Library. Hodge is on the board of directors for the Greenwood Little Theatre and is a member of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Chancel Choir, Greenwood Chorale, and Greenwood Garden Club.

Ambassadors of the month

TEC appoints Cockrell

TEC has appointed Michael Cockrell as Senior Systems Engineer at LecNet, Inc. in Jackson. Cockrell will provide support for the provisioning and maintenance of broadband communication services and systems. Cockrell has several years of Cockrell experience in the technology industry. Cockrell lives in Madison with his wife, Stacy, and children, Morgan, Austin, Matthew and Wesley.

Keith joins Community

Camp Keith recently joined Community Bank as Vice President in the Meridian office. Keith joins to Community Bank with over 15 years of banking experience. His primary focus will be lending. Keith, a native of Decatur, is a graduate of Mississippi State University with a Bachelor of Business Keith Administration. He also completed The Mississippi School of Banking at Ole Miss. Keith is involved with the Decatur Lions Club and the Newton County Youth Organization. He and his wife, Brandi, along with their three children attend Clarke Venable Baptist Church.

Corrections head appointed

Gov. Phil Bryant has appointed Pelicia Hall commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Hall replaces Marshall Fisher, who was recently appointed commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. Hall has served as interim Hall MDOC commissioner since late January. Previously, Hall was Fisher’s chief of staff. In her role as commissioner, Hall will oversee more than 2,200 employees, three state prisons, three private prisons, 15 regional facilities, 10 community work centers, three technical violation centers and four restitution centers. Hall is former lead counsel for the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics. She has 15 years of legal experience in the government and private sectors in a wide variety of disciplines. She has litigated cases in federal and state courts and served as both a special assistant

Courtesy of EMBDC

The East Mississippi Business Development Corp. in Meridian’s February Ambassadors of the Month awards went to, from left, Terry Watkins, second place, with Lala Enterprises; Jennifer Booker, red ticket drawing winner, WGBC-TV; Derron Radcliff, ﬁrst place, MSU Riley Center; and Heather Woodall, third place, MSU Career Center. United States attorney and as a special assistant attorney general with the Office of the Mississippi Attorney General. The MDOC was one of the agencies she represented during her nearly three years as a state attorney. Hall worked six years with Jackson law ﬁrm of Page, Kruger & Holland. She also was a law clerk for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi and Hinds County Circuit Court. Hall clerked two years for Circuit Judge Tomie Green. A graduate of Mississippi College School of Law, Hall was the recipient of the American Jurisprudence Award in Real Estate Finance & Development. She earned her bachelor of arts degree from Alcorn State University, where she graduated cum laude in political science. She is a member of the Mississippi Bar Association, National Bar Association, Magnolia Bar Association, Capital Area Bar Association, Mississippi Women Lawyers Association and the American Bar Association.

Foundation selects chair The Board of Directors of the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi has elected Scott Coopwood of Cleveland as its chairman for 2017. Other officers for 2017 are Joe Azar of Batesville as vice chairman, Rev. Bartholomew Orr Coopwood of Southaven as secretary, and Bob Bowen of Tate County as treasurer. Scott Hollis of Olive Branch is the immediate past chairman. Coopwood is owner and publisher of Delta Magazine, the Delta Business Journal, and The Cleveland Current newspaper as well as owner of Coopwood Communications, an advertising, marketing and public relations ﬁrm. A graduate of the University of Mississippi,

Coopwood is a past president of the Cleveland Rotary Club and a Paul Harris Fellow. He has also served as vice president of Delta Council and he currently serves on the boards of Entergy Mississippi, the Magazine Innovation Center at the Meek School of Journalism and New Media at Ole Miss, the Mississippi Economic Council, and several other boards around the state. In 2015, Gov. Phil Bryant appointed Coopwood as one of ﬁve Commissioners to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, & Parks. Coopwood and his wife, Cindy, have two sons and a daughter. They are members of Covenent Presbyterian Church in Cleveland.

HORNE hires Romero HORNE LLP has hired Richard Romero, CVA, PAHM, CHFP, as a director in the accounting and business advisory firm’s healthcare focus area. Based out of the Nashville office, Romero serves clients nationwide as part of the firm’s Romero healthcare valuation leadership team. Romero joins the firm with more than 25 years of experience in regulatory compliance, valuation and litigation support.

First Bank hires Bourg First Bank has hired Pat Bourg as Vice President Retail Lending. Bourg, who lives in Tylertown, will be located at the Magnolia branch and will serve customers in Pike, Amite and Walthall Counties. Bourg spent the last decade at United Community Bank in Gonzales, La. He graduated from Bourg Louisiana State University with a bachelor’s degree in Finance and holds a Master’s of

Divinity from New Orleans Theological Seminary. He attended the LSU School of Banking and the Oklahoma School of Banking. He serves as the bi-vocational Pastor at Magee’s Creek Baptist Church in Jayess and formerly was the pastor at Silver Creek Baptist Church in Pike County. Married to Ella Cosby Bourg, they have four children, six grandchildren, and two great grand-twins.

Baker Donelson ranked Baker Donelson has once again been named one of Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For.” In its eighth consecutive year to be included, the law ﬁrm is ranked 95th in this prestigious list recognizing companies with exceptional workplace cultures. The FORTUNE “100 Best Companies to Work For®” list is based on employee ratings of their workplace culture, including the level of trust they feel towards leaders, the pride they take in their jobs and the camaraderie they experience with co-workers. Qualities such as the Firm’s team mentality and a spirit of cooperation contributed to Baker Donelson’s inclusion in this year’s list.

Stanton joins Butler Snow Edward L. Stanton III – former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee – has joined Butler Snow in its Memphis office. Stanton will practice with the ﬁrm’s White Collar, Compliance and Government Investigations team and its Commercial Litigation Practice Group. As U.S. Attorney, Stanton was the chief federal law enforcement officer for the Western District of Tennessee from 2010 to 2017, managing an office of approximately 100 attorneys and support staff in two locations. He oversaw the investigation and litigation of major criminal and civil cases that focused on violent crime, ﬁnancial and health care fraud, racketeering, international drug trafficking, terrorism, child exploitation and cybercrime.

Newsmakers Waggoner staff realigned

Waggoner Engineering recently shifted from a project-based organizational structure to one that will associate its employees with speciﬁc roles based on geographic markets to allow for a more intense focus on serving the client. CEO Joe Waggoner will now oversee business development efforts and the overall management of the company. Emad Al Turk, who has re-joined Waggoner as President, will help ensure daily operations are successfully managed and the client-centric approach is accomplished. Al Turk previously served as Waggoner’s COO for 15 years. Three additional Waggoner team members will serve in a different capacity to manage all business activity across designated regions of the Mid-South states. Hunter Arnold, who was formerly responsible for water resources and coastal programs for Waggoner, will serve as vice president of the Central region of the company’s current territory, covering Ruston, La., to Jackson and Alabama. Tracy Huffman, who oversees Waggoner’s operations in Memphis and Hernando, will continue to serve this area as vice president of the Mid-South region. Anthony Brister will be responsible for the region spanning from New Orleans to Gulfport and Alabama as vice president of the Southern region. Waggoner Engineering, founded in 1976, is a civil engineering ﬁrm based in Jackson.

March 24, 2017

Al Turk

Courtesy of Mississippi State Hospital

Brister

Women’s center director Theresa Grace Kennedy was recently named director of the Women Business Center of Mississippi. The Moss Point native is an alumna of the Alcorn State University, where she earned a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and Master’s in Agricultural Economics. Kennedy She has worked in agriculture, entrepreneurship, banking, political campaigns, small business consulting, city government, community outreach and marketing. Kennedy is a 2015 graduate of Leadership Greater Jackson, active in the Metro Jackson Alcorn Alumni Chapter as Fundraising Chair, a Board member of Jackson Professional Group, a member of Madison County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., a member of TEAM JXN’s Steering committee, and a member of New Jerusalem Church. She also is a member of Women For Progress of Mississippi, Inc. and occasionally co-hosts WFP Radio Show on WMPR 90.1. She, also, has been an active leauge tennis player for over 10 years.

