MBJ_Oct31_2014

INSIDE — Top players who will be at the PGA’s Sanderson Farms Championships, Page 13

35

MBJ DOUBLE FOCUS

YEARS

Technology

{Section begins P 16} » Message Point Media changes how businesses information is disseminated digitally » Directing traffic with technology » BUSINESS PROFILE: PFG Precision Optics

The List {P 19} » Top Tech Companies

Architects & Engineers

1979

www.msbusiness.com

2014

October 31, 2014 • Vol. 36, No. 44 • $1 • 28 pages

ONE MORE YEAR Leaders want year more of study on comprehensive road, bridge upkeep » Chair of Senate Transportation Committee will seek bonds for emergency bridge work

By TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com

{Section begins P 20} » Building a career more quickly » Making Jackson a better place

The List {P 22} » Oldest Engineering Firms

The chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee is hugely disappointed that Mississippi business leaders want to put off addressing a growing backlog of road and bridge upkeep until the 2016 session.

Knowing that Republican legislative leaders likely will willingly go along with an extra year of delay, committee Chairman Willie Simmons, a Cleveland De-

Leaders in Finance See

UPKEEP, Page 9

GULF COAST

Mississippi Phosphates files Chapter 11; yet to make layoffs

By TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com

» Class of 2014 Inside this issue

PASCAGOULA – Mississippi Phosphate’s 241-member workforce remains intact after the longtime fertilizer company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Gulfport Monday.

A shortage of raw materials led the fer-

tilizer manufacturer to curtail production of diammonium phosphate at its 40-acre plant late last week. But the company kept most of its production going, it said in a press statement.

This is not the company’s first rough patch. It came out of bankruptcy in 2004.

See

CHAPTER 11, Page 2

http://msbusiness.com/events/leadership-law-nomination-form/

2 I Mississippi Business Journal I October 31 2014 PUBLIC RELATIONS

CHAPTER 11

JRA awaiting image makeover » Agency agrees to $3,000 marketing plan contract with Yellow Brick Media

By TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com

The Jackson Redevelopment Authority has conceded it has an image problem and is getting professional help to fix it.

The agency widely known for the low priority it puts on transparency wants a makeover in public perception. It’s hired Yellow Brick Media Concepts of Jackson to provide it.

The board received a proposal from Yellow Brick principal Kathy Times for a full branding and marketing campaign to help offset years of negative press the agency and its appointed board have received, mostly for stalled redevelopment projects such as downtown Jackson’s Farish Street Entertainment District.

The full campaign would have cost $18,000 and would be created over a five-month period.

Just what the agency would have received for the money is not being made public. The JRA declined to release the proposal and is reviewing an open records request from the Mississippi Business Journal.

Spending $18,000 was more than board

members could acmillion loan to a cept. In the end, local developer. » See related editorial on transparency.

Problems with they settled for a — Page 6 the Farish Street $3,000 “strategic” project also have marketing plan that caused the agency Times will prepare.

“We need to take incremental steps,” to be suspended from future projects insaid board member Bishop Ronnie volving the U.S. Department of Urban Crudup, who added the agency needs at Development. HUD is demanding a $1.5 minimum a website to keep the public and million repayment from the City of Jackson for money it provided to buy the full potential business partners informed.

One board member said just tidying up block of parcels and buildings used for the the JRA’s image without creating a way to now-dead Farish redevelopment. HUD maintain a long-term favorable perception claims the City never certified the JRA as of the agency would be like “putting per- a “sub-grantee” entitled to the $1.5 million.

The JRA agreed last week to borrow the fume on a pig.”

Times, a former television reporter and $1.5 million and repay it on the City’s beadjunct journalism professor at Jackson half. JRA board members hope the repayState University, said she would have the ment will get the HUD suspension lifted.

Yellow Brick’s Times said in a later inplan ready in 30 days.

Jennifer Johnson, who took over as terview that she would prepare a strategic chairwoman in August, has said she wants marketing analysis that would propose to create more openness on the part of the tools to help the JRA disseminate inforJRA. Too often, the agency’s accomplish- mation and communicate with the public. ments and the positive contributions it “We’ll provide a roadmap to help them makes toward removing blight go unno- build a brand,” she said.

Times, a solo practitioner, said the JRA ticed, she said.

Instead, what has reached the public approached her about taking on the image lately about the JRA centers on “recent lit- polishing job.

Chairwoman Johnson said a request for igation,” she said. Recent litigation includes a lawsuit relating to the Farish Street de- proposals was not required for the profesvelopment and a recent federal jury verdict sional services Times is to provide. that the City of Jackson wrongfully persuaded the JRA board to withhold a $5

Continued from Page 1

Formerly part of Yazoo-City-based Mississippi Chemical Corp., the company has been operating at the Port of Pascagoula since 1958.

Production continuing at the plant includes sulfuric acid operations, ammonia terminal operations, dock and port operations and all environmental systems operations, said Mississippi Phosphates, which recently moved its Madison operations to Pascagoula as part of a consolidation.

Mississippi Phosphates, a subsidiary of publicly held Phosphate Holdings Inc., wants relief from about $20 million in unsecured debt to buy time to secure additional credit, the company said in its press statement. The new credit would go toward satisfying the company’s “ongoing post-filing operational obligations,” the statement said.

“We expect that through this filing, we can gain needed relief, secure an updated credit and funding facility and return to production operations in an expedited manner,” said Stephen S. Russo, CEO. “In addition to resuming operations, our plans call for the company to continue maintenance and all environmental and safety programs during this reorganization.”

Russo took over as CEO in mid August, replacing interim CEO James Sherbert, who took the interim post upon the retirement of Robert E. Jones in early July.

MISSISSIPPI LAWS AFFORD GRAIN PRODUCERS AT LEAST SOME PROTECTION “And you’re out here buying millions of dollars worth of grain and reselling them. And nobody’s checking your books and nobody’s doing anything,” he added.

Calhoun’s comments followed Turner Grain’s Chapter 11 filing in which the Brinkley broker listed $24.8 million in debts and $13.8 million in

By TED CARTER assets. Claims filed against Turner likely will include one of nearly $2 ted.carter@msbusiness.com million from Leland farmer Harper Ross and five other Delta growers.

Greenville lawyer Scott Phillips said the Delta farmers never received Unlike Arkansas, Mississippi’s laws provide a measure of protection payment for $1.7 million in grain sales transacted through Turner Grain. to farmers who sell their crops through brokers who become Phillips said the grain delivered to Turner Grain by Ross and his other financially unstable. clients went directly to Tyson Foods via grain distributor Gavilon of Registration and bond requirements apply to both grain brokers and Omaha, Nebraska. warehouse owners, according to the Mississippi Department of Gavilon has claimed it paid Turner Grain in full, according to Phillips.

Agriculture and Commerce.

“We don’t know that to be true,” he said in a recent interview.

Thirty-five states require licensing and bonding for grain dealers, Turner is facing at least seven lawsuits over allegations of breach of according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, which noted in an article contract, according to Arkansas Business. the Arkansas Legislature took up a grain dealer licensing bill in 1991 but Had the Delta farmers used one of the 25 grain dealers licensed in failed to pass it. Arkansas is expected to try again in January Mississippi, they could make claims on bonds the dealers must have, Momentum for the legislation increased with last week’s Chapter 11 according to Julie McLemore, director of regulatory services for the state’s bankruptcy of Turner Grain Merchandising. The company’s bankruptcy Department of Agriculture. protection filing put in doubt payments to dozens of farmers, including “The laws are designed to protect the producer from a failure of a grain some from Mississippi and Louisiana, who made deliveries to Turner Grain. dealer or warehouse” owner, she said.

Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Butch Calhoun is preparing the new Turner is one of 15 Arkansas grain dealers name din suits totaling $15.7 registration legislation. “You could be out here and be a grain dealer and all you needed was a telephone, a computer and a pickup,” Calhoun told million. Eleven of the 15 companies share the same Brinkley address as Turner Grain, according to the Democrat-Gazette suits filed in Arkansas.

Arkansas Business, a Little Rock business newspaper, last week.

» Arkansas to consider legislation after Turner Grain bankruptcy leaves farmers unpaid

The Little Rock newspaper reported Oct. 5 that the nature of the relationships among the businesses is unclear, but three of the four people who have been sued in the complaints have roles in more than one of the companies.

In Mississippi, anyone who is buying grain for resale or milling must have a license from the Department of Agriculture,” McLemore added.

The licenses which are issued annually require a state financial review as well as a letter of credit, bond or certificate of deposit ranging from $25,000 to $100,000, she said.

“The department requires you to submit financial records so we can set the bond,” McLemore noted, and explained the bond amount is based on a percentage of what the dealer paid producers the previous year.

“We generally tell farmers when dealing with grain dealers to ask if they have a license,” she said.

McLemore said cases of brokers going bust are in Mississippi. “I have not had actually had one that has failed,” said McLemore, who has been in her present post since 2012 and with the Ag Department several years ahead of that.

“I know there was one in the early 2000s,” she said.

Warehouse owners must buy an annual bond that ranges from $15,000 to $1 million. The bond amount is based on number of bushels and the capacity of the warehouse. Mississippi issued 15 warehouses licenses this year.

Federally licensed warehouses have similar bonding requirements.

Warehouses with federal licenses do not need state licenses, according to McLemore.

October 31 2014

I

Mississippi Business Journal

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3

CREATIVE ECONOMY

Banking & writing

» Black working on third history book

BY WALLY NORTHWAY wally.northway@msbusiness.com

Greenville resident John T. Black didn’t set out to become an author after his retirement from a long banking career. However, through a series of serendipitous events, he has now written two books on Greenville-area history and has started a third that would represent his most ambitious to date.

At first glance, banking and writing seem to have little in common, but Black, 81, says his banking career stood him in good stead when he sat down to write his books.

“Throughout my banking years, I was often asked to write down ideas and new concepts in a way that was concise and got the message across clearly,” Black said. “I guess it gave me a good background — to write in a way that people understood what I was trying to say.”

It has been an interesting journey for Black, who is not even a Greenville native and, just like writing, did not choose banking as his career — it chose him.

Black grew up in the Oxford area, and attended Taylor High School. From a modest family that included two brothers, Black said it didn’t look like he was going to be able to attend college when he was approached about a position with First National Bank in Oxford.

“I interviewed and got the job,” Black remembered. “I graduated on a Friday, and was at work the next Monday.”

Then, international events intervened.

The year was 1953, and the Korean War was raging. So, Black enlisted in the Navy, looking to take advantage of the G.I. Bill to further his education.

Concluding his service, Black returned to Oxford where he earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Mississippi as a part-time student in 1960 while working full-time as a banker. (He would also graduate from the School of Banking at LSU.) His banking career subsequently would lead him to Greenville, and Black would go on to rise up through the ranks at two different banks, relocating several times before returning to Greenville and eventually retiring from the industry as senior vice president of Sunburst Bank, which is now Regions Bank. (After retiring, Black earned his brokers license in 1995, and operated as an independent broker in Greenville through 2003.)

By this time, Black had become known for articles he wrote for local publications, including the daily newspaper The Delta Democrat-Times. During his first stint in

Greenville, Black wrote a piece for a local magazine on area pioneers in 1966 titled “They Built the Delta.” The following year, he wrote a piece on Greenville history for the DDT to commemorate the 40th anniversary of The Great Flood of 1927.

Upon returning to Greenville, he again picked up his pen, writing a series of articles that appeared in the DDT on the history of Greenvillearea banking and another one on early local residents.

However, it was yet another serendipitous event that led to his first history book.

“I was in my car and stopped at the intersection of Hinds and Main streets,” Black said. “I looked over, saw St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and First Baptist Church, and it just hit me.”

Black wrote a series of articles for the DDT on the history of Greenville’s churches, and would take those pieces and turn them into chapters of his first book, “Faith of Our Fathers: How Faith Has Influenced the History of Greenville, Mississippi.” Self-published in 2005, Black would donate the proceeds of the 30-chapter, 172-page book to support the library at First Baptist Church of Greenville.

With “Faith of Our Fathers” on his résumé, Black was approached about doing a book on the Levee Board. Released in 2006 and also self-published, “A History of the Mississippi Levee Board: From Greenville Bends to the Yazoo River” encompassed 120 pages, plus a photo gallery, and chronicled the Board’s history in chapters with titles such as “A Touch of Scandal” and “Battle Over the Ultimate Solution.”

Now Black, who is also known locally for his woodworking skills (he calls it “piddling”), is back at it, working on what promises to be his most laborious book yet — a history of the towboat industry and its impact on the region in the world seen through the “prism of Greenville, Mississippi,” he said. He has already spent two years researching the topic, and estimates it will take perhaps another two years to complete.

But, that’s okay by Black.

“I’m having so much fun,” Black said.

“It’s the discovery — finding out something you didn’t know. I still don’t consider myself a writer, but I am enjoying what I am doing.”

Special to the Mississippi Business Journal

Since retiring as a banker, John Black has been busy writing books on Greenvillearea history.

Wise Counsel. Proven Advocacy. Real Solutions.

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4 I Mississippi Business Journal I October 31 2014 YAZOO BACKWATER PROJECT

EPA should have a better historical background of Delta

Cochran calls on EPA for project review WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran (RMiss.) is asking for an independent peer review of the decision that halted completion of the Yazoo Backwater Project, a flood control project for the lower Mississippi Delta.

Cochran requested approval for an independent peer review from Gina McCarthy, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), following a lack of response from EPA Region IV to a recent and similar recommendation from the Army Corps of Engineers. Completion of the backwater pump project, authorized by Congress in 1941, was idled since the project was administratively vetoed by the EPA in 2008 based on recommendations by Region IV. “I am writing to request that the U.S. EnviCochran ronmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water conduct an independent peer review of EPA Region IV’s recommended determination in 2008 to veto the final components of the Yazoo Backwater Area Project,” Cochran said.

“It is deeply concerning that the Southeastern Regional Office is unwilling to allow independent experts who were not associated with the determination to provide a fair and objective reevaluation of the 2008 determination. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — one of the world’s largest and most advanced construction agencies specializing in the design and construction of flood protection systems — continues to affirm the vetoed proposal is the option most capable of protecting Mississippians from devastating flood damages while creating opportunities for environmental protection and enhancement,”

EDUCATION

UM gets $20M toward new science building OXFORD — A $20 million donation to the University of Mississippi by the Gertrude C. Ford Foundation will be the cornerstone gift for a massive new science building on the Oxford campus.

The gift brings to $45 million the total that the foundation has given to Ole Miss. A performing arts center named for Ford opened in 2002 after a $20 million donation.

Each of the $20 million gifts are tied for the fourthlargest one-time donations to the university.

Ole Miss officials say it will cost about $100 million to build a 200,000 square-foot science building.

Chancellor Dan Jones Chancellor Dan Jones said the university will seek other private, state and federal funding, and will use cash and borrowed money to cover remaining costs. Jones said the school hopes to complete the building by fall 2018.

Ole Miss just finished a 96,000 square-foot second phase of the Thad Cochran Research Center for the university's pharmacy school and a 36,000 squarefoot addition to Coulter Hall, home of the chemistry

I he said.

Cochran said the scope of the project and ongoing flood risk in the Yazoo River Basin further justifies an additional, independent review process. Finishing the project, which has been constructed over the past seven decades, would provide additional flood protection on more than 630,000 acres in the backwater area of the basin. The senator raised the Yazoo Backwater Project’s potential at a July 2011 Senate hearing that addressed the disaster conditions created in Mississippi during the floods of 2011.

“Those at risk deserve clarity from the EPA regarding its concerns about the project’s potential impact on certain waters of the United States. Also, the public deserves certainty that EPA was correct in its estimates,” Cochran said. “Despite the various challenges and differences of opinions regarding this issue, citizens of the lower Mississippi Delta still need the flood protection the federal government has promised since 1941. It is imperative that your Agency look further into Region IV’s veto determination, and begin proposing viable alternatives of its own until the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers can agree on an effective solution.”

— from staff and MBJ wire services

See REILY, Page 5

POLITICS

TECHNOLOGY

Camgian launches Internet of Things product Egburt STARKVILLE — Camgian Microsystems has officially released a new Internet of Things solution called Egburt that will be used in the smart retail, cities and infrastructure industries.

Egburt is a complete end-to-end solution that applies real-time analytics across multiple sensor feeds in the field to provide enterprises with immediate operational intelligence and control.

Utilizing a new “edgeware” computing architecture that allows enterprises to push logic and control to the edge of the network and down to where their assets reside, Egburt is designed to lower the total cost of ownership of IoT solutions by decreasing communication costs, increasing battery life and eliminating some of the challenges of processing big data. Egburt’s flexibility and interoperability with a wide variety of commercial off-the-shelf sensors, enables implementation over a broad range of applications such as smart cities, infrastructure, retail, agriculture, manufacturing and facilities management.

“As the number of connected devices grows in the coming years, edge intelligence will be vital to delivering information in real-time,” said Gary Butler, chairman and CEO of Camgian Microsystems.

“Egburt will provide enterprises with the real-time intelligence and control needed to make better decisions for their operations at a lower total cost of ownership than existing systems.”

— from staff and MBJ wire services

department. But officials say rising enrollment and a desire to promote science and engineering means Ole Miss needs more science labs and classrooms.

Ole Miss has been in a general building boom for

f you first listen to environmentalists and the Environmental Protection Agency as to why they are opposed to the Yazoo Backwater project, they make a pretty compelling argument.

The EPA has said the project would have incurred “unacceptable damage to these valuable resources that are used for wildlife, economic and recreational purposes.”

In an interview I did with a Ross Reily representative of the EPA, I asked him what environmental template they were using in being able to make a claim of “unacceptable damage.”

To that point, I had accepted the EPA’s voice as “word” in this case and was trying to fully understand the situation.

Surprisingly, the answer was the EPA wants the area of the South Delta to be pristine, the way it was before man began interfering with the wetlands for flood control. And with that reason the EPA continues to oppose the project under the Clean Water Act. This week, U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) asked for an independent peer review of the decision that halted completion of the Yazoo Backwater Project, a flood control project for the lower Mississippi Delta.

Cochran requested approval for an independent peer review from Gina McCarthy, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), following a lack of response from EPA Region IV to a recent and similar recommendation from the Army Corps of Engineers.

the last decade, construction new dorms, academic buildings, and is now building a new basketball arena.

The university has received more than $350 million in private gifts in the past three years.

Former Mississippi first lady Carroll Waller dies Former Mississippi first lady Carroll Waller, who led efforts to restore the Governor's Mansion when her husband was in office, died Tuesday at age 87.

Her family said she died at Manhattan Nursing Home in Jackson after a lengthy bout with Alzheimer's disease. The funeral is at 2 p.m. Friday at First Baptist Church in Jackson.

Bill Waller Sr. was governor from 1972-76, serving as a Democrat but later campaigning for Republicans.

Carroll Waller and University of Mississippi historian David Sansing co-wrote "The History of the Mississippi Governor's Mansion," which helped raise money to restore the badly deteriorated structure and to add formal gardens around the home that had opened in 1842. The Wallers lived in the mansion only a few months after it reopened following the $2.7 million restoration.

The former governor was 85 when he died in November 2011. The couple had been married 61 years.

— from staff and MBJ wire services

October 31 2014

Mississippi Business Journal

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ENERGY

FINANCE

Mississippi public pension system shows improved results JACKSON — With stock market gains replacing steep losses in the accounting ledger, Mississippi's main public employee pension fund posted stronger results last year.

Actuaries reported Tuesday to the board of the Public Employees Retirement System that the funding percentage — the share of future obligations covered by current assets — rose to 61 percent as of June 30 from 57.7 percent on the same date in 2013.

The unfunded accrued liability, the amount of money that the system is short of being fully funded, fell last year for the first time in at least a decade, from $15 billion to $14.4 billion.

The system now projects that at current contribution levels, it will take 29.2 years to pay off the unfunded liability, down from a 32.2-year projected repayment period in June 2013.

PERS Executive Director Pat Robertson said the improvement supports the argument that the pension system can reduce its shortfall with time.

"I think it means that as we've indicated in the past, that time and patience will help get us back on the right path," she said. "Our focus is long-term and our investments on a long-term basis will sustain the plan."

The improvement stems from recent stock market gains as well as the end of an accounting period covering losses from the 2008-2009 stock market meltdown.

Like most pension funds, actuaries smooth out gains and losses over five years, booking 20 percent of the gain each year. Parceling out gains and losses is meant to reduce the volatility of market returns. In the 2012-2013 year, the system booked the last of five $1.05 billion losses from the 2008-2009 stock market meltdown.

Without that drag on results, the smoothed, actuarial value of the fund went up to $22.6 billion.

Without such smoothing, the fund was in reality worth $24.9 billion at June 30, aided by an 18.7 percent investment gain in the previous 12 months.

— from staff and MBJ wire services

REILY

I

Kemper costs push past $6 billion » Yet another cost overrun, this time $496 million, could cost Southern Co. customers big JACKSON — Southern Co. says it will cost at least another $496 million to finish the power plant it's building in eastern Mississippi's Kemper County, pushing the total cost above $6.1 billion.

And, unlike other recent overruns, customers could have to pay $167 million of the charges if regulators agree.

The Atlanta-based parent of Mississippi Power Co. pushed back the completion date for Kemper from June 2015 to at least March 2016, and said further delays beyond that would cost $20 million to $30 million a month.

Southern said the additional money will pay for material and labor during the plant's startup phase, as well as additional interest the company will earn on money it's already invested because of the delay.

The plant and associated lignite mine were originally supposed to cost $2.8 billion and begin operating last year.

"We absolutely continue to feel that this is in the best interest of our customers and the state of Mississippi," Mississippi Power President Ed Holland said in a phone interview.

While it was once construction delays and complications driving up the cost of the project, Holland said this time the company is slowing down and spending more money on starting what the company calls Plant Ratcliffe.

"We wanted to look realistically, from both a training perspective and a startup perspective at how long it would take," Holland told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

The plant is supposed to turn soft lignite coal into a gas, burn the gas to generate power, and extract chemicals including carbon dioxide to reduce pollution. Critics have warned the technology may not work as designed. A coal gasification plant built

by Duke Energy in Edwardsport, Indiana, using different technology, struggled during its startup phase. Kemper's three power generating turbines went into commercial operation in August, burning natural gas piped to the east Mississippi plant.

Southern will absorb $330 million of the

Continued from Page 4

EPA doesn't understand the Yazoo Backwater Project Even with all the legal wrangling in Washington, it should be understood, the EPA really doesn’t have a clue about the Yazoo Backwater Project. All of the statistics and fancy words being used are smoke and mirrors. Because, when the EPA says that it wants the area to be pristine, it proves the argument has nothing to do with the environment.

For sure, the Yazoo Backwater Project is controversial.

Certainly, the high price of the project compared to the number of people that it will help in the short or long term is concerning. And it is true much of what has been done over the years in the name of flood control across the Delta and North Mississippi has contributed to the continued flooding of the South Delta.

That being said, any reasonable person cannot be in favor of what the EPA has done in the name of environmental protection.

FILE

A look at the Kemper County Coal Plant at Sunset. Southern Co. says it will cost at least another $496 million to finish the power plant it's building in eastern Mississippi's Kemper County, pushing the total cost above $6.1 billion. increased costs, in addition to the $88 million that it increased estimates by in August in September, writing a total of $418 million off its quarterly profit statement that will be released Wednesday morning. The company said that after taxes, that amount will reduce profit by $258 million. Southern has absorbed nearly $2 billion in overruns at this point over the $2.88 billion cap that the Mississippi Public Service Commission imposed on the project.

But Mississippi Power also projects another $167 million in additional costs outside the cap. Holland said Mississippi Power will ask Mississippi regulators to declare those additional costs are prudent, meaning the company's 186,000 customers from Meridian to the Gulf Coast would pay for them.

Customers are already paying 18 percent higher rates for Kemper. Mississippi Power has said it's

The recommended determination came after the EPA received more than 47,600 public comments.

About 99.91 percent of them urged the EPA to prohibit the project.

Other than the price tag, however, there has never been a viable reason to stop the pump project.

It is important to point out that the Yazoo Backwater Project would have many advantages, including a 19 percent increase in wetlands resources, a 34 percent increase in aquatic resources and that water quality in the region would increase with reforestation, which would be accomplished with the pump.

But at what cost? $220 million.

That’s a lot, for sure.

It is argued that the $220 million for the Yazoo Backwater Project could be put to better use.

Indeed.

If at any time there was a guarantee the $220 million from Uncle Sam was a blank check to be used in the “best interest” of the Mississippi Delta,

likely to seek an additional increase of at least 4 percent over 20 years to pay off $1 billion in bonds that the Legislature is allowing the company to issue as part of the settlement. Holland said the additional $167 million could be included in those bonds, on which the company isn't supposed to make any profit, unlike traditional utility rates.

Much of the additional cost to customers would be additional interest on money the company has already invested.

"We expect to make the argument and state it very clearly that it's appropriate," Holland said.

Monitors, though, have criticized Mississippi Power for starting construction without doing enough engineering. Holland acknowledged that critics are likely to argue that it's unfair to charge customers more for the company's mistakes.

— from staff and MBJ wire services

surely the pumps would be down the list.

However, that is not the reality.

The money, in this case, is or would be specifically for the Yazoo Backwater Project. Maybe the EPA is working a backdoor plan that no one knows about right now that would change the way the $220 million is used; maybe they want to buy the land away from the owners. Maybe.

Maybe not.

The EPA’s view that voting against the pumps will leave the Delta in a natural state is warped. The Delta hasn’t been in a natural state for several hundred years, since we started farming it and particularly since we started to control flooding in the first place.

What we have now is a result of the flood control put in place by our forefathers.

No environmental lobby is going to change that by stopping the Yazoo Backwater Project. » Contact Mississippi Business Journal editor Ross Reily at ross.reily@msbusiness.com or (601) 364-1018

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 31, 2014 Volume 36, Number 44

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 31, 2014 • www.msbusiness.com • Page 6

OUR VIEW

S

JRA evolving toward transparency? Perhaps

ome Jackson Redevelopment Authority board members may have had to fight back a groan Wednesday at the idea of spending money for an image makeover.

One member even compared the idea to putting perfume on a pig.

Maybe for him it is. He’s looking at things from the inside, after all.

Here on the outside, we see any new willingness to actually communicate with the media and the public as evolutionary progress. Anything that lessens the exhausting effort required to keep the public informed about the activities of this vitally

important agency is truly welcomed.

We don’t expect the JRA staff and majority of its board members to suddenly emerge from the bunker they’ve occupied for years.

They’re way too insulated and attached to the idea of victimhood for that.

This is a public agency that as recently as last month refused to provide a meeting agenda to the Mississippi Business Journal a day ahead of a regular meeting unless the newspaper made an open records law request, a process that would get us the agenda 14 days after the filing. We enlisted the aid of the mayor’s office. Their staffer got the same answer.

Last year, the JRA board approved a development agreement for a convention center hotel but would let neither the media nor anyone else from the public review the agreement. Some “I’s” needed to be dotted and “t’s” crossed, we were told. The agency ultimately rejected our open records law request for the agreement.

The year before that, some board members decided journalists were getting carried away with electronic recording devices at JRA meetings. They wanted a new rule reSee VIEW, Page 7

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

» THE OUTSIDE WORLD

» INSIDE MISSISSIPPI

Shawn O’Hara positions himself as the Senate protest vote

MELISSA KILLINGSWORTH Sr. Account Executive

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hawn O’Hara has a perfect record in Mississippi politics — a string of more than a dozen losses over the past 25 years.

It is unblemished by a single win for mayor, congressman, senator or governor. Odds are good that 55-year-old Hattiesburg resident will keep his record intact this year as he runs for U.S. Senate.

O’Hara describes himself as a business consultant and motion picture producer, and is on the Nov. 4 ballot as the Reform Party candidate against six-term Republican Sen. Thad Cochran and the Democratic nominee, former U.S. Rep. Travis Childers.

“I do like Thad Cochran. I do Emily W. Pettus like my Democratic opponent in this race,” O’Hara told The Associated Press. “Can I win this election? I’m getting a lot of phone calls from people saying, ‘I want to know about your campaign.....’ I believe will be the protest vote in this campaign.”

O’Hara has trotted out eccentric proposals in the past, including establishing a series of snow-cone stands to generate revenue for the state budget.

This year, as he runs another low-budget campaign, he proposes granting statehood to Washington, D.C., and five territories: American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands the Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico.

While he’s short on details of how to pay for these things, O’Hara says he wants to decrease prices for food and energy, invest in teachers and veterans, repair bridges and require equal pay for women and See PETTUS, Page 7

PERSPECTIVE

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» RICKY NOBILE » ELECTION TIME

Educate yourself before it’s time to vote

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quiring prior approval of any recordings of their meetings. The ridicule that followed led the board to eventually drop the recording rules.

As a measure of the inflexibility that infects the JRA, consider that the agency refused the Mississippi Business Journal’s request last week for a copy of Yellow Brick Media Concept’s proposal for helping to make agency information more accessible to the public. At the JRA’s insistence, we submitted an open records request.

Some of the isolationist tendencies should diminish as the JRA begins noticing that openness creates more complete and thorough reporting on the agency’s activities.

At the urging of board member Bishop Ronnie Crudup, the board is taking only small steps to start. The first one is to have media relations and marketing professional Kathy Times, principal of Jackson’s Yellow Brick Media Concepts, prepare a strategic marketing plan.

The hope here is that once Ms. Times shows the JRA’s decision makers the genuine value of open communications she can persuade them to accept her offer for a more complete remaking of the JRA’s relations with the media and the public.

As one board member noted in Wednesday’s discussion, it’s extremely difficult to create a positive image when you take on jobs no one else wants to do, in this case removing slums and blight. And the imaging becomes even more negative when the public has questions about these very difficult jobs and their handling but nowhere to go for answers.

As a measure of the inflexibility that infects the JRA, consider that the agency refused the Mississippi Business Journal’s request last week for a copy of Yellow Brick Media Concept’s proposal for helping to make agency information more accessible to the public. At the JRA’s insistence, we submitted an open records request.

Frustrating delays — and in some instances, failures — are going to occur. If the projects were slam dunks, the JRA would not be involved in the first place.

Successes are also part of the JRA story. But with the information blackouts, local journalists are not eager to expend the time and energy to tell even those stories. Ms. Times says she wants to create a “brand” for the JRA. Call it whatever you please. If she can get the board and JRA staff to evolve toward transparency, Ms. Times will have done everyone a great service.

s we head into the Nov. 4 general election, it is important for Mississippians to come together and cast a ballot on Election Day. The recent party elections have drawn national attention, and frankly, not often positive for our state. Change begins at the ballot box — not in the press, talk shows, Facebook or twitter — by casting your vote for the candidate of your choice. I ask you to consider the importance of your vote.

As one circuit clerk said, we may not have perfect elections, but we have fair elections. On Nov. 4, I ask you to Delbert Hosemann remember the lives lost fighting for your right to participate in the voting process. Those lives were lost so you could freely debate about candidates and issues. Those lives were lost so you could express your concerns without fear or intimidation.

Those lives were not lost for you to disregard your right to vote.

We, as Mississippians, have a civic duty to participate in the electoral process. We have a duty to have our voices heard at the polls and cast a ballot for the candidate of our choice. We, as Americans, now face brutal terrorists striking on American soil. You are electing your national representatives.

The general election is just days away. Educate yourselves on the candidates and decide who deserves your vote on Nov. 4.

It is time we move forward as a state. We were the first state in the country in recent years to implement Voter ID without federal intervention and oversight. When naysayers believed the sky would fall and thousands would be disenfranchised at the polls, we, as Mississippians, proved them wrong. It is time to do that again.

Thank you for allowing me to serve as your secretary of state. I look forward to seeing you at the polls on Nov. 4.

» Delbert Hosemann, is Secretary of State for Mississippi.

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men who do the same jobs.

He also says he wants to abolish the U.S. Senate and restore Col. Rebel as the mascot at the University of Mississippi. School officials retired the bearded old man about a decade ago amid concerns that he was reminiscent of a plantation master.

“His job was stolen away from him by a liberal elite,” said O’Hara, who believes U.S. senators can choose a university mascot if the school takes federal money.

Mascot restoration apparently would have to be done before the Senate is disbanded.

» Emily Wagster Pettus covers the State Legislature and politics, among other things, for the Mississippi Associated Press in Jackson.

8 I Mississippi Business Journal I October 31 2014 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

JACKSON COUNTY

It’s all about the customers at Delo’s House of Coffee

BY TAMMY LEYTHAM mbj@msbusiness.com

GAUTIER — Ask Delorise Nettles what makes a business successful and she doesn’t hesitate to answer.

“Relationships.”

It’s all about knowing your customers, said Nettles, owner of Delo’s Heavenly House of Coffee in Gautier. And it’s obvious she does.

She chit chats with customers, asks about their school work, encourages their artistic aspirations and remembers their favorite drinks.

The mornings are busy, while afternoons are more of a down time.

Delo’s is warm, with local art adorning the walls (it’s for sale) and an upstairs room that’s used like a Nettles community center.

Nettles asks a customer if she’ll be back in school next semester (Nettles herself recently went back to school and is working on her associate degree). She encourages another customer — an artist — to hand out her business card and put one on the bulletin board. “I’m everybody’s agent when they walk through the door,” she said.

She started the Heavenly House of Coffee in July 2005 as something to do in retirement. That was just one month before Hurricane Katrina destroyed the Mississippi Gulf Coast. But, Nettles was blessed, she said.

The coffee house re-opened two days after Katrina, one of the few opened businesses in Gautier. “People from everywhere were needing coffee,” she said.

A Hurley native who retired from the Ingalls credit union and also worked retail, Nettles said she thought the community needed a place where students could go for coffee. Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College is just around the corner from the shop in the Bayview Commons shopping center at 3880 Gautier Vancleave Road.

“I wanted to give kids a place to come where they didn’t have the temptation to hang out in the mall, get a credit card and get in debt,” she said.

Building the business has been a slow process. But it’s paid off. Word of mouth has helped. Now, she says, she has between one and four people come in daily “who have never darkened the doors.”

“Hopefully, they’ll come back, but if not, hopefully, they’ll tell someone,” she said.

Nettles, the mother of five and grandmother of three, bakes the muffins and other sweets in a display counter. “If I get a wild hair, I’ll bake a cheesecake,” she said.

She expertly mixes the drinks - chai with honey and milk; a French Kiss blended coffee with vanilla and caramel; or the best seller, Alice in Wonderland, named for her older sister who created it. It’s made with white chocolate, caramel and hazelnut.

“If I had to pay her for every one I sold, she could quit Chevron,” Nettles said.

And she’s learned hard lessons in the nine years she’s ran the coffee shop. “I’m only here truly by the grace of God,” she said. “If He wasn’t keeping it going,

DOWNTOWN THE SEQUEL: UTILITIES CONSULTING FIRM RETURNING TO CBD WITH REGIONS’ LEASE

By TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com

TAMYY LEYTHAM / The Mississippi Business Journal

A French Kiss blended coffee, made with vanilla and caramel.

I would have done some things to shut it down.”

A partnership in a business in Georgia that “went south” is one example she gives of a hard lesson learned. Another is making sure she is always stocked with the basics after a friend came by to get decaf coffee and they were out.

“Since then, I may not have every pastry in that case, but I promise, I will have coffee,” she said. And she keeps extra decaf under a counter.

The espresso beans come from Orleans Coffee Exchange and the house blend from CoffeeAM in Canton, Georgia.

Employee Jessica Drongowski updates Delo’s Facebook page and selects seasonal coffees and teas. On an October day, Vermont maple nut is the flavor of the day and spiced apple cider is available.

Other fall flavors include pumpkin creme brûlée, and coming soon, cranberry creme and cinnamon sweet potato swirl.

And soon, Drongowski will choose Christmas flavors.

Delo’s is also starting Coffee and Cupcake Saturdays to help launch another fledgling entrepreneur. A woman who works at Ingalls wants to bake cupcakes, Nettles said, so she’ll bake a batch each Saturday to complement the flavor of the day coffee.

Nettles has another bit of advice for anyone thinking of starting a business. “Make sure you’re committed,” she said. “There’s lots of times I didn’t want to get up.”

She gave an example of one night she left class at 10 p.m., had to make sandwiches for the next day’s business and still had to stop at the store for ingredients.

And, if an employee calls in sick, it’s the owner who cancels plans to fill in.

“The commitment here is a little greater.”

Utility Management Corp. is returning to downtown Jackson after several years in Flowood.

A utilities consulting firm and oil and gas broker, Utility Management had its offices in the 111 East Capitol Street building from its inception in 1987 through 2009. It will move into a 7,100 square-foot space on the 11th floor of Regions Plaza in early November, according to CEO Howard Randolph.

The 16-employee company opted for the return to downtown after its lease at 2508 Lakeland Drive expired. “We are at the point we’d like to have a change of pace,” Randolph said. “We had a great experience in Flowood.”

The relocation decision got a boost when Utility Management signed a deal with Hertz Investment Group to manage energy and utilities usage for the national commercial real estate company. Hertz, a major downtown Jackson landlord, owns and manages Regions Plaza.

“It’s always nice to have your client and landlord next door,” said Randolph, whose company has a 10-year lease at Regions Plaza.

Utility Management’s main specialty is the management of electrical power, natural gas, water, sewer and telecommunications for major users across the country.

“Our typical customer would be a large manufacturer, university or city with a natural gas system,” Randolph said.

As part of its utilities management, the company also pays monthly utilities bills for many of its customers, especially those in multiple locations such as hotels and banks. It follows up with an analysis designed to assist customers in controlling the amount of their bills. “We capture the data off those bills and help them (the clients) reduce their energy costs off that data,” Randolph said.

“Ten years ago that was not possible to do,” the CEO said. “Technology has allowed us to process a lot more utility bills today than what we could have done a few years ago.”

Technology has also helped revenue grow steadily across all of the company’s business areas, Randolph said.

Utility Management also brokers natural gas and other energy commodities in states and regions where the commodities are deregulated, according to Randolph.

Randolph’s father, Bill Randolph, and Gail Blackburn founded Utility Management in 1987 after long careers with Mississippi Valley Natural Gas. The opportunity for starting the company came with the federal reregulation of the natural gas industry in 1987, according to Howard Randolph.

The senior Randolph and Blackburn sold the firm to the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Williams Bros. Co. in 1997. Howard Randolph brought the company back into the Randolph family with a repurchase in 2002.

Moving into Regions Plaza gives Utility Management an opportunity to increase its Internet speed with fiber optics and to gain data redundancies, according to Randolph.

“We have to stay connected 24/7,” including during the upcoming move, Randolph said.

Randolph said he is looking forward to seeing Capitol Street revitalized and the gaining of new neighbors once leasing begins in earnest at the Landmark Center, recently purchased by Israeli investor Zeev Yochelman.

“You’re moving back just made it better,” said Ben Allen, president of Downtown Jackson Partners, in an email to Randolph Monday, referring to the street’s resurgence.

A pair of former Parkway Property executives handled the transaction. Steve Rogers represented Utilities Management and Jim Ingram the Hertz Group.

The transaction gives Utilities Management the option of taking an additional 4,000 square feet in the future.

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Politics of paying for transportation: Hand wringing and a lot of talk » Risk seen outweighing reward for new road & bridge money, political watchers say

By TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com

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mocrat, will ask for bond money to cover repairs on bridges judged to be in the worst shape, many of which he says are in the Delta.

“We have a tendency to kick the can down the road,” he said in a recent interview. “The road is so bad it is tearing the can up as we kick it. We don’t need to do that anymore.”

Simmons will be joined in his request by the Delta Council, a longstanding organization of the region’s business and agricultural leaders.

Delta Council’s Transportation Committee in September passed a resolution urging Mississippi’s congressional delegation, Legislature and governor to help secure around $50 million in funding for emergency repairs on bridges along Mississippi Highway 6 between Batesville and Clarksdale. The approximately 40-mile stretch has nine to 10 deficient bridges, according to Walter Gresham, Delta Council president and chair of the council’s transportation committee.

“It’s very urgent that something needs to be done,” said Gresham, and noted the road is a major corridor for grain. Hundreds of truckloads of grain have been detoured from Highway 6 even though they are hauling a legally permitted weight load, the Delta Farm Press reported in September.

The bridges are posted for weights far below the allowed 84,000 pounds “because they are more than 50 years old and deteriorating,” said Butch Scipper, farmer and vice chair of the Delta Council’s Transportation Committee, in the Delta Farm Press report.

Gresham said he expects farmers will begin taking their grain out of Mississippi to Memphis.

Simmons in 2013 led a transportation task force of legislators and representatives of transportation-reliant business sectors.

They found an urgent need for the state to begin whittling a road and bridge maintenance backlog of over $ 2 billion.

Business leaders, through the Mississippi Economic Council, which serves as the state’s chamber of commerce, declined to support a 2014 effort but left open a possibility of support for one in 2015.

The endorsement Simmons’ task force got from the business leaders, he said, is one that said “we didn’t need to do anything.”

Year after next will be different.

At least that’s the pledge from Joe Sanderson, CEO & chairman of Sanderson Farms and chair of the MEC transportation study committee.

“We’re looking at funding. We’re just now getting started,” Sanderson said in a recent interview.

“It’s going to be easier for elected officials to deal with this more effectively if they have the support of business leaders,” said Sanderson, head of a multi-state, nearly $1 billion poultry operation based in Laurel.

Looking at 2015, Sanderson said if the legislative leadership deems state finances are sound enough to put money into bridge repairs, “I would certainly support that.”

Sanderson Farms’ trucks are having do a lot of “bridge dodging” in the Delta and North Mississippi, according to Sanderson. “I know we do need bridge work done,” he said.

The Mississippi Department of Transportation reports that 80 percent of Mississippi’s several hundred posted and deficient bridges are north of Interstate

20, an east-west corridor.

While the MEC panel has done only preliminary examinations of funding sources, it likely will propose increases in the motor fuels tax, car tags and drivers licenses, according to Sanderson. “I don’t know if there will be additional ones, but those are the primary sources,” he said.

The focus will be on user fees, Sanderson noted. “The people who use the highways are going be the ones who pay for the upkeep of the roads.”

He said he would be comfortable with the state issuing bonds for bridges but not for roads. Bridges, like bonds, have a long life, he noted.

On the other hand, road maintenance is a pay-as-you-go proposition, Sanderson said. “I would be uncomfortable with bonds for road repairs because this is a short-term issue and I think that ought to be paid for with user fees.”

In the meantime, Sanderson added, “The main thing we need to do is our homework. We will go to the public statewide. We want to see what is on their minds.”

The MEC transportation panel is getting data gathering and analysis help from the engineering and transportation departments of both the University of Mississippi and Mississippi State University.

The study will also address airport and seaport needs.

A 2013 report by the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review, or PEER, concluded that the Mississippi Department of Transportation should do better at accounting for the money it spends. The PEER review also concluded state funding

Giving further credence to the idea that to everything there is a season, a Mississippi legislator may find more job security driving a loaded-down tractor trailer over a crumbling bridge in the Delta than supporting a full fix for roads and bridges at the outset of the 2015 election season.

Even beyond the 2015 elections, it’s hardly guaranteed that Mississippi’s elected leaders can find a politically safe way to embrace new fees and taxes to fund a backlog of road and bridge maintenance projected to be more than $ 2 billion, political scientists say.

At the midpoint of the second decade of the new century, swearing allegiance to infrastructure upkeep can dangerously lower office holders’ re-election chances, say University of Mississippi political science Chair John Bruce and Marty Wiseman, who retired last fall as director of Mississippi State University’s Stennis Institute of Government after two decades in the post.

The risk is that you’ll invite the most frightening new verb in the political dictionary – “primaried,” Bruce and Wiseman said in recent interviews.

It’s a Red State thing, Bruce noted.

“The broadest notion is that in the political climate in Mississippi and pretty much everywhere else with Republican control, we don’t spend money. The policy is: ‘We’re doing too much. We must do less.’”

It’s “just a non-starter” for a Red State politician to say: “We need to raise a lot of money,” Bruce added.

“It can haunt them in the Republican primaries,” he said.

Sen. Joey Fillingane, a Lamar County Republican and chair of the Senate Finance Committee, has scored high conservative points on both social and fiscal issues since arriving in the Legislature 14 years ago. So he is unlikely to lose sleep at night worrying about a challenge from the right. But he does not ignore potential political consequences, Fillingane said in addressing the political burden that voting for new road and bridge money could create.

“There are always political aspects to what we do.”

Even before the emergence of Tea Party politics aimed at searching out and destroying those supportive of new spending, the long term nature of road and bridge improvements made them hard to sell, Bruce of ’Ole Miss said.

“Twelve months is forever in a political See

See

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10 I Mississippi Business Journal I October 31 2014 GULF COAST

PAYING

New store in Anchor Square aims to offer children’s gifts at reasonable prices

BY TAMMY LEYTHAM mbj@msbusiness.com PASCAGOULA — Business at the newly opened Whimsy Books & Toys is going “unexpectedly” well.

Tracy Jackson-Wilson opened the store with her mother-in-law Cathy Johnson in August. It sits in a Katrina cottage in Pascagoula’s Anchor Square, a shopping and dining complex on the west end of Delmas Avenue that serves as the city’s business incubator.

“I felt like there was a need,” said Jackson-Wilson. “I knew I needed a place for reasonably priced birthday gifts. And there was no competition here.”

She said between her two daughters, they were attending an average of two birthdays a weekend. When her youngest daughter started kindergarten, and her mother-in-law, a retired school teacher, retired from her second career at Ingalls, they thought “maybe we can do something.”

Responding to the needs in the community has helped the co-owners launch a successful business.

They carry a variety of brands, including popular Melissa and Doug items, books and costumes. They don’t have a lot of storage, so they rotate items on a regular basis and order weekly.

“Pretty much everything in the store is $20 or less,” Jackson-Wilson said. “I know what I like to spend. That’s where we try to keep it.”

Whimsy has a birthday registry, where children can pick out the items they want, and shoppers can help ensure the child doesn’t have triplicate gifts at the party.

She credits their early success to word-of-mouth advertising, especially when Whimsy gift bags show up at multiple birthday parties. “The last two or three parties I’ve been to, I’ve seen a lot of our bags,” she said.

Also, she and Johnson didn’t take out a loan to get started, and being in Anchor Square allows them a low overhead.

“I think I was amazed at how little it takes to start a business here,” she said.

Established three years ago, Anchor Square has more than a dozen Katrina cottages offering a mix of boutiques, restaurants, spa/salon services and even an art gallery and studio. The cottages are connected by a spacious deck, and a town green sits in the center.

City manager Joe Huffman said though the incubator project started before he started work for the city, he was certain it would be a success.

That has turned out to be the case as half a dozen businesses have grown and moved from Anchor Square to larger spaces downtown.

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had fallen far behind road and bridge maintenance needs. Mississippi, PEER said, must spend about $400 million more per year to keep roads and bridges from getting worse.

The watchdog panel deemed the state’s 18 cents a gallon tax on motor fuels, in place since 1987, antiquated as vehicles have become far more fuel efficient in recent decades.

Where’s the problem?

Sanderson, the MEC transportation panel chair, is not so sure roads and highways are the problem, at least not the im-

TAMYY LEYTHAM / The Mississippi Business Journal

Whimsy Books & Toys opened in August at Anchor Square, a shopping complex in downtown Pascagoula that also serves as the city’s business incubator.

Jackson-Wilson said between support and resources offered by the city and the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, “you really do learn a lot … where it’s not so intimidating,” she said.

The Chamber has put out the word about the business. And they provide workshops and learning opportunities for small businesses. “The first thing we did was join the Chamber,” she said.

Gearing up for Christmas, Jackson-Wilson said they’ll have a Christmas wish list registry similar to the birthday registry. They’ll also bring in a few more expensive gifts, like ride-on cars. They’ll “definitely” have “Elf on the Shelf” dolls and books, and a lot of Nutcracker gifts because the local dance studio puts on the ballet at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College each year.

They are also hoping to have the Grinch appear at the store to promote Dr. Seuss books. And they’ll participate in the city’s Downtown for the Holidays event on the first Friday of December.

They can be reached at 228-769-2700.

mediate problem.

“Our roads are in pretty good shape,” he said, though he voiced concern about “their rate of decline.”

The immediate attention should be on bridges and the farm-to-market road network, he said.

Dick Hall, MDOT Central District commissioner, said not tackling highway upkeep comprehensively could be pound foolish. “If you let a highway get to a certain point of deterioration, you can’t bring it back. You have to totally rebuild it,” said Hall.

Hall has tried unsuccessfully the past several years to persuade lawmakers to tackle statewide transportation maintenance. “I’ve had a lot of them come to me and say we

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conversation,” Bruce explained. “Infrastructure is not sexy. It is over the horizon.”

At least until a bridge falls down, he added.

“This is not an issue of the Legislature or governor acting in bad faith. It is a fixture of government.”

In Bruce’s native Texas, a longstanding “farm-to-market” transportation policy has “taken the decision-making out of the legislature’s hands,” thus ensuring that sufficient dollars are designated yearly to keep up with transportation needs.

Mississippi, on the other hand, must have a catalyst to create momentum for new transportation spending. It could come from business leaders providing highly visible support, Bruce said. “The cover is going to have to come from business.”’

Mississippi’s business leaders say they need another year to think things over.

But the 2015 session could force them to decide between the business tax cuts legislative leaders have been hinting at or keeping the Treasury flush enough for a serious discussion of road and bridge bond money in 2016, Bruce said.

It’s not difficult to pick a winner in that instance, he added.

“Nobody is going to win by saying, ‘Let’s defer cutting taxes and economic development’ “and instead say, ‘Let’s go build bridges.’

Where is the ‘gee whiz’ in that?”

Picking bridge repairs over tax cuts is like flossing: It may be good for you but not much fun, Bruce noted.

Not only are tax cuts the low-hanging fruit that politicians love to pick, they could represent political survival for Mississippi’s GOP office holders, regardless of how ill-advised, according to Wiseman.

“Pressure from the Tea Party has terrified the traditional Republicans so that they are now talking tax cuts, when that is the last thing they should be doing,” he said.

“I don’t know how they are going to do anything in the years ahead” with a tax cut coming, Wiseman added, referring to not only increases in transportation funding but education and health care as well.

It could be, Wiseman said, that a new season will eventually set in and take legislators and other state leaders by surprise.

Suddenly, they’ll find themselves “between a rock and hard place,” he said.

“Highways and bridges have always been near and dear to citizens throughout the state.”

The pride Mississippi voters felt with the $3 billion in highway building after passage of 1987’s 18 cents-a-gallon motor fuels tax “is wearing thin,” Wiseman added.

“They’ll get past this election, then time is going to start running out on them.”

But for now, said Wiseman, “We’ll see a lot of hand wringing and a lot of talk about what we have got to do.”

know you’re right and we need to do that,” he said of legislators.

None of those, however, has included the legislative leadership, he said.

Sen. Joey Fillingane, who represents several Pine Belt counties and chairs the Senate Finance Committee, said he is willing to discuss the bond funding Sen. Simmons is seeking, but would not commit to anything further. His panel would decide whether the measure moved forward or died.

“We would definitely have to look at where the finances are,” Fillingane said in a recent interview. “The economy is definitely improving, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to go on a spending binge.”

Simmons and Gresham say 2015 could be the last year to sell bonds at historically low

interest rates. Even with emergency bridge money in the 2015 session, awarding a contract for the repairs will take at least a year and a half, Simmons and Gresham noted.

Meanwhile, without new money, MDOT’s district commissioners may have to decide whether to put off new road and bridge construction and divert the money to maintenance, said Gresham, an Indianola petroleum retailer who has a chain of combination convenience store-gas stations in Central and North Mississippi.

But without the stepped-up maintenance, economic development will be hampered, Gresham predicted. “I can name 10 to 12 companies that are impacted by this.”

It’s the job of legislators, he said, “to decide how they’re going to raise the money.”

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MISSISSIPPI’S SEPT. UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES Labor force and employment security data STATE OF MISSISSIPPI Labor Force Data Civilian Labor Force Unemployed Unemployment Rate (Adjusted) Unemployment Rate (Unadjusted) Employed

Sept ‘14 1,249,100 91,600 7.7 7.3 1,157,500

Aug ’14 1,243,700 92,200 7.9 7.4 1,151,500

Sept ’13 1,281,200 107,800 8.4 8.4 1,173,400

’13 Avg. 1,286,400 110,800 XXX 8.6 1,175,700

Moving Avg.** 1,263,500 98,500 XXX 7.8 1,165,000

UNITED STATES Labor Force Data Civilian Labor Force Unemployed Unemployment Rate (Adjusted) Unemployment Rate (Unadjusted) Employed

Sept ‘14 155,903,000 8,962,000 5.9 5.7 146,941,000

Aug ’14 156,434,000 9,787,000 6.1 6.3 146,647,000

Sept ’13 155,536,000 10,885,000 7.2 7.0 144,651,000

’13 Avg. 155,389,000 11,460,000 XXX 7.4 143,929,000

Moving Avg.** 155,583,000 10,065,000 XXX 6.5 145,518,000

STATE OF MISSISSIPPI Unemployment Insurance Data •• Initial UI Claims Continued Claims Benefits Paid Weeks Paid First Payments Final Payments Average Weekly Benefit

Sept 2014 6,745 71,986 $12,087,700 61,997 3,246 1,542 $194.97

Aug 2014 7,241 93,623 $13,022,950 67,821 3,836 1,339 $192.02

Sept 2013 8,694 95,301 $13,471,192 72,556 3,920 1,947 $185.67

Unemployment Rates

** Average for most recent twelve months, including current month •• Unemployment Insurance amounts presented in this section only represent regular UI benefits, federal program amounts are not included.

Labor force amounts are produced in cooperation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Note: Unless indicated state and county data presented are not seasonally adjusted.

— Mississippi Department of Employment Security

4.8 - 5.4 5.5 - 8.0 8.1 - 11.6 11.7 - 15.1

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12 I Mississippi Business Journal I October 31 2014 September 2014 sales tax receipts/year to date, July 1 MISSISSIPPI STATE TAX COMMISSION Here are cities’ earnings through sales tax collections. Sales tax has a three-month cycle. Month 1 — Tax is collected by the retailer. Month 2 — Tax is reported/paid to the Tax Commission by the retailer.

Month 3 — Sales tax diversion is paid by the Tax Commission to the cities. This report is based on the month the tax is collected at the Tax Commission (Month 2).

September September Year to date YTD CITY 2014 2013 2014 2013 ABBEVILLE $4,253.23 $3,874.39 $13,934.65 $9,410.12 ABERDEEN 63,825.80 67,021.94 195,369.20 202,133.38 ACKERMAN 24,191.64 22,279.96 70,499.05 69,245.22 ALCORN STATE U 414.07 641.03 1,003.99 1,269.84 ALGOMA 2,249.63 2,315.79 6,931.82 6,868.71 ALLIGATOR 745.28 682.27 1,896.83 2,234.18 AMORY 157,906.06 152,340.51 465,681.52 454,884.20 ANGUILLA 2,598.94 2,778.16 8,477.90 8,070.90 ARCOLA 1,502.84 1,437.50 4,593.64 4,517.78 ARTESIA 1,180.73 1,335.55 3,393.69 3,208.09 ASHLAND 13,917.11 15,007.82 38,777.54 40,411.00 BALDWYN 43,944.20 44,414.62 126,664.82 137,999.03 BASSFIELD 8,931.56 10,664.47 31,380.27 37,175.30 BATESVILLE 341,584.18 329,925.94 1,018,377.13 1,000,156.53 BAY SPRINGS 54,540.87 54,898.02 162,098.15 156,928.36 BAY ST LOUIS 123,558.68 105,412.24 369,878.55 336,265.34 BEAUMONT 5,969.70 7,119.35 17,521.05 19,048.61 BEAUREGARD 227.18 198.19 676.57 695.03 BELMONT 24,682.45 24,067.02 70,568.77 73,918.80 BELZONI 40,525.79 43,910.35 104,396.41 131,480.03 BENOIT 6,695.25 6,396.93 20,957.11 19,833.95 BENTONIA 21,828.84 45,775.56 62,409.65 113,990.06 BEULAH 471.18 418.19 1,278.85 1,175.93 BIG CREEK 260.73 309.20 899.15 970.77 BILOXI 995,914.74 919,005.06 3,025,746.66 2,989,908.95 BLUE MOUNTAIN 9,523.87 9,254.97 29,884.18 28,221.44 BLUE SPRINGS 2,857.70 2,973.37 8,480.15 8,572.22 BOLTON 7,594.65 12,784.35 24,404.35 38,519.41 BOONEVILLE 151,968.61 159,745.69 450,005.41 449,744.19 BOYLE 14,420.25 22,653.02 45,335.07 60,512.09 BRANDON 484,100.32 428,646.78 1,226,926.40 1,313,048.07 BRAXTON 1,551.83 1,225.65 4,153.99 3,990.63 BROOKHAVEN 457,958.24 556,908.43 1,367,369.84 1,446,653.87 BROOKSVILLE 9,088.35 9,837.52 30,652.67 27,323.95 BRUCE 40,235.50 40,820.17 121,600.61 122,124.48 BUDE 16,780.22 13,290.08 32,422.02 38,028.25 BURNSVILLE 12,020.80 12,917.70 37,086.41 35,061.91 BYHALIA 67,613.24 66,425.43 199,766.60 193,676.41 BYRAM 112,938.82 168,220.64 386,298.73 498,800.70 CALEDONIA 13,607.38 11,959.64 39,048.22 36,679.92 CALHOUN CITY 27,175.71 26,120.06 77,307.98 75,164.37 CANTON 228,762.95 215,010.82 677,437.37 633,092.01 CARROLLTON 6,319.08 6,074.46 18,728.85 17,317.60 CARTHAGE 133,305.24 131,105.84 382,565.56 398,089.84 CARY 1,387.86 1,020.04 3,811.78 2,700.80 CENTREVILLE 18,584.57 18,078.60 53,662.36 55,601.07 CHARLESTON 31,211.59 27,076.16 88,617.77 86,247.63 CHUNKY 705.54 1,055.96 2,092.86 3,013.94 CLARKSDALE 230,465.28 224,278.93 669,675.27 669,879.76 CLEVELAND 297,913.62 283,203.15 742,720.36 843,363.72 CLINTON 361,966.12 358,383.61 998,357.55 1,100,174.67 COAHOMA 602.55 513.96 1,744.73 1,606.88 COAHOMA COLLEGE 1,157.54 1,193.57 54.21 COFFEEVILLE 9,054.89 10,078.80 28,700.16 28,999.28 COLDWATER 17,912.66 17,184.69 49,775.15 52,219.23 COLLINS 125,158.58 99,622.44 371,712.97 338,411.04 COLUMBIA 293,713.49 290,047.75 853,646.12 846,928.98 COLUMBUS 745,150.07 712,570.04 2,156,861.41 2,108,512.45 COMO 12,831.58 15,617.34 38,141.13 43,875.57 CORINTH 495,799.28 458,279.58 1,426,500.12 1,393,145.89 COURTLAND 1,504.93 1,106.88 4,416.70 3,436.14 CRAWFORD 1,229.79 1,870.62 3,725.15 4,997.02 CRENSHAW 4,324.89 4,160.71 14,251.54 13,120.63 CROSBY 714.22 823.07 11,929.16 7,419.60 CROWDER 1,885.71 1,551.43 5,464.61 4,751.07 CRUGER 413.12 457.89 1,348.62 1,694.16 CRYSTAL SPRINGS 59,689.34 61,561.85 173,540.70 191,930.76 D LO 2,778.10 3,074.26 989,713.44 9,677.39 D'IBERVILLE 497,715.98 485,014.40 527,927.47 1,499,301.93 DECATUR 15,122.67 13,764.63 40,965.59 37,411.39 DEKALB 18,353.05 20,664.08 58,717.64 59,998.40 DERMA 5,847.45 5,471.85 16,288.53 17,137.76 DIAMONDHEAD 41,237.91 37,065.93 128,256.15 114,217.96 DODDSVILLE 767.41 853.59 2,393.09 1,760.28 DREW 9,795.71 9,926.49 33,157.00 29,628.59 DUCK HILL 4,065.64 4,218.86 12,027.74 12,133.59 DUMAS 1,352.19 1,085.74 3,945.52 3,336.22 DUNCAN 326.88 1,312.47 1,308.23 4,041.75 DURANT 26,700.07 24,370.00 60,034.54 72,413.31 EAST MS COLLEGE 1,183.38 1,344.21 1,320.52 1,447.63 ECRU 11,735.45 12,921.38 46,938.91 37,919.49 EDEN 110.22 58.65 306.60 192.78 EDWARDS 5,811.86 6,238.10 18,484.85 27,154.91 ELLISVILLE 106,529.73 84,882.04 298,319.14 251,418.69 ENTERPRISE 4,537.10 5,042.20 14,320.46 15,151.10 ETHEL 1,777.30 1,073.19 4,768.32 3,296.15 EUPORA 36,061.01 34,290.59 108,438.23 106,636.16 FALCON 130.99 105.82 378.70 324.31 FARMINGTON 3,321.42 3,852.85 8,886.70 12,664.77 FAULKNER 5,868.38 4,377.08 15,677.64 13,155.06 FAYETTE 17,730.17 17,336.38 52,804.66 51,884.99 FLORA 27,115.47 26,067.91 77,915.79 75,639.14 FLORENCE 68,671.41 63,460.70 208,053.46 206,335.33 FLOWOOD 872,933.46 815,548.63 2,564,351.69 2,548,020.41 FOREST 190,622.57 189,698.83 547,878.64 547,001.87 FRENCH CAMP 1,272.17 843.09 3,055.42 2,984.32 FRIARS POINT 2,021.55 2,290.13 6,274.90 6,678.52

FULTON GATTMAN GAUTIER GEORGETOWN GLEN GLENDORA GLOSTER GOLDEN GOODMAN GREENVILLE GREENWOOD GRENADA GULFPORT GUNNISON GUNTOWN HATLEY HATTIESBURG HAZLEHURST HEIDELBERG HERNANDO HICKORY HICKORY FLAT HINDS COMMUNITY HOLLANDALE HOLLY SPRINGS HORN LAKE HOULKA HOUSTON INDIANOLA INVERNESS ISOLA ITTA BENA IUKA JACKSON JONESTOWN JUMPERTOWN KILMICHAEL KOSCIUSKO KOSSUTH LAKE LAMBERT LAUREL LEAKESVILLE LEARNED LELAND LENA LEXINGTON LIBERTY LONG BEACH LOUIN LOUISE LOUISVILLE LUCEDALE LULA LUMBERTON LYON MABEN MACON MADISON MAGEE MAGNOLIA MANTACHIE MANTEE MARIETTA MARION MARKS MATHISTON MAYERSVILLE MCCOMB MCCOOL MCLAIN MEADVILLE MENDENHALL MERIDIAN MERIGOLD METCALFE MIZE MONTICELLO MONTROSE MOORHEAD MORGAN CITY MORTON MOSS POINT MOUND BAYOU MS GULFCOAST MS STATE UNIV MS VALLEY ST MT OLIVE MYRTLE NATCHEZ NETTLETON NEW ALBANY NEW AUGUSTA NEW HEBRON NEWTON NO. CARROLLTON NOXAPATER OAKLAND OCEAN SPRINGS OKOLONA OLIVE BRANCH OSYKA OXFORD PACE PACHUTA PADEN

128,788.69 128.61 165,520.88 3,194.61 1,930.72 439.09 13,541.20 4,659.06 3,420.67 517,195.73 370,932.43 361,352.19 1,659,357.67 649.47 15,165.72 386.56 1,809,260.88 109,432.72 25,835.05 255,641.40 4,865.86 5,443.37 779.13 14,378.19 106,900.32 328,840.69 7,381.50 84,927.44 159,446.01 3,667.41 2,633.41 11,940.47 64,222.93 2,635,807.08 2,719.53 455.26 4,348.76 167,897.09 3,559.92 6,125.20 2,018.82 832,472.34 28,113.64 518.52 51,262.40 1,841.79 34,826.09 20,352.59 117,825.72 2,577.77 1,172.97 163,729.37 185,604.30 3,015.37 14,664.29 2,314.70 6,633.32 49,411.83 507,934.13 172,238.70 30,679.38 17,973.20 2,762.80 4,182.83 18,455.50 20,748.75 16,697.53 803.22 457,305.29 2,273.45 6,153.42 11,534.27 53,572.38 1,240,781.47 6,547.44 1,194.52 5,999.35 39,318.57 466.40 8,813.61 551.95 42,421.46 161,928.69 3,793.63 1,284.49 32,542.42 411.37 9,629.41 4,616.73 479,102.16 22,836.87 255,020.43 14,417.01 10,662.61 82,982.76 2,967.86 8,178.32 5,746.73 400,875.25 24,097.00 744,769.93 5,590.43 676,567.31 523.77 1,635.26 78.03

123,897.94 116.37 182,317.42 3,350.84 2,610.14 379.35 12,129.86 3,717.03 3,792.53 503,076.30 373,218.13 348,954.72 1,602,543.00 457.04 15,980.25 415.31 1,792,091.00 100,677.79 29,437.40 240,947.70 4,362.61 5,355.80 789.77 13,616.22 97,227.63 325,620.81 8,133.30 80,998.88 155,448.34 5,355.11 2,938.24 11,089.52 65,276.36 2,704,131.33 3,695.99 579.01 5,063.76 167,063.54 3,666.80 6,226.57 4,862.87 817,293.63 27,544.07 480.09 50,566.09 1,594.54 40,198.70 19,152.31 114,852.78 2,369.75 883.10 148,656.36 163,070.50 3,456.68 14,764.56 4,062.97 5,287.35 50,162.05 517,433.03 166,750.10 30,750.71 17,645.99 2,245.29 4,582.59 17,219.15 20,503.07 15,399.54 630.68 433,544.44 1,182.89 6,388.76 9,580.07 71,428.06 1,275,179.16 6,915.01 1,119.43 16,260.94 39,125.04 548.56 6,947.48 993.70 40,329.27 145,291.31 4,104.22 1,372.33 13,288.81 233.10 7,222.64 4,230.95 419,561.23 24,569.83 241,248.38 15,107.30 7,299.51 86,508.49 3,222.60 7,771.67 5,076.57 374,554.26 24,943.05 647,664.12 5,022.15 629,762.10 571.10 1,849.42 200.36

371,136.86 791.35 483,124.36 10,750.45 5,994.64 1,448.30 35,780.42 14,422.50 10,077.50 1,532,538.98 1,033,313.90 1,006,118.44 4,874,078.11 2,203.33 46,022.71 1,288.91 5,488,480.93 325,022.72 75,051.84 726,967.37 14,069.18 16,192.74 2,912.59 43,481.22 311,703.01 1,014,003.13 24,555.16 250,273.10 455,415.33 13,939.73 8,013.73 33,739.27 198,560.45 7,527,360.64 9,615.37 1,743.96 15,403.12 481,359.84 10,674.11 19,147.61 5,679.41 2,420,316.27 80,521.68 1,492.63 132,887.73 5,842.81 108,812.21 62,648.06 337,285.09 7,247.52 4,356.87 484,213.80 548,609.70 9,310.85 43,173.28 5,538.28 17,834.28 152,847.35 1,528,293.29 516,285.27 98,415.16 52,084.45 7,635.35 13,838.63 55,663.15 52,974.14 36,703.89 2,647.56 1,183,011.12 4,757.46 19,248.76 32,878.65 150,035.19 3,675,271.36 19,196.31 4,004.47 45,638.82 39,829.81 65,419.46 287,642.29 7,950.17 45,580.75 204,940.29 6,469.72 21,924.54 113,471.75 1,253.17 27,416.75 14,020.36 1,393,582.17 76,374.02 739,921.57 40,793.51 20,311.46 242,923.77 10,320.86 25,284.41 19,169.93 1,141,926.72 77,150.71 2,149,879.45 15,802.11 1,793,393.13 1,922.21 6,141.61 244.13

357,822.45 349.84 579,579.67 10,535.94 6,153.25 1,237.63 36,137.59 11,982.41 10,465.65 1,513,268.66 1,078,972.90 1,041,799.84 5,005,516.10 2,200.94 47,473.58 1,330.60 5,327,081.72 305,188.09 97,037.93 732,807.98 11,963.38 16,342.30 2,813.49 43,216.61 312,285.60 1,010,511.41 23,874.84 242,474.10 492,728.89 14,899.37 5,951.69 33,599.51 206,904.43 8,099,057.06 11,598.57 1,846.08 17,062.88 498,929.43 10,905.41 20,566.84 13,629.59 2,387,882.41 82,640.80 1,425.39 150,360.79 5,332.14 120,880.34 57,843.37 351,594.57 7,165.15 2,958.80 456,686.47 488,292.73 10,072.41 45,113.76 13,932.54 16,794.01 146,242.59 1,572,040.02 497,855.80 103,094.18 52,262.73 7,139.88 14,297.15 54,351.78 60,935.91 46,793.54 2,017.65 1,354,950.46 11,171.78 18,528.93 30,081.17 181,737.58 3,777,578.82 20,837.91 3,403.62 51,158.39 115,232.36 1,699.45 22,460.74 2,012.72 122,469.84 440,586.54 12,185.84 1,544.38 40,354.27 689.68 22,564.32 13,764.88 1,323,754.31 82,202.65 718,878.15 46,100.61 23,120.35 257,197.28 10,203.88 25,799.83 16,863.22 1,120,449.34 74,944.35 1,996,943.95 16,029.86 1,738,086.82 1,696.09 5,750.07 583.50

PASCAGOULA PASS CHRISTIAN PAULDING PEARL PELAHATCHIE PETAL PHILADELPHIA PICAYUNE PICKENS PITTSBORO PLANTERSVILLE POLKVILLE PONTOTOC POPE POPLARVILLE PORT GIBSON POTTS CAMP PRENTISS PUCKETT PURVIS QUITMAN RALEIGH RAYMOND RENOVA RICHLAND RICHTON RIDGELAND RIENZI RIPLEY ROLLING FORK ROSEDALE ROXIE RULEVILLE SALLIS SALTILLO SANDERSVILLE SARDIS SATARTIA SCHLATER SCOOBA SEBASTAPOL SEMINARY SENATOBIA SHANNON SHAW SHELBY SHERMAN SHUBUTA SHUQUALAK SIDON SILVER CITY SILVER CREEK SLATE SPRINGS SLEDGE SMITHVILLE SNOWLAKESHORES SOSO SOUTHAVEN SOUTHWEST COMM STARKVILLE STATE LINE STONEWALL STURGIS SUMMIT SUMNER SUMRALL SUNFLOWER SYLVARENA TAYLOR TAYLORSVILLE TCHULA TERRY THAXTON TISHOMINGO TOCCOPOLA TOWN OF WALLS TREMONT TUNICA TUPELO TUTWILER TYLERTOWN UNION UNIV OF MISS UTICA VAIDEN VARDAMAN VERONA VICKSBURG WALNUT WALNUT GROVE WALTHALL WATER VALLEY WAVELAND WAYNESBORO WEBB WEIR WESSON WEST WEST POINT WIGGINS WINONA WINSTONVILLE WOODLAND WOODVILLE YAZOO CITY

434,344.64 104,289.46 180.97 790,814.97 36,685.54 197,975.70 339,677.30 370,735.76 6,802.27 403.71 3,883.59 353.55 196,962.01 3,610.97 58,355.89 18,356.68 6,858.15 36,139.75 8,301.76 67,149.39 46,044.44 19,604.38 22,270.35 2,434.70 415,731.68 30,883.48 1,053,588.08 4,169.52 109,486.90 31,238.73 9,157.90 1,302.29 19,428.84 1,924.86 54,833.25 152,791.61 24,941.35 132.35 978.35 6,919.13 16,427.51 12,756.79 185,104.01 11,362.60 6,362.21 9,688.72 10,312.64 3,795.15 2,455.37 806.25 454.86 2,816.49 189.75 1,762.49 6,622.75 433.47 13,948.62 1,088,552.50 225.23 566,346.95 10,731.16 6,772.39 3,461.09 30,166.75 4,136.98 39,477.15 1,936.53 306.61 2,256.49 26,479.80 7,082.02 23,767.74 5,420.01 9,669.89 270.55 5,391.43 1,372.19 44,185.92 1,541,215.53 4,070.69 55,087.77 31,975.22 9,321.26 11,736.85 13,660.08 9,326.53 17,335.72 620,917.40 18,509.43 5,085.78 1,612.30 42,004.25 193,429.85 179,454.70 7,848.93 2,362.65 11,369.15 1,401.91 206,844.40 148,065.52 86,181.03 214.33 5,092.03 31,428.27 137,722.34

454,793.79 92,240.08 144.67 715,066.54 34,102.85 181,992.87 317,541.49 340,519.22 6,727.01 347.06 3,710.06 351.28 185,607.19 2,186.60 60,274.83 20,292.78 6,786.29 33,524.97 8,530.72 64,740.45 45,621.68 16,249.86 16,316.00 1,836.70 415,942.82 26,757.93 1,026,825.36 3,851.68 100,982.64 34,484.22 8,914.64 1,485.45 19,361.28 1,910.87 58,633.02 46,438.44 24,763.91 376.48 823.46 6,138.46 15,797.49 11,698.93 170,100.77 12,312.73 7,342.03 9,154.97 10,102.58 3,889.84 2,175.45 795.93 361.86 2,759.79 174.38 1,527.19 5,877.38 392.02 11,492.89 1,020,015.28 173.16 585,941.73 9,557.84 6,927.57 2,780.86 35,081.35 3,642.21 39,547.54 2,183.37 256.41 2,047.95 23,763.60 6,745.75 22,340.52 4,304.40 8,435.44 541.92 4,121.62 1,785.31 45,115.21 1,484,716.30 3,836.47 54,131.64 30,578.84 9,224.71 12,706.23 7,897.66 10,098.91 16,792.84 634,714.88 15,391.67 5,225.23 1,819.18 40,970.31 181,179.67 183,197.76 7,447.35 2,238.75 15,252.19 1,607.18 183,065.17 154,285.64 84,854.26 31.86 5,562.25 26,744.32 144,838.82

1,366,581.36 309,445.32 498.35 2,311,003.57 109,039.49 587,581.80 1,039,271.78 1,108,160.04 21,699.37 1,781.80 14,071.63 1,083.71 530,668.07 7,276.49 176,538.78 42,202.77 23,191.63 105,307.53 25,777.07 185,043.47 138,075.89 48,450.06 93,452.87 7,627.69 1,233,291.47 82,327.37 3,140,331.80 12,987.14 311,625.54 95,163.30 26,494.81 4,991.84 56,351.87 5,847.95 163,360.56 294,989.34 77,855.97 498.15 2,942.65 18,820.37 49,084.01 37,200.86 526,680.21 36,778.59 21,149.51 27,627.39 34,540.41 11,247.86 6,709.39 2,502.88 1,462.82 9,075.07 1,389.53 5,019.66 19,064.61 1,279.00 39,925.61 3,159,296.26 349.91 1,497,936.45 33,370.34 20,625.54 9,316.56 100,290.29 10,961.46 112,004.38 6,565.72 1,026.99 5,196.67 75,347.50 20,341.55 72,015.47 12,817.59 10,871.57 15,552.91 1,230,132.41 4,451.81 108,125.47 4,406,677.01 11,072.65 163,884.30 93,502.82 48,765.80 27,165.88 34,441.33 34,497.57 38,388.56 667,240.29 53,074.32 16,185.12 5,105.96 123,483.71 582,384.42 535,677.31 25,669.04 7,243.03 36,344.41 4,622.06 531,153.03 433,278.42 249,193.61 1,224.90 14,905.11 91,414.07 415,899.58

1,365,039.58 285,673.69 416.25 2,227,131.83 103,882.87 574,484.44 1,012,649.14 1,103,857.70 22,316.69 1,413.22 11,368.32 1,467.10 573,352.77 7,168.47 172,538.92 59,668.77 23,204.69 112,727.15 28,739.66 183,393.71 139,578.17 53,030.66 49,059.19 7,339.37 1,285,767.74 79,491.05 3,124,355.41 12,056.84 295,508.78 106,393.44 27,144.22 4,638.27 58,168.42 6,221.37 176,194.21 186,371.80 74,637.14 1,047.11 2,865.75 17,477.31 46,188.65 35,394.85 498,273.45 37,053.86 20,568.00 26,872.15 36,172.70 11,553.68 5,889.75 2,663.07 1,127.21 8,964.69 595.59 4,658.91 16,289.98 1,188.45 35,753.15 3,066,099.75 244.94 1,469,484.88 30,181.76 20,574.82 8,527.13 109,415.06 12,505.35 113,033.89 6,491.83 920.01 5,564.99 75,696.91 22,455.07 71,682.98 11,652.23 26,505.35 1,640.17 13,399.22 5,920.54 134,403.59 4,412,188.42 12,299.37 162,721.57 87,527.02 30,492.12 37,119.43 26,558.16 30,072.63 59,741.22 1,912,326.90 50,120.74 18,408.84 5,835.71 120,198.20 566,304.38 528,471.15 28,894.37 6,477.59 41,875.23 4,948.20 529,663.24 452,783.20 258,130.20 574.47 18,640.49 83,284.86 423,642.64

TOTAL

$34,882,141.43

$33,869,259.84

$101,324,264.57 $102,017,949.45

October 31, 2014 • MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS JOURNAL • www.msbusiness.com

SPECIAL REPORT

SPORTS BUSINESS INSIDE THE SANDERSON FARMS CHAMPIONSHIPS

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

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

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

Charity is Padraig Harrington Charitable Foundation.

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

Cites making it to the finals of the 2009 U.S. Ama-

teur and playing in the 2010 Masters as his biggest thrills in golf. Biggest thrill outside golf is attending Clemson football games … Superstitions include only marking his ball with quarters dated before 1987…

Bucket list includes winning a few major championships.

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

climbs. Also spent some time heliboarding in Alaska. Lived out of his van in Montana for five years. Is a professional kayaker. Twitter site is @mavandnash. » Chad Campbell, 40; Andrews, Texas; University of Nevada-Las Vegas; Turned pro 1996; Won 2007 Viking Classic; 2003 Tour Championship among his four wins on the PGA Tour; Member of 2004, 2006 and 2008 Ryder Cup teams; While playing golf at UNLV, worked at a coffee shop with other teammates to earn spending money. » Carlos Sainz Jr., 28 ; Chicago, Ill.; Mississippi State University; Turned pro 2010; Won the 2013 Players Cup on the PGA Tour Canada; Hobbies include hunting, fishing, soccer, tennis and ping-pong. » Cory Whitsett, Houston, Texas; Member of University of Alabama 2013 and 2014 National Championship golf teams. » Bobby Wyatt, Mobile, Ala; Member of University of Alabama’s 2013 and 2014 National Championship golf teams. » Jonathan Randolph, 32 ; Brandon, Miss.; University of Mississippi; Turned pro 2011; No PGA Tour wins; His biggest thrill in golf was being two wins from earning a berth in the Masters at the 2011 U.S. Public Links Championship.

Favorite college team is Ole Miss, while his favorite pro teams are the Dallas Cowboys and the Milwaukee Brewers. Chose to play golf over other sports because “It is all on me, and there is no one else to blame.” He carries Smuckers Uncrustables peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in his golf bag. Earned

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 his PGA TOUR card this year with an 18th Place Finish on the Web.com TOUR money list. » Brain Harman, 27; Savannah, Ga., University of Georgia; Turned pro 2009; First Tour win was 2014 John Deere Classic; Golf is the only thing he does left-handed. Biggest thrill outside golf is bow hunting. Twitter account is @harmanbrian. Always carries peanut butter sandwiches in his golf bag for a snack. All family members are world-class scuba divers and spear fishers. » Martain Laird, 41; Glasgow, Scotland; Colorado State Univ.; Turned pro in 2004; 2013 Valero Texas Open Champion is latest of his three PGA Tour wins; Played first event as a professional in his Scotland at 2009 Scottish Open, shooting 65 in the first round and finishing 10th. Has flag of home country, Scotland, on his golf belt, golf bag and golf balls. » Lucas Glover, 34 ; Greenville, S.C.; Clemson University; Turned pro 2001; Three PGA Tour victories, including a major, the 2009 US Open Champion; Lucas was inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame in the fall 2007. Grew a beard in the Fall of 2010, which took on a life of its own. Showcased the thick growth on Tour in 2011, receiving such light-hearted comments as "Mountain Man," "Grizzly Adams" and "woolly mammoth." CBS analyst David Feherty referred to the look as something that belongs on "America's Deadliest Catch." Glover, himself, joked about the facial hair, claiming he did it to have something to clean his clubs with.

14 I Mississippi Business Journal I October 31, 2014

Hole-by-hole look at Sanderson Far 1

2

3

411 yards, Par 4

418 yards, Par 4

574 yards, Par 5

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

10

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

223 yards, Par 3

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

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

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

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

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

11

12

554 yards, Par 5

409 yards, Par 4

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

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

Source: Country Club of Jackson

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

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

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

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

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

4

5

191 yards, Par 3

612 yards, Par 5

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

13 151 yards, Par 3

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

This tee shot should aimed left of the fair 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 31, 2014

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Mississippi Business Journal

I

Farms Championship course at CCJ 5

6

2 yards, r5

482 yards, Par 4

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

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

14

4 yards, Par 5

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

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

ake aim at the stant right irway 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

15

October 31, 2014 • MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS JOURNAL • www.msbusiness.com

AN MBJ FOCUS:

TECHNOLOGY

SCREENING THE MESSAGE » Message Point Media changes how businesses information is disseminated digitally

By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com

Do you get bored waiting in a doctor’s office or in the line to get your driver’s license renewed? If so, you may appreciate the products of Ridgeland’s Message Point Media, a rapidly growing firm that specializes in placing digital signs in schools, businesses and governmental agencies that display information ranging from informing students of a tornado watch to explaining how to fill out forms.

MPM’s first big installation was at Jackson State University in July 2011 where 15 digital signs were installed to disseminate information to visitors, students, and faculty.

In May 2012, MPM received a Mississippi Attorney General’s opinion that cleared the way to put signs on government property and sell advertising to pay for the signs so it wouldn’t cost the county or city any money, said MPM President Dannon Durr.

MPM currently has installations in 13 county detention centers. The digital signs have visitor rules, booking procedures, and inmate handbook information posted with part of the screen reserved for advertising.

Bail bond companies, criminal defense attorneys and treatments centers are offered sponsorships to fund the digital signs.

“It is a service to everyone involved,” Durr said. “It actually has a calming effect on prisoners. They are sitting there reading the rules and it occupies their minds.

There is a state law that the handbook has to be in written form or verbally given to each inmate every day. We put the handbook on the screen. It saves the police manpower because they don’t have to read it each day.”

Durr said MPM’s Signage as a Service removes the three main obstacles that have kept businesses, government organizations, churches and schools from getting indoor digital signs: Upfront costs, IT expertise and graphic design expertise to keep the content current and interesting.

“The Signage as a Service subscription services includes hardware, software, installation and content management,” Durr said.

“The full turnkey solutions for a 40-inch HD LED system starts at $99 per month.”

There is a customer portal on the company’s website that allows customers to go online to change messages. A ticket is emailed to one of their technicians, and the customer gets an email back when the sign has been updated.

Deryll Stegall / Stegall Imagery

Dannon Durr, left, and Byran Gilliom stand in front of an array of interconnected television screens that show how they can get their clients’ messages across.

At schools, digital signs can provide important safety notifications, and give information about upcoming tests and drills.

The high-visibility motion graphics can also be used to promote school spirit, recognize outstanding teachers and award-winning students, and remind parents about school closures and enrollment dates.

Businesses can benefit by providing information while customers are waiting in the lobby. For example, the Central Mississippi Realtors signage gives information on upcoming events, classes and tips. Doctor’s offices can give patients health tips. Signs at the Jackson Medical Mall give information about different services available.

Digital signage can provide an interactive experience with a touchscreen display interface and through the integration of QR codes and SMS text message marketing into the content that is displayed.

“Touchscreen displays are well suited for directories, maps and wayfinding for malls, trade shows, airports, train stations, campuses, and other large complexes,” Durr

said. “Message Point can create and integrate QR codes that link to mobile landing pages, as well as SMS text message marketing campaigns that allow viewers of your digital signage to interact and take content with them.”

Durr said digital menu boards are great for fast food restaurants, cafeterias and concession areas. They are more efficient and easier to read than a chalkboard.

Churches have found the signs helpful to promote special programs or group meetings, announce guest musical performers and special events and to remind church members of worship times and fundraising needs. They can even be used to encourage participation during musical performances by displaying the words to a song.

MPM has opened a new office in Birmingham, Alabama, after hiring Bryan Gilliom as the chief operation officer/chief technology officer.

“Bryan served as CEO of an IT provider in Birmingham, Alabama,” Durr said. “In that role, Bryan’s unique talent for envi-

sioning new ways to apply existing technology to business problems was instrumental in growing that business to over 100 employees and $30 million in annual revenue.

Bryan was also a thought leader in the managed IT services industry worldwide and sat on several industry advisory councils.

Bryan plans to apply the same vision that changed the IT services business in Alabama to transforming the digital signage market across the Southeast. Through MPM, Bryan hopes to change the way governments, schools, and businesses communicate with the public in the digital age.”

While the company has been growing rapidly, Durr said they have just begun to tap the market.

“The key is getting the word out,” Durr said. “We don’t want to grow too fast and lose perspective. We want to make sure to keep our foundation stable. At the same time, we are adding more employees just about every other week.”

For more information, see the website www.messagepointmedia.com.

TECHNOLOGY

October 31, 2014

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Mississippi Business Journal

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17

Directing traffic with technology » MDOT uses variety of platforms to alert public to traveling conditions, accidents

By LYNN LOFTON mbj@msbusiness.com

Along the state’s highway system there are closures and delays from time to time — an accident or construction has lanes of traffic blocked, a bridge needs maintenance, there’s a chemical spill, a flood or all manner of obstacles. A variety of the latest technology has become a useful tool for the Mississippi Department of Transportation to get the word out to the media and the public about closures and delays.

“Our goal is to provide reliable, routespecific information to the traveling public through as many free resources as possible,” said Robert C. Pettit, digital media manager for MDOT. “Residents and travelers in Mississippi are able to access road conditions, construction updates, weather alerts and other relevant travel information through MDOT’s Twitter account, MDOT’s smartphone application, email or text alerts from MDOTtraffic.com, traffic alerts posted to GoMDOT.com, digital message boards, and by dialing 511.”

He says MDOT has found social media platforms such as Twitter allow the agency to share updated traffic conditions or emergency information with the public.

According to a recent survey by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, 98 percent of state departments of transportation now use Twitter to share information with the public. (http://communications.transportation.org/Documents/2014_AASHTOSocialMediaSurvey.pdf ) In the field of rapidly changing technology and communicating with the public, there’s no standing still. “MDOT is continually improving our free travel resources for the general public. We already have a mobile app for iOS and Android phones and are developing a mobile-friendly version of our traffic site, mdottraffic.com, for users to access from their phone’s web browser,” Pettit said. “We are also adding four dynamic message boards, bringing the total count to 33 boards around the state. We recently added 38 new live-feed cameras along the four Mississippi River bridges connecting with Louisiana and Arkansas.

This brings the total count to 483 cameras around the state.”

With the easily accessible information available about traveling conditions, public feedback has been positive for MDOT and usage is growing. “Public usage of our free travel resources continues to increase every day,” Pettit said.

For instance, in September MDOT monitored 638 incidents, released 450 alerts to 10,056 registered users and had a

total number of 1,595,944 website page views on MDOTtraffic.com. MDOT’s Twitter followers have increased by 400 percent this year compared to October 2013. Currently there are 9,564 followers.

There are full-time and part-time em-

ployees working in shifts to staff MDOT’s Traffic Management Center 24 hours, seven days a week throughout the 365 days of the year. “The Traffic Management Center operators monitor 483 live-feed cameras around the state to post updated traffic in-

formation to MDOTtraffic.com,” Pettit said. “In the event of a natural disaster, MDOT does activate a call center made up of MDOT employee volunteers who help handle the overflow of calls coming in from the public.”

TECHNOLOGY

18 I Mississippi Business Journal I October 31, 2014 BUSINESS PROFILE: PFC PRECISION OPTICS

Precision is hallmark of optics maker

By LISA MONTI mbj@msbusiness.com

Fred Ferson, an amateur telescope and prism maker, was able to parlay his hobby and the knowledge he gained from it into a business in the late 1940s that has prospered into its third generation of family ownership.

Ferson Optics started out in a shop over Loveless Drug Store in the heart of Ocean Springs. Early on, workers polished and coated optics for submarine periscopes and M1 tanks, and the business expanded rapidly over the next 20 years. In 1968 Ferson sold the company to Bausch & Lomb. Ten years later, his daughter and her husband, Janet and Don Green, left Bausch & Lomb to form PFG Precision Optics along with John Plummer, founder of Plummer Precision Optics in Pennsburg, Penn.

Today the company is run by Travis Green, the Greens’ son, who says the optics business is just like any other business that applies innovations to their products.

He cites the small camera lenses used in cellphones as just one example of how the

Courtesy of PFG Precision Optics

PFG Precision Optics creates beamsplitters, optical flats, prisms, lenses and polarlizers.

field has evolved.

PFG manufactures high precision optics with precise surfaces and coatings for customers in the defense, medical, semiconductor and metrology sectors. Customers include L3 Communications, Northrop Grumman, Rockwell and General Dynamics among others. Products are used by the military for surveillance, and optics

go into medical equipment for anything from cataract surgery to wrinkle and tattoo removal.

“We make lenses, prisms, mirrors, windows, filters and beam splitters that transmit light and reflect light,” Green said. The products range from a lens measuring 4MM in diameter up to 150 MM, roughly six inches, though some mirrors for the

military and semiconductor applications are as large as 24 inches.

Precision is the hallmark of the technology company. “The way optics are made is continually changing,” Green said. “We need to stay abreast of that. You want to be on the leading edge, not the bleeding edge.

We don’t want to develop or make a certain type part or coating that the market doesn’t need.”

For that reason, Green said, his business is capital intensive. “You have to buy equipment to make optics, and equipment to coat them and you have to buy metrology equipment used to measure or test so that you can validate that the parts you are making meet the specifications required by the customer.”

The Ocean Springs plant is a 30,000square-foot light manufacturing facility on 4 acres that is constantly maintained and regularly upgraded. The work environment is clean and well lit with a constant temperature. Renovations include a top-flight See

PFG, Page 27

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TOP TECH COMPANIES

October 31, 2014

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Mississippi Business Journal

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19

Name

Address

Phone

Website

Products/Services

AGJ Systems & Networks Inc.

14257 Dedeaux Rd., Gulfport, MS 39503

228-392-7133

www.agjsystems.com

IT solutions; hardware/software sales; health care/HIPAA; document solutions; VoIP phone systems

ARC Technologies

595 North Park Drive, Suite C, Ridgeland, MS 39157

601.991.1160

www.afullcirclesolution.com/

Human resources software

BeCloud, LLC

3000 Old Canton Rd., #450, Jackson, MS 39216

769-216-3170

www.becloudit.com

Email, cloud and web hosting; web design; disaster recovery; domain names; network design & implementation; online backup

Bitspray Corp.

127 West Peace St., Floor 2, Canton, MS 39046

240-812-9258

www.bitspray.com/main/index.php Storage and transmission of digital information; Ultra-secure cyber-defense weapons that provide military-grade security

Bomgar Corp.

578 Highland Colony Pkwy., #300, Ridgeland, MS 39157 877-826-6427

www.bomgar.com

Remote IT support

Broadband Voice

736 S. President St., Jackson, MS 39201

601-926-6000

www.voice.ms

Voice and Internet solutions; VoIP

Business Communications Inc. (BCI)

442 Highland Colony Pkwy., Ridgeland, MS 39157

601-427-4180

webtest3.bcianswers.com

Cloud & managed services; customer premise solutions; enterprise solutions; small business solutions

Camgian Microsystems

100 Research Blvd., #313, Starkville, MS 39759

662-320-1000

Celeris

109 Lakewood Hills, Vicksburg, MS 39180

662-617-2068

n/a

FEA consulting; software engineering solutions; physics-based Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) software.

Connect Technology

18 Northtown Dr., Ste. C, Jackson, MS 39211

601-914-1713

connect-technology.net

Content management; enterprise software; SEO; A/B testing; e-commerce; application development; mobile development

Capturion Network

1734 Wansley Rd., Laurel, MS 39440

800-268-3260

C Spire Wireless

www.camgian.com

Advanced information systems

www.capturion.com

Multi-format LED video display

1018 Highland Colony Pkwy., #300, Ridgeland, MS 39157 601-974-7725

www.cspire.com

Telecommunications; high-speed internet

EdgeTheory (formerly Leadify)

800 Woodlands Pkwy., Ste. 210, