MBJ_Oct24_2014

INSIDE — Watkins: JRA to block him from Farish by repaying HUD $1.5M, Page 2

35 YEARS

1979

COVERAGE BEGINS INSIDE What: Sanderson Farms Championship When: Nov. 3-9 Where: Country Club of Jackson

PLUS » It’s a new course for golfers and spectators this year, so we have images of all 18 holes with tips on how to play the Country Club of Jackson course.

— Pages 18-19

www.msbusiness.com

October 24, 2014 • Vol. 36, No. 43 • $1 • 36 pages

AN MBJ FOCUS:

AGRICULTURE

THE 2014

IMMINENT BANKRUPTCY

A BREAKDOWN OF STATE’S TOP PRIVATELY OWNED COMPANIES

Development {P 2} » Watkins says JRA out to block him from Farish by repaying HUD $1.5M Economy {P 16} » Fed: Mississippi, other states in Atlanta District expected to sustain modest economic growth

» Bio-Medical Business Collaboratory set to take off Page 10

» Turner Grain’s transition will help consolidate lawsuits alleging breach of contract

BY TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com

INSIDE THE NEXT BIG THING IN MADISON CO.

2014

» About the Mississippi 100, Page 22 » Top 100 feature: South Miss. Electric Power Association, Page 24 » Top 100 feature: Staplcotn of Greenwood, Page 26 » The complete Top 100 list, Pages 27-34

A group of Mississippi Delta farmers will be joining their counterparts in Arkansas and Louisiana in seeking to recoup millions of dollars Turner Grain Merchandising owes them once the Brinkley, Arkansas, commodities broker follows through with a planned Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Greenville lawyer Scott Phillips, who represents Leland farmer Harper Ross and five other Delta farmers who say Turner Grain stiffed them for $1.7 million in delivered grain, said he expects the company to file Chapter 11 “any day now.”

The filing, Phillips said, will at least bring the numerous lawsuits against Turner to a common venue.

“Turner won’t have to defend cases in seven different districts and get inconsistent rulings,” he added.

Turner is facing at least seven lawsuits over allegations of breach of contract, according to Arkansas Business, a weekly business newspaper for Northwest Arkansas.

The business newspaper is reporting Turner Grain’s court-appointed receiver filed a draft of the bankruptcy on Oct. 14, showing the company with $24.8 million in debts and $13.8 million in assets.

Some of the largest creditors listed are Southern Rice & Cotton of Harrisburg, Arkansas, with a claim of $3.2 million, and Zero Grade Farms of Blytheville,

See

TURNER, Page 35

http://msbusiness.com/events/50-women-nomination-form/

2 I Mississippi Business Journal I October 24 2014 REAL ESTATE

Watkins: JRA to block him from Farish by repaying HUD $1.5M Âť He says motive is to keep him from returning as Farish Street dev eloper

By TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com

Former Farish Street developer David Watkins says he suspects bad faith motives are behind the Jackson Redevelopment Authority’s eagerness to cover a $1.5 million repayment the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has demanded from the City of Jackson.

Watkins says the motive is clear to him: Paying HUD could clear the way for the

JRA to get a new developer for the first block of downtown Jackson’s Farish Street, an area the City has tried unsuccessfully for more than 15 years to convert to an entertainment destination.

The JRA was to vote Wednesday morning to pay the $1.5 million HUD says it wants returned for regulatory missteps the City made in trying to redevelopment Farish Street. Jennifer Johnson, JRA board chair, said the Redevelopment Authority has found the money in its budget. She expected an affirmative vote Wednesday morning to cover the HUD repayment.

The $1.5 million HUD has demanded be returned was awarded to the City in 1998. The City gave the money to the JRA to buy 17 parcels that spanned the three blocks of Farish Street targeted for the redevelopment. The problem, HUD

FILE / The Mississippi Business Journal

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Some propterties along Farish Street in Jackson are in such disrepair, the Jackson Redeveolpment Authority has considered tearing them down.

says, is that the City never certified the JRA as a “sub-grantee� entitled to spend HUD money.

The JRA’s willingness to pay off HUD stems from its belief that the payment will lead the federal agency to lift an indefinite suspension it put the JRA under in a Sept.

7 monitoring letter. The suspension applies to any City projects in which HUD is involved. JRA board members agreed last month that the suspension poses a huge impediment and the sooner it is lifted the better.

Work on Farish Street has been stopped since last October, when the JRA booted Watkins’ Farish Street Group from the project.

HUD has also handed indefinite suspensions to Watkins’ companies Watkins Development, though Watkins insists the development company had no involvement in Farish Street. An affiliate, the Farish Street Group, which had partners separate from Watkins Development, undertook the redevelopment, he noted.

Watkins has said he wants back in as developer, and has had a $4.7 million lien on the Farish Street properties for money he

says he has put into the project.

But he can’t get back in while suspended.

And that circumstance, says Watkins, is why the JRA wants to pay off HUD. “We have been advised by reliable sources that the JRA is now trying to work a deal to pay back the $1.5 million, in order for the City and JRA to be taken off of the “suspension� list for HUD, but not to take off the private developers,� Watkins said in an email to the Mississippi Business Journal. “They will then take the position that they can’t deal with us any longer because we are suspended.�

That sort of thing, said Watkins, “doesn’t even pass the smell test.�

He said it is difficult to believe that JRA would spend $1.5 million just to come up with “a bogus excuse not to deal with FSG and Watkins, all through some convoluted and unfair process.�

Watkins has insisted since the start of the suspensions in September that the JRA never informed him of any HUD involvement with Farish Street.

See

FARISH, Page 11

October 24, 2014

UTILITIES

Age and Warc are media partners.

Entergy expects drop in as-reported earnings

HEALTHCARE

NEW ORLEANS — Entergy Corporation expects third quarter 2014 as-reported earnings of approximately $1.26 per share and operational earnings of approximately $1.67 per share.

Results for third quarter 2013 were $1.34 per share on an as-reported basis and $2.41 per share on an operational basis.

The Utility posted another quarter-over-quarter of industrial sales growth, led by the Gulf region of the service territory, and took steps to reduce uncertainty through a rate case settlement in Mississippi. EWC received added clarity on the decommissioning of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station, which, along with the rate case settlement, resulted in charges in third quarter 2014.

Entergy affirmed its 2014 operational earnings guidance range of $5.55 to $6.75 per share for the full year.

As-reported results are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and comprise operational earnings and special items.

Special items were recorded in third quarter 2013 for the transmission spin-merge transaction and human capital management program. Included in both third quarter 2013 and 2014 were special items for charges arising from the decision to close Vermont Yankee, including the effects of an updated decommissioning cost study completed in the current quarter.

Epidemiologist: State hospitals can ID Ebola ACROSS MISSISSIPPI — State health officials say Mississippi hospitals will be capable of handling any Ebola cases that may arise.

State Epidemiologist Dr. Thomas Dobbs said some hospitals are updating procedures based on information provided by the state Department of Health and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But even now as updates are ongoing, Dobbs said Mississippi hospitals “are able to identify and isolate any cases that do occur and we have referral centers throughout the state that can provide long-term treatment.”

Some hospitals — or group of hospitals — are augmenting that information with their own plans.

Singing River Health System spokesman Richard Lucas says the Pascagoula-based hospital and others along the Mississippi Gulf Coast are regularly meeting on local procedures to put in place.

Dobbs said health officials have been talking with hospitals across the state since August. Dobbs also has been talking with media outlets across the state about Ebola.

TECHNOLOGY

C Spire wins national award for marketing RIDGELAND — C Spire has won a national award and a $50,000 cash prize for marketing analytics leadership from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA).

The Ridgeland-based diversified telecommunications and technology services company was selected for the award by a sevenmember panel of judges over two California-based finalists — business communications service provider Citrix and Intel, a global semiconductor manufacturer.

C Spire was named the overall winner by an independent panel of current and former chief marketing officers, top academics and industry leaders and by brand marketers at the ANA’s annual conference. Judges and marketers cited the company’s innovation, scientific rigor and the impact of marketing analytics on its overall operations as compelling reasons for its selection.

“We’re thrilled and honored that our program was selected as a prime example of a new scientific approach that relies on data not only to drive the bottom line, but also to address fundamental business challenges and opportunities,” said David Hayes, vice president of marketing for C Spire.

Hayes said the cash prize will be donated to two of the company’s charities of choice — the American Heart Association and Operation Shoestring.

The award was first established in 2013 by ANA, the Advertising Research Foundation and Marketing Science Institute as part of a $100,000 competition to spotlight companies that are leading the way in using analytics to improve marketing results and accelerate growth. Leading analytics technology company MarketShare is the award presenter and Advertising

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Mississippi Business Journal

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SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY

Stennis team chosen for NASA career initiative HANCOCK COUNTY — Recognizing that technology drives exploration, NASA has selected four teams of agency technologists, including one in Mississippi, for participation in the Early Career Initiative (ECI) pilot program.

The program encourages creativity and innovation among early career NASA technologists by engaging them in hands-on technology development opportunities needed for future missions.

4 I Mississippi Business Journal I October 24 2014

CREATIVE ECONOMY

‘Little Boogaloo’ happy singing the blues » Eden Brent forges award-winning career

BY WALLY NORTHWAY wally.northway@msbusiness.com

Mississippi recording artist Eden Brent knew early on that she had musical talent, but it was only after getting her college degree and learning the basics of performing from one of the Delta’s most-respected and loved bluesmen that she realized music would be her career.

“When I was in grade school, every morning we would say the Pledge of Allegiance, and then we would sing a song, like the ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ or whatever,” said Brent, who grew up in Greenville, the daughter of a family that made a name for itself in the towboat business. “I was always asked to lead the singing. I didn’t volunteer — they would ask me. I guess that’s where it all started.”

Wanting a deeper, formal understanding of music, after graduating from high school Brent enrolled at the University of North Texas, eventually earning a degree in music theory. By that time, Brent was a veteran songwriter — she wrote her first song when she was only three years old — and she had performed for years both as a solo artist as well as in rock and jazz bands in and around Greenville. Still, she felt her education somehow just wasn’t complete.

Then, she met Abie “Boogaloo” Ames. Boogaloo was a self-taught, master blues pianist who had perfected his boogie-woogie playing style over nearly 50 years of performing before he met Brent. At first, Brent said she was like Boogaloo’s “groupie,” hanging around with him, listening to him play then going home to try it for herself — with mixed results. Eventually, she would ask Boogaloo to be her teacher and mentor.

The two would, over time, become the closest friends — Boogaloo even began referring to Brent as “Little Boogaloo” and PBS filmed a documentary in 1999 titled Boogaloo & Eden: Sustaining the Sound about their friendship — and it was this relationship that would launch Brent’s performing and recording career.

“When we did the PBS documentary, I didn’t really think it was that big of a deal then; just a normal part of my life in Greenville with Boogaloo,” Brent remembered.

“Now, it means so much more to me, and it is so neat to go back and listen to what we said and did.

“I learned so much in college, but I didn’t know how to really apply what I knew. Boogaloo brought what I had in my mind down to my hands — he taught me technique and how to be an entertainer.”

Sadly, Boogaloo died in 2002 at the age of 82, but Brent took his lessons and began building a reputation as a mustsee blues performer, offering her Boogaloo-inspired piano work and gutsy vocals. Then in 2005, Brent got her big break when she won the Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge in Memphis.

“I had been playing regionally until then and had some success, but winning the International Blues Challenge put me on the national map I guess,” Brent said. “The Blues Foundation is to the blues what the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (which offers the Grammy Awards) is to all the forms of music.”

In 2009, Brent’s place among performers was firmly cemented when she was nominated in four categories at the Blues Music Awards, winning both Acoustic Album of the Year (for her “Mississippi Number 1”) and

Photo by Julia Bailey / Special to the MBJ

Greenville native Eden Brent has parlayed her degree from the University of North Texas and what she learned from the late bluesman Abie “Boogaloo” Ames into a globe-trotting career that has garnered numerous awards.

Photo by Justin Fox Burks / Special to the MBJ

Acoustic Artist of the Year. The next year, the Blues Foundation presented her with the Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of The Year award.

Chip Eagle, publisher of Blues Revue, BluesWax and Dirty Linen, said "in Eden's huge playing and singing you can hear the ghosts of Mississippi in a duet with the future of the blues."

Brent has now recorded numerous records, including “Jigsaw Heart,” which was released just this year by her label, Yellow Dog Records.

She has also performed all over the world. Brent has played at the prestigious Kennedy Center, the 2000 Re-

publican Convention and the 2005 presidential inauguration ceremony (where she shared the stage with the legendary bluesman B.B. King), the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel — even the British Embassy. With the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, she has performed along with musicians such as Marcia Ball and George Porter Jr., best known as the bassist and vocalist in the R&B group The Meters.