Gallagher

Walker

Apellah names new officers

Waggoner

Huffman

3 named employees of the year Fernandez

Arnold

Mississippi Business Journal

Mississippi State Hospital Employees of the Year are, from left, Tammye Hutchins, Diva Coleman and Donald Bickham. Bickham works in Clinical Service, Coleman in Support Services and Hutchins in Direct Care. Bickham, a McComb native who lives in Brandon, is a Licensed Practical Nurse II who works in Whitﬁeld Medical Surgical Hospital. She has been employed at MSH for 19 years. Coleman, a Braxton resident, is a Cashier in the Fiscal Services Department and has been employed at MSH for 11 years. Hutchins, a Carthage native who lives in Jackson, is a Mental Health Technician Assistant Shift Leader who works in Female Continued Treatment. She has worked at MSH since 1992.,

Cochran’s staff changes Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) has announced personnel changes, including the naming of Linda Good as Deputy Chief of Staff, and promoting Mary Martha Henson and Ty Mabry to be legislative director and deputy legislative director, respectively. The staff shifts are the result of Cochran’s current deputy chief of staff/legislative director, Adam Telle, being named majority clerk of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security. Telle replaces Kathy Kraninger, who accepted a position with the White House Office of Management and Budget. Good was Cochran’s Administrative Director and Personal Assistant. She served in a similar capacity for Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) before joining Cochran’s staff in 2015. Prior to moving to the Senate, Good worked 20 years in various senior positions on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. From 2011-2015, Good was a senior staff member to Chairman Darrell Issa, working as chief clerk to the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Henson has been a legislative assistant to Cochran since August 2015. Henson worked eight years for former Rep. Chip Pickering (R-Miss.) as a ﬁeld representative and later legislative director. In Mississippi, she helped establish the Mississippi Biotechnology Association and was executive director and chief operating officer of the Mississippi Economic Development Council. A native of West Point, Henson earned a business administration degree from Mississippi State University and received an Economic and Community Developer Certiﬁcation from University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute. In 2014, Henson was named one of Mississippi’s 50 Leading

Business Women, and listed in Mississippi’s Top 40 under 40 in 2012, both by the Mississippi Business Journal. Mabry was Cochran’s senior policy adviser/military legislative assistant and will retain those duties as deputy legislative director. Mabry served as deputy policy director for Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.) from 2009 to 2015, and as an aide to Pickering from 20062000. A native of Liberty, Mabry earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Mississippi State University in 2006. Telle, as the Homeland Security clerk, will serve members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which Cochran chairs. Telle has worked for Cochran since 2007. He was named legislative director in 2013 and deputy chief of staff in 2015. Prior to working for Cochran, Telle served on the staff of Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.). Telle received a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science and a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from Mississippi State University in 2005. He is a former MSU student body president.

Whatley named top dealer Mike Whatley, President of Mike Whatley Honda, was honored as the Mississippi TIME Dealer of the Year recently at a ceremony held in conjunction with the National Automobile Dealers Association annual convention. He was nominated by the Mississippi Automobile Dealers Association Whatley for his community service and industry accomplishments. The TIME Dealer of the Year award is one of the automobile industry’s most prestigious honors.

Apelah, Inc., Specialized Foster Care in Hernando has named three members and two key leadership positions to its 2017-2018 Board of Directors. Susan Flowers Fernandez, Member Services Manager for the DeSoto County Economic Development Council, was elected Leike to serve as Chair of the Board. Tracy Gallagher, co-owner of the Gallagher Insurance Group, will serve as Vice-Chair. Three additional members of the board are Lisa Walker, retired nurse and co-owner of Midtown Auto Parts and Salvage; Dick Leike, Vice President at Rutherford Crye-Leike Realtors, Inc.; and George Rutherford, Senior Vice President of Finance at Generations, Inc. Melanie Keller is Executive Director of Apelah’s Specialized Foster Care, a child placement program that provides a place of refuge and healing for emotionally and medically fragile children.

