MBJ_May09_2014

INSIDE — TEDx Jackson a coup for Mississippi

www.msbusiness.com

Bomgar & BOSTON Joel Bomgar has sold controlling interest in his company, but he vows the business will never leave Ridgeland and Mississippi.

Page 9

Around town {P 7} » Budding entrepreneurs to compete next week In Mississippi {P 8} » ‘Make It In Mississippi’ challenge leverages ‘reshoring’ trend

10

» Attracting Millennials takes different approach » Impact of incapacity List {P 14-15} » Financial Planners

YEARS

1979

2014

May 9, 2014 • Vol. 36, No. 19 • $1 • 20 pages

M R O F E R T R O T AFTER TEN YEARS

» The "Tort Reform: After Ten Years" seminar on May 14 will feature a who's who of Mississippi's past and present political establishment

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

MBJ Focus {P 10}

35

A May 14 conference at the Jackson Convention Complex will spotlight the 10th anniversary of an overhaul of Mississippi's civil justice system, an achievement business leaders say saved the state's medical sector and polished the state’s image as a place to do business.

What you won’t hear at the "Tort Reform: After Ten Years" seminar are the criticisms of personal injury lawyers and victims advocates who say the 2004 legislation slammed shut the courthouse doors to Mississippians who suffer at the hands of incompetent medical professionals or businesses that neglected the safety of their workers, customers and the general public.

The so-called tort reform reset the com-

CAPS AVERTED LIABILITY CRISIS BUT WAS THE PRICE DIMINISHED ACCOUNTABILITY?

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

petitive balance so that today “you almost have to have the wrong leg cut off or let someone expire as they are gasping for air” to initiate a worthwhile action, said John Giddens, a Jackson personal injury lawyer who noted he is struggling to recover damages for the victims of the Rose Cancer Center in Summit, where medical professionals watered down chemo medications to increase profits.

“Tort reform, particularly the special exceptions for the medical industry, has helped allow criminals like Meera Sachdeva to get away with intentionally hurting Mississippi families battling cancer,” he said of the clinic proprietor who is now in prison.

“Imagine discovering your wife or mother or child were treated with watered down

A lengthy special-session rumble at the Mississippi Capitol in late spring 2004 gave the state a civil justice revamp the Wall Street Journal called “the most comprehensive tort reform law” any state had passed.

That comprehensive change came despite the absence of any give anywhere.

Compromise was as elusive as a roadrunner, participants on both sides of the issue recall.

After the bell sounded at the close of the final round, Democratic House Speaker Billy McCoy went home to Prentiss County on a Friday evening only to suffer a series of strokes that night, said Republican Rep. Jeffrey Smith, who at the time was a Democrat and key lieutenant to McCoy. So intense was the fight that Neely Carlton,

TORT, Page 2

See CAPS, Page 2

See

http://msbusiness.com/events/fast-40-nomination-form/

2 I Mississippi Business Journal I May 9 2014

TORT

Continued from Page 1

medications and allowed to needlessly suffer and die, or contracted Hepatitis C,” Giddens added.

“The civil lawyers defending Rose Cancer Clinic have, in this instance, an economic advantage and can and did use the hurdles tort reform ushered in, protecting criminal conduct under this umbrella.”

Dr. Sachdeva and two others were convicted in late 2012. Sachdeva was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison and ordered to pay nearly $8.2 million in fraudulent Medicaid claims after pleading guilty to one count of health care fraud and two counts of making false statements, the Associated Press reported.

Supporters of the civil justice revamp can point to far lower medical malpractice premiums for physicians and Mississippi’s business growth, including the enticing of Toyota to set up a factory in Blue Springs, a move the Japanese automaker has said it would not have made had the state not enacted the restrictions on personal injury lawsuits.

Expect the seminar to be a celebration of sorts, said Neely Carlton, general counsel to the Mississippi State Medical Association and former state senator.

Carlton, a key aide to Gov. Haley Barbour during the tort overhaul effort, said the afternoon is an opportunity to look back at a job well done. “Hundreds of people will attend and not only remember where we were 10 years ago but thankful for where we are now,” she said.

The "Tort Reform: After Ten Years" seminar runs from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and will feature a who's who of Mississippi's past and present political establishment, including former Gov. Barbour, his successor Gov. Phil Bryant, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and House Speaker Philip Gunn.

Barbour, who rode to the governorship in 2003 on a promise of fixing the state's budget and reforming its civil justice system, will review the intensely fractious effort to pass the bill. Barbour is of-counsel to Ridgeland law firm Butler Snow, one of the sponsors of the event.

He will be followed by a pair of panel discussions. On one, state, professional and industry leaders will detail what they believe are benefits of the 2004 overhaul. That redo included a firming up of a $500,000 medical malpractice cap on non-economic damages legislators adopted in 2002 and adoption of a general damages cap of $1 million on non-economic damages, which essentially are pain and suffering and punitive damage awards.

Though 38 states have enacted the

caps, their constitutional firmness has come increasingly into question, having been struck down by supreme courts in Alabama, Illinois and — in March — Florida. A ruling on the constitutionality of Mississippi's damage caps could come at some point from the state Supreme Court. A federal appeals court four years ago certified an as yet-to-beaddressed question to the state court on the constitutionality of the Mississippi damage caps.

With Wednesday seminar's second panel, legislators, business leaders and medical professionals will address areas in which the civil justice changes can be strengthened or expanded. House Speaker Protem Greg Snowden, a 16-year House member and attorney, will lead the discussion.

In a press statement issued for the event, organizers warned that the civil justice changes are in jeopardy, though they did not offer specifics.

“The public, as well as our own leaders and members, must not become complacent about lawsuit abuse,” organizers said in a press statement. “The threats against tort reform are real. We must remain active and vigilant.”

Rep. Snowden, in an interview Tuesday, said the principal threat to the liability restrictions rests with the judiciary, not the political system. He cited the Florida’s Supreme Court’s tossing out of that state’s wrongful death cap.

In its ruling, the Florida court held that the caps violated the Equal Protection Clause of the state constitution under the “rational basis test,” an interpretation Snowden says portrays the Florida Legislature as having no rational basis for enacting the cap in the first place.

Florida’s high court signaled it would treat reviews of other personal injury caps in like fashion.

The statutory cap “has the effect of saving a modest amount for many by imposing devastating costs on a few — those who are most grievously injured, those who sustain the greatest damage and loss, and multiple claimants for whom judicially determined noneconomic damages are subject to division and reduction simply based upon the existence of the cap,” the court’s plurality ruling stated.

Snowden called the Florida court’s interpretation of the “rationality test” a contorting of the legislative rationality standard. It nonetheless should alarm proponents of the personal injury and wrongful death caps, he said.

“There is a nationwide attack on See

REFORM, Page 8

CAPS

Continued from Page 1

a key staffer to Gov. Haley Barbour who was pregnant with triplets and having complications, could not escape for an afternoon of bed rest. A banging on her door at 3 p.m. on a rainy Thursday turned out to be a white-coated obstetrician from Cleveland who insisted she return to the Capitol and resume swinging Carlton away on behalf of capping medical malpractice awards.

Barbour ultimately prevailed in the special session he had called after trying unsuccessfully to get the civil justice changes through during the regular session. Lawmakers sent him the final bill on June 2 and he signed it on June 16.

Rep. Smith, who became a Republican after failing to unseat Smith McCoy as speaker a few years after the special session, said he thinks to this day the extended brawl and what many view as stringent restrictions on personal injury lawsuits could have been avoided. Circuit judges in about 11 counties were neglecting their duties and letting juries hand down outlandishly high awards that in many cases far exceeded amounts plaintiffs sought.

Stevens “If judges had done their jobs over the previous 25 years we would not have been where we were,” Smith told a luncheon gathering at the Stennis Capitol-Press Forum Monday.

Smith held special blame for the Circuit Court in Fayette County. There, he quipped, plaintiffs typically outnumbered the people living there.

Carlton, a former state senator and current counsel to the Mississippi State Medical Association, told the Stennis luncheon audience it is a bogus retelling of history to say a medical crisis did not exist in Mississippi leading up to the 2004 special session.

Malpractice premiums had soared out of reach, especially OB/GYNs, she said.

“Seven Delta counties had no OB services,” she said, and added that in 2003, 518 Mississippi physicians did not renew their licenses.

The state at one point had to briefly step in and create a risk pool to provide the physician coverage, she said.

Early Steps Though still controlled by Democrats, Mississippi had not entirely ignored civil justice reforms in the previous two decades. In 1993, it amended its joint and several liability statute to prevent any one defendant in a lawsuit with multiple defendants from liability for more than 50 percent of the damage award. Liability was to be assigned only in proportion to a defendant’s degree of fault.

The ’93 changes ended the liability lawyers’ targeting of single deep pocketed defendants, Rep. Smith said.

“Back in the old days,” he said, “if you were 1 percent guilty you could be liable for all of it.”

In 2002, in a lengthy special session called by Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, legislators adopted a medical malpractice cap of $500,000. The caps had award accelerators and cap exclusions under certain conditions.

The caps also applied only to suits related to acts that occurred on or after Jan. 1, 2003.

The reforms further set a two-year statute of limitations and required that the malpractice lawsuit be filed in the county in which the alleged malpractice occurred.

Still, the escalating malpractice premiums and exodus of medical professionals continued in the year that followed.

Turning of the Tide The turnaround in premiums came with the more sweeping 2004 overhaul that firmed up the medical malpractice caps and set a $1 million limit on non-economic general liability awards.

Did the caps bring down premiums?

Yes, and decisively, according to the Medical Assurance Company of Mississippi, a membership-based physician insurance pool established in 1978.

“From the standpoint of premiums, they definitely made a difference,” said Michael Houpt, president of the Medical See

TIDE, Page 3

May 9, 2014

TIDE

Continued from Page 2

Assurance Company since its inception.

“Rates paid in 2013 were close to what was paid in the early 1990s,” he said in a recent interview.

Since December 2005, the end of the first full year of enactment of the malpractice caps, physician members’ premiums have dropped yearly, Houpt said.

And with the declining rates have come annual refunds of 25 percent of each premium, he added.

For 2013, rates dropped 10 percent and members received the 25 percent refund, according to Houpt.

The Medical Assurance Company classifies physicians from Class 1 to Class 5, with the higher classes paying higher premiums based on their medical specialties.

A family practitioner, a Class 1 category, pays around $4,000 a year for $1 million of coverage and is eligible for a 25 refund of that amount, according to Houpt. At the height of the crisis in malpractice premiums before 2004, “I would suspect that same coverage was at least $10,000,” he said.

For the riskiest category, a Class 8 first-year surgeon, the annual premium for $1 million in coverage is still over $40,000, “which gives you an idea of what they were paying at the height of our crisis,” Houpt noted, putting the pre-cap rates at $80,000 to $100,000 annually.

“I would attribute a lot of the success we’ve had to tort reform,” he said, though he emphasized insurance is a cyclical business with many factors influencing it.

Precisely how much credit the caps should receive for the declining premiums is not known, Houpt said.

“We know what it did but we can’t quantify it.”

Houpt said he does not think further reductions in caps or other new restrictions on medical practice suits are needed, at least for now.

“Based on the success we are having it wouldn’t make sense to ask for more,” he said. “There are things out there that could make this whole thing fairer, but I don’t want to get into that discussion.”

Lawyers & Plaintiffs Balch & Bingham partner Paul J. Decambre Jr. has been practicing law on the Mississippi coast since 1976, mostly defending clients against personal injury suits. He has observed since the sweeping changes of 2004 that lawyers do decline the more speculative cases and must think further ahead.

“From a plaintiff standpoint they are expensive to prepare,” he said of personal injury suits.

On Decambre’s side of the courtroom, the revamp of 2004 has provided a certainty that means “everybody is not running away out of fear.”

Today, he said, if found at fault “you’re not sitting there” wondering if the award is going to be in a range from zero to unlimited.”

The last 10 years have shown Mississippi legislators accomplished what they set out to do, Decambre said.

“It has been effective.”

The personal lawyers whom Decambre might face in court would likely agree the tort changes have been effective — but only at significantly lowering the number of personal injury suits filed and keeping victims form recovering damages they would otherwise have received.

Lance Stevens, a Jackson lawyer specializing in personal injury litigation, calls the 2004 law “a

I

Mississippi Business Journal

I

3

FROM THE GROUND UP BY PHIL HARDWICK

Are Mississippians stuck or mobile?

J

ust over 75 percent of all Mississippi residents were born in Mississippi. That is the sixth-highest percentage in the United States.

That number reveals some good things and some not-so-good-things about the Magnolia State.

One obvious good thing about that number is that it indicates that residents are apparently satisfied with living here. Even though the state is rural there are urban areas just a few hours drive away where one can enjoy the amenities offered by larger cities such as New Orleans, Memphis and Jackson. And, of course, the beaches of south Alabama and northwest Florida offer wonderful family vacation experiences. And although the summer months can be brutally hot and humid, the climate overall is a plus. For example, the state’s 189 golf courses offer practically year-round golfing.

Thus, one of the things people like about Mississippi is its location.

Residents also like the quality of life that a rural state like Mississippi offers with its small towns, open spaces and friendly people who know each other. It is easy to find connections with friends and relatives in Mississippi. Indeed, two of the initial questions that Mississippians ask when they first meet each other is “Where are you from?” and “Do you know?” Although most residents were born in Mississippi, there is a growing number of retirees who find the state to be an attractive place to live.

There is even a state program for towns that desire to market their places as retirement communities and receive certification as such. Many workers who have been transferred to Mississippi because of their jobs decide to retire in their new home state.

The list could go on, but those are things that most respondents say are the reasons most residents stay in Mississippi. Now for some of the less desirable factors people list about the above percentage.

colossal failure for Mississipians.”’

It failed to reduce medical insurance premiums for consumers, it did not reduce medical costs for consumers and nor did it protect manufacturing jobs, said Stevens, former president of the Mississippi Association for Justice (formerly the Mississippi Trial Lawyers Association).

“Negligent, and even evil, individuals and businesses can now kill Mississippians with impunity and with negligible accountability,” Stevens charged.

“This is especially true when the victims do not generate economic damages, like small children, the elderly and stay-at-home moms. It's exactly what the consumer groups warned us of during 2002 and 2004.”

Oliver Diaz, a Jackson lawyer and former legislator and state Supreme Court judge, said he regularly turns away individuals who have strong personal injury cases. “I have to tell them ‘no’,” Diaz said, citing the high up-front costs he would have to bear, the damage caps and the likelihood the Mississippi Supreme would overturn any award won.

Jackson personal injury lawyer Cliff Thomas

Because so many people know each other in Mississippi it is often difficult for outsiders to feel welcome when they move to the state or even another town in the state. The adage about one needing to be at least a member of the third generation of a family to say that they are “from here” has a ring of truth to many people. Some communities simply could do a better job of welcoming outsiders.

Some also say that because so many residents were born in Mississippi that they do not have a natural curiosity to travel and explore the world.

Some of that surely has to do with the fact that Mississippi is also one of the poorest states. After all, it’s difficult to travel if one cannot afford it. These factors also help explain why Mississippi has the lowest per capita passport holder rate of any state.

New ideas seem to arrive in Mississippi after gaining traction in other states.

Richard Florida, senior editor of The Atlantic and author of “The Rise of the Creative Class,” has stated that there are basically two types of economic classes in the United States. They are The Stuck and The Mobile. In an article in the Nov. 28, 2011 edition of The Atlantic — Cities, he writes: The mobile possess the resources and the inclination to seek out and move to locations where they pursue economic opportunity. Too many Americans are stuck in places with limited resources and opportunities. This geography of the stuck and mobile is a key axis of cleavage in the United States.

States that have a high percentage of residents who are native born are in the Stuck class.

The reasons for being stuck are somewhat complex. Some choose to be “stuck” because of the reasons listed above. Others are trapped by poverty or other reasons. Whatever the case, it appears that the states with a high percentage native born population in 2010 were also the same states 20 years ago. Consider this list of states and their

provided data from a presentation titled “Dorothy, We’re Not in Fayette Anymore: How Law Practice and Legal Education Are Changing.”

His data showed that in 2004, the year the state enacted the damage caps and other restrictions, tort filings in Mississippi’s circuit courts totaled 9,174. By 2009 they fell to 4,031 and in 2012 to 3,551.

“Don’t assume this lack of litigation is all good news,” said Johnson of the firm Pigott & Johnson.

Jackson liability lawyer Philip Thomas would say the lack of litigation points to a decline in accountability.

“When injured people are not allowed to recover 100 percent of their harms, then by definition, there is not full accountability,” Thomas said.

“Sold to the public as a response to frivolous lawsuits, Mississippi's version of tort reform was the opposite. It prevents the most injured victims from getting a full recovery.”

Thomas said that while he thinks some legislators want more liability law restrictions, Mississippians appear to have had enough. “More tort reform is not an easy sell in Mississippi at this time because defendants are winning most civil trials, there are few large jury

percentage of residents born in their current state: Phil Hardwick STATE Louisiana Michigan Ohio Pennsylvania Wisconsin Mississippi Iowa West Virginia Kentucky Alabama

2010 78.8 76.6 75.1 74.0 72.1 71.9 71.7 71.1 70.3 70.0

1990 79.0 74.9 74.1 80.2 76.4 77.3 77.6 77.3 77.4 75.9

The top five states with the highest mobility, i.e. the states with the lowest percentage of residents born in their current state are as follows: STATE Nevada Florida D.C. Arizona Alaska

% (2010) 24.3 35.2 37.3 37.7 39.0

These percentages also help explain the customs, societal and economic norms of these states. They also aid in explaining the growing political divide in the United States.

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

verdicts and the Mississippi Supreme Court will step in and reverse a jury verdict that is not supported by the law or facts of the case,” he said.

Sherra Hillman Lane, a retired lawyer and current member of the Mississippi House, said she spent a lot of time at the Capitol during the 2002 and 2004 special sessions on the civil justice overhauls. “I saw a lot of people with white coats… but what you did not see because there was no impetus for it, was victims,” said Rep. Lane, speaking from the audience at Monday’s Stennis Capitol-Press Forum.

“You did not see the people who are losing some of their rights,” she added.

“People believe in Second Amendment rights, and I do, but what about your rights to a trial by jury? Why has the Legislature got the right to say this jury can only do so much? Why is that a fair thing for the Legislature to put caps on?”

Lane’s question may eventually get an answer from the Mississippi Supreme Court.

4 I Mississippi Business Journal I May 9 2014

ENVIRONMENT

Bird of a different feather

Special to the MBJ

Though an invasive species, research has shown that the Eurasian collared-dove (left) is not negatively impacting the native mourning dove (right).

» Eurasian collared-dove’s impact minimal so far, authorities say

BY WALLY NORTHWAY I STAFF WRITER wally.northway@msbusiness.com

The state’s newest invasive species of birds has conquered the Magnolia State and is now a common resident of backyards, farms and all points in between from the Tennessee border to the Gulf Coast.

The good news is that the impact of the Eurasian collared-dove, at least for now, seems to be minimal on native species — particularly the mourning dove, a longtime favorite of hunters. In fact, the coming of the Eurasian collared-dove offers more opportunities for sportsmen and birders alike.

“Oh yeah, the (Eurasian collared-dove) has become real popular, especially in the Delta,” said a salesman at Van’s Sporting Goods near Brandon. “They taste good, are larger so you get more meat per bird and they don’t count against your (mourning dove) bag limit.”

According to Scott Baker, a wildlife biologist who leads the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks’ Dove Field Program, it is nearly impossible to taste the difference between the Eurasian collared-dove and the mourning dove.

Identifying the new dove seems to be the biggest challenge. The Eurasian collareddove superficially resembles the mourning dove — the black “collar” around the nape

of the neck is not visible from a distance, and they share many habits and habitat with their cousins. However, there are distinctive differences.

The Eurasian collared-dove is larger than a mourning dove with rounded, black-tipped wings and broad, squared tail that shows white feathers in flight. It is more like the native rock dove, or common pigeon, in its appearance, and its call is similar to the pigeon’s “coo” as opposed to the mourning dove’s “sad” lilting song for which it gets its name.

However, hunters and birders alike are getting more and more chances to positively identify the bird as its range continues to grow. Introduced in the Bahamas in the 1970s — allegedly from birds that es-

Fulton Crossing Corinth, Mississippi Retail Investment Opportunity

Kris Cooper Managing Director Direct +1 404 995 2271 kris.cooper@am.jll.com

Margaret Caldwell Managing Director Direct +1 404 995 2270 margaret.caldwell@am.jll.com

caped during a robbery of a pet shop — Eurasian collared-doves reached Florida in the 1980s and quickly expanded their range across most of North America. According to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, they rate a five out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score and were not on the 2012 Watch List.

Their arrival has seemed to have little to no impact on the mourning dove. According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services’ “Population Status, 2013,” Mourning Dove Call-Count Survey data show that mourning dove abundance over the last 10 years in eastern management units (EMU) that include Mississippi has remained unchanged. The only EMU states that had evidence of a change in mourning dove

Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) is pleased to exclusively offer for sale the 179,905 square foot neighborhood center Fulton Crossing, located in Corinth, MS, just to the north of Tupelo, MS. The Property is anchored by national tenants Kroger and Kmart. Fulton Crossing is strategically situated on ± 19.60 acres along Highway 72, the primary traffic artery in Corinth. The Property’s design with multiple buildings and available suites lends to multiple scenarios for an owner to maximize the value of the Property.

abundance from 2004-2013 were Louisiana and New York, and the trend was positive in both states.