Through all of this, though, Brent has remained “true to her roots.” She still lives in Greenville, and she still leans the lessons she learned from Boogaloo — play it from the heart, work hard and stay true to yourself and the music.

“There was a time when I was younger when I thought I wanted to be a rock star, but I realize now I never wanted that lifestyle.” She added with a laugh, “Be careful what you wish for — it might come true!”

Brent also still values her education.

“Apprenticeships are way too undervalued, I think,” Eden said. “I value my college experience, but I would not be where I am today if not for what I learned as an apprentice under Boogaloo.”

Brent’s advice to others wanting a similar career is rather straightforward.

“You need to dream big, but accomplish that dream in steps. Shoot for the mountaintop first, then the clouds, then the moon, then the stars.

“And, be yourself. Don’t try to be me. Gosh, the world couldn’t handle more than one of me anyway.”

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To learn more,visit

.

A message from Entergy Mississippi, Inc. Š2014 Entergy Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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

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

Website: www.msbusiness.com October 24, 2014 Volume 36, Number 43

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 October 24, 2014 • www.msbusiness.com • Page 6

OTHER VIEWS

Dropout rates must be attacked early

T

he latest data on graduation and dropout rates in Mississippi tells us only one thing definitively: Improving the region’s educational attainment level is a long-term process.

Disappointingly, graduation rates for students who entered as freshmen in 2009 and were scheduled to graduate in 2013 fell in most school districts from the previous year.

That corresponded to a drop in the state graduation rate of one percentage point, to 74.5 percent.

Last year’s statewide rate was the highest since 2006, when a new formula for computing graduation rates was introduced. Un-

fortunately, that momentum couldn’t be sustained, with some exceptions like Tupelo, which saw its graduation rate climb 5.9 percentage points to 79.4.

The state’s dropout rate of 13.9 remained flat.

Every school district is now required to have a dropout prevention strategy. That includes a lot of work done in trying to catch the problem on the back end, after students reach high school.

But the evidence is clear that the dropout risk factors show up much earlier. By the time an at-risk student gets to high school, it may be too late.

Another set of data released last week offers an obvious example. The first assess-

ment of children entering kindergarten administered by the state – an evaluation that determined their readiness to learn to read – was troubling, if not surprising. Two-thirds of Mississippi students entering kindergarten scored below the benchmark readiness level.

Children who enter kindergarten without any sort of introduction to the concept of books, the alphabet, letter sounds and other building blocks of literacy are far less likely to be reading on grade level by third grade, a pivotal point in educational development.

— Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

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

» WHAT YOU’RE READING

» THE OUTSIDE WORLD

Here are the most-read stories on msbusiness.com from October 14 - October 21.

MELISSA KILLINGSWORTH Sr. Account Executive

melissa.harrison@msbusiness.com • 364-1030

1. Dak Prescott’s autograph fetches a pretty penny

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

2. Senators write letter over concern for rural health care delivery

TACY RAYBURN Production Manager tacy.rayburn@msbusiness.com • 364-1019

3. JACK WEATHERLY — MISSISSIPPI RISING: Time to sell the image

CHARINA RHODES Circulation Manager charina.rhodes@msbusiness.com • 364-1045

5. Report: What is Mississippi’s most unique job?

4. Kellogg Foundation commits $2.3 million to Civil Rights Museum

MARCIA THOMPSON-KELLY Business Assistant marcia.kelly@msbusiness.com • 364-1044

» MBJ COMMENTS ONLINE

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

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

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

The right thing to do?

RE: “Alcorn getting federal funding to study small farming operations” (Sept. 17) ... Ah Republicans, its apparently ok to take $ from the Feds to study crops, but not ok to take $ from the Feds to help the people of our state get healthcare.

GOP: Disease in crops = Bad Disease in people = OK

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

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

Voting irregularities RE: “Secretary of State's Office launches election text messaging service” (Oct. 16) ... GREAT! After THREE obviously fraudulent elections, Hattiesburg mayoral and U. S. Senate runoff, Chief Election Officer makes pitiful attempts at firming up Ms elections. Not sure this instill such confidence in legal voters.

» CORRECTIONS

Life goes on

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

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

RE: “Man bargaining with prosecutors in Rose Cochran photo case” (Oct. 10) ... Even if McDaniel wins his present challenge, he would still have to prove that he had the right to throw out the votes of more than 10000 voters. He clearly does not have that proof. It is over.

The ballots are printed. Write ins do not count. McSore Looser is not on the ballot. Due to the poor way he conducted himself, he will never be elected to another important office as long as he lives. So the conclusion is forgone. Reality has a clear bias against fantasy stuff that will never happen. So yes there is a bias. The election is soon weeks. Life goes on.

PERSPECTIVE

October 24, 2014 I Mississippi Business Journal

I

» RICKY NOBILE » FROM THE GROUND UP

Ten business lessons from Monica Harrigill

S

»INSIDE MISSISSIPPI

You say ‘Obama’, I say ‘Ebola’

N

o one wants to suggest their neighbors here in Mississippi are guilty of overreacting to the Ebola scare, after all, it doesn’t hurt anyone to be cautious. No one wants to suggest their neighbors might seem even the slightest bit racist in their reaction to the Ebola crisis, not in our current age of super sensitivity at being politically corrected. Certainly no one wants to suggest their neighbors are behaving like full blown ignoramuses, but come on Mississippi.

A Mississippi school principal goes to his brother’s funeral in Zambia. Zambia. Word spreads through his local school district. A few parents fear the principal just may be carrying the Ebola virus. They tell other parents who also crank up the fear factor. Within a few hours dozens of parents pull their kids from the school. Fear spreads and parents at nearby schools pull their children out as well. If one principal is carrying Ebola, every principal in the state is likely to be infected, they reason, or at least think they do.

The principal decides to admit himself to a hospital. Better safe than stupid. Again, his brother’s funeral was in Zambia. If you look at an equal-area cylindrical map projection of the African continent, you might notice Zambia is no where near the Ebola outbreak in the countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, You could almost fit The People’s Republic of China in between Zambia and those countries. Even on a Northern Hemisphere-centric map, Zambia looks as far away from Liberia as Miami to Vancouver.

But for Ebola fear mongers, the entire continent of Africa is apparently a petri dish of deadly diseases. Fox News reports that the Obama Administration has “knowingly” expedited visas for those traveling from West Africa, a not so subtle insinua-

tion that Obama seeks to start an Ebola epidemic in the United States.

The Ebola epidemic has been going David Dallas on quite sometime. Countless Americans have visited these West African countries and many have gone for the purpose of assisting those suffering.

Is the Ebola outbreak serious? Absolutely. Could it kill as many people in this country as it has in Liberia and other West African nations? Absolutely not. We have the finest medical care money can buy in this country and a virus of this nature does not pose much of a threat.

Make no mistake this “Ebola Crisis” would not be receiving the kind of attention it has up to this moment were it not for the upcoming election. Republicans want a travel ban on undesirables; Democrats want more funding for healthcare research. Political points will be scored. It’s pretty easy to whip their respective Obama-haters and Obama-backers into a frenzy when you are dealing with a deadly African bug that could become an extinction-level-event virus.

And now the government we loathe so and wouldn’t mind shutting down is expected to save us. It’s worked beautifully, so beautifully that President Obama felt compelled to name an Ebola Czar. The President hasn’t been this assertive since he named the all important “Asian Carp Czar.”

To be fair, every President since Nixon has appointed “Czars” to handle something a government agency is already supposed to be handling, so you can’t blame Obama for

ome businesspeople exude enthusiasm. It inspires other people. Then there are businesspeople who radiate contagious enthusiasm, which the kind that infects others with enthusiasm. Such is the case with Monica Harrigill, vice president of Jackie’s International and a 2004 winner of the Mississippi Business Journal’s Top 40 Under 40. In addition to currently managing eight motels and 40 restaurants, she is a partner with husband, Ray, in several other businesses.

Harrigill’s and her family’s story has been profiled before, but it bears mentioning to understand where she came from and how it helps define her. Her father is Dr. D.L “Doc” Sethi, a man who grew up in poverty in India, came to the United States, earned a Ph.D., taught at the college level, raised three children Phil Hardwick and invested in a Sonic Drive-In franchise that eventually became a legion of motels and restaurants. She and her brother manage the day-to-day operations of those businesses and her sister is a physician. She and her husband, Ray, also invest in and manage several other businesses.

Harrigill recently made a presentation to my Principles of Management class. I had asked her to tell her story and to give the students some lessons learned from her experience running the several businesses she is involved with her family. She pulled no punches, telling them that hard work comes with confidence and skill. In addition to learning about the above businesses, the students heard about her days and nights of flipping burgers, sweeping parking lots and growing the drive-in restaurants she managed.

Below is her list of top 10 things that she has learned and that she would advise to anyone who wants to go into business.

1. Overlearn everything you want to be good at. Be brilliant at the basics. It does not matter what you want to be good at. Know as much as possible about the details of the business, and then teach those things to the employees. Practicing and teaching results in permanent behavior.

2. Love your people/ believe in your people. Servant leadership is the idea that the leader wants and needs to serve others first. The servant leader focuses on people and developing their skills and attitudes about the company and about the work. Harrigill’s companies have a low margin of turnover in a high turnover industry because of caring about employees.

3. Plan your plan and work your plan. Success is almost always intentional. Success begins with planning to succeed. A good business plan takes research, time and thinking to develop.

4. Everything speaks. Everything you do or say speaks. Even not doing something sends a message. For example, when the manager sees something being done wrong and does not take corrective action he or she is silently accepting the behavior or action.

5. Be honest. Always be straight forward even when it would be easier to be otherwise.

6. Be audible ready, i.e. the ability to change quickly. That means being able to adjust the conversation to what your customer or employee needs. It means listening to the customer and See HARDWICK, Page 9

See DALLAS, Page 9

7

8 I Mississippi Business Journal I October 24, 2014 MID-SOUTH BUSINESS

Miss. renews water-rights battle with Memphis JACKSON — The U.S. Supreme Court is asking the Obama administration to weigh-in on whether to allow Mississippi to filed a new lawsuit alleging Memphis, Tennessee, is stealing water from the state.

The Supreme Court on Monday invited Solicitor General Don Verrilli's office to file a brief on behalf of the U.S. government. Verrilli is the No. 2 official in the Justice Department and is the chief courtroom lawyer for the executive branch.

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood wants to refile a lawsuit over the water rights question.

The U.S. Supreme refused in 2010 to consider a similar claim.

AGRICULTURE

Harsh storms should not hurt row yields The major storm that passed through the state Oct. 13 brought a lot of wind and rain but caused little damage to the state’s row crops, because most of them were already harvested.

According to U.S. Department of Agriculture figures released Oct. 12, harvest was 87 percent complete for rice, 74 percent complete for soybeans, 98 percent complete for corn and 85 percent complete for sorghum. Only 38 percent of cotton had been harvested when the storm hit.

Bobby Golden, Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station agronomist at Stoneville, said a small amount of rice was planted extremely late, but farmers are pleased with overall yields.

“Our rice harvests should be average to a little above average. We are expecting 155 to 160 bushels per acre,” Golden said. “The north Delta had some really good rice yields that could inflate the state average.”

Weather patterns disrupted rice producers’ management schedules in the early season, but the crop produced good yields despite these challenges.

“I’m very pleased with where we are sitting with yield,” Golden said. “It was definitely not a perfect world to grow rice in this year, but we made it through and are nearing the end.”

Most of Mississippi’s rice grows on heavy soil, so the rains that fell Monday will delay harvest at least a week on the remaining acreage. Although the Oct. 13 storm brought some high winds, Golden said it did not seem to affect the small amount of rice remaining in fields.

Trent Irby, Extension soybean specialist, said harvest progress through early October has been relatively steady. Recent storms appears to have had little impact on harvest yield or quality.

“The recent weather system knocked out harvest for a few days, but we expect to resume later this week,” he said on Oct. 15.

— from staff and MBJ wire services

Mississippi alleges that Memphis' wells have created "cones of depression" in the water table that remove water from Mississippi into Tennessee.

It estimates that Memphis has "forcibly" taken 252 billion gallons of water since 1985.

Memphis, its city-owned utility system and the state of Tennessee argue Mississippi's claims contradict science and legal precedent. They also say the aquifer is an interstate resource to which no state can claim ownership without formal apportionment.

The Mississippi motion is the latest in a legal battle dating to 2005, when Hood filed suit against Memphis and city-owned Memphis Light, Gas and

Water Division in federal court in Oxford, Mississippi. That suit sought up to $1.3 billion in damages and could have required the city to draw some of its water from the Mississippi River.

In 2008, U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson ruled that his court lacked jurisdiction because the state of Tennessee, though not named as a defendant, must be brought in as a "necessary and indispensable" party. In such a dispute between states, the arbiter must be the U.S. Supreme Court, he said.

Davidson's ruling was upheld by the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

— from staff and MBJ wire services

BANKING AND FINANCE

BancorpSouth Q3 earnings rise to $28.8M TUPELO — BancorpSouth Inc. saw its net income rise more than 15 percent to $28.8 million in the third quarter, as loans and insurance commission revenue increased.

The company reports noninterest revenue was $69.3 million, up from $62.5 million for the yearago period. Insurance commission revenue played a large role, rising from $23.8 million to $29.2 million.

In the third quarter of 2013, BancorpSouth earned $24.9 million, or 26 cents a share.

BancorpSouth also reported pretax costs of $3.1 million related to Bank Secrecy Act and antimoney laundering compliance weaknesses that have delayed its merger with two banks.

"The primary focus of our efforts during the quarter has been on remediating the regulatory concerns identified regarding our BSA and AML processes," BancorpSouth Chairman and CEO Dan Rollins said in a news release.

"We are pleased with the progress that we have made on these efforts and our people continue to work diligently to make the necessary improvements," he said.

In July, the company said it needed additional time to complete its mergers with Ouachita Bancshares Corp. of West Monroe, Louisiana, and Central Community Corp. of Temple, Texas.

BancorpSouth had announced the deals in January and had expected their completion by June 30 of this year.

BancorpSouth said more time was needed to get regulatory approvals and to meet "closing conditions necessary to complete" the mergers. The merger agreements, valued at a combined $325 million in stock and cash, have been extended to June 30 of 2015.

As of Sept. 30, BancorpSouth's total assets were $13.1 billion, compared to $12.9 billion a year ago.

Loans and leases totaled $9.5 billion, up from $8.8 billion.

Total deposits at the end of the quarter were $10.7 billion.

Renasant records highest-ever earnings TUPELO — Renasant Corporation saw net income for the third quarter of 2014 increase to $15,535,000, or basic and diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.49, as compared to $6,637,000, or basic and diluted EPS of $0.24, for the third quarter of 2013.

The company’s balance sheet and results of operations as of and for the three months ending Sept.

30 include the impact of the company’s acquisition of First M&F Corporation, which was completed on Sept. 1, 2013. Periods presented prior to Sept. 1, 2013, do not reflect any impact from the First M&F acquisition.

“Our earnings per share of 49 cents represent our highest quarterly earnings in the 110-year history of our company, excluding periods which included one-time gains associated with acquisitions. In addition, our return on average assets for the quarter was 1.07 percent, which marks the second consecutive quarter of exceeding the 1 percent threshold, while our year-to-date return on average assets was 1.01 percent,” said Renasant Chairman and Chief Executive Officer E. Robinson McGraw.

“These accomplishments were driven by strong non-acquired loan growth and a continued focus on revenue growth while at the same time managing expenses.”

Total assets as of Sept. 30 were approximately $5.75 billion, as compared to $5.75 billion from Dec. 31, 2013, and $5.83 billion on a linked quarter basis. The decrease in assets on a linked quarter basis is due to the seasonal runoff of deposits, primarily in public fund deposits, and the related divestiture of the liquid assets (low-yielding interest bearing cash or short-term investments) in which these seasonal deposits were invested.

— from staff and MBJ wire services

CREATIVE ECONOMY

Mississippi Film Studio inks deal with NOLA group CANTON — New Orleans-based Hollywood Trucks has signed an exclusive five-year deal to provide production vehicles at Mississippi’s largest studio facility, Mississippi Film Studios (MFS).

Terms were not disclosed.

“The Hollywood Trucks team is excited to partner with one of the newest members of the growing ‘Hollywood South’ family,” said Andre Champagne, CEO of Hollywood Trucks. “Our expansion into Mississippi indicates the tremendous growth of the southern region’s film industry in recent years. This new platform has enabled Hollywood Trucks to continue to focus on eco-friendly fleet innovation, while growing our brand in exciting new locations like Mississippi Film Studios. Our team looks forward to a long and successful relationship with Rick Moore and MFS.” “We’re in an extremely exciting time for the Mississippi film industry. Filmmakers are realizing that our state is an amazing place to make films, and Mississippi Film Studios’ new partnership with Hollywood Trucks is a huge boost for our thriving market,” said Rick Moore, President of Mississippi Film Studios. “The level of service, inventory and technology that Hollywood Trucks brings to Mississippi can’t be overstated, and we’re thrilled about where this partnerships will lead us.”

October 24, 2014

MISSISSIPPI DELTA

MARS TO INVEST $31M, HIRE 25 IN GREENVILLE Mars Food, which makes Uncle Ben's Rice and other products at its Greenville plant, will invest $31 million to modernize operations and expand research at the plant.

The company plans to add 25 jobs to the current 226 full-time and 230 contract workers at the 35-yearold operation. New production workers are expected to make $31,000 a year, while new research employees are expected to make $61,000 a year.

The Mississippi Development Authority is giving Mars $3.25 million to aid the upgrades inside the existing 250,000-square-foot plant. MDA spokesman Jeff Rent said Tuesday that Greenville and Washington County are not offering local property tax breaks.

Apu Mody, the president of Mars Food North America, said the investment will increase production capacity and the research center will aid Mars products worldwide.

"This is an exciting day for Mars Food as this investment will modernize our Greenville facility, increase our site's capacity and allow us to build a state-of-the-art research and development application center that will serve our global innovation efforts," Mody said in a statement. "We have a long and proud history here in Mississippi, and this is another demonstration of our commitment to both the Greenville site and the surrounding community."

The company makes Uncle Ben's, Seeds of Change and Abu Siouf products at the Greenville plant. It also has a plant in Bolton.

Privately-held Mars, based in McLean, Virginia, has yearly sales of more than $33 billion, making food, candy, drinks and pet care products. Its food division is based in Belgium and has yearly sales of about $2 billion.

GAMING

Casino owner Full House Resorts looks for buyer NEW YORK — Full House Resorts Inc., the casino and hotel operator, said Wednesday that it is putting itself up for sale.

The company, based in Las Vegas, evaluated strategic alternatives and decided that a sale was the best move. It is working on finding a buyer.

Full House owns the Silver Slipper Casino in Hancock County as well as the Rising Star Riverboat Casino in Rising Sun, Indiana, among others.

— from staff and MBJ wire services

DALLAS

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GULF COAST

Biloxi baseball stadium will have seating for 6,000 BILOXI — The Biloxi City Council has authorized spending $418,000 for about 2,000 seats initially removed from plans for a new minor league baseball park.

The additional cost puts the ballpark project $90,000 over its $36 million budget.

The city council voted 4-3 Tuesday to spend the money.

Contractors say work on Biloxi's new baseball stadium is on schedule with pre-casting set to start in December. Some council members said if they knew Minor League baseball requires stadiums have at least 6,000 seats, they never would have approved a budget that included less than that.

"If you had to have so many seats that should have been in there to start with," Councilman George Lawrence said. "I don't think we have $418,000 floating around anywhere to pay for this thing. There's no money left in the contingency fund if this thing is right."

Tim Bennett, one of the team owners, said without the additional seats, the city would be losing almost $300,000 a year in revenues.

Bennett said 5,000 of the seats in the stadium

UTILITIES

PSC won’t rehear domestic violence deposit waiver JACKSON — The Mississippi Public Service Commission won't reconsider its order to let victims of domestic violence delay paying utility deposits for 60 days, setting up a possible legal showdown over the regulator's authority over rural water

HARDWICK

Proposed Biloxi minor league baseball stadium (Courtesy of Dale Partners)

are chair-back seats and the remaining 1,000 are in picnic areas, suites, party decks and on the berm.

Council members Kenny Glavan, Dixie Newman, Robert Deming and Felix Gines voted to approve the additional seating after the city engineer announced utility work on the stadium is running around $400,000 less than projected and that savings can be applied to other needs like seating.

"We knew ... there were certain amenities taken out to meet budget. Just like we've said all along, if

we are able to put some of these amenities back in place we're certainly going to do that. We want the best possible stadium that we possibly can get for the $36 million that we've committed," Glavan said.

The city still has to find additional money for audio, an electronic scoreboard and signs, said Gina Tompkins, city attorney.

"We're hoping for additional funding sources that have not materialized yet," she said.

— from staff and MBJ wire services

association and electrical cooperatives.

The commission voted 3-0 Monday to deny a request from rural water associations and electrical cooperatives to rehear the issue.

Electric cooperatives served by the Tennessee Valley Authority, as well as water associations, claim the commission is overstepping its boundaries. State law says the commission can't regulate rates of electrical cooperatives and water associations. Both groups say a deposit delay equals rate regulation.

Jim Herring, a lawyer for the Mississippi Rural Water Association and Madison County's Bear Creek Water Association, says his clients are likely to sue.

"Our view is that this is not about domestic violence, this is about trying to establish jurisdiction if they can," Herring said after the hearing Monday.

"We think the statutes clearly preclude this."

Northern District Commissioner Brandon Presley, a Democrat, pushed the delay in deposits for domestic violence victims.

— from staff and MBJ wire services

Continued from Page 7

being able to change immediately to fit the situation.

7. Trust, but verify. Inspect what you expect. Even though the manager knows that an employee will probably do a good job it is good practice to check and make certain that the action was performed.

8. Teach-teach-teach. The manager must show how something is done if he or she expects it to be done. Also, the manager’s other actions are part of teaching.

9. Key Performance Indicator (KPI) numbers don't lie. The KPI’s for college students are grades. A student who does not study will get exposed when grades come out. The KPI’s in business are such things as units sold, number of sales, sales per employee and a myriad of other measurements. Numbers always tell the manager a story. The question for managers is whether he or she is listening to the story. What is the reason behind the number?

10. If you want to change your bottom line you must affect your front (top)

Continued from Page 7

pulling out the Czar Card. By the way, how is that Drug Czar thing working out? His salary is still being paid. You can bet the Asian Carp Czar is likely still on the dole, too.

Like silly young people in a horror flick, you make some pretty dumb choices when you respond out of fear without a modicum of reasoning. Now, let’s pretend for a mo-

line. Profit comes from a combination of increasing sales, managing expenses and all the variety of things that go into influences those numbers.

She summarized and reiterated that business success all comes down to three things. First is the internal customer, i.e. the employees. Take care of them first; learn and be a servant leader. Second is the external customer, i.e. those who purchase the company’s products and services. Love them and make them loyalists and raving fans.

Third, the bottom line comes from the top line.

Finally, she asked the students if they knew what would be the most important decision that they would make in life. The answer, she told them, was the decision about whom they would marry. If her family is an indication she (and her parents) made the right choice.

» 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.

ment that other nations might choose to react to the Ebola scare as we have in this country. We have had a case of Ebola in a Texas hospital. Facebook and Twitter posts suggest we are expecting so much more. In fact, we seem obsessed with a sick anticipation of Ebola fever wiping out swaths of our own population. What happens when the rest of the world decides to ban travel to and from the United States? The people of the United States could be as undesirable as Asian Carp.

Instead of encouraging fear of Obama and Ebola, it would be nice if we could encourage our fellow Mississippians to learn how to read a map, maybe even a book, one that reminds us that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself, nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror.” » David Dallas is a political writer. He worked for former U.S. Sen. John Stennis and authored Barking Dawgs and A Gentleman from Mississippi.

10 I Mississippi Business Journal I October 24 2014 »FROM THE PUBLISHER’S DESK

The next big thing in Madison County » Mississippi Bio-Medical Business Collaboratory was introduced Friday

BY ALAN TURNER alan.turner@msbusiness.com

T

his week, Madison County will take a giant step forward in the world of high-tech health care.

The Mississippi Bio-Medical Business Collaboratory was introduced Friday with visits from the governor and other luminaries.

Located at 152 Watford Parkway Drive in Canton, the Collaboratory will be home to a diverse array of health care companies working in various health disciplines.

This week, I met with several of the key players who are responsible for developing the Collaboratory, to discuss their plans for creating a world class facility in their health zone.

The driving force behind the project has been Tim Coursey, executive director of the Madison County Economic Development Authority. He credits Gov. Bryant and the Mississippi Legislature for creating the health zone initiatives in Mississippi, and he was enthusiastic about picking up the ball and running for the end zone.

“I saw this as a great opportunity to bring new companies and many high-paying jobs to Madison County,” he said. “Jobs, of course, has been my primary focus, and a desire to see us have the same kinds of great facilities as they do in Alabama, Tennessee and Texas.”

As Tim sees it, the Collaboratory will be the beginning of a “bright and limitless future” for health care focused business in Madison County.

The building on Watford Parkway Drive has 60,000 square feet of space for the Collaboratory businesses, of which 30,000 is currently built out, according to Tim. He suggested that the facility will ultimately house up to 15 different businesses.

