MBJ_May05_2017

INSIDE — March Unemployment numbers — Page 9 AGRICULTURE

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May 5, 2017 • Vo. 39. No. 18 • 20 pages

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

ECONOMY Courtesy of MEC/MBJ

Stonnington Farm creates fertile ground for grass-fed beef

By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com

— Page 4

MBJ FOCUS

Going Green {Section begins P11}

» Recycle group selects its best » Environment a natural fit for Dallas Baker

{The List P15} » LEED Certified Buildings

Page 2 REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK

{P8}

» A trip to Vicksburg in the 200th, or so, anniversary of statehood

STATE THUS FAR HAS NOT BENEFITED FROM ‘TRUMP EFFECT’

Stars come out for MEC

In the short view, the outlook for the Mississippi economy has improved nicely.

The economy for 2017 is projected by the Institutions of Higher Learning’s University Research Center (URC) to expand by 1.9 percent over 2016, up 0.4 percentage points from the last previous estimate.

But the expansion is far below the 2.6 percent growth for 2016, the URC said in its spring outlook released last week.

And 2017 looks much better for the national economy, which has been nudged up to 2.4 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The BEA projection for the nation in 2018 at this point is 2.6.

Increased consumer spending is in part the reason for the national uptick, based on higher consumer and business confidence, according to the center.

“This improved sentiment is based on anticipated regulatory and tax reform becoming effective sometime in 2018,” the report states.

In other words, “the Trump effect.”

President Donald Trump is pushing for removing what he sees as burdensome and unnecessary business regulations.

He has offered a preliminary plan to lower taxes for businesses and individuals.

But Mississippi thus far has not reacted as strongly as the rest of the nation, said Corey Miller, economic analyst for the center.

Typically, Mississippi does not react as See ECON OMY, Page 8

2 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q May 5, 2017 DINING

Doe’s: the tradition comes to Ridgeland

By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com

Maybe Shakespeare got it wrong.

A Doe’s by any other name probably wouldn’t be as big of a deal.

The restaurant did a very low profile opening last week but the fact that it was half full anyway is testament to the name of the steak and tamales restaurant that dates to 1941 in Greenville.

No advertising beyond the sign on the front of the former Beagle Bagel shop in The Promenade shopping center on east County Line Road in Ridgeland.

Inside the white facade that is the style of the center, the newest owners of a Doe’s franchise, Steve and Lisa Beagles (no relation to the bagel shop), warmed it up quite a bit – with floors and bar in dark wood.

They chose red-and-white checked tablecloths to match the original style.

Members of the founding Signa family were on hand the first Thursday night and also Friday and Saturday, double-checking to make sure everything was done right.

“They worked side-by-side with our cooks, shoulder-to-shoulder, showing them how the meat needed to be cut, everything from chili to spaghetti sauce to how to make a perfect meatball,” Steve Beagles said.

Four of the 26 employees journeyed to the Delta city on the Mississippi to be trained in the way that Dominick “Doe” Signa set 76 years ago in what had been the family’s store.

Things pretty much don’t change in the Signa world.

Prices unavoidably do.

The steaks are still huge. All are two inches thick. We chose the sirloin, three and one-half to four pounds. The prices match the heft – seventy bucks for ours.

Medium rare is what we ordered, but somehow my wife’s half was closer to rare, and our server, Jeff, hustled it back to the kitchen and back to the table It was perfect, my wife said. “This is the best steak I’ve

TACY RAYBURN/MBJ

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ever eaten.”

I couldn’t stop eating to offer an assessment, but let me just say yes.

With our steaks came Doe’s original green salad, what I would call a “wet salad” with a distinct hint of lemon. I got the steak-cut fries and she opted for the baked potato.

The Beagles pride themselves in a six-ounce pours of wine, ranging from $7 to $10, past the halfway mark, rather than the common four ounces. My spouse chose her usual

house chardonnay, I a satisfying red recommended by Jeff.

The tamales come wrapped in in a parchment-like paper. I cannot recall what they were wrapped in – I’m thinking corn husks – when I ate at the original Doe’s.

Tamales are made from the original Doe’s recipe, but a vendor rolls them out in a cost-prohibitive $25,000 machine, Steve Beagles said. A couple of shots of hot sauce unlock the flavor.

Nothing can replicate history, that’s for sure. But they’re trying to duplicate the experience. The Doe’s website shows a family-owned eat place in Paducah, Ky., with franchises in Little Rock, Bentonville, Fayetteville, Fort Smith and Jonesboro in Arkansas, and others in Baton Rouge and Monroe, La., along with Biloxi.

The night I drove from Pine Bluff, Ark., to Greenville to dine at Doe’s, Greenville royalty was on hand.

Betty Carter, widow of famed newspaperman Hodding Carter II, publisher and editor the Delta Democrat-Times, was on hand to lend her charm to the atmosphere in the cinderblock edifice.

I was an editor at the Pulitzer-prize-winning Pine Bluff Commercial, owned by the Freeman brothers and I feel the equal of the DD-T, so I knew the name.

Someone pointed her out – and I hope introduced me to her, rather than I foisting myself on her – and she was smiling and gracious, just like the lady sitting across the table from me the other night.

Reservations are accepted but the first night the doors were opened at 5 o’clock and 65 people entered before the kitchen was shut down.

Closing is 9 p.m., but Steve Beagles said that there will be no rush job on someone who shows up at 8:55. No mopping around your feet or spritzing tabletops.

Two-thirds of the customers that first night had Delta ties.

With the Signas on hand, “it was like a family reunion,” said Lisa Beagles, who shared her pecan pie from her own family repository of recipes.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Stars come out as sun sets on MEC’s Wilson era

By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com Blake Wilson bade farewell April 27 to the Mississippi Economic Council after 19 years of leading the state chamber of commerce.

Wilson’s retirement, effective June 16, as only the third director of the 68-year-old organization, added a dimension to the annual meeting at the Jackson Convention Complex, which drew more than 2,000.

The growth of the organization under Wilson’s leadership was recounted.

In 1997, there were 478 organization members, and membership has grown to 1,067.

Effective Monday, Scott Waller became interim president and chief executive. He had been now executive vice president and chief operating officer.

After a video of the state’s leaders complimenting Wilson for the achievements under his guidance, and a standing ovation, He said, “You’re too generous.

“The strength and the life’s-blood of the MEC is all you, our membership.”

The MEC board said bon voyage with a European trip for Wilson and his See WILSON, Page 3

Blake Wilson laughs at a comment made while he was being honored; also shown are Robin Robinson (left), departing chairwoman, and Wilson’s wife, Ann..

Courtesy of MEC/MBJ

May 5, 2017

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WILSON Continued from, Page 2

wife, Ann. Three Mississippians made the event starry.

Ben Napier, who with his wife, Erin, is co-host of the Laurel-based “Home Town” show on the HGTV — connected a few dots.

“If I had known you were going to have Robin [Robinson], and Sanderson Farms chicken [for lunch] we could’ve done this in Laurel,” which is where the poultry producer is headquartered, Napier joked. Robinson, a Sanderson Farms officer, is departing as MEC chairwoman and will be replaced by William Yates III. The home restoration show took off with a whoosh this year on the cable network and the viewing audience is seeing a “story about Mississippi that they haven’t heard before,” Erin Napier said.

“We [have] a diverse, beautiful, creative and powerful economy in our state,” she began, which, Ben interjected, “is a “big small town.”

That close-knit quality, the Napiers explained to HGTV producers, is how the show’s pilot debut scored a record 2.3 million viewers.

Mac McAnally, who grew up in Belmont, Miss., and is an eight-time winner of the Country Music Association Musician of the Year, a noted songwriter and recording artist and a member of Jimmy Buffet’s Coral Reefer Band, was on hand to celebrate Mississippi.

Mississippi’s reputation as a creative state “goes all the around the world,” McAnally said, recalling the spontaeous applause the state’s name elicited when he and Buffet were on a tour of Australia and New Zealand.

He recalled that his mother would always admonish him when he was growing up to “make some use of yourself ” as he was leaving the house.

Courtesy of MEC/MBJ

Above: Ben and Erin Napier share their story with the gathering. Inset: Mac McAnally entertains with one of his compositions.

“That’s the way I want to look at every morning . . . whether it’s been a good brother to my sisters or better neighbor to my neighbors or a better ex-husband to my ex-wife.”

He said his song “It’s My Job” explains that outlook.

“Doing your best makes everything better,” he told the gathering.

Smallness seemed to be a theme of the show.

The running joke is that Wilson hails from “a state with three counties, two at high tide,” Delaware.

Waller got in a zinger in the event, which had elements

of a good-natured roast. Waller said he and the rest of the staff took up a collection to buy the Wilsons a jonboat so they could paddle along the shores of Delaware at high tide.

But Wilson said he and his wife are Mississippians and will continue to live here, though they’ll avoid the long, hot summers of Mississippi by staying at his wife’s family’s cottage on the Chesapeake Bay. In a way, Wilson got in the last word. Each vase of flowers on the tables at the luncheon had a card with Wilson’s closing in all his thousands of emails: “Keep the Faith!”

4 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q May 5, 2017 AGRICULTURE

Stonnington Farm creates fertile ground for grass-fed beef in south Mississippi

By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com

When Michael Stonnington first meets people and talks about his 378-acre grassfed beef operation, he doesn’t usually tell them that in addition to being a cattle farmer, he is an orthopedic surgeon. That is because people tend to think doctors have farms as a tax write off. Nothing could be farther from the truth for the Stonnington Farm.

“This is a real business,” Stonnington said. “It is a business I have built and am very proud of. This is a successful business that educates people about where their food comes from. I’m proud to be a family farm.”

Stonnington is a very hands-on farm manager even though that means he works literally seven days a week.

