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INSIDE — Second phase of Smith Park renovation underway — Page 18 MBJ DOUBLE FOCUS

CONSTRUCTION {Section begins P10}

» I-55? Just one more year » Developing construction’s future workers » ABC Merit Award winners

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November 17, 2017 • Vo. 39. No. 46 • 20 pages

DISASTER RECOVERY

Puerto Rico is in need of a rebuilding of its power grid, including wooden poles.

REAL ESTATE {Section begins P14}

» Vacation rentals concern neighborhoods and may have economic effect » Buying cheaper than renting, for now

{The List P16}

» Mississippi Real Estate Associations

FILE/ MBJ

2017 winners of the Best of Mississippi Business Includes the Top 3 in each of the 25 Best of Mississippi Business reader poll categories.

— Page 2

Mississippi company signs deal to provide power poles to Puerto Rico By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com The Thomasson Co. of Philadelphia has signed a contract to provide 1,000 utility poles to the Puerto Rican national utility. The U.S. territory in the Caribbean was ravaged by Hurricane Maria in September

and its power company is running at about half capacity. Brent Gray, president of Thomasson, said the $1 million contact is for 55-foot wooden poles. Thomasson will send some of the order and “we’ll just have to see how it goes,” Gray said, declining to disclose how much of the order

will be sent. He called it a “decent-sized” order. The Puerto Electric Power Co., or PREPA, is owned by the Puerto Rican government and has come under criticism for its handling of a $300 million contract with a Mon-

See PUERTO RICO, Page 18

http://msbusiness.com/events/50-leading-business-women/

2 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q November 17, 2017 Best Mississippi-based Bank 1st — BancorpSouth 2nd — BankPlus 3rd — Trustmark

Best Out-of-State Bank 1st — Regions 2nd — Origin Bank 3rd — First National Bankers

Listed are the Top 3 in each of the 25 Best of Mississippi Business reader poll categories. Those winners were honored on September 21st at Old Capitol Inn in Jackson.

Best Architectural Firm

Best Four Year College

1st — Dean & Dean Associates 2nd — Dale Partners Architects 3rd — JBHM Architects

1st — Mississippi State University 2nd — University of Mississippi 3rd — Mississippi College

Best Engineering Firm

Best Two Year College

1st — Neel-Schaffer 2nd — Pickering Firm Inc. 3rd — Dungan Engineering

1st — Hinds Community College 2nd — Holmes Community College 3rd — Southwest Mississippi College

Best General Contractor

Best MBA Program

1st — The Yates Companies 2nd — Copeland Johns 3rd — Brasﬁeld & Gorrie

1st — Mississippi State University 2nd — University of Mississippi 3rd — Millsaps College

Best Home Builder

Best Private School (K-12)

1st — Cornerstone Home Builder 2nd — Duran Homes 3rd — Gary Vaughan Construction

1st — Madison Ridgeland Academy 2nd — St. Andrew’s Episcopal 3rd — Jackson Preparatory School

Best Credit Union 1st — Mississippi Federal Credit Union 2nd — Magnolia Federal Credit Union 3rd — Keesler Federal Credit Union

Best Accounting Firm 1st — Horne LLP 2nd — Grantham Poole 3rd — Watkins, Ward & Stafford

Best Employment Agency 1st — Professional Staffing 2nd — TempStaff Inc. 3rd — Mississippi Dept of Employment Security

Best Hospital 1st — Mississippi Baptist Medical Center 2nd — St. Dominic 3rd — University Hospitals and Health System

Best Information Technology Company 1st — C Spire 2nd — AT&T 3rd — Bomgar Corporation

Best Mobile Phone Provider 1st — C Spire 2nd — AT&T 3rd — Verizon

Best Hotel 1st — Alluvian- Greenwood 2nd — Beau Rivage - Biloxi 3rd — The Graduate - Oxford

Best Restaurant 1st — Bravo! 2nd — Char-Jackson 3rd — City Grocery-Oxford

Best Law Firm (Attorney)

Best Telecommunication Company 1st — AT&T 2nd — Comcast 3rd — Franklin Telephone Co.

Best Shopping Center 1st — Renaissance at Colony Park 2nd — Dogwood Festival Market 3rd — Outlets of Mississippi

1st — Butler Snow 2nd — Brunini 3rd — Baker Donelson

Best Commercial Real Estate Firm 1st — Mattiace Properties 2nd — Duckworth Realty 3rd — The Overby Company

Best Casino

Best Third Party Administrator

1st — Beau Rivage 2nd — Hard Rock Casino 3rd — Pearl River Resort

1st — Ross and Yerger 2nd — Morgan White Group 3rd — GranthamPoole

Best Attraction 1st — Gulf Coast Beaches & Water Activities 2nd — The Museum of Natural Science 3rd — Grammy Museum Mississippi

Helping

Members

Keesler Federal Credit Union

Helping

2017 Best of Mississippi Businesses

Businesses

Celebrating over 70 years of lower rates, fewer fees and great service for our members–including Mississippi small business members as well. Thank you, Mississippi Business Journal readers, for choosing us as a Best of Mississippi Business in 2017!

Helping

Explore the Keesler Federal difference at kfcu.org.

Community

Federally insured by NCUA. Fed A. Membership Membershi ip eligi eligibility ligibili bilitty required.

Christopher A. Wallace

Helping your business grow. We’ve got big ideas on small business solutions.

An SBA Specialist can help you determine the best loan for your situation. Chris Wallace is a Vice President and SBA Lending Specialist for Regions. He serves as a liaison to the bank’s relationship managers throughout the state, helping facilitate Small Business Administration loans and other customer needs. A banking industry veteran with more than 15 years of experience, Chris has held a number of positions within the bank’s commercial real estate and retail banking departments since 2002. He is a native of Yazoo City, Mississippi. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Mississippi State University and his master’s degree from Northcentral University.

So contact Chris today to learn how he can help move your business forward. Christopher A. Wallace Commercial Banking Vice President | SBA Product Specialist 1020 Highland Colony W. Pkwy. Suite 200 | Ridgeland, MS 39157 601.790.8161 | chris.wallace@regions.com

4 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q November 17, 2017 THE SPIN CYCLE

Local newsrooms can still ﬂourish, compete in digital Age

ince 2000, nearly half of newsroom jobs – more than 20,000 of them – have disappeared. Revenues have plummeted by almost $20 billion. Newspapers continue to be shuttered, and layoffs are a regular headline. In telling the story of the changing fortunes of the newspaper industry, the focus has been on large metro and national newspapers. Less attention is given to the small-market newspapers, with a weekly or daily print circulation of under 50,000. Research from Columbia University’s Tow Center for Digital Journalism is seeking to spotlight trends of small newspapers – and the future of the newspaper business. The conversations, which took place in summer of 2016 and the first quarter of 2017, suggest there’s a silver lining, as local newspapers seek to refine their diversification of revenues and find new ways to engage with audiences, according to the Columbia Journalism Review. Through the study, the center identified several key strategies local newsrooms should consider to renew themselves. Here are the top five: 1. Focus on original reporting. Local newspapers publish work that is seldom replicated elsewhere. This is what local newspapers should focus on; if they provide content readers can’t find anywhere else, local newspapers will be better able to find paying audiences. 2. Own the master narrative of your community. Many people indicated their newsrooms had shrunk in recent years while the demands had grown. Journalists are producing more content, especially for digi-

tal channels, than two to three years ago, and working longer hours. If unique content is most likely to ensure the sustainability of local newspapers, editors must consider whether Todd Smith non-local content is the best use of limited resources. 3. What are the metrics telling you? To what extent does this matter? Newsrooms have access to more data than ever before. Making smart use of data, while challenging, can inform storytelling techniques, improve the user experience, support online revenue strategies and enable publishers to distribute content on third-party platforms. 4. Consider content partnerships. Another strategy for newsrooms with fewer resources and higher pressure is to partner with other news organizations. This approach is one that several local newsrooms are beginning to embrace. For example, there has been a decade-long collaboration between the Daily Progress and the digitally native Charlottesville Tomorrow in Charlottesville, Va. Nearly a decade later, more than 2,000 stories written by Charlottesville Tomorrow staff have been published in the Progress. 5. Do you have the right mix of structure, staff, and skills? Given the pace of change across the media landscape, small-market newspapers, like all news and media organizations, need to reconsider their staffing and business models.

http://www.msbusiness.com

BANKS

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

HUMAN RESOURCES

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

INSURANCE AGENCIES

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

LAW FIRMS

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

PAYROLL

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

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT

Q Mansell Media.................................................................................................... www.mansellmedia.net

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

We use multiple social media sites for news, Pew Report ﬁnds Americans are more likely than ever to get news from multiple social media sites, according to a recent Pew Research Center report. About a quarter of all U.S. adults (26 percent) get news from two or more social media sites, up from 15 percent in 2013 and 18 percent in 2016. But there is considerable variation in the extent to which each site’s news users get news from other sites, and which sites those are. Facebook claims the largest share of social media news consumers, and its news users are much more likely to rely solely on that site for news. Just under half (45 percent) of U.S. adults use Facebook for news. Half of Facebook’s news users get news from that social media site alone, with just one-in-ﬁve relying on three or more sites for news. By comparison, news users of LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp are particularly likely to get news on multiple social networks: Half or more of their news users get news on three or more social media sites. In general, sites with a smaller number of news users also tend to have the most overlap with other social media sites for news. However, Reddit stands alone in having a small but more exclusive audience of news users. Only 4 percent of U.S. adults get news from this site, and of these users, just 38 percent use three or more social media sites for news. Four of the social sites have considerable overlap with Twitter: Roughly a third or more of news users of Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn and Reddit also get news on Twitter. Beyond Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, there is less widespread overlap in news use with the other sites. U.S. adults who get news from social networking sites are more likely to be nonwhite and younger. About half (47 percent) of news consumers who rely on two or more social media sites for news are nonwhite (including Hispanics), compared with about one-fourth (26 percent) of those who use just one site. They are more likely to be under age 50: 77 percent are 18-49 compared with 56 percent of those who use just one site for news. Additionally, they are twice as likely to be ages 18-29 (37 percent vs. 18 percent).

Country Mic: CMA Awards score ratings gold for ABC The annual CMA Awards scored ratings gold for ABC, more than doubling its nearest competition and earning a threeyear high for viewers. The strong ratings come a year after the awards were badly beaten by Game 7 of the World Series. The three-hour show doubled its ratings from last year. ABC won all six 30-minute segments for the show, reaching 14.3 million viewers in the key demographic of adults between the ages of 18 and 49. That’s more than double the 6.5 million viewers for CBS. ABC “delivered the highest rating for any network on any night this season with entertainment programming,” according to a news release from the CMA. The 51st CMA Awards also fared well on social media. It trended No. 1 on Twitter for the big night. Facebook and Twitter interactions rose 600 percent to more than 5.2 million. The blockbuster ratings were driven home by the megawatt superstars who continue to cement country music as a dominant genre. Here are the top winners from this year’s CMA Awards: » Entertainer of the Year: Garth Brooks » Album of the Year: “From A Room: Volume 1” — Chris Stapleton (Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton) » Female Vocalist of the Year: Miranda Lambert » Male Vocalist of the Year: Chris Stapleton » Vocal Group of the Year: Little Big Town » Vocal Duo of the Year: Brothers Osborne » New Artist of the Year: Jon Pardi Rock on, country! 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.

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

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

MBJPERSPECTIVE November 17, 2017 • www.msbusiness.com • Page 5

OTHER VIEWS

#THE OUTSIDE WORLD

State will get deserved spotlight

Website: www.msbusiness.com November 17, 2017 Volume 39, Number 46

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JACK WEATHERLY Staff Writer jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com • 364-1016 TED CARTER Contributing Writer mbj@msbusiness.com • 364-1018 BECKY GILLETTE Contributing Writer mbj@msbusiness.com • 364-1018 NASH NUNNERY Contributing Writer mbj@msbusiness.com • 364-1018 LISA MONTI Contributing Writer mbj@msbusiness.com • 364-1018 VIRGINIA HODGES Account Executive virginia.hodges@msbusiness.com • 364-1012 TACY RAYBURN Production Manager tacy.rayburn@msbusiness.com • 364-1019 CHARINA RHODES Circulation Manager charina.rhodes@msbusiness.com • 364-1045 MARCIA THOMPSON-KELLY Business Assistant marcia.kelly@msbusiness.com • 364-1044 SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES (601) 364-1000 subscriptions@msbusiness.com Mississippi Business Journal (USPS 000-222) is published weekly with one annual issue by MSBJ 200 N. Congress St., Suite 400, Jackson, MS 39201. Periodicals postage paid at Jackson, MS. Subscription rates: 1 year $109; 2 years $168; and 3 years $214. To place orders, temporarily stop service, change your address or inquire about billing: Phone: (601) 364-1000, Fax: (601) 364-1035, Email: charina.rhodes@msbusiness.com, Mail: MS Business Journal Subscription Services, 200 N.Congress Street, Suite 400, Jackson, MS 39201 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Mississippi Business Journal, Circulation Manager, 200 North Congress Street, Suite 400, Jackson, MS 39201 To submit subscription payments: Mail: MS Business Journal Subscriptions Services, 200 North Congress Street, Suite 400, Jackson, MS 39201. No material in this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written consent. Editorial and advertising material contained in this publication is derived from sources considered to be reliable, but the publication cannot guarantee their accuracy. Nothing contained herein should be construed as a solicitation for the sale or purchase of any securities. It is the policy of this newspaper to employ people on the basis of their qualifications and with assurance of equal opportunity and treatment regardless of race, color, creed, sex, age, sexual orientation, religion, national origin or handicap. The Mississippi Business Journal, is an affiliate of Journal Publishing Company (JPC), Inc.: Clay Foster, president and chief executive officer. Entire contents copyrighted © 2017 by Journal Inc. All rights reserved.

» INSIDE MISSISSIPPI

Reeves fiscal plan risky for teachers and retirees

tate economist Darrin Webb projects state general fund revenues will fall for the third consecutive year. That’s unusual. According to the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, declines of just two years in a row “have only occurred four previous times since 1970.” Jeff Amy with the Associated Press in an excellent analysis of the Mississippi’s economy said, “State spending this year is roughly $800 million behind where it would have been if spending had kept pace with inflation since 2010.” He said some of the shortfall comes “from hundreds of millions in tax cuts.” Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves liked that. “For us to have enacted the largest tax cut in state history and still expect that we’re actually going to collect flat revenue year-over-year,” Reeves told Amy, “I think that says an awful lot about the direction that we’re trying to send our government in being fiscally responsible and fiscally prudent.” Uh, the historic tax cuts have yet to fully kick in. Nevertheless, Reeves’ comment is bad news for community colleges, schools, universities, and agencies hoping tight budgets will go away. But, it is terrible news for teachers and state retirees.

Bill Crawford

No budget growth means no state pay increases for teachers. It’s already hard for many schools to attract and keep good teachers. With no state raises, they won’t, except in better off districts able to increase local property taxes. For state retirees, no budget growth has a more indirect impact. Flat budgets for colleges, agencies, etc., will cause cuts in public employment. As inflation driven expenses eat into their stagnant budgets, agencies only option will be to cut jobs. That means fewer employees paying into the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS) over time. Why is that bad for retirees? Last September, PERS board Chairwoman Lynn Fitch called a special meeting to look at the long-term health of the retirement system. PERS’ unfunded pension liabilities have hovered around 40 percent (a funded level of 60 percent) for several years, drawing negative comments from national credit ratings agencies. In her role as state treasurer, that is a concern for Fitch. At the meeting, PERS Executive Director Pat Robertson presented a See CRAWFORD, Page 6

ississippi’s diversity is one of the things that truly makes the state like none other across the country. The history and cultural offerings found in northeast Mississippi vary greatly from those found in the Delta and on the Gulf Coast. Each unique community and its residents binds Mississippi together and makes the Magnolia State what it is – the Hospitality State. Celebrating the storied past of our entire state appears to be the main goal officials with the Department of Archives and History took when planning out two new museums set to open next month. The Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum will open Dec. 9 in downtown Jackson. The opening of the two museums, funded with $90 million in state money, will culminate the celebration of Mississippi’s 200th year of statehood. While the two museums will be a welcome addition to downtown Jackson, Katie Blount, director of the Department of Archives and History, stressed that much work was put into the projects to ensure they are not just Jackson museums, but Mississippi museums. In order to make that a possibility, officials have been working since 1998 to make contacts in communities across the state and with groups across the state to garner information to tell Mississippi’s story in an honest and compelling manner. To emphasize the fact that the museums represent the entire state, certain displays will provide information of where visitors can travel to see more and learn more about the exhibits. The two museums will share a lobby that will include a gift shop, cafe and other amenities. Officials stress that while under one gigantic roof, the museums are separate, but with the common goal of telling Mississippi’s story. The Civil Rights Museum, the only state-operated civil rights museum in the nation, will have historic artifacts, but will depend more on newly crafted exhibits to tell the tumultuous story of the ﬁght for equal rights. Mug shots of those arrested in the name of civil rights can be found in one room, while the names of known Mississippi lynching victims are highlighted in other parts. A replica of the historic University of Mississippi Lyceum is in the museum as part of the story of the integration of UM by James Meredith in 1962. One of the most valuable efforts currently underway with these new museums is a goal for every ninth-grader throughout Mississippi to visit the museums each year. Officials say they are raising private funds to make that goal possible, especially for poorer school districts that might have trouble transporting all of their students to Jackson. We applaud the countless leaders who have had a hand in this ambitious project since its initial conception to the official opening next month. Their work to help shine a light on all of Mississippi deserves to be commended.

