MBJ_Nov07_2014

INSIDE — Mississippi warns KiOR it will seek debt, interest, Page 3

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November 7, 2014 • Vol. 36, No. 45 • $1 • 24 pages

CREATIVE ECONOMY

ENERGY

Amite, Wilkinson plan to use treated sewage to spur fracking operations

{Section begins P 15}

» Chaney: ACA for business not all bad » Domestic violence and the workplace The List {P 18} » 3rd Party Administrators The Delta {P 19} » Christmas on Deer Creek in Leland to celebrate 50 years of beautiful floats and amazement in the eyes of kids as well as adults

» A proposed SW Mississippi water district would generate money for cover road, bridge upkeep

By TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com

Hollywood Rentals seen as ‘game changer’ for state’s film industry » Company's bringing vast inventory of lighting, grip fixtures and expendables to Canton

Close to collapse » Engineers warn of structural deficiencies of Farish buildings

More, P 2

2014

By TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com

Mississippi’s place on the movie-making map just got substantially bigger with an announcement that one of the nation’s largest

independent lighting and grip rentals companies will set up shop at Canton’s Mississippi Film Studios.

The expansion of Hollywood Rentals into Mississippi ensures that feature film makers, television producers and others in the visual arts industry will have a single source for the array of See

FILM, Page 4

Officials of Amite and Wilkinson counties are preparing a plan for a water district they say will enhance hydraulic fracturing operations in their region while generating dollars for sorely needed road and bridge maintenance.

A central feature of the plan: Pipe five million gallons of treated sewage daily from McComb, Liberty, Gloster and other Southwest Mississippi communities for drilling companies to use in breaking up shell deposits thousands of feet below ground and extracting oil and natural gas they hold.

Water is a key tool of the deep-ground shell fracturing process. With the hydraulic pressure of water, sand and chemicals exerted through a horizontal bore hole, drillers fracture the rock to free trapped oil and liquified natural gas.

The piping plan, still in its infancy, is estimated to cost $10 million. It is modeled somewhat on a 30mile above-ground pipeline designed to take millions of gallons of treated effluent from Meridian to Mississippi Power Co.'s Kemper plant. Once there, the treated waste water will cool equipment used for generating electricity at the coal-fired plant.

Like the water piped to Kemper, the water delivered for deep-well drilling will serve a dual See

FRACKING, Page 4

http://msbusiness.com/events/health-care-heroes-nomination-form/

2 I Mississippi Business Journal I November 7, 2014

CLOSE TO COLLAPSE

Engineers warn of dangerous structural deficiencies of Farish buildings

The circa 1911 Palace Auditorium, 318 North Farish Street, is the lone building on the 300 block deemed to “contribute” to the cultural and historic value of the Farish Street Historic District.

» Buildings, as part of federal and local historic district, must gets approval for demolition

By TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com

Buildings on the 300 block of downtown Jackson's North Farish Street could soon be demolished if the Jackson Redevelopment Authority decides not to spend money to make them structurally safe.

Engineers who spent some of July and August inspecting the crumbling row of former stores, eateries and nightclubs estimate repairs costing nearly $200,000 must be spent to keep them from collapsing.

Jackson's Historic Preservation Commission would have to approve any demolitions in the multi-block district that until the late 1970s was a cultural and shopping destination for Jackson's African-American population. Some Jackson Redevelopment Authority board members are concerned that tearing down too many of the structures could jeopardize the district's designation as a National Historic District.

The designation and the state and federal tax credits it affords are critical to any renewed JRA effort to convert a portion of Farish Street into an entertainment district.

The district stretches from Amite Street to Fortification Street and from Mill Street to Lamar Street.

Only one structure on the 300 block – the Palace Auditorium – is listed on state historic preservation records as a “contributor” to the historic and cultural value of the district. The circa 1911 building on the street's east side, however, is nearly ready to collapse, according to a report from Alfred Luckett, an engineer with Laird & Smithers Engineers and Consultants. The second floor of the building has already fallen in.

The structure has a one-story attachment.

“Due to the current condition of the structure, access to determine the condition of the building was difficult,” Luckett noted in a report to the JRA. The missing second floor had previously served to brace the exterior walls, according to Luckett. Now, he said, the walls are unbraced for the entire height of the building.

Outward bowing of the west wall is also a concern, Luckett noted.

Further, the lime-based mortar is in poor condition throughout the building. Any renovation of the building will require using lime-based mortar to keep the soft brick it

TED CARTER / The Mississippi Business Journal

secures from expanding and cracking, according to Luckett's report.

The building's current roof, installed sometime in the 1990s, shows signs of water damage.

“In its current condition, it is clear the Palace Auditorium is not safe,” Luckett concluded.

Luckett estimates repairs to stabilize it will run $93,000.

Tony Dennis, owner of Dennis Bros.

Shoe Repair across the street from the auditorium, said he recalls the building as a popular nightclub. “It was one of the hottest spots on the block,” said Dennis, whose family opened its shoe repair shop at 325 North Farish Street in 1938.

In other times, the building served as a community gathering place and may have been a furniture store at one time.

Eric Resiman with the Mississippi Department of History and Archives' Architectural Division said a building's architectural significance and design are important factors in assessing whether a building in a historic district is of contributing value or marginal value. “Obviously, use as a gathering place would make it a contributing member,” Resiman said.

Contributor or not, the Palace Auditorium “needs to be pushed down,” said Dennis, who joined the family business at age 10 in 1967.

The buildings at 311 and 315 Farish Street are more dilapidated than the auditorium, engineers say.

The building at 315 North Farish, built in 1912, has a second floor and roof that could collapse at any time, said Jefferson Laird III of Laird & Smithers. It must be “carefully demolished,” as it is “subject to immediate collapse,” Laird said.

The second floor of 311 N. Farish is gone and the remainder of the circa 1948 structure “is not safe to be near,” Laird said. “It is dangerous to anyone in the area surrounding the building.”

The masonry walls of both buildings should be braced from the inside, according to Laird, who estimated the stabilization costs at $74,000.

In a report on the row of buildings at 324, 326, 328 and 330 North Farish, engineers said stabilization repairs would be about $80,230. “These are minimum repairs required to stabilize the perimeter walls,” Laird said.

“These buildings are not safe or structurally stable to go into or be near,” he warned.

Roof removals and wall bracing are needed throughout, according to Laird.

On the west side of the street, Dennis

Bros. Shoe Repair and Peaches Cafe share a building that takes in 325 to 327 North Farish. The building is functional but deteriorating. A pair of holes in the roof let in water. The ceilings of both the shoe repair shop and cafe have water damage, as do the walls. Water damage is also causing a crumbling of the concrete slab underneath the southeast corner of Dennis Bros.

Shoe Repair, Laird said.

Tony Dennis regular deals with the water leaks. “I set the buckets out,” he said, usually “eight to 10” of them.

Laird estimated repairs for 325 to 327 North Farish at $32,550.

Meanwhile, none of the buildings on the 300 block are included in the liens former Farish Street developer David Watkins has placed on the first block of building in an effort to retrieve $4.5 million he says he invested in the structures before the JRA board booted him from the project in October 2013.

Watkins “doesn't blame them for demolishing” the buildings on the 300 block, Watkins' lawyer Lance Stevens said in an email.

Stevens said Watkins has motions pending before Chancery Judge Dewayne Thomas to determine whether the liens are valid. All the briefs in the case should be filed by the end of November, Stevens said.

TED CARTER / The Mississippi Business Journal

Roof leaks are causing damage to the ceilings and walls of Dennis Bros. Shoe Repair and Peaches Cafe at 325 to 327 North Farish.

November 7, 2014

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Mississippi Business Journal

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Mississippi warns KiOR it will seek debt, interest JACKSON — Mississippi has warned biofuel maker KiOR that it could demand immediate repayment of the company's entire $69.4 million debt to the state, plus $8 million interest, if the company doesn't make its loan payment before a grace period runs out.

Marlo Dorsey, a spokeswoman for the Mississippi Development Authority, said the state sent the letter Monday.

"Due to the expiration of the forbearance period, KiOR and KiOR Columbus LLC have been advised of the State's intention to accelerate the obligations owed under their loan if no payment is made by the end of the grace period on Wednesday," Dorsey wrote in an email to The Associated Press. "MDA continues to communicate with KiOR in hopes of reaching a quick resolution and will remain vigilant with respect to the State's rights and remedies outlined in this project."

Mississippi has first claim to the assets of KiOR Columbus, the company's Mississippi subsidiary.

A spokeswoman for KiOR did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday evening.

Calling the loan could force KiOR into bankruptcy and entangle the plant in litigation, even though state officials have said their primary goal is to find a new owner for the plant, recouping as much money and as many jobs for the state as possible.

The Pasadena, Texas, company borrowed $75 million from Mississippi to build a refinery in Columbus meant to make fuel from wood chips. But the $230 million plant never worked as designed and

SPORTS BIZ

BBB/Mississippi warns of potential Egg Bowl ticket scams JACKSON — Better Business Bureau of Mississippi is warning fans to beware of potential scams by fake ticket sellers for the upcoming Egg Bowl between Mississippi State and Ole Miss. “With our state getting national attention from the success of our state’s two schools, scammers will be looking to take advantage of the excitement,� says John O’Hara, president/CEO of BBB/Mississippi. “We want to make sure consumers don’t become victims and take away from what is a truly memorable season.�

Sports fans most often get scammed buying tickets from individuals outside the stadium, on the street or through online auctions, classified ads and bulletin boards. Sports fans can get burned by purchasing counterfeit tickets or paying in advance for tickets that never arrive. The secondary market for sporting and entertainment tickets is estimated at more than $10 billion a year.

Tickets purchased for sports and entertainment events are the source of hundreds of BBB complaints by consumers nationwide.

The BBB’s database of BBB business reviews includes reputable, secondary market ticket firms that provide buyer protections, including money-back guarantees if tickets are fake. BBB accredited ticket services can be found at bbb.org.

KiOR has laid off almost all of its workers.

If payments are made regularly on the loan, no interest is charged. But Dorsey said Monday that the state will seek interest in the event of a default.

KiOR, deeply indebted and low on cash, missed a $1.8 million installment last Friday. The state had already delayed the deadline for that payment by 120 days, in exchange for a $250,000 payment. A threeday grace period on that delay expired at midnight

Wednesday.

At the same time the forbearance agreement was signed delaying the payment, KiOR hired investment bank Guggenheim Partners to sell the company or raise money.

— from staff and MBJ wire

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4 I Mississippi Business Journal I November 7, 2014

FILM

Continued from Page 1

equipment their productions require, said company President Kelly Koskella, in a press statement Tuesday.

The company will also bring its Expendable Supply Store, a hardware store of sorts for thousands of expendable items used in film, TV and video production, to Mississippi Film Studios.

“It’s going to be a real game changer for Mississippi film making,” said Rick Moore, whose companies Mad Genius Inc. and Eyevox Entertainment LLC recently acquired Mississippi Film Studios, a facility originally built for the 1996 movie “A Time To Kill.”

“Up to now we have the biggest inventory of grips and electric lighting, but it is not enough,” Moore said.

With Hollywood Rentals, he added, “All of our lighting needs are going to be right there at the film studio, and we will be able to help production in other areas

Ecoluxe trailers, will be available at Mississippi Film Studios.

“They provide dressing rooms, grip trucks, everything… They are a wonderful company when it comes to providing rolling stock,” Moore said.

Andre Champagne, CEO of the 7year-old Hollywood Trucks, said the “tremendous growth” of the film industry in Mississippi and the rest of the Southern region led him to expand to Canton.

Mississippi is Hollywood Trucks’ second expansion this year. It expanded into Georgia in May in a partnership with Pinewood Atlanta Studios.

Moore said the new partnerships are significant steps toward his goal of making Mississippi the go-to-place for film production. “When I took over Mississippi Film Studios one of my major goals was to help Mississippi with its film production infrastructure. My goal is to bring in industry leaders,” he said.

The feature film “Same Kind of Dif-

“It’s going to be a real game changer for Mississippi film making. Up to now, we have the biggest inventory of grips and electric lighting, but it is not enough.”