“But it is a lifestyle that I love,” he said.

“My patients love that I do this. And they love buying my beef. I can’t think of anything better and more worthwhile than helping people think about where their food comes from, and helping raise awareness of the importance of the family farm.

We are helping people educate themselves as to what is a good nutritional balance, and how to be aware of how their food is made. I feel like the grass-fed movement is the foundation for this. It is a great movement to be a part of because it is bringing to life how food goes from pasture to the table plate. That is such a great thing to be a part of.”

He uses his 45-minute drive to work in Hattiesburg each day to go over plans with his ranchers. On the drive back, he gets updates on how the day went. Every weekend he is on the farm fulltime, going over pastures, looking at the animals, fixing fences and pipes, and figuring out pasture management and pasture rotation. He writes out a detailed plan for each week that is sent to all his ranchers.

The Stonningtons also do their marketing. They market quarter, half and whole cows to individuals through the farm’s website, stonningtonfarm.com, and through Facebook. Stonnington does most of the social media posts himself, but also has a social media consultant to advise him.

In addition to their website, the farm is on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Their biggest marketing success has come from getting into grocery stores and restaurants, particularly the Corner Markets in Hattiesburg and Petal.

“They really took a chance on us,” he

Courtesy of Stoddington Farms/MBJ

Stonnington with cows.

said. “When I first started, grassfed beef was not popular or well understood. The cattle farmers thought I was crazy. But it has really, really gone well. Corner Market took a chance on me after I finally got a meeting with the CEO and made a pitch why grass-fed beef is important. Forrest Roberts, the owner (and his chief of perishables, Joe Edwards) took the bull by the horns. He has been a big supporter. Then we got into Keg and Barrel Restaurant and Patio 44. A new outlet is Coast Health and Nutrition in Gulfport, and our beef is now being served in the newly opened Patio 44 restaurant in Biloxi.”

Stonnington said it is the grocery store owners, restaurant owners and chefs who have been the heroes of this movement.

“They took this chance when no one was that keen on grass-fed beef,” he said. “I just can’t thank them enough. Grass-fed beef would be nothing without chefs, restaurant owners and grocery store owners taking a chance with something a bit more expensive.”

Stonnington emigrated from Australia as a toddler with his parents and five brothers and sisters. He grew up (until his teenage years) in Minnesota and then moved to the Southeast. He has lived in the South ever since.

His father was a doctor, who had great respect for farmers.

“Farmers were his

favorite people in the world,” Stonnington said.

Stonnington was in the Air Force, and ended up at Keesler Air Force Base where he was a staff orthopedic surgeon. He got into horses and bought a 30-acre farm in 1998 that has been gradually added onto over the years. He went into tree farming, and lost heavily on that operation when Hurricane Katrina hit.

“My biggest mistake was to get into tree farming,” he said. “That was very costly.

It cost to plant them and when they were destroyed, I had to spend money to clear them off. It was terrible. We weathered the storm here 35 miles north of the Gulf. As we stood there after the horrible storm, there was a bright sunny sky like there always is after a hurricane. I decided it was time to do something different. After cleaning up the farm, within months I had commercial cattle on the farm.

“That began my journey into cattle farming and my education in cattle farming. I did a lot of reading and worked the farm myself with some employees. It was smaller scale at that point. I discovered I was not satisfied doing commercial feedlot cattle. The whole process is really impersonal. I was also reading more about grassfed beef and was really intrigued by the potential health benefits. It was the whole answer to the void I felt. So I sold my cows

and started over.”

He began building his herd with a good Brangus base to start with because of their heat tolerance. The breed is particularly well matched to the Mississippi climate.

Over the years he has created a mix that includes less Brahman influence and more Angus and Hereford genetics. All are heat tolerant and can do well in this environment.

He built up his herd over the years keeping his own heifers and bringing in a couple more base herds bought directly from farmers. Then there was the years-long process of converting farm to pasture, and establishing proper pasture management.

“Through all these years, I made a lot of mistakes,” he said. “I made bad choices, but have learned a lot over the past 12 years now. Now the farm has three full-time employees and a half-time employee who work five days a week. I work the weekends. My kids grew up farming and they help me on the weekends. I’m very active.

I manage the farm. I make all the decisions about pasture rotation. I take care of most of the health care of the animals. I do all the castrations and vaccinations. The cattle are strictly grass-fed and we use no hormones or antibiotics with one exception: Antibiotics are used for life threatening See FARM, Page 5

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PINE BELT

Long Term Disaster Recovery Organization can act quickly and effectively

By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com

When disaster hit Hattiesburg Jan. 21 in the form of an EF3 tornado, four people were killed and 1,131 homes either damaged or destroyed by a tornado that was 31 miles long and a half mile wide. If was the fourth major disaster to hit the region in a little over 11 years.

While it may seem the Pine Belt area has suffered more than its share of natural disasters, the community had the benefit of being able to react very quickly due to the existence of a Long Term Recovery Organization called Recover, Rebuild, Restore Southeast Mississippi (R3SM) established after Hurricane Katrina.

Sheila Varnado, executive director, R3SM, said the most important advantage of having this type of organization in place before a disaster occurs is you already have a recognized and knowledgeable group of people who can immediately start working with the county, state and federal emergency management structure to assist them with the triaging of recovery needs and resources and establishing the information conduit that will be needed once the immediate recovery response phase flows into the long term recovery response phase.

“In 2006, after Hurricane Katrina, the greater Hattiesburg community was fortunate enough to have visionary and caring leaders who knew the recovery from Katrina would be a long, complicated road,” said Varnado, who had earlier retired as the paid executive director and now works as a volunteer for R3SM. “They sought advice from communities in Florida, who themselves had recently gone through a series of hurricanes, and were well aware of the entire long-term recovery process. The strongest advice they received was, your community needs to establish a Long Term Recovery Organization. This nationally recognized disaster recovery organizational model allows for resources to flow into the

impacted community swiftly and in an orderly and structured manner.”

Varnado said another advantage is it allows national nonprofits and faithbased organizations the ability to align with a single community entity to maximize the flow of substantial resources. R3SM is the Long Term Recovery Organization for Forrest, Lamar and Perry counties.

“R3SM is able to coordinate case management services where a recovery plan is discussed and created, volunteer labor is used to repair damaged homes and or rebuild a new home and one group oversees donated materials, supplies and money--all of which are key components in a communities’ ability to recover,” Varnado said. “R3SM also refers families to other services and agencies depending upon their needs beyond the scope of repairing and rebuilding homes.”

Following a disaster, a few people may try to take advantage of the process applying with numerous different non-profits, churches and governmental organizations for help. That is why the partnerships like those facilitated by R3SM are so important to make sure that resources are used wisely.

R3SM has partnered with entities like the United Methodist Conference on Relief, Catholic Charities, Presbyterians, Mennonites, Red Cross, Salvation Army, United Way, many local churches and numerous others such as local businesses. Varnado said those partnerships mean

more people are helped.

“If R3SM did not exist, it would be a hit or miss approach and it very well could dissolve into recovery determined by who knows whom and only those who ‘know’ Varnado someone would receive assistance,” Varnado said. “That would leave a big stain on any community who chose that method of disaster recovery delivery.”

Varnado said the community has learned after multiple disasters how important it is to pull together.

“The community coming together to work under one umbrella organization is far more beneficial to the overall disaster recovery needs than having multiple entities doing the same work,” she said. “Outside contributors respond more favorably to communities who have a central point of contact rather than multiple layers that they would have to figure out and work through.”

Theresa Erickson, executive director, Greater Pinebelt Community Foundation, said working together helped them quickly raise more than $600,000 for tornado victims, including a telethon with WDAM on Feb. 1 that raised $321,000.

“I was very surprised at how generous the donations were,” Erickson said. “Our community really came together. We had donations from all over the country. We even had a donation from Robin Roberts with ABC.” Roberts grew up in Pass Christian.

Erickson said their mission is to build a

“If R3SM did not exist, it would be a hit or miss approach.”

FARM Continued from, Page 4

illnesses because we don’t believe animals should suffer or die if they have treatable conditions. These treated cattle are culled from the grassfed program.”

The sky is not the limit for Stonnington, whose farm is certified by the American Grassfed Association. He doesn’t want to get bigger and bigger.

“I will only allow myself to grow so far and it will be at the right pace,” Stonnington said. “Humane treatment is very, very important. We try to keep stress levels low.

This stress-free environment has been shown by numerous studies to promote cattle health, as well as improve the quality of beef produced. If you match cattle to the environment, humane and low-stress treatment improves the quality of beef and allows cows to gain weight more easily.

One of my ranchers that the cattle know delivers the cattle

to the slaughterhouse. That decreases the stress, as well. I won’t trust the handling of the cattle to just anyone. We train them to follow the grass feed pellet trough from field to field. We will move them a long distance doing that. We also train them to the cattle call.”

His wife, Katie, who has a Ph.D. in engineering, handles finances, record keeping and books. She is a founder and president of the local SPCA. They have rescue animals on their farm, as well.

Some of the lessons he has learned is it was a mistake to let someone else manage the farm who didn’t have the same passion and attention to detail that he has. He was so frustrated he thought of shutting down the farm. Pasture rotations weren’t being done correctly. The record books were in disarray. At the time, he just worked weekends and holidays on the farm.

“A farm can go downhill quickly,” he said. “It affects the end products. Once I took over and didn’t trust the man-

stronger community through philanthropy.

They have found it helps significantly to partner with R3SM, which has a strength with case management, while the community foundation’s strength is with fundraising. Earlier they partnered on a fundraiser to provide relief from a tornado Dec. 23, 2014 in Columbia.

“The process is, we raise the money, and R3SM case managers and investigators go out to the home and verify it was damaged by the tornado,” Erickson said. “They come up with an estimate to repair or rebuild that home. A construction manager goes out. They write up the case determining how much the family is getting from insurance, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency to repair or rebuild their homes. Then the case is presented to a Volunteer Unmet Needs Committee. Those volunteer committee members don’t know who the people are. It is just a case number.”

The committee either asks questions, asks for more information or approves the case for funding. After they approve a case, any funders at the table may decide to take the case. Usually it doesn’t mean giving the family money.

“R3SM does a good job getting volunteers,” Erickson said. “R3SM purchases and delivers materials to the home once the volunteers are lined up.”

Erickson said they have learned a lot since Katrina, and the disasters that have followed.

The system has gotten better and better.

“Unfortunately, it is because of experience,” Erickson said. “It is our role to make sure the money is used as wisely as possible.

We have streamlined the process. People have gotten used to us and trust the process. We just really appreciate everyone who has donated and because it is going to help a lot of people to recover. That is what we are all about, coming together to help our fellow citizens.”

agement of the farm to others is when the animals started doing really well and we started really moving. If you are going to have someone managing your farm, they must have the same outlook as you, the same passion as you, and that, frankly, is very difficult.”

Another mistake he learned from is not having trust in his pastures.

“I work hard to make improved pastures,” Stonnington said. “The total digestive nutrient value in well managed pastures is good. You really need to trust your pastures and not necessarily supplement with alfalfa pellets. I fed extra produce when I didn’t need to and lost money unnecessarily.”

Stonnington plans for the farm to be a multi-generation effort as their children, Henry, Grace, and Christian, are involved in the operation. Other staff include chief rancher Calvin Barnett, chief rancher emeritus Claude Millsaps, and ranchers Justin Husband and Johnnie Hubbard.

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MBJPERSPECTIVE May 5, 2017 • www.msbusiness.com • Page 6

OTHER VIEWS

» THE OUTSIDE WORLD

Awarding government contracts

Website: www.msbusiness.com May 5, 2017 Volume 39, Number 18

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Mississippi's "lowest and best" standard for awarding government contracts creates an avenue for public officials to award business to their friends and supporters.

What's considered a "best" bid to those who are inclined to push government business to their cronies may not be best for the taxpayers.

By even the most liberal definition of "best," however, it is incredible that the staffs of the state's InformaGov. Phil Bryant, tion Technology Services Department and the a former state aucorruption-scarred Deditor, suggests partment of Corrections that awarding a have recommended that new contract to a $4.8 million contract Sentinel, while be awarded to a company implicated in the this cloud hangs Chris Epps prison over it, is inapbribery scandal. propriate, even if That contract with it's legal.

California-based Sentinel Offender Services was tabled last week after a Republican lawmaker who sits as a non-voting member on the ITS board raised questions about the propriety of doing business with a company that's being sued by the state over a previous contract for the same service that the new contract would cover — monitoring offenders on probation or parole.

Attorney General Jim Hood has brought litigation against Sentinel and several other companies whose business with the state was allegedly contingent on funnelling kickbacks to Epps, the former corrections commissioner who is awaiting sentencing for his graft.

According to federal prosecutors, Sentinel paid a Gulf Coast consultant, Robert Simmons, $4,000 a month from 2012 to 2014, from which Simmons then kicked back $1,400 to Epps. Simmons has pleaded guilty to bribery in the case. Although Sentinel has denied any knowledge of the kickbacks and no criminal charges have been brought against the company, Hood disputes its profession of ignorance and claims it is civilly responsible for what took place.

Until this matter is cleared up, the state should not be entering into any new business with Sentinel. One of the ways to deter graft is to penalize the companies that benefitted from it, whether knowingly or unknowingly. Simmons was one of Sentinel's agents.

He acted on the company's behalf, and at the minimum Sentinel should have kept closer tabs on him.

Gov. Phil Bryant, a former state auditor, suggests that awarding a new contract to Sentinel, while this cloud hangs over it, is inappropriate, even if it's legal. He is right.

» INSIDE MISSISSIPPI

Controlling the Kudzu of state spending

O

ne of my many anonymous critics on a local blog zapped me last week over my column “A Peek behind Legislative Leaders’ Rhetoric.” In particular, he or she said I lack “a coherent alternate plan” of my own.

Well, I never guessed it might be a columnist’s job to propose a whole budget plan. But, an avid reader could find elements of such a plan already published. Let’s take a peek.

Last month I suggested “right-sizing” the Legislature by cutting it in half. That step alone would signify legislators are serious about cutting nonessential programs.

In February, I wrote about rightsizing universities. By raising admission standards, moving all remediation to community colleges, and eliminating subsidies for out-of-state tuition, enrollment would fall, thereby reducing IHL’s need for more state funding, higher tuition, and more bond money.

Previously I supported consolidating university back-office and administrative functions.

Back in 2010, I wrote, “There are no operating or financial reasons for eight universities and 15 community

Bill Crawford

colleges – or 142 state agencies, 152 school districts, 82 counties, and 200 plus municipalities for that matter – to maintain separate back room operations.” Since, I have written favorably about limiting school districts to one per county, thereby consolidating financial, administrative, transportation and other non-classroom services to reduce costs.

I agreed with Gov. Phil Bryant and Haley Barbour on their proposals to allow state agencies exemptions from personnel regulations to right-size their work forces. I supported Barbour’s calls to consolidate school districts and to reduce tax-dollar support for school athletics and community college sports.

I have written numerous times about the excessive costs of our broken state retirement system. Charging employers 15.75 percent of wages is exorbitant. That’s at least $350 million too much per year, most of it coming from state funds. Reducing this burden on taxpayers should be a priority.

There’s more, but maybe you and my critic can sense what I think a coSee CRAWFORD, Page 7

— The Greenwood Commonwealth

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herent spending plan should include.

The key is this – to effectively reduce and control government spending, legislatively mandated changes in targeted agency/institution operations must occur in tandem with budget cuts. Just squeezing budgets won’t work.

As I have written many times over the years, businesses can readily merge and or shut down unproductive operations, but not government.

That’s because government behaves more like kudzu than business. Despite attempts to prune it back, it just grows and grows.

Experts say control of kudzu requires a process to kill or remove the kudzu “root crown” and all “rooting runners.”

That’s legislators’ great dilemma. Every agency has a “root crown” – a powerful legislator, state official, or business group. All have “rooting runners:” take on university funding and you take on the alumni; Cooperative Extension Service funding and you take on the county agents and their friendly farmers, foresters, tomato growers, and quilters; school funding and you take on parents, teachers, and their formidable allies; and so on.

Squeezing agency and institution budgets isn’t so hard. But, a focused plan that takes on root crowns and rooting runners to consolidate eliminate targeted operations is too hard for most politicians.

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

»FROM THE GROUND UP

It’s all about value

Q

uestion: Our business wants to increase sales, but is having a difficult time because there is a lot of competition in our town. A consultant told us that customers did not perceive our business as providing as much value as our competitors. Our prices are already the same or lower. What can we do?

A: Value is more than just a lower price.

For some reason, your competitors' products or services are seen by customers as offering more value even though they cost more. If your competitor has a website and allows comments spend some studying why their customers like that business. Likewise, review your own customers' comments.

If you don't have a website allowing comments consider starting one. You may also want to survey your customers using comments cards. Also, raise your prices to at or near your competitor's levels. The recent Sauve/Evause case illustrated why many customers perceive there to be a relationship between price and value.

Q: What is the Suave/Evuas case?

A: Earlier this year the company that manufacturers Suave shampoo, one of the cheapest (and one of the best?) products in the category, launched a campaign for Evaus shampoo at a price in the range of the most expensive shampoos. There were comparison tests with the most expensive shampoos, marketing messages and more. Users were then told they were not in fact using some new expensive shampoo, but were using Suave instead. By the way, I checked the price at a local drug store last week - $1.00 for a 12 oz. bottle. Most users in the tests rated the Evauas as equal to or better than the expensive shampoos in the test. What does this mean? Obviously, it disproves the saying that you get what you pay for. Indeed, research shows that seven out of ten women think that expensive brands work better than inexpensive ones. Check out more at www.EvausIsSuave.com. Way to go Suave.

Q: What creates value?

A: In general, the four things that are the components of value are: Demand — the market is willing to buy the product or service; Utility — the product or service provides something that is useful, i.e. can be utilized; Scarcity — there is a limited supply; and Transferability — ownership must be given from the seller to the buyer.

For example, a house would have no value if no one wanted to buy it, or it had smoke damage and was unlivable, or if plenty of houses were available or it could not be sold because of deed restrictions.

In another example, a newspaper would have no value if there were no subscribers, or the newsprint was unreadable, or there were plenty of free similar newspapers or newspaper sales were illegal.

Q: What is market value?

A: The most common definition is the one used in the real estate appraisal industry. It goes like this: “The most probable price which a property should bring in a competitive and open market under all conditions requisite to a fair sale, the buyer and seller, each axcting prudently, knowldegeably and assuming the price is not affected by undue stimulous. Implicit in this definition is the consummation of a sale as of a specified date and the passing of title from seller to buyer under conditions whereby: (1) buyer and seller are typically motivated; (2) both parties are well informed or well advised, and each acting in what he or she considers his or her own best interest; (3) a reasonable time is allowed for exposure in the open market; (4) payment is made in terms of cash in U.S. dollars or in terms of financial arrangements comparable thereto: and (5) the price represents the normal consideration for the property sold unaffected by special or

Phil Hardwick creative financing or sales concessions granted by anyone associated with the sale.”

Q: If market value is the most probable sales price, what would be the highest price?