“It’s not exactly like an incubator,” he said.

“The folks who operate here will all have one primary focus — health care. But in other ways, it’s a way to foster growth, create great relationships, and bring Mississippi into the spotlight for high tech health care.”

Also present at the meeting were Dr. David Powe, CEO for Telehealth One; J. Todd Barrett, CEO of Advantage Pharmacy Services; and Don Glidewell, CEO of Think Anew. Their companies are in the process of cranking up their operations in the Collaboratory.

Dr. Powe said that he is now entering his “fourth career.” Initially, he served as an educator and superintendent; that was followed by a career at NASA, and later by 10 years of service at University Medical Center, where he served as chief administrative officer.

Now, his focus is on telehealth services.

“I see this as a great opportunity to work with our great universities, hospitals and health care professionals,” he said.

Telehealth One will focus on remote monitoring and health care services, delivering care to rural health facilities and hospitals, as well as to patients in their homes.

“The technology today has developed to the point where we can do this very efficiently and effectively,” he said. “It’s a way to deliver excellent health services at lower cost, and we all know what the impact of rising health care costs has been.”

In time, he expects to have as many as 40 highpaying jobs in the company, and hopes to be a “major asset” to the Mis-

The Mississippi Bio-Medical Business Collaboratory building on Watford Parkway Drive encompasses 60,000 square feet, of which half is already built out.

Barrett

Special to the MBJ

Coursey

Glidewell

Powe

sissippi health care community. He sees the opportunity to serve not just clinics and hospitals, but also, schools and private companies, particularly in the area of health and wellness programs.

Powe’s website can be viewed at www.telehealthone.org.

Todd Barrett has had a long and successful career in the pharmaceutical world, and his company, APS, will be manufacturing a unique new medication dispensing cart, of which he is the patent-holder.

“One of my goals in this is to help reduce drug waste,” he said. “Various studies have shown that 7-11 percent of all dispensed drugs go to waste under our current systems, particularly in nursing homes.”

His cart will eliminate much of that waste, and it will also result in labor savings, reduce the potential for error, and better serve the needs of patients.

“Our goal here at the Collaboratory is to play to win. We’re small enough to be nimble, and we have a motivation to suc-

ceed,” he said. “Our primary focus is on how we can all contribute to better care, at lower cost.”

For further information, the APS website can be viewed at www.apscart.com.

Don Glidewell’s company, Think Anew, will provide the information technology support for the Collaboratory.

Think Anew serves the IT needs of many nursing homes throughout the Southeast, and the company is highly adept at working in the health care environment.

“Don will keep everything here working efficiently,” Tim said. “Without him, we’d be in a world of hurt, and his team will be a major asset to the future of the Collaboratory.”

Don will be moving his operations to the Collaboratory in early 2015, initially bringing 30-40 jobs to the facility.

“But that’s only the beginning for Think Anew,” he said. “Health care is changing See

BIG THING, Page 11

October 24 2014

BIG THING

Continued from Page 10

and evolving rapidly in America, and with the retirement of the baby boom generation, the demands for effective technology will increase exponentially.�

He sees his company adding many new, high paying jobs in the next 2-3 years, suggesting that he may need to increase his staff to “100 or more� people in that period. He’s planning accordingly, as his new facility at the Collaboratory can easily accommodate that size staff.

Don also pointed out the vital importance of digital security, as the “hack attacks� continue to increase from Asia, the Middle East and beyond. “You can sell a credit card record on the black market for $1. But you can sell a complete set of medical records for $1,000,� he said. “We’re working with cutting-edge technology to continually refine our security process, and our goal is to provide the best protection possible.�

Think Anew’s website can be viewed at www.ThinkAnew.com At the meeting, Tim also discussed one of the largest and most exciting enterprises that will be developed at the Collaboratory is the Global Training Institute, a training and simulations training facility for doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses, first responders, and others.

Their facility will consist of both classrooms

and 8 separate “operating rooms� where hands-on training will occur, covering processes and procedures, as well as hands-on work with new machines and technologies.

This enterprise will occupy approximately 22,000 square feet in the Collaboratory.

Tim mentioned others that are committed to joining the facility, including pediatric health, senior health, and a variety of others. “Some folks will simply hang out their shingle,� he said. “They’ll be interacting with the people here, and the goal, is the name suggests, it to create an effective collaborative effort that will be among the best in the Southeast.�

One thing that was clearly shared by the group is a sense of excitement, enthusiasm, and optimism for a bright future. “This is all about creating great relationships among companies, educational institutions, and government health agencies.

It’s all about delivering the best health care, first and foremost, to Mississippians. And doing so, we’ll create many great jobs not only for Madison County, but for our state and region.�

That is, indeed, an exciting proposition.

The Madison County Economic Development Authority’s website can be viewed at www.madisoncountyeda.com.

Contact Mississippi Business Journal publisher Alan Turner at alan.turner@msbusiness.com or (601) 364-1021.

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FARISH

The JRA and its law firm, Jones Walker, “failed to even disclose to FSG or Watkins that there were HUD restrictions on the property,� Watkins said. “No restrictions or requirements were ever put in any contract with FSG and JRA.�

Watkins recently sent a letter to HUD expressing anger at the agency’s treatment of him and his partners and demanded a full retraction of the claims it has made against him. HUD, he said, has greatly damaged his reputation as a developer.

In summing up his complaints with HUD, Watkins wrote:  The process is fundamentally flawed – no notice, no hearing, no right to give evidence was ever provided.  Neither FSG nor Watkins Development ever had any kind of contract with HUD or any kind of relationship, period.

Watkins Âť JRA (or the Jones Walker lawyers) never advised us that the property might be subject to any kind of HUD restrictions. It’s not in the lease or in the land records. Âť Watkins Development never even had a contract with JRA. The lease was with FSG. Watkins was providing services to FSG, not to the JRA or HUD. Âť If HUD had ever bothered to talk to us and looked at the vast library of development and architectural plans and the huge amount of reconstruction work done on the structures of the buildings, and the infrastructure for the buildings, they would have realized that we were, in fact, working on a comprehensive plan that would met any kind of HUD “national objectives.â€?

In making the suspensions and repayment demand, HUD cited a failure by the City to meet any “national objectives� through the Farish Street project. The objectives would have included creation of jobs for low-and-moderate income residents. Specifically, HUD criteria for meeting a “national objective� mandate that “benefits are available to all residents of a particular area where at least 51 percent of the residents are low-and-moderate income persons.�

The $1.5 million that will come back to HUD will be designated for later use in “certified� HUD projects in Jackson, the agency says.

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NEWSMAKERS

12 I Mississippi Business Journal I October 24, 2014

Barnes elected to board

Farm Bureau recognizes Harper

Robert Barnes, president and CEO of PriorityOne Bank, was recently elected to the Independent Community Bankers of America’s Federal Delegate Board. In addition to helping shape and advocate ICBA’s national policy positions and programs, Barnes’s duties include being a liaison between independent community bankers in Mississippi and ICBA staff and leadership in Washington, D.C. He will Barnes also work to recruit new members to ICBA.

Congressman Gregg Harper (R – District 3) has been presented with the Friend of Farm Bureau Award for his work in the 113th Congress. This is the third consecutive time that Mississippi Farm Bureau has honored Harper for his commitment to the farmers of Mississippi.

Harper serves on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, where he is a member of three subcommittees: Environment and the Economy; Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade; and Oversight and Investigation. The state’s senior House Republican also sits on the select Committee on House Administration, a special appointment made by House Speaker John Boehner. Additionally, he serves as chairman of the Joint Committee of the Library of Congress.

Harper was cited for his support for the passage of the 2014 Farm Bill, which provides the structure for programs administered by the Department of Agriculture through 2018. He also supported the bill that continued funding for highways and transportation, a key component for farmers getting their products to market. In addition, Harper supported the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013, which provided for improvements to the rivers and harbors of the United States and for the conservation and development of water resources.

Jorns joins clinic Memorial Physician Clinics welcomes Jacob Jorns, MD, in the practice of urology in Gulfport, Miss. Jorns graduated summa cum laude with his undergraduate degree from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana.

He earned his medical doctorate at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, Louisiana. Jorns completed his internship in general surgery and residency in Jorns urology at the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Medicine in Jacksonville, Florida.

NBWA taps Bertucci The National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) has chosen Paul J. Bertucci, executive vice president of F.E.B. Distributing Company Inc. in Gulfport and Capital City Beverages Inc. in Jackson, as treasurer of NBWA’s board of directors for the 20142015 term.

Bertucci, along with his brother, Frank, is the third generation to own and manage the Bertucci day-to-day operations of the family business, started in 1934.

F.E.B. Distributing and Capital City Beverages service 22 counties along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and Central Mississippi representing many domestic, imports and craft brands of beer. The companies employ more than 200 people in Mississippi.

McEwen earns CFM designation Waggoner Engineering’s Sarah Smith McEwen, EI, has earned her certified floodplain manager (CFM) certification, a national program provided by the Association of State Floodplains Managers (ASFPM).

McEwen began at Waggoner Engineering in 2013 upon completing her BSCE from Mississippi State University, and has worked on projects such as the phase A bridge hydraulic recommendations and analyses as well as independent technical reviews for the Mississippi Department of Transportation. Other experience includes the development of grading plans as well as coastal restoration and conservation project proposals.

Trustmark makes Collier VP Barry T. Collier has been named vice president at Trustmark’s corporate office in Jackson, where he serves as corporate facilities senior project manager. Collier has more than 18 years of experience in the commercial construction industry.

He earned a bachelor of science in education from Mississippi College. He is a member of the American Society of Healthcare Engineers. Collier has a cer- Collier tification in Occupational Health and Safety Administration.

He is also a former deacon of First Baptist Church in Clinton.

Four chosen for SEC program Four Mississippi State University administrators and faculty members are among 48 selected as 201415 Southeastern Conference Academic Leadership Development Program Fellows. The MSU contingent includes David A. Dampier, director of the Distributed Analytics and Security Institute and professor in the computer science and engineering department; Mark L. Lawrence, associate dean for research and graduate studies and professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine's basic sciences department; Rebecca G. Long, interim associate dean of the Graduate School and professor of management; and David T. Morse, interim head and professor in the counseling and educational psychology department.

Dampier is a University of Texas at El Paso mathematics graduate who holds doctoral and master's degrees in computer science from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. His teaching and research specializations include rapid prototyping, merging and integration, intrusion detection, computer and digital forensics, as well as software engineering, evolution and slicing.

Lawrence is a Louisiana State University veterinary microbiology doctoral graduate who holds a doctorate in veterinary medicine and bachelor's in veterinary science from Texas A&M University. He also completed postdoctoral work at Virginia Tech University. His primary areas of research involve mechanisms of bacterial pathogenesis, aquatic animal health and molecular microbiology.

Long holds a doctorate in organization theory from LSU. She also received master's and bachelor's degrees in business administration from the University of Southern Mississippi, both with an emphasis in human resource management.

Morse is a three-time Florida State University graduate, with a bachelor's degree in psychology, master's in educational research and doctorate in psychometrics. Educational measurement, research, statistics, creativity, gifted and talented, and computer applications are among his areas of expertise.

Clinic welcomes Darby Nolan Darby, USAW, CSCS, recently joined Hattiesburg Clinic Sports Medicine as the coordinator of sports performance. Darby earned his bachelor’s degree at Louisiana Tech University. He completed a strength and conditioning internship with the University of Tennessee football program and served as a strength and conditioning assistant for Louisiana Tech University and Washington State Darby University football programs.

He is a certified strength and conditioning specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association and a certified USA weightlifting coach. At Sports Medicine, Darby offers strength and conditioning programs, agility/speed programs, team/group programs, individual athlete programs and training camps to local high school and junior college athletic teams.

BKD adds to staff BKD, LLP’s has added Jesse Alford as senior manager in the firm’s audit department of its Jackson office. Alford has more than 10 years of experience providing audit and advisory services to clients in a number of industries. He also has experience with internal audit procedures and consulting services and one year of private industry experience. Alford is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants and the University of Mississippi Patterson School of Accountancy’s Accountancy Order. He is a 2002 graduate of the University of Mississippi with a B.S. degree in accounting and an M.Acc. degree.

BKD, LLP’s Jackson office has also added Aren Atkinson, Chris Johnson, Corbin Stanford and Meg Huntington as staff accountants in BKD’s Jackson office. Atkinson joins BKD in the audit department. She is a recent graduate of Mississippi College where she received her bachelor of science in business administration, accountancy, and graduated magna cum laude with an MBA in accounting in May. While at Mississippi College, Atkinson was a member of the School of Business Student Advisory Board, Delta Mu Delta, Accounting Society, Investment Club and won the Sandra Parks Academic Achievement Award. Atkinson is the recipient of the Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants Senior Excellence Award.

