MBJ_May12_2017

INSIDE — Mississippi, other states order mortgage firm to cease and desist — Page 9 TECHNOLOGY

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May 12, 2017 • Vo. 39. No. 19 • 20 pages

TOURISM

HEALTH CARE

VISITS TO MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST ON THE UPSWING

Direct primary care: the doctor is in

MBJ FOCUS

SECURITY {Section begins P11}

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» S&P latest to hit Mississippi with negative credit outlook

By ALEXIS WILLIAMS mbj@msbusiness.com Coast tourism leaders are touting improved numbers for 2016, saying that 6.2 million people visited the Mississippi Gulf Coast last year.

Their goal of 7 million visitors by 2020 is well within reach and may be attainable before then.

“We truly believe that one voice is working,” said Renee Areng, executive director of Visit Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Areng notes that 2016 was the first year all three coastal coun- Areng ties, Hancock, Harrison and Jackson, were part of a regional tourism marketing effort. “We have a great team, and we are streamlining the messaging where we are getting the best results.”

Last year leisure and hospitality jobs were also on the upswing, growing to 30,300. An increase of 2,410 jobs since 2012.

“As the hospitality industry grows, so do the jobs,” added Areng. “In 2016, we saw the addition of the Scarlet Pearl, expansion of the Island View and the opening of Margaritaville, among others.”

Visit Mississippi Gulf Coast says that $1.99 billion was spent by visitors in 2016, which is an increase of 10 percent from 2015. Large events and festivals, the Mississippi Coast Marathon and the growing gaming industry were all contributors to this boost.

The team at Visit Mississippi Gulf Coast is also looking to the growth of hotel room inventory to help increase visits. Scarlet Pearl Casino’s opening added 300 rooms and Margaritaville Biloxi more than 370. The Island View expansion brought its rooms to 970. At yearend, 14,633 rooms were available on the Coast.

It’s the hope of Areng and other leaders that soon hotel rooms will exceed the pre-Katrina number of 16,092.

Tourism leaders hope this summer will lead to the continued growth of visitors with upcoming festivals, beach visitors and Shuckers baseball.

By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, has been a radical departure from the traditional way of delivery of health care in the United States.

It is all about insurance. So is its replacement that is being hammered out in Congress.

But there is a movement afoot in the models of health-care delivery that de-emphasizes insurance.

It’s called direct primary care.

Practitioners of such care comprise about 2 percent of the nation’s 900,000 practicing physicians.

NewCare MD in Madison, which opened its doors Jan. 3, provides 90 percent of what a person needs in the way of health-care needs without resorting to insurance, according to Dr. Micah Walker, one of the two founding physicians.

The clinic offers: – Unlimited same-day appointments.

– Telemedicine.

– House Visits, “when medically appropriate.”

– 30-minute office visits, with little or no waiting.

– No limit on calls, texts and emails to the physician.

– No co-pays or deductibles.

– Prescriptions dispensed in the See DOCTOR, Page 8

http://msbusiness.com/ceo-awards-of-mississippi/

2 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q May 12, 2017 GOVERNMENT

S&P latest to hit Mississippi with negative credit outlook

» Credit rating agency cites budget woes, sluggish state economy and unfunded liabilities of PERS

By TED CARTER mbj@msbusiness.com

It could have been worse.

That’s the assessment Mississippi State Treasurer Lynn Fitch made after a Standard & Poor’s credit outlook downgrade to negative for Mississippi’s general obligation bond debt.

Mississippi’s gets to keep its AA rating from S&P Global Ratings, but the ratings agency doesn’t see a fiscal turnaround ahead for the state any time soon.

“The outlook change reflects our view of continued weakness in the state’s revenue trends and relatively slow economic growth, and our expectation that Mississippi could continue to experience budget pressures as it manages through budget reductions and the incremental revenue loss from the scheduled implementation of recent tax changes,” S&P said in the downgrade notice issued May 3.

“We’re fortunate it wasn’t worse,” Fitch said in a press statement just after S&P Global issued the downgrade.

Fitch, a Republican, has been critical of the GOP-controlled Legislature’s borrowing and budget decisions for the past couple of years. Unless practices change, Mississippi can expect yet more downgrades, warned Fitch, a former bond attorney who won the treasurer’s post in 2011 and won re-election in 2015.

Fitch’s press statement noted Mississippi’s progress in lowering its joblessness rate and initiating positive economic growth, but added, “We are still lagging behind most of the nation.”

And with Mississippi’s stagnant population growth, “It’s common sense that investors would have concerns,” she said.

Standard and Poor’s put Mississippi on notice with the new assessment report, said Fitch. Odds are strong for further erosion of the state’s creditworthiness, she added.

Mississippi, she said, has a “likelihood of one in three of downgrade in the next two years, so we have time to turn things around before more serious consequences for taxpayers.”

The negative outlook could remain as Mississippi lawmakers continue a lengthy series of budget cuts and the approximately $425 million in business and individual tax cuts begin kicking in next year, Standard & Poor’s said in its outlook downgrade notice.

S&P’s May 1 outlook revision also brought a criticism of funding levels for the state’s public employee retirement fund.

Until now, the credit ratings agencies have noted concerns about the Mississippi Public Employee System, or PERS. But S&P’s new outlook downgrade says the declining trajectory of the pension funding is “likely to require future increases to pension contributions in an already tight budget environment.”

Fitch said she does not want to see similar criticisms of PERS in future assessments from S&P and other credit ratings services, principally Moody’s and Fitch. “As a trustee of the PERS Board, I will do whatever I can to ensure that S&P never again says that we are lagging in or responsiveness to a declining funded ratio.”

Based on the most recent actuarial valuation, PERS is 60 percent funded, the retirement system said in its 2016 annual financial report. However, total assets of the $23.9

billion fund fell by more than $750 million in the fiscal year that ended last June, The Associated Press reported.

The system pays out nearly $2.4 billion in annual benefit payroll. The state and other public agencies in the PERS system pay 15.75 percent of payroll for a pension contributions benefit. PERS officials touted the 2013 legislatively approved increase in employer share as a way to reach 80 percent funded liability by 2042.

Employee contributions are 9 percent, a level in place since 2010.

Analysts say they are uncomfortable with funded ratios that drop below the high 60s and have warned states that continued declines in funded ratios could lead to downgrades in credit ratings. For the states, downgrades could significantly increase the cost of borrowing money.

In its May 1 outlook downgrade, S&P noted Mississippi’s current budget has been revised four times to cover revenue shortfalls and a forecasting error earlier in the year. Reaching a balanced budget required a series of cuts to the budgets of most every state agency and department the last two years.

Yet more cuts may be necessary to avoid a downgrade from the current AA rating, S&P warned in its recent report. “If financial flexibility is compromised due to the state’s unwillingness to cut expenditures where and when needed or increased debt issuance occurs without a commensurate increase in liquidity, these could all lead us to lower the rating,” the credit rating agency said.

S&P said if the state can manage through the scheduled tax cuts while maintaining good reserve and liquidity levels and structural budgetary balance, it could revise the outlook to stable.

Moody’s maintained its Aa2 rating on Mississippi’s general obligation bonds in August, but downgraded the credit outlook to negative.

A month before Moody’s lowered its outlook, Fitch Ratings Service downgraded Mississippi’s general obligation debt to AA from AA+.

Reports from both Fitch and Moody’s cited above average debt levels and continued sluggish economic growth.

ENERGY

Hattiesburg solar panel maker gets relief second time in pact with local government

By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com Stion Corp. is getting relief for the second time from its agreement with local government in Forrest County and Hattiesburg.

The solar panel maker is entering a “payment and forebearance agreement” whereby it promises to pay $75,000 a month to the county and city toward $2.3 million in accumulated fees in lieu of ad valorem taxes.

In November 2015, Stion renegotiated its memorandum of understanding with

the Mississippi Development Authority, city of Hattiesburg and Forrest County in which its commitment of jobs creation was cut in half and its time limit was lengthened by five years.

The maker of solar panels agreed in March 2011 to create 1,000 jobs by the end of 2017. Under the renegotiated memorandum, it will have to create at least 500 jobs paying an average of $43,000 by the end of 2022.

Published reports last week quote Frank Yang, vice president of business development and marketing at Stion, as saying

that the manufacturing plant now employs about 125.

Yang said last year that between 2012 and 2014 the solar industry was oversupplied “due to dumping from Chinese companies,” which led to heavy tariffs by the United States, the European Union and India.

The state lent the company $75 million and the city and county agreed to accept fees in lieu of ad valorem taxes.

“Project support payments” from the city and county are now linked to jobs creation.

If Stion has created 350 but fewer than 500

jobs by Feb. 1, 2023, the payments, which are not defined in the amended memorandum, will be reduced by the city and county Stion, whose headquarters are in San Jose, Calif., agreed to invest at least $250 million in the project by Dec. 31, 2019. If the goal is not met by the end of 2018, the support payments will be eliminated.

If that investment goal is not met by the end of 2019, the company will have to pay $3.75 million to the state “within thirty (30) days of demand made by the state.”

If fewer than 500 jobs but at least 350 jobs are created starting at the end of 2022, the company will have to pay 1 percent of the balance of the loan annually, with the penalty rising eventually to repayment of the loan balance if fewer than 100 jobs are created.

Stion is providing “additional collateral,” according to the 2015 agreement.

May 12, 2017

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GULF COAST

Special to MBJ

The Roost brings new rooms and restaurant to Ocean Springs

By ALEXIS WILLIAMS mbj@msbusiness.com

On the west end of Ocean Springs, only a few paces from a vibrant downtown and beautiful Front Beach is a historic building recently renovated for mixed-use as a charming boutique hotel, casual restaurant and office space. Built in 1894, the building formerly known as The Porter House was purchased and renovated by Joe and Jessica Cloyd, Roxy and Ted Condrey, and Adam Dial. The original intent was to house office space for their respective companies but the project evolved into much more.

“We needed office space,” said Roxy Condrey who owns Rain Residential. “But we all soon realized that the building was unique and wanted to offer it to guests.”

The Condreys also own The Inn at Ocean Springs, a quaint and beautiful boutique hotel in the heart of the historic downtown area on bustling Washington Avenue.

It wasn’t long into the renovation process that The Roost, the name coined for the hotel, became part of the plan.

“We wanted to add rooms to the Inn because of its success and also add rooms in downtown Ocean Springs,” said Condrey.

“This was the perfect opportunity.”

When restoring the structure, the group began to realize just how unique the building actually was. The natural canopy of live oak trees provide ample shade and and allow five of the six rooms to sit almost atop the trees, hence the name, The Roost.