— The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

PERSPECTIVE

6 I Mississippi Business Journal I November 17 2017 » RICKY NOBILE

CRAWFORD

Continued from Page 5

new computer model that could predict future PERS funding levels based on changes in key factors such as investments, number of retirees, and number of public employees. One scenario run at the meeting included above average investment returns, current retirement trends, but a slight 0.25 percent annual decrease in the number of public employees. The model projected PERS’ unfunded pension liabilities would increase to near 50 percent. If Reeves’ fiscal plan is for built-in tax cuts over the next 10 years to keep state spending flat, this scenario will become a reality. Then, any bad investment year(s) or surge in retirees (likely with flat spending) would put PERS and retirees’ pensions in jeopardy. Note: Few board members publicly express concerns about PERS financial health. But at this meeting the newest member, former State Insurance Commissioner George Dale, spoke up saying he has concerns. Dale spent 11 years in the Moss Point school system before his 32 years as insurance commissioner so he knows how government works. If he has concerns, retirees should pay attention. Bill Crawford (crawfolk@gmail.com) is a syndicated columnist

»INSIDE MISSISSIPPI

Mississippi budget practices receive mixed grades

nonpartisan group that evaluates state government budget practices is giving mostly midlevel marks to Mississippi. The Volcker Alliance was formed four years ago by Paul A. Volcker, a former board chairman of the Federal Reserve, with the goal of making government more efficient. The alliance issued a report Nov. 2 called “Truth and Integrity in State Budgeting,” which evaluates all states’ budget practices for fiscal years 2015 through 2017. Like most states, Mississippi has a fiscal year that runs from July through June. So, the period covered by the report for Mississippi is July 1, 2014, through June 30, 2017. The report examines how states forecast the amount of money they will have available to spend. It looks at how states write their budgets, including whether they use recurring sources of money rather than sources that are “one-time infusions” of cash. The report also looks at obligations such as government pensions and at whether states maintain financial reserves, commonly known as rainy day funds. States are also graded on transparency. “Faced with constitutional, statutory, or customary requirements for annually balanced budgets, a large number of states have been forced to reduce or reallocate spending,” the report says. “The potential to defer or obfuscate in making these adjustments is very real. That is why the need for comprehensive and accurate accounting and transparent reporting of the financial positions of individual states is even more compelling.” Each state receives a report card, with A as the highest

grade and F the lowest. Mississippi received mostly B’s for its three-year averages. It was among the 21 states receiving a three-year average of an A for the category of budget maneuvers. The report says maneuvers can include balancing the budget by using one-time sources of revenue and by tapping into special funds to pad the budget’s general fund. The general fund covers most big-ticket expenses, including education. Special funds can come from fees people pay that are supposed to fund specific services or agencies. Mississippi received a three-year average of C for budget forecasting, with a C for 2015 and a D for both 2016 and 2017. The report says Mississippi did not follow best practices for making multiyear forecasts of either how much money the state would collect or how much money it would spend. Republican Gov. Phil Bryant was forced to make multiple rounds of midyear budget cuts during fiscal 2016 and fiscal 2017 because tax collections fell short of expectations. State economist Darrin Webb recently told lawmakers that Mississippi is continuing to recover slowly from the Great Recession, and the state’s growth lags significantly behind that of the national economy.

Emily Pettus

The Joint Legislative Budget Committee recently set an estimate that Mississippi will have slightly less money to spend during fiscal 2019, which starts next July 1, than it has during the current year. The number was based on a recom-

Mississippi received a three-year average of C for budget forecasting, with a C for 2015 and a D for both 2016 and 2017. mendation from Webb and four other financial experts. The Volcker Alliance report notes that many states are stretched by big expenses for Medicaid and public employee pensions. Mississippi is among them. “The fiscal pressure is not likely to disappear anytime soon,” the report says. “The Volcker Alliance’s mission in grading states is to highlight those with practices that should be followed nationwide as much as it is to criticize those that fall short. The sheer magnitude of state and local spending — and the fact that much of the local portion comes from state budget appropriation — makes it essential that such expenditures are as transparent as possible, funded responsibly, and not left for future generations to shoulder.” Emily Wagster Pettus covers Capitol matters for the Mississippi Associated Press in Jackson.

Newsmakers Luba selects Michiels LUBA Workers’ Comp has named Russell Michiels as manager of its claims department. In his new role, Michiels will oversee all claims operations and medical bill reviews, ensure compliance with state and federal insurance regulations and assist with securMichiels ing the company’s catastrophic reinsurance coverage. Michiels has been with LUBA since 2007 and has over 27 years of experience in the insurance industry. He began at the company as a Senior Claims Supervisor and was then promoted to Assistant Claims Manager, a position he has held since 2010. Michiels is a graduate of Louisiana State University.

November 17, 2017

Web sites win awards

Main Street adds 3 to board

Hairston

McAdams

McDavid

Three new members have been elected to the Mississippi Main Street Association Board of Directors. The new members were nominated and elected by the statewide board. The new members are Tray Hairston, attorney at Butler Snow in Jackson, Greenwood Mayor Carolyn McAdams, and Chance McDavid, director of the Asset Development Division at the Mississippi Development Authority. Hairston focuses his practice on public finance, economic development, and government relations. Before joining the firm, he served as Counsel and Economic Development Advisor to Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant. He has served as Bond Counsel for various cities and counties throughout Mississippi. He is also an adjunct law professor and regularly publishes scholarly legal articles. Hairston currently serves on the economic development steering committee for Tougaloo College and is a board member of Mississippi Today. McAdams is responsible for all functions of the executive branch of Greenwood’s municipal government. McAdams serves as the Chief Executive Officer for the City of Greenwood over five departments (adminis-

Courtesy of Secretary of State’s office

Two websites operated by the Secretary of State’s Office have earned top awards in creativity and digital communication. Y’all Business, www.yallbusiness.sos.ms.gov, took home a 2017 Platinum dotComm award, and Charities Online earned a Gold. dotComm Awards is an international competition administered by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals. Y’all Business, Mississippi’s resource for free economic development information, relaunched in April 2017 with new data and features. The Charities Division completed its process to move all registration forms online. More than 3,700 charities are registered in Mississippi, and more than 4,100 charities have filed exemption paperwork. Pictured with the awards are, from left, Cindy Sumrall, Jessica Thornton, Libby Cajoleas, Tanya Webber, Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, Earnest Hart, Tom Riley, and Charlie Case. tration, city clerk, fire, police, public works) and two divisions (human resources and inspection). She is in charge of all day-to-day operations and decision making and works closely with the City Council by proposing policy items that benefit the citizenry of Greenwood. McDavid was recently named the Director of the Asset Development Division at the Mississippi Development Authority. Previously, he served as senior Extension associate with the Southern Rural Development Center and Department of Agricultural Economics at Mississippi State University. He has nearly 15 years of experience in community and economic development serving at the local, regional, and state levels with university Extension and outreach as well as serving as Vice President and Chief Operations Officer for the Greater Starkville Development Partnership. The MMSA board is made up of a statewide group of business, government and community leaders. Remaining members of the 2017 MMSA Board of Directors: President Allison Beasley, Southern Mississippi Planning and Development District; President-elect Ed Gardner, Entergy; Treasurer Kevin Stafford, Neel-Schaffer, Inc., Past-President Suzanne Smith, Renasant Bank; Steven B. Dick, Mississippi Power; Chris Chain, Renovations of Mississippi, Inc.; Kagan Coughlin, Base Camp Coding Academy; Tara Lytal, Main Street Clinton; Russell Baty, The Main Street Chamber of Leake County; Steve Kelly, Board Member Emeritus; Keith A. Williams, Hancock Bank; Katie Blount and Michelle Jones, Mississippi Department of Archives and History; Jim West, College of Architecture, Art and Design at Mississippi State University; Glenn McCullough, Mississippi Development Authority; Ken P’Pool, Mississippi Department of Archives and History; and Leah Kemp, The Carl Small Town Center at Mississippi State University.

Mississippi Business Journal

Tulane Law School. There she was named a member of Tulane 34 and proceeded to work as a mediator for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the New Orleans Community-Police Mediation Program before becoming the chief law clerk for Judge Pro Tempore Lynn Luker in the Orleans Parish Civil District Court. August previously was a senior admissions associate at Virginia College, He was born at Keesler Air Force Base and raised in Biloxi. August played football collegiately at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Ga., before transferring to William Carey University in Hattiesburg, where he received his August B.S. in Business Management. He began his career as a marketing assistant for the Gulf Coast Exploreum and Science Center in Mobile, Ala. August enjoys spending time mentoring young athletes, reading books and trying new restaurants. He lives on the Gulf Coast.

Aye joins Memorial Clinic

Memorial Physician Clinics welcomes Aung Aye, MD, has joined Memorial Physician Clinics in Gulfport in the practice of rheumatology in association with Richa Gupta, MD. Aye will also see patients at Memorial multi-specialty clinic locations in Aye Hancock county. Aye completed his internal medicine residency at Cooper University Hospital, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in New Jersey, and fellowship in rheumatology at Albany Medical Center, Albany Medical College in New York. Aye is board certiﬁed in internal medicine and rheumatology.