— Rick Moore, whose companies Mad Genius Inc. and Eyevox Entertainment LLC recently acquired Mississippi Film Studios

as well….We are talking about a lot of movies coming to town.”

Hollywood Rentals’ announcement follows the mid October announcement

by New Orleans-based Hollywood Trucks that it would establish a Mississippi presence at the 43,000-square-foot Mississippi Film Studios, home to a sound studio and production offices on a six-acre campus, In a synergy of sorts, Hollywood Trucks can transport the production equipment, lighting and grip products, power generators and production vehicles Hollywood Rentals provides.

The privately owned company runs a 400-unit fleet of more than 40 types of trucks, trailers and specialty production equipment. Last year it introduced its Ecoluxe line of high-end advanced talent trailers that the company says quickly became in demand by A-list stars filming in Louisiana.

The entire fleet, including the new

ference as Me” has been in production at the Cantons studios since September.

Another feature film, “Battlecreek,” is also in production in Metro Jackson.

The VisitMissisippi Division of Tourism of which the Film Office is part reports that so far in 2014, direct spending by productions filming in Mississippi is from $70 million to $80 million An estimated 30 percent goes into pay checks for Mississippians, the Division of Tourism says.

The film industry will account for $21 million to $24 million in wages to Mississippi workers, it adds.

Wade Emling, Film Office director, said that while the arrival of companies such as Hollywood Rentals may create only a few dozen direct jobs, “the number of jobs it will support, as we continue to grow the film industry because of this important confluence of infrastructure and services, will be in the thousands.”

FRACKING

A long-established hierarchy gives drinking water “foremost” priority, he noted. “Industry and agricultural are next and fairly equal” in usage priority.

Harrell said the MDEQ is confident “that with reuse and purpose. It provides oil and gas companies a much recycling there is ample water for all users,” including the needed resource and helps communities to dispose of deep-ground fracking companies. treated effluent, said Michael Caples, a Butler Snow Andrew Whitehurst, water policy director for the attorney who is helping Amite and Wilkinson counties conservation group Gulf Restoration Network, said it is plan for the water district. good to see a water-use plan that lessens the burden on Two other benefits noted by Caples: Providing the waste water will generate money for road construction surface and groundwater resources. “Using recycled water is always better than taking it out of the streams and other and repairs in the region while helping to reduce the number of tanker trucks carrying water to and from the resources,” he said.

The new water district would line the holding ponds to wells. Though Mississippi has a number of specialprevent seepage into the water table, said Butler Snow's purpose water districts, the Amite-Wilkinson water Caples.

The water would be fully contained in the ponds district would be the first in the nation to exclusively and would have no discharge points, according to Caples. serve hydraulic fracturing operations. “This will be the This makes the ponds less of a concern than the 85first time the public has tried to come up with a solution for water for shell fracturing,” Caples said. “All the other acre reservoir employed in Meridian's furnishing of places it has been left up to the oil companies. It's a way treated effluent to the Kemper plant, Whitehurst said. “If the ponds are built not to discharge and are lined, the for the public to get involved and to keep funneling the post- treatment water from the sewer plants should money into Mississippi.” stay in the ponds and not be a problem. The ponds will Money the district generates will go to the budgets of the two counties to help maintain roads and bridges that also be much smaller.”

In the meantime, with surface water, groundwater and will be used heavily once commercial fracking operations recycled water the remaining options for fracking begin in earnest in Southwest Mississippi, a region operations, the Gulf Restoration Network wants to see considered the sweet spot for the billions of barrels of oil further signs the Department of Environmental Quality is and natural gas deposits within the Tuscaloosa Marine going “be protective of groundwater,” Whitehurst said.

Shale, or TMS, reserve.

“We'll see. Do they really seem to have a plan or are they Beyond furnishing the treated waste water, the district just doing all of this ad hoc?” will identify surface water resources drilling companies Caples said the plan is to use existing ponds, which have can use, Caples said.

“Right now they are having a hard time sourcing water to be lined, or to put in new ponds. “The plan is to build centrally located storage areas and have distribution pipes for development of the TMS,” he noted.

Without an inexpensive – and reliable – source of water, that go to the various fields being developed,” he said.

The goal is to get the water closer to the wells. “They the TMS play may never take off, both industry experts can use temporary pipes to pump” the recycled water the and regulators have said. remaining two or three miles to the wells, Caples added.

If approved by the board of supervisors of the Any reduction in the trucking of water is a positive for neighboring counties, the water district effort would begin not only the drillers but the people living in the region as with preparation of a water management plan. “It will look well, Caples noted. at where the water resources are available for shell Some wells use 12 million to 15 million gallons of water a fracturing, whether it's surface water from lakes, the day. A truck can haul only 6,000 gallons at a time, he said.

Mississippi River or flowing streams,” Caples said.

“You are talking about 300 or 400 truckloads to dispose He emphasized the district would have no role in of water from one well.” allocating water for deep-ground fracking. It could, The water district will need a lot of capital at start however, seek water controlled by municipalities and up and will go to the bond market to get it. “The rural water services, the Associated Press reported in a beauty of this is that we can negotiate these contracts recent story. with the oil companies that they are going to buy Allocation is left up to the Mississippi Department of water from us,” Caples said. “We can take those Environmental Quality, or MDEQ. “We're still working with the companies” on water sourcing and allocations, contracts to the bond market.”

Caples said the yet-to-be-created district is still at least said Richard Harrell, director of MDEQ's Office of six to nine months away from selling bonds.

Pollution Control, the office charged with issuing water“We're just planning and exploring,” he said, and use permits.

Surface water has been the primary source for fracking emphasized no tax dollars are to be used.

Wilkinson County Chancery Clerk Thomas Tolliver is operations, according to Harrell. “They have been coming enthusiastic about the potential of a water district to spur to us for water-resource draw permits,” he said of TMS commercial development of the Tuscaloosa Marine Shell well operators which include Encana Oil and Gas and region. He also welcomes its potential to cut down on Goodrich Petroleum.

“As the play grows,” Harrell said, “we don't expect there truck traffic and to generate money to maintain the roads will be enough surface water to supply all of their needs.” and bridges that will be put under tremulous stress once the oil and natural gas production takes off.

Once that occurs, drillers will turn to below- ground “I see it as a win-win,” said Tolliver, who doubles as water, Harrell said, and added MDEQ has already received president of the Wilkinson County Industrial permit requests for groundwater sourcing.

Development Authority.

MDEQ also will decide whether Amite and Wilkinson Oil and natural gas consultant Charlotte Batson, counties can create their water district. The counties must principal of Batson & Company, called the water district submit a plan to the MDEQ Commission detailing how strategy and the assistance it could lend to development they plan to operate the district within the MDEQ’s of the TMS “incredibly creative and far-sighted.” regulatory framework.

She said she has not spoken directly to oil company Unlike some states, Mississippi citizens own all water executives about the plan but has received reports that resources and give responsibility to the MDEQ for they are “on board.” allocating their use, Harrell said.

Continued from Page 1

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

Website: www.msbusiness.com November 7, 2014 Volume 36, Number 45

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

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

OTHER VIEWS

Bottom line: Fully fund public schools statewide

T

wo high-visibility sessions involving information and policy positions about public education attracted sizable audiences in Northeast Mississippi this week, signaling the start in barely more than two months of the 2015 legislative session on Jan. 6 – and state elections later next year.

Education meetings almost always draw a crowd because public schools in our state enroll in 163 districts 490,619 students.

Private schools – independent or in some way religiously affiliated – have about 50,000 students.

The Eyes on Education Forum on Tues-

day night at the Lee County Library drew a bipartisan group of legislators who managed to not throw things but clearly have differences that will show up again during education debates.

The enrollment figures offer compelling persuasion that support for public schools should not be the province of one political party or faction. The larger mass of studentaged Mississippians will remain in public schools which must serve them all.

Those students, from pre-kindergarten through grade 12, should be defined by educational need and potential, with the state’s resources directed toward better and more

effective support of all public schools.

The Parents’ Campaign, a private-sector school advocacy organization, doesn’t relent in its drumbeat for more funding – adequate funding – for public schools. Nancy Loome, who heads the organization, said in two recent email postings that state support for public education has declined since the economic crisis of 2008 despite the state budget having increased by $2.2 billion: » This year’s appropriation for the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, includSee VIEWS, Page 7

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

» THE OUTSIDE WORLD

» ANALYSIS

Water utilities sue over domestic violence rule

MELISSA KILLINGSWORTH Sr. Account Executive

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

T

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

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

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he Mississippi Rural Water Association has sued the state Public Service Commission in federal court, claiming the commission overstepped its authority and conflicted with federal law when it required a 60-day delay in utility deposits for domestic violence victims.

The suit, filed last Friday in U.S. District Court in Jackson by the association, asks U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan III to block the rule and order the commission to pay damages and court costs. It's the latest in a series of clashes between the commission and nonprofit water and electrical utilities.

Northern District Commissioner Brandon Presley, a Democrat who pushed for the waiver, calls the lawsuit frivolous.

"They ought to be ashamed of themselves," Presley said Friday. "I don't think their customers would approve of their money being spent like this."

The association, with more than 1,000 member utilities statewide, says a 1961 federal law bars states and localities from doing anything to harm the finances of water utilities that owe money to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development program.

"The losses sustained by the water associations, as a result of the new proposed rule, will necessarily be borne by each individual member of the rural water association since the cost of water service will probably increase as a result of the waivers," the suit states.

The association also argues that the rule breaks state law that says the Public Service Commission can't regulate the rates or internal affairs of a water association, electrical cooperative or municipal utility.

The commission ruled that a deposit isn't a rate, but See WATER, Page 7

PERSPECTIVE

November 7, 2014 I Mississippi Business Journal

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MISSISSIPPI

» RICKY NOBILE

3 firms cited on no-call rules, fined $725,000 JACKSON — The Mississippi Public Service Commission has fined three two companies for alleged violations of the state's no-call law.

Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to enter default judgments against Financial Knowledge Network, HME Providers and Fountain of Youth Bathtubs.

Financial Knowledge Network of Wyoming, James Thomas Graham of Florida and associated companies are alleged to have violated Mississippi's law against unauthorized telephone solicitation and failed to register as telephone solicitors. The commission cited 136 violations in 2010 and 2011 and fined the company the maximum $5,000 for each violation, a total of $680,000.

Medical equipment dealer HME Providers of Florida is alleged to have committed six violations in 2012 and was fined $30,000.

Fountain of Youth Bathrooms of Florida is alleged to have committed three violations in 2013 and was fined $15,000.

VIEWS

»INSIDE MISSISSIPPI

Super wealthy shape our politics

F

orty-two super wealthy individuals gave $200 million to super PACs to “shape” midterm elections, according to USA Today. That was nearly one-third of the $615 million accumulated by all super PACs for the 2014 elections.

Most of this money sought to “shape” contests between Republicans and Democrats. But some went to “shape” races between incumbent Republicans and Republican challengers.

About $9 million was used to “shape” the bitter battle between challenger Chris McDaniel and incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran. Hardly any super PAC money flowed into the state to “shape” this week’s contest between Democratic challenger Travis Childers and Cochran.

Already super PACs have begun to raise millions upon millions of dollars to “shape” the 2016 presidential primaries and general election.

How the super wealthy use their super PACs to “shape” elections to suit their interests has become big business.

There are the media firms that produce TV spots. There are talented direct mail firms that can use your demographic information and voting history to tailor messages just for you. There are robo-call firms that send tailored messages to your home phones. But these sorts of firms have been around for years.

Today the super wealthy also rely on messaging firms with talented staffs and sophisticated data and polling systems who focus everyday on crafting messages that reach you through bloggers, political subgroups, Tweets, Facebook, and so on.

Super PACs hire influence leaders, like a Carl Rove, who influence networks of talking heads and political junkies to get their messages out.

Shaping elections is about shaping your beliefs about issues and candidates to suit the interests of the super wealthy who fund the super PACs. Bill Crawford And, what is the chief tactic used to shape your beliefs?

Fear, fear that the other side is taking or will take something away from you – a benefit or a freedom. They use fear to drive your emotions so that you come to dislike or preferably hate the other side.

Think about it.