How many Eurasian collared-doves now call Mississippi home is unknown. Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population at eight million with 5 percent living in the U.S., but there is not a hard figure on the population of Eurasian collared-doves in Mississippi.

However, the collared-dove’s numbers are growing in the Magnolia State, though the growth has slowed over the last decade or so, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. USGS’ North American Breeding Bird Survey finds the average trend has been an increase of 33.14 percent each year from 1966-2012, but 28.40 percent per year from 2002-2012.

Still, the Eurasian collared-dove deserves monitoring, according to Nick Winstead, ornithologist with the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science. “I have not heard anyone raising an alarm,” Winstead said, “but you never know what tomorrow will bring.”

Because it is not a native species, the Eurasian collared-dove is not protected from hunting. Hunters are allowed to take collared-doves only during the official dove-hunting season, but there is no bag limit.

Finding Eurasian collared-doves is one thing; shooting them is another. While hunters find the Eurasian collared-dove a tasty, tempting target, they are not always available to shooters even where the birds exist, according to one landowner.

“All the collared doves want to do is hang out at the shed,” said Chuck Perry of Perry Farms in Yazoo City (www.huntperryfarms.com) with a chuckle. “They won’t fly in the dove fields. Hunters on my property aren’t taking those birds.”

A member of the Mississippi Press Association www.mspress.org

200 North Congress, Suite 400 Jackson, MS 39201-1902 Main: (601) 364-1000 Faxes: Advertising (601) 364-1007; Circulation (601) 364-1035 E-mails: mbj@msbusiness.com, ads@msbusiness.com, photos@msbusiness.com, research@msbusiness.com, events@msbusiness.com

Website: www.msbusiness.com May 9, 2014 Volume 36, Number 19

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

MBJPERSPECTIVE May 9, 2014 • www.msbusiness.com • Page 5

OUR VIEW

A

CodeRED can be a life-saving factor

fter an EF-5 tornado in 2011 leveled Smithville and killed 16 people, area public officials examined ways of improving weather warning systems with the goal of saving lives.

Three years and one day after the Smithville storm, an EF-3 tornado ripped through the much more heavily populated Tupelo area and then headed on to Itawamba County. Only one person died in that tornado April 28, none in structures.

Many factors contributed to the low fatality rate, but surely among the most significant is a new system that resulted from that

post-Smithville examination.

In 2012, Lee County’s Board of Supervisors adopted the CodeRED weather warning system, which provides timely alerts on severe weather. So did the other seven counties in the Three Rivers Planning and Development District – Itawamba, Monroe, Chickasaw, Pontotoc, Union, Calhoun and Lafayette.

In addition, all counties in the Northeast Mississippi Planning and Development District now have the service.

CodeRED tracks severe weather and warns people in its path with a recorded phone message. It’s free for residents within those counties but requires them to sign up

online. Those without computers must seek family, friends and neighbors with Internet access to help them register.

Three Rivers PDD county residents may register at www.trpdd.com/codered. Others can go to www.nempdd.com and click on the CodeRED icon.

Participants must enter their home and cellphone numbers, address and which weather alerts they want: tornado, severe thunderstorm or flash flood.

If you don’t have this service, sign up for it while the memory of last week’s tornado — and its minimal loss of life in our region’s CodeRED counties — is fresh on your mind.

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

» THE OUTSIDE WORLD

» PERCOLATING WITH BILL CRAWFORD

Mississippi Life Tracks issues first report

MELISSA KILLINGSWORTH Sr. Account Executive

melissa.harrison@msbusiness.com • 364-1030 VIRGINIA HODGES Account Executive virginia.hodges@msbusiness.com • 364-1012 TACY RAYBURN Production Manager tacy.rayburn@msbusiness.com • 364-1019

T

CHARINA RHODES Circulation Manager charina.rhodes@msbusiness.com • 364-1045 MARCIA THOMPSON-KELLY Business Assistant marcia.kelly@msbusiness.com • 364-1044 SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES (601) 364-1000 subscriptions@msbusiness.com Mississippi Business Journal (USPS 000-222) is published weekly with one annual issue by MSBJ 200 N. Congress St., Suite 400, Jackson, MS 39201. Periodicals postage paid at Jackson, MS. Subscription rates: 1 year $109; 2 years $168; and 3 years $214.

To place orders, temporarily stop service, change your address or inquire about billing: Phone: (601) 3641000, Fax: (601) 364-1035, Email: charina.rhodes@msbusiness.com, Mail: MS Business Journal Subscription Services, 200 N.Congress Street, Suite 400, Jackson, MS 39201 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Mississippi Business Journal, Circulation Manager, 200 North Congress Street, Suite 400, Jackson, MS 39201 To submit subscription payments: Mail: MS Business Journal Subscriptions Services, 200 North Congress Street, Suite 400, Jackson, MS 39201.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

he first special report from Mississippi LifeTracks has been published.

What, you may be asking, is Mississippi LifeTracks?

It’s a newly established, robust statewide integrated longitudinal education and workforce data system.

Right. So, what is it really?

It is a data collection and innovative analysis system operated by the National Strategic Planning & Analysis Research Center (nSPARC) at Mississippi State University that can aggregate data from administrative records that date as far back as 2005 from all education and workforce agencies in the state.

Unh-hunh. So, what does it do?

It gives us access to useful facts Bill Crawford about the performance of Mississippi’s schools, community colleges and universities, and provides statistics on Mississippi’s workforce and economy.

State Sen. Angela Hill of Picayune asked LifeTracks for a report on education majors at Mississippi’s universities. It is LifeTracks’ first special report. It and others to follow will be posted to www.LifeTracks.ms.gov.

The report said an average of 2,013 individuals each year declare education as a major at Mississippi public universities. Of those, 28.7 percent are firsttime freshmen and the remaining 71.3 percent are transfer students.

It said an average of 40.4 percent of these students (about 814) graduate with degrees in education within six years and another 15.1 percent (about 304) graduate with degrees in non-education majors.

It said an average of 60.3 percent of education graduates each year (about 490) enter the teaching profession See CRAWFORD, Page 6

6 I Mississippi Business Journal I May 9, 2014

PERSPECTIVE

» RICKY NOBILE

CRAWFORD

Continued from Page 5

at public or private institutions in Mississippi within five years of graduation; 85 percent of those (about 418) within the first year.

It said that of those who enter the teaching profession in the first year nearly three in four (76.4 percent, or about 319) are still teaching after five years.

Those are the facts. LifeTracks does not draw conclusions, just presents facts.

That lets us — not just government agencies or politicians — draw conclusions. For example: It is significant that over 70 percent of education majors are transfer students. Other sources tell us nearly all of those transfers come from community colleges.

And, it will be hard to overcome our teacher shortage with nearly 60 percent of those who start education programs not completing them.

And, how much personal and public wealth is wasted on the 45 percent of those who enroll as education majors but don’t graduate at all?

A public board governs Mississippi LifeTracks. The board is made up of nine state agency directors, one community college president, the head of a pre-K council, and is chaired by the head of the State Workforce Investment Board, Jay Moon.

It will be interesting to see future reports. I suspect they will delve more deeply into data and yield more interesting facts. Meanwhile, Mississippi now has what the U.S. Department of Education deems as one of the best and most unique data systems in the country.

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

»ANALYSIS

More troubles for Kemper as overruns drag down Southern Co. stock

J

ACKSON — Troubles at the Kemper County power plant that Mississippi Power Co. is building are so great that they’re dragging down the stock of parent Southern Co. The company stock has fallen since Atlanta-based Southern disclosed another $196 million in overruns related to higher construction costs and project delays, though share prices rose Monday.

The company says the additional charge is also related to the same factors it discussed in April when it charged off $184 million. The coal-fueled power plant is now projected to cost $5.5 billion.

“We have experienced decreases in construction labor productivity due to a combination of adverse weather, labor turnover and inefficiencies,” Southern CEO Tom Fanning told investors Wednesday.

The company also pushed back the completion date of the whole complex until May 2015, although it says it will begin running power turbines this summer using piped-in natural gas.

Mississippi Power says it will pay the additional money — not its 186,000 customers from Meridian to the Gulf Coast. However, the company says it also will lose $120 million to $150 million in tax benefits by not completing the complex this year. Mississippi Power says it may change its

The company also pushed back the completion date of the whole complex until May 2015, although it says it will begin running power turbines this summer using piped-in natural gas. rate proposal to recover that money.

“Loss of these tax benefits would require further adjustment to the proposed retail rate recovery plan, which remains subject to approval by the Mississippi PSC,” Mississippi Power wrote in an April 29 stock filing.

Company leaders said Congress could still vote to extend the tax benefits into 2015. They also said the issue would be part of settlement talks with the Public Utilities Staff over whether the company spent the first $2.75 billion on the plant prudently. The Mississippi Public Service Commis-

sion delayed prudency hearings from May 19 until at least August, in part to allow those talks.

Investor reaction has been negative, with shares dropping.

Monday, Swiss investment bank UBS cut Southern’s stock to a “sell” rating, citing the trouble at Kemper.

“We believe there is a possibility for further project slippage and the use of the remaining contingency,” wrote analyst Julien Dumoulin-Smith.

One problem is that any further delays will cost $25 million a month and the company could have to raise more money through stock sales if overruns keep piling up.

“We’re pretty close to the edge,” Chief Financial Officer Art Beattie said of the company’s capital structure.

Analysts and company officials both agree that risks remain in the startup of the remainder of the plant, which is supposed to gasify lignite coal, remove carbon dioxide and other chemicals, and burn the remaining gas for power.

“The integration of the different systems of Kemper, it’s a very complex animal,” Beattie said.

Bills for customers have already gone up by 18 percent over two years. Mississippi Power has said it’s likely to seek an additional increase of at least 4 percent over 20 years to pay off $1 billion in bonds that the Legislature is allowing the company to issue as part of the settlement.

— Jeff Amy, Associated Press

May 9 2014

I

Mississippi Business Journal

I

7

ENTREPRENEURSHIP Special to the MBJ

Start it up!

Startup Weekend can be intense and high-energy, but prospective entrepreneurs and coaches/mentors also admit that the marathon event is a lot of fun.

» Budding entrepreneurs to compete next week

BY WALLY NORTHWAY I STAFF WRITER wally.northway@msbusiness.com

Prospective business owners’ dreams and plans will be on the clock next week during a high-energy competition offered through Innovate Mississippi.

Startup Weekend Jackson, now in its third year, will be held May 16-18 at Millsaps College. Dozens of entrepreneurs and a group of mentors/coaches are expected to be on hand for the 54-hour marathon competition aimed at giving a boost to new business ventures.