Presley joins utility board Mississippi Public Service Commission Chair Brandon Presley has been appointed to the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners Board of Directors. Presley was elected to the Mississippi PSC in 2007 and then re-elected in 2011 and 2015. Presley Presley also was the mayor of Nettleton, from 2002 to 2007. He also was vice chair of NARUC’s Natural Gas Access and Expansion Task Force and is on the association’s Committee on Gas and Committee on International Relations. He was president of the Southeastern Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, on the board of directors for the National Regulatory Research Institute and is the immediate past chairman of NARUC’s Consumer Affairs Committee. He is on the advisory committee for the New Mexico State University Center for Public Utilities.

Tulane adds 2 on Gulf Coast The Tulane School of Professional Advancement in Biloxi has hired Vanessa Rodriguez, J.D., M.A. as assistant dean for student support and success and Ian August as admissions coordinator. Rodriguez has been director of student conduct at Tulane University since 2015. She previously was a psychotherapist in New York City, specialized in clients who were HIV+, undocumented, LGBTQ+, homeless or victims of trauma. After six years of practice, Rodriguez Ms. Rodriguez then returned home to the South and enrolled in

Howell appointed judge Gov. Phil Bryant has appointed Lisa Howell Lauderdale County Court judge. Howell replaces Judge Frank M. Coleman, who retired. Howell joins Judge Veldore Young Graham on the county court bench. Howell’s post will appear on the ballot Howell in November 2018. Howell has served as assistant district attorney for the 10th Circuit Court District, which includes Lauderdale County, since 1995. Prior to that, she worked in private practice in Meridian. Howell earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1986, and a juris doctorate from Mississippi College School of Law in 1991. She is a 1982 graduate of Meridian High School. She serves as welfare chairman of the Junior Auxiliary of Meridian and is a member of the Lauderdale County Bar Association and the National District Attorneys Association. Howell attends St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Meridian.

Butler Snow recognized Butler Snow in Ridgeland has been recognized by the 2017 LMG Life Sciences Awards as “Highly Recommended” for U.S. product liability litigation and shortlisted for “Product Liability Law Firm of the Year” in the U.S. The firm was one of only 14 firms ranked across the U.S. in the “Highly Recommended” Jones category, and one of only nine firms on the shortlist. Christy D. Jones and Orlando R. Richmond Sr. were both recognized as Life Sciences Stars in the area of Product Liability Litigation by the 2017 LMG Life Sciences Awards, with Jones shortlisted as “Product Liability Richmond Attorney of the Year” for the U.S. Jones and Richmond are members of the Pharmaceutical, Medical Device and Healthcare Group at Butler Snow.

Newsmakers

8 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q November 17, 2017

ASA Mississippi selects board of directors Houston

Wicks

Dunbar

Crosslley

Edwards

Hill

CFGJ leadership elected

The Community Foundation of Greater Jackson has elected this year’s Board of Trustees leadership, as well as new Trustee members. Leading the Board of Trustees are Jon C. Turner, Chairman; Jamie G Houston, III , Vice-Chair; Ashley N. Wicks, Treasurer and Turner Mary Y. Dunbar, Secretary. Newly elected members of the Board of Trustees include Will L. Crossley, Jr., Larry W. Edwards and John F. Hill. Trustees are responsible for the governance and setting policy and direction for the Community Foundation, which holds more than $52 million in charitable assets. Since its founding in 1994, the Foundation has granted more than $35 million to improve the lives of people.

Board honors Gilbert

Deborah J. Gilbert, CPA, has been awarded the national Community College Budget Officers inaugural Bob Hassmiller Award for Humanitarian Service. Deborah has been with the Mississippi Community College Board for nearly 30 years and Gilbert currently serves as the Deputy Executive Director for Finance Administration. In 2015, she served as Interim Executive Director for the agency. The Bob Hassmiller Award for Humanitarian Service is given to an individual who best demonstrates an exemplary service mindset, and the recipient displays the core principles of humanitarianism including a desire to bring assistance without discrimination; ensures respect for their fellow human beings; and promotes mutual understanding, cooperation, and friendship.

Shrestha joins TrustCare

TrustCare Express Medical Clinics is pleased to announce Sanjib D. Shrestha, M.D. has joined the TrustCare Medical Express Clinic located on Lake Harbour Drive in Ridgeland. Shrestha, a native of Nepal, received his Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery from Pune

Courtesy of HORNE

The American Subcontractors Association of Mississippi has selected its board of directors for 2017-2018. Pictured are, front row, from left: Kristen McAllister, Glass Inc., Meridian; Mike Gipson, Gipson Steel, Meridian; Bryan Tompkins, Bomac Electric, Jackson; Jamie Massey, American Glass, Columbus; Katye Reece, Horne LLP, Ridgeland. Back Row: Randy Sharman, A & B Electric, Meridian; Bruce Brumﬁeld, Synergy Electric, Madison; Scotty Trawick, Puckett Rentals, Madison; Tom Kline, Kline Mechanical, Fulton; Clyde Edwards, Adcamp, Flowood; Raymond Sinele, United Piping, Jackson; Trey Jackson, Bulldog Construction, Madison; Alex Guidry, Mockbee, Hall & Drake, Jackson; Drew Lewis, F. L. Crane, Florence. Not pictured are Bill McCoy, Matthews, Cutrer & Lindsay, PA, Ridgeland; Executive Director, Lloyd Spivey. University in Pune, India. He completed an internship at Command Hospital in Calcutta, and completed a residency at NYU Downtown Hospital Department of Medicine in New York. Following his residency, Shrestha completed a fellowship for the Department of Geriatric Medicine at The Cleveland Clinic. Shrestha is Board Certiﬁed in Internal Medicine. Before joining TrustCare, Shrestha was the medical director for the Emergency Medicine Department and the chief of staff for Merit Hospital in Canton. From 2008 to 2010, he was a staff physician with Southern Virginia Medical Center and the eight years prior to that he was a staff physician at Madison County Medical Center and medical director for Madison County Nursing Home. Shrestha also held a position with Kathmandu Nursing Home in Nepal and was the senior medical director for the U.N. Peacekeeping Mission in Lebanon. Shrestha lives in Madison with his wife and has two daughters.

Ross & Yerger retains status Ross & Yerger Insurance, Inc. has retained its Best Practices status by participating in the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America Best Practices Study group. The annual survey and Study of leading independent insurance agencies documents the business practices of the best agencies and urges others to adopt similar practices. The agencies in the study groups are selected every third year through a nomination and qualifying process and awarded a “Best Practices Agency” designation. To be chosen, the agency had to be among the 35-45 top-performing agencies in one of six revenue categories. Ross & Yerger – one of the largest independent, privately-held insurance agencies in the Southeast – was established in 1860 and is headquartered in Jackson,

Student a Future Woman Shrestha

Elizabeth Van Horn, senior at St. Patrick Catholic High School in Biloxi, was selected to attend the Future Women in Business Weekend at Washington University Olin Business School in November.

To be eligible, a student must be a female high school junior or senior interested in business that has maintained a 3.4 or higher GPA. Only 30 students were selected to attend the conference. Van Horn has achieved a weighted GPA of 3.9, an ACT score of 32 and maintains a professional photography business, Liz X Van Photo, which was the topic of essay for the conference.

LUBA earns top rating A.M. Best has affirmed the “A- Excellent” rating for the financial strength of LUBA Workers’ Comp, a regional casualty insurance company. The company has been rated “A- Excellent” since LUBA’s first rating in 2003. Founded in 1889, A.M. Best is the world’s oldest insurance rating and information service. LUBA’s “AExcellent” rating reflects its “disciplined underwriting and focus on risk management with excellent operating results,” according to A.M. Best. “Despite difficult market conditions, LUBA has still outperformed its peers and the industry composite.” Founded in 1991, Baton Rouge-based LUBA Workers’ Comp covers businesses in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Arkansas.

Buchanan named CEO The Focus Group, a full-service advertising and public relations agency in Gulfport has announced the return of Allison Buchanan in a new role as CEO. Before returning to The Focus Group, Buchanan, a Gulf Coast native, was CEO for 19 months at New Media Lab, LLC, in Oxford. She previously worked ﬁve years with The Focus Group. Prior to joining The Focus Group, Allison was president of Buchanan Group, a marketing communications ﬁrm in Biloxi. Her previous employment included time as a product line manager at Fortune 500 company Ecolab, Inc., and she served in sales, management and marketing roles with Pillsbury Corporation in Dallas and Houston, and with Berkshire Corp. in Denver, Colo., and Great Barrington, Mass. Buchanan graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Journalism and Public Relations from the University of

Mississippi with minors in Art and University Scholars. She was in the Ole Miss Hall of Fame, was ODK “Leader of the Year,” and served as national president of the Intercollegiate Association for Women Students.

IP recognizes employees

IP Casino Resort Spa recognized employees for their service, dedication and work ethic for the months of July and August. July’s honorees were Cheryln Dawkins (Hotel), Mona McCormick (Table Games), Mae Weidner (Food & Beverage), Jan Doolittle (Food &Beverage), Gene Hudson (Banquets) and Shavonia Williams (Food & Beverage). August’s honorees included team members Randall Ball (Senses Spa & Salon), Brandon Durham (Housekeeping), Stephanie Barzo (Hotel Sale), Bonnie Boyd (Direct Mail), Brenda Le (Food & Beverage) and Bobby Williams (Banquets).