“The building itself has so much history that it was a good opportunity for us to tell a story to people to come to the area,” adds Condrey. “The history of Ocean Springs makes it so special. Visitors can sit under the beautiful oaks, walk downtown and walk to the beach all from our location.”

They worked with the City of Ocean Springs to preserve the historical aspect of the property. The reclaimed wood found on the ceiling of each suite is original to the

building. “The accent wood is my favorite because of how well it turned out,” said Condrey. “It really is a story, and we got to watch the process unfold. As we pulled the wood out, sanded it and washed it, the colors were changing.”

Along with the wood accents, the owners added other touches along the way.

The entrance façade is made of oyster shells placed by the owners and members of the community, giving guests a coastal feel even before entering the building. A modern steel staircase provides access to the second floor seating area and guest rooms.

Mixing French Country with modern Southern charm, each room is exquisitely decorated with guests in mind. Rooms have luxurious bedding and organic amenities. Two of the six rooms have kitchen amenities.

Each suite is named with Ocean Springs in mind – Shearwater, Pelican, Heron, Canopy, Straw Grass and Islander – are the six named rooms. The owners worked with the Anderson family to use famed Ocean Springs artist Walter Anderson’s prints for identifying each suite. They took Anderson’s prints and had them engraved into pieces of the original 1800s wood to welcome visitors to each room. The Islander pays special tribute to Anderson himself, as Islander was his nickname.

Eat, Drink, Love Catering and Restaurant anchors the building and welcomes diners for lunch Monday – Friday with plans to add Saturdays and liquor soon.

The business was established in 2015 and located for several years on the east end of town close to Ocean Springs Hospital and the medical area. Owners Lauren and Seth Braden focused on catering and also served boxed lunches. Their business also included an oversized freezer for take and bake casseroles. They were looking for a larger space when they touched base with Ted Condrey who told them about The Roost project.

From the entry to the guest rooms, each space at the Roose was given individualized treatment.

“It’s been the best decision we made,” said Lauren Braden. “A good day at our old place was 20 boxed lunches, now we’re serving 150 lunches a day.”

The Roost and Eat, Drink, Love are working together also to host weddings and receptions on site. They recently held their first wedding at the new building.

The back lawn provides ample space for the reception site, and the front porch is a

perfect spot for cocktail hour.

City leaders are excited to see the addition of The Roost to downtown. “It is a much needed addition to Ocean Springs,” said Cynthia Dobbs Sutton, executive director of the Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce. “As a tourist town, Ocean Springs brings in hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, so we are in need of boutique hotels to our downtown. This addition is helpful towards that effort.”

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4 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q May 12, 2017 PINE BELT

Lil’ Butcher Shop provides not just meats, but casseroles of many types

By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com

A couple of generations ago, butcher shops were common. Today most meats are packaged off site, possibly in another state, and sold in large supermarkets. Reviving the old tradition in Hattiesburg—while adding quite a few new twists such as ready to go casseroles—is a Hub City favorite called the Lil’ Butcher Shop http://www.lilbutchershoppe. com/ at 1910 Broadway Drive.

Brothers Steve Dyar and David Lawson own the Lil’ Butcher Shoppe, which is currently in the process of expanding by building a facility next to the store that has served customers for 26 years. The new facility will be twice as large, but still cozy for customers. Most of the additional space is to give employees more room for back room processing.

Lawson said customers really like being able to stop in for the finest quality beef, pork and poultry cut the way you want it with no questions asked. They also have 14 varieties of smoked sausage, and twice-baked stuffed potatoes made from shrimp, crawfish, crabmeat or bacon and cheddar.

Other popular offerings include homemade crawfish pies, etouffee stuffed chickens, stuffed pork chops, boudin, gumbo, Mardi Gras pasta sauce and Country Girl’s Creamery Milk.

“Basically, everything is to carry home and heat up to eat,” Lawson said. “We don’t serve to eat here on the premises,” Lawson said. “We make the crawfish pies from family

recipes, and our boneless chickens stuffed with etouffee are very popular. Most families today, both the husband and wife are working. One of them can stop by and pick up a casserole to put in the oven, so we do the work for them.”

While the great food is the main attraction, the Lil’ Butcher Shoppe employees also pride themselves on having personal relationship with their customers, some of whom they see several times a week.

“Over the 26 years we are selling to the kids that used to come in with their mama,” Lawson said. “It is just really personal. We know what our customers like and how they like it. We love to spoil them. Good customer service is what makes us stand out with customers.”

He doesn’t view big grocery stores as competition. He feels like once Lil’ Butcher gets a customer in the door and are satisfied, they’ll be back. Some people prefer to stop at a small shop rather than going to a big supermarket where it might be a long walk just to pick up a few things.

Lawson’s nephew, Brian Dyar, is the manager of the shop.

“His dad and I are kind of laid back,” Lawson said. “Brian in the brain stormer. We like the idea of this family-owned business going into the next generation.”

They are getting excited about moving into the new building soon. There will be more display cases. They will have a bigger variety of casseroles and other products. They are considering adding fresh baked breads. Daily they are getting more and more requests for grass-fed meats, so they are looking into offering those in the future.

While in a bigger space, they don’t want to lose that small

Special to the MBJ

The butcher shop will soon move into expanded quarters.

shop feeling of personal attention that customers love.

The staff at the Lil’ Butcher Shoppe has grown from the original two to 14 now. Employee Angie Gipson said what keeps them thriving is providing great customer service.

“The other big part of it is having God first in it,” Gipson said. “I’ve been doing this with them for 22 years. I love every minute of it. It has been awesome. You don’t have to worry about hustle and bustle of getting into to buy something at a much larger store. You can get what you need and get on out. People love coming and getting to pick out what they want. If they don’t see what they want, we cut if for them. We get everything they need. We know a lot about our customers, and enjoy seeing them.”

Over the years, a lot of visitors to Camp Shelby have bought from the Lil’ Butcher Shoppe and are particular fans of the smoked sausage. The shop gets requests for the sausage from all over the country. After moving into the new building, the original shop will be remodeled to become a USDA inspected sausage processing plant.

“Our goal is to ship sausage packed in dry ice throughout the country,” Lawson said.

“We are looking to growing with our customers, but still stay the small town butcher shop. Our area to work in the back is a little bigger with the new building, but we are still going to be that convenient little butcher shop.”

The Lil’ Butcher Shoppe gets great reviews from customer’s on its Facebook page, which has more than 14,000 “likes.”

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

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MBJPERSPECTIVE May 12, 2017 • www.msbusiness.com • Page 6

ON THE CAPITOL STEPS

» THE OUTSIDE WORLD

Reeves wears obstructionist role very well

Website: www.msbusiness.com May 12, 2017 Volume 39, Number 19

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In this song and dance leading up to the June 5 special session about whether the Legislature is going to find more money to spend on the state’s transportation needs, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves has positioned himself as the no man.

While the Republican lieutenant governor acknowledges that there are expensive infrastructure problems facing the state and local governments that need to be addressed, Reeves has thus far rejected or cast aside every idea offered by the House leadership.

Reeves has rejected diverting the tax collected on Internet sales to transportation needs. He offered nary a kind word for the proposal of House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, to allow local governments to increase the motor fuel tax within their borders with the consent of Bobby Harrison the voters to provide funds for infrastructure.

And while Reeves was willing to issue bonds during the regular session for transportation improvements, the bond bill died when the House and Senate leadership could not agree on the particulars.

The list goes on.

Reeves’ standard line is that his preference is that legislators come in during the June 5 special session and pass the budget bills that died during the regular session when they got caught up in the fight over spending more on transportation and get the heck out of Dodge, Jackson, without taking up any new issues.

In fairness to Reeves, during his now lengthy political career, he has proven himself adept at identifying problems and offering potential solutions. But the role of obstructionist is one that fits Reeves well and one that he relishes at times.

And there is absolutely no doubt, that at times, the best option for a legislative body is to take is no action. After all, if there is any group that can mess up a two-car parade it is a legislative body.

But while Reeves is currently playing his aforementioned obstructionist role, it is obvious that both Speaker Gunn and Gov. Phil Bryant want the special session to involve more than just rubberstamping a few budget bills.

As already stated, Gunn has offered a litany of proposals, such as the Internet sales tax and the local option tax to deal with infrastructure needs. In perhaps the biggest news of the past few weeks, the governor expressed interest in adding a lottery to the special session agenda with the revenue directed at transportation needs.

Bryant is advocating for the influential Mississippi Economic Council, which has been vocal on the need to direct more state funds toward roads and bridges, to get behind his lottery proposal.

» INSIDE MISSISSIPPI

Who cares about health care in Mississippi?

M

ississippi finishes last – again – among all states in annual health ranking,” read the December headline in the Biloxi Sun-Herald. “Mississippi dropped to dead last this year among all 50 states in the annual ‘America’s Health Rankings’ released by the United Health Foundation,” continued the story. “As one of the nation’s poorest states, Mississippi has a legacy of poor health because poverty is often a driver, and consequence, of bad health.”

How did our state leaders respond to this finding? Here are the latest stories: “Mental Health to lay off 650 workers by June 30, 2018,” read the Mississippi Today headline. “The Department of Mental Health announced plans this week to eliminate 146 jobs at two state facilities as the agency struggles to close a $19.7 million budget gap in 2018,” the story said. “These cuts are the first wave in a total of 650 layoffs the agency said it will need to make by June 30, 2018.

Central Mississippi Residential Center in Newton and East Mississippi State Hospital in Meridian will cut 52

Bill Crawford

positions and 74 positions, respectively. In addition, Central Mississippi will close its Footprints Adult Day Services program and its crisis stabilization unit while East Mississippi plans to consolidate its adolescent psychiatric services program with one at Mississippi State Hospital in Whitfield.”

“Health Department looking to streamline,” read the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal headline. “Public Health districts will be reduced from nine to three to deal with budget cuts, state Health Officer Mary Currier explains in a YouTube video,” the story read. “The Health Department was budgeted $36 million in the 2016 session, which already represented a cut of about $4 million. But in reality, as a result of mid-year budget cuts Gov. Phil Bryant made because revenue collections were not meeting projections, the Health Department will receive $31 million for the current fiscal year instead of the $36 million approved by the 2016 Legislature.”

“UMC cuts 195 jobs, eliminates 85 positions in budget cut,” read the MisSee CRAWFORD, Page 7

See HARRISON, Page 7

PERSPECTIVE

May 12, 2017 I Mississippi Business Journal

» RICKY NOBILE

CRAWFORD

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7

Continued from Page 6

sissippi Business Journal headline. “The University of Mississippi Medical Center today announced it is cutting 195 jobs and eliminating another 85 positions in action to address a recent $32.7 million budget cut, part of budget cuts ordered by Gov. Phil Bryant,” the story read.