“This is the most fun startup event we host because it shortcuts the process between ideas and implementation,” said Tony Jeff, president and CEO of Innovate Mississippi. “It’s great to see simple concepts on Friday night that sometimes transform into businesses with real customers by Sunday.”

Begun in 2007 in Colorado and now headquartered in Seattle, Wash., Startup Weekend, which is powered by Google for Entrepreneurs, over its history has grown into a global event with more than 1,000 competitions involving over 100,000 entrepreneurs in 100-plus countries.

According to Startup Weekend, the event has been effective. More than 36 percent of Startup Weekend winners are still going strong after three months, and roughly 80 percent of participants plan on continuing working with their team or startup after the weekend.

Startup Weekend Jackson will begin with aspiring entrepreneurs giving 60-second pitches of their proposals the night of May 16 to a group of programmers, coders, developers and other business-minded individuals, who then vote for the most promising 10 to 15 ideas. The group then divides into small teams, each spending the rest of the weekend focusing on a single business idea and developing a proof of concept, demo or finished product. Mentors help fine-tune the idea into a “working company” with potential profits. A panel of seasoned professionals evaluates each

group’s created company and their chances of real-world success, and the event will conclude Sunday, May 18 with an awards ceremony where the top three teams receive in-kind prizes from local service providers.

It means long hours and serious business, but participants say the rewards are worth it.

“You have to be business/entrepreneur nerd — staying up all night. You eat pizza when it’s hot and the cheese is stingy, when it’s cold and when it’s brick-hard,” said Josh Mabus, owner of the Tupelo-based advertising firm Mabus Agency and veteran Startup Weekend mentor/coach. “It is a lot of fun.”

Mabus, a member of the current class of the Mississippi Business Journal’s Top 40 Under 40 awards program, said he received “gentle guidance” when he was a new entrepreneur, and the event gives him a chance to return the favor.

He said that he gets inspiration not only from the ideas that are pitched, but also from the spirit of sharing exhibited among participants.

“You here some really great ideas — new, fresh businesses,” Mabus said. He added that he has been moved by the willingness of competitors who did not make the cut to volunteer to help those who did win.

One of those winners is Darren Schwindaman, owner of Jackson-based Creative Distillery. Creative Distillery’s product, Gotcha Universe, was chosen as a winner during a prior Startup Weekend Jackson.

“It was a grueling weekend — Friday night until 1a.m., all day Saturday and all day Sunday. Working that intensively on the product, however, taught me many lessons,” Schwindaman wrote. “We wear many hats at Creative Distillery, so in any day I might be working on a design project, talking with potential clients, connecting with contractors, or doing a press check at a print shop.

On top of that is the constant barrage of information from social media sites. Startup Weekend gave me a structure to spend the entire weekend thinking and working on

one thing.

“There’s a lot to learn about remaining profitable as we look to expand. I’ll take away a new set of tools and approaches in order to make our business more successful.”

Tasha Bibb, entrepreneurial development manager for Innovate Mississippi, heads up Startup Weekend Jackson. “The event provides an environment where entrepreneurship can happen,” she said when asked why Innovate Mississippi participates in Startup Weekend. “It is definitely high-energy, but also a lot of fun.”

This year’s Startup Weekend Jackson will offer some firsts. For example, in addition

to the traditional mobile and tech-related startup ideas this year’s Startup Weekend Jackson is placing an added emphasis on the medical and telehealth industry with a special health care track sponsored by Humana.

For more information on Startup Weekend Jackson and/or to purchase tickets, visit Bibb at tbibb@innovate.ms, or visit www.jackson.startupweekend.org.

The ticket price includes all events and meals for the weekend, and students receive a 50 percent discount.

http://www.msbusiness.com

AUCTIONS Q Taylor Auction & Realty, Inc............................................................... www.taylorauction.com

BANKS Q Regions Bank....................................................................................................... www.regions.com

INTERNET SERVICES Q Comcast Business .......................................................................................... www.comcast.com Q TEC ..................................................................................................................................www.TEC.com

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

PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES Q Delta State University................................................................................... www.deltastate.edu

REAL ESTATE Q State Street Group........................................................................www.statestreetgroup.com

TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS Q Synergetics DCS, Inc. ...................................................................... www.synergeticsdcs.com

TELECOMMUNICATIONS Q AT&T................................................................................................................................... www.att.com Q Comcast Business .......................................................................................... www.comcast.com Q MegaGate Broadband................................................................................ www.megagate.com Q Nextiva.................................................................................................................... www.nextiva.com Q TEC ..................................................................................................................................www.TEC.com

WEBSITE DESIGNERS Q U.S. NEXT....................................................................................................................... www.usnx.com

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

8 I Mississippi Business Journal I May 9 2014

MANUFACTURING

‘Make It In Mississippi’ challenge leverages ‘reshoring’ trends » Timing ripe for regaining manufacturers that left for China, experts say

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

Next year is projected to mark the arrival of a “confluence” of developments in manufacturing that will launch in earnest a long-awaited return of American manufacturers to the United States.

The Boston Consulting Group predicted the “confluence” several years ago through an analysis of reshoring trends and factors likely to contribute to a diminished appeal of China to U.S. manufacturers. A key conclusion: Labor costs in China would rise to within 10 percent or less of wages typically paid factory workers in the United States.

Coupled with increased transportation and energy costs, uncertain currency levels and the difficulties of protecting manufacturing patents and other intellectual property, returning to America would become an easy decision to make, the Boston Consulting Group study predicted.

The last couple of years have solidified the Boston Consulting Group’s belief in the arrival of the “confluence,” said Hal Sirkin, a senior partner in the Chicago office of the international research and consulting firm.

With Chinese factory wages growing 15 to 20 percent a year, “it is happening faster than we thought,” Sirkin said of the confluence in an interview late last month.

“Companies are starting to see the economics,” he said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Labor is helping to speed up the reshoring trend through helping states such as Mississippi to encourage reshoring of advanced manufacturing jobs.

Of $20 million the Labor Department awarded last October for its “Make it in America Challenge,” Mississippi State

REFORM

OPPORTUNITY TO GET ACQUAINTED WITH ’MISSISSIPPI MAKE IT AMERICA’ What: Is It Time for You to Reshore?

When: May 14-15, all day both days Where: CAVS Extension Center, 153 Mississippi Parkway, Canton Speakers: Harry Moser, founder of Reshoring Initiative, to detail “Total Cost of Ownership,” 10:15 a.m. to 1:15 both days (includes lunch) Topics: Twelve one-on-one “Supply Chain Listening Sessions;” Tiger Team planning sessions in morning and afternoon of both days.

Details: Dr. Clay Walden, 601-407-2713; walden@cavse.msstate.edu

University received $1.9 million, as one of 10 grant awards made nationally. MSU’s Canton-based Center for Advanced Vehicle Systems, or CAVS, an arm of the university’s Bagley College of Engineering, is leading the manufacturing logistics segment of the challenge. A specific goal is show sourcing suppliers the benefits of moving operations closer to Mississippi’s manufacturing plants.

The CAVS Extension Center is a few months into a statewide campaign aimed

Continued from Page 2

tort reform,” the Republican legislator said.

By contrast, opponents of Mississippi’s judicial overhaul say they fear a new round of restrictions on civil suits could be ahead. However, Rep. Jeffrey Smith, a Tupelo lawyer and key player in the 2004 revamp, said Monday he is unaware of any move afoot to consider new measures.

Smith, a member of the Legislature’s Constitutional

at helping advanced manufacturers return to the United States as well as remain here.

As part of the effort, CAVS is holding a two-day “Make It In Mississippi” reshoring conference May 14-15 at its headquarters at 153 Mississippi Parkway.

A key focus will be on helping manufacturers address supply-chain needs. A luncheon program, repeated both days from 10:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. will feature Harry Moser, the founder of the national reshoring movement. Moser’s presentation is titled “Is it Time for Your Company to Reshore?”

Moser, president of the Chicago-based Reshoring Initiative, has developed a costcalculation method to help businesses more accurately compare the cost of manufacturing in China and in the United States. He has dubbed the calculation “The Total Cost of Ownership.”

The tallies increasingly show it is “as cost-effective to manufacture in the Southeast U.S. as in China,” Moser said in a recent interview.

He said he thinks a close look will show costs in the Southeastern U.S. to be within 15 percent, but that percentage goes down significantly when the total cost is considered.

“The end result is that 10 years ago we were losing 150,000 jobs a year to offshoring. Now, we are approximately neutral.”

The rate of decline has sped up significantly in the last couple years, Moser said.

Nationally, the Reshoring Initiative sends out “listening teams” to visit manufacturing executives and hear what they are doing in the way of offshoring and learn what it would take to keep them at home.

That’s where the Initiative acquaints the executives with “total cost” calculations, Moser said.

The Initiative next acquaints the execs

Committee, said no one has approached the committee about an amendment to cement the damage caps into the constitution. Even if an amendment push did occur, it would have no chance of getting the required two-thirds approval of the House, according to Snowden.

Jackson personal injury lawyer and political blogger Philip Thomas said he will be surprised if a bid to expand tort reform does not occur in the near future.

“Some leaders in the Republican Party have spoken out for more tort reform,” he said in email. ”For some tort reform advocates it is not about fairness. It is about killing the civil

with U.S. workforce training opportunities and sources of grants to help with the costs of the training, according to Moser.

In advanced manufacturing, Moser said he has seen a “fair amount” of electronic assembly return, including makers of whole harnesses and circuit boards.

Mexico, which — like the United States — lost manufacturing jobs to China in past decades is having success bringing companies home from China. Surveys show, however, that the United States leads Mexico on the reshoring front, Moser noted.

Like Moser’s national effort, the CAVS Extension Center’s “Mississippi Make It In America” campaign has created “listening teams” to help assess supply-chain needs of manufacturers in the state or ones that could potentially move to the state.

The campaign has a lot of moving parts, said Clay Walden, director and research professor of CAVS Extension.

“We’re targeting companies that can use our help, particularly those that are expanding or are wanting to become part of a reshoring effort,” Walden said.

So far nine or so partners have been recruited, including the Franklin Furniture Institute on Mississippi State’s Starkville campus, the Mississippi Development Authority, South Delta Planning and Development District and the Three Rivers Planning and Development District. Several community colleges have been enlisted for workforce training, including Holmes Community, East Mississippi Community, Itawamba Community and Mississippi Delta Community.

“The big picture is the training piece,” Walden said, and added that 175 internships with advanced manufactures in the state are to be awarded this year.

Eighty-four “Tiger Teams” have also been created. Made up of members of the Make It In Mississippi In America campaign and, in some instances representatives of the manufacturer, the teams will identify new or alternative suppliers for the manufacturers with whom they are working, Walden said.

“These solutions will help manufacturers locate suppliers closer to their plants, which, at times, can include the reshoring of suppliers, work and jobs from outside the U.S.,” Walden said in a press release.

justice system. Those people will not stop until it's dead.”