Holland joins DRI Board James D. Holland, a shareholder in the ﬁrm of Page Kruger & Holland, was recently selected for a two-year term to the Board of Directors of the DRI, the largest organization of civil defense trial attorneys and in-house counsel. Holland has more than 36 years of experience trying cases in the Holland defense of individuals and companies in civil litigation. His experience includes litigating and trying commercial and traumatic injury cases in state and federal courts. He has handled and tried to verdict a wide variety of cases involving products liability, insurance bad faith, and premises liability issues. He also currently serves as the President Elect of the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys. Holland is a former President of the Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association, director of DRI and has been recognized as a Life Fellow of the American Bar Association and Fellow of the Mississippi Bar Foundations. He has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America for the last 10 years running in both Commercial and

Newsmakers

November 17, 2017

Mississippi Business Journal

Thompson is DRI director

J. Carter Thompson, a shareholder in Baker Donelson’s Jackson and Memphis offices, has been elected to a three-year term as a member of the National Board of Directors of the DRI, the leading organization of civil defense attorneys and in-house counsel. DRI’s international membership exceeds 22,000. The leader of Baker Donelson’s Product Liability and Mass Tort Group and former chair of the Drug, Device & Life Sciences Industry Group, Thompson concentrates his practice in the national, regional and local defense of products liability, drug and medical device, commercial and professional liability cases. He has more than 30 years of experience defending product liability and other claims and lawsuits across the country and abroad. A Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, Thompson has been an active member of the DRI for more than 20 years. He has served as chair of the Drug and Medical Device Committee since 2015 and previously served as vice chair and program chair of the Drug and Medical Device Committee. He is a member of the Product Liability Advisory Council, Lawyers for Civil Justice and the American, Mississippi and Capital Area Bar Associations. Thompson has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America since 2007 and inMid-South Super Lawyers since 2006. He was named The Best Lawyers in America 2018 and 2016 Jackson-MS Professional Malpractice Law – Defendants “Lawyer of the Year”. He has also been listed since 2007 as a leading litigation lawyer in Mississippi by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers and has been listed in The International Who’s Who of Product Liability Defense Lawyers since 2011 and in The International Who’s Who of Life Sciences Lawyers since 2014.

Chamber adds to board

Bogue

Stewart

Savely

The Columbus Lowndes Chamber of Commerce has elected three new board members: Matt Bogue, The Dutch Oil Group; Greg Stewart, Aurora Flight Sciences; and Jill Savely, EMCC Golden Triangle Early College High School. Bogue, Stewart, and Savely will serve a three-year terms from October 2017- September 2020 and were elected by majority vote by the Chamber membership. The CLCC Board Chair for 2017-2018 is Melinda Lowe, Director for the Office of Outreach and Innovation at the Mississippi University for Women. Current Board Members are: Lowe; Blaine Walters, the Bride and Groom; Lucy Rhett, Nickels Wealth Management; Beth Jeffers, The Fitness Factor; Scott Ferguson, Financial Concepts; Savely, Stewart, and Bogue. Board members rolling off after a three year term are Germain McConnell, Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, Bill Walker, Brickerton Properties, and Jeff Farnham, JTS Mortgage.

Habitat for Humanity Bankers Build

Courtesy of Habitat for Humanity Mississippi Capital Area

Nine banking institutions are partnering for a third year in a row with Habitat for Humanity Mississippi Capital Area to sponsor and build a home on Greenview Drive in Jackson. Bank leaders instrumental in developing this partnership are (from left) Robert Leard, Regions, Commercial Banking Executive; Larry Ratzlaff, Origin Bank, Mississippi State President; Derrick Whittington, Community Bank of Mississippi, Assistant Vice President; Jason Walker, BancorpSouth, South Metro President Mid MS Division; George Broadstreet, Renasant Bank, Community Outreach VP; Johnny Ray, BankFirst, Executive Vice President & Jackson Regional President; Ben Aldridge, Trustmark, Senior VP, Corporate Treasury Services Sales Manager; Frances Ware, First Commercial Bank, Senior Vice President; Barry Prather, Community Bank of Mississippi, Chief Operating Officer; and Scott Hutchison, Wells Fargo, Branch Manager Ridgewood Court.

Ford earns architect license David Ford, AIA, of Dale Partners Architects P.A., recently passed his architectural registration exams and became a licensed architect in the state of Mississippi. Ford has over 24 years of experience, and has been with Dale Partners for nine years. He reFord ceived his Bachelor of Architecture from Mississippi State University in 1993. While at Dale Partners, Ford has been heavily involved in a wide variety of projects including the Mill at MSU in Starkville, MS, the Mississippi Civil Rights and History Museums in Jackson, and several school projects throughout Mississippi.

McCullough gains status Micah J. McCullough of NAI UCR Properties has achieved the SIOR designation awarded by the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors. SIOR is a Washington, DC-based international professional organization of more than 3,000 commercial real estate professionals, 2,800 of whom have earned the coveted SIOR designation. To achieve the SIOR designation, McCullough, demonstrated completion of at least five years of creditable experience in the highly specialized field of office real estate; met stringent education requirements; and demonstrated professional ability, competency, ethical conduct, and personal integrity. McCullough is a graduate of the University of Mississippi with a degree in Real Estate and is on the Ole Miss Real Estate Alumni Advisory Board. McCullough also has earned the coveted Certified Commercial Investment Member Designation, in 2011, and will be the President-Elect for the MS CCIM Chapter for 2018. In 2012 he was selected as the Mississippi Commercial Association of Realtors, Realtor of the Year and also

served as the Associations President in 2013. To date, McCullough has been involved in over 100 sale and lease transactions with an aggregate value of over $75 Million.

Architect makes transition Christopher Hoffman, founder of Christopher B. Hoffman Landscape Architects, a Clinton-based ﬁrm, has transitioned to Past President and Chair of the Committee on Nominations for the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB) after recently concluding his one-year term as President of the organization. He will serve in these roles through Sept. 30. Hoffman has previously held many leadership positions with CLARB, including President (20162017), President-Elect (2015-2016), Vice President (2014–2015) and Secretary (2012-2014). He has also served as Region 3 Director (2009–2011) and as a member of CLARB’s Communications Committee (2007–2009). Hoffman has received appointments by three Mississippi governors – Gov. Kirk Fordice, Gov. Ronnie Musgrove and Gov. Phil Bryant – to serve on the Mississippi Landscape Architectural Advisory Committee to the Mississippi Board of Architects. Hoffman is an active member of the Mississippi Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) with service in organizational roles including Chapter President and Advocacy Chair. His experience spans 28 years and his portfolio includes 14 award-winning projects; the 90-acre corporate campus for Southern Pine Electric; Baptist Health Systems Campus; ‘The Belhaven,’ a mixed use urban renewal project spanning a city block; Clinton Natchez Trace Visitor Center; Clinton Public School District Elementary Schools; Elvis Presley Birthplace Renovations; and the Jackson Zoo’s Siberian tiger exhibit. Hoffman earned his Bachelor of Landscape Archi-

tecture degree from Texas Tech University in 1988.

Byrd Operator of the Year Terence Byrd, operations supervisor over the J. H. Fewell Water Treatment Plant, has been named the 2017 American Water Works Association MS/ AL Section Operator of the Year. The association is an international nonprofit scientific and educational society, dedicated to the improvement of drinking water quality and supply. It is the largest organization of water supply professionals in the world. Byrd was selected based on his contributions to the City of Jackson. He helped in the startup, troubleshooting, and operations of the New Maddox Road Booster Station, and he helped make sure equipment was installed properly during the City’s Siemens Infrastructure Project at the J.H. Fewell Water Plant. He also has helped prepare other operators for the “Class A” Water Treatment Certification test, a license he has held for over six years. Byrd has been with the City of Jackson for over 12 years.

Bryant joins Barrett Studio Katrina Bryant, Allied ASID, has joined Barrett Design Studio as a staff designer. Bryant has over 20 years of experience as a designer. She previously was a Corporate Facilities Designer with BBT Corporation of North Carolina. She was also with Barbara Barry Bryant Galleries in retail space design. Bryant also worked with Hayden Design Associates and a national residential design company. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Interior Design from James Madison University in Virginia.