Couple wins Catfish honor Mississippi’s 2017 Catfish Farmers of the Year are Chris and Missy McGlawn of Swiftown, Miss. The industry’s first couple to receive the annual award. Their family farm consists of 160 water acres of catfish ponds alongside their row cropping and land forming businesses.

Mueller

Peresich

Peresich Jr.

Law ﬁrm has Super Lawyers Randi P. Mueller, Ronald G. Peresich Jr., Ronald G. Peresich, Cowles E. Symmes and Michael E. Whitehead of Page, Mannino, Peresich & McDermott, PLLC, were all designated as Mississippi’s Super Lawyers for 2016 by Mid-South Super Lawyers Whitehead Magazine. The law ﬁrm has offices in Biloxi and Jackson. Selection of the attorneys is a result of nomination, research and a selection process by other Symmes attorneys.

Newsmakers

20 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q March 24, 2017

Regions take top ranking Regions Bank is the highest-ranked bank in the United States in the 2017 Temkin Experience Ratings. The annual ratings are compiled by the Temkin Group, a national research ﬁrm that ranks companies based on cusomter experience. The 2017 ratings evaluate over 300 companies from across 20 industries ranging from banks to supermarkets to retailers and more. In addition to being recognized as the highest-ranked company in the banking industry, Regions also tied as the fourth-highest rated company across all industries. Only Publix, Chick-Fil-A and the supermarket H-E-B ranked higher. This is the fourth consecutive year Regions has ranked in the top 10 percent of companies. Regions is also recognized as one of the companies that most outperformed its peers. The 2017 ratings represent Regions’ strongest performance in the survey to date. In compiling the 2017 Temkin Experience Ratings, the Temkin Group surveyed 10,000 U.S. consumers who were asked to rate their recent interactions with a variety of companies. In all, 331 companies were included in the rankings. Survey participants were asked to evaluate their experiences with the companies across three categories: success, effort and emotion.

Planters makes promotions

Planters Bank recently made a series of promotions and staff changes. In Greenville, Abby Murphy was promoted to Branch Officer. Murphy is a native of Indianola and joined Planters Bank in 2008. She graduated from Delta State University with BBA degree. She is a volunteer at the Mighty Mississippi Music Festival and Mississippi River Marathon. Mur- Murphy phy is married to Calvin Murphy, Jr., and they have two sons, Colin and Luke. Chase McPherson has been promoted to Assistant Vice President for the Greenville office. He joined Planters Bank in September 2013. McPherson is a native of Greenville and graduated from Mississippi State University in 2012 with a BBA, majoring in McPherson Business Information Systems. He is a graduate of the Mississippi School of Banking at Ole Miss and Southeastern School of Consumer Credit at Vanderbilt University. He is a County Chairman for the Mississippi Young Bankers Association. He is a member of the Greenville Rotary Club, volunteer for the Greenville Public Schools Reading Program, an active Board member for the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity, volunteer with The Salvation Army, Board member for Community Counseling of Washington County, Leadership Washington County Program, and campaign advisor for The United Way of Washington County. At the Indianola branch, Grant E. Phillips was promoted to Assistant Vice President. Phillips joined Planters Bank in June, 2013. He graduated cum laude from Mississippi College in 2013. He is a graduate of the Southeastern School of Consumer Credit and the University of Mississippi School of Phillips Banking.