“Lawmaker: State budget ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’,” read the Clarion-Ledger headline, quoting House Appropriations Chairman John Read. “Medicaid: Keep level at about $919 million but only $60 million of its reported $90 million deficit is being funded for the current year,” the story said.

Well, it certainly appears health care in the unhealthiest state is not much of a state priority.

Add to this the crisis overwhelming rural hospitals and the picture looks even worse. Sid Salter recently quoted Andy Taggart on this. Taggart helped conduct in-depth research on Mississippi’s rural, government-owned hospitals: “Unless fundamentally reorganized from the ground-up and combined with a larger sustainable delivery system, we believe that the vast majority of these hospitals and their associated health care services will ultimately become financially unsustainable and unable to meet an acceptable standard of care.”

Stay healthy, my friends.

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

»GUEST COLUMN

HARRISON

Kemper: What price fuel diversity?

I

n a recent column, Bill Crawford asserted that the issue with Kemper is prudent fuel diversity. It is not and never has been. The issue has always been whether the rate payers of Mississippi Power should bear the risk of unproven technology and a long-shot side bet on natural gas prices.

Bill Crawford uses natural gas fuel price uncertainty as the justification for diversifying with Kemper. He cites a high gas price at Henry Hub of $18.48; that was a one day price on February 25, 2003; the day before and the day afterward the price was below $12. The annual average that year was $5.47. Since there is a very predictable seasonal winter peak in natural gas prices, the annual average is more relevant.

The annual average price Henry Hub price has been below $5 in every year since 2009— the entire construction period of Kemper.

Over the last 20 years, the highest average annual prices were $8.69 in in 2003 and $8.96 in 2005.

Even if Kemper had come in on budget and on schedule AND operated at the expected cost and reliability, it would have taken far higher gas prices to make Kemper economic and prudent. I could find no credible public long-term gas price forecasts issued since 2009 that predicted natural gas would ever hit the required cumulative levels. With the delays and overruns, even higher gas prices would be necessary for breakeven. Diversity came at a probable price that was unacceptably (and imprudently) high.

No plant like Kemper, using TRIG technology at this scale, has ever been built and operated successfully anywhere in the United

States. Somewhere between 15 and 20 other coal gasification plants were proposed or started in the past 15 years; all but one were cancelled or are being converted to other use.

Duke Energy’s Edwardsport, Ind., plant came in over budget and behind schedule; it has been operating substantially below expected capacity and availability rates for two years.

Responsible utilities rarely (if ever) build plants using unproven technology. Instead they use proven technology that has been operating at numerous other plants for many years.

New technology plants present two challenges: First, the utility must build it to the engineers’ specifications within budget and on time. That is the easier of the two challenges.

We have seen how that turned out at Kemper; billions over budget and years behind schedule.

The second and the really tough challenge is getting it to operate at the projected yields (efficient conversion of the lignite to the synthetic natural gas), operating and maintenance costs, and reliability.

The uncertainty over yields, costs, and reliability will exist for years. Merely getting Kemper to run for a few months is not sufficient to prove its the long-term economic viability or prudence. Duke Energy’s Edwardsport plan has been operating for two years, but has not achieved the availability or capacity levels necessary to achieve the projected costs.

As documented in Steven Wilson’s October 18, 2016 article in MississipppiWatchDog.org, Kemper’s forecast operating cost estimates from Mississippi Power are already increasing, he reads their filings to estimate “a 288 per-

cent increase over the utility’s original projections”.

If the Public Service Richard Sun Commission allows Kemper in rate base that risk of uncertain yields, operating and maintenance costs, and reliability and will no longer be borne by Mississippi Power, but will pass to the ratepayers.

This is not a case of penalizing a company for unforeseeable subsequent events. If it were, I would not have written this column. The over budget and behind schedule construction is a virtual certainty with new technology.

None of the credible, public, independent natural gas forecasts showed prices that made Kemper likely to be economic or prudent, even if it had been build and operated as projected. Southern Company and Mississippi knew the risks they were taking. Kemper was likely to fail from its very inception.

This was never really about fuel diversity; it has always been about unproven technology and a long-shot side bet on natural gas prices.

The fall in natural gas prices merely made the consequences of a very bad decision even worse. Mississippi Power should bear the entire cost of that predictably bad decision.

Rich Sun, a Jackson resident, was an investment banker with Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, UBS and a director of $5 billion global private equity infrastructure funds backed by the World Bank, AIG, and Singapore. He arranged, advised or invested in 100 private transaction valued at over $11 billion, 60 percent of which was in the energy sector.

Continued from Page 6

No doubt, Reeves was a bit miffed when the House, led by the speaker, killed the budget bills during the already completed regular session in an attempt to try to get him and the Senate to consider some of their revenue proposals for transportation. Reeves, most likely, viewed the House action as reneging on a commitment since the House and Senate leaders already had signed off on the budget bills that were then killed by the House at the urging of that chamber’s leadership.

And it has to be a bit annoying to Reeves when the House leadership continues to offer suggestions to deal with the transportation issue when he is saying let’s pass the budget bills and end the special session in short order.

Reeves could create an interesting dynamic, though, if he jumped on the governor’s lottery idea. With both the governor and lieutenant governor endorsing a lottery to help fund transportation, it would be difficult for the MEC to not get behind the proposal.

And, it would put the speaker, who is opposed to the lottery, but has been adamant in his belief that more money is needed for transportation, in a difficult position.

Would Gunn then become the obstructionist?

Bobby Harrison is the Daily Journal’s Capitol correspondent. Readers can contact him at (601) 946-9939.

8 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q May 12, 2017

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK

A loopy flight to D.C. and royal return to Mississippi

W

e had a most unusual flight from Jackson to Washington, D.C. in this era of bizarre commercial air travel.

Yet it, and the return flight, raise the question: could there be a silver lining in the dark clouds?

The outbound flight’s problems were beyond the control of American Airlines.

It was the weather.

We caught the first flight out Friday, with a departure time of 5:51 a.m.

Everything was fine, till in midflight the pilot told passengers on Jack Weatherly the 50-passenger American Eagle regional jet that a thunderstorm was over the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Soon he told us that the airport had been shut down because of the storm. The flight attendant informed us that we were No. 8 in line to land there, once the storm blew over.

Even though the pilot had added extra fuel in Jackson, presumably because of the weather outlook, we couldn’t circle Ronald Reagan indefinitely.

He was trying to see if we could land in Baltimore.

No dice. Baltimore was also socked in.

Next on the alternate-site list was Charlottesville, Va. We started to land at that airport but the engines revved up again, and the landing gear were retracted.

Closing.

Next choice, Richmond, Va., even farther from D.C. But no sooner had we landed than the pilot said never mind, we’ll just refuel and head to our original destination. The storm had lifted.

Adding to the confusion was the fact that a member of our greeting party was told by American that our plane had never left Jackson.

Which was confusing to another member of our hosts, a former journalist, used the Flight Aware website and saw what she said was a rather loopy flight pattern of our plane.

The woman who had been told that we had never left the ground called us and said: “Where are you?”

Oh, on the way, we said.

Let me say that our flight attendant was strictly a professional. Her cool demeanor and attention to duty were admirable.

She even repeated what the pilot had said – he was either from Germany or perhaps Sweden, and his diction was less than perfect. Then she walked the aisle and answered questions, of which everyone had at least one.

Given the infamous treatment of a man on a United Airlines flight and other incidents, one wonders if all airlines are on alert to avoid a repeat of those events.

The attendant was attentive to our frame of mind,

but she was dutiful.

A man got up as we approached D.C. “Sir, we are preparing to land. Please return to your seat,” she said firmly. I didn’t turn to see what happened, but he evidently used the lavatory anyway.

Sometimes you don’t have a choice.

And flight personnel must use judgment.

We landed two and one-half hours late.

I don’t think our misadventure made the list of industry news that Flight Aware puts on its website.

A couple of fun family days, prompted by my grand-niece and god daughter’s first communion, in which we saw some of the great city.

We viewed where Lincoln died and where Washington dined.

I got chills knowing that the Father of our Country had trod the same boards we were using at Gadsby’s Tavern. There is something intimate about the 18th century establishment in historic Alexandria.

Tragedy has a different effect on me.

Lincoln, the larger-than-life president (especially so with the eight-inch stovepipe hat atop his 6 foot 4 frame) died having achieved with probably the greater half of what he set out to do. He, of course, was not around to see that the nation’s wounds were bound.

Now the rest of the story.

We arrived at Reagan for our Sunday evening return.

We made it through the TSA checkpoint and to the American check-in desk.

“Oh, I’ve been looking for you,” said the smiling woman with a charming Barbados accent.

What? We said.

“I’m going to take care of you,” she said, looking at my wife who was in a wheelchair because of a temporary disability.

Boy, did she. We told her our seats were not together. No problem. A little work on her laptop and it was done.

Next, a gentleman in American Airlines garb showed up and said he’d push her.

That had been my job, but, well, it would have been less than appreciative if I had insisted I could handle it.

He slung my wife’s carry-on bag over his should and pushed away.

We were put on the plane first, after a ride on a tram on which we were the only passengers.

I whispered to my wife at one point that they were treating her like a queen.

So if she was Queen Elizabeth II, then I was her husband, Prince Phillip, standing ready to serve if needed.

But I didn’t want to start any trouble. Honest. » Contact Mississippi Business Journal staff writer Jack Weatherly at jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com or (601) 3641016.

DOCTOR

Continued from, Page 1

clinic.

NewCare now has about 300 patients, with an ultimate goal of 1,000 to 1,200 patients, according to Walker.

Membership fees are $60 a month for adults up to age 50; $75 for adults 51 and older, and $150 for a family of four, with additional children for $15 apiece and a cap of $180.

If the clinic recommends tests beyond its inhouse capabilities, the patient can be sure that the tests are not being done for monetary reasons, because they are done at the physician’s costs, Walker said.

That, he said, provides “transparency” that Vanderloo traditional medicine does not offer.

“Before we do the blood work, you have a sheet that tells you what the labs are going to cost,” Walker said.

“You wouldn’t shop at a grocery store that doesn’t have prices on the shelves.”

Walker will finish his residency at the University of Mississippi Medical School on July 1. Dr. John Vaderloo, who was one of his professors, is now his partner in the clinic.

Vanderloo has been in family practice for about three and one-half years, but he had decid- Walker ed that the bureaucracy involved in mainstream medicine was rapidly wearing him down and taking away from what he loved to do – help people.