Johnson joined BKD in August 2014 as an audit associate. Before joining BKD, he worked as a petroleum landman for over two years throughout the South and Midwest. Johnson is a graduate of the University of Mississippi’s Patterson School of Accountancy where he received his bachelor and master of accountancy degrees. While at Ole Miss, Johnson was a member of the Beta Alpha Psi Honor Society and Kappa Alpha Fraternity.

Stanford joined BKD in August 2014 as an audit associate. He is a graduate of Mississippi State University’s Adkerson School of Accountancy where he received his bachelor in accountancy in May. While at Mississippi State, Stanford was a member of Beta Alpha Psi Honor Society, Kappa Sigma Fraternity and Sigma Alpha Lambda Honor Society.

Huntington joins BKD in the tax department. She received her bachelor of business administration in accounting at Millsaps College in May 2013. While at Millsaps, Huntington was a member of Chi Omega, Millsaps College tennis team, Millsaps cheerleader, Campus Ministry Team, FCA, College Republicans, Wesley Foundation and Intramural Athletics. She received many awards and scholarships while at Millsaps. In August, Huntington received her masters of accountancy from UM’s Patterson School of Accountancy. While at Ole Miss, Huntington was elected vice president of programming for Beta Alpha Psi and worked as a graduate assistant at UM’s Center of Educational Research and Evaluation. Huntington is the recipient of the Neil Magruder Scholarship Trust from the Mississippi Association of Public Accountants.

OFN recognizes Bynum Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) has chosen Bill Bynum, CEO of Hope Enterprise Corporation/Hope Credit Union (HOPE), as the recipient of the 2014 Ned Gramlich Award for Responsible Finance. It is OFN’s highest individual honor. Bynum founded HOPE to provide access to credit and promote financial inclusion among the underbanked in the mid-South. From 2002-2013, he chaired the Treas- Bynum ury Department’s Community Development Advisory Board (CDAB). He has won numerous awards, including the distinguished John P. McNulty Prize and he sits on several Boards, including the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation. In July 2014, Bynum was invited to testify before the Joint Economic Committee of the United States Congress at a hearing titled “Increasing Economic Opportunity within the African American Community: Local Initiatives that Work.”

Prior to joining HOPE, Bynum was director of programs of NC Rural Economic Development Center.

Before that, he was associate director of Self-Help.

While there he was also a principal organizer of SelfHelp Credit Union, the country’s first statewide development bank.

Bynum holds an undergraduate degree in political science/psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and studied strategic perspectives in nonprofit management at Harvard Business School. He lives in Madison.

NEWSMAKERS Bryant-Claxton named executive director Dr. Beth Bryant-Claxton is the new executive director of the University of Southern Mississippi Institute for Disability Studies. A trained professional dedicated to working with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families, Bryant-Claxton has joined the Institute for Disabilities Studies (IDS), Mississippi’s University Center for Excellence in Research, Education and Service (UCEDD).

Bryant-Claxton most recently served as the clinical director for Arkansas START (Systemic, Therapeutic Assessment, Resources and Treatment), a crisis prevention and intervention program for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and complex behavioral health needs. She previously served as the director of the Positive Behavior Support Training Project at Partners for Inclusive Communities, Arkansas’ UCEDD and an Arkansas-licensed clinical psychologist.

Bryant-Claxton received her doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the University of Florida.

She completed pre-doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships at the A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware, and a postdoctoral LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) fellowship at the Westchester Institute for Human Development, also a UCEDD, where she served as faculty at the New York Medical College.

GodwinGroup promotes, changes titles GodwinGroup has made two promotions and several title changes. James “Jimbo” Harwell has been promoted to director of design. Harwell’s career includes both freelance and agency graphic design and art direction for a wide variety of clients.

His design and art direction has contributed to the success of numerous client campaigns, both digital and traditional. Harwell has worked on accounts including Trustmark, Mississippi Power, Mississippi Department of Education and Great American Steamboat Company. He also contributed to the new brand standards for GodwinGroup, as well as updates to the agency’s interior office design.

Jessica Russell has been promoted to senior content writer. As a member of Godwin’s creative team, she is heavily involved in the creation of web and video content as well as advertising copywriting applications. At GodwinGroup, her projects include client brands. Russell earned a bachelor of arts in advertising from the University of Southern Mississippi.

In other changes, the agency has updated its personnel structure and titles to reflect evolving client needs and industry standards. Stacye Rinehart is now senior vice president, creative strategy. Rinehart will continue to provide strategic creative guidance and oversight for client projects across a broad strata of traditional and digital platforms.

Glenn Owens is now senior vice president, digital strategy and user experience. Owens will continue to lead the agency’s digital creative department. His responsibilities include developing digital strategies for a wide variety of client projects in the digital realm and e-market.

Gary Ballard’s title becomes Creative Technology. Ballard’s role is creative digital development and execution. Gary uses his technological expertise across both web-based and other digital platforms.

October 24, 2014

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RAC chooses Nagendra Architect HV Nagendra has joined Roy Anderson Corp as its director of healthcare. Nagendra is a graduate of Washington University where he earned his degree in architecture and urban design. He is currently a member of the American Institute of Architect (AIA), the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) and AIA’s Academy Nagendra of Architecture for Health (Knowledge Community).

Nagendra was previously with Blitch Knevel Architects for 20 years where he was ultimately promoted to senior associate and project manager. He will be based in Roy Anderson Corp’s New Orleans office.

Hoffman elected VP Christopher B. Hoffman has been elected as vice president of the 2014–2015 board of directors for the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB), which he will serve through Sept. 30, 2015.

Hoffman previously served as the CLARB secretary (2012– 2014), Region III director (2009–2011) and alternate Region III director (2008–2009).

He also served on CLARB’s Hoffman Communications Committee (2007–2009).

At the local level, Hoffman was recently appointed by Gov. Phil Bryant to a five-year term (2014–2019) on the Mississippi Landscape Architectural Advisory Committee of the Mississippi State Board of Architecture. He previously served (1998– 2011) after being appointed by Govs. Kirk Fordice and Ronnie Musgrove.

Hoffman is an active member of the Mississippi Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and has served as the Chapter Licensure & Advocacy rep for six years. He served as chapter president (1993–1994).

Hoffman is a sole proprietor, providing site and master planning services with a focus on mixed used developments, commercial, health care, industrial, subdivision and educational projects. Some notable projects include the 90-acre corporate campus for Southern Pine Electrical Power Association; the Baptist Health Systems Jackson & Madison Campus; the Clinton Natchez Trace Visitor Center; the Clinton Public School District Elementary Schools; and the Siberian tiger exhibit at the Jackson Zoo. Hoffman earned his bachelors in landscape architecture from Texas Tech University in 1988. He is currently licensed in Mississippi and is also a CLARB-certified landscape architect.

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

For the November 4th General Election, Mississippi voters are required to show a photo ID to vote in person at the polls or to cast an absentee ballot in person at the clerk’s office.

14 I Mississippi Business Journal I October 24 2014

THE SPIN CYCLE

Tech companies lead rankings of most valuable brands In 2014 adison Avenue continues at a frenzied, techy pace with a closely held annual report about how much brands are worth – and big name technology brands top the charts this year.

The Interbrand Best Global Brands 2014 report shows Apple in first place, as the world’s most valuable brand, for a second straight year. Apple took the top spot last year from Coca-Cola, which fell to No. 3. Coca-Cola remained in third place this year, and the No. 2 brand last year, the powerhouse search company Google, kept that spot.

Here are the top brands of 2014: 1. Apple 2. Google 3. Coca-Cola 4. IBM 5. Microsoft 6. General Electric 7. Samsung 8. Toyota 9. McDonald’s 10. Mercedes-Benz The report ranks the top 100 valuable global brands. The Apple brand is valued at $118.9 billion, up 21 percent from

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last year. Google, valued at $107.4 billion, rose in value by 15 percent from last year. Those rankings represent the first time two brands have each earned a value of more than $100 billion in a Best Global Brands report.

Apple remained the most valuable brand this year, according to Interbrand, while Samsung, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz moved up. Despite some critics who have suggested that Apple had lost its luster, the poll still has Apple and Google slugging it out at the top.

Four of the top 10 brands in the 2014 Interbrand report are technology brands. In addition to Apple and Google, they are Microsoft, at No. 5, unchanged from last year, and Samsung, No. 7, up a notch from 2013. IBM, No. 4, the same as last year, is classified by Interbrand as a business services brand; otherwise, half the top 10 brands would be technology brands.

The technology category was the most valuable over all, with a total value of $493.2 billion. Other major brand categories include automotive, financial services and luxury.

And Facebook – which had the highest percentage increase in value from last year at 86 percent – is also a technology brand. In only its second year on the list, Facebook climbed

to No. 29 from No. 52 in 2013.

The report is the 15th annual look at worldwide brand value by Interbrand, which began compiling the Best Global Brands report in 2000. The rankings and valuations are determined by factors that include the role a brand plays in influencing consumers, a brand’s financial performance and the strength a brand has to command a premium price or to help its parent make money.

Among brands outside technology, the highest rankings were achieved by – in addition to Coca-Cola, IBM and Mercedes-Benz – General Electric, classified as a diversified company (although it has technology aspects), at No. 6, the same as in 2013; Toyota, No. 8, up from No. 10 last year; and McDonald’s, No. 9, down from No. 7 in 2013.

The biggest gains in value achieved by nontechnology brands compared with last year were for Audi, No. 45, up 27 percent; Amazon, classified as a retail brand, No. 15, up 25 percent; and Volkswagen, No. 31, and Nissan, No. 56, each with an increase of 23 percent,.

Of the five brands that made the Best Global Brands list for the first time, one is a technology brand: Huawei, a Chinese brand, at No. 94. The other four newcomers are: DHL, in 81st place; Land Rover, 91st; FedEx, 92nd; and Hugo Boss, 97th.

To see the full Best Global Brands rankings, visit www.bestglobalbrands.com/2014/ranking.

Millennials Weigh In On Their Favorite Brands In another study, conducted by independent ad agency Moosylvania shows that many Millennials have a slightly different take on the top brands of the land. Here’s the Top 10: 1. Nike 2. Apple 3. Samsung 4. Sony 5. Walmart 6. Target 7. Microsoft 8. Coca-Cola 9. Air Jordan 10. Pepsi There are no real surprises here. Perhaps the most interesting thing is that the biggest gains came for Target, Air Jordan and Pepsi while the other seven essentially stayed where they were.

On the Pepsi side, much can be attributed to the growth

to spokesperson Mrs. Carter. Target’s jump came thanks to a renewed focus on digital despite all the bad publicity stemming from the data breach. And as much the Spin Cycle would like to attribute Walmart’s win to its recent sustainability efforts, the shift is more likely due to the brand’s ubiquity and Todd Smith its increased presence on social. HP Here are five biggest surprises: 1. HP – HP is a solid tech company, but it’s not edgy like Apple or Samsung and we can’t think of any projects it has released in recent years.

2. Chanel – Unlike Victoria’s Secret, Converse and other brands atop this list, Chanel is not known for being affordable. But it has made extensive efforts to expand its digital profile, most recently with a campaign featuring Tom Brady’s wife. In some cases, the value of a brand name can outweigh the price of its products.

3. Bethesda/Valve – Of course the kids play video games, but the presence of these studios on the list shows that they also closely follow the companies that make the games – even the indies. These two scored higher than competitors on the strength of games like “Left 4 Dead” and the “Elder Scrolls” series – despite the fact that bigger names like EA and Rock Star Games have far more followers on all platforms.

4. Honda –We all know that Millennials don’t drive. And Honda has never been a particularly hip brand. But social promos with such “influencers” as Questlove and sponsorship of events like Austin City Limits can be very valuable.

5. Best Buy – Big box stores are dead, and everyone knows what a subtweet is, right? The second company that managed to squander the comedic talents of Amy Poehler has been aggressive with its multimedia social marketing campaigns, but Best Buy isn’t big on engagement.

Infected Mic | Administration’s Handling of Ebola Outbreak The message from federal officials on the Ebola virus has shifted from one of complete confidence to admission of embarrassing errors. President Barack Obama’s senior public health officials have been subject to withering criticism from lawmakers in both parties. After Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was grilled on Capitol Hill, the president appointed Ron Klain, former chief of staff to both Vice President Joe Biden and former Vice President Al Gore to oversee the administration’s response to the crisis and is open to the idea of a travel ban but isn’t planning one. In many instances, messages from public-health officials have run counter to events on the ground. Observers say public trust has frayed as the administration’s optimistic statements collide with the reality. Concerns about the Dallas nurse who flew to Cleveland shortly before being diagnosed with Ebola have rippled across the country, as officials expand an investigation into her contacts. Meanwhile, in Liberia as the West African outbreak spreads, the U.S. and other countries are creating in effect a health system from scratch under extreme pressures and deadlines. These efforts are noble and needed, but the response has been lest than stellar. For that, the leaders of our country – namely the Obama administration – get an Infected Mic. 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.