Coast airport recognized

Courtesy of Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport

Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport received seven awards at the 2016 Addys for its new advertising campaign, “That’s How We Fly.” The campaign was conceptualized and created by The Focus Group, an advertising agency based on the Gulf Coast. “That’s How We Fly” received silver awards for ﬁlm and video animation and outdoor advertising; gold awards for integrated marketing campaign, social media, magazine advertising and television advertising; and the Best of Broadcast award for television advertising. As part of winning the Best of Broadcast award, the television advertisement from the airport’s campaign will move on to compete against Addy award winners throughout the southeastern United States. Pictured, from left are Ben Hunter, Director of Sales and Marketing at The Focus Group; Thomas Broadus, Director of Interactive and New Media at The Focus Group; Teckie Hinkebein, Director of Marketing at Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport.,

Phillips is president of the Rotary Club of Indianola, and he also serves on the Mid Delta Arts Association board as their Treasurer. He is married to former Amy Schultz of Whittier, Calif. They are both members of First Presbyterian Church in Indianola. Jody Moor has been promoted to First Vice President in the Indianola office. Moor joined the bank in 2007. He is a native of Greenwood and graduated from Mississippi State University with BBA degree. He completed the Graduate School of Banking at LSU, South- Moor eastern School of Commercial Lending and Consumer Credit. Moor is a board member for the Indianola Historic Preservation Commission and Indianola Educational Foundation, treasurer for Indianola Main Street and member of Indianola Rotary Club. He has served as president for the Indianola Chamber of Commerce and Indianola Rotary Club. Moor is a member of St. John’s United Methodist Church and is on the Finance Committee He is married to the former Kelly Wilson, and they have ﬁve children, Joel Moor, Hannah Moor, Allie Moor, Morgan Hays Clark and Ethan Clark. Sarah Nabors has been promoted to Operations Officer/ Loan Operations at the Planters Bank system in Indianola. She began working for Planters Bank in Greenville in 2002 and moved to Indianola’s office in 2006. Currently, she works at the Indianola Nabors Operations Center in the Loan Centralization Department. Nabors is a native of Greenville and a graduate

of St. Joseph Catholic School. She is married to Chip Nabors. Christopher Lewis has been promoted to Operations Officer/ Electronic Banking. Lewis has ﬁve years of banking experience and is a graduate of Greenwood High School He has a B.S. in Business Administration from Mississippi Valley State University. Lewis is Lewis a Financial Literacy trainer for Mississippi Community Financial Access Coalition. He is married to Janeisha Sanders-Lewis. They are members of the New Green Grove Church of Faith, and they have three children Dalaysha Lewis, Christian Lewis and Chris Lewis, Jr. In Greenwood, Charlotte Michael is promoted to Branch Officer. A native of Greenwood and a graduate of Greenwood High, Michael has seven years of banking experience. She is a member of North Greenwood Baptist Church. She is married to Max Michael. Michael They have four children, Mary Catherine Moore, Carli Pruett, Darren Michael and Kyle Michael. At the Leland office, Kerie Signa and Dianne Giachelli are promoted to Branch Officer. Signa is a native of Greenville and a graduate of O’Bannon High School. Signa has 13 years of banking experience. She is married to John Signa, and they are members Signa

of St. Joseph Catholic Church. They have three children Triston, Kelsey and Noah. Giachelli joined Planters Bank as a Customer Service Representative in 2011. She is now working in the loan department. She is a graduate of Mississippi Delta Community College and is married Giachelli to Joe Giachelli. They are members of St. Joseph Catholic Church and have three children Joey Giachelli, Jay Giachelli and Christy Jones. In Clarksdale, Angela “Angie” Hawes has been promoted to Operations Officer/Credit Administration for the Planters Bank system. Hawes has 18 years of banking experience. She is a graduate of Mississippi Delta Community College and is attending the Mississippi School of Banking. Hawes Hawes is CDIA certiﬁed as a FCRA Data Furnisher. Hawes has volunteered on behalf of St. Jude’s Children Hospital, American Cancer Society and taught Mission Friends and Girls in Action at Oakhurst Baptist Church where she is a member of the church. She is married to Curt Hawes and they have two children.