Do you strongly dislike or hate liberals or the tea party?

How about immigrants? Do you hate Obama? Or Ted Cruz?

Or big government? Or big business?

It’s one thing to disagree, it’s quite another to dislike or hate.

One is rational, the other emotional.

The dysfunction of government in Washington appears to be driven by more than disagreement, there has always been disagreement. Today Washington seems driven by more intense dislike and hate within the base electorate, much of it “shaped” by the super wealthy.

What a twisted situation, especially for a largely Christian state like Mississippi where love your neighbor and your enemy is preached.

So, do you let your politics be “shaped” by the fear/dislike/hate mongers or something more benevolent, like good will? Something to think about as our bitter election experience ends.

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

Continued from Page 6

ing the teacher pay raise, is $50 million less than the FY08 MAEP appropriation. » This year’s total K-12 appropriation is $3.5 million less than the FY08 total K-12 appropriation. » The Legislature increased its own budget by 17 percent. » In FY08, K-12 made up 28 percent of the state budget; now, FY15, it is 23 percent.

The most important job of our Legislature is to figure out how to provide full school funding. Priorities must begin with education, which empowers progress and prosperity.

All schools need excellence, but public schools Pre K-12 must remain the foundational priority of state government.

Private education in the U.S. has thrived for centuries.

Indeed, private education has always been an alternative choice in the era of universal public schools, and it is fundamentally different – and financially separate.

Mississippi, less than any other state, can’t afford to divert public money toward private schools for any reason.

— Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

WATER

Continued from Page 6

Jim Herring, the lawyer for the water association, has said that definition is too narrow. He points to a state law that says a rate is basically any monetary charge levied by a utility.

The suit attacks Presley in particular, saying his statements show he improperly prejudged the matter.

All three commission members voted for the rule.

The suit says a member of the Public Utilities Staff, a separate agency, told the association that the waiver, because it's expected to benefit few people, is "more of a public relations program than anything else."

The commission's actions were also attacked on other grounds, with the suit saying the economic impact statement required in a state rulemaking process "totally fails to comply with the requirements" and that proper public notice wasn't given after the proposal was changed.

— JEFF AMY, The Associated Press

PERSPECTIVE

8 I Mississippi Business Journal I November 7, 2014 »HEALTHCARE AND POLITICS

Do officials have power to prevent spread of Ebola? everal Ebola cases have recently been confirmed in the United States. Several persons who were later confirmed to have Ebola traveled freely to and within the United States, including by air and other forms of mass transit, before being admitted for treatment. Maine authorities failed at attempting to quarantine a nurse returning from a West African Ebola relief mission. These events have left many wondering what power and responsibilities Mississippi authorities have to control the spread of Ebola, should a case ever be found or suspected here.

Mississippi Code § 41-23-5 provides broad quarantine powers to the State Department of Health, empowering it “to establish, maintain and enforce isolation and quarantine, and in pursuance thereof, to exercise such physical control over property and individuals as the department may find necessary for the protection of the public health. The State Department of Health is further authorized and empowered to require the temporary detainment of individuals for disease control purposes based

S

upon violation of any order of the State Health Officer.” The statute further gives department investigators general arrest powers, and directs all other law enforcement officers to assist in the enforcement of

provide that it is the duty of the local health department to impose restrictions on persons with a communicable disease, including contacts of persons with a communicable disease. Where a Class 1

Mississippi Department of Health rules provide that it is the duty of the local health department to impose restrictions on persons with a communicable disease, including contacts of persons with a communicable disease. Where a Class 1 viral hemorrhagic fever like Ebola is involved, Health Department rules provide that the local health officer shall, within 24 hours of first knowledge or suspicion, conduct an investigation and provide reasonable disease control measures to minimize the danger of dissemination of the disease. quarantine and isolation orders of the State Health Officer.

Mississippi Department of Health rules

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viral hemorrhagic fever like Ebola is involved, Health Department rules provide that the local health officer shall, within 24 hours of first knowledge or suspicion, conduct an investigation and provide reasonable disease control measures to minimize the danger of dissemination of the disease.

Health Department rules further empower the local health officer to isolate any person suspected of suffering from a communicable disease (including Ebola). This power to isolate also extends to any person who has had contact with a person suspected of suffering from Ebola. If the disease sufferer or contact refuses to submit to isolation, the local health officer is required to prosecute an action at law to compel isolation.

Further, under Mississippi Department of Health rules, physicians, pathologists, nurse practitioners, coroners, and lab direc-

tors are required to report any Ebola case – and even a susTrey Dellinger pected Ebola case – to the Mississippi Department of Health within 24 hours of the first knowledge or suspicion. Failure to report under this rule is a crime.

Interestingly, Mississippi Department of Health rules also require public and private school superintendents, grocers or restaurateurs, who “know or suspect” that one of their students, employees or customers has a disease “transmissible under the conditions prevailing in that institution,” shall exclude the affected person from their school or business until the affected person has been cleared by the local health officer as being non-infectious. Again, failure to do so is a crime. Whether Ebola would constitute a disease “transmissible under the conditions prevailing in that institution” would likely depend on the degree of physical contact involved and the stage of the disease. It should be noted that even a suspicion that the affected person is contagious is sufficient to trigger the duty to exclude.

Of course, each of these Mississippi statutes and rules is subject to due process limitations under the United States Constitution. The United States Supreme Court has held that States, in the exercise of their traditional police powers, may confine individuals to prevent the spread of communicable disease. However, that court has also recognized a constitutionally protected right to travel. Accordingly, isolation or quarantine orders that are found to be arbitrary, oppressive and unreasonable likely would not survive constitutional challenge.

Trey C. Dellinger, an attorney and Member of Wells, Marble & Hurst, PLLC, lives in Madison.

November 7, 2014

ELECTION HIGHLIGHTS TOP OF THE TICKET SENATE Republican U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran won a seventh term after a campaign marred by allegations of voting irregularities in the June 24 GOP primary runoff. Cochran defeated tea-party backed state Sen. Chris McDaniel in the runoff, but McDaniel filed suit in state court seeking to have the results overturned or a new election ordered. After a judge dismissed his case, McDaniel appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court, which ruled in Cochran's favor.

McDaniel has not conceded. Cochran defeated Democrat Travis Childers, a former U.S. House member, and the Reform Party's Shawn O'Hara.

IN THE HOUSE 1st DISTRICT Republican incumbent Alan Nunnelee of Tupelo defeated three challengers in the north Mississippi district. The 56-year-old Nunnelee is recovering from a stroke he suffered in June while undergoing surgery to remove a brain tumor. His challengers were Democrat Ron Dickey of Horn Lake, Libertarian Danny Bedwell of Columbus and the Reform Party's Lajena Walley.

2nd DISTRICT Bennie Thompson of Bolton, the only Democrat in Mississippi's House delegation, easily defeated two challengers. Thompson, now 66, was first elected in 1993 in a district that encompasses the Delta and most of the capital city of Jackson. He faces independent Troy Ray and the Reform Party's Shelley Shoemake.

3rd DISTRICT Republican incumbent Gregg Harper of Pearl defeated three challengers. The 58-year-old Harper represents a district that cuts diagonally across Mississippi, from the Louisiana line near Natchez, eastward to the Alabama line near Starkville. He faced Democrat Douglas MacArthur "Doug" Magee, independent Roger Gerrard and the Reform Party's Barbara Dale Washer.

4th DISTRICT In a south Mississippi district that stretches down to the Gulf Coast, Republican incumbent Steve Palazzo of Biloxi won re-election against Democrat Matt Moore, independent Cindy Burleson, the Reform Party's Eli Jackson, independent Ed Reich and Libertarian Joey Robinson. Palazzo, now 44, unseated Democrat Gene Taylor in 2010.

ELSEWHERE RIGHT TO HUNT — YES Mississippians voted to enshrine hunting and fishing rights in the state constitution. The issue was placed on the ballot at the urging of hunting groups and lawmakers concerned about animal rights groups' campaigns in other parts of the country against hunting game. Animal rights groups said there is no assault underway on hunting and fishing, but some sportsmen and lawmakers weren't convinced.

— from staff and MBJ wire services

I

Mississippi Business Journal

I

9

FROM THE GROUND UP

Using life cycle charts to analyze your business and plan your future

L

ife cycle charts can help your business or organization identify its strengths and weaknesses and plan the future.

Life cycles are commonly associated with products. In Marketing 101 students are introduced to product life cycles. They learn about the stages of the product life cycle: Growth, stability, decline and renewal. For example, the disposable camera is a product that came along and created a new sub-market, a camera that allowed the taking of photographs, only to be discarded at the photo developer's shop. Afterwards dropping off the camera the customer returned to the photo shop and picked up photographs. Sales of disposable cameras grew exponentially in their first few years of existence. They were in the growth cycle.

Eventually, sales leveled off and remained relatively constant during the stability cycle. That lasted awhile until smaller cameras that could be attached to computers came along. The disposable camera then began to enter the decline stage as sales decreased. Nowadays, smartphones have built-in cameras that have made disposable cameras all but obsolete. If disposable cameras come back as a popular consumer item they will enter the renewal stage and go through the product life cycle again. That will probably not happen. They will more likely go the way of buggy whips. Still around in very limited quantities.

Companies go through life cycles as well. Since we are on the subject of cameras, the most well-known camera company of all time is useful to consider. Kodak also had a period of growth, stability, decline and renewal. Whether Kodak will ever reach the pinnacle of its glory days is doubtful as it struggles to renew itself.

Using a life cycle chart, such as the one illustrated here, can be an extremely useful tool for analyzing your business or for discussion of your business, say at a staff or employee meeting. The first step is to introduce your employees to the concept of a life cycle and give a brief overview of its use. Then ask each employee to give their opinion on where the company is located on the life cycle. Is the company still growing? Has it grown to a point where it has the highest market share it will probably have? Have times been a little tough and things have begun going downhill?

These questions are a good discussion starter. You might want to have a poster or large paper and

easel and ask each employee to place some kind of mark on the spot on the life cycle where they believe that the company currently stands.

Afterwards, there could be a good discussion about the future of the company.

Life cycle charts are not just for products or businesses or organizations. They can also be used to analyze neighborhoods, communities and even individual selves. The chart depicted here is from a recent chamber of commerce leadership retreat at which participants were asked to consider where their city might be located on the life cycle chart.

They were asked to place a dot on the space that represented their opinion. As can be seen, most of the participants believe that their community is still

growing or is in the early stage of stability. What is so interesting about this particular community is that only a few years earlier the same chamber of commerce leadership retreat saw (different) participants opine that the community was in the latter stages of stability or even the early stages of decline. Thus, the use of a life cycle chart was a good way to measure how the community was perceived at different points in time. It also provided a barometer for community leaders who could then take appropriate actions.

By the way, there is not set amount of time for each stage. The growth stage might last for a few months or even many years. Likewise for the other stages.

So, what are the characteristics of each stage?

Obviously, it depends on what the chart is being used to evaluate. The most common measurement for a business would most likely be sales. For an

Phil Hardwick association, the number of members might be the best measure. For a library, it might be number of patrons or number of checkouts. For nonprofit organizations that provide a service, the number of users or participants might be the chosen indicator. In the neighborhood life cycle, the percentage of residences occupied by owners is often used as an indicator. Also, there does not need to be – indeed should not be – only one indicator. When considering which stage a community might be on the chart it is certainly appropriate to measure things such as population, number of business, permit applications, etc.

After it is determined where it appears that the business or organization is located on the chart the

future planning should begin based on where it appears the business is heading and how long it will remain in that stage. One way to visualize that would be to bring forth another life cycle chart and ask where the business will be on the chart five years from now.

Once the current state of affairs is determined then it is time for envisioning the future and setting goals. All of this is one technique to begin the discussion and analysis of the current situation and what the future might hold.

Happy charting.

» Phil Hardwick is a regular Mississippi Business Journal columnist and CEO of The Hardwick Company, LLC, which provides strategic planning facilitation and leadership training services. His email is phil@philhardwick.com and he’s on the web at www.philhardwick.com.

10 I Mississippi Business Journal I November 7, 2014 EDUCATION/CONSTRUCTION

W. Carey breaks ground for new men’s dormitory HATTIESBURG — William Carey University has broken ground for a new men’s residence hall.

The new building will adjoin Davis Hall, a women’s residence hall completed in 2013, and will be behind Braswell Hall on the south end of the Hattiesburg campus. It will be directly across from the Fail Softball Field.

The three-story building will alleviate a severe housing crunch at the university. It will house approximately 100 male residents in 50 rooms, each with a private bathroom. The residence hall is expected to be ready for occupancy in August 2015.

During the groundbreaking, Dr. Tommy King, WCU president, recognized guests, including members of the WCU Board of Trustees and representatives from the architect, Landry and Lewis, and the general contractor, Larry J. Sumrall Contractors. He spoke to the growth of the university, which has led to a need for the new building.

HEALTH CARE

Apartments receive first tax credit under Bryant’s Health Care Zone initiative BATESVILLE — Gov. Phil Bryant and local officials have cut the ribbon on the newly-renovated Skyview Apartments in Batesville.

It represents the first development to open its doors that received a special award of Housing Tax Credits under the Governor’s Health Care Zone initiative.

Bryant said. “This is exactly the type of project we envisioned when we asked developers to submit these health care master plans, and I know this is only the first success story of many to come around Mississippi. These developments will provide workforce housing for families to raise their children in a safe place and pursue the American dream.”

The redevelopment breathes new life into an aging development and offers better living conditions for the residents, said Rick Wishcamper, president of the Wishrock Development Group. “We’re in the business of taking community liabilities and turning them into community assets,” Wishcamper continued.

“We do that through the tax credit program and a range of partnerships.

Through this rehabilitation, we will require fewer resources from the city and

county while paying more in property taxes than this development has paid in a long time. It’s a win for the residents, the city of Batesville and for the developers and our partners.”

“The Mississippi Home Corporation is proud to partner with Governor Bryant on his Health Care Zone initiative and with our developer partners to provide much-needed housing through the tax credit program,” said Dianne Bolen, executive director of MHC. “These public/private partnerships serve to change lives in the community, and we hope Skyview will serve as a catalyst for change and be the beginning of great things for Batesville.”

— from staff and MBJ wire services

EDUCATION

Rust College honored with Freedom Trail marker HOLLY SPRINGS — The role of Rust College students during the Civil Rights era has been commemorated with a marker on the Mississippi Freedom Trail.

The unveiling will take place across from the main entrance to the Rust College campus.

The Mississippi Freedom Trail was launched in 2011 during the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Riders. Its mission is to commemorate the people and places of the Civil Rights era.

The Rust College marker recognizes the activism of its students during the 1960s, which included boycotting the segregated Holly Theater, assisting with voter registration in the region, and boycotting the State Capitol.

BANKING

Community Bank breaks ground for new office BRANDON — Community Bank has broken ground for its newest construction project.

The site of new full-service bank office is located at 1871 Spillway Road, next door to the Fresh Market Café.

Projected completion date is scheduled for summer of 2015. Fountain Construction Inc. based in Jackson, serves as general contractor for the project, and the architect is J Russell Perkins P.A., based in Ridgeland.

TECHNOLOGY

Venture Tech No. 26 on MBJ’s Mississippi 100 Venture Technologies of Ridgeland saw annual revenues of $146,740,000, placing it 26th on The Mississippi 100, the Mississippi Business Journal’s ranking of the largest privately held companies in the state.

— from staff and MBJ wire services

ENGINEERING

CREATIVE ECONOMY

Neel-Schaffer joins with Alabama-based firm

Bass to introduce new film ‘Mississippi I Am’ at festival

JACKSON — Neel-Schaffer Inc. is joining forces with Almon Associates of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to form a larger, more versatile engineering and planning firm to better serve clients throughout Alabama. Almon Associates was founded in 1956 in Tuscaloosa.

“I am so pleased to announce that Almon Associates has joined with Neel-Schaffer,” said Hibbett Neel, Neel-Schaffer’s president and CEO. “Our partnership with Almon Associates allows us to capitalize on the strengths of both firms. Since 1956, Almon Associates has provided quality engineering, and this strategic alliance will give us a combined workforce of 450 employees.”

Founded in 1983 by Hibbett Neel and Gorman Schaffer, Neel-Schaffer is a multi-disciplined engineering and planning firm based in Jackson, Mississippi. With 37 offices and locations in nine states, Neel-Schaffer is one of the largest privately owned engineering firms in the South. The merger means Neel-Schaffer has 60 employees who live and work in Alabama, including 20 Professional Engineers and four Professional Land Surveyors.

Adding a Tuscaloosa office gives Neel-Schaffer four locations in Alabama, including Birmingham, Hoover, and Mobile.

“This adds depth and breadth to our Alabama operations and will allow us to better serve our clients,” said Chris Sellers, a Neel-Schaffer vice president who oversees the firm’s Alabama operations. “Almon Associates has some unique disciplines that Neel-Schaffer does not offer, and that will continue to strengthen our services.”

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

Leading Edge sentenced in Delta airport case GREENVILLE — Leading Edge Aviation Services

PEARL — Mississippi native Lance Bass will be coming home on Nov. 8 to participate in the Mississippi International Film Festival (MIFF) at the Tinseltown Cinema in Pearl.

At 7 p.m. he will introduce his documentary film, “Mississippi I Am,” and receive recognition from the state of Mississippi as part of its “Year of the Creative Economy: Mississippi Homecoming” celebration.

Gov. Phil Bryant declared 2014 the Year of the Creative Economy, a celebration of the creative arts that have a significant impact on the Mississippi state economy. Events throughout the year highlight the state’s vast talents in areas such as music, the culinary and visual arts, and literature.

“Bringing Lance in this year is the highlight of my work with the Mississippi International Film Festival so far,” said MIFF founder Edward Saint Pe’. “He is a great ambassador for our state, a pop star of the first rank on the national and international stage, and a gentleman. I know he loves Mississippi and it means so much to him that the state is honoring him this year. He’s conquered the pop music world and now he’s entering the film world. He’s world-class — and a Mississippian.”

Bass was born in Laurel, and grew up in Ellisville and Clinton. He rose to fame in the 1990s as the bass singer of boy band ‘NSYNC, which sold more than 50 million albums together.

Films at the MIFF begin on Nov, 8 at 11 a.m. and run back-to-back until midnight. Admission for the day is $6. The Jerry Katz Acting Workshop will take place on Saturday at 1 pm and 3 pm, with a cost of $10 per person.

For more information about the MIFF, visit www.msfilm.org, or contact Saint Pe’ at edward@weathervision.com. Learn more about “Mississippi I Am” at www.mississippiiam.com and download the film on iTunes.

— from staff and MBJ wire services Inc., a corporation headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge Glen Davidson, in Aberdeen following a guilty plea to one felony count of treating, storing or disposing of hazardous waste without a permit at Leading Edge’s now shuttered Greenville facility.

Leading Edge operated a commercial aircraft painting facility at Greenville’s Mid-Delta Regional Airport until mid-2013. The process of stripping paint from aircraft in preparation for repainting generated large volumes of hazardous wastes that Leading Edge was required to properly manage. However, an investigation by the government revealed that from

April 23, 2010, to May 16, 2010, Leading Edge failed to properly manage its hazardous wastes when it stored them in an open pit without a permit.

Davidson sentenced Leading Edge to pay a criminal fine in the amount of $700,000. Leading Edge will pay a separate $275,000 civil penalty to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and a $25,000 community service payment to the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials, a non-profit corporation. Leading Edge was also ordered to serve a term of probation of 12 months.

— from staff and MBJ wire services

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

SPECIAL REPORT

SPORTS BUSINESS CHARITY

SFC benefits Children’s Heart Center at Batson » The tournament hopes to have a record-breaking year where it comes to giving to its charity in 2014

F

our years ago, there was no one in the state of Mississippi to care for babies and children born with congenital heart disease. Patients had to leave the state and travel all over the country for the care they needed. Sometimes these children would be away from home for weeks, or even months to get care.

Now, about 500 babies and children a year receive treatment at the Children’s Heart Center at Batson Children’s Hospital in Jackson.

In 2010, Dr. Jorge Salazar, chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery and co-director of the Children’s Heart Center, came to Jackson from Houston, Texas, to address the state’s growing problem. Since then, he has helped the hospital build a team of hundreds of individuals who bring first-class pediatric care and hope to Mississippi families.

“It’s really exciting to have had such need and for everyone to really rally around this program that now not only takes care of all of Mississippi, but does a really darn good Woody Austin, the 2013 Sanderson Farms Championships winner, poses with two children from the Batson Children’s Hospital in Jackson job of it,” Salazar said.

The Sanderson Farms Championship, part of the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup, and its host organization, Century After more than 67 years in the business and contin“All of these things can only be done with the support Club Charities, have been the Children’s Heart Center of Sanderson Farms and other local contributors. Their ued growth, Sanderson Farms Inc., is the only Fortune partners in growing the program. Last year the Champi- support has been invaluable in building this program,” 1000 company headquartered in Mississippi and has onship presented Friends of Children’s Hospital with she said. committed to giving back to the state by supporting its $500,000 and has its sights set on record-breaking “Mississippi is taking care of Mississippi,” Salazar added. youngest citizens. fundraising during this year’s tournament, held this week “We’re focusing on the future, which is for us to provide Joe Sanderson, CEO and chairman of the board of at The Country Club of Jackson. the very best health care available in the world right here Sanderson Farms, said, “It is my sincere pleasure to be part “The Sanderson Farms Championship has been very at home.” of something so big for the children of our state! Sandertimely and a tremendous shot in the arm for us, because However, the Children’s Heart Center has faced a dis- son Farms has donated to various charities for as long as the need is so great and the rewe’ve been in business, and it’s sources in the past have been so our duty to provide the state’s scarce,” said Salazar. It allows us children with the high-caliber fato build the infrastructure that cilities they need.” we need to make sure that this Many are unaware that profits lasts for many generations.” from PGA TOUR events beneDr. Mary Taylor, chief of Pefit non-profit organizations and diatric Critical Care and co-diraise funds for the host’s chosen — Dr. Jorge Salazar, chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery and co-director of the Children’s Heart Center charity. The Sanderson Farms rector of the Children’s Heart Center, said, “It’s really hard to Championship’s proceeds beneexplain just how complicated it is to take care of these chil- heartening number of cases in the state Mississippi. Salazar fit the Friends of Children’s Hospital, a fundraising arm dren. It takes a lot of resources and requires a lot of intense estimates that one out of every 80 children in Mississippi of Batson Children’s Hospital. training in order to care for the most complex cases.”

This year, all of the tournament’s profits will be used to is born with a congenital heart defect, compared to the one Salazar added, “In terms of the level of care and the in every 100 nationwide, as the American Heart Associa- help expand the Children’s Heart Center. number of patients that we’re seeing, we probably have tion reports.

John Lang, president of Century Club Charities, reiterone-tenth of the space, the staff, the infrastructure and the Despite these numbers, Salazar explained, “Mississippi ated the Championship’s commitment to the Heart Cenimaging we need, and so we have everything revved to the has been thought of as being No. 50 in the nation for some ter’s need. “Our success is measured by the funds we raise max all the time.” things, but we’re equal to No. 1 when it comes to children’s for Batson’s Heart Center,” he said. “We are here to raise Taylor explained that they hope to expand the Heart heart care. I think it’s particularly exciting because we’re money so that the children of Mississippi, and even the Center with 20 to 24 more beds dedicated to Cardiac achieving the same outcomes with probably 20 percent of surrounding region, have a healthcare safe haven.”

ICU, as well as a specialized imaging center. the resources that most children’s heart programs have.”

— for the MBJ

“The Sanderson Farms Championship has been very timely and a tremendous shot in the arm for us, because the need is so great and the resources in the past have been so scarce.”

12 I Mississippi Business Journal I November 7, 2014

Hole-by-hole look at Sanderson Far 1

2

3

411 yards, Par 4

418 yards, Par 4

574 yards, Par 5

A mid/short iron is typically played into a green that slopes from back to front with bunkers guarding the front.

10

The right greenside bunker is a good aiming point off the tee. Most errant tee shots find the pine trees in the right rough due to a fairway that forms a slight dogleg from right to left.

223 yards, Par 3

This green is reachable for the long hitter, but over the green produces a very challenging upand-down.

A greenside pond guards front/left side of the green and angles away from the fairway.

Play a mid-iron approach into the middle of the green — long is better than short.

The second hole is one of the strongest holes on the front nine.

The hole is shaped to play a slight left to right shot off the tee with the left fairway bunker as the target from the back tees.

11

12

554 yards, Par 5

409 yards, Par 4

The front third of this green produces the most challenging hole location.

Hole plays slightly downhill, but most misses are short, not long. Play to the leftmiddle of the green even if the hole is in the back right portion as the ball tends to naturally feed in that direction.

Source: Country Club of Jackson

The target is off the right side of the fairway bunker.

A tee shot to the right side of the fairway opens up your second shot if the attempt is to reach the green in two shots. The layup shot is a mid-iron to the left side in an effort to avoid the pond protecting the green on the right

Play the shot to the middle-right side of the green and avoid the long and/or short miss.

Bogey is a good score if a birdie putt isn’t possible.

The water tower in the background (off map) is a great aiming point for the tee shot.

4

5

191 yards, Par 3

612 yards, Par 5

Quite possibly the hardest par on the course. It requires a precise tee shot to a green which angles away from you. There is a false front with the left and back of the green sloping away. Regardless of the pin location, take aim at the left center of the green.

13 151 yards, Par 3

The second shot requires good distance control to avoid the right side fairway bunker and the pond

This tee shot should b aimed left of the fairw bunker regardless of t tee you play from.

14 584 yards, Par 5 The safest play is into the center line of the green.

The green is heavily protected and most misses come up short.

If possible play a low trajectory shot to avoid the swirling winds

Pay attention to the wind.

It tends to swirl and knock a high short iron shot down into the front bunker.

Play the second shot to a comfortable yardage from the green.

Take aim at the distant right fairway bunker off the tee.

November 7, 2014

I

Mississippi Business Journal

I

Farms Championship course at CCJ 5

6

612 yards, Par 5

482 yards, Par 4

The second shot equires good distance control o avoid the right side fairway bunker and the pond

This tee shot should be aimed left of the fairway bunker regardless of the tee you play from.

14

584 yards, Par 5 The safest play is into the center line of the green.

Play the second shot to a comfortable yardage from the green.

Take aim at the distant right fairway bunker off the tee.

Play to the heart of this shallow, slightly uphill green avoiding the “sucker pins” which are located on the edges.

The long second shot plays into a generous green which is guarded by left and right greenside bunkers.

A drive of 280 yards into the corner of the dogleg produces the clear view of the green.

15 330 yards, Par 4 The green slopes severely away from the golfer.

To attack the hole, take a tee shot over the bunker and challenge the left side of the fairway producing an easier pitch into the green.

Hit a driver as far as possible down the right side, missing the left fairway bunker.

7

8

421 yards, Par 4

403 yards, Par 4

214 yards, Par 3

The uphill, second shot plays a half a club long and is protected by bunkers.

Play into the left side of the green.

The front bunker offers an optical illusion about 30 yards from the front of the green. A tee shot short is always better than one that is long.

17

16

416 yards, Par 4

469 yards, Par 4 On the approach shot, determine the distance to the middle of the green and subtract 20 yards.

The swamp protects the entire left side of the hole and crosses the fairway about 80 yards from the green.

9 Usually, an approach shot falls short into the front greenside bunker.

Tee off with something other than a driver.

The creek on the left cuts across the middle of the fairway. Aim at the left side of the bunker to find the fairway.

Don’t challenge a back left hole location.

A tee shot that hits an overhead power line is replayed without penalty.

18 505 yards, Par 4 The second shot plays almost a full club uphill to a green protected by bunkers short right and left.

The fairway slopes from right to left, promoting a draw on the approach.

The aggressive line off the tee is to challenge the left side where the ball will run out.

The target off the tee is just right of the left fairway bunker.

The right side of the bunker on the left of the fairway is a good target.

From the back tee, at 505 yards, a big tee shot is required and should be positioned down the left side of the fairway.

Graphic by Frank Brown / The Mississippi Business Journal

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14 I Mississippi Business Journal I November 7, 2014

INSIDE THE SANDERSON FARMS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Who’s playing the CCoJ? » Here’s a look at some of the top players who will be at the PGA’s Sanderson Farms Championships at the Country Club of Jackson LAST YEAR’S CHAMPION » Woody Austin, 50; Tampa, Fla.; University of Miami; Turned pro 1986; 2013 Sanderson Farms Championship is one of four PGA Tour wins. Tore tendons and cartilage in left knee during 1987 PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament.

Injury sidelined him for two years. Worked for years as credit-union teller during offseason. Also worked in supplies department at Eckerd Drug. After falling to Davis Love III in a playoff at the 2003 MCI Heritage, said of his previous struggles: "It's just so much fun to actually be in the game again and show people that I do know how to play the game and hit quality shots. I had numerous chances, and it just wasn't my day." » Padraig Harrington, 43; Dublin, Ireland; Dublin Business College; Turned pro 1995; Winner of three majors: 2007 and 2008 British Open and 2008 PGA Championship. Has 23 wins worldwide; Member of six Ryder Cup teams; a second cousin to former NFL quarterback Joey Harrington.

Received an honorary degree from the University of St. Andrews just prior to the 2010 Open Championship. Is an ambassador for Special Olympics, R&A's Working for Golf program and Golf Ireland.

Charity is Padraig Harrington Charitable Foundation.

Also supports the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Website is padraigharrington.com. » David Duval, 42; Jacksonville, Fla.; Georgia Tech; Turned pro 1993; former No. 1 in the World. Duval won 13 PGA Tour tournaments between 1997 and 2001 and won a major title at The British Open in 2001. Worked as a Golf Channel analyst throughout the 2013-14 season and for ESPN during The Open Championship. Member of 2000 and 2001 Ryder Cup teams. David and his father, Bob, respectively, won The Players Championship and Emerald Coast Classic (Champions Tour) on the same day in 1999. Inducted into the Georgia Tech Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003. » Ben Martin, 27, Greenwood, S.C.; Clemson university; Turned Pro in 2010; Recently won his first PGA Tour tournament, the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open champion.

Cites making it to the finals of the 2009 U.S. Amateur and playing in the 2010 Masters as his biggest thrills in golf.

Biggest thrill outside golf is attending Clemson foot-

ball games … Superstitions include only marking his ball with quarters dated before 1987… Bucket list includes winning a few major championships. Charities include College Golf Fellowship and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. » Cameron Beckman, Minneapolis, Minn.; Texas Lutheran University; Turned pro 1993; Winner of 2001 Southern Farm Bureau Classic, one of his three PGA Tour wins; Thanks to an 8-under 64 in the second round of the Sanderson Farms Championship in July 2013, he worked his way into sudden-death playoff with Daniel Summerhays and Woody Austin. When he wasn't able to convert a 6-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole, settled for T2 with Summerhays after Austin birdied. » Will MacKenzie, 30, Greenville, N.C.; Turned pro 2000; 2008 Viking Classic champion; Gave up golf after his sophomore year in high school after being a top junior player and did not pick up the sport again until almost 10 years later. Inspired by Payne Stewart's 1999 U.S. Open win at Pinehurst in his home state of North Carolina. An outdoor enthusiast who snowboards and rock climbs.

Also spent some time heliboarding in Alaska. Lived out of his van in Montana for five years. Is a professional kayaker. Twitter site is @mavandnash. » David Toms, 47 ; Madison, Wisc.; Louisiana State University; Turned pro 1989; Created the David Toms Foundation in 2003. The foundation helps underprivileged, abused and abandoned children through funding programs that are designed to enhance a child's character, self-esteem and career possibilities. Foundation assisted those displaced by Hurricane Katrina, raising more $1.5 million. Since its

DETAILS

» Bobby Wyatt, Mobile, Ala; Member of University of Alabama’s 2013 and 2014 National Championship golf teams.

What: Sanderson Farms Championship When: Nov. 3-9 Where: Country Club of Jackson Tickets: sandersonfarmschampionship.com /ticket-packages Info: sandersonfarmschampionship.com or email John Lang, Director of Sales, at john@sandersonfarmschampionship.com

» Chad Campbell, 40; Andrews, Texas; University of Nevada-Las Vegas; Turned pro 1996; Won 2007 Viking Classic; 2003 Tour Championship among his four wins on the PGA Tour; Member of 2004, 2006 and 2008 Ryder Cup teams; While playing golf at UNLV, worked at a coffee shop with other teammates to earn spending money.

» Martain Laird, 41; Glasgow, Scotland; Colorado State Univ.; Turned pro in 2004; 2013 Valero Texas Open Champion is latest of his three PGA Tour wins; Played first event as a professional in his Scotland at 2009 Scottish Open, shooting 65 in the first round and finishing 10th. Has flag of home country, Scotland, on his golf belt, golf bag and golf balls.

» Carlos Sainz Jr., 28 ; Chicago, Ill.; Mississippi State University; Turned pro 2010; Won the 2013 Players Cup on the PGA Tour Canada; Hobbies include hunting, fishing, soccer, tennis and ping-pong.

» Cory Whitsett, Houston, Texas; Member of University of Alabama 2013 and 2014 National Championship golf teams.

inception, the David Toms Foundation has made more than $3.5 million in grants.

» Jonathan Randolph, 32 ; Brandon, Miss.; University of Mississippi; Turned pro 2011; No PGA Tour wins; His biggest thrill in golf was being two wins from earning a berth in the Masters at the 2011 U.S. Public Links Championship.

Favorite college team is Ole Miss, while his favorite pro teams are the Dallas Cowboys and the Milwaukee Brewers. Chose to play golf over other sports because “It is all on me, and there is no one else to blame.” He carries Smuckers Uncrustables peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in his golf bag. Earned his PGA TOUR card this year with an 18th Place Finish on the Web.com TOUR money list. » Brain Harman, 27; Savannah, Ga., University of Georgia; Turned pro 2009; First Tour win was 2014 John Deere Classic; Golf is the only thing he does left-handed. Biggest thrill outside golf is bow hunting. Twitter account is @harmanbrian. Always carries peanut butter sandwiches in his golf bag for a snack. All family members are world-class scuba divers and spear fishers.

» Lucas Glover, 34 ; Greenville, S.C.; Clemson University; Turned pro 2001; Three PGA Tour victories, including a major, the 2009 US Open Champion; Lucas was inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame in the fall 2007. Grew a beard in the Fall of 2010, which took on a life of its own. Showcased the thick growth on Tour in 2011, receiving such light-hearted comments as "Mountain Man," "Grizzly Adams" and "woolly mammoth." CBS analyst David Feherty referred to the look as something that belongs on "America's Deadliest Catch." Glover, himself, joked about the facial hair, claiming he did it to have something to clean his clubs with. » John Daly, 48, University of Arkansas; Turned pro 1987; He earned his first victory at the 1987 Missouri Open. He joined the PGA TOUR in 1991, and won the PGA Championship that same year. That earned him PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year. John won the British Open in 1995 in a playoff with Costantino Rocca at St. Andrew’s. Daly is the only eligible two-time major winner never selected to play in the Ryder Cup. Daly went on to win the Buick Invitational in 2004, and earned the PGA TOUR Comeback Player of the Year distinction that year.

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

AN MBJ FOCUS:

INSURANCE & EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

Chaney: ACA for business not all bad » Businesses are facing higher costs for Obamacare compliance in 2015

By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com

The phase-in of the highly controversial Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) continues in 2015 as businesses make plans to comply with the provisions of the act — or pay the consequences.

“It is important for businesses to prepare for this upcoming change,” said Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney. “I would suggest seeking assistance from a tax or financial professional to determine if your business is ready.”

Beginning in 2015, ACA requires large employers — generally those with 100 or more fullMike Chaney time-equivalent employees — to offer adequate health insurance coverage to full-time employees and their child dependents (under age 26) or face potential tax penalties.