AN MBJ FOCUS: CONSTRUCTION

I-55? Just one mo

By CALLIE DANIELS BRYANT mbj@msbusiness.com

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Âť Builders and contractors group says the industry is looking for career employees By NASH NUNNERY mbj@msbusiness.com

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Courtesy of Mississippi Department of Transportation

f you go by traditional thinking, then you probably believe Wall Street and Silicon Valley are the only places to make a decent living these days. Truth be told, the construction industry is desperately seeking skilled tradespeople for work and training, according to Lee Nations. Nations, who serves as president of the Associated Builders & Contractors of Mississippi, said the industry is currently seeking workers who wish to make a career of construction. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re trying to sell to the kids that college isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t for everyone and that they can ďŹ nd a good job in the construction industry making a solid living,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nationwide, there are over half a million workers needed right now. That number could double if the economy picks up steam.â&#x20AC;? According to a recent study by Georgetown University, an estimated 31 million skilled trade Nations jobs could be up for grabs by 2020. Skilled tradesmen can earn anywhere from $30,000 to upwards of $150,000 yearly, depending on location, experience and skill level. Nations said ABC of Mississippi and the Mississippi Construction Education Foundation are developing the workforce of the future. A new 5,000-sq.-ft. training facility on the ABC of Mississippi campus has been constructed in partnership with the MCEF to further the mission. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Being a driving force by going to the high schools and colleges has paid dividends,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We meet with students and parents and let them know that a good living can be made by going into the skilled trades. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The MCEF is our workforce development armâ&#x20AC;?. The ABC Mississippi chapter, together with MCEF, offers classes in topics as varied as OSHA policies to forklift training. Nations also said the partnership offers construction management education, with seminars on bonding and insurance, to name a few. See ABC, Page 13

Construction

12 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q November 17, 2017

ABC Merit Award winners announced

Special to the MBJ

The Associated Builders and Contractors of Mississippi recently named its 2017 Merit Award winners during its banquet at the Country Club of Jackson. GOLD WINNERS Blackline Baton Rouge Dialysis Flood Repairs Renovation: < $2 million Brasfield & Gorrie The District at Eastover Commercial: $10-25 million Brasfield & Gorrie The Westin Commercial: $25-99 million Copeland and Johns, Inc. Dudy Noble Field Video Board Other Construction: All Contract Amounts Copeland and Johns, Inc. BankPlus Tupelo - West Main Street Commercial: < $2 million Copeland and Johns, Inc. Tri Delta MSU Institutional: $5-10 million Glass, Inc UMMC School of Medicine Exteriors: $2-10 million Ivey Mechanical Continental Tire Plant Phase II Mechanical: All Other Projects: > $10 million Mandal’s, Inc. St. Paul Episcopal Church Exteriors: < $2 million Mandal’s, Inc. Marion County Courthouse Historical Restoration: < $2 million McLain Plumbing Chiller Plant/Surgery Room Dehumidification Mechanical: Commercial: < $2 million

Mid State Construction Methodist Rehabilitation Outpatient Therapy Facility Healthcare: < $5 million Orocon Construction, LLC Moss Point Police Station Government: < $5 million Probity Contracting Group Mississippi College, AE Wood Coliseum, Renovation Renovation: $2-10 million Roy Anderson Corp University of Mississippi Vaught-Hemingway Stadium North End Zone Expansion and Renovation Renovation: $10-99 million Roy Anderson Corp University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Medicine Healthcare: $25-99 million TL Wallace Construction, Inc. Pine Belt Chevrolet Pre-Engineered Building: All Contract Amounts Tull Brothers, Inc. Crosstown Concourse Interiors: < $2 million Tull Brothers, Inc. ESPA Luxury Spa - Baha Mar Resort Bahamas Other Specialty Construction: All Contract Amounts W.G. Yates & Sons Construction Company Dupont Bulk Handling Facility - Relocation Project Industrial: $25-99 million W.G. Yates & Sons Construction Company Biloxi Junior High School Institutional: $25-99 million White Construction Company Forman Watkins Tenant Improvements Commercial: $5-10 million

Woodward Design+Build Biloxi Junior High School Institutional: $10-25 million SILVER WINNERS American Glass Company, Inc. The District at Eastover Phase II Commercial: < $2 million Brasfield & Gorrie Columbus Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Clinic Healthcare: < $5 million Diversified Construction Services, Inc. TownePlace Suites Commercial: $5-10 million Gilreath Construction Company, LLC MSU-Riley Campus Courtyard Other Construction: All Contract Amounts Glass Inc Neshoba Central High School Exteriors: < $2 million Graham Roofing Incorporated East Mississippi New Student Union Other Specialty Construction: All Contract Amounts Mandal’s, Inc. William Carey University Campus Wide Tornado Emergency Work Exteriors: $2-10 million Nobles Contracting LLC Renovations to Main Building - South Forrest Attendance Center Historical Restoration: < $2 million Probity Contracting Group Neshoba Central High School Institutional: $10-25 million Roy Anderson Corp Chemours Bulk Handling Facility at Mississippi State Port Industrial: $25-99 million Roy Anderson Corp Gulfport High School Additions & Renovations Institutional: $25-99 million

W.G. Yates & Sons Construction Company Vista Del Mar Commercial: $25-99 million W.G. Yates & Sons Construction Company Winston Medical Center Campus Healthcare: $25-99 million White Construction Company Toyota of Cedar Park Commercial: $10-25 million BRONZE WINNERS Copeland and Johns, Inc. Cottages of Hooper Hollow Commercial: $10-25 million FL Crane & Sons LA Tech Press Box Exteriors: < $2 million Glass Inc Vista Del Mar Exteriors: $2-10 million JESCO, Inc. Steel Dust Recycling, LLC Industrial: $25-99 million Probity Contracting Group Central Nephrology Clinic and Fresenius Medical Care Healthcare: < $5 million Steel Service Mercedes Benz Plant Expansion Other Specialty Construction: All Contract Amounts TL Wallace Construction, Inc. Duff Capital Investors - Hardscape & Fountain Other Construction: All Contract Amounts White Construction Company The Parke Commercial: $25-99 million HONORABLE MENTION Adco Electric, Inc. Calsonic Kansei, Inc. Relocation Electrical: Industrial: < $2 million Blackline Walker Dialysis Clinic Healthcare: < $5 million Diversiﬁed Construction Services, Inc. Hampton Inn & Suites Commercial: $10-25 million Graham Rooﬁng Incorporated MSU Old Main Academic Center Other Specialty Construction: All Contract Amounts Mandals, Inc. Mandal Galleria Automotive (GMC & BMW Dealerships) Exteriors: < $2 million Probity Contracting Group Belhaven University Athletic Bowl Other Construction: All Contract Amounts Tull Brothers, Inc. Civil Rights and History Museums of Mississippi Exteriors: < $2 million

Construction I-55 Continued from Page 11

Byram Mayor Richard White, agrees the widening will help with the traffic issues. “The traffic is tremendous,” said White, “served on the VFD (Volunteer Fire Department) for 20 years, the extra lanes will make a big difference in transportation to Jackson and here in Mississippi. I think it’s going to be a great situation for everybody. I think it should be done years ago.” After the project began in 2013 it hit a couple snags. MDOT halted the project in January 2015 due to the Yazoo clay that was dumped roadside by a contractor of the original four-lane intersection in 1970s. MDOT then rebid the project to a new contractor due to finding design flaws of retaining walls between McDowell Road exit at the I-20 interchange to the Siwell Road exit at Byram. MDOT granted a new contract to its lowest bidder at $85 million: Yates Construction Co.. This project has three phases, and the second is nearly complete. Ratliff said, “The first phase was to complete the construction of the

median section and the second phase was to complete the southbound lane of the project. We’re getting to the end of Phase Two. Once we get through building the southbound lane, we’ll have to split traffic and do some tie-ins with the center median wall that we had to leave out at the exit and the on-ramp to utilize while we were working. We’re about to ﬁnish Phase Two and then go to Phase Three at the end of the year.” The completion date was Aug. 8, but MDOT gave the contractor a 13-day extension due to hurricane impacts, Ratliff said. “Right now, we’re still in the same completion date of the month of August even with a rainy summer and hurricane issues,” he said. “The I-55 South Expansion project will provided much needed relief to a very heavily traveled corridor in the Jackson metro area,” Transportation Commissioner Dick Hall said recently. . “This project will reduce travel times and increase efficiency throughout the corridor.” In the meantime, the traffic has been a challenge for daily commuters. Mayor White believes this problem is speed-related, though. “I believe if everyone would go

November 17, 2017

between 50 to 60 miles per hour the accidents wouldn’t have happened,” White said. “I’m an older person –a senior citizen so I believe slower speed save lives. People should realize this isn’t about cars or trucks but rather people driving. I think if everyone would slow down in tight places like this, but we have had a couple accidents that caused deaths because someone’s going too fast or not paying attention. I get police reports, and I don’t have to ask when someone runs into back of one’s car they were not paying attention or keeping their mind on the road.” Ratliff echoed Mayor White on the speeding issue, saying that the limit was lowered to 50 miles per hour. “We have a lot of issues with speeding that the motorists are going down there,” Ratliff said. “We’ve got speed limit lowered to 50 miles and if everybody would obey the limit we’d see a decrease in a lot of the action out there and it’d be safer for the workers and the public as well.”