“This system allows family physicians to continue their autonomy and manage a practice not owned by a hospital system,” Vanderloo said.

“I did a house call on a 90-year-old, and he said, ‘The last time I had one of these was when I was about 5 years old,’” Vanderloo said.

There are two other direct primary care clinics in the state, according to Walker: The Kosy Direct Care in Kosciusko and White Oak Family Medical Clinic in Oxford. All operate under the Mississippi Direct Care Act signed by Gov. Phil Bryant in March 2015.

Direct primary care is endorsed by the American Academy of Family Physicians. “Direct primary care benefits patients by providing substantial savings and a greater degree of access to, and time with, physicians,” the academy states on its website.

“DPC practices often suggest that patients acquire a high-deductible wraparound policy to cover emergencies,” the academy states.

Walker said, “We don’t advise that anyone not have insurance.”

Which means that whether or not a member of NewCare MD uses coverage provided by an employer, he or she must still pay for a share of the cost of the premium.

“Most of our patients have insurance provided through an employer,” Walker said. That can come handy for expensive treatments beyond the scope of direct-care clinics.

Walker likened health care to car maintenance and more costly items.

“Your insurance covers the collision-repair center. It doesn’t cover the oil changes and the day-to-day things that you need.”

Qliance Medical Group in Seattle, Wash., claims to have saved members about 20 percent “compared [with] the cost of their care to that of non-Qliance patients who worked for the same employers.”

“The savings were driven by a marked reduction in expensive emergency room visits, inpatient care, specialist visits, and advanced radiology, which more than made up for the higher investment in primary care for Qliance patients,” the firm claimed.

BloombergBusinessweek reported that Qliance founder and internist Garrison Bliss shaped his model “for middle-class patients” after the advent of so-called concierge care, which is more expensive.

May 12, 2017

Q

Mississippi Business Journal

Q

9

BANKING & FINANCE

GULF COAST

MISSISSIPPI, OTHER STATES ORDER MORTGAGE FIRM TO CEASE AND DESIST

Oyster farmers learning the basics

By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com Mississippi and more than 20 other states have issued cease and desist orders against Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC, the nation’s second-largest nonbank mortgage firm, which the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau contends in a separate legal filing is guilty of “years of widespread errors, shortcuts and runarounds” that have cost some borrowers money and others their home.

The Mississippi Department of Banking and Finance ordered Florida-based Ocwen to immediately cease acquiring or originating residential mortgages until the company can prove that consumer funds are appropriately collected, properly calculated and disbursed accurately and in a timely fashion.

“People have no choice of the mortgage servicer that handles their loan, and yet the servicer’s misconduct can cause families to lose their homes,” Lauren Saunders, associate director of the National Consumer Law Center, said in a release from the Department of Banking and Finance. “That is why vigilance by the CFPB and state regulators is so important to send a message to financial service providers that misconduct will not go unpunished.”

Ocwen has filed suit in federal court contending that the CFPB is unconstitutional, according to the South Florida Business Journal.

“A three-judge panel of the D.C. appeals court ruled in October that the CFPB had an unconstitutional structure. The full appeals court will hold a hearing on this issue on May 24,” the Journal reported.

“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is a valuable partner to states and helps them protect consumers from financial abuses,” said Saunders. “Any attempt to weaken the CFPB leaves families in Mississippi and across the nation vulnerable to violations of their rights.”

Ocwen said in a release that “the CFPB suit is primarily based on the CFPB’s flawed review of data and its self-serving conclusion about isolated instances where Ocwen self-identified ways we can do better.

The South Florida Business Journal reported that “the company signed a $2.1 billion settlement with 49 states and the CFPB in 2014 and promised to correct problems with its mortgage services. The new lawsuits allege that Ocwen did not comply with much of that agreement and the company willfully disregarded advice from regulators about how to update its technology to correct these problems.”

A multistate mortgage committee, composed of officials in Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, and Washington, identified several violations of state and federal law.

The committee looked at Ocwen’s records from Jan. 1, 2013 to Dec. 7, 2016 and concluded that the firm had mismanaged escrow accounts set up to fund taxes and insurance.

By LISA MONTI mbj@msbusiness.com Future farmers of oysters in Mississippi will be getting some lessons and handson training this summer on the fundamentals of oyster farming in neighboring Alabama. What they bring back and put into practice in coastal waters is designed to give Mississippi’s lagging oyster industry “a jumpstart,” said Jason Rider, oyster extension agent for the state Department of Marine Resources. “We want to show them how to do it and do it well.”

Alabama has offered the classes to its state residents for a few years but this is the first time the training has been open to Mississippians.

“We’re partnering with Alabama to bring five Mississippi residents to the Alabama pro-gram to take the training classes,” Rider said. Each student is allowed to have one person join in the training.

The Mississippians who signed up for the training include business owners and commercial fishermen, “a mixed bag,” Rider said.

The course work will give oyster farmers a foundation of knowledge to start or improve their operation.

Topics covered include oyster biology, hatchery basics, nursery options, seed handling, farm-site selection, overview of off-bottom culture gear, business planning, risk management, permitting, public health considerations and marketing.

The 15-hour, non-credit course in the basics of off-bottom oyster aquaculture will be taught by Rider and Bill Walton of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System at Auburn University’s Shellfish Laboratory on Dauphin Island. The classes begin June 3 and will cover oyster biology and seed handling as well as the business side of farming including risk management, permitting and marketing.

The $250 course includes the option of receiving about 10,000 oyster seeds and the use of one 100-yard run of oyster farming gear in the Grand Bay Oyster Park for a year. The novice farmers will be required to develop a basic business plan and document their oyster production as part of the training program. They’ll also have to follow best practices at the training site in Portersville Bay. Mississippi does not have a permanent area to farm oysters but Rider said DMR officials are working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to change that. He said the hope is to have a training program similar to Alabama’s where residents can learn how to raise oysters in the next year or 18 months. DMR

would sublease the area to oyster farmers, who otherwise would have to go through a complex and expensive permitting process on their own.

DMR also has been working to cut through the regulatory barriers potential oyster farmers face in the state. The agency worked to change some of the regulations last year to accommodate off bottom

aquaculture.

“We don’t want anybody to fail, we want to see them succeed,” Rider said. Having the farmers be successful has a ripple effect, he said. “It helps the Gulf and the oyster industry as well as the restaurant industry. It’s generating a lot of economic and ecological benefits.”

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10 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q May 12, 2017 TECHNOLOGY

Modes to protect university research for tech transfer have shifted dramatically

By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com

The field of technology transfer from higher education to business and commercial developments once focused strongly on obtaining patents for products developed by university research. Today, there are many commercialization projects that may benefit more from other types of protection, said Chase Kasper, assistant vice president for research, technology transfer and corporate relations, University of Southern Mississippi (USM).

“I would be quick to point out that USM has had a great legacy and continues to be involved with patented innovations largely from the School of Polymers and High Performance Materials,” Kasper said.

“Intellectual property, generally speaking, is just not patentable work. Intellectual property can be protected by copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets. When you are looking at all these areas combined, there are a lot of intellectual assets that are being created by USM.” One example is USM’s acquisition of Aqua Green in Stone County that is going to be used by Gulf Coast Research Lab for research such as culturing oyster spawn to restock offshore reefs. Aqua Green is expected to create special materials for aquaculture.

“We will likely have innovations come out of AquaGreen that will be commercialized in the maritime industries, or what we are calling now the ‘Blue Economy’,” Kasper said. “We are likely to develop the knowledge for rearing certain forms of aquaculture like oysters or fin fish native to Mississippi’s Gulf Coast. If we are lucky enough, we might be able to identify species with special characteristics that might be desirable for the food sectors. We are doing research on oyster larvae, copepods, blue crabs, speckled trout, and triple tail, which are native to Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Some of that research may not necessarily patentable, but could be protected with other forms of intellectual property.”

USM has more than 50 active patents, but also 400 pieces of issued patents, patent applications, trademarks, and copyrights over the past 20-25 years.

Kasper has been involved in the field of tech transfer since 2003, spending ten years at Mississippi State University (MSU) before coming to USM about five years ago.

In that time he has seen a remarkable shift in the models used to protect research developments.

“The old model was patent, market and

license,” Kasper said. “What you are seeing now are innovations that are protected in other ways. Patent applications are still widely used, but software and information is what is driving the majority of market sectors today. A lot of those innovations are not necessarily patentable. Software is an authored work, so it can be copyrighted, and the life span of a copyright is significantly longer than that of a patent.”

The first video games back in the 1980s were copyrighted and are still used today, he said.

“Derivative works of the first video game materials are still very much protected today even though almost 40 years have passed since those games were created,” Kasper said. “A patent would have expired back in the 1990s, but a copyright would still be enforceable today. We try to educate our faculty, staff and students about all form of intellectual property mechanisms as they have a different sets of rights. Patents cover inventive works and exclude others from making, using or selling the invention. Copyrights cover creative works, and those rights include the right to copy, perform, distribute, display or prepare derivative works. Knowing which set of rights to use for an innovation becomes an important step in taking the next step in commercialization.”

MSU architecture professor Michael Berk’s GreenMobile project that Kasper worked on is an example of a development that is not patentable, but protectable.

The GreenMobile, a mobile home that has many features for energy conservation and natural lighting, has been licensed to a couple of manufacturers.

“Basically Michael’s GreenMobile is a tiny home, and tiny homes have become very popular now,” Kasper said. “The

GreenMobile is a sustainable home you can move around. Michael’s research was marketed in 2005, and more than a decade passed before the concept became popular in the mainstream.”

Another example is USM’s National Center for Spectator Safety and Security (NCS4). Kasper has been working with the center to create a series of trademarks to help with the brand and make it easily recognizable to major leagues. Kasper said the NCS4, which was born out of a Department of Homeland Security grant in 2003, has created a great network of individuals and organizations working to put in best practices for the sports security professional at multiple levels.

Kasper is also working with other groups within the university on developments.

“Exciting things are coming out of our School of Computing, School of Ocean Science and Technology, and College of Nursing,” he said. “The departments within our College of Education and Psychology Departments have also come up with innovations.”

Kasper said overall benefits to technology transfer are multi-pronged: Companies are able to tap into the research enterprise of the university and leverage the capabilities and skill sets of not only the faculty, but the students. Intellectual assets might be able to be licensed out by a business to help give them a competitive advantage.

And, the benefit most invisible is the actual knowledge creation that has happened because an industry has actually asked the university to look into a particular problem and provide feedback. Still another benefit is workforce development of students.