“This requirement will also apply to businesses with 50-100 full-time-equivalent employees beginning in 2016,” Chaney said. “If a large employer does not offer proper coverage and any full-time employees are certified as eligible to receive a premium subsidy or cost-sharing reduction through the Health Insurance Marketplace, the employer may be penalized. This provision of the law does not necessarily offer the employee more choices, but it does require larger businesses to offer minimum

essential coverage that is affordable to eligible employees.”

Small businesses with fewer than 50 fulltime-equivalent employees are not required under the ACA to provide health insurance to their employees. While small businesses may choose to provide health insurance coverage, it is not required by law. Cheney said One, Mississippi (https://www.onemississippi.com/), the Small Business

Health Options Program (SHOP) in Mississippi, is a great option for small business owners who may be interested in providing health insurance to their employees.

It isn’t just the cost of providing coverage that concerns businesses, but the amount of time and money needed to comply with the government regulations.

“My CPA bill was twice as large this year so, yes, it impacts us,” said Jane Sanders-

Waugh, co founder and general manager, Professional Staffing Group. SandersWaugh said even though smaller companies don’t face the same mandates of providing coverage as larger companies, it is still a complex web of regulations to navigate.

“We have an expert we work with in a See

ACA, Page 17

16 I Mississippi Business Journal I November 7, 2014

INSURANCE & EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

Domestic violence and the workplace » In most cases, state, federal laws exist for employers to handle any crisis

By LYNN LOFTON mbj@msbusiness.com

Recent cases of domestic abuse in the National Football League have made the news, but the problem is not new.

Nor have businesses had to scramble to develop or adjust employee policies and penalties regarding do-

mestic violence. Members of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) say the majority of the companies they represent have policies in place.

E. Russell Turner, an attorney with Balch & Bingham and government affairs director for the Mississippi State Council of SHRM, doesn’t think many of the 1,300 SHRM members in

Mississippi have adopted any specific policies for leave related to domestic violence since most leave policies and at least two federal laws potentially provide for such leave anyway.

“The family leave act already provides leave rights for covered employers and employees whenever the employee has a serious health condition and that includes domestic violence,” he said.

“Serious health conditions include overnight inpatient visits as well as regular treatments of a continuing nature for psychological counseling and treatment. So that law (FMLA) is already on the books for covered employers and employees.”

Likewise, the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) could provide for leave rights if the domestic violence has led to PTSD or some other recognized mental impairment that affects the employee's ability to perform the essential duties of the position.

“As far as rejecting applicants convicted of domestic violence or firing them once they are hired, I suspect

that some of them already have general policies they could use and rely upon to do just that so they may not have specifically addressed domestic violence convictions as grounds for rejection or termination,” Turner said.

He adds that most employers would find ways to ensure their employees would be given the time necessary to take care of themselves under existing leave policies and laws even if there was not a specific policy in their handbook that provides for leave to be treated in connection with domestic violence.

“As such, I doubt that many employers have adopted any specific domestic violence leave provisions at this time,” he said. “There are no state laws that would specifically require Mississippi employers to grant leave rights to those subjected to domestic violence.”

The MBJ attempted to contact a another half-dozen businesses, but they did not want to comment or did

See

VIOLENCE, Page 17

Uncharted Territory For business owners the new

HEALTHCARE REFORMS

are an uncharted course.

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INSURANCE & EMPLOYEE BENEFITS ACA

Continued from Page 15

continuing education process to understand it at this point and to see how I can help my clients with it,� she said. “While it’s great for employees everywhere, it’s considered to be one of the biggest headaches for human resource managers around the nation. It will likely require additional staff or outsourcing expertise for their HR department.�

The larger the company, the more likely it will need additional staff. It can be complicated for companies with hourly employees to determine who is full time and who is part time. That can also change during the year.

Sanders-Waugh said it is not all negative. “There are opportunities for clients within the guidelines of the ACA in a certain context,� she said. “Are there groups of employees who could be used differently than in the past? Could there be 25-hour-a-

VIOLENCE

Continued from Page 16

not return calls.

Kate Kennedy, media and public affairs manager for SHRM in Washington, D.C., notes that as more states and local governments pass laws protecting the workplace rights of victims of domestic or sexual violence, employers — even those in states that have not passed such laws — should establish a written policy on domestic violence, including leave requests and related issues. “Employers should consider instituting a policy covering intimate partner violence, providing access to experts and information to assist victims, offering support through Employee Assistance Programs, providing extra employment security and granting time off when needed,� she said.

Kennedy says employers should think about what type of documentation to require before leave is to be granted. “Any policy must take into account employee privacy. Information concerning domestic violence or sexual abuse victims must be kept confidential,� she said.

She also suggests employers educate employees companywide on domestic violence, pulling resources from local domestic violence organizations, the police department and the district attorney’s office. “If the employee refuses help or denies that any abuse exists, but the employer still suspects that the employee is being abused and that the abuser might come to the workplace, the employer still has a responsibility to protect the employee and co-workers on the premises,� she said.

On the Web  SHRM’s Dealing with Violence in the Workplace Toolkit: www.shrm.org/templatestools/toolkits/pages/ dealingwithviolenceintheworkplace.aspx  SHRM research on domestic abuse: www. shrm.org/research/surveyfindings/articles/pages/shrmworkplace-impact-domestic-sexual-violence-stalking.aspx

week employees instead of 40 hour? I think it will trigger a lot of creative employment solutions. It is not all dark. A lot of good things have come out of it.

I have seen so many people helped who wouldn’t have been helped before.

Personally, I support it, but Sanders-Waugh sometimes it is hard for my stomach.�

Sanders-Waugh said like any other change, there will be growing pains to see how this is

November 7, 2014

best used by employers and employees. “In some cases, it can relieve employers from trying to put together benefits for small group of employees,� Waugh said. “Will it be a pain. Yes? Will it be costly? Yes. But in the long run, I think the benefits will emerge, such as people learning to use the resources more effectively and efficiently.�

The changes could help small firms recruit or retain valued employees. In the past, often people would stay at a job with a large company even if they didn’t like the job because it provided health insurance and other benefits.

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“If health insurance is more readily available through ACA, that certainly will help some smaller companies to recruit and keep talent,� Waugh said. “That is one of the benefits that is overlooked. I see people every day take a job they hate because they have a benefit package or a medical plan.�

While coverage can be expensive, Waugh said she hasn’t seen it is any more expensive than the “ever increasing charges� on the Blue Cross & Blue Shield (BCBS) of Mississippi plan. She has seen coverage on the state insurance exchange for a company with six employees that is as good as BCBS.

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THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATORS

November 7, 2014

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TOURISM

Half-century of memories » Christmas on Deer Creek to celebrate 50th anniversary

BY WALLY NORTHWAY wally.northway@msbusiness.com

Ask Peary Forrest if Christmas on Deer Creek in Leland was an important part of his childhood memories, and he reacts as if it’s the most leading question he’s ever heard.

“But of course,” said Forrest, who now lives in Ridgeland but was born in Leland and grew up in nearby Greenville. “We would get in the car at night, ride over to Deer Creek and look at the Christmas floats. It wasn’t Christmas if we didn’t.

“Christmas on Deer Creek is like the rest of the Delta — simple, yet beautiful. It’s memories I wouldn’t trade for anything.”

Melia Christensen, executive director of the Leland Chamber of Commerce, says she hears that all the time from people in the Delta and across the state and country. Now, she and other Leland leaders are spearheading what promises to be the biggest Christmas on Deer Creek ever as the event celebrates its 50th anniversary.

“I got here last January, and the first meeting I was in we talked about Christmas,” said Christensen. “Then, I started hearing the stories from people everywhere.

When I checked the report on our local restaurants’ sales tax, I realized we were seeing hundreds of visitors every year, but we weren’t doing enough to get them out of their car and into our shops and restaurants.

That’s what we’re trying to do this year.”

What used to be a one-weekend, kick-off event is being stretched across multiple weekends in December this year. In addition to the Christmas floats, this year’s Christmas on Deer Creek will include a bevy of firsts, including pop-up stores in downtown Leland, carriage rides, tours of homes and a commemorative pictorial postmark offered by the local U.S. Post Office.

The traditional opening night celebration will be held Saturday, Dec. 6. That night will offer “Visits with Santa” for the children and the postmark event.

Christensen said the postmark event will be similar to that offered by the USPS when it released the postage stamps honoring Muppet creator and Leland native Jim Henson in 2005. People who bring in their holiday cards and letters will receive a special, first-time Deer Creek postal station mark.

On Dec. 13, the event will offer a tour of homes, hosted by the Leland Deer Creek Garden Club (tickets will include lunch at a participating local restaurant), as well as temporary “pop-up stores” housed in vacant spaces in downtown Leland and operated by

RAY MEEKS / The Mississippi Business Journal

For a half-century now, people have been flocking to Leland to see the iconic Christmas floats on Deer Creek.

out-of-town businesses.

“I came to Clarksdale with the mission of helping strengthen and grow our downtown as well as help shine a spotlight on the Delta and blues as a whole,” said Roger Stolle, who is “popping up” his Clarksdalebased Cat Head Blues & Folk Art store in Leland. “So, when I got the call from the folks in Leland, I quickly said yes. Every town has a story to tell. I might sell something, but this is about PR, education and shining a light on a Delta downtown.”

On Dec. 20, visitors will enjoy caroling along the length of Deer Creek as well as carriage rides from the historic Thompson House, which is today a popular bed and breakfast.

Local businesses stand to gain the most from the 50th-annual Christmas on Deer Creek. The chamber is planning to decorate downtown store windows with the help of the Delta Artists Association and other local volunteers to help draw customers.

“I’m 51 years old, and I know how big a tradition this is,” said Donna Shamoun, owner of Wild Magnolias Salon in Leland.

“It’s just huge. So, we are pulling together to keep Leland strong. I think all of this, especially the pop-up stores, is going to really bring people in.”

While this year marks 50 years of the lights, decorated trees and quaint floats on Deer Creek, Leland’s attempt to draw holiday revelers stretches all the way back to the 1920s. According to Leland native and researcher Daryl Lewis, who spent decades teaching history in local schools, it was 1922 when citizens decided to offer a community Christmas tree and celebration. In 1937, decorations along Deer Creek were fea-

tured for the first time, and 10 years later the first tree along the waterway was decorated.

In 1962, the city unveiled plans for floats in Deer Creek, and 1965 marked the first year that the trees and floats were offered together.

“My take is that the early Leland residents wanted to offer the floats and decorations as a gift — a present to the people of the Delta and beyond,” Lewis said.

Christensen said, that “gift” will be bigger than ever this year.

“When you come through Leland this December, there will be no mistaking it’s Christmas,” says Christensen. “The holiday spirit will be everywhere.”

For more on this year’s Christmas on Deer Creek, call the Leland Chamber of Commerce at (662) 379-3764, or visit the website at www.lelandchamber.org.

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NEWSMAKERS

20 I Mississippi Business Journal I November 7, 2014

Community Bank taps Bass Stephen Bass has joined Community Bank in the Meridian main office. Bass was previously employed as a branch manager with a different area bank and has over nine years of experience in agriculture lending.

A Liberty native, he is a graduate of Mississippi State University with a masters in agribusiness management. Active in the community, Bass has been a resident of Meridian for Bass nine years and is the parent of two children; Madeline and Ethan.

Jones succeeding Houpt The board of directors of Medical Assurance Company of Mississippi has appointed Robert M. Jones as the company’s president and CEO. He is succeeding Michael D. Houpt, who retired after 36 years of continuous service to the company. Jones has been associated with MACM for over 27 years, but officially joined MACM as legal counsel in January 2004.

Jones Before coming to MACM, Jones was in private law practice for 26 years. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Mississippi in 1975 and his juris doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1978. While in private practice, he represented physicians and medical groups with respect to general health care, corporate, real estate and business law matters. He is a member of the American Bar Association, Mississippi Bar, Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association, American Health Lawyers Association and the American Association of Corporate Counsel.