Mississippi Business Journal

ABC

Continued from Page 11

Nations remains hopeful that the construction sector in Mississippi will catch up with the rest of the country after the last recession. “Historically, I think we will – things are much better today than it was in 2009,” he said. “Hiring is picking up, as are architect billings. All signs appear to be trending in the right direction. I know the industry is booming all over the country and I’m optimistic that things are going to get back to pre-recession levels.” Now in his second year as the ABC head, Nations has spent the bulk of his professional career in construction. His father Perry, who served for over three decades as head of the Associated General Contractors of Mississippi, exposed Lee to the industry at an early age. “Just being around the office as a kid and interacting with the sons of contractors gave me the impetus to do something (career-wise) in the construction industry,” said the younger Nations. “It’s all about people and relationships in this job. I love the folks in this industry, folks that are wonderful and solid working people. Today, I work closely with many of those same kids from my youth, as they’ve taken over companies from their fathers. “The attraction to building and construction was too much not to do it. It’s a great career.”

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November 17, 2017 • MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS JOURNAL • www.msbusiness.com

AN MBJ FOCUS: REAL ESTATE

A great vacation deal ...

... or negative impact? » Vacation rentals concern neighborhoods and may have economic effect By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com

nline vacation rental sites such as AirBnB and Vacation Rental By Owner (VRBO) are a huge phenomenon in the lodging market. Some customers are drawn by lower rates than for hotels, sometimes by renting just a room in a house. VRBO and AirBnB have made it much easier for people to get into the vacation rental business, but there are concerns that not all of them have proper business licenses and inspections, nor do all pay the required taxes. In popular tourist areas like New Orleans, some residents complain they no longer have neighbors they know because all of the homes on their street are being rented by people who sublease to online vacation rental sites. Mississippi is seeing such activity throughout the state, but in some areas more than others, said Linda G. Hornsby, executive director, Mississippi Hotel and Lodging Association. “It is a deﬁnite concern as it continues to grow,” Hornsby said. “We are monitoring the negative

economic impact of that not just here in Mississippi. In Louisiana, it is a number one concern. As it continues to grow, it exacerbates the problem.” One issue is that some homes are being rented in residential areas that are not zoned for commercial activity. Hornsby said that is a code enforcement issue that they leave up to municipalities. In addition to zoning issues, a major concern for municipalities and the state is whether rental owners on AirBnB and VRBO are collecting and paying all the applicable taxes. The Mississippi Department of Revenue recently clariﬁed its deﬁnition of what properties are subject to sales and room taxes depending on where they are located. “It does include VRBO or AirBnB,” Hornsby said. “If you go to those sites and other venues, very rarely are they quoting taxes. If they are not quoting them, they are not collecting and paying them.” That can put a dent in the coffers of local and state governments. In October, AirBnB began voluntarily collecting 7 percent taxes from their rentals in Mississippi. That prevents each host from having to collect and remit the taxes.

State Tax Collector Herb Frierson says the Department of Revenue is actively engaged in securing as many voluntary collection agreements as possible. VRBO has redefined which properties are subject to tax. “VRBO is doing a little better job,” Hornsby said. “They have in most areas corrected their template so people who rent homes or rooms have a place for applicable taxes that is included in a quote request. If it is not quoted, it is not being collected and paid.” She said unless there is a significant amount of enforcement, a lot of people can fly under the radar. “There are laws on the books in Mississippi and in many states, but unless you have enforcement, offenders can say they didn’t know they were supposed to pay taxes,” Hornsby said. “A lot of money is being left on the table at a time we need more money.” Hornsby said they have been investigating the issue for some time, and have identified a signifSee RENTALS, Page 17

Real Estate

November 17, 2017

Mississippi Business Journal

Buying cheaper than renting, for now » Experts feel changes in tax law could slow rebounding market By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com

t probably comes as no great surprise to most people who have both owned and rented a home in Mississippi that buying is cheaper than renting. A national GoBankingRates survey that used estimated rental and mortgage rates on Zillow found that average rents in Mississippi were $1,039 compared with monthly mortgage payments averaging $886. That made it about $153 more per month to rent than to buy. “That same survey stated it cost less to own than rent in all but 11 states, so I think that’s pretty signiﬁcant,” said 2018 Mississippi Realtors President Karen Glass, managing broker, Coldwell Banker Alfonso Realty, Gulfport. “We’re beneﬁting from historically low mortgage interest rates making monthly payments lower than rent payments. Plus,

“If the tax law changes push more buyers out of the market, then we may see a decrease in values, as sellers reduce their prices, or increase incentives to attract more buyers.” Stephanie Prisock Nix, broker associate, RE/MAX Connection, Flowood buying a home is not just a financial decision. People take pride in having their own living space that they can renovate, decorate and landscape to their personal tastes. Rentals don’t normally allow the renter to make any changes to the property.” Another important consideration, Glass said, is that rental payments don’t build equity and a renter can end up paying more than purchasing the property. Glass recently attended a National Association of Realtors convention in Chicago and said she learned some interesting statistics from the recently published 2017 Profile of Homebuyers and Sellers, including the fact that first-time homebuyers made up 34 percent of all homebuyers this year. “This is why we think the First-Time Homebuyers Bill will be successful and

of great benefit to many who don’t have money for a down payment or closing costs,” she said. Glass said the bill allows residents of Mississippi who have never owned or purchased a home to deduct up to $2,500 from their state adjusted gross income annually by establishing a designated firsttime home buyer savings account. Couples can deduct up to $5,000. Taxpayers can begin taking the deductions in the 2018 tax year. Mississippi Realtors’ research estimates the program will enable nearly 7,600 new first-time buyers to enter the market over the next five years. The demand for homes is expected to result in about 379 new homes being built in the state. Andrea Inman Detrick, broker, The Real Estate Firm, Oxford, said they are

definitely seeing interest in the first-time home buyer savings account. “Of course, the first step is the education process to let people know about it,” said Detrick, who is also a Mississippi Realtor Institute instructor. “The savings account can be opened now, but the tax deductions may be taken starting in 2018. Of course, you can save as much as you want. It will help anyone become a firsttime homebuyer because this creates a vehicle to prepare for purchasing a home.” Detrick said she personally thinks it would be great to start one of these accounts for children. “Even though there won’t be a tax advantage to it now, it would be a way to give a gift that will make a difference when they prepare to purchase their first home,” she said. Another factor in the mix when considering whether to rent or buy is proposed changes in federal tax law which would cap home mortgage interest deductions. If approved, it would have had little impact on first-time home buying in Mississippi, said Stephanie Prisock Nix, a broker associate with Your Central MS Connection,

See HOMES, Page 17

Real Estate

16 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q November 17, 2017

MISSISSIPPI REAL ESTATE ASSOCIATIONS

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Real Estate RENTALS

HOMES Continued from Page 14

icant number of properties that are not operating legally. “We plan to work with the state and VRBO so we can identify them and turn them over to the appropriate state authorities to follow up,” she said. “Everybody wins.” But on any given day, dozens of more rentals might be added. So, you catch one only to have more come on board that might not be paying taxes. While Hornsby’s biggest concern is that online rental companies like VRBO and AirBnB can create an unlevel playing field, there are other worries, as well. “Just as a consumer, you should be concerned about safety,” Hornsby said. “There are certain regulations commercial establishments have to abide by including being inspected routinely. A room in a house or a house itself doesn’t necessarily receive those inspections.” Another concern is key or code entry. Unless keys or codes are changed after each guest, there remains the possibility a prior guest could have entry later. “There is definitely a concern with a former guest having access to the property,” Hornsby said. The financial problems with online rentals can be compounded. AirBnB is particularly big in Oxford, which has more than 300 listings on AirBnB. Oxford is an example of trickle-down effects. “Most of the hotels send their data to Smith Travel Accommodations Report (STAR), which presents the Star Report every month,” Hornsby said. “The General Services Administration determines what the government per diem is in an area. Part of that is based on the Star Report. Oxford’s per diem got lowered significantly this year. Is it realistic? No. Government travelers usually stay in hotels. So, hotels are not getting what the going rate should be because the per diem got dropped.” VRBO and AirBnB are growing in popularity each year. Hornsby said millennials, in particular, seem to be gravitating to those type of marketing and properties. The issue has been raised in Bay St. Louis, said City Clerk Sissy Gonzales. The city is in the process of putting an ordinance in place for vacation rentals. Ridgeland ordinances specifically prohibit short-term home rentals without the approval of the mayor and the board of alderman, said Alan Hart, director of community development for Ridgeland. “The ordinance actually says you cannot rent for less than 30 days by any circumstance and renting for less than three months requires a special license from the City of Ridgeland,” Hart said. “We have discovered very recently that we have a few properties that are listed on AirBnB, and we are working with our legal counsel to determine the next step. The people who are doing it may have no idea it is not allowed. This is a commercial use occurring in a residential district. We’re working on a solution.”