Future Design wins ADDYs Future Design Group of Gulfport recently took home 10 ADDY Awards including its ﬁrst gold in its two years. The annual awards are presented through the Mississippi Gulf Coast Advertising Federation. Awards were: • Public Service Online/Interactive: Gold Award, Future Developers Website • Consumer Website: Silver Award, DunbarMonroe Website • Microsite: Silver Award, Scarlet Pearl Casino Resort, Escape Krampus Microsite • Microsite: Silver Award, Future Design Group, Christmas Snowball Fight Microsite • Advertising Industry Self-Promotion Online/Interactive: Silver Award, Future Design Group, Christmas Snowball Fight Microsite • Microsite: Silver Award, Future Design Group, Snowing Christmas Email Microsite • Blog: Silver Award, Future Design Group, Get Informed with Blogging • Ad Club Advertising: Silver Award, AAF Mississippi Gulf Coast Website • User Experience: Silver Award, Future Developers Website Design • User Experience: Silver Award, AAF Mississippi Gulf Coast Website

Solutions Team on CRN list The Solutions Team of Brandon, a provider of cloud-based hosting and managed services solutions, has been named to the 2017 Managed Service Provider 500 list in the Pioneer 250 category by CRN, a brand of The Channel Company. The annual list recognizes North American solution providers with cutting-edge approaches to delivering managed services. Their offerings help companies navigate the complex and ever-changing landscape of IT, improve operational efficiencies, and maximize their return on IT investments. The Pioneer 250 category recognizes companies with business models weighted toward managed services and largely focused on the SMB market.

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22 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q March 24, 2017 INSIDE BUSINESS

Rhetoric in Marketing: Deciphering the Greek

e learn some pretty important things too early in life—at least, too early to properly appreciate

them. I ﬁnd myself wanting to go back in time and sit through a middle school history class now that I can actually pay attention and understand, rather than merely retaining phrases like “Ottoman Empire,” “Balkan Powder Keg” and “Fertile Crescent.” Does that seem strange? Perhaps, but these are interesting, world-shaping concepts that were given to a brain much too young to comprehend the implications. Sometimes, I can barely even associate the phrases to the correct events. Another thing we learned too early, maybe, is Aristotle’s three methods of persuasion, which he outlines in his fourth-century text “Rhetoric.” Remember? Ethos, pathos, logos? If you don’t remember, don’t worry. It was a long time ago (unless you’re a Greek scholar or a philosophy major. However, what was so much gobbledygook to a junior high student has immensely relevant application in our daily marketing lives. “Ethos,” the root word of “ethic,” is the Greek word for “character.” In the context of rhetoric, ethos is an appeal based on authority. You give something weight because it is backed by someone you know or trust or who has expertise on whatever is being discussed. I think of the old “Be like Mike”

Gatorade ads featuring Michael Jordan. “Pathos” is an emotional appeal. It seeks to incite a feeling in a viewer that will compel him or her to action. If you hear a certain Sarah McLachlan tune and think about orphaned puppies, you know the power of pathos-based appeals. Emotional persuasion is used very much in our polarized political society—it assumes that one agrees with part of a particular philosophy, there’s an emotional tie to the rest of its tenets. Finally, “logos” is logical persuasion. It relies on a cause-and-effect style of reasoning. Logos persuasions typically involve a lot of statistics and facts. They let the information that characterizes a situation speak for itself, leaving it to the audience to draw their conclusions. Of course, the information is usually substantial enough to lead the audience to the conclusion the persuader desires. Maybe as kids we didn’t need to persuade our peers so much, but as an adult, it’s pretty much all we do. But let’s take ethos, pathos, and logos out of the context of winning an argument, or winning over a customer. Let’s think of them as means of connection. The fact of the matter is that different people respond to different things. Anyone who’s raised more than one child probably knows this. A tactic or method that works with one utterly fails with the other. Another example of this idea of indi-

vidualized connections, Gary Chapman’s couples’ self-help book from the mid ’90s, “The Five Love Languages,” has come back into popularity in recent years. The book’s premise is that everyone interprets and shows affection one of ﬁve different ways— through gifts, time, words, acts of service or physical touch. For someone whose love language is service, a tender touch won’t amount to much if the trash needs taking out or the sink is full of dishes. Vice versa for someone whose love language is touch. Ethos, pathos and logos are the love languages at play in the marketing world. There’s a lot more to garner from them than you might think. An “authoritative source” in an ethosbased piece can be anyone from an academic professional to someone who has simply tried the product and had success with it. It can be a great opportunity to give your customers a bit of the spotlight and tell their stories. But this can backﬁre. If you hang too much responsibility on a celebrity spokesperson, a personal failure can weigh against a brand. This is particularly true of corporate leadership. Uber and Under Armour have shown this to us lately. On the pathos side, we work a lot with nostalgia and heartstrings in advertising. But the emotional spectrum is so much wider than that. How do you want your product to make your customer feel? Safer? Stronger? More optimistic? Or maybe you want to make the customer feel vulnera-

ble in some way, so he or she will turn to your product for security. Josh Mabus To use logos, simply look to the data. Data can be a powerful thing, but don’t forget, data doesn’t interpret itself. It must be crafted into some sort of narrative that makes sense. As humans we often make decisions emotionally and then backﬁll with logic. The data has to be given personality. Thinking about ethos, pathos and logos can be helpful in your own workplace too. If you’re butting heads with a coworker or an employee, try a different tack. Some people won’t commit to a task unless they know the function of the task in the larger campaign, while others will simply say “OK” with no questions asked. Some may shut down in the workplace if they don’t feel validated and appreciated, while some actually work better when instructions are given bluntly or even harshly. So, which should you use in your marketing? No one said you had to choose just one. These aren’t mutually exclusive ideas. A balance of authority, emotional appeal and logical backing is a formula worth seeking.

Josh Mabus is president and CEO of The Mabus Agency

March 24, 2017

Mississippi Business Journal

THE SPIN CYCLE

Google launches new effort to ﬂag offensive content G oogle is undertaking a new effort to better identify content that is potentially upsetting or offensive to search-

ers. It hopes this will prevent such content from crowding out factual, accurate and trustworthy information in the top search results. “We’re explicitly avoiding the term ‘fake news,’ because we think it is too vague,” said Paul Haahr, one of Google’s senior engineers who is involved with search quality said to Search Engine Land. “Demonstrably inaccurate information, however, we want to target.”

New Role For Google’s Army Of ‘Quality Raters’ The effort revolves around Google’s quality raters, over 10,000 contractors that Google uses worldwide to evaluate search results. These raters are given actual searches to conduct, drawn from real searches that Google sees. They then rate pages that appear in the top results as to how good those seem as answers. Quality raters do not have the power to alter Google’s results directly. A rater marking a particular result as low quality will not cause that page to plunge in rankings. Instead, the data produced by quality raters is used to improve Google’s search algorithms generally. In time, that data might have an impact on low-quality pages that are spotted by raters, as well as on others that weren’t reviewed. Quality raters use a set of guidelines that are nearly 200 pages long, instructing them on how to assess website quality and whether the results they review meet the needs of those who might search for particular queries.

The New ‘Upsetting-Offensive’ Content Flag Those guidelines have been updated with an entirely new section about “Upsetting-Offensive” content that covers a new flag that’s been added for raters to use. Until now, pages could not be flagged by raters with this designation. The guidelines say that upsetting or offensive content typically includes the following things from the guide: o Content that promotes hate or violence against a group of people based on criteria including (but not limited to) race or ethnicity, religion, gender, nationality or citizenship, disability, age, sexual orientation, or veteran status. o Content with racial slurs or extremely offensive terminology. o Graphic violence, including animal cruelty or child abuse. o Explicit how to information about harmful activities (i.e., how tos on human trafficking or violent assault). o Other types of content which users in your locale would find extremely upsetting