Snowden said he does not know of any pressing tort changes on the horizon, though he did acknowledge the idea of a “loser-pay” statute “has come up a few times.”

Under such a rule, the party that loses in a personal injury action must cover the costs of the other side.

While Snowden said he would have concerns about such a law limiting access to the courts, he noted it is “a matter for discussion” and “I wouldn’t foreclose it.”

May 9 2014

I

Mississippi Business Journal

I

9

e t a u d a gr ificate a n r ea

TECHNOLOGY

t r e c in buusnidnaetisonss fo

For The Mississippi Business Journal

Joel Bomgar has gotten inquiries from numerous prospective buyers over the company’s 11-year history, but TA Associates was the first to meet all of his criteria for a sale.

Bomgar and

Boston » Tech company to remain headquartered in Ridgeland

By FRANK BROWN I STAFF WRITER frank.brown@msbusiness.com

When he first started Bomgar in Ridgeland, Joel Bomgar had a plan for when potential investors came calling on his remote support solutions firm.

He heard inquiries from numerous companies since its start 11 years ago, but it was TA Associates that met all the criteria. Last Thursday, Bomgar announced that the Boston-based private equity firm had purchased a majority interest in Bomgar. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

“Our screening criteria, which we set out 11 years ago, was that we were not going to do this unless it was right for our employees, our customers and our investors,” said Bomgar, 34, who will step down as chief executive officer, but will remain with the company as chairman of the board.

“None of the others met our criteria on all three. Our vision and our method of operation is that our employees are all treated equally and are going to own stock at the same price per share.

Plans call for the headquarters to remain in Ridgeland and for its 200 employees to stay with the company.

Moving the company “wasn’t even in the negotiations,” said Bomgar. “TA Associates told us that their intent was for us to stay in Ridgeland.”

“A huge part of a software company is the intellectual property and the engineers that create that property,” said Bomgar.

“That is all based here. TA saw a huge value in the team we built. They were adamant in the process that neither of us did anything that disrupts that value.

“Their plans are entirely around growing the company,” he said. “TA is what’s called a growth equity investor, meaning they plan to recapture their investment through growth.

“They believe in Bomgar. They saw boundless potential. TA doesn’t make small investments. They wait until a company achieves a certain size and scale then they become interested.”

Bomgar is creator of the Bomgar Box, which enables technology support professionals to securely access and control remote computer systems and devices anywhere in the world.

Bomgar’s products can support a variety of devices — from laptops, servers, smartphones and tablets, to point of sale (POS) systems, medical devices and kiosks — as well as conduct remote training and presentations and manage thirdparty vendor access.

See

BOMGAR, Page 19

TAKE FOUR ONLINE COURSES. Management • Accounting Marketing • Finance Consider the certificate if you have an undergraduate degree and want business education on the graduate level; you manage people, projects and budgets; or you need prerequisites for the MBA program.

APPLYING IS EASY.

Submit proof of an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution of higher learning with an earned GPA of 2.75 or higher.

No business prerequisites are needed.

www.usm.edu/business 601.266.4443

AA/EOE/ADAI UC 70667.5016 4.14

May 9, 2014 • MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS JOURNAL • www.msbusiness.com

AN MBJ FOCUS:

FINANCIAL PLANNING ON RATI GENE

PLANNERS LEARNING TO ADJUST h c a ro p p a t n re fe if d s ls take Attracting MillenRnia

CONTRIBUTO

By LISA MONTI I om comfortable mbj@msbusiness.c it’s best to be as s, al ni en ill M h ss wit to doing busine to it. port pubWhen it comes they are. And they were born a social trends re nials are as In ” gy s. lo ve ti no na ch al te it g en ig ill usin lls Millennials “d searchers said M Pew Research ca illennials in Adulthood, Pew re have also taken the lead in on M . They llished in March cial phenomenon — the Internet, mobile techno so is th of ge ed g d a in er an l s ad ta le ue gi e ag di th colle “at the orks of friends, w platforms of tw ne e ne th ed iz on al g in on seiz pers — to construct ogy, social media affinity groups.”

IALS, Page 11 See

MILLENN

FINANCIAL PLANNING MILLENNIALS

Continued from Page 10

A 2012 Forbes article titled “Portrait of a Millennial” said they take technology for granted. Author T. Scott Gross wrote, “Millennials grew up digital. They are not intimidated by technology, and they have little patience with those who shy away from using it to its full advantage. They expect to use technology to make work and life more interesting and productive, surfing the web wirelessly via smart phone or iPad. In fact, to a Millennial, failing to use technology to its fullest is almost as bad as not using it at all.”

So how is the financial services industry doing when it comes to working with young people on money matters?

“It’s evolving,” said Scott Ward, a certified financial planner and senior associate with Johnson + Sterling in Birmingham, Ala..

Ward said that about 31 percent of the population is comprised of Millennials, born around 1982.

“It’s not a question of whether any particular company or industry can ignore them,” he said.

Many financial firms have stepped up their use of social media with blogs and newsletters but for those who haven’t yet, Ward said a good starting point is to have a “very easy-to-understand website.” That gives potential customers a way to get to know you before they contact you.

“With some generations you can have an introductory meeting, but with Millennials they want to get acquainted with you before they actually meet you,” he said.

The generation is comfortable with doing research on their own, they are good at multitasking and have shorter attention spans than older generations. Millennials also are used to having access to information and services 24 hours a day.

“You have to be prepared to provide information to them when they want it — and how they want it,” Ward said.

Johnson+Sterling, which also has an office on the Auburn University campus, offers cloud-based software that allows its clients secure access not only to their accounts but also gives them the ability to store information such as wills and other private documents in place of paper.

“It’s a growing trend,” Ward said. “People want access to stored information digitally.”

Ward said Millennials as a group need a hand understanding finances.

“A lot of them are struggling with financial literacy and they’re prone to have more debt than other demographics due to student loans or credit card debt. To really help Millennials, financial planning firms need to come alongside them and offer resources and solutions in a variety of formats.”

He said financial firms understand the need to be more interactive using live webinars and taped presentations that allow people to access information on their own time frame.

May 9, 2014

“You have to be prepared to provide information to them when they want it — and how they want it.”

Scott Ward Certified financial planner with Johnson + Sterling

“Millennials grew up doing business online and they prefer the convenience and accessibility of video meetings instead of face to face meetings. The financial services industry is growing more comfortable with this preference. They’re working toward

that,” Ward said.

It’s not as if financial planning firms don’t want to be more engaged from a video meeting standpoint, Ward said, but it’s a matter of investment capacity and preserving the client’s privacy.

I

Mississippi Business Journal

2014 class of Top 40 Under 40 honorees from the Chris Madison

Jason Wilton Bailey

Brandon D. Meeks

Michael Bentley

Nathan Moore

Elizabeth Mills Boone

Austin Morgan

Kylie B. Boring

Anna M. Neel

Katrina S. Brown

Jamie D. Osbirn

David B. Burt

Tianna H. Raby

Chara J. Clancy

Ryan Revere

Jason Cook

Gerold Smith

Steve DeRusso

Ryan P. Steiner P.E.

Mitchell O. Driskell III

John Stolarski

Daniel C. Elliott

Micajah P. Sturdivant IV

Edgar A. Flores

Dana C. Terry

Breck R. Hines

Katy Tillman

LaKeysha Greer Isaac

Jerry L. Toney

Alyson Bustamante Jones

James Russell Turley

Kenneth L. Jones

Vince Vavrunek

Robert D. King Jr.

Chad Wallace

Kimberla M. Little

Sara Harrison White

John Mabus

Liz Young

11

“We have two inextricable needs here — to both invest in this technology and to ensure that it is delivered with precision.

When you have a conversation with someone, it has to be done by the book. You have to protect an individual’s privacy and make sure the information that he or she shares in a meeting is fully safeguarded.”

Ward said financial firms are making progress toward reaching out with technology.

“It is a highly competitive environment, and clients pay attention to the extent to which firms are addressing their needs in ways they want them addressed.”

Congratulations

Joseph B. Babb

I

This magazine will profile all AWARD RECIPIENTS and pay tribute to their excellence in business and community achievements. » Your ad will be seen by all MBJ subscribers. » The Top 40 Under 40 recipients will know that you supported them at this special time in their lives.

2014 SPONSORS

For more information on Top 40 Under 40 and other events please visit www.msbusiness.com/events or call Tami Jones at (601) 364-1011

FINANCIAL PLANNING

12 I Mississippi Business Journal I May 9, 2014

Understanding the impact of incapacity Incapacity is a relatively new medical and financial definition meaning you are unable to take care of yourself or your dayto-day affairs. Incapacity can result from serious physical injury, mental or physical illness, mental retardation, advancing age and alcohol or drug abuse.

Even with today’s medical miracles, it’s a real possibility that you or your spouse could become incapable of handling your own medical or financial affairs. A serious illness or accident can happen suddenly. Advancing age can bring senility, Alzheimer’s disease or other ailments that affect your ability to make decisions about your health, pay your bills, write checks, make deposits, sell assets or conduct your affairs.

Designating one or more individuals to act on your behalf can help ensure that your wishes are carried out if you become incapacitated. Otherwise, a relative or friend must ask the court to appoint a guardian for you, a public procedure that can be emotionally draining, time consuming and expensive. An attorney can help prepare legal documents to give individuals you trust the authority to manage your affairs.

If you do not authorize someone to make medical decisions for you, medical care providers must prolong your life using arti-

ficial means, if necessary. With today’s modern technology, physicians can sustain you for days and weeks (if not months or even years). To avoid this, you must have an advanced medical directive. You may find that Ike Trotter one, two or all three types of advanced medical directives are necessary to carry out all of your wishes for medical treatment (make sure all documents are consistent).

A living will allows you to approve or decline certain types of medical care, even if you will die as a result of the choice. However, in most states, living wills take effect only under certain circumstances, such as terminal injury or illness. Generally, one can be used only to decline medical treatment that “serves only to postpone the moment of death.” Even in states that do not allow living wills, you might want to have one to serve as evidence of your wishes.

A durable power of attorney for health care (also known as a health-care proxy) allows you to appoint a representative to make medical decisions for you. A durable

FOR SALE OR LEASE

YOU’RE A PROFESSIONAL. Here’s an office that helps you look the part.

476 Highland Colony Parkway © Ridgeland, MS 39157 All the benefits of a prestigious new business HQ? Those can be yours.

With Class-A facilities, executive suites, and a convenient location in one of the state’s premier business/dining/retail corridors, your clients and coworkers stand to gain too. Grow your business from a building that speaks volumes about you. Find out more at ErgonProperties.com.