A: I suggest that sentimental value is probably the highest price a product would bring. For example, my first car was a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro. If I could buy that specific car I would be willing to pay more than market value. Nostalgia has a way of influencing value. If I could buy my grandparents' homestead I would pay more. What would the wedding ring my great-grandfather gave to my grandmother be worth to me? Probably a lot more than to anyone else because of its sentimental value.

Q: What would be the lowest value?

A: The lowest value of a product or service is one that involves the need for a quick sale. It's often called liquidation value, such as a true going out of business sale. If the seller is desperate to sell the product or service, then the price will be lower. Hence the adage, “You make money when you buy, not when you sell.” Most of the successful investors I know say they never pay market value.

Q: Is it possible that there is something that has no value?

A: I would argue that everything has some value. However, using the definition above it is logical to assume that everything has a price. And yet it would be difficult to purchase the USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier or the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom because at this point in time their ownership is not transferable.

» 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.

8 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q May 5, 2017 REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK

A trip to Vicksburg in the 200th, or so, anniversary of statehood

T

his city is, of course, best known for the 47-day Civil War military siege that led to its capitulation on July 4, 1863.

Mississippians are marking the state’s 200th anniversary in 2017, overlooking the four secession years.

Mississippi’s state motto ought to be left to Mr. Faulkner, arguably its most famous native son, who wrote: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”

True, and it never changes, though it is revised.

And for the future, who knows?

Nobody is likely to redevelop the National Military Park and its 1,340 monuments and 17,000 graves for Union soldiers. Same for Cedar Hill Cemetery, where 5,000 Confederates are interred.

The sides are still separated in death.

My wife and I celebrated our 39th anniversary here over the weekend.

We stayed at the circa 1830 Anchuca Mansion and Inn, which was restored, even if its elegant décor is not exactly “reconstructed.”

The house on the Vicksburg bluffs had been a residence leased to Jefferson Davis’ older brother, Joseph, who had lost his Warren County plantation, Hurricane, because of the war, just as Jefferson had no country, having lost his adoptive Confederacy and been refused restoration of his U.S. citizenship.

Word got out that the younger sibling was in town and a crowd gathered on the street below the third-story balcony. From there, the old statesman, four years after the war, delivered an appreciative impromptu speech.

Thunder and flashes were moving across the river toward us when our cellphones awakened us at 6:45 a.m. Sunday with that terrible, modern alarm that sounds like a goose being strangled.

We were guarded in our canopied bed by an image of Davis and his commanding generals – with their ghost armies.

Ghost stories are a staple in the South; there simply are so many ghosts. Doesn’t every Southern family have one?

Vicksburg offers such tours to get in touch with “the other side,” as if reading about the past isn’t enough.

For whatever reason, this time the town

JACK WEATHERLY/MBJ

Top: Museum is dedicated to old Biedenharn Candy Co., where Coca-Cola was first bottled. Right: Candice Waller of Louisville, Ky. stands next to flood stage markers. Below: Mike McLeod, first mate of the riverboat America, awaits the debarking of passengers.

was spared during the storm.

Vicksburg doesn’t change much. That’s good in one way, not so good in another.

It’s like the Mississippi River. Slow but persistent.

One wishes for a nice infusion of cash, a magic wand waved over the city to make the decay disappear, while preserving the past.

Twenty-five years ago, the state approved dockside gambling along the Mississippi and the Gulf Coast. While that helps – Vicksburg has four casinos – there is no panacea for a poverty-ridden state.

A boy walks down Washington Street, sipping a Coke out of a plastic bottle.

Did he know that bottled Coca-Cola was perfected on that street by Joseph Bieden-

ECONOMY Continued from, Page 1

quickly as the rest of the nation in terms of an overall improving economy, and likewise an economy on the downswing.

Louisiana, on the other hand, is not faring as well as the nation climbs out of the lingering effects of the Great Recession, which technically end-

harn in 1894?

Did the couple from Australia visiting the Coca-Cola Museum know that without Biedenharn’s innovation, they could not have helped to teach “the world to sing in perfect harmony” – to quote the old Coke television commercial? The syrup would have spoiled before it got to the Land Down Under.

The Biedenharn Coca-Cola Museum, which the family donated to the city, lays out the story of what had been touted initially as a stimulant, including that it had a smidgen of cocaine in it, along with a lot of caffeine.

The flood wall along the river tells a broader history of the city in 32 murals, primarily by Robert Dafford’s realistic

ed in June 2009, Miller said.

That’s because the Louisiana economy is based largely on petroleum, whose prices have suffered from an oversupply of both oil and natural gas.

Agricultural growth in 2016 accounted for most of Mississippi’s expansion last year, according to the URC. “Without the growth in this sector, overall real [adjusted for inflation] GDP growth for the state in 2016

paintings, which cannot be appreciated by a drive-by. They must be seen up close for their detail.

We got another perspective of the city from The Ten Top Jack Weatherly South Bar and Grill atop the Trustmark Bank building, which offers a view of the Yazoo River Diversion Canal traffic.

A replica steamboat slowly moved upstream and started a very slow turn in the narrow channel toward the shore.

Forty-five minutes later, the hull of the six-deck, 268-foot-long America nudged the concrete ramp of the landing, tied up and lowered the gangway, still known as the “stage” since the days when showboats arrived and gave locals a little taste of the show, The boat encountered 87-mile-anhour winds in its downstream cruise from Memphis to New Orleans, according to first mate Mike McLeod.

“Nothing she couldn’t handle,” he said of the American Cruise Lines craft.

Gleaming tour buses were waiting on the other side of the flood wall for the 162 passengers’ 24-hour stopover.

They wouldn’t be staying overnight in the nearby Portofino Hotel, which closed in July 2015 and has been vacant ever since. The ornate hostelry was built to accommodate gaming tourism. But things may be looking up for the Portofino. The Vicksburg Post reported that the hotel owners have been issued work permits to get it ready for reopening.

Not far from there is the Catfish Row Art Park for children, so named for the old wharf that was made famous by historian David Cohn, who wrote, “The Mississippi Delta begins in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis and ends on Catfish Row in Vicksburg.”

And the South will never end as long as there are Southerners to talk about it.

» Contact Mississippi Business Journal staff writer Jack Weatherly at jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com or (601) 364-1016.

would fall to 1.5 percent,” the report states.

Payroll employment in Mississippi is projected to grow by 0.5 of a percentage point this year, making it the smallest expansion since 2011, when there was no growth in jobs.

Meantime, wages and salaries are expected to grow this year by 3.3 percent in the state

March 2017

May 5, 2017

Q

DeSoto 3.5

9 4.6

Mississippi Mississippi Business Journal4.6 Q U.S.

Tunica 5.6

MISSISSIPPI’S MARCH UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES

Tate 4.3

Feb ‘17 1,287,100 59,100 4.6 1,228,000

Mar ‘16 1,273,100 71,300 5.6 1,201,800

‘16 Avg. 1,280,400 74,700 5.8 1,205,800

Coahoma 7.2

Sunflower 8.2

Leflore 7.4

Mar ‘17 159,912,000 7,284,000 4.6 152,628,000

STATE OF MISSISSIPPI Unemployment Insurance Data •• Initial UI Claims Continued Claims BeneďŹ ts Paid Weeks Paid First Payments Final Payments Average Weekly BeneďŹ t

Feb ‘17 159,482,000 7,887,000 4.9 151,594,000

Mar 2017 5,806 45,440 $5,994,517 29,312 1,662 761 $204.51

Mar ‘16 158,854,000 8,116,000 5.1 150,738,000

Feb 2017 4,470 46,951 $6,327,952 30,846 1,950 720 $205.15

‘16 Avg. 159,187,000 7,751,000 4.9 151,436,000

Yalobusha 4.9

Mar 2016 6,764 52,744 $7,695,160 37,501 2,216 867 $205.20

Calhoun 3.9

Carroll 5.4

Montgomery 4.7

Holmes 9.0

Yazoo 5.4

Issaquena 15.6

Monroe 4.6

Clay 6.0 Lowndes 4.8

Oktibbeha 4.2

Choctaw 4.3

Noxubee 6.3

Winston 5.4

Attala 5.6

Sharkey 7.6

Leake 5.3

Neshoba 4.6

Scott 3.5

Newton 4.8

Kemper 7.3

Madison 3.7 Warren 5.2 Rankin 3.2

Hinds 4.3

Claiborne 9.0

Copiah 5.0

Jefferson 13.8 Adams 7.4

Wilkinson 8.4

Franklin 5.9

Lincoln 4.4

Amite 6.2

Pike 5.2

Covington Jones 4.4 4.8

Marion 5.1

Unemployment Rates

— Mississippi Department of Employment Security5.2 - 8.2 8.3 - 15.6

Lamar 3.5

Pearl River 5.0

Hancock 5.0

Clarke 5.6

Wayne 5.9

Lawrence Jeff Davis 5.7 6.1

Walthall 6.6

Lauderdale 4.9

Jasper 6.4

Smith 4.0

Simpson 4.1

** Average for most recent twelve months, including current month Rates •• Unemployment Insurance amounts presented in this section only represent regular UI benefits, federal program amounts areUnemployment not included.

3 3.2 - 3.9 3.2 - 3.9 Labor force amounts are produced in cooperation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

4 4.0 - 5.1 4.0 - 5.1 Note: Unless indicated state and county data presented are not seasonally adjusted.

Forrest 4.3

Perry 5.1

Stone 5.6

Harrison 4.4

Greene 6.3

George 5.7

Jackson 5.4

5 5.2 - 8.2 8 8.3 - 15.6

Source: Labor Market Data Publication Design: Labor Market Information Department, MDES

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Tishomingo 4.5

Itawamba 3.9

Chickasaw 4.8

Webster 4.6

Washington 7.0

Moving Avg.** 159,486,000 7,641,000 4.8 151,845,000

Lee 3.5

Pontotoc 3.5

Grenada 4.3

Humphreys 8.8

UNITED STATES Labor Force Data Civilian Labor Force Unemployed Unemployment Rate Employed

Lafayette 3.6

Quitman 7.4

Bolivar 5.9

Moving Avg.** 1,284,100 72,000 5.6 1,212,100

Alcorn 4.1

Tippah 4.1

Union 3.2

Tallahatchie 5.3

Mar ‘17 1,287,300 59,600 4.6 1,227,700

Benton 4.8

Prentiss 4.3

Panola 5.8

Labor force and employment security data STATE OF MISSISSIPPI Labor Force Data Civilian Labor Force Unemployed Unemployment Rate Employed

Marshall 4.5

10 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q May 5, 2017 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Art lessons are drawing tourists to stay and learn in Bay St. Louis

By LISA MONTI mbj@msbusiness.com Bay St. Louis, a popular beachfront city that has earned spots on many a Top 10 list for its amenities and casual lifestyle, is known in large part for its robust arts community. Every month, the Second Saturday Art Walk through the Old Town showcases art galleries, musicians, artisans and others who contribute to the creative economy. Crowds take to the streets enjoying the after-hours camaraderie, shopping, eating and drinking at the many stores, restaurants and bars.

But the arts amenities are exerting a stronger pull to a new kind of traveler: those who want to come to an inviting place to learn how to paint or become better at throwing clay. And Bay St. Louis artists are welcoming the new trend.

Steve Barney, director of the new Bay St. Louis Creative Arts Center is teaming up with Kevin Jordan, whose vacation rentals operate as Gulf View Properties, are offering all-inclusive twoand four-week Artisan Retreat Packages starting next January.

The package includes airport transportation and accommodations in Jordan’s nearby vacation homes. Local transportation options include a shared golf cart and fleet of beach cruiser bikes. Weekend excursions into New Orleans and other coastal destinations are planned.

A typical day will include morning yoga followed by studio instruction, a group meal and open studio times. The Bay Artists in Residence can take pottery and metalworking classes and learn stained glass and silkscreening if they chose.

“There is a large demographic of semi-retired professionals in colder climates who are avid artists and are looking for opportunities to combine studio time with a mid-winter coastal retreat,” said Barney, himself a potter.

The newly opened Creative Arts Center houses a pottery studio, kilns and hand-building equipment plus a yoga/dance studio, a metalworking shop and other creative spaces inside the 7,500-square-foot building.

Barney will also customize packages for visiting artists who don’t need accommodations.

The first Artisan Retreat Package is scheduled for Jan. 13Feb. 17, 2018.

“Interest in our Artisan Retreat Programs has been strong and we expect this program to grow slowly over time as word gets out,” Barney said.

Regan Carney, a well known potter who produces functional

Courtesy of Ellis Anderson/MBJ

Potter Steve Barney.

fine art in clay in her studio inside the Bay Artists’ Coop, is already in the “art-cationing” business. Two women from Austin, Texas, have come to work with Carney on several trips.

The two aspiring potters rented a small bungalow for two weeks last year and took an intense workshop under Carney.

They wrote to their teacher, that the experience proved to be the “stepping stone we needed to catapult us to the next stage of our ceramic endeavors.”

In their feedback, they said, “The town of Bay St Louis, along with the incredibly gratifying pottery workshop has been one of the most delightful “adventure/learning” vacations either of us has ever taken. The joy of working with Regan has us looking forward to returning each year for more fun filled ventures in clay.”

Noting the trend of courting art tourists, Ellis Anderson, publisher of The Bay St. Louis Shoofly online magazine devoted to Bay living, includes a listing of art teachers and classes in the Local Info section.

“We want to showcase our local artists and help them take advantage of this new international trend. For instance, Air BnB is now promoting ‘experiences,’ where travelers book lessons along with lodgings. Bay St. Louis is positioned to be a top destination for that,” Anderson said.

BUSINESS

TRACTOR SUPPLY TO OPEN IN BAY ST. LOUIS Tractor Supply Co., the retail chain that carries top brands for farmers, gardeners, homeowners and their pets, is coming to Bay St. Louis. The site is being cleared ahead of construction start.

Officials of the new store, which will be built at 1220 U.S. 90, has created a lot of buzz ever since the building permit was issued for a $1.4 million commercial building.

A company rep said the new store opening is set for mid to late Fall.

Tractor Supply is Tennessee-based and has more

than 1,400 stores in 49 states, making it a market leader. The closest stores are in Gulfport and Picayune.

Don’t let the name put you off. Tractor Supply sells everything from outdoor furniture and garden tools to soil and seeds, toys, clothes and footwear, fireplaces and hardware.

As the rep put it: “The store will be a one-stop shop for Bay St. Louis’ farmers, livestock and pet owners, ranchers, part-time and hobby farmers, gardeners, homeowners, tradesmen and others.

“Customers will be able to shop a wide selection of products at a great value including workwear and boots, tractor and trailer parts and accessories, lawn and garden supplies, sprinkler and irrigation parts, power tools, fencing, welding and pump supplies, riding mowers and more. Tractor Supply will also seek to support pet adoption initiatives, 4-H and FFA, county fairs and livestock shows within the community.”

— MBJ Staff & Wire Reports

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

DIAMONDHEAD PROJECTS MOVING FORWARD The City of Diamondhead has more than $2.2 million worth of projects under way to improve the city’s recreational assets, drainage and economic development. Here’s a look at the projects and their progress: The half-mile City Hall Exercise Fitness Trail should be completed by the end of April. Officials say the trail is centrally located for the convenience of residents. The total project cost is $120,000 with $96,000 in grants from the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks and a local match of $24,000 from the city.

A portion of the city’s match will be used to purchase trash receptacles and benches.

Final plans for the Safe Routes to Schools project are set to be completed this month.

The route will be a 5-foot sidewalk from along the east side of Golf Club Drive from Diamondhead Drive East to the south entrance of the Diamondhead Country Club. It will include four covered school bus shelters with bike racks. The project is funded through a $300,000 grant from the state Department of Transportation and a $60,000 local match.

Design work is under way on the city’s roundabout at Diamondhead Drive East and Golf Club Drive. Construction will begin next year. The goal is to ease traffic flow at one of the busiest intersections in the city. Diamondhead received a $200,000 grant from the Metropolitan Planning Organization Transportation Alternative Program through Gulf Regional Planning Commission. The city will provide a $50,000 local match.

The city accepted bids April 27 for the proposed Bayou Drive and Vaught Circle kayak launches.

Construction is expected to begin mid-May with the completion set for August. The Vaught Circle launch is being constructed now and will increase access to waterways, trails and boardwalks. The project is being funded through a Tidelands grant of $369,750.

City officials are expecting a $102,333 Tidelands Grant from the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources to assist with improvements on Montjoy Creek at Devil’s Elbow.

City officials say an interstate high mast lighting project will be funded by the state Department of Transportation in the amount of $400,000 with a $100,000 match. The project will improve the interchange and include acceleration lanes, deceleration lanes and ramp terminals. Work should be complete by the fall.

— MBJ Staff & Wire Reports

May 5, 2017 • MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS JOURNAL • www.msbusiness.com

AN MBJ FOCUS: GOING GREEN

» Mississippi Coalition’s awards part of mission

By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com

R

ecycling makes good sense to protect the environment and reduce waste disposal costs whether at a small city, a county or one of the largest manufacturers in the state. The Mississippi Recycling Coalition (MRC) recently presented the 2016 Environmental Hero Awards as Recyclers of the Year to five organizations in the state including the City of Morton, Panola County, Toyota Blue Springs, the Tupelo Middle School and the Columbus Air Force Base.

“The nominees are evaluated based on the success of their recycling efforts including promotion and outreach, the duration and extent of their recycling program, their overall environmental stewardship, and the manner in which recycling has improved community waste handling and environmental practices,” said Jennifer Milner, state recycling coordinator for the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ).

Toyota Blue Springs is the recipient of the 2016 “Business and Industry Recycler of the Year” Award for the state. The company’s material management programs include the establishment of a reusable packaging system, the reuse of wood pallets, and the recycling of various materials around the plant.

“These recycling efforts include materials generated in the plant from the production line to those generated in the offices and breakroom areas,” Milner said. “The plant also employs three balers onsite to bale cardboard, plastics and office paper. In addition, the plant sets an annual waste reduction target and tracks the overall waste reduction progress to encourage employees to work to achieve this target. Over the past five years, Toyota Blue Springs has recycled almost 50,000 tons of material including used batteries, toner cartridges, electronic wastes, empty containers (metal/poly drums, buckets), production scrap plastics, plastics from packaging, scrap copper, scrap aluminum, cardboard, wood waste and scrap metal.”

John Raymer, general manager of assembly and environmental director at Toyota Mississippi, said receiving the “Business and Industry Recycler of

Recycle group selects its best Courtesy of City of Morton

The City of Morton received a $15,000 grant from MDEQ to locate recycling bins in Farris Park where ballgames are played.

the Year’ was a big win for them.

“Toyota has a strong environmental commitment, and we strive to be the most efficient Toyota assembly plant North America,” Raymer said.

“Our plant started production in 2011, and we have implemented an environmental management system targeted at reducing waste since that time.

This mindset is part of our core environmental philosophy. Receiving this award shows that our companies hard work and dedication to that philosophy is paying off.”

Morton received the “New Program Recycler of the Year” Award for a recycling program started in 2013. Milner said the program was Butler begun on a trial basis in an effort to gauge the interest of their residents.

“As part of the trial program, paper, cardboard, plastics, and metals were collected at a single drop-off location and plans were set to service the drop-off bin every two months,” Milner said.

“Due to growth in popularity among residents, the recycling bins began to reach capacity quickly and the city had to increase the frequency for servicing the bins.

Morton Mayor Greg Butler said residents are becoming more committed all the time to preserving their environment for the future. In addition to the recycling bin behind the fire station, the city received a $15,000 grant from MDEQ to locate recycling bins in the City’s Farris Park where ballgames are held.

“People drink a lot of bottled water and drinks in aluminum cans at Farris Park, so it is working out to have recycling receptacles there,” Butler said.

The 2016 “Local Government Recycler of the Year” award went to Panola County where a recycling program started in 2012 with the first recycling drop-off center located in Batesville.

“Since that time, the program has grown to multiple recycling drop-off locations for county residents including collection sites for waste tires, e-waste and scrap metal,” Milner said. “In addition, the county works with local businesses, government offices, and area schools to develop recycling collection programs. Milner said the amount of cardboard, paper, tires, plastics and metal collected from the various public sites, businesses and school programs as part of the county’s recycling program increased about 58 percent from 2014 to 2016.

See COALITION, Page 14

Going Green

12 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q May 5, 2017

Environment a natural fit for Baker

By NASH NUNNERY mbj@msbusiness.com

D

ALLAS BAKER developed a deep connection with nature growing up in the Oxford area. He loved the outdoors, especially hunting and fishing, and became environmentally conscious virtually in the hills of his own backyard.

“As a kid in the 1970s, there seemed to be illegal dumps everywhere, at least around where I lived,” he said. “Just a few feet from our house, with the trash and discarded objects I could see in the gullies.

I knew environmental policy was becoming an important issue”.

Becoming an environmental engineer seemed like a natural career trajectory to Baker, and he stayed true to his dream.

In January, Baker joined Neel-Schaffer as director of environmental services after spending nearly a quarter of a century with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. At DEQ, the Lafayette County native served as the state’s air director and chief of the Air Division, and was responsible for main-

taining National Ambient Air Quality Standards and policy affecting statewide programs that control air pollution.

So far, the new position with one of the nation’s most respected engineerBaker ing firms has exceeded expectations, he said.

“I knew (Neel-Schaffer) had a great reputation and their leadership was second to none,” Baker said. “Leaving DEQ was not a slam dunk decision. This was a unique opportunity to build trust with industry, cities and counties, and to help the firm make an impact in ways it wasn’t known for previously.

“Neel-Schaffer wants to become the hub for all things environmental. The time was right after asking myself, ‘do I stay (at DEQ)’?”

As director of the firm’s environmental division, Baker manages a staff of nearly a dozen engineers, geologists and environmental technicians that provide a wide variety of services to clients in 38 offices in the southeast.

“At DEQ, we worked hand-in-hand to

DON’T TRASH MISSISSIPPI Every year, Mississippi has to spend more than $3.2 million picking up litter on our state’s highways. This money could be used to build and repair roads and bridges—things that improve our state’s infrastructure and economy.

Help us keep Mississippi “clean and green.” Put trash where it belongs and remember to recycle whenever possible. Because it’s not just a can or food wrapper you’re throwing away. It’s Mississippi’s money.

Doing our part to keep Mississippi green.

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protect our natural resources but we were also very conscious of economic development in the state of Mississippi,” said Baker. “I became more ‘green’ than I ever dreamed I’d become.”

Though he enjoyed his time at DEQ, Baker said the opportunity to expand his work beyond Mississippi was enticing.

“We would solve problems working with Mississippi industries in the Air Division,” he said. “When I left, all 82 counties were in full compliance and that’s a testament to the air quality program in our state. I liked the idea that our division operated as the ‘checks-and-balances’ to make sure industry was on board.

“My goal here at Neal-Schaffer is to partner with our clients across nine states and see what we can offer long-term, build a team and become a full-service firm – that’s Mr. Neel’s vision.”

Asked what effect the confirmation of new federal EPA director Scott Pruitt may have on his work at Neel-Schaffer, Baker remains optimistic.

Pruitt said in an interview with The New York Times last month that he does not believe carbon dioxide is a primary contributor to global warming, a statement that

contradicts the public stance of the EPA, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“I think what Pruitt was saying is that he intends to re-evaluate all the regulations that were established during the Obama years,” said Baker.

“What I’m most concerned with is if Congress were to start scaling back programs on the state level. My concern centers on curbing heavier pollutants from industry that affect our populations, especially children.”

Baker, who earned a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from the University of Mississippi, serves as secretary of the Ole Miss School of Engineering Advisory Board and president of the Mississippi Energy Coordinators Association.

He also served a stint as president of the Air & Waste Management Association, becoming the first-ever member elected from the Deep South, Baker added.

“I traveled and communicated with people all over the world,” said Baker.

“It was great to be an ambassador for the environment and represent the state of Mississippi.”

DOWNTOWN JACKSON

OFFICES AVAILABLE

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

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

Going Green

14 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q May 5, 2017

COALITION Continued from Page 11

The county is working to continue this growth into 2017 with an additional public drop off location and new school recycling programs.

Other local government entities receiving honorable mention for their recycling efforts include the Harrison County Beautification Commission and the Hinds County Sheriff’s Department.

The 2016 “Educational Institution Recycler of the Year” Award went to the Tupelo Middle School Golden Wave Going Green Recycling Club lead by teacher Anthony Golding. In considering options to incorporate service-based learning at the school, Golding determined that starting a school recycling program effort could meet that need. The school applied for and was awarded an MRC School Recycling Grant in the spring of the 20152016 school year.

“Upon receiving the award, the school formed the Golden Wave Going Green Recycling Club with Cassie Swoope, the school’s SPED Self-Contained teacher, and her students,” Milner said. “Swoope’s class, many of whom are non-verbal and/ or autistic, help collect recyclables from around the school. In addition to assisting these special needs students in learning more about recycling, their involvement with the Recycling Club gives them

Courtesy of City of Morton

Morton received the “New Program Recycler of the Year” Award for a recycling program started in 2013. It includes a single drop-off location, but bins filled up quickly and the city had to increase the frequency for servicing.

responsibility and purpose, and provides them the opportunity to interact with the rest of the student body. The participation of Swoope’s class in the Recycling Club has been an overwhelmingly positive experience for the faculty and staff, students, parents and the overall community.”

Other educational institutions receiving honorable mention for their recycling efforts include the Batesville Junior High of the South Panola School District and

Mannsdale Elementary of the Madison County School District.

The Columbus Air Force Base was awarded the 2016 “State and Federal Government Recycler of the Year” Award for the state. Milner said in the past 10 years, CAFB has increased waste reduction on the base from 30 to 55 percent through source reduction, reuse of materials where possible, and by incorporating recycling collection and processing at the

base. CAFB continues to look for ways to reduce waste further, and has a goal to achieve 60 percent waste reduction by 2020.

The Mississippi Recycling Coalition is a consortium of recycling companies, local governments, state agencies, and other interested organizations. For more information, visit the MRC web page at www. msrecycles.org, or like it one Facebook at www.facebook.com/MSRecycles.

WATKINS, WARD AND STAFFORD PROFESSIONAL LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS TAKES PLEASURE IN ANNOUNCING THE ADMITTANCE OF

JERRY L. GAMMEL, CPA MICHAEL C. KNOX, CPA CLIFFORD P. STEWART, CPA AS MEMBERS OF THE FIRM ON MAY 1, 2017 WITH LOCATIONS IN AMORY CALHOUN CITY COLUMBUS EUPORA

HOLLY SPRINGS HOUSTON JACKSON KOSCIUSKO

LOUISVILLE MACON OKOLONA OXFORD

PHILADELPHIA PONTOTOC STARKVILLE WEST POINT

Going Green

May 5, 2017

Q

Mississippi Business Journal

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LARGEST LEED-CERTIFIED BUILDINGS IN MISSISSIPPI

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Newsmakers

16 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q May 5, 2017

Mad Genius adds Pedigo

Advertising veteran and Emmy-nominated writer Jeff Pedigo has joined top creative firm Mad Genius as Senior Writer / Strategist. With over 30 years of experience in marketing, Pedigo has earned numerous awards at the local and national level, including Copywriter of the Year, Pedigo many TELLYs and Best of Show ADDYs, all from producing momentum-building brand experiences in TV, radio, print, and web.

Transportation breakfast

Jones joins People Lease Becky Jones has joined the payroll department staff of People Lease. Jones has 20 years of experience working with payroll employee benefits, garnishments, and accounts payable.

In her free time, Jones enjoys outdoor activities, including hunting and fishing with her two sons.

Amile Wilson/Courtesy of Madison County Business League & Foundation

Jones

Edds to chair Arts group

Butler Snow attorney Stephen C. Edds has been named chairman of the Mississippi Arts Commission. The Commission, made up of 15 governor-appointed members, serves as the official grants-making and service agency for the arts in Mississippi.

Edds joined Butler Snow’s pub- Edds lic finance group in 2016 and focuses his practice on public finance, tax credits, economic development and tax. He also serves as the chairman of the Mississippi Tort Claims Board, is vice chairman of the Mississippi Museum of Art and is a member of the Tougaloo College Board of Trustees. He is the Chairman of the American Bar Association’s standing committee for the Silver Gavel Awards and is a member of the American Bar Association Committee on Public Education.

Edds has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America for Public Finance Law, Project Finance Law, Government Relations Practice, Economic Development Law and Municipal Law. He has been listed in Chambers USA, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business as a Leading Corporate/Commercial Lawyer since 2007 and has also been named in Mid-South Super Lawyers.

Edds completed his undergraduate education and Juris Doctor at the University of Mississippi.

Foundation adds member

The Phil Hardin Foundation Board of Directors has elected Michael Van Veckhoven, a Meridian businessman and public education advocate, as its newest member.

He will join the seven-member board of the statewide education philanthropy at its May meeting. Van Veckhoven A Meridian native, Van Veckhoven is Dealer Principal of New South Ford and Nissan of Meridian. He is a member of the Meridian Public School District Board of Trustees.

In addition to his school board service, Van Veckhoven has been an active parent volunteer and community advocate for public schools. He was

State Rep. Charles Busby, Chairman of the House Transportation Committee, was guest speaker recently for the Madison County Business League & Foundation Transportation breakfast. The panel discussed legislation and transportation infrastructure on a local, county, state and federal level. Pictured, from left, are MCBL&F Transportation Committee Chairman Ray Balentine, MDOT Assistant to the Commissioner Craig Carter, MCBL&F Government Relations Committee Chairman Trey Dellinger, Busby, Chris Richardson from the office of Sen. Thad Cochran, MEC Interim Executive Director Scott Waller, MCBL&F Chairman Sam Kelly and MCBL&F Executive Director Jan Collins. Not pictured: Madison County Engineer Dan Gaillet.

Meridian Public School District’s Parent of the Year in 2012 and Meridian Junior Auxiliary’s Humanitarian of the Year in 2013.

He has served on the boards of Parents for Public Schools/Meridian-Lauderdale County and the Boys and Girls Club of East Mississippi.

He is a 1994 graduate of Meridian High School and attended Meridian Community College, the University of Mississippi and the University of Montana.

Van Veckhoven and his wife Dana are the parents of a son, Billy, 12, and a daughter, Lucy, 9. They are members of the Episcopal Church of the Mediator, where Michael serves as senior warden.

The Phil Hardin Foundation, based in Meridian, was established in 1964 by the owner of Hardin’s Bakeries.

It has nearly $55 million in assets and this year will make approximately $2.2 million in education-related grants.

IP names top employees IP Casino Resort Spa in Biloxi recently recognized Team Members of the Month for both January and February.

January’s recipients included front-of-house team members Penny Klinbubpha (Table Games), C.J. O’Bryant (Hotel) and Wayne Westbrook (High Tide); and back-of-house team members Erma Fantroy (F&B), Bonnie Finnie (Slot Marketing) and Patty Tapper (Advertising).

February’s recipients include front-of-house team members True Chapman (Spa), Niokie Johnson (Hotel) and Thomas Laudisi (F&B); and back-ofhouse team members Billy Harshbarger (AV/IT), Ngoc Nguyen (Buffet) and Jammie Quinn (Hotel).

In addition, January’s Safety Spotlight Award recipient was Christina Hill-Lara (Slot Operations) and February’s recipient was Tova Bishop.

Byhalia joins Main Street The Mississippi Main Street Association recently recognized the town of Byhalia as a Downtown Network Member of the statewide association.

The Town of Byhalia and the Byhalia Area Chamber of Commerce’s application to the MMSA Board of Directors was unanimously approved.

Byhalia has been an Associate Member of MMSA since 1998. In 2011, Byhalia received a Vision Plan Charrette from MMSA with grant funding provided by the Appalachian Regional Commission. The Downtown Network membership affords the town more services from MMSA with the opportunity to progress to the Certified Main Street Membership within three years.

Kaufman elected president David Kaufman has been elected President of the Mississippi Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. The group is an invitation-only national association of experienced trial lawyers and judges dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the Seventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees the right to civil jury trials.

Brunini’s Kaufman has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America for Bet-the-Company Litigation, Business Litigation, Securities Litigation, and Personal Injury Litigation. Chambers USA has included him among America’s Leading Lawyers in Business Litigation, and Mid-South Super Lawyers has named Kaufman one of its top 50 lawyers in Mississippi for business litigation. Benchmark Litigation has named him a Local Litigation Star, and The Mississippi Business Journal recognized Kaufman as a Leader in the Law for 2011. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and an Associate and former National Director of the American Board of Trial Advocates.

Brunini repeats as top firm Benchmark Litigation has named the Brunini firm Mississippi’s only “Firm of the Year” for 2017. This is the second consecutive year for Brunini to receive this honor.

Benchmark Litigation focuses exclusively on litigation in the United States. Award winners are de-

termined through extensive interviews of the nation’s leading private practice lawyers and in-house counsel to identify the very best litigators and law firms in each jurisdiction.

May joins HORNE

Tara May, CPA, CPFA, has joined HORNE LLP in Ridgeland, as a retirement plan advisor for HORNE Wealth Advisers.

With her more than 20 years of experience in the retirement plan industry, May advises business owners and plan participants in May meeting their individualized goals through company sponsored retirement plans.

May also has experience in assisting plan sponsors, other trusted advisors and plan participants to navigate the ever-changing legislative landscape as well as serving as a representative for plan sponsors through IRS and DOL reviews, investigations and audits.

May earned a Bachelor of Accountancy at the University of Mississippi and she is a Certified Public Accountant, a Qualified 401(k) Administrator and a Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor.

Ehrman joins Neel-Schaffer Brad Ehrman, PE, has joined the Neel-Schaffer firm as a Hydraulics Engineer and Senior Project Manager.

Ehrman has nearly 15 years of engineering experience in project management, hydraulics/hydrology, and erosion control, regulations, policies, and design. He will Ehrman provide services for clients across the region. That will include assisting the firm with its on-call special drainage studies contract with the Georgia Department of Transportation. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Dayton and a MBA from Emory University.

Newsmakers Smith takes Westin post Jan Smith has been appointed

by Wischermann Partners as Director of Sales and Marketing of The Westin Jackson, which is set to open in late summer in downtown Jackson.

With more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality Smith industry, Smith will oversee all aspects of sales and marketing of the newly constructed hotel. A resident of Jackson, Smith most recently served as Director of Human Resources of Fusion Hospitality and as Area Director of Sales for the Peachtree Hotel Group.

Previously, Smith was Director of Sales, Marketing and Catering at the Hilton Garden Inn King Edward Hotel, and Director of Sales at the Embassy Suites Ridgeland. She has experience as a general manager, regional director and operations manager for a number of properties, including the Radisson Riverwalk Convention Hotel in Jacksonville, Florida and the Regency Hotel and Conference Center (Clarion Hotel). Smith is a member of the National Association of Professional Women and Mississippi Society of Executives.

Foxworth joins Clinic Service

Lori S. Foxworth, CNP, recently joined Hattiesburg Clinic Hospital Care Service.

Foxworth received her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.

She is board certified as a family nurse practitioner by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.

Foxworth

Silver Slipper honorees

Gaillot

Willis

DiFlore

Silver Slipper Casino recently recognized its March 2017 Employee and Supervisor/Manager of the Month nominees and winners. GiGi Gaillot, hotel, and Iris Willis, slots, were employees of the month and Nino DiFlore, F&B Supervisor is supervisor of the month.

Nominees were Andrew Zoerner, table games supervisor; Leo Kuylen, slots; William Forester, slots; Simon Sawyer, slot product manager; and Justin Newton, hotel.

Nominees and winners each received gifts and prizes including cash and gift certificates.

Ad.In hires Coast native

Yolanda Cruz is the latest addition to the Ad.In family, joining the firm as its new communications specialist. Cruz is a Biloxi native who has returned to the Coast after living in Hattiesburg for six years.

Cruz earned her journalism degree from the University of Southern Mississippi.

May 5, 2017

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Mississippi Business Journal

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Chamber recognizes Reed’s Metals

Courtesy of Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce

Reed’s Metals was named Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce Business of the Month for February. Pictured are Executive Director Garrick Combs and owner/CEO Bernie Reed , along with his staff, Chamber Ambassadors, and city officials. Reed’s Metals began in 1998 and now has 10 locations.

Corporate Headquarters are in Brookhaven.

MSU faculty honored Four faculty members in Mississippi State’s College of Architecture, Art and Design recently received national awards for their exemplary work in architectural education.

School of Architecture associate professors Hans Herrmann and Alexis Gregory and assistant professor Emily McGlohn, along with Building Construction Science assistant professor Michele Herrmann, were formally recognized with two Architectural Education Awards by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture in Detroit.

The ACSA Architectural Education Awards honor architectural educators who excel in building design, community collaborations, scholarship and service.

Gregory received a Diversity Achievement Award for her project “Learn & Grow: An Educational Garden for the Boys & Girls Club.”

She was part of a group that designed and constructed an educational garden at the nonprofit organization’s facility.

The Herrmanns and McGlohn were recognized with a shared Practice and Leadership Award for their collaborative effort “Integrated Project Delivery Theater.”

H.Herrmann

Gregory

McGlohn

M.Herrmann

Coast program participants The Gulf Coast Business Council has selected 28 Gulf Coast leaders to participate in the 2017 Masters Leadership Program. The program was developed in 2007 to identify and develop emerging leaders of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, while also serving as a “think tank” to create strategies to enhance the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

The 2017 Program theme is “Blueprint Gulf Coast.”

The class will visit Nashville to study how leaders there have put into place key components of their economic blueprint. The Master’s program consists of eight sessions from April through November.

Class members are: Roderick Mark Alexander, Jr., Law Partner, Balch & Bingham, LLP; Renee’ Areng, Executive Director, Visit Mississippi Gulf Coast; Emily Burke, Public Relations Manager, IP Casino Resort & Spa; Damita Caldwell, Director, Operations, Huntington Ingalls, Inc.; Douglas Cunningham, Director, Production Control & Program Planning, Huntington Ingalls, Inc.; Geneva Dummer, Owner/Operator, The Meeting Place, LLC; Felicity Edwards, Grant Administrator| Covington Civil & Environmental, LLC; Jade Ferguson, Government & Community Affairs, MS Public Service Commission, Southern District; Shelby Fox, Executive Director/Operations Manager, Knight Nonprofit Center; Leslie Henderson, Owner/ Operator, Lazy Magnolia Brewery; Mark Henderson, Co-Founder, LogLinear Group; Andrew Hinkebein, Southern District Representative, Office of U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker; Ben Hunter, Director Sales & Marketing, The Focus Group; Angela Juzang, Director Marketing & Business, Garden Park Medical Center; Cynthia Lamb, Manager Client Relations, Pickering Firm, Inc.; Haley Martin, Managing Partner/ Owner, PayneMartin, | H. Martin, Attny at Law; Paul Mickle, Chief Scientific Officer, MS Department of Marine Resources; Catherine Meinrich, President, MPS Grants; Gifford Ormes, Manager, Legislative Affairs, Mississippi Power Company; Joseph Kreg Overstreet, Senior Project Manager, Neel-Schaffer, Inc.; Brandon Payne, Founding Partner, The Payne Group; Monica Scott, Vice President Marketing, Boomtown/Hollywood Gulf Coast Casinos; Donald Shepley, Director Planning & Business Development, Gulfport-Biloxi Regional Airport Authority; Dhiana Skrmetti, Executive Director, Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra, Inc.; Rebecca Smith, Director Talent Acquisition, Beau Rivage, MGM Resorts; Lindsay Ward, Senior Project Manager, Southern Mississippi Planning & Development District; Kathryn Wilkes, Manager, Horne LLP; Christopher Williams, PhD, Assistant Superintendent, Ocean Springs School District.

Co-Chairs: Patrick Bonck, Director of Zoning, Harrison County; Kimberly Nastasi, Director, Communications, Ingalls Shipbuilding; Gretchen David, Owner,

Gretchen David Design Studio.

The facilitator is Brent Henley of The Pyramid Group, and the sponsor is HORNE LLP

Rippel joins CxGBS John Rippel, PE, CxA, CPD, CGD, LEED AP BD+C, has joined Commissioning & Green Building Solutions in Lawrenceville, Ga., and will work with CxGBS’s managed by the Mississippi Branch Office.

Rippel has more than 15 years Ripple of experience and has commissioned more than 1 million square feet of buildings. His first projects in the area include Johnson Commons at the University of Mississippi and the Animal Dairy Science Building at Mississippi State University.

Rippel resides in the Jackson area with his wife, Dr. Sara Rippel, and their two children; they are expecting their third child in August.

Origin Bank hires Eatherly J. Gibson Eatherly has joined Origin Bank as a senior vice president, commercial relationship banker for the company’s Jackson team.

Eatherly has 17 years of banking experience, with specialties in a variety of areas. In his position at Origin Bank, he will focus on developing new business relationships Eatherly and providing current and future clients with banking service.

Eatherly has a Bachelor of Business Administration with double majors in managerial finance, and banking and finance from the University of Mississippi. He is also a graduate of both the Mississippi School of Banking and the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University. He is a member of the Madison County Business League, the Madison County Young Professionals, and the Madison County Chamber of Commerce. He is married to Erin Eatherly, and they have three children. Eatherly will maintain an office at the bank’s Highland Colony Financial Center in Ridgeland.

New Businesses

18 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q May 5, 2017

MRC Landscape Architecture: MRC Landscape Architecture celebrated its new office in Oxford with a ribbon cutting ceremony hosted by the Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce. MRC Landscape Architecture located at 440 North Lamar Blvd. Suite 4.

Joey Brent / Courtesy of Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce

Courtesy of Cowboy Maloney’s

Cowboy Maloney’s: Cowboy Maloney’s recently opened a new 36,000-square-foot Home Store on Highway 45 in Columbus. Cowboy Maloney’s has locations in Jackson, Ridgeland, Flowood, Clinton, Pearl, Vicksburg, Oxford, Tupelo, Columbus, Meridian, Laurel and Hattiesburg.

Courtesy of EMBDC

Meridian Estates: The East Mississippi Business Development Corporation recently held a Ribbon Cutting for Meridian Estates, 4524 Hwy 39 N., which is under new ownership and has remodeled.

Lyle’s Power Equipment. The Rankin County Chamber of Commercce recently held a Ribbon Cutting for Lyle’s Power Equipment, 606 Second Street in Pelahathcie.

Courtesy of Rankin County Chamber of Commerce

May 5, 2017

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19

THE SPIN CYCLE

United outlines 10 things it will do to avoid crisis

U

nited Airlines is taking steps to avoid another crisis – and make flying the airline better.

The airline said it is making 10 changes to prevent a repeat of what happened to David Dao, who was dragged from a flight because the carrier needed extra seats for commuting crew members. Video of the April 9 incident quickly went viral. Dr. Dao suffered a concussion and two missing teeth.

United acknowledged four failures that day.

First, it shouldn’t have called law enforcement when a security or safety issue didn’t exist.

Second, it failed when rebooking the crew on an already packed and boarded flight.

Third, it failed to lure passengers voluntarily with sufficient compensation. Its agents didn’t have the authority to offer more or find other ways to get passengers to their destination.

Fourth, United didn’t prepare its employees for situations like the one with Dr. Dao. So the airline came up with 10 policy changes and initiatives to reduce bumping and improve customer service. Some have already been implemented, and others will be rolled out soon. Here’s what’s changing at United: 1. United won’t use law enforcement unless there’s a safety or security issue – It won’t call the cops simply to enforce its own policies.

2. Boarded passengers won’t be asked to give up their seats involuntarily unless there’s a safety or security issue.

3. United is increasing compensation up to $10,000 for voluntarily giving up your seat.

4. A “customer solutions team” is being created to assist gate agents to get fliers to their destinations. The team will also help crews find alternatives to displacing passengers.

5. Traveling crew members must be booked at least 60 minutes before departure.

6. United will add new annual training for its agents “that will equip them to handle the most difficult of situations.” This begins in August.

7. United will ask passengers during automated check-in or on its app if they’re interested in giving up their seat in exchange for compensation.

8. It is cutting back overbooking for

last-of-the-day flights, like flight 3411 – or flights that historically had few passengers voluntarily give up seats.

9. Using a new app, flight attendants and gate agents can proactively dole out miles or other compensation “when a disservice occurs.”

10. The airline is cutting the red tape for lost bags. If a bag goes permanently missing, the airline is adopting a “no-questionsasked” policy. United will pay $1,500 for the bag and its contents.

Huffington Post rebrands as HuffPost The Huffington Post of the post-Arianna era, helmed by former New York Times editor Lydia Polgreen, is rebranding itself by the commonly used nickname HuffPost.

It’s also redesigning its site to fully embrace these punny splashes across social platforms and to better accommodate the habits and desires of its readership, which Polgreen is hoping to make more loyal and engaged.

The redesign process began before Polgreen came on board late last year; Arianna Huffington’s departure left an opening for the site to rethink how it wanted to present itself to readers.

Design director Alison Zack suggested introducing that splash image into everything. People have been consistently sharing images of the splashes on social anyway.

Now, when readers share a big HuffPost story or come across one on search, they’ll get the quippy headline and image.

On some days, HuffPost gets as much as a quarter of its traffic directly from its homepage. The readers accessing HuffPost from its homepage, unsurprisingly, are the most engaged readers, clicking into six to seven pages per visit. But anecdotal feedback and focus groups suggested that some readers consistently only wanted to read stories from specific sections, and weren’t always getting to the sections they wanted easily enough. Users who watched video from the homepage tended to watch a lot of video in general, so the redesign moves up the video.

HuffPost is also switching to a simplified, still-green but Huffington-less logo (an outside agency helped design it). A slash through the middle is meant to evoke cutting through the noise, as well as the URL slash.

The mobile app is getting the new look as well, though the updates that roll out last week is only a preview of what’s to come.

Pinterest to Launch 1st U.S. Ad Campaign, 2nd International This summer, Pinterest is launching its first major advertising campaign in the U.S. It’s considering spending on billboards, websites, newspapers and magazines to get its message across.

Pinterest is advertising to add users as other, larger networks start to mimic parts of its product. Instagram, for example, recently added a feature that allows people to save other users’ pictures into collections that they can revisit later. Alphabet Inc.’s Google recently added shoppable photos in image searches.

Since the ad campaign is still in its planning stages, Pinterest wouldn’t say how much it intends to spend or whether it will include TV ads. The company is working with Janet Champ, a creative director known for Nike campaigns, and hopes to highlight users who went “from dreaming about their life to designing it,” according to a spokesperson.

Last year, the company did an ad campaign in London with TV and posters in public transit. This year, the effort is larger, in the U.S. as well as internationally.

Dropped Mic | Trump skips correspondents’ dinner, opts for rally President Donald Trump passed up an opportunity to roast reporters at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, choosing instead to complain about the news media (and Democrats) at a rally in Pennsylvania.

During the event marking his first 100 days in office, President Trump said, “A large group of Hollywood actors and Washington media are consoling each other in a hotel ballroom in our nation’s capi-

tal right now.”

He also said that the “media deserves a very big, fat, failing grade,” reports Politico. Over in D.C., veteran journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein Todd Smith defended the media at the Trump-less dinner, with comedic relief from Hasan Minhaj of “The Daily Show.” The comedian poked fun at the administration and various news outfits, but then he got more serious and equated the president’s absence to not caring about free speech or appreciating that the First Amendment allows him to tweet, reports the Washington Post. Folks who chose not to watch coverage of what Minhaj called the “series finale” of the WHCD could catch Samantha Bee roast President Trump during her “Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.” Will Ferrell made a surprise appearance, filling the presidential void with his famous impression of President George W. Bush.

In a case of a double dropped Mics, both President Trump, and the roast-less correspondents’ dinner take the honors!

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

Todd Smith is president and chief communications officer of Deane, Smith & Partners, a full-service branding, PR, marketing and advertising firm with offices in Jackson. The firm — based in Nashville, Tenn.

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

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