or offensive. Being Flagged Is Not An Immediate Demotion or A Ban What happens if content is flagged this way? Nothing immediate. The results that quality raters flag is used as “training data” for Google’s human coders who write search algorithms, as well as for its machine learning systems. Basically, content of this nature is used to help Google figure out how to automatically identify upsetting or offensive content in general. In other words, being flagged as “Upsetting-Offensive” by a quality rater does not actually mean that a page or site will be identified this way in Google’s actual search engine. Instead, it’s data that Google uses so that its search algorithms can automatically spot pages generally that should be flagged. If the algorithms themselves actually flag content, then that content is less likely to appear for searches where the intent is deemed to be about general learning. For example, someone searching for Holocaust information is less likely to run into Holocaust denial sites, if things go as Google intends. Being flagged as Upsetting-Offensive does not mean such content won’t appear at all in Google. In cases where Google determines there’s an explicit desire to reach such content, it will still be delivered. Those Explicitly Seeking Offensive Content Will Get Factual Information What about searches where people might already have made their minds up about particular situations? For example, if someone who already doubts the Holocaust happened does a search on that topic, should that be viewed as an explicit search for material that supports it, even if that material is deemed upsetting or offensive? The guidelines address this. It acknowledges that people may search for possibly upsetting or offensive topics. It takes

the view that in all cases, the assumption should be toward returning trustworthy, factually accurate and credible information.

ible guitar licks, brash self-confidence and memorable songs about cars, girls and wild dance parties. While Elvis Presley was rock’s first pop star and teenage heartthrob, Mr. Berry was its master Todd Smith theorist and conceptual genius, the songwriter who understood what the kids wanted before they knew themselves. With songs like “Johnny B. Goode” and “Roll Over Beethoven,” he gave his listeners much more than they bargained for when they dropped their coins in the jukebox! By the 1980s, Mr. Berry was recognized as a rock pioneer. He never won a Grammy Award in his prime, but the Recording Academy gave him a lifetime achievement award in 1984. And, he was in the first group of musicians inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. For his indelible mark as a music icon, Berry takes a Rockin’ Mic – and somewhere just beyond the pearly gates, Beethoven is indeed rolling over.

Chipotle Back on Top as America’s Favorite Mexican Chain Chipotle is once again America’s favorite Mexican restaurant chain, according to a new study. Each week, The Spin Cycle will bestow It seems the burrito chain is finally maka Golden Mic Award to the person, group ing a comeback following an E. coli outor company in the court of public opinion break that sent its sales plunging for more that best exemplifies the tenets of solthan a year, according to the study by Marid PR, marketing and advertising – and ket Force Information. those who don’t. Stay tuned – and step-up Prior to the outbreak, Chipotle topped to the mic! And remember … Amplify Your the list of Americans’ favorite Mexican Brand! chains. But it lost that spot to little-known TexTodd Smith is president and chief communications Mex chain Taco Bueno last year. officer of Deane, Smith & Partners, a full-service This year, Chipotle’s back on top. “After a rough couple of years that in- branding, PR, marketing and advertising firm with ofcluded an E. coli outbreak and a hit to its fices in Jackson. The firm — based in Nashville, Tenn. stock price, Denver-based Chipotle once — is also affiliated with Mad Genius. Contact him at again leads the Mexican food category, a todd@deanesmithpartners.com, and follow him @ position it shared with Qdoba in the 2015 spinsurgeon. study before landing second behind lesser-known Taco Bueno in 2016,” Market Force said in a statement. “Moe’s Southwest Grill took second place this year, while El Pollo Loco ranked third, Qdoba fourth and Taco Cabana fifth.” The study also found that Chipotle’s efforts to improve its customer service has been Commercial Real Estate Auction Online Only Bidding Ends paying off. Wednesday April 12, 2017 @ 12:00 Noon The chain took first place Address: 5120 Galaxie Drive, Jackson, MS. for food quality, cleanliness, 10,748 Sq. Ft.+- Total Area on .68 Acres and curb appeal, and tied for 3 Office Suites 5120-A - 2,940 Sq. Ft.-Available first with Qdoba and Moe’s 5120-B- 4,380 Sq. Ft.-Available 5120-C- 2,880 Sq. Ft.-Leased for service speed. Rockin’ Mic | Chuck Berry Helped Define the Genre? Chuck Berry, who died last week at age 90, helped define rock ‘n’ roll with indel-

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