CONTACT Jim DeFoe: 601- 933- 3344 (o) © 601-842-1228 (c) Keith Clair: 601- 933-3304 (o) © 601-842-1225 (c) P.O. Box 1639 © Jackson, MS 39215-1639 OFFERED AND PROFESSIONALLY MANAGED BY

Natche z Trace Pkw y

Ridgeland yP lon kw y Highlan Co d

220

55

power of attorney (DPOA) allows you to authorize someone else to act on your behalf concerning financial matters. There are two types of DPOAs: a standby DPOA, which is effective immediately, and a springing DPOA, which is not effective until you have become incapacitated. A DPOA should be fairly simple and inexpensive to implement. It also ends at your death. A springing DPOA is not permitted in some states, so you’ll want to check with an attorney.

A Do Not Resuscitate order (DNR) is a doctor’s order that instructs other medical personnel not to perform CPR if you go into cardiac arrest. There are two types of DNRs. One is effective only while you are hospitalized. The other is used while you are outside the hospital.

It’s important to manage your property with a living trust, durable power of attorney, or joint ownership. If no one is available to step in and manage your financial affairs when you can’t, your property could be neglected, abused or lost. There are a few options that can help in the event you become incapacitated.

One option is you can transfer ownership of your property to a revocable living trust. You name yourself as trustee and re-

tain complete control over your affairs as long as you retain capacity. If you become incapacitated, your successor trustee (the person you named to run the trust if you can’t) automatically steps in and takes over the management of your property. A living trust can survive your death, but it can be expensive to maintain and administer.

Another option might be to hold your property with others. This arrangement may allow someone else to have immediate access to the property and to use it to meet your needs. Joint ownership is simple and inexpensive to implement. But, there are some disadvantages to the joint ownership arrangement. This would include (1) your co-owner has immediate access to your property, (2) you lack the ability to direct the co-owner to use the property for your benefit and (3) if you die before the other joint owner(s), your property interests will pass to the other owner(s) without regard to your own intentions.

All in all, financial preparation for the unexpected in life makes good dollars and sense.

Ike S. Trotter, CLU, ChFC is a credentialed financial adviser in Greenville. His email is iketrotter@woodburyfinancial.net

“Partnering with a bank that values exibility, reliability and integrity was a real TURNING POINT for our business.â€?

Derek Starling Sr. & Willie A. O’Neal Jr.

# -

Get the whole story at regions.com/turningpoints

Friends since engineering school, Derek Starling Sr. and Willie A. O’Neal Jr. are the owners of SOL Engineering Services LLC, a company that has steadily expanded beyond its municipal and civil engineering roots. After facing the initial challenges of starting a business, Derek and Willie quickly realized the importance of having a reliable banking relationship and turned to Regions Banker LoRose Hunter.

LoRose delivers results for the business with reliability and integrity. While these business partners focus on navigating state and municipal contract bids and managing innovative projects, LoRose helps them aggressively pursue opportunities for growth. Derek and Willie are thankful to have found a banking partner who not only shares their values, but also their vision for moving forward. To see how we can help your business move forward when it’s at a turning point, turn to Regions.

Loans | Treasury Management | Can-Do Attitude $ " ! ! ! #

14 I Mississippi Business Journal I May 9, 2014

FINANCIAL PLANNERS

Mortgages can be puzzling.

Let Trustmark bring it all together.

From the day of application to closing, count on Trustmark to make the pieces of homeownership ďŹ t together. Visit www.trustmark.com/mortgage or call 601-987-1001 to ďŹ nd a lender who will turn your dream home into home-sweet-home.

trustmark.com

Member FDIC

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

FINANCIAL PLANNERS

Wire your business for success

®

May 9, 2014

BUSINESS INTERNET

BUSINESS PHONE

I

Mississippi Business Journal

I

BUSINESS SERVICES BUNDLES

SUCCESS IS ALL ABOUT

GREAT BUSINESS CONNECTIONS. BUSINESS SERVICES SOLUTIONS

Your business is all about saving time,

Ask about our Internet + Phone bundles starting for less than

$ CALL OR CLICK TODAY!

1-855-692-4145

75/mo. *

increasing sales and improving profitability.

That’s why Cable ONE Business gives you cutting-edge connections you can count on to enhance your reputation and boost your bottom line. So get the services you want and the 24/7 support you need.

Call Cable ONE and let’s talk business.

cableone.net/business

*Limited-time offer. Promotion prices quoted reflect our 3-year term commitment pricing when purchasing multiple services. Other discounts are available when signing multi-year agreements. Other levels of services are available. Equipment, taxes and fees are not included in the above rate. Please read our Acceptable Use Policy for details. Call for additional details and restrictions. Offer limited to Cable ONE serviceable areas only. All services not available in all areas.

15

NEWSMAKERS

16 I Mississippi Business Journal I May 9, 2014

SEC recognizes Toghiani

Clinic recognizes Klauk

Hossein Toghiani, a senior Mississippi State University engineering professor and researcher, is among selections for 2014 Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Awards. At the university, Toghiani holds the rank of Thomas B. Nusz Endowed Professor in the Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering. A University of Missouri-Columbia doctoral graduate, he joined the Starkville faculty in 1998. In addition to each receiving a $5,000 hono- Toghiani rarium, Toghiani and the 13 other winners become nominees for this year’s SEC Professor of the Year Award.

Currently, Toghiani is conducting research on organic/inorganic composites for automotive, aerospace and wind turbine applications. One of his research efforts resulted in a patent issued in 2001.

The author of more than 80 journal articles and five book chapters, he is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and American Society of Engineering Education. In addition to overseeing campus chapters of the Society of Plastics Engineers and National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers, he is a faculty adviser for the MSU EcoCar program.

Among Toghiani’s earlier honors were a 2007 induction into the Academy of Distinguished Teachers of MSU’s Bagley College of Engineering and 2004 selection as outstanding graduate professor by the campus Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Association. He also was chosen by Swalm School seniors as engineering professor of the year in 1995, 1997-1999, and 2000.

Toghiani, whose bachelor’s and master’s degrees also were earned at Missouri-Columbia, was a faculty member at the University of Alabama-Huntsville before coming to MSU.

John Klauk, assistant asset manager and IT trainer for information systems, was recently selected as the PRIDE of Hattiesburg Clinic Employee of the Quarter for the first quarter of 2014. He was selected from over 350 nominations.

Klauk has been a Hattiesburg Clinic employee since July 1999. He has been recognized many times over the past years for providing extraordinary service.

Finkelberg makes ranking Arthur Finkelberg, CFA, CFP, senior vice president and managing director of investments with Raymond James & Associates, was recently named to Barron’s list of “The Top 1,200 Advisors” in the country. Finkelberg, who manages more than 400 million in client assets, offers his clients portfolio management and retirement planning. He is a resident of Jackson.

Dukes made Fellow Walter W. Dukes of Gulfport was elected as a Fellow of the Mississippi Bar Foundation. Dukes received his B.S. from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1975 and his J.D. from Jackson School of Law at Mississippi College in 1978. He was admitted to The Mississippi Bar in 1978. He serves as president, shareholder and director at Dukes, Dukes, Keating, & Faneca.

He is a member of the Federation of Defense Corporate Counsel, where he serves as a senior director on the board. He sits on the board of directors for the Police Athletic League. He is also a member of the trial lawyer honor society.

Dukes and Elaine, his wife of 39 years, have two children, Jessica and Bill, and three grandchildren, Carolyn, Emma and Lillyann.

Buffington named partner in charge Adams and Reese attorney Phil Buffington has been elected partner in charge of the firm’s Jackson office.

Buffington also serves as the coleader of the Adams and Reese Banking and Finance Team.

A Canton native, Buffington has been practicing law since 1984 in transactions, and has extensive experience in representing financial institutions, including representation in regulatory matters, corporate gov- Buffington ernance, mergers and acquisitions, commercial law and securities law. He also has experience in insurance regulatory law, creditor bankruptcy, real estate and nonprofit organizations. In addition, he has experience in banking litigation and administrative hearings in state and federal courts and federal agencies, including mediation and arbitration proceedings.

Buffington is a member of various sections within the American Bar Association, including the Banking Law Committee. He is also a member of the Business Law Section of the Mississippi Bar Association.

Buffington is an adjunct professor at Mississippi College School of Law, and is a former president of the Mississippi College School of Law Alumni. He earned his J.D. from Mississippi College School of Law in 1984. He double majored in banking and finance/insurance at University of Mississippi, earning a B.B.A. in 1981.

In the community, Buffington is heavily involved with St. Andrew’s Episcopal Cathedral, having served in various positions and on numerous committees, and has served on numerous community and nonprofit organizations boards.

Phillips wins award The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg District, Regulatory Branch has awarded Jeffrey (Chad) Phillips the 2014 Larry N. Harper “Regulator of the Year” Award. Phillips was recognized for his work to assure that the nation’s aquatic resources are protected, while allowing reasonable development through fair, flexible, and balanced permit decisions.

Phillips, a native of Vicksburg, earned his bachelor of science degree in forestry from Mississippi State University. He began his career in 2009 in the Regulatory Branch as an environmental specialist, and is also a registered forester.

The award honors the memory of Larry Harper, who was a District team member and gained his professional wetland scientist certification while in the service of the Corps. Harper established an interagency team to provide technical wetland training for the Natural Resources Conservation Service and served as the primary instructor. He began his regulatory career with the Corps in November 1978 where he worked in the surveillance and compliance section.

Harper retired in June 2007 following 35 years of dedicated service to the Corps. He also served with the Army Reserve where he was promoted to the rank of colonel.

Sills made market CEO Doug Sills has been appointed as market CEO of CHS-affiliated hospitals in the Jackson area. Based in Flowood, he will lead collaborative efforts between Crossgates River Oaks Hospital in Brandon, Madison River Oaks Medical Center in Canton, River Oaks Hospital and Woman’s Hospital in Flowood, Central Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson and River Region Health System in Vicksburg. He has served as CEO of River Region Health System since January 2011.

Sills has more than 30 years of hospital management experience, the last three years at River Region Health System. He was previously CEO of hospitals in Louisiana, Florida and Alabama.

Sills is a graduate of Mississippi College in Clinton.

River Region Health System COO Greg Pearson will serve as interim CEO of the hospital as members of the board, medical staff and administration identify a permanent candidate.

SEC chooses Hall Dr. John Hall, a professor and administrator at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, has been named the Southeastern Conference’s 2014 Professor of the Year in recognition of his excellence both in the classroom and as a topflight obesity and cardiovascular researcher. Hall is the Arthur C. Guyton Professor and chair of physiology and biophysics, and director of the Mississippi Center for Obesity Research at UMMC. He is one of the most recognized teachers and researchers in the areas of cardiovascular and renal physiology, mechanisms of hypertension, obesity and metabolic disorders. At UMMC, he has mentored more than 120 postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and medical student researchers. He has seen six of his understudies go on to become chairs or directors of various university departments, and one is dean of graduate studies at UMMC. His laboratory was the first to use renal-pressure natriuresis to demonstrate how the kidney’s ability to excrete salt and water plays a vital role in controlling blood pressure and maintaining salt and water balance in hypertension. Hall’s lab was also the first to discover that increases in leptin, a hormone secreted by fat cells, causes high blood pressure and links obesity and hypertension. He has been the principal investigator of grants that have brought roughly $50 million in extramural funding to UMMC. Hall’s research has been funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute since 1975 and he’s also been director of a National Institutes of Health Program Project since 1988. He has written more than 530 publications and has been cited more than 35,800 times. He also co-authored the “Textbook of Medical Physiology” that is considered the leading textbook on the subject. It has been translated into 14 different languages and is one of 18 books he has either written or edited.