October 24 2014

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» MISSISSIPPI LEADERS by Martin Willoughby

Doing the right thing Tucker takes military lessons to Physicians Urgent Care

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ith the pace of life today and the pressures of the now, it can be challenging to take the long view. Understanding what is critically important in life and what isn’t can be difficult. I find that remarkable leaders keep a good perspective and have the ability to separate the good from the great. They can break through the tyranny of the urgent and “keep the main thing the main thing.” Dr. Patrick Tucker, owner of Physicians Urgent Care in Corinth and Booneville, is one of those leaders who understands the big picture and focuses his team on what is important.

Tucker is a native of New Albany and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology from Ole Miss before earning his medical degree at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Tucker was on a Navy scholarship in medical school, and he completed training with the Navy as an intern at the Charleston Navy Hospital in Charleston, South Carolina. After his internship, Tucker chose to be a Battalion Surgeon with the U.S. Marines at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He took this position at the beginning of Desert Shield/Desert Storm, and he served as the physician in charge of the medical care of

Up Close With ... Patrick E. Tucker, M.D. Title: Owner, Physicians Urgent Care Favorite Books: ”The Bible has been the most influential book in my life.”

First Job: “I started in elementary school mowing yards, and I later worked at a grocery store stocking shelves, sweeping parking lots, and bagging groceries.”

Hobbies/Interests: “I love to snow ski, hunt and spend time with my wife, Suzanne, and our six children.”

approximately 1,700 members of the Battalion Landing Team which included 55 corpsmen under his supervision. He noted, “I believe this was the time that I began to realize and accept the responsibilities of being a leader. I learned that being a leader means embracing the authority and responsibility that goes with it.”

Tucker shared that one of the most impactful times of his military service was when he and a group of Corpsmen were in the desert during Desert Storm and an out-

break of dysentery developed causing dehydration amongst the troops. He said, “It was 120-130 degrees during the day, and the Marines were deathly ill. Our team worked for days around the clock with very little sleep. My corpsmen went above and beyond to meet the needs with no complaining and a great attitude. They were all self-starters and did the right thing without being asked.” Tucker continued, “It is situations like those that help you realize that your leadership and the preparation of your team

“Live a life you will not regret.”

Patrick Tucker, M.D. Owner, Physicians Urgent Care

really matters.”

In 1999, Tucker founded Physicians Urgent Care in Corinth, and in 2011, he opened a second location in Booneville.

With a staff of 20 including three nurse Martin Willoughby practitioners, Dr. Tucker and his team treat over 100 patients a day and have continually tried to provide “no wait” service. They were the first group in their area to utilize electronic medical records, and he has strived to keep them on the cutting edge of technology and care.

A man of deep faith, Tucker’s leadership principles reflect his beliefs. He believes in treating everyone with the utmost respect regardless of their position. He leads by example and has a servant heart. He emphasizes to younger leaders, “Live a life you will not regret. Always do the right thing and try to look far into the future when making decisions. Always do the right thing. Character and reputation will grow your business, and a quick dollar goes away as quickly as it comes.” Tucker’s principled approach to life and business have allowed him to build a very successful health care business and be a leader in his community. He is active in leadership in civic and church organizations and is passionate about medical mission work. Dr. Tucker is a great example of how one can be a skilled physician, savvy business person, and civic minded leader. I know his community, patients and family have benefited from his vision and values.

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.

Food snob spends dying hours looking for best flavor of his life

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» Gourmet Rhapsody

By Muriel Barbery Published by Europa Editions $15.00 paperback

e can usually say that if you like one book by an author, you will like others by that same author. I'm not sure that's the case with Gourmet Rhapsody, written by the author of The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Muriel Barbery. While it's an entertaining read, Gourmet Rhapsody will not have the wide appeal of Hedgehog, a book that was on best seller lists. However, Gourmet Rhapsody is worth a read, especially for Francophiles. It's a mere 156 pages, so no huge investment of time.

Given the French obsession with fine food, someone probably had to write a book such as this.

The gourmet of the title is Pierre Arthens, who declares with the utmost confidence that he is the greatest food critic in the world. With the stroke of his pen he has made and broken restaurants and the careers of chefs. He is fawned over and catered to everywhere he goes, often striking terror in the

hearts of restaurant owners. Even his family dislikes this vain, self-indulgent snob.

We find Arthens with only 48 hours to live as his doctor has just pronounced his cardiac demise.

Surely there will be death bed confessions and apologies?

No. Arthens' one final ambition is to recall the taste that has mattered most to him; the one he describes as the first and ultimate truth of his eating career. But alas, the flavor and the

food have slipped his mind and he makes a last desperate effort to recall it. He does so by going through the tastes of his life as the book alternates short chapters between his reminiscences and the observations of those who know him — and in most cases do not like him; some even revile him. There are thoughts from his wife, children, the concierge of the apartment building, and even the family cat. Self-centered as the gourmet is, what's important to him in these dying hours is making a sort of peace with himself — by retrieving that magical, lost taste — rather than others.

It is an interesting little morsel of a book, combining humor, culinary thoughts and character study. I kept thinking it must be satire or parody. Maybe food represents philosophical ideas? But then, it is a French book and we know they take food very seriously.

— Lynn Lofton, mbj@msbusiness.com

16 I Mississippi Business Journal I October 24 2014

ECONOMY

Fed: Mississippi, other states in Atlanta District expected to sustain modest economic growth » Majority of contacts in new Beige Book say near-term growth will continue

By TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com

Expect to see more of the growth in economic activity that is occurring in Central and South Mississippi, says a new Federal Reserve Beige Book that periodically assesses the economic health of the Atlanta Fed district and the 11 other districts.

The Beige Book, released Oct. 15, leads off with a note that the “modest pace” of economic improvement in the Atlanta district, which takes in Central and South Mississippi, should be sustained or even rise above current levels. The district also includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and portions of Louisiana and Tennessee.

“The outlook among firms remains largely optimistic with the majority of contacts expecting near-term growth to be sustained at or slightly above current levels,” Beige Book authors reported based on contacts with business owners and other knowledgeable sources in the region.

Economic growth nationwide, as reflected in the Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, has been at 3 percent for the last couple of quarters after showing practically zero growth in the year’s first quarter. The 3 percent growth should continue through the final quarter and the rest of 2015, said Dennis Lockhart, president of the Atlanta Fed, at a Sept. 19 address of the Mississippi Economic Education Council in Jackson.

In his talk, Lockhart said the “recent run of data” on the U.S. economy has been encouraging, with improvements in manufacturing, services and consumer and business confidence. The “tear” that manufacturing has been on lately should be especially good

news for Mississippi with its big stake in automobile making, Lockhart said.

He cautioned, however, that the nation needs to see consistency in consumer spending. The new Beige Book says the consistency is occurring in the Atlanta District, though it said the improvements seen are only “slight.”

“District retailers reported a slight improvement in sales since the previous report” in early September, The Beige Book said. “Young shoppers were described as being confident and willing to spend, while older consumers were reportedly being more cautious.

“The battle between online sales versus brick-and-mortar store sales continued as merchants indicated that competition from rival stores’ online sales was having an adverse effect on in-store traffic. However, the outlook among retailers for the remainder of the year remains optimistic.”

The Atlanta District reported growth in real estate and construction in the past few weeks, with many brokers reporting that home sales met or exceeded expectations.

The report noted as well that a majority of brokers indicated that inventory levels stayed flat or continued to decline on a yearover-year basis and home prices were ahead of their year-earlier levels.

Reports from builders in the multi-state district remained fairly positive, the Beige Book noted. Builders also reported modest home-price appreciation, the reported added.

Commercial real estate brokers across the district continued to report improving demand since the early September report. The improvement varied by metro area, sub-market and property type, the builders reported.

Manufacturing expanded across the Southeast since the early September reporting. Finished inventories rose and commodity prices continued to increase, the Beige report noted.

On the banking and finance front, credit

demand was mixed and competition for high quality borrowers remained “very keen,” the Beige Book reported.

In reporting on employment, the Atlanta Fed said contacts noted that staffing levels were increasing, though slowly. The district added 51,100 jobs on net in August and the

“THE OUTLOOK AMONG FIRMS REMAINS LARGELY OPTIMISTIC...” unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 6.9 percent, the Beige Book noted.

Nearly all states in the district added to payrolls in August, with the exception of Mississippi, which lost 4,600 jobs on net, the report said.

Businesses across the region continued to report difficulty finding qualified workers. Similar to the previous report, hiring challenges appeared to be both intensifying and broadening across the skill and occupation spectrums, according to the Beige Book report.

Contacts in the oil industry reported an excess supply of crude oil, with recent prices well below year-ago levels. Gulf Coast refinery utilization increased over the last year.

Imports of crude oil fell; exports were slightly above year-ago levels, though some contacts expressed concern that the strength of the dollar has made U.S. oil exports more expensive for the rest of the world, according to the Beige Book.

Lockhart emphasized in his Jackson visit that it will be mid 2015 before the Open Markets Committee gives serious consideration to raising the Fed’s short term interest rate from the zero-to-one-quarter percent level it has been at since early 2007.

The committee of the 12 Fed chiefs met shortly before Lockhart’s arrival in Jackson.

“They saw very little change in the outlook,” he said.

The Open Markets Committee is scheduled to meet eight times next year. Lockhart said he expects that at some point the panel will signal its intention of interest rates.

“I continue to expect conditions for liftoff to ripen by mid 2015 or later,” he said.

Full employment, based on a projected 3 percent GDP growth, could come by late 2016 or early 2017, according to Lockhart.

“I view GDP growth as a means to an end,” with full employment being the sough-after end, he said.

Lockhart said he is concerned about data that shows a growing number of men of prime working age who ceased looking for work over the last month. “It’s worrisome,” he said, and noted many of the men now “marginally-detached” from the job market previously worked in manufacturing and construction.

Meanwhile, the absence of inflation reflects weak wage growth and a lukewarm economy, Lockhart added. “There’s been no broad-based improvement or pressure on wages.”

October 24, 2014

SANDERSON FARM CHAMPIONSHIP AT THE COUNTY CLUB OF JACKSON

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INSIDE » It’s a new course for golfers and spectators this year, so we have images of all 18 holes with tips on how to play the Country Club of Jackson course.

— Pages 18-19

Last year’s Sanderson Farms Championship winner Woody Austin poses for a picture with children from Century Club Charities.

Century Club Charities is one of the three main charities the tournament gives to, along with Friends for Children’s Hospital and Birdies for Charity.

DETAILS 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

SFC NOTEBOOK

Get your gear » CCoJ the place to get all the stuff you need for the tourney

A PLAN FOR PARKING WAS A PRIORITY

By RUSTY HAMPTON mbj@msbusiness.com

In 2013, Jason Prendergast's pro shop at the Country Club of Jackson was voted the best in Mississippi and Louisiana by his fellow club pros in the Gulf States Section of the PGA of America.

That was one reason Steve Jent had no qualms about partnering with Prendergast to run the merchandise tent at this year's Sanderson Farms Championship, which Prendergast will make its CCJ debut Nov. 6-9.

"It's joint venture," said Jent, the SFC tournament director." Jason does a nice job with his pro shop. He's got a strong attention to detail and he's really tuned into what his members like and want, and has good merchandising sense."

Prendergast's pro shop will actually be closed during tournament week — the area will instead be used as a lounge for the caddies who are here to work with the touring pros competing in the $4 million PGA Tour event.

Prendergast will instead spend most of the week in a 1,200-square-foot merchandise tent located between the clubhouse

By RUSTY HAMPTON mbj@msbusiness.com

and the main entrance into the tournament, a short walk from where fans will unload and load onto the buses that will shuttle them to and from the event. That strategic location means fans will walk past

When it was announced in April that the Sanderson Farms Championship PGA Tour event would be played at the Country Club of Jackson this fall, one of the first issues golf fans questioned was parking.

Unlike Annandale Golf Club in Madison, where the tournament was played from 1994-2013, CCJ does not have an abundance of land adjacent to the country club that can be used for spectator, volunteer and employee parking.

Steve Jent knew that, which is why the SFC tournament director made finalizing parking plans at CCJ one of his first priorities.

"It's very important," said Jent of the See

See

GEAR, Page 20

Autograph seekers have easy access » Staying connected is important for players and fans, alike

By RUSTY HAMPTON mbj@msbusiness.com

An area near the practice putting green at the Country Club of Jackson will be roped off as the autograph area during the Sanderson Farms Championship.

Players are free to sign autographs at any point during Tuesday's practice rounds and Wednesday's Pro-Am, but under PGA Tour rules they can only sign autographs after they have finished playing on days of competition.

Tournament director Steve Jent said most of the players see signing autographs as part of their job.

"These guys are playing 25 to 30 events a year," Jent said. "Every tournament has an autograph section set up, so it's part of their daily week. They're used to it."

Spectators can bring mobile phones onto the golf course during the Sanderson Farms Championship, but they are not allowed to shoot pictures or video at any time and can only make calls at designated areas on the course, mainly near concession stands.

For years, the PGA Tour banned cell phones on the course during play and would confiscate them from spectators. That changed in 2010, and SFC tournament director Steve Jent played a big role in that change.

At the time, Jent was working for the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina.

"We were the actual first test site," said Jent. "My boss was on the tournament advisory committee, and he was pushing for cell phones, so I wrote the white paper for why they should be allowed."

Jent said tournament there's a give and take with cell

PARKING, Page 20 See

NOTEBOOK, Page 20

18 I Mississippi Business Journal I October 24, 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.

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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.

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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 aimed left of the fairw bunker regardless of 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.

October 24, 2014

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Farms Championship course at CCJ 5

6

2 yards, r5

482 yards, Par 4

e second shot quires good tance control avoid the right e fairway bunker d the pond

is tee shot should be med left of the fairway nker regardless of the e you play from.

14

84 yards, Par 5

The safest play is nto the center ine of the green.

lay the econd shot o a comortable ardage rom the reen.

ake aim at the istant right airway bunker ff 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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20 I Mississippi Business Journal I October 24, 2014

GEAR

Continued from Page 17

the merchandise tent at least twice per visit.

In addition to a wide selection of SFC-branded golf shirts, t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, jackets and hats, the tournament will also have memorabilia such as oversized rubber golf balls and pin flags for sale that are a hit with kids seeking autographs from the golfers.

Prendergast said he has ordered merchandise from Polo, Nike, Footjoy, Fairways and Greens, Puma, LevelWear and Ahead.

Because this is the first year the event will be played at CCJ, Prendergast wasn't sure how much merchandise to order.

"We're not sure how many people are going to come through those gates," he said. "But we're prepared for a good situation to happen. We will be fully stocked. We're going to have a lot of stuff. We are looking at this from a business standpoint, that it's a three-year commitment, a three-year plan.

"The first year, we don't want too have much left over, but we don't want to sell out on everything, either, because that means you've missed out on a selling opportunity."

Some of the shirts will be co-branded, with SFC logos on the breast and the CCJ logo on the sleeve. CCJ members were offered the chance to buy a special "members'' shirt to wear during tournament week.

Prendergast said he orders merchandise for his pro shop nine months in advance of its arrival. Because it wasn't announced until April that the tournament was moving this year from Annandale Golf Club to CCJ, Prendergast was actually behind in ordering for the tournament. He credits the relationships he's built with sales reps during his 10 years at CCJ with helping him get rush orders filled. "They get a lot of the credit," he said.

"They pulled a lot of strings."

Jent said merchandising is an important part of the event.

"It's a part of the experience of attending a PGA Tour event," he said. "If I'm a fan, I'm going to want a hat or shirt, and everything we're doing is to generate money for Blair Batson (Children's Hospital). If we didn't offer merchandise, we'd be missing the boat on a significant revenue-generating piece for the hospital."

PARKING

Continued from Page 17

parking issue. "It's new for everybody this year and we want a great experience for the spectators and the sponsors and the media and the volunteers. But we feel really good about our plan. We've worked closely with the Jackson Police Department and the Ridgeland Police Department to make this work.

"We've had countless meetings with them, been working on it for six months. What we want everyone to understand is that this is pretty typical of a PGA Tour event. Most courses do not have very much parking on site, so most have to shuttle everybody in."

The golfers, rules officials, some sponsors and CCJ members, most Golf Channel personnel, and selected SFC staff and CCJ employees will be allowed to park in the main CCJ lot. Most everyone else will be required to park off site and ride a shuttle to the course each day.

The shuttles for spectators with general admission tickets will depart and return to parking lot at Northpark Mall in Ridgeland, about two miles from CCJ. Those shuttles will run from 6 a.m. until one hour after play ends for Wednesday's Pro-Am (Nov. 5) and the first and second rounds of tournament play, Thursday and Friday, Nov. 6-7. The shuttles will begin at 8 a.m. for rounds three and four on Saturday and Sunday.

VIP parking and shuttle service is set for Colonial Heights Baptist Church in Ridgeland on Thursday and Friday, and The Southern Farm Bureau building on County Line Road in Ridgeland on Saturday and Sunday.

NOTEBOOK

Continued from Page 17

phones.

"Spectators have to realize that this is (the player's) office," he said. "We've seen where one putt can mean the difference between winning and second place, hundreds of thousands of dollars. So what we encourage the public to remember is that this is they're work environment, and they are focused on doing well. Yes, it's entertainment, but they have to focus, and anything that can distract them is an issue, especially on the

Volunteer, handicapped, and media parking and shuttle service will operate from the parking lot of the Christ United Methodist Church on Old Canton Road in Jackson, Monday through Sunday.

All shuttle services are free.

The tournament is contracting with Client Tours of Jackson to provide large motor coaches for the general public shuttles and smaller vans and buses for the other lots.

"They're local, so they can be flexible and have extra shuttles if needed," Jent said.

Those who have purchased general admission tickets in advance or want to purchase tickets on the day of the event can pick up their tickets at the will-call window or purchase tickets at a temporary tournament ticket office in the Northpark Mall parking lot. Media passes will be available there as well.

Because the PGA Tour has strict policies for what can be carried into events, spectators will be checked by security personnel before boarding shuttles, said Jent.

"One of the things we want to focus on is the PGA Tour's bag and security policies," Jent said. "There are certain size bags you can't take to the golf course. We will make every attempt possible to catch that at the shuttle lot."

The general allowable dimensions for purses or tote bags is 12 inches, by 12 inches by 6 inches. Small folding chairs, binoculars, umbrellas and mobile phones are also allowed. The entire list of what isn’t allowed is on the tournament website and will be prominently displayed in signage at the shuttle loading sites.

greens and tee boxes."

On the other hand...

"We realize that in our society now it's so important to stay connected from a business standpoint," said Jent. "It's tough for a business executive to come out to the golf tournament and be away from his or her phone, texting, emails, for six to eight hours.

"We want corporate executives involved. We don't want them to feel like they're giving up a major accessory when they come to the tournament."

October 24, 2014 • MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS JOURNAL • www.msbusiness.com

AN MBJ FOCUS:

THE 2014

A BREAKDOWN OF STATE’S TOP PRIVATELY OWNED COMPANIES

1.

IN THIS SECTION

4.

HOWARD INDUSTRIES, INC.

2.

3.

5.

Farmers Grain Terminal

» About the Mississippi 100, 22 » Top 100 feature: South Mississippi Electric Power Association, 24 » Top 100 feature: Staplcotn, 26 » The complete 100 list, 27-34

22 I Mississippi Business Journal I October 24, 2014

MISSISSIPPI 100

Private business list is one-of-a-kind » Both companies and research-gathering have changed since first list in 1989 From staff reports mbj@msbusiness.com

Next year’s list?

I

T WAS 1989 when the Mississippi Business Journal first decided to compile a list of the top state’s top privately held business. It was published as the “Mississippi 100,” and it would become an annual event.

The list ranks companies by sales revenue and has become a who’s who tip sheet on the Magnolia State economy.

Early members of the list were retail chains and utilities such as Jitney Jungle Stores, McRae’s and Mississippi Valley Gas. For the last 15 years, companies such as Ergon Inc., Yates Construction and Staplcotn have regularly ranked near the top of the “Mississippi 100.“ Selecting the 100 has never been an easy chore. “Mississippi 100” researcher Wally Northway has compiled the list since the mid-1990s. He originally gleaned his list from Dun &

Companies interested in being included on the 2015 Mississippi 100 list can submit a survey by contacting Wally Northway or Frank Brown at research@msbusiness.com.

Bradstreet reports and by calling individual companies.

“It was different back then,” Northway said. “You couldn’t just go to Google or Yahoo Finance and find a number.”

When Northway visited the Jackson library to see if it had a list, the library staff handed him a copy of the previous year’s MBJ “Mississippi 100.” That’s when he realized Mississippi 100 was the only ranking of private companies in the state.

By 2007, the Internet had caught up with Mississippi 100. MBJ hired a fulltime researcher and employed third-party cloud-based service called DataJoe to build interactive surveys for companies to

fill out each year.

Company representatives are emailed a survey from the Mississippi Business Journal through a personalized data website. A company can add all of its corporate contact information and include a summary of its industry specifics.

Sales revenue is the only metric the database is ranked by and this field must be completed by the annual deadline in order for a company to be considered for inclusion on the list. If the number is not supplied, the MBJ uses other sources to get an estimate.

In addition to crushing the tedium of manual data mining, one great thing about the DataJoe service is it allows companies to request a copy of the data from MBJ at any point in the year if they need to make updates like a new CEO, product line or service.

Once research is completed, the list is organized, ranked, fact checked, proofed and published in the weekly issue of the

Mississippi Business Journal. A digital copy of the “Mississippi 100” is also kept on the website and published in the annual MBJ “Book of Lists.”

Often enough, out-of-state companies or government agencies will contact MBJ wanting a copy of the “Mississippi 100” so they can research the state’s top industries for market growth potential. It’s just one of the many ways the list insures its importance year after year.

“The ‘Mississippi 100’ has always reflected a good slice of Mississippi’s economy and how that economy has improved or otherwise evolved in the last three decades,” Northway said.

And if think we’ve left a qualifying company off the list, it could be that it does not fit the criteria. Some companies, such as Bomgar and Irby Electric have fallen off the list after being acquired by out-of-state business, even though the offices remain local.

After all, the list is all about Mississippi.

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MISSISSIPPI 100

24 I Mississippi Business Journal I October 24, 2014 MISSISSIPPI 100 PROFILE

Courtesy of SMEPA

South Mississippi Electric system operators work in the control center at the helm of the generation and transmission system to control the flow of electricity to member systems across the state.

SMEPA knows power is crucial

By LISA MONTI mbj@msbusiness.com

S

OUTH MISSISSIPPI Electric Power Association, headquartered in Hattiesburg, is Mississippi’s only not-for-profit wholesale electric power cooperative. It generates and transmits electricity for 11 member systems, providing electrical service to more than 415,000 homes and businesses in 55 counties from the Delta to the Coast.

The member systems tap into SMEPA’s generation sources with 1,740 miles of high-voltage transmission lines and with the systems owned by Entergy and Mississippi Power.

SMEPA has continued to grow since it was established in 1941 through the Rural Electrification Act that helped light up rural areas of Mississippi and other states. The coop had sales last year of $802 million, and general manager Jim Compton expects that figure will increase by more than $100 million this year. “We are on track to reach $910 mil-

lion this year,” he said. “We plan to have a billion dollars in revenue by 2016.”

The reason, Compton said, is that SMEPA is now part of MISO, a 14-state regional transmission organization that manages more than 65,000 miles of transmission to more efficiently dispatch power. As part of MISO, SMEPA sells electricity not just to its members but to a larger market. “All members are buying from the pool and selling to the pool,” Compton said. “MISO picks the resources that are most efficient to meet projections the next day based on supply and demand. So far, SMEPA has been a net seller, adding to our revenues and lowering our cost to members.”

SMEPA’s owned-generation sources include a mix of coal, natural gas, hydroelectric, and nuclear plants.

Mississippi’s climate is a major factor in residents’ energy use, and thus costs.

Compton said 45 percent of residential electric usage is for heating and cooling Courtesy of SMEPA

See

SMEPA, Page 25

The heat-recovery recovery steam generator for a generating unit at South Mississippi Electric’s J.T. Dudley, Sr., Generation Complex in Jones County.

MISSISSIPPI 100

October 24, 2014

“Ten years ago an outage was an inconvenience that people could live with. Now there is no access to telephones, air conditioning or electronics. ”

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25

SMEPA Member Cooperatives

Coahoma, Lyon

Jim Compton General manager, SMEPA

SMEPA

Continued from Page 24

interior air space. A major challenge for utilities with high usage is poverty; 45 percent of Mississippians report they have had to choose between paying for energy or food at some times.

“Electric energy is critical,” said Compton. “Ten years ago an outage was an inconvenience that people could live with. Now there is no access to telephones, air conditioning or electronics.

Very little operates without electricity. So we have to invest in a strong grid to support reliability. Electric energy is a necessity of life.”

Today’s dependence on power is a world away from when SMEPA was charted in April 1941 by seven electric power associations who gathered in Hattiesburg. It was part Twin County, Hollandale of the growing number of electric coops forming in the state thanks to the 1936 Rural Electrification Act’s low interest loans to build the electric power infrastructure in rural parts of the country.

Over the years, SMEPA has grown, adding customers, employees and infrastructure. Today in what Compton calls the new electric marketplace, SMEPA has the only control center in Mississippi. When he became CEO 10 years ago, there were 245 employees and now there are 415. In the last few years, a new $20 million field operations center was built, the security system has been upgraded, and Compton said plans include another building project on the 14 acres near headquarters that will house human resources and IT. SME boasts competitive advantages including its skilled workforce, long term contracts with members, financial well being, its long range planning, and fuel diSouthwest, Lorman versity. The electric coop has secured debt ratings of A- from Fitch; A3 from Moody’s; and A1 from Standard and Poor’s.

Keeping the lights on is just one part of SMEPA’s mission statement. “We also strive daily to meet or exceed all environmental rules. We are 100 percent owned by Mississippians, and they want a clean state, and us to operate with the least amount of environmental impacts. Clean, reliable, affordable energy is our mission.”

Compton said the coop is facing a major challenge that could come if proposed EPA rules governing carbon emissions, called the Clean Power Plan, are put in place next June. “This is the first attempt to regulate the carbon footprint of fossil fuel generating plants,” he Magnolia, McComb said. SMEPA reduced its carbon emissions by 15 percent from 2005 to 2012 as part of its environmental plan, but the coop will not get credit for those investments as the proposed rules read now, he said.

Pearl River Valley, Columbia If the rules stand, Compton said, “We’re really going to have to make expensive, significant changes in what we do, in addition to what we already spent. I do not believe our ratepayers can support that cost.”

Delta, Greenwood

Yazoo Valley, Yazoo City Dixie, Laurel

Southern Pine, Taylorsville

Singing River, Lucedale

Coast, Kiln

MISSISSIPPI 100

26 I Mississippi Business Journal I October 24, 2014 MISSISSIPPI 100 PROFILE

Staplcotn gives farmers advantage » Greenwood cotton marketing co-op is one of the oldest and largest in the country

By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com

G

RAIN FARMERS in Arkansas and Mississippi have faced a staggering blow this year due to the default of Turner Grain Merchandising and 10 related broker companies that have failed to pay farmers for their grains. Ag officials have said the total losses could range from between $20 to $50 million.

Cotton growers in the region who are members of Staplcotn of Greenwood, the oldest and one of the largest cotton marketing cooperatives in the country, have an advantage in that they are represented by a cooperative that cuts out the middleman and has the producer’s best interest in mind.

“Anyone who contracts with a third party to sell their crops always bears the risk that their counter party does not perform,” said Staplcotn president & CEO, Meredith Allen. “To mitigate this risk, producers need to look to the financial strength and reputation of the counterparties they use to market their crops.

Staplcotn has a 93-year proven track record that speaks volumes.”

Allen said today the cooperative is as strong financially as it has ever been. Unlike private businesses, its sole purpose is to serve the producer.

“The board of directors is comprised of

“The 2014 crop looks like it will yield close to last year’s record. We have producers that now budget to make 1,200-1,300 pounds per acre that were budgeting only 1,000 pounds three to four years ago.

Meredith Allen President and CEO, Staplcotrn

cotton producer-members who, through policy and oversight, make sure management runs the company conservatively with producer interest as the number one priority,” Allen said.

“Staplcotn is 100 percent memberowned and the only way to be a member is to be a cotton producer. Our mission statement emphasizes that our charge is to enhance our members’ incomes.

Through the hedging of price risk in the cotton futures market and our global sales expertise, we seek to return an above average price for our producers.

Warehouses are licensed and bonded to meet the requirements of the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Competitive tariffs are charged for handling and storage. The earnings from the warehouses are returned to the warehouse patrons at the end of each fiscal year.

Allen said that until 2006, cotton acreage in Mississippi and the neighboring states of Arkansas and Louisiana was pretty stable. Since that time, growers in those states have responded to relatively high corn and soybean prices by decreasing their cotton acreage and replacing it with corn and soybeans. Producers in this three-state area were able to grow more soybeans and corn than other states in the cotton belt due to their good soil, climate and irrigation capacity.

“This year, growers in the region increased cotton acreage compared to the previous year (2013) because prices for corn and soybeans were less of a premium over cotton,” Allen said. “The outstanding cotton yields in Mississippi and Louisiana last year (both set all-time records) also made growers take a second look at growing cotton. While most other cotton producing states in the southeast

saw relatively flat cotton acreage, Mississippi acreage increased over 40 percent.

Growers planted an estimated 420,000 acres of cotton, an increase of 133,000 acres from 2013. Yield was expected to set records again.

Allen said those higher yields have been made possible by technological advances in farming and ginning practices and seed genetics.

In 2013, the average Mississippi cotton yield was 1,203 pounds per acre, which is 179 pounds more than the previous record set in 2004. That represents an increase of 17.5 percent.

“The 2014 crop looks like it will yield close to last year’s record,” Allen said.

“We have producers that now budget to make 1,200-1,300 pounds per acre that were budgeting only 1,000 pounds three to four years ago. Outside of seed genetics, other advancements in technology such as precision farming, integrated pest management, harvesting equipment and even in ginning means more efficient use of inputs and less lost lent in harvesting and ginning.”

Allen said another reason for higher productivity is that producers are enjoying the benefits of crop diversification. For example, cotton rotated with corn, soybeans or peanuts helps both crops involved yield more, improves the overall fertility of the land, and helps battle plant disease.

Cotton has long been considered a particularly important crop in the Delta because of the required investment in infrastructure and the number of jobs created. But infrastructure has declined considerably from the time in the 1980s when the state was producing cotton on a million acres. Allen said while a lot of the cotton infrastructure has been lost, Mississippi is still positioned well to be a significant player in the U.S. cotton industry.

“Despite less cotton being grown in Mississippi in this new era, we still have ample gin and warehouse capacity,” he said. “Mississippi is still the U.S.’ third largest production state behind Texas and Georgia. Acreage may vary from year-toyear as producers respond to price signals, but I expect cotton will always be produced in Mississippi on 300,000500,000 acres.”

Staplcotn represents about 14,000 farm accounts in 11 states. It provides a range of services to our members, including domestic and export marketing, cotton warehousing, and agricultural financing available through Stapldiscount, the lending arm of Staplcotn.

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» JEFFREY GITOMER

How’s your networking working?

Better if you follow the rules I went to a networking meeting last week hosted by a formal networking organization called Business Network International.

Many of you know this group. They have meetings all over the world. This particular chapter meeting was in New York City, and is populated by sophisticated business people who are on fire.

NOTE WELL: NYC business people, in general, take no prisoners. This BNI chapter takes no amateurs. And their meetings are exceptionally well structured.

I went as a guest – without an agenda – just to meet people and provide value.

HISTORY: I began my networking career more than 25 years ago, so I consider myself a relatively sophisticated meeting attendee. This particular meeting is a pure networking group, rather than a social networking event, like a Chamber of Commerce meeting or an association meting.

The group predominantly meets to give business and get business. My interest was to meet new people, and observe how the meeting was run.

Before we get too deep into BNI and the NYC group, I’d like to review some networking imperatives in case you’re about to go to one of these

meetings.

NOTE WELL: Most people take networking for granted, and think of it more as a place to meet friends and clients rather than capture an opportunity. They also fail to realize that people, whether you know them or not, are cultivating an impression of you – not just about you look like, but also based on how you act and how you dress.

Your physical presence, your physiology, and your communication prowess can determine whether the outcome is business or no business.

These are my top 9.5 rules for achieving positive and profitable networking results: 1. I shake and look. When I shake someone’s hand, it’s a firm grasp and a direct look in the eye.

2. I smile. Even in New York City. I found that by giving smile, I get a smile.

3. I ask before I tell. Whether I ask for their name, or a simple “how are you?” I want to hear the other person before they hear me.

4. I give before I get. I have always tried to make connections for others before I ask for one myself.

5. I don’t make small talk. I make big talk. I don’t want to talk about the weather. I want to talk about life and business life.

6. I want to make certain that I take a “next step” if the opportunity is there.

Anything from a simple exJeffrey Gitomer change of business cards, to a cup of coffee, to an office meeting, to an invite to a social event, I want to make sure that my objective is achieved before I leave to talk to the next person.

7. Known or unknown? That is the question. I prefer to invest the majority of my networking time with people that I do not know. The reason is that I tend to make small talk with people that I know, and bigger talk with people that I don’t know. My personal rule has always been, small talk leads to small business or no business, and big talk leads to big business, or the opportunity for big business.

8. I like everyone and qualify no one. If you like people, it’s likely they will like you back. If you try to qualify people (by asking them questions about money or circumstance), their guard will go up.

9. Every connection need not be a sale. Make friends, build rapport, and provide value to everyone without prejudging or qualifying them. I refer to it as: “the rule of you never know.” And “you

TURNER

to sell at today’s much lower price.

Turner Grain’s Chapter 11 filing would follow a Chapter 12 bankruptcy of Turner Grain principal Dale Bartlett, of Marvel, Arkansas. The Chapter 12 filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Eastern Arkansas buys Bartlett time in his personal defense against lawsuits arising from Turner Grain’s failure to pay farmers in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Bartlett lists assets of about $2 million and debts of about $5.5 million.

Phillips said the grain delivered to Turner Grain by Ross and his other clients went directly to Tyson Foods via g grain distributor Gavilon of Omaha, Nebraska.

Gavilon has claimed it paid Turner Grain in full, according to Phillips. “We don’t know that to be true,” he said in an interview Tuesday.

Phillips said it is far too early to know what his Mississippi clients can hope to recover through the bankruptcy proceedings.

“My stated option is very simple,” he said: “We provided grain and didn’t get paid for it.”

Meanwhile, Arkansas agricultural officials worry that at least $20 million and possibly upwards of $50 million could be involved in the failure of Turner Grain to pay Arkansas farmers for grain deliveries, Arkansas Business reported in late August.

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Arkansas, with a $2.293 million claim.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, a statewide daily newspaper, reported in September that the scope of the grain dealer’s multi-state defaults could reach several tens of millions of dollars.

Beyond the loss of payment for commodities deliveries, the “paper” losses to Mississippi Delta farmers could be as high as $70 million. Those losses would come through Turner Grain’s inability to honor contracts made at the start of the planting season, leaving corn and soy bean growers

never know” has no time limit. Sometimes “you never know” happens in a week, and sometimes it happens 5 years later. That’s why it’s called “you never know.”

9.5 I am brief. Time allocation at a networking event is not an option. If there are 60 people in the room and the meeting lasts for one hour, you have 1 minute per person if you want to meet everyone. If you take 5 minutes with each person, you can only meet 12 people. The choice is yours, but be aware of time.

I’ve just given you the parameters, the guidelines, and the rules that I have personally been following for 25 years. There are other rules and you can find them in my Little Black Book of Connections, but these are the major ones that will make connections, make appointments, build relationships, and ultimately make sales.

Next week I am going to talk about why the BNI meeting was incredible, and how you can learn from it. Stay tuned.

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.

At the moment, Arkansas has no law regarding grain merchandising; regulations only cover grain stored in a warehouse, the business newspaper reported.

Likewise, in Mississippi state bond requirements for grain brokers apply only to square footage of warehouse space purchased grain takes up.

Arkansas Business reported that court appointed receiver Kevin Keech, a North Little Rock attorney, stated in the draft filing that Turner Grain listed 2013 revenue of $277.9 million and $235.3 million so far this year.

STS names Museum of Natural OFFICE SPACE FOR LEASE Science as year’s best attraction Lakeland Drive JACKSON — The Mississippi Museum of Natural Science has received a Southeast Tourism Society Shining Example Award as the Escape to the Southeast Travel Attraction of the Year.

The museum was recognized for its cooperative work with the Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau and other attractions that boosted attendance, helped market the entire city and earned statewide publicity for promotions and special exhibits.

The Southeast Tourism Society (STS) Shining Example Awards recognize outstanding contributions in tourism in 12 Southeastern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Geor-

gia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

In addition to the Museum of Natural Science, two other Mississippi tourism partners took home awards from STS. Jennie Bradford Curlee of the Tupelo Convention and Visitors Bureau (TCVB) received the Rising Star Award given to a tourism professional with fewer than five years in the industry. Bradford serves as the director of public relations and international sales and was nominated by TCVB Executive Director Neal McCoy, who said that Curlee developed both the public relations and international sales programs from the ground up.

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601-982-9521 601-927-5743 W. P. Bridges, Jr, REALTOR® Call David P. Bridges, REALTOR®