“For example, almost all of our polymer students have a job when they graduate,” Kasper said.

The national reputation of the School of Polymers and High Performance Materials attracted Hybrid Plastics to relocate from Los Angeles to Hattiesburg in 2005, said Hybrid Plastics Chief Operating Officer Carl Hagstrom. Hagstrom said Hybrid Plastics, one of the top ten nanotechnology companies in the U.S., has benefitted from the relationship with USM. “It is exciting to watch the enthusiasm with which the university is now expanding that effort into other STEM programs,” Hagstrom said. “Technological innovation begins with a culture that values discovery. Southern Miss has that culture.

Encouraging technological development is more than just a numbers count of certain metrics. It is encouraging a mind-set, a determination to push the boundaries from academic curiosities to practical commercial applications.”

Kasper said each university in Mississippi has expertise in different disciplines.

“It is exciting to see the innovations coming out of higher education in the State of Mississippi,” he said. “In today’s climate, the creation and sharing of information has become more and more robust and efficient. The speed and amount at which information travels and is disseminated is increasing at an increasing rate.

Research universities are constantly learning and creating new knowledge. I think there is no question that not just Mississippi, but across the U.S., where you see strong economic development, you also see the presence of large university research enterprise(s) in close proximity.”

Kasper said he really enjoys engaging with faculty members who are so talented.

“It is a privilege to work with some of the best and brightest in their fields internationally,” he said.

May 12, 2017 • MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS JOURNAL • www.msbusiness.com

AN MBJ FOCUS: SECURITY

Ransomware can paralyze a business » The cyber attacks

are on the rise, and they can be costly

By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com

R

ANSOMWARE can not only leave a business paralyzed with no access to its computer system, it can be extremely costly. The amount of ransom demanded has been on the rise over the past year, according to information provided by the Mississippi Attorney General Cyber Crime Center. Documented complaints in Mississippi range anywhere from $2,000 to $21,000 in Mississippi.

Outside of Mississippi, victims have been demanded to pay as high as $500,000.

According to the Center: “Over the past two years, we have seen attacks on the private sector, big business and small business to include casinos, church organizations, web design and data related companies, hospitals, real estate agencies, and private citizens.

“There have also been numerous documented

attacks on government agencies to include police departments, sheriff departments, state agencies, and county and city agencies.”

Ben Sims, vice president of operations, Fuse Cloud, said ransomware is a type of malware that holds computers or files for ransom Sims by encrypting files or locking the desktop or browser on systems that are infected with it, and then demanding a ransom in order to regain access.

“Criminals have used high pressure techniques to get victims to pay the ransom — often several thousands of dollars — in order to regain access to file systems,” Sims said. “This is becoming a bigger problem. Cybercriminals are constantly improving ransomware’s hostage-taking tactics with the use of increasingly sophisticated encryption technologies.”

Normally the cybercriminals work from a foreign country like India, and payments are made with non-traceable cash systems like Bitcoin. That makes it difficult for law enforcement to pursue ransomware cases.

In addition to being deployed by someone clicking on a fraudulent link in an email or downloading from a website, ransomware criminals also get access to a computer system software vulnerability.

According to the Cyber Crime Center: “The most recent attacks have seen the use of software

vulnerability, specifically through remote desk top in windows where the default port is exploited and weak passwords are attacked and brokenl This method of ransomware deployment is most troubling due to the fact the criminal actors are inside the system undetected.

Ritter The criminal actors can access the system to mine data before deploying the ransomware and erase any trace of their foot prints. A successful deployment of the ransomware renders the victim helpless to the ransom demands.”

What should be done to prevent becoming a victim of ransomware?

“First of all, educate your users on how to detect phishing campaigns, suspicious websites, and other scams,” Sims said. “And above all else, exercise common sense. If it seems suspect, it probably is. Outside of education of users, it is a multiple layer approach from protecting your individual IT systems and Internet connections via both hardware and software tools to secure your network.”

Mississippi State University Chief Information Officer Tom Ritter said ransomware has become all too common.

“Many users may see what looks like an innocuous email attachment, but it is really a threat,’ Ritter See RANSOMWARE, Page 15

Security

12 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q May 12, 2017

USM takes on security » ‘Hacking for Defense’ class will teach how to innovate solutions

“This is powerful knowledge that is still being disseminated across the country, and I am excited to be teaching it to students and faculty in Mississippi.”

Dr. Henry Jones, USM Professor

By CALLIE DANIELS BRYANT mbj@msbusiness.com

O

NE STARTED with Legos and Lincoln Logs, while the other favored remote control vehicles and model rockets growing up in his hometown of Richton.

Now, Professors Henry Jones and Daniel DeMott, along with mentors from the Department of Defense, Homeland Security and the intelligence community, will show University of Southern Mississippi students how to innovate solutions quickly for national security issues as part of the course “Hacking for Defense (H4D),” which will be taught for the first time this summer.

USM will be the only school in the Southeast and one of a handful in the nation to offer H4D. Jones and DeMott, vice president of research at the office of technology development, will teach graduate and undergraduate students how to combine the rapid-problem-sourcing process developed on battlefields in Afghanistan with the Lean LaunchPad Methodology for rapid customer learning and product development.

“The Lean Startup method was developed by entrepreneurship experts at Stanford and in Silicon Valley who crystallized years of hard-won experience into a thoughtful process for building new businesses,” said Jones, who grew up in Richton. “This is powerful knowledge that is still being disseminated across the country, and I am excited to be teaching it to students and faculty in Mississippi.”

Chase Kasper, assistant vice president for Research, Technology Transfer and Corporate Relations, will join the two professors in teaching methodologies that are used for instruction in the H4D course. These methodologies have been used to vet the value proposition for various innovations, inventions and discoveries that tech transfer officers evaluate for the future of technology.

Kasper said, “In this case, the class is flipped. The students are at the front and the teachers and mentors are at the back so it’s the next generation of a learning style which is the business case model for a particular innovation.”

“I have always loved building things, starting with remote control vehicles

and model rockets,” said Jones. “I studied mechanical engineering as an undergraduate, and robotics in graduate school at Stanford. I have started five technology businesses, all with some level of success, including my current company – Kopis Mobile based in Flowood – that builds electronics and software for the military and law enforcement. Those businesses have created new innovations in remote sensing, unmanned aircraft, disaster relief, electric utilities, quantitative finance, and tactical operations.”

“When I was a kid we had Legos, Lincoln logs, pinball machines, and soap box derby cars,” said DeMott, an Army retiree who worked in Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

“If you asked my wife she would tell you if there is a new gadget, Dan will get it, if he needs it or not! My real exposure to technology was as a young soldier serving as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Tech, a.k.a. Army Bomb Squad. My real ability is looking at technology and seeing other applications it can be used for rather than the one it was built for.”

Study topics may include the use of facial recognition in crowds, defeating small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), sensor-to-cloud encrytion, and wearable sensors and apps for Navy divers.

Kasper said: “I think the most important thing (the students) will learn is the mission model canvas, which is essentially a hybrid from the business model canvas. It’s the way you take a look at the value proposition for particular technologies: ‘What is the problem you’re solving? Who is the end customer? Who is the end user? Are they the same?

What channels do you use to reach them? What’s the best business model to approach getting the technology to the marketplace,’ if you will.

“This methodology which is Lean Method was created by Steven Blank.

The business model canvas has been adopted and slightly reconditioned into the mission model canvas which is directed specifically at problems that military or warfighters or logistics of the respective arms services may have.

It doesn’t have to be something that’s weaponized; it could serve a logistical capacity, you know for example, a pump

or a cable or something that’s used in day to day arms forces, individual soldiers or soldiers’ day to day routine, not necessarily a war theater.”

The class is open to all majors interested in technology security. The more diverse the students are, the better their groups can address and solve security problems. The core component of H4D is for students to work with mentors in their military fields so they can brainstorm dynamic solutions via technology for national security. Other schools teaching the course include Stanford, Georgetown, James Madison, Boise State and Southern California.

Kasper believes the timing is enhanced for courses teaching innovative solutions with technology.

“I think what’s interesting about the canvas is that it’s the new iteration of what my generation would call a ‘business plan,’” Kasper said.

“This is a unique way to look at an overall ecosystem of the model for business. There’s the old models like ‘who is your market?’ ‘who is your customer?’ and so on. This looks (at problems) more holistically and multi-dimensionally. I think there’s more gleam for today’s student with the technology available and information and speed in which information is shared and accessible.”

DeMott added that their goal is to get students to understand how to solve a problem for the military using the Mission Model Canvas, a skill set that is transferable when developing a business model canvas in the Lean Launchpad Method.

“When I went to college majoring in business and psychology, we didn’t learn the Lean Start Method,” he said. “We learned about business plans, marketing strategies, international business, business law and statistics – none of this told me how to really start a new business but rather how to maintain a current business. I like solving problems.

I especially like solving problems for real world situations. The problems we will be solving for Department of Defense have other applications in solving other problems in so many different ecosystems. I want students who want to start a business to come to USM to learn how to start one.”

ADVICE

Hackers don’t care about size

D

ATA OR access to another organization’s data is what makes a target attractive, not the size of the organization. We hear it over and over – “why would a hacker target me? I don’t have any valuable data, plus my organization is small compared to X, Y, Z.” We are seeing more and more smaller organizations being attacked for a few reasons: Less sophisticated security.

Typically, small and midsized organizations often have less sophisticated cybersecurity; therefore, they are easier to breach and subsequently their Mike Skinner client’s are too – depending on their level of access, which brings me to my next point.

Access to larger organizations. Often, the best way to the target information is through a company’s vendors.

Automation. Cyber criminals now use automated attacks with little investment making it easy to target small to mid-sized organizations.

While not all small to mid-sized organizations have the security budget needed, we do have a few recommendations to improve the security posture of companies that won’t break the bank: » Keep all software and applications up-to-date. Among the first things a hacker will do is evaluate any known vulnerabilities in your system. Out of date software, plug-ins, and applications are easily identifiable and a simple way to gain access to your network. » Limit access to sensitive information. Evaluate your sensitive information. Who all has access to it and why?

How many ways can it be accessed?

Consider these questions and make the proper changes to limit the access to sensitive information. » Educate employees. We cannot over emphasize this. Someone will always click. Hackers prey on the oversight and vulnerabilities of your employees.

See SKINNER, Page 15

DOWNTOWN JACKSON

OFFICES AVAILABLE

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

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

Security

14 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q May 12, 2017

ELECTRONIC SECURITY ASSOCIATION MEMBERS

&/->;/ 5+;6< 80 68;B &# 5/-=;873- &/->;3=B #;8=/-=387 >50#37/< ;8+.,+7. .,+ +35<+0/ &/->;3=B "673 '/-2785813/< " &B<=/6< 7 ;8@7 &/->;3=B &B<=/6< 5/-=;873- 87=;85< 7 ;+74537 '/5/9287/ 8 7- &/->;3=B #5>< 5+;6 8 #;8 '/-2 3<<3<<3993 &+0/ 8-4 7*+=-2.81 &/->;3=B &B<=/6< 7 5+;6 "7/ 73<<3<<3993 5+;6 7'2/ #287/ 88=2 7- !/=-866 *3;371 58,+5 &/-=8; &/;?3-/< 7#/77371=87 ';36 5+;6 &/;?3-/< 7$ & 8;=;/<< &/->;3=B &85>=387< 7=/1;3=B &B<=/6< 7=/;0+-/ &/->;3=B &B<=/6< &/->;3=B #5>< 80 & 73<<3<<3993 5+;6 869+7B 7&/->;3=B &B<=/6< &8>=2 7(9-2>;-2 '/5/-86 +=+ (9-2>;-2 '/5/-86 +=+ 7- 55 &+0/ '/-2785813/< % 7- .,+ %8,/;<87 &/->;3=B 5+;6 /7=;+5 &/->;3=B 7=/;0+-/ &/->;3=B &B<=/6< #%" &>6;+55 &>;?/355+7-/ +7. &/->;3=B >;7< 87=;+-=371 8 *23=03/5. 5/-=;3#8@/;'/-273-< 7 /=/-=3?/ #+=;85 &/;?3-/< 7 --/<< 87=;85 ;8>9 7 &/->;3=B &/;?3-/< ! &/;?3-/< 7 +93=+5 &/->;3=B &B<=/6< 7=/1;+=/. &B<=/6< 7 86-+<= ;8+.,+7. &/->;3=B +-4<87 & 889/; < 8-4 /B 7./9/7./7= 5/-=;873-< &/->;3=B & 778?+=3?/ &85>=387< +7. 866>73-+=387< ' </->;3=B '8=+55B 5/;= &/->;3=B 6/;3-+7 3;/ &+0/=B 8 &8>=2 3<<3<<3993 873=8;371 /5=+ '/5/9287/ 869+7B 7!/=5374 &/->;3=B #;8 '/-2 &/->;3=B '2/ 5+;6 869+7B 7&36687< &/->;3=B 7 ( &B<=/6< 7&/->;3=B 3;<= 80 /;3.3+7 7 ,<85>=/ #;8=/-=387 7 >50 8+<= 5/-=;3-+5 &/->;3=B &B<=/6< 5+;6 &/->;3=3/< 7%2378 &/->;3=B &85>=387< 7"A08;. 5+;6 866>73-+=387< ' #/+;5 & )& 7- >-45/B &/->;3=B &/;?3-/ 7 /7=;+5 5+;6 &B<=/6< 8;9 *+=-26+7 &/->;3=B &/;?3-/< " " "

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!

Security

May 12, 2017

Q

Mississippi Business Journal

Q

15

ELECTRONIC SECURITY ASSOCIATION MEMBERS

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RANSOMWARE Continued from Page 11

said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;One of the best ways for a system to be protected is to have security aware users who are skeptics about emails that contains attachments or links to unknown sources.â&#x20AC;?

Ritter said that security awareness must be an important part of corporate culture. It can be difficult when a company has a large number of users because one weak link can bring down the entire system. It is important to take the time to train users how to detect phishing campaigns, suspicious websites, and other scams. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And above all else, exercise common sense,â&#x20AC;? Ritter said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If it seems suspect, it probably is. Outside of education, it is a multiple layer approach from protecting your individual IT systems and Internet connections via both hardware and software tools to secure your network.â&#x20AC;?

Staff should review their data backup strategy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;MSU has seen instances of ransomware that have encrypted user data, and our solution was to restore from our previous dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s backup,â&#x20AC;? Ritter said.

In some cases, the backup systems are also infected by ransomware, so it is preferable to have an offsite backup system.

TEC Director of Network Operations Brent Fisher said as a preventive measure, businesses should implement a cybersecurity plan. They should back up data regularly, verify the integrity of those backups and test the restoration process to ensure it is working.

Fisher said they should also conduct an annual penetration test and vulnerability assessment and ďŹ nally, secure all backups. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is crucial to implement a data security plan and train your staff to adhere to the measures as set forth,â&#x20AC;? Fisher said.

The Cyber Crime Center says to avoid victimization by ransomware, vigilance in spam e-mail awareness, passing on known attack methods and identiďŹ ed spam e-mails, changing passwords, hardening passwords, and the upgrading and patching of software is essential. The best way to defeat a ransomware attack is to regularly backup data and the backup must not be attached to the system.

According to the Center: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Many victims have suffered the loss of their backup due to the backup being connected to the system at the time of the attack. This is most

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common with victims who utilize cloud back up. If the system can access the backup readily, so can the ransomware.

Onsite hardware backups are best but must be maintained separately from the active system. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The infected system, should be wiped or sanitized to remove the ransomware Fisher before accessing the backup. Internet Technicians should monitor connection logs for suspicious IP addresses. Particularly any computer within the network calling out or trying to connect to outside servers. This is an indication of an active exploit kit attempting to download a package containing the virus or ransomware. Disable services not needed for business operations. Only allow access to those who need access to do their jobs. Principle of least privilege.â&#x20AC;?

The Center also advises when a ransomware attack has occurred, the victim should disconnect any infected computer from the system. The victim should report the intrusion to law enforcement immediately for the recovery of any possible evidence.

If the victim wipes the infected system or begins a back-up process to restore, all evidence of the attack will be overwritten.

The Cyber Crime Center can also assist with situation by identifying the ransomware variant. In some cases, there are known keys that will unlock older versions of ransomware.

Additional tips from the center: Âť Stay vigilant â&#x20AC;&#x201D; log ďŹ les and change management systems can give you early warning of a breach. Âť Make people your ďŹ rst line of defense â&#x20AC;&#x201D; train staff to spot the warning signs. Âť Keep data on a â&#x20AC;&#x153;need to knowâ&#x20AC;? basis â&#x20AC;&#x201D; only employees that need access to systems to do their jobs should have it. Âť Patch promptly â&#x20AC;&#x201D; this could guard against many attacks. Âť Encrypt sensitive data â&#x20AC;&#x201D; make your data next to useless if it is stolen. Âť Use two-factor authentication â&#x20AC;&#x201D; this can limit the damage that can be done with lost or stolen credentials. Âť Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget physical securityâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; not all data theft happens online.

SKINNER Continued from Page 12

Make sure to adequately train your employees.

Encourage your employees to take caution and be more aware of malicious attacks. Train them in the common types of phishing scams and cyber attacks that are likely to occur on their devices.

Conduct â&#x20AC;&#x2122;ďŹ re drillsâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC; by having your team push out unexpected phishing attacks to see if your training has worked. The key is to impress upon them the importance of their participation in being aware and cautious. Âť Practice good password management. As cyber criminals become more sophisticated, it is important to practice good password management. Why give them the â&#x20AC;&#x153;keys to the kingdomâ&#x20AC;? and make it easy for them to access you or your clientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sensitive information? Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s my best tips for password management: blog.hornecyber.com/4-tips-forpassword-management Âť Know whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on your network and the security implications of growing your attack surface.

Although the growing mobility of employees, the growing number of connected devices, and the evolving Internet of Things can create improved productivity and increased operational efficiency, they can also decrease your level of security. Check out our latest blogs on securely integrating the Internet of Things and securing a mobile work force for our insights on these topics. Âť Be prepared. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no longer a question of â&#x20AC;&#x153;ifâ&#x20AC;? but â&#x20AC;&#x153;when.â&#x20AC;? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no longer just about your data, but also about other data you have access to. Be sure you are taking the proper steps to secure yourself and your organization today.

Mike Skinner is the partner in charge for HORNE Cyber. His focus is to enable clients to fully leverage technology innovations by providing the insights critical to safeguarding their business, customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; critical data and brand reputation. He is responsible for information technology audit, regulatory compliance, information security consulting, internal control consulting and business solution implementation.

Newsmakers

16 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q May 12, 2017

Terracon welcomes Wilson

Erica Wilson has joined Terracon Consultants, Inc., as a project industrial hygienist. Based in the Ridgeland office, Wilson will serve clients in the private and public sectors in Mississippi.

Wilson’s experience includes more than seven years with the Mississippi Department of EnviWilson ronmental Quality (MDEQ), where she provided compliance assurance for asbestos and lead-based paint regulations, such as the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act guidelines for schools.

She is an EPA-certified Inspector and MDEQ-certified as an asbestos inspector, asbestos contractor, asbestos supervisor, lead inspector, and lead risk assessor.

tion to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

AACSB accreditation is known worldwide, as the longest standing, most recognized form of specialized/professional qualification an institution and its business programs can earn. Post-secMaysami ondary institutions are granted this honor in acknowledgement of ongoing excellence and continuous improvement throughout their business programs.

Reaffirmation of AACSB accreditation includes all business programs at JSU’s College of Business, bachelor, masters and doctoral level degrees.

EMBDC April Ambassadors

Heart Study taps Sims

Breazeale joins MCS

Jessica Breazeale of Wesson recently joined MCS Building Supply and MSC Insulation in Sumrall where Breazeale is heading his public relations and marketing initiatives. MCS is owned by former State Rep. Hank Lott. Breazeale will also launch marketing and Breazeale Public Relations campaigns at Covington Ridge Retirement Home in Collins and Magnolia Place in Sumrall, where Lott’s wife, Melinda, is administrator.

Breazeale will oversee website management, social media management, advertising, new employee recruitment, new market research, promotional materials, events and will serve as the industry association liaison.

Breazeale was recently recognized as a “Top 20 Under 40” in Lincoln County and recently won an award of excellence for community relations in corporate/ external communications from the Public Relations Association of Mississippi.

She is a dance teacher at Nena Smith School of Dance in Wesson and a member of CenterPoint Church in Brookhaven. She holds a master of science in public relations from The University of Southern Mississippi.

Austin takes disaster post

Adrian Austin of Byram has been named Disaster Volunteer Management Officer for the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service, also known as Volunteer Mississippi, the state agency responsible for the coordination of volunteerism during Mississippi Austin disasters.

For the past 6 years, Austin served as Fiscal Officer for Volunteer Mississippi.

Before joining Volunteer Mississippi, Austin worked for a local bank as a Bank Analyst.

Austin holds a Bachelors of Science in Management from Belhaven University.

He also has over 23 years of military experience, five of which serving active duty, with the United States Navy specializing in supplies, logistics and transportation. Austin served in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Courtesy of EMBDC

The East Mississippi Business Development Corporation recently presented its April Ambassadors of the Month awards. Winners are, from left, Terry Watkins, third place, Lala Enterprises; Casey Hendricks, red ticket winner, Montgomery Institute; Lisa Sollie, first place, MSU Meridian; and Stacey Thompson, second place, City of Meridian.

4 graduate on coast Four businesses recently graduated from the Jackson County Small Business Incubator: Dr. Myrtis Austin, PhD, licensed marriage and family therapist in Gautier; Jessica Mohler Creel, licensed occupational therapist in Ocean Springs; Luci Knotts, licensed speech pathologist, Moss Point; and Ange Godfrey, licensed speech pathologist, Moss Point.

The mission of the Jackson County Small Business Incubator LLC is to develop and support the economic development of the small business community in Jackson County, Mississippi.

Wylie volunteerism cited Patrick Wylie, who has volunteered for a host of activities and helped raise hundred of thousands of dollars to assist those affected by multiple sclerosis, has been named as Biloxi’s Distinguished Volunteer of the Year.

Wylie, an economic development project manager at Missis- Wylie sippi Power, is a Biloxi Main Street Board member, serving as the economic vitality chair and always volunteering at the organization’s events.

Wylie is also a volunteer with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, where he has served for more than five years. He has lead several community-wide Day of Service activities, where he visited homes of those affected by MS and assisted with home repairs. Wylie is also responsible for spearheading “The Dinner of Champions” event on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, generating more than $200,000 for the society within four years.

He also donates his time to the Harrison County Youth Shelter, Boys and Girls Clubs of the Gulf Coast, American Red Cross and The United Way. Other top honorees recognized were: Community volunteer: Jaye Brice; Youth volunteer: Rosemarie Marshall; Health volunteer: Bill Priddy;

Arts & history volunteer: Leonie Johnston; Sports volunteer: Pam Ferrill; Education volunteer: Myya Robinson; Adult group volunteer: “The Way” Beau Rivage employee volunteers; Youth volunteer group: Biloxi High School Interact Club; City of Biloxi employee volunteer: Jerrilyn Wescovich; Business volunteer: Mississippi Power Community Connections; Non-profit organization: Kiwanis Club; Military volunteer: AT2 Andrew Tracy; Military group volunteer: Fishbowl Student Ministry Center White Rope Program; Retired military sr. Volunteer: Col. Phyllis A. Luttman (Ret. USAF); Senior Citizen volunteer: David L. Clippinger MD; Unsung everyday hero: Marguerite S. Mayfield.

Leadership changes at AIA After 10 years as executive director of the Mississippi Chapter of the Mississippi Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, Joe Blake is retiring and passing the title to Amber Lombardo.

Blake orchestrated the plans for building the chapter, and built it with his longtime assistant Kristen Anderson, who also is leaving the organization to spend more time with her family.

Lombardo, has a background in design. As the former Director of Programs for the Mississippi Heritage Trust, she developed the Mississippi Historic Preservation Toolkit, a collection of financial incentives and best practices for people wishing to restore historic buildings. In October 2016, Lombardo sold her 17-year-old, Memphis-area advertising agency, art gallery, digital print shop and magazine in order to devote her time to building programs in Mississippi, her home state. She graduated from Mississippi State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in Architecture, Engineering and Marketing.

AIA MS is based in Jackson.

JSU earns AACSB extension The Jackson State University College of Business, under the leadership of Dean Ramin Maysami, has earned an extension of accreditation by the Associa-

Dr. Mario Sims,an associate professor of medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, has been named the new chief science officer of the Jackson Heart Study.

The JHS is a community-based prospective cohort study of cardiovascular disease in more than Sims 5,000 African-Americans in Hinds, Madison and Rankin counties. Initiated in 2000, the study is a partnership between UMMC, Jackson State University and Tougaloo College. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities fund the study.

Sims will work with the JHS director to promote research collaborations, mentorship and scientific productivity.

Sims earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of California-Los Angeles, a master’s and Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and conducted postdoctoral work at the University of Michigan, Medical College of Wisconsin and UMMC.

Neel-Schaffer makes list Neel-Schaffer, Inc., improved 10 spots to 177th on the nation’s list of the Top 500 Design firms for 2017, according to Engineering News-Record, which compiles the list.

This marks the 23nd consecutive year Neel-Schaffer has been included in ENR’s Top 500.

The Top 500 Design Firms list, published annually, is based on design-specific revenue earned over the past year.

Neel-Schaffer is an employee-owned engineering and planning firm based in Jackson, with 38 offices across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

Millsaps consortium home Millsaps College has been selected as the new academic home of the Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty (SHECP). Established at Washington and Lee University in 1998 as the “Shepherd Poverty Alliance,” a poverty studies program, SHECP has grown into a nonprofit association of 23 higher educational institutions in the United States, dedicated to preparing students for a lifetime of professional, civic, and political activity that will diminish poverty.

The three-year partnership begins July 1.

Also, Dr. Stephanie Rolph, associate professor of history at Millsaps, will become academic director for SHECP, where she will work with the executive director of the Consortium to manage academic partnerships and programs.

Newsmakers Millsaps awards scholarship

Margaret Pitts of Flowood is the recipient of Millsap College’s Allison Coggin Lee Scholarship for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Pitts, a sales assistant at Ballew Wealth Management, earned a B.A. in English with a minor in public relations from Mississippi State University in Pitts 2016. At MSU, she was president of Sigma Tau Delta English honor society and served her sorority, Delta Gamma, as director of public relations and director of alumni relations. She is a native of Waynesboro.

The $15,000 scholarship is the largest endowed scholarship that Millsaps College awards to an MBA student. The recipient must exemplify exceptional aptitude for graduate business study, exhibit involvement in college and community activities and demonstrate business professionalism and highly developed communication abilities.

Biloxi’s Hunt top citizen

Susan Hunt, a career educator, who works with Biloxi Excel By 5 and Mardi Gras, was recently recognized as Biloxi’s Outstanding Citizen during a Biloxi Lions Club luncheon. Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich proclaimed April 26 Susan Hunt Day in her honor.

Hunt, a graduate of the Missis- Hunt sippi University for Women with masters and bachelor’s degrees in elementary education, began her Biloxi career in 1978 as a principal at Gorenflo Elementary. She later served as principal at Michel Middle School, as the district’s drug-free coordinator and outreach coordinator, as a parent liaison, and today leads the community’s initiative Biloxi Excel By 5 as certification manager. Biloxi Excel By 5 helps parents prepare their children for the classroom environment.

During her career, Hunt also served as the city’s director of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs, and Human Services, and as the executive director of the Biloxi Bay Area Chamber of Commerce.

Mardi Gras is a big part of Hunt’s life. Her father, the late Walter Kenner “Skeet”¯ Hunt, was a longtime Captain of Carnival in Biloxi, and she carries on that tradition as a volunteer with Gulf Coast Carnival Association. She and her sister Martha Hunt Tripp coordinate the “shoe box float” contest for children each year. She also helps with the annual Children’s Mardi Gras Walking Parade, an event her mother, the late Ruth Huls Hunt, launched years ago.

Hunt is a graduate of Leadership Gulf Coast, where she served as a program chair and on the board of directors; a graduate of Leadership Mississippi, and is on the board of several civic groups and educational foundations, including serving as the chair of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Board of Trustees.

Forrest earns Gold honor Forrest General Hospital has earned CEO Cancer Gold Standard re-accreditation for maintaining a commitment to the health of its employees and satisfying the latest, comprehensive requirements of the Gold Standard.

To earn Gold Standard accreditation, an employer

May 12, 2017

Thornton wins employee honor

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Barnes makes Barron’s list Dustin M. Barnes, CFP, financial adviser at Barnes-Pettey Financial Advisors, LLC, and Raymond James Financial Services in Clarksdale, was recently named in Barron’s list of “Top 1,200 Advisors” in the country.

The list is based on research, surveys and interviews, weighing Barnes factors such as advisor’ assets under management, revenue generated, quality of service and regulatory records.

Barnes-Petty has offices in Clarksdale, Grenada, Oxford, Jackson and Memphis.

Cochran intern moves on

Courtesy of MCS Insulation

Jeremy Thornton, center, of Hattiesburg, Outside Sales Representative at MCS Insulation in Sumrall, has been recognized as a “Best Employee” in the Insulate America’s quarterly program. Thornton received a free t-shirt, certificate, publication with his picture and article featured, and a $100 gift card from American Express. Thornton has been with the company since October and was cited for his attention to detail and quick response to customer needs. Presenting his award are Jessica Breazeale (left), Director of Public Relations and Marketing and Hank Lott, MCS Insulation CEO. must establish programs to reduce cancer risk by taking concrete actions in five key areas: establishing policies and programs to reduce cancer risk by prohibiting tobacco use and supporting tobacco cessation efforts; promoting physical activity, healthy nutrition and weight management; providing health insurance options that include detecting cancer at its earliest stages, access to quality care and participation in cancer clinical trials; promoting employee awareness of these initiatives; and supporting the needs of cancer survivors in the workplace.

Keenum to lead foundation The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research Board of Directors has elected Mississippi State University President Mark E. Keenum to chair the board, effective immediately.

Keenum was appointed to the Foundation for Food and Keenum Agriculture Research board in August 2014 by then-Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.

Outgoing chair Dan Glickman, former Agriculture Secretary and Executive Director of the Aspen Institute Congressional Program, will remain on the Board Executive Committee as Past Chair.

Other officers also elected by unanimous vote— Vice Chair: Pam Johnson, National Corn Growers Association past president; Secretary: Mike Ladisch, Ph.D., Purdue University distinguished professor and director; Treasurer: Chris Mallett, Ph.D., Cargill, Inc. corporate vice president, research and development.

Airport group names board Mississippi Airports Association recently elected new board members for the 2017-18 term. The new members are Lee Owen, Executive Director of Mid-Delta Regional Airport in Greenville; Rodney Lincoln, Executive Director of the Starkville-Oktibbe-

ha County Airport; Mike Hainsey, Executive Director of Golden Triangle Regional Airport serving Columbus, Starkville and West Point and Mike Forster, Executive Director of Louisville-Winston County Airport. Elected to serve a second term was President-Elect Sam Washington, Executive Director of the Vicksburg Municipal Airport.

Other officers for the 2017-18 term are President Bill Cotter, COO of Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission; Secretary Clay Williams, Executive Director of Gulfport Biloxi International Airport, and Treasurer Carl Newman, Executive Director of Jackson Municipal Airport Authority.

Other board members include Nick Ardillo, CEO of NPA, LLC; Tom Heanue, Executive Director of Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport; Elton Jay, retired FAA and MDOT Aeronautics executive; Eric Konupka, Executive Director of Tunica Airport; Cliff Nash, Executive Director of Tupelo Regional Airport; Carol Snapp, Executive Director of Trent Lott International Airport and Dirk Vanderleest of Waggoner Engineering.

Researcher wins top honor Tony Hayes of Jackson was recently named 2017 Tech of the Year by the American Association of Electrodiagnostic Technologists.

His role at Methodist Rehabilitation Center is to stimulate nerves with electric signals to see if they are functioning properly.

He mainly does nerve studies on Hayes patients who have sustained nerve damage via strokes, brain and spinal cord injuries and other disabling injuries and illnesses.

He is a graduate of Jackson State University with a degree in biology/pre-medicine. He was working in an animal research lab when he secured his job at Methodist in 1997. Methodist does not do animal research.

He is also working toward a medical degree through the International University of the Health Sciences School of Medicine.

U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran recently commended Melissa Ramsey of Ridgeland, a University of Mississippi graduate, for successfully completing a semester-long internship in his Washington office.

Ramsey assisted Cochran’s Ramsey office in several capacities, including constituent services, correspondence, administrative tasks and assorted legislative duties.

Ramsey earned a degree in English from Ole Miss in 2016 and is on track to attend law school. A graduate of Jackson Academy, Ramsey is the daughter of Dr. Randy Ramsey of Flowood and Stacy Ramsey of Ridgeland.

4 FedEx drivers win titles Drivers Randy Byrd of Florence, John Kitchens of Pontotoc, Rodney Davis of Guntown, and Scott Osborne of Brandon, representing FedEx Freight, recently won state titles at the 2017 Mississippi Truck Driving Championship. They earned an opportunity to compete in the National Truck Driving Championships in Orlando, Fla., Aug. 8-12.

The four also qualified to compete by driving accident free for at least one year. The state TDCs and the NTDC provide professional truck drivers an opportunity to demonstrate their driving skills and safety expertise. Championships encompass three parts – a challenging driving course, a pre-trip inspection and a written examination which covers vehicle operation and knowledge of federal safety regulations.

Mayersville aide honored Terri Williams of Mayersville has been recognized by the Mississippi Association for Home Care as the recipient of the 2017 Home Health Aide of the Year Award.

Williams works for Continue Care Home Health Rolling Fork, where she has worked as a home Williams health aide since 1992.

The Home Health Aide of the Year award is one of MAHC’s most prestigious awards. The award recognizes the value of the home health aide to the home care industry and to the patients that they serve. Home Health aides are the backbone of the home health care delivery system and are vital to patient care.

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New Businesses 90Marketing: The Greater Jackson Chamber of Commerce recently held a Ribbon Cutting for 90Marketing at the Flowood Chamber of Commerce Office.

April Rigsby is the owner.

Courtesy of Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership/Jackson Chamber of Commerce

Courtesy of Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership/Jackson Chamber of Commerce

CPC Fondren Clinic: The Greater Jackson Chamber of Commerce recently held a Ribbon Cutting for the opening of Center for Pregnancy Choices, “CPC Fondren Clinic,” 2800 B North State Street in Jackson.

Courtesy of Rankin County Chamber of Commerce

Guitar Nail Bar & Queen Spa: The Rankin County Chamber of Commerce recently held a ribbon cutting and grand opening for Guitar Nail Bar & Queen Spa, 100 Millstone, Suite 103, in Pearl,

Cardio Barre: The Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce recently hosted a ribbon cutting for Cardio Barre, 3000 Old Taylor Road, Oxford’s newest high energy/no impact exercise class. Gina Matthews is the owner.

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

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THE SPIN CYCLE

Key demographic trends shaping our world

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emographers recently convened in Chicago for the Population Association of America’s annual meeting, and here is a look at eight of Pew Research Center’s recent findings on demographic trends, ranging from global refugee and migrant flows to changes to family life and living arrangements.

They show how demographic forces are driving population change and reshaping the lives of people around the world.

1. Millennials are the United States’ largest living generation.

In 2016, there were an estimated 79.8 million Millennials (ages 18 to 35 in that year) compared with 74.1 million Baby Boomers (ages 52 to 70). The Millennial population is expected to continue growing until 2036 as a result of immigration.

By some measures, Millennials have very different lives than earlier generations did when they were young. They’re slow to adopt many of the traditional markers of adulthood. For the first time in more than 130 years, young adults are more likely to be living in their parents’ home than in any other living arrangement. In fact, a larger share of them is living with their parents than with a romantic partner – marking a significant historical shift. More broadly, young adult geographic mobility is at its lowest level in 50 years, even though today’s young adults are less likely than previous generations of young adults to be married, to own a home or to be parents, all of which are traditional obstacles to moving.

2. Americans’ lives at home are changing.

Following a decades-long trend, just half of U.S. adults were married in 2015, down from 70 percent in 1950. As marriage has declined, the number in cohabiting relationships (living with an unmarried partner) rose 29 percent between 2007 and 2016, from 14 million to 18 million. The increase was especially large among those ages 50 and older: 75 percent in the same period. The “gray divorce” rate – divorces among those 50 and older – roughly doubled between 1990 and 2015.

Also, a record number of Americans (nearly 61 million in 2014) were living in multigenerational households, that is, households that include two or more adult generations or grandparents and grandchildren. Growing racial and ethnic diversity in the U.S. helps explain some of the rise in multigenerational living. The Asian and Hispanic populations overall are growing more rapidly than the white population, and those groups are more likely than whites to live in multigenerational family households.

3. Women may never make up half of the U.S. labor force.

Women accounted for 46.8 percent of the U.S. labor force in 2015, similar to the share in the European Union. Although

women comprised a much larger share of the labor force in 2015 than in 1950 (29.6 percent), the Bureau of Labor Statistics projected the share of women in the workforce will peak at 47.1 percent in 2025 before tapering off.

For those women who do work, the gender pay gap has narrowed. Women earned $0.83 for every $1 a man earned in 2015, compared with $0.64 in 1980. The pay gap has narrowed even more among young adults ages 25 to 34: Working women in that age range made 90 percent of what their male counterparts made in 2015. In 2017, women make up 19 percent of the U.S. Congress and about a quarter of state legislatures; some 8 percent of U.S. governors and 5 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs are female.

4. Immigrants are driving overall workforce growth in the U.S. As the Baby Boom generation heads toward retirement, growth in the nation’s working-age population (those ages 25 to 64) will be driven by immigrants and the U.S.-born children of immigrants, at least through 2035. Without immigrants, there would be an estimated 18 million fewer working-age adults in the country in 2035 because of the dearth of U.S.-born children with U.S.-born parents. However, immigrants do not form a majority of workers in any industry or occupational group, though they form large shares of private household workers (45 percent) and farming, fishing, and forestry occupations (46 percent).

Public opinion has turned more positive when it comes to immigrants’ impact on the U.S. workforce. The share of Americans saying that the growing number of immigrants working in the country helps American workers increased 14 percentage points in the last 10 years, from 28 percent in 2006 to 42 percent in 2016.

An estimated 8 million unauthorized immigrants were working or looking for work in 2014, making up 5 percent of the civilian labor force. The number was unchanged from previous years and the share was down slightly since 2009. Although the estimated number of unauthorized immigrant workers was stable at the national level from 2009 to 2014, 15 U.S. states had increases or decreases.

5. The share of births outside of marriage declined for immigrant women from 2008 to 2014, but held steady for U.S.-born women.

Immigrant women play an important role in overall U.S. fertility trends. Between 1970 and 2014, the increase in the annual number of U.S. births was driven entirely by immigrant women, while births to U.S.-born women fell. The important role of immigrant women in driving U.S. births stems from both the growth in the foreign-born population and the fact that immigrant women have, on average, more

children than U.S.-born women.

6. The shares of adults living in middle-income households fell in several countries in Western Europe.

In seven of 11 Western European countries examined, the share of adults in middle-income households fell between 1991 and 2010. The share of the adult population that is middle income decreased in Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway and Spain (as it did in the U.S.), but increased in France, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The largest shares of the adult population in middle-income households in 2010 were found in Denmark (80 percent), Norway (80 percent), and the Netherlands (79 percent), while the smallest shares were found in Italy (67 percent), the UK (67 percent) and Spain (64 percent). Each of the Western European countries studied had a larger share of adults in middle-income households than the U.S. (59 percent).

7. European countries received a near-record 1.2 million first-time asylum applications in 2016.

Some of these applicants may have applied for asylum in multiple countries or arrived in 2015, raising the total number of applications across Europe. The number of asylum applications was down only slightly from the record-setting 1.3 million applications in 2015. Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq were the most common countries of origin for first-time asylum applications in 2015 and 2016, together accounting for over half of the total. Germany was the most common destination country in Europe, having received 45 percent of applications.

8. The U.S. admitted 84,995 refugees in fiscal year 2016, the most since 1999.

More than half resettled in one of just 10 states, with the largest numbers going to California and Texas. Nebraska, North Dakota and Idaho ranked near the top for the most refugees resettled per capita, with rates over two-and-a-half times the

national average. And almost half (46 percent) of the fiscal 2016 refugees were Muslim, the highest number for any year since refugees’ self-reported religious affiliation became publicly available in 2002.

Todd Smith

Golden Mic | Dolly Parton Increases Donations For Fire Victims, Announces New Organization Dedicated to Restoration More than five months after wildfires ravaged portions of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, Tenn., Dolly Parton hasn’t stopped surprising her hometown fire victims with her generosity.

In December, Parton announced her My People Fund and promised each family who had lost its primary residence in the fires $1,000 a month for the next five months. When Parton arrived this week to help dole out the final payments, she brought the nearly 900 families an unexpected bonus – another $5,000 each for a total of $10,000.

She also revealed another surprise – the creation of the Mountain Tough organization to provide ongoing support to fire victims over the next three years and the pledge to fund it with at least $3 million.

For her longstanding generosity to the communities ravaged by these fires – and big-hearted commitment to helping those in dire need – Parton takes the Golden Mic! Todd Smith is president and chief communications officer of Deane, Smith & Partners, a full-service branding, PR, marketing and advertising firm with offices in Jackson. The firm — based in Nashville, Tenn.

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

http://www.msbusiness.com

BANKS

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

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

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

PAYROLL Q People Lease.........................................................................................................www.peoplelease.com

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