Hall has been inducted into the Norman C. Nelson Order for Teaching Excellence at UMMC, and in 2005, his students nominated him as an All-Star Professor.

Hall received his bachelor’s degree at Kent State University, his doctorate in physiology at Michigan State University and his postdoctoral training at UMMC before joining the faculty.

Sledge dies at 74 James Lamar (Jim) Sledge Jr., former owner and publisher of the Kemper County Messenger, has died. He was 74. Sledge was born in Grenada but grew up in DeKalb following his parents’ purchase of the Kemper County Messenger.

A 1961 graduate of the Mississippi State University School of Forestry, he worked as a printer’s devil and pressman at The Messenger. He wrote a humor column for the newspaper for many years and, following his mother’s retirement, owned and published the paper until 2003.

Following graduation from MSU, Sledge spent one year as a high school science teacher in Forest Park, Ga., then took a job with Rome Kraft (later Georgia Kraft), working out of Canton and Dallas, Ga., and Auburn, Ala., in forest management and wood procurement. In 1974, he went to work for Mead Corporation at its new mill in Stevenson, Ala. His district originally included the town of Guntersville, Ala., where the family lived for the next 18 years until he retired from Stevenson as procurement manager. In 1991, Sledge was named head of the Mississippi Forestry Commission where he served for 14 years. He retired in 2005 with the distinction of having the longest tenure of any state forester in Mississippi history.

He served as chairman of the National Association of State Foresters (NASF) Forest Resource Management Committee for three years and was president of NASF in 2002-2003. In 2011, NASF named the forest management award The Jim Sledge Current Achievement Award in Forest Resource Management for a five-year period. He was instrumental in the Federal Healthy Forests Initiative and the U.S. Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003, as well as implementation of the Conservation Title programs in the 2002 Farm Bill. Sledge received recognition from the American Tree Farm System for sustained excellence in support of the program, having served for a number of years on its National Operating Committee. Of the honors and awards he received over the years, he was particularly proud of being named 2003 Alumni Fellow for the College of Forest Resources by the Mississippi State University Alumni Association.

He was predeceased by his parents, Lamar and Frances Sledge of DeKalb. Sledge is survived by his wife of 53 years, Bettye Bounds Sledge; his daughter Jane Sledge Taylor of Byram; his son James L. (Buddy) Sledge III of Atlanta; three grandchildren; one great-grandson; and sisters Rachel Sledge Dutton of Dallas, Ga. and Rebecca Sledge Mitchell of Montgomery, Ala.

SouthGroup welcomes Strickland Mark E. Strickland, formerly of Fox/Everett and Lemon Mohler, has joined SouthGroup Insurance Services as an executive sales agent. Strickland grew up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and has worked in the insurance industry since 2004. He is a cum laude graduate of Mississippi State University with a bachelor Strickland business administration degree.

Strickland is married to Tawana Strickland and has two children, Parker (7) and Ella (6).

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

May 9 2014

I

Mississippi Business Journal

I

17

» MISSISSIPPI LEADERS by Martin Willoughby

What is TEDx? Pharr helps coordinate first TEDx event in Mississippi

I

am excited to share with our readers this week about a topic I am passionate about — TED. No, not a person — I am talking about the global phenomenon known as TED, which stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design.

This week, I asked David Pharr, one of the coordinators of the first TEDx event in Mississippi, to share about this excited opportunity for the state.

MW: Tell the readers more about TED for those who may not be familiar.

DP: TED is a non-profit organization that was started in 1984 by an architect, Richard Saul Wurman. He believed there was a convergence of the fields of technology, entertainment and design (TED). The first conference featured demos of the Apple Macintosh computer and included talks by digital pioneers Nicholas Negroponte and Stewart Brand. The second conference did not happen until 1990, but it took off as a community gathered annually in Monterey,

Calif., to hear talks by leading thinkers from around the world. In 2000, new media entrepreneur Chris Anderson took over the organization and has developed it into an organization having global impact.

MW: I first learned about TED by watching videos online of interesting people giving talks. Tell us about those.

DP: Anderson’s motto for TED was “Ideas Worth Spreading.” At each TED event, speakers are askers to give the best speech of their life in 18 minutes or less on innovative ideas. In 2005, TED started posting their highest rated talks on www.ted.com and shared them for free.

There are well over 1500 talks on the website, and they have been viewed by millions of viewers. The talks are now in over 100 languages and viewed by people all over the world.

MW: My understanding is that in addition to the annual conferences, there are now TEDx events. What are those?

DP: To expand the TED concept and to bring innovation to local communities, TED in 2009 began to allow people to organize TED-like events in their local communities. The goal is to foster innovation and collaboration. Over the last five years, there have been thousands of TEDx events around the world and over 30,000 talks have been recorded.

MW: Tell us plans for TEDx Jackson, which to my understanding will be the first TEDx event in the state of Mississippi.

DP: You are correct. On Nov. 6 this year, the first TEDx event in the state will be hosted in Jackson. While it will be hosted in Jackson, this will truly be a statewide event.

I have been hoping for several years that we could bring this program to the state, and I was excited to get a call earlier this year that a group had decided to take the initiative to make this event happen. The focus will be on innovative healthcare, education, and the creative economy.

MW: Who is helping to organize the event?

DP: At this point, Maris West & Baker, C Spire Wireless and Jim and Donna Barksdale are the lead sponsors and the Mississippi Development Authority. Innovate Mississippi, the State Institutions of Higher Learning, and UMMC, are actively involved. To host a TEDx event, you are required to have an individual as licensee so I was honored when the group asked me to

serve in that role. I was particularly excited because one the requirements is to attend the annual TED conference, which I was able to do in March in Vancouver — it was an incredible opportunity.

Martin Willoughby

MW: How are the plans coming along for the event and how can people learn more?

DP: We are finalizing the venue for the event now as well as lining up the speakers.

The theme for the event is “Fertile Ground,” which is intended as a reference to the many opportunities that exist in Mississippi. There will be a mix of local and national speakers focusing on both local and global ideas. Seating will be limited so we will be accepting applications soon. To keep people informed, we have set up a Twitter account (@TEDxJackson); a Facebook page (TEDxJackson), and we are launching a website (TEDxJackson.com).

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

“On Nov. 6 this year, the first TEDx event in the state will be hosted in Jackson.”

David Pharr Coordinator, TEDx Jackson

Lives of blind French girl and Nazi Youth converge in occupied France

I

t's fairly certain All the Light We Cannot See is going to be on the 2014 list of favorite books for a lot of us. It has many of the elements I enjoy in a novel — a World War II background with a specific setting in occupied France; a heart-tugging story; and human emotions that rise above war and adversity.

This is the story of a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide as both try to survive the war's devastation. Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. She goes blind at age six, and her father builds a miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home.

When Marie-Laure is 12 years old, the Nazis occupy Paris.

She and her father flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo » All the Light We Cannot See where the girl's reclusive great uncle lives in a tall house by the

By Anthony Doerr Published by Scribner Book Company sea. Her father carries with them what might be the museum's $27.00 hardcover

most valuable and dangerous jewel.

Werner grew up an orphan in a German mining town with his younger sister. He finds a crude radio and is enchanted by it, becoming an expert at building and fixing this and other crucial new instruments. It's a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then an assignment to track the resistance. As he becomes more aware of

the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and finally into Saint-Malo where his story and Marie-Laure's converge.

The author deftly interweaves the lives of the two young people, illuminating the ways, against all odds, they and others try to be good to one another. The reviewer for the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that Doerr's “stunning sense of physical detail and gorgeous metaphors are dazzling.”

The book was 10 years in the writing and this proven writer has again produced a book that's moving, fulfilling and rewarding.

Awards won by Doerr include the 2010 Story Prize for Memory Wall, New York Times Notable Book, an American Library Association Book of the Year and the Barnes & Noble Discover Prize. His book reviews have appeared in several publications and he is currently the writer-in-residence for the state of Idaho.

— Lynn Lofton, mbj@msbusiness.com

18 I Mississippi Business Journal I May 9 2014 THE SPIN CYCLE

Digital ads grow, news outlets get smaller share — tips for better business writing igital advertising in the U.S. accounted for $42.6 billion in revenue in 2013, an increase of 16 percent over 2012, according to the financial analysis firm eMarketer.

But while that digital ad revenue is growing, the numbers show that news organizations are competing for an increasingly smaller share of those dollars.

While Google’s recent announcement of a 26 percent increase in ad volume in the first quarter of 2014 disappointed Wall Street investors who thought the number might be higher, it highlights the problem for the journalism business. Big tech companies that largely aren’t in the business of creating news content continue to dominate the digital ad space, often because they are able to reach much larger audiences than news organizations can.

In the first quarter of 2014, Google earned 90 percent of its revenue from digital advertising, and the ads that appear around Google search results remain its main source of that revenue. But display ads — which include banner ads and video ads that are increasingly critical to newsrooms’ revenue — are a growing part of Google’s ad business. Google and other large tech companies are able to place display ads across a large network of websites and can target that advertising more effectively than a single website (or news organization) can.

D

News Organizations Need Ad Dollars Even so, news organizations need digital ad dollars as their advertising revenue shrinks. New numbers from the Newspaper Association of America show that daily and Sunday print ad revenues in the newspaper industry fell another 8.6 percent in 2013.

Yet digital advertising among newspapers last year grew at only 1.5 percent – too slowly to balance out the print losses. The association reports that digital ad revenue now represents 19 percent of overall newspaper ad revenue.

• In 2013, overall digital display advertising accounted for $17.7 billion, up from $14.8 in 2012. But major social media and tech companies — Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Mi-

crosoft and AOL — accounted for 51 percent of that nearly $18 billion in revenue in 2013. That share is up substantially from 38 percent in 2009 and it edged up slightly from 2012 (50 percent).

• Facebook has sprinted past Google to become the biggest player in the digital dis-

nies—Facebook, Google, Pandora, Twitter 6. Curb your enthuand Apple. And their share of that pie grew siasm. Avoid overusfrom 64 percent in 2012. ing exclamation points. Use professional signoffs like 10 Tips For Better Business Writing With all the digital news swirling, the “Best” or “Regards” Spin Cycle has to throw in some sage weekly instead of something writing advice. Words are whirring all cutesy like “xoxo.”