JSU welcomes Goodheart, Ewing The Jackson State University Communications Department has some new faces, Olivia Goodheart and Jim Ewing. Goodheart, an educator and marketing, advertising and communications professional for more than 20 years, is the new director of public relations at Jackson State University. She is the former founding partner and vice president of client services of Fahrenheit Creative Group, LLC, former principle and creative director of Quicksilver Creative, both of Jackson, and creative director and owner of The Thomas Agency in Memphis. A former board member of the American Advertising Federation in Jackson, her clients have included American Heart Association, City of Jackson, City of Memphis, International Paper/Hammermill Brand, National Civil Rights Museum and the University of Mississippi/William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation, among others. Goodheart has a long association with JSU, as an instructor in the Mass Communications Department, 1982-84, after serving as director of the Journalism program at Tougaloo College. Most recently, she was president of the JSU Mass Communications Department Advisory Council. She holds a bachelor of science in Mass Communications from Jackson State, a masters in Journalism from the Ohio State University, and post graduate studies at the University of Michigan.

Ewing is media relations specialist. A former writer and editor with The Clarion-Ledger, Ewing has more

MGCCC faculty, staff honored Two Mississippi Gulf Coast Community faculty members and three staff members have received awards. Christen Duhé, director of Business Development at MGCCC’s Hospitality and Resort Management Center, was named 2014 Young Careerist of the Year by Light- Courtney house Business Professional Women.

Shelly Ford, comptroller at MGCCC, was selected as the 2014 Outstanding Business Officer Award by the Community College Business Officers (CCBO) Association.

Ford, who has worked at MGCCC for two and a half Duhé years, is an MGCCC alumna and a former Alumni Hall of Fame recipient (2011).

Instructor Dr. Madelon Gruich was named the 2014 Outstanding Community College Business Educator by the Mississippi Business Education Association during its annual conference in September. Gruich, who Ford teaches medical office technology courses at the Jefferson Davis Campus,

than two decades of experience in journalism and public relations. He is a three-time winner of the J. Oliver Emmerich Award, the Mississippi Press Association’s highest honor for commentary, and has won national Best of Gannett and regional Associated Press Media Editors honors for his writing and editing. He serves or has served on numerous state, regional and national boards of directors. Among them, he is a member of the Administrative Council (Governing Board) of the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SSARE) USDA grant program affiliated with the University of Georgia. He most recently was outreach coordinator for the fivestate Gulf South region of the National Center for Appropriate Technology which administers the ATTRA National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service.

Boyte earns nomination Bob Boyte, president/owner of Bob Boyte Honda in Brandon, has been nominated for the 2015 TIME Dealer of the Year award. Boyte is one of a select group of 55 dealer nominees from across the country who will be honored at the 98th annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention & Exposition in San Francisco, California, on Jan. 23, 2015.

Boyte, 56, earned a B.S. in biology at Mississippi College in Clinton in 1981. He received numerous academic and athletic awards throughout his schooling and was inducted into the Mississippi College Sports Hall of Fame in 2012 for baseball. Boyte started in the car business in 1983 after eloping to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with his wife, Tandy. He began to study the industry and worked his way up from salesman to

has taught at MGCCC for 15 years, three as an adjunct instructor and 12 full time. She has her bachelor's and master's degrees in business education from Mississippi College and a doctorate from the University of Southern Mississippi in instructional Gruich technology and design.

Lisa Courtney, CareerTech Department chair at MGCCC’s Perkinston Campus and business and office technology instructor, was named the 2014 Outstanding Career and Technical Business Educator by the Mississippi Business Education Association in September. Courtney has Winter worked at the college since 1977, when she began working part time in the summer as a secretary typing the Perkinston Campus Self-Study for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). She began working in a full-time capacity at the college in 1985 and will retire this year.

Dr. Gaye Winter, language arts instructor at MGCCC’s Perkinston Campus, was chosen as the Mississippi state representative for the Two Year College Association (TYCA) Southeast Chapter.

She will serve in this capacity until 2017.

general manager to vice president of variable operations and eventually to owning his own business.

When he was awarded an open point in 2005, Bob Boyte Honda was born, and now his wife and two daughters work with him.

Boyte is very involved with the Special Olympics, having served as a member since 1999 and as board member and treasurer for his state chapter of the organization. He also supports the Association of People Supporting Employment First, which works to advance employment and self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities, as well as Mississippi March of Dimes, the Salvation Army, academic and athletic programs for area high schools and colleges and various fundraisers throughout the region.

MSU’s Brown recognized Professor Michael E. "Mike" Brown, a Mississippi State University faculty member and alumnus who also is the state climatologist, has received a major honor from the National Weather Association.

Brown of the geosciences department received NWA's 2014 Public Education Award for "providing significant contributions to increase the public's weather awareness."

Brown coordinates the geosciences department's graduate program, and he is a specialist in land-surface-atmosphere interactions. Along with an MSU graduate degree in geosciences, Brown holds a bachelor's in meteorology from Western Illinois University and a doctorate in geography from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He first taught at MSU as a geosciences department graduate assistant in 1993;

his tenure-track career began as an assistant professor in 1999.

Brown, who became Mississippi's official climatologist in 2012, works to provide the public with accurate information and critical expertise in the fields of climatology and meteorology. Additionally, his office has an educational role to help enhance Mississippians' knowledge of weather and climate, their related elements and their impacts on every aspect of life.

PPSC promotes, hires Purchasing and Parts Solutions Co. Inc. has made several promotions and added a new employee. Eric Breithaupt has been promoted to inventory support manager as well as his current duties as vice president of PPSC Inc. Breithaupt has been with PPSC Inc. since its creation in 1998 and has extensive experience in all facets of our operations.

Chris Moore has been promoted to outage support manager. Moore is a six-year employee with PPSC Inc. He has risen in the ranks to this current role due to his extensive experience in inventory and outage support projects.

George Speed has been promoted to senior supply chain consultant. Speed has been an employee with PPSC Inc. for two years.

Keith May, a veteran of 24 years with Entergy, has joined the company as a supply chain consultant.

Sabanadzovic elected to committee Sead “Sejo” Sabanadzovic, a professor in the Mississippi State University Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, has been invited to join the prestigious executive committee of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses, or ICTV. Sabanadzovic was elected to the elite group of 18 international experts who serve as the leading authority on describing, identifying, naming and classifying viruses. Sabanadzovic is one of only three plant virologists on the executive committee.

This recognition is the result of Sabanadzovic’s long-term contribution to virus taxonomy initiated during his tenure in Italy and continued over the past decade at MSU. Most recently, as a member of four ICTV study groups, he contributed to classifying and naming microorganisms that belong to four families of viruses that cause disease in cultivated plants.

Sabanadzovic won the 2014 Regions Bank-MSU Division of Agriculture Forestry and Veterinary Medicine Superior Faculty Award in the international category. He helped found MSU’s plant virology program in the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station in 2004 and has since established a regional, national and international network of collaborations. International requests for him to give presentations, seminars and workshops have taken Sabanadzovic to Italy, Serbia, France, Montenegro, Costa Rica and Croatia. He also serves on the editorial boards of two peer-reviewed journals and is a reviewer for more than 20 scientific publications.

A native of Montenegro, he earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina; master’s degree from the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, Italy; and doctoral degree from the University of Bari, Italy. Before joining MSU, Sabanadzovic worked at the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari and the University of California, Davis. In addition to his research duties, Sabanadzovic teaches two courses at MSU.

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» MISSISSIPPI LEADERS by Martin Willoughby

On to trucking Miller leaves family business to lead MTA

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eadership guru Ram Charan noted, “Talent, as every leader knows, is the most essential ingredient of business success.” Good to Great author Jim Collins echoed the importance of people when he said “To build a successful organization and team you must get the right people on the bus.”

While most business leaders would agree with these statements, I have found that it is harder in reality to “walk the talk” of valuing the importance of people. One business owner told me, “My employees should just be happy they are getting a paycheck!” In contrast, visionary leaders understand the importance of people and act on it. Starbucks founder Howard Schultz is a great example of this. He recently announced that in addition to providing health insurance for part time employees, his company has partnered with Arizona State University to create a program to help his employees earn degrees for essentially no cost. He explained, “You cannot build long-term value for the shareholder, in my view, without building long-term value for your people.”

My interviewee this week, Hal Miller is one of those leaders that understands the value of people. Miller, a Jackson native, recently left his position as executive vice pres-

Up Close With ... Hal Miller Title: President, Mississippi Trucking Association First Job: ”At 13, I was assistant to the groundskeeper for Miller Transporters.”

Proudest Moment as a Leader: ”My proudest moments were seeing the people that worked with me at Millers Transporters develop into leaders. “ Hobbies/Interests: Fishing, spending time with wife, Tricia, and three sons Hal, Kennedy, William, daughter-in-law Kelli, and granddaughter Maggie.

ident of Miller Transporters Inc. to serve as president of the Mississippi Trucking Association. Miller had worked in his family business for over 30 years before joining the MTA full time. He had previously served as a board member for 22 years for the organization that serves over 320 members with a wide array of services. Miller shared with me that the trucking industry plays a vital role in the state’s economy and that 1 in 12 jobs are tied to the industry.

Miller brings a people-oriented perspec-

tive to the job. He shared, “My grandfather established a tradition of making sure people mattered in all of his decisions when he started the family business. I had the honor of working directly under two Millers, my uncle Scott and my cousin Lee. Both upheld that tradition started by my grandfather over 70 years ago. I try to make sure that plays a major role in my decision making whether it be the people employed within the association, the members, the employees of the industry as a whole as well as the

“Our industry has many wonderful stories of success and perserverance.”

Hal Miller President, Mississippi trucking Association

general public that our industry interacts with every day.” Miller emphasized that his father, Hal Miller, who spent his career as a lawyer, influenced him as well on the importance of people. He Martin Willoughby noted, “My father has a plaque in his study at home that has been there since I was a child that reminds him daily of the value of people which states ‘People are important. We are God’s gift to one another.’”

I asked Miller about making the major career shift to leave the family business. He explained, “It was very difficult to make the decision to leave my family's business as I am very proud of what Miller Transporters stands for and think very highly of all of the great people that worked with in that organization. However, being allowed to represent our industry as a whole was very exciting idea for me. Our industry has many wonderful stories of success and perseverance. The trucking industry represents the best of the best when it comes to down-toearth hard-working people that live by very strong principles. To be allowed to provide support and advocacy for this group is indeed an honor.”

I have observed first hand Miller’s passion for putting people first, and I know that he “walks the talk” like other truly great leaders. I know that the MTA and many others will benefit from this conviction and his commitment to “doing the right thing.”

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

Uncovering how habits drive our daily lives

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» The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

By Charles Duhigg Published by Random House $16.00 softback

ow much of what you do in your day-to-day life is driven by habit? I bet it’s more than you think. Journalist Charles Duhigg’s excellent book, The Power of Habit, explores the role of habit in our lives, in society, and in business. It’s an eye-opening look at the fact that, as he points out early in the book, one 2006 study found that more than 40 percent of the actions people engage in everyday are driven not by active decision-making, but by habit.

Duhigg defines “habits” as “choices that all of us deliberately make at some point, and then stop thinking about but continue doing, often every day.” It’s not hard to identify them in our lives – just think about your morning routine, for instance.

Do you start your day with coffee each morning at roughly the same time? Do you read the paper or perhaps check your email? Or, what about later at work? Do you break for a midafternoon snack at about the same time each day? When you get home after work, do you lace up your running shoes or turn on the TV? Habits are the things that just seem to occur natu-

rally after a while, to the point that we often hardly notice them at all.

Habits get a bit of a bad rap, to be sure, but they are necessary for our brains to function efficiently and effectively. If we had to start from scratch mentally each time we needed to do something — say, choose what to have for breakfast — we’d expend a tremendous amount of brainpower that could be more effectively used elsewhere. The brain automatically looks

for patterns and behaviors that it can create shortcuts for, and those shortcuts become habits.

Duhigg explains that habits can be broken down into three distinct steps: a cue, a routine, and a reward. This is the habit loop and it’s crucial to understand its components if you’re looking to change a habit. In fact, he argues that you can’t eliminate habits; you can only change them. And even that is really difficult. Anyone who has struggled to maintain a new exercise regime can certainly understand this truth.

In addition to covering how habits work in our personal lives, Duhigg also explains how companies like Starbucks use habits to instill a strong customer service ethic in its employees. He writes, too, about how habits in society can bring about positive social change.

It’s a fascinating book that will make you look anew at your own habits.

— LouAnn Lofton, mbj@msbusiness.com

22 I Mississippi Business Journal I November 7, 2014 THE SPIN CYCLE

Facebook is changing news consumption n many ways, a 26-year-old Facebook engineer is transforming the way the public consumes journalism.

Greg Marra heads a team developed the technology that drives Facebook’s News Feed – the stream of updates, photographs, videos and stories that users see. He is also fast becoming one of the most influential people in the news business.

Facebook now has a fifth of the world — about 1.3 billion people— logging on at least monthly. It drives up to 20 percent of traffic to news sites, according to figures from the analytics company SimpleReach. On mobile devices, the fastest-growing source of readers, the percentage is even higher, SimpleReach says, and continues to increase.

The social media company is increasingly becoming to the news business what Amazon is to book publishing – a behemoth that provides access to hundreds of millions of consumers and wields enormous power.

About 30 percent of adults in the United States get their news on Facebook, according to a study from the Pew Research Center. The fortunes of a news site, in short, can rise or fall depending on how it performs in Facebook’s News Feed.

Though other services, like Twitter and Google News, can also exert a large influence, Facebook seems to be at the forefront of a fundamental change in how people consume journalism. Most readers now come to it not through the print editions of newspapers and magazines or their home pages online, but through social media and search engines driven by an algorithm, a mathematical formula that predicts what users might want to read.

It is a world of fragments, filtered by code and delivered on demand. For news organizations, the shift represents “the great unbundling” of journalism, according to The Washington Post.

Just as the music industry has moved largely from selling albums to songs bought instantly online, publishers are increasingly reaching readers through individual pieces rather than complete editions of newspapers or magazines. A publication’s home page, said Edward Kim, a co-founder of SimpleReach, will soon be important more as an advertisement of its brand than as a destination for readers.

The shift raises questions about the ability of computers to curate news, a role traditionally played by editors. It also has broader implications for the way people consume information, and thus how they see the world.

Roughly once a week, Marra and his team of about 16 adjust the complex computer code that decides what to show a user when he or she first logs on to Facebook.

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The code is based on “thousands and thousands” of metrics, including what device a user is on, how many comments or likes a story has received and how long readers spend on an article.

The goal is to identify what users most enjoy, and its results vary around the world.

In India, he said, people tend to share what the company calls the ABCDs: astrology, Bollywood, cricket and divinity.

Facebook executives frame the company’s relationship with publishers as mutually beneficial: when publishers promote their content on Facebook, its users have more engaging material to read, and the publishers get increased traffic driven to their sites.

Numerous publications, including The New York Times, have met with Facebook officials to discuss how to improve their referral traffic.

The increased traffic can potentially mean that the publisher can increase its advertising rates or convert some of those new readers into subscribers.

Social media companies like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn want their users to spend more time, or do more, on their services — a concept known as engagement, said Sean Munson, an assistant professor at the University of Washington who studies the intersection of technology and behavior.

Facebook officials say that the more time users spend at its site, the more likely there will be a robust exchange of diverse viewpoints and ideas shared online.

Four brands succeeding without traditional advertising In 2014, businesses will spend nearly $545 billion on advertising, and that number is expected to increase by another $100 billion by 2018, according to eMarketer. But there are major brands, with huge market share, steering away from traditional advertising.

Despite their size and influence, these brands have built loyal followings by co-opting the grassroots, relationship-focused marketing tactics that are often the domain of smaller businesses. Here are some big brands succeeding in the digital era:

you into their restaurants. This makes the Krispy Kreme success story even more remarkable. The doughnut giant built its empire – with sales topping $1.07 billion in its best year – entirely on word-of-mouth marketing and social media strategy.

2. Costco The Great Recession made us all into budget-conscious shoppers, and Costco is reaping the benefits. Over the last few years bargain warehouse retailers have experienced significant and sustained growth at a rate of four to five percent per quarter, according to Forbes.

Today, Costco is the second largest retailer in the United States – bringing in over $100 billion in revenue annually – and it didn’t get there by running TV commercials. Despite the fact that it’s going head-to-head with retail giant Wal-Mart, Costco continues to embrace an unorthodox advertising strategy: no advertising at all.

3. Sriracha Even if you’ve never set foot in an Asian restaurant, you’ve likely encountered the ubiquitous Sriracha rooster. In the last several years, this mouth-burning condiment has become something of a cultural force.

Search on Etsy and you’ll find all manner of fanproduced memorabilia – from Sriracha t-shirts and bumper stickers, to baby onesies and charm bracelets.

Meanwhile, bottles of hot sauce are flying off of store shelves. Sriracha sold 20 million bottles last year alone. The company doesn’t have any official social media presence, and its website hasn’t been updated since 2004.

Sriracha is an example of making an amazing product and letting consumers do the rest. In short, its philosophy can be summed up as: If you bottle it, and it’s awesome, they will come.

1. Krispy Kreme There’s no shortage of companies competing for your breakfast dollars. Starbucks, Wendy’s, McDonalds and even breakfast 4. GoPro GoPro, maker of high-definition personal newcomers like Taco Bell all rely on TV cameras for adrenaline junkies, does do commercials and paid advertising to draw some traditional advertising. But that’s not

how it built its loyal following of nearly 2.6 million YouTube subTodd Smith scribers. Its YouTube channel is packed with videos of customers skydiving, base jumping and deep sea diving. Whatever your extreme passion, GoPro has a vertigo-inducing, usergenerated video for you. Rarely a week goes by without a GoPro-filmed feat going viral on Reddit or Facebook. This media strategy is resonating with customers to the tune of 3.8 million cameras sold last year, according to CNN money.

If there is one lesson we can take away from the success of these non-advertisers, it’s that a winning strategy – even without advertising – comes down to product and people. These brands focus on making high quality products. They trust people and the power of word-of-mouth to do the rest.

Grounded Mic | High-flying commercial space image The high-flying commercial spaceflight industry suffered a couple of serious blows to its identity in the last two weeks. The bad news began on Oct. 28, when Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Antares rocket exploded just seconds after blasting off on an unmanned cargo mission to the International Space Station for NASA. Then, on Oct. 31, Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo crashed during a test flight; one of the two pilots aboard was killed and the other injured, apparently seriously.

The causes of the two accidents are unclear, and so are the consequences. But the fallout could be huge for Orbital Sciences, Virgin Galactic and the entire private spaceflight industry that has been building up some serious momentum over the past several years. For now, the commercial spaceflight industry has a tarnished mic. The Spin Cycle hopes its image returns to flight soon.

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

And remember … Amplify Your Brand!

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

November 7, 2014

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Mississippi Business Journal

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23

CREATIVE ECONOMY ON THE COAST

Artist turns sketches of dolls into cottage industry

BY TAMMY LEYTHAM mbj@msbusiness.com

GAUTIER — Micah Nelson came from a line of “awesome seamstresses,” but didn’t take advantage of learning the craft when she had the chance. She wishes now she had.

Sewing skills would come in handy in her cottage industry of making and selling dolls, Magnolia Fox Studios.

“I learn as I go,” she said.

“When I see what I have on my sketch pad, it sometimes takes me a little time to get where I want.”

But not to worry. She calls her mother and grandmother on FaceTime for help as needed.

A 2011 Mississippi State University graduate, Nelson studied art with an emphasis in photography.

After college, a mission trip to the Philippines gave her a direction for her talent. “I was so impacted by the trip to the Philippines, I wanted to do something. I just didn’t know what.”

Nelson started sketching what she called creatures. Last year, she started playing around with the sketches to make them into something 3D. “What better way to do that than dolls … something for children to play with,” Nelson said.

The dolls have a simple form. They are faceless, made with colorful materials and scarfs that give them “personality.”

In August, she launched her website, magnoliafoxstudio.com, as a place to sell the dolls.

“Since then I’ve been creating different dolls,” Nelson said. “Each takes on a personality of its own, so people can relate to them. It makes it fun.”

There’s Nina, from the heart of the Delta, who loves a full house and lived through the time of the beehive hairstyle.

And Dee Dee, described as a hippie at heart who is a fan of Elvis.

But that’s what comes from Nelson’s daydreaming. The beauty of these dolls is their adaptability. “It gives children a chance to use their imagination,” she said.

For each doll sold, another is donated to Rapha House, a Christian organization that provides homes overseas for children who have been victims of human trafficking. The homes are places for safety and healing, and the organization participates in rescuing children, as well as attending to their physical, mental and emotional needs.

She sent her first shipment of dolls to Cambodia in October.

Nelson continues to work in various media, including her photography. She does paintings of her “creatures,” and other mixed media as well.

And soon she plans to add books that go along with each doll. She’s lined up a writer for the story, and she’ll do the illustrations.

“I want to see where the creatures take me,” she said.

Photos by Kathleen Clipper / For the MBJ

Micah Nelson at work making dolls she calls her “creatures.” For every doll sold, she sends one overseas for a child in a safe house. The bottom right photo shows Micah with some of the dolls she creates and sells.

Nelson and her husband, Andrew, live in Gautier. She can be reached at 228218-2745 or mrsmagnoliafox@gmail.com.

She can be followed on Instagram: @magnoliafoxstudio.

» JEFFREY GITOMER

What do you do when workplace ‘change’ happens?

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or most people, “change” is a mixture of what was, what used to be, what is present, what I’m being faced with now, what I believe the future holds, and what I have to change to face that future.

In short, how does this change affect me, my family, my lifestyle, and my position?

That’s a hell of a lot to think about, and that’s why change is so perplexing, so resisted, and often so fought against.

The answer to this age-old problem was discovered more than a thousand years ago and has been hidden. When Socrates said, “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new” he was giving you (and me) the wisdom of his ages, and a thousand years later it is still wisdom of our ages.

SOCRATES REALITY INTERPRETATION: The more you can concentrate your thoughts and actions on what will be tomorrow, the easier it will be for you to accept today, adapt to today, and the less likely you are to dwell on what was.

GITOMER INTERPRETATION: Add “forward” to the word “change” and when something changes, think, CHANGE FORWARD.

Known as “drinking fountain conversation” or “pity parties,” many people, not you of course, spend 74% or more of their time griping, whining, blaming, and lamenting any sort of change. None of these elements will productively move you forward as a person, and all of these elements will keep your mind closed to what your new potential or opportunity might be.

Just so we’re clear, there are 3 predominant types of change to deal with: 1. Business or career change — which could also affect revenue.

2. Family change — both positive and negative. We have a new child. I’m getting a divorce. My mother died. I’m getting married.

3. Personal change — which can be affected by business and family changes, but can also be an issue relating to neither. Think: health and finances.

In order to effectively deal with any change in your life, I recommend that you take a different perspective on looking at it. Mine has always been to look at the circumstance and call it opportunity rather than call it change. That automatically makes you look towards the future. That automatically makes you look at what could be positive. And that

automatically, points you in a direction of forward to what’s next, rather than backward to what was.

In other words: Change forward.

When I say “opportunity” you immediately think of something good, and subliminally in your mind, you might think, “How can I best take advantage of this opportunity?” rather than thinking, “oh crap the sky has fallen.”

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Having a five-year-old child in my life has awakened me to kid’s movies and their lessons. I recommend that each of you go out and buy or rent the movie Chicken Little. It’s a great lesson and will help you come to the conclusion that the sky is not falling. (I only watch kids movies now. Big lessons.)

The next action is for you to identify what the opportunity is, in writing. When you write things down, clarity almost immediately occurs. Writing down what happened will help you understand why it happened and no matter if that why was good or bad, it is now the new reality. Once you’ve identified the history, you have to list at least a dozen good things that can happen as a result of it.

The first few will be hard. Especially if there’s any anger or fear attached to your change.

Identifying the opportunities will begin to calm you down and help you realize that with a combination of hope, attitude, and hard Jeffrey Gitomer work, things will get better.

They did for me. I gave myself permission to move on and move forward.

No matter what the change is, keep your eyes and mind open to the opportunity, and keep the faith in yourself.

Don’t fear change, change forward.

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

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