Continued from Page 15

RE/MAX Connection, Flowood. “The impact of this deduction, and the proposed decreases, would have a greater impact in the higher end home market than in the entry level market,” Nix said. But she said overall changes in the tax code could have an impact if they reduce refunds. “Next spring, I would expect to see buyers waiting until they file tax returns before making a buying decision, as many first-time buyers in our marketplace rely on their refund to apply to their down payment or closing costs,” she said. “Most first-time buyers who contact me have a primary concern of a payment that is lower than their monthly rent, and

November 17, 2017

for the opportunity to build equity rather than just paying rent. Unfortunately, many of the would-be buyers are saddled with student debt payments along with other debts and credit issues that serve as roadblocks to homeownership. The proposed tax reform would eliminate the deduction for student loan interest, yet another burden for these prospective homeowners as it would reduce their available funds for purchasing a home.” Nix said inventory levels for entry level housing are already low and the adjustment to the capital gains deduction may cause more current homeowners to delay moves that would have added their property to available inventory for buyers to choose from. “In years past, lower inventory levels led to increased sales prices, driving up

Mississippi Business Journal

property values,” Nix said. “If the tax law changes push more buyers out of the market, then we may see a decrease in values, as sellers reduce their prices, or increase incentives to attract more buyers. This, of course, leaves those sellers with less equity in their pocket for their next purchase, effectively impacting values and inventory at all levels.” Nix said there has been a rebound in the housing market and the national economy over the past several years. But she fears the proposed tax changes, if passed, could bring a slowdown back to the housing market, and therefore the overall economy as consumers watch and wait to see how it will impact them before making a move.

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18 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q November 17, 2017 CONSTRUCTION

A backhoe operator for Lambert Backhoe and Dozer demolishes one of the stream beds.

JACK WEATHERLY/MBJ

Second phase of Smith Park renovation underway By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com

The second phase of the restoration of Smith Park in downtown Jackson is underway. Concrete water courses with “boulders” are being removed and earthen berms will be leveled before the greensward is resodded, according to a release from Downtown Jackson Partners. A safety fence has been erected around the park, which will be closed for two months during construction. The 2.4-acre park has been a problem in recent years. Vagrants stay there around the clock, ignoring signs that say the park closes at dusk. A woman was sexually assaulted in a parking lot across the street from the park in October 2016. A man who works out of

the office building at 200 N. Congress was attacked and injured in July 2017 in the parking lot. Churches provide meals on a regular basis to the people who dwell there. One of the major donors of food to the denizens of the park is Galloway Memorial United Methodist Church, which borders the park on Yazoo Street. A call to the church was not immediately returned. The park’s other boundaries are Amite, West and Congress streets. Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said in the release: “When completed, Smith Park will be a world-class green space for all of Jackson and the state to enjoy.” Lumumba’s father, who died after only a few months as mayor, backed the project, which was born during the administration of Frank Melton. The elder Lumumba’s support was picked up by Tony Yarber,

PUERTO RICO Continued from, Page 1

tana-based company. “The company was paying some subcontractors about one-seventh what it billed [PREPA],” The New York Times reported Tuesday. Two congressional committees are reviewing the case. Puerto Rican Gov. Ricardo Rosello has asked President Donald Trump for $94 billion in aid, including $18 billion for the utility, The Times has reported. Rosello was to appear before Congress on Tuesday. Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens but cannot vote in national elections. However, they can immigrate to the United

whom the younger Lumumba defeated. The first phase of the restoration was the removal in November 2016 of dead or dying trees. The $2.5 million plan is to create an expansive greensward with a new band shell. But funding for the bulk of it has not been secured. Inclusion in a state bond issue in 2015 and 2016 did not make the final cut. Ben Allen, president of the Downtown Jackson Partners (DJP), said the business improvement district is working with the city to again present a proposed bond issue for the third and biggest phase. Phase II will cost $100,000 and is being paid for by the DJP, Allen said. “Smith Park is testament to what can happen when a city and its residents come together during a period of financial hardship to improve the quality of life for the entire state,” said Allen of the DJP, which

States just as an American can move from one state to another. In another matter, Gray said that efforts by the company to do business with Cuba have “cooled” in the wake of Trump’s recent issuance of restrictions on trade with the communist island nation. The Thomasson Co. visited Cuba in a February trip sponsored by the Mississip- Gray pi Development Authority and was preparing to offer a bid on selling power poles to the stateowned utility, Gray said in an interview in June. “Unless there’s some political bad blood, I don’t see an

is working in conjunction with the city and the Friends of Smith Park. “The restoration of Smith Park reﬂects the commitment of business owners and residents to transform downtown Jackson into the crown jewel of Mississippi’s capital city,” John Ditto, chairman of the Friends of Smith Park, said in the release. Allen said in an interview: “We had a very good meeting with [Ison Harris, director of parks and recreation]. What they’ve agreed to do is simply to enforce the same rules and regulations that they do every other park in Jackson.” “If the Boy Scouts of America wants to throw a camp out there, they’ve got to get a permit,” Allen said. The 2.4-acre park was established in 1838.

issue” with doing business in Cuba, Gray said at the time. Even though the company did not realize any business out of the trip, “I’m good with that,” Gray said Tuesday. “They don’t have democracy and they feed the people the information that they want them to hear.” The company has done business in Central and South America and in the Philippines, he said in an earlier interview. As for the Puerto Rican deal, “it’s not easy doing business with a government and a utility that doesn’t have any money,” he said. He said he doesn’t know of any other Mississippi business trying to do business with Puerto Rico.

November 17, 2017

Mississippi Business Journal

DINING

Restaurateurs dive into the barbecue pool By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com There are dozens of restaurants that specialize in barbecue in the Jackson area. So what makes David Raines and Steve and Lisa Beagles think they can take a bite out of that market? For Raines, it’s because the success and hurrahs for his Flora Butcher Shop, which opened in 2016 and specializes in aboveprime waygu beef. Playing to his strength, Raines says Dave’s Triple B will emphasize beef barbecue. “We’ll have pork for sure,” Raines said. The menu will be eclectic, with some pulled pork and a South Carolina treatment with rubs and sauces, he added. But the beef makes it Texas-style and helps set it apart from the crowd. He’ll set up shop in the old Chimneyville Smokehouse, which operated out of an old railroad depot at 970 High Street for more than 20 years until recently, when it closed its doors. The goal is to open in January after the place is upgraded from what Raines called its “barbecue joint” look – outside and inside. The restaurant’s weathered exterior will be brightened and a deck accommodating about 50 will be added to the front, he said. With that, the seating will be approximate-

Special to the MBJ

David Raines, owner of the Flora Butcher Shop, will open the former Chimneyville Smokehouse as Dave’s Triple B.

ly 200, he said. Raines, a classically trained chef, explains that the Triple B means “the butcher, the baker and the barbecue maker.” The second part of indicates that all breads will be made on site. And the success of Raines’ $10 plate lunches has been a proving ground for affordability, in contrast to the high-dollar

GAMING

Mississippi Choctaws voting on proposal to create 4th casino Members of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians will vote on developing a fourth casino, which would be on tribal land at the center of the state. Choctaws will decide Thursday whether to create a gambling site on tribal land in the Red Water community just north of Carthage, The Clarion-Ledger reported. Red Water is about 23 miles west of two Choctaw casinos, the Silver Star and the Golden Moon, which are across a highway from each other outside Philadelphia. The other casino, Bok Homa, is on tribal land in Jones County, about 82 miles south of the Silver Star and the Golden Moon. Choctaw Chief Phyliss J. Anderson said a new casino would create more than 250 jobs and about $50 million in annual revenue. She said the tribe has about 11,000 members now, up from about 5,200 in 1994. “With the growing population and over 50 percent of the population under 25, the need for jobs is there,” Anderson said. “But what this casino will allow us to do is to use those funds to reinvest back

into the tribe for government services.” However, Tribal Council member Barry McMillan said the proposed project, in Anderson’s hometown, would take away business from existing casinos. McMillan said opponents of the new casino have a good chance of winning because there are often fewer than 3,000 votes cast in a Choctaw election. He said 1,700 tribal members have backed effort to bring the issue to a vote. He said the ballot contains a pro-casino ﬁnancial analysis that mentions nothing about the expected loss of business to the Silver Star and the Golden Moon. The analysis also says the tribe “has already missed out on potential proﬁts of more than $45 million” for failing to open three years ago. The Mississippi Gaming Commission does not regulate Choctaw casinos. Twenty-eight non-Choctaw casinos operate in the state along the Mississippi River and the Gulf Coast. — Associated Press

steaks. Steve and Lisa Beagles opened their Doe’s Eat Place franchise at 809 Avery Blvd in April in the Promenade shopping

center. Now they are on the verge of opening Steve’s Ribs and Grill only a neck bone’s throw from Doe’s in the Promenade. The new venture grew out of comments from customers at Doe’s who wanted the Beagles to open for lunch, Lisa Beagles said. But the couple said they wanted to stay true to the formula from the original Doe’s in Greenville and not offer lunch. Couple that with their background in the Carolinas and love of barbecue as it is made in that part of the country, and, voila, Steve’s. The Carolina barbecue uses a vinegar-based sauces and rubs, Lisa Beagles said. There also will be a “traditional Carolina barbecue slaw. It’s not like anything you ever had at another barbecue place,” she said. The ribs will be dry-rub. The Beagles just made a trip to Gastonia, N.C., to visit a couple of their favorite places, Black’s Barbecue and R.O.’s., both old, family owned restaurants just to make sure the couple was on the right track. “We’re there, and then some,” she said.