Todd Smith 7. Match your subject around us – from cyberspace to our inboxes to the Twittersphere. Now more than ever, to your pronoun and we must focus on clear, precise language and verb. This tip sounds obvious, but people basic writing rules to become better com- often get it wrong. The number of the subject (whether it’s singular or plural) determunicators and rise above all the noise. mines the number of the verb. Use a singular Strive for clarity.

When you’re composing e-mails, make verb form – and pronoun – after nobody, your point and move on. If your big idea someone, everybody, neither, everyone, isn’t in the first paragraph, put it there. If each, either.

8. Limit your use of adverb. Use a strong you can’t find it, rewrite. Use plain English, verb instead of a weak verb and an adverb. and be specific.

Always use active verbs to energize your Instead of writing “Sales grew quickly,” try prose. Passive verbs are the first way to lose “Sales accelerated.”

9. Know when to use “that” and “which.” your audience and end up in the round file.

Mind your subject-verb Ps and Qs. Pay at- “That” introduces essential information in what’s called a “restrictive clause.” “Which” tention to the use of “that” and “which.”

Here are some classics on writing and introduces extra information in a “nonregrammar that you should keep handy as strictive clause.

10. Don’t confuse “affect” and “effect.” “Affect” is a verb that means “to influence.” “Effect” is a noun that means “result.” The weather affects our ability to travel, and had a terrible effect on my flight to Jackson.

Donald Sterling is a sorry excuse for a human being. The despicable disgrace who was banned for life by the NBA in response to appalling racist comments, fined $2.5 million and is on the brink of having his team yanked from him by the NBA — should get more! play ad market, bringing in $3.17 billion in revenue in 2013 compared with $2.99 billion for Google. As recently as 2009, Facebook controlled only 7 percent of the digital display market.

• A main source of digital ad revenue for news is banner advertising, a sub-category of display ads. Banner ads, the image or text boxes that surround web content, make up 23 percent of all digital ad revenue. In 2013, banner ads accounted for $9.6 billion in digital ad sales, up 12 percent from 2012.

• Digital video ads, another subset of the overall digital display market, accounted for $4.15 billion in sales in 2013. This is up from $2.89 billion in 2012, a 43.5 percent • Mobile advertising more than doubled from 2012 ($4.4 billion) to 2013 ($9.6 billion). And mobile display advertising — which news organizations hope to tap into — grew from $1.9 billion in 2012 to $4.3 billion in 2013. A Pew Research Center survey found that 51 percent of smartphone owners and 56 percent of tablet owners reported getting news on those devices in 2012. The bad news for news, however, is that nearly three quarters (73 percent) of those mobile display dollars are collected by five compa-

you wage your clarity battles: The Elements of Style, by William Strunk and E.B. White, The Associated Press Stylebook and The Word, by Rene J. Cappon.

Forbes recently compiled 10 tips for better business writing, which reinforces what we have been spinning!

1. Put metaphors on the back burner. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech that you often see in print.

2. Use simple, concrete language. Never use a long word where a short one will do. More often than not, an everyday word is better than a bookish one. Use simple, clear, precise language. Instead of mentioning “the current situation,” explain exactly what it is.

3. Omit needless words. Be ruthless about self-editing. If you don’t need a word, cut it.

4. Stay active. Never use the passive verb where you can use an active verb instead.

Active verbs help energize your prose. Instead of writing “The meeting was led by Tom,” write “Tom led the meeting.”

5. Use English. Never use jargon, a foreign phrase or a scientific word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. Using jargon is lazy, and it clouds the message that you’re trying to deliver. Using foreign language makes you look like a showoff.

Melted Mic | Donald Sterling, Despicable Disgrace

Donald Sterling is a sorry excuse for a human being. The despicable disgrace who was banned for life by the NBA in response to appalling racist comments, fined $2.5 million and is on the brink of having his team yanked from him by the NBA – should get more! The Spin Cycle is also banning his mic for life. Committing him to audio Alcatraz! Yanking his mouthpiece for eternity.

There is no place for his ilk in sports or in life. He needs to crawl back under the rock he came from. He is the Jeffrey Dahmer of brands! Kia, Red Bull and State Farm — all of which have featured Clippers players in their promotional materials – left the team, as did national and local advertisers such as CarMax, Virgin America, Corona, Commerce Hotel & Casino and Samsung. For that, Sterling takes a molten hot, melted mic with him when the NBA kicks him to the curb – which will no doubt be applauded around the globe.

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

And remember … Amplify Your Brand!

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

SALES MOVES

May 9, 2014

I

Mississippi Business Journal

I

19

Âť JEFFREY GITOMER

Finding the elusive decision maker. Then what?

Finding the real decision maker may be one of the largest barriers to a sale in existence. It's second to one other barrier: “Once I find the decision maker, what do I say?�

Finding the decision maker and speaking with that decision maker intelligently are not just critical, they’re also skills that can be career building or career ending.

I'm about to give you insight that will help you find and communicate with the all-important decider. But I caution you, it is not a be-all end-all.

Rather, it's the beginning of your true understanding about decision makers, and decision making.

There are several parts to the decision-making process. Finding the decision maker is only one of them and it may be the smallest one.

Early in my career, I created a question that helped me find decision makers without ever asking anyone who the decision maker was. Whoever I was talking to, as I was making the sales presentation, I asked the question, "Who pulls the trigger?"

That was a direct question that didn’t insult the person I was talking to. If you ask, “Are you the decision-maker?� or worse, “Who is the decisionmaker?� you both embarrass the prospect, and pressure them for an answer. To the person you’re

talking to it gives the impression you’re sales hungry instead of customer friendly.

By asking, “Who pulls the trigger?� you don’t hurt anyone's feelings. You’re merely asking for distant information. Vital, but distant.

After I asked the “who pulls the trigger� question, I followed up with an equally powerful, but still pressure-less question. I simply asked, “How will the decision be made?� And whatever my prospective customer said, I followed up with yet another question about the decision-making process, "Then what?"

The words “then what� lead you through the decision-making process. Especially if you continue to ask it. Then what? Then what? Then what? Until finally you come back to the trigger puller. It sounds pretty easy, doesn’t it?

Well, over the years I found that it wasn't quite that easy. I had to have a greater understanding of the total process especially what happened after the purchase was completed. In other words, what happens after ownership and what are the expected outcomes.

You may think what happens after ownership and expected outcomes have little or nothing to do with the decision maker. And you would be totally, completely incorrect.

After ownership comes value of purchase. Often erroneously referred to as ROI, it's what happens after the customer takes possession, and what they're hoping to achieve as a result of it. REALITY: That's the only thing decision makers want to know.

And once you know it, you'll be able to find every decision maker. That’s pretty powerful.

BOMGAR

Continued from Page 9

Bomgar founded the company in 2003 at the age of 23. Today, it has more than 8,000 corporate customers in 65 countries. It has annual sales revenue of more than $50 million.

Bomgar employs more than 200 people, and most are in Ridgeland. It has offices in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., London, Paris and Singapore, mainly staffed with sales representatives. Its product is produced by contract manufacturers all over the country.

TA Associates is one of the world’s largest global growth private equity firms. The firm has invested in more than 430 companies around the world and has raised $18 billion in capital. With offices in Boston, Menlo Park, London, Mumbai and Hong Kong, TA Associates leads buyouts and minority recapitalizations of profitable growth companies in the technology, financial services, business services, health care and consumer industries. “Their goal is not to be day-to-day managers,� said Bomgar. “I’ve been running the company 11 years, but I felt like any value I could bring to the company, I could do as chairman of the board instead of as a day-to-day manager. “And that resulted in joint recruiting to interview and recruit the peron who would take the reigns. I was clear that Matt Dircks was the most capable candidate. I’m pleased with the way things came together.� “We are very pleased to partner with an experienced investor like TA Associates,� Dircks said in a statement. “We

There are additional questions you MUST ask during a sales meeting in order to find out the total purchasing and use of product or service situation.

Keep in mind, you're going to be selling for about an hour, but they're going to Jeffrey Gitomer be using your product or service for years. Once you understand that, you understand the significance of obtaining that information.

Here are the critical decision-making questions: • Who do you collaborate with? • Who will be the main user of‌? • Who calls and asks for service? • When a service person arrives, who do they meet with? • How did the last purchase happen? • Who will be responsible for the outcome of this purchase?

HERE’S THE SECRET: Once you have the names of these people, you ask the person you're meeting with to introduce you. And talk to these people about what really happens. Even if you’re meeting with the CEO, you can still ask for meetings with his or her people.

Once you have this information and meet the people involved‌ Look at the insight you’ve gained.

Look at the understanding you have about their business process.

Look at the expertise you put into your experi-

see numerous avenues to build even greater value in Bomgar by not only accelerating the organic growth the company has enjoyed since its founding, but also looking at exciting new market opportunities. The consumerization of IT paired with the influx of devices making up the Internet of Things is creating demand for new ways to access, support and manage remote systems. With TA’s guidance, we will have additional experience and resources to fully leverage these opportunities.�

Ashutosh Agrawal and Hythem T. El-Nazer, directors at TA Associates, will join the Bomgar board of directors.

LET’S DEAL! Lease expiring?

Need new space?

Better Location?

2400sf-9200sf Office/Retail 42,000 ADT Lakeland Dr. Dogwood area, Flowood, MS Also 1 acre Commercial at the entrance to Market Street.

Thomas (601)624-1321

ence base.

And even more important, you're now charged with the responsibility of making certain every person involved in use and decision making are aware of your value.

"Jeffrey," you say, "it's a pretty complicated process. In fact, it changes my whole strategy of selling."

That's correct, your way was a fight to get to the decision maker. People lied to you, and people led you down a rosy path that completely wasted your time. Oh, and you lost the order. My way is a little bit more difficult to learn and implement, but a heck of a lot more productive in terms of not just finding the decision maker, but actually making the sale — and gaining experience and expertise for the next sale.

Now you have to make a decision.

Decide to try it my way!

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

Bomgar could have walked away completely from the company, but decided to stay. “After 11 years I feel like it’s a child going off to college,� said Bomgar. “I feel like I’ve made the majority of investments I can make. I think it’s the right time. I won’t call it bittersweet. I guess I would best characterize it as a sweet position. “But, there are incredible values left to be had. They said they want the continuity and my input. “I just want to make sure the next 11 years are just as good as the last 11 years.�

AUCTION

!#% "! % $!

&#$ ' ' ( ( %

The Diplomat on Northpointe in Jackson, MS

1 D

!

901 763-2825 johnroebuckauctions.com

MS276G

Jeffrey, I speak with many people in organizations that want you to think they are the decision maker when in fact they are not. I have wasted too many emails and follow up on people that can’t help.

How do you ask without hurting the relationship you may have built? How do you determine the real decision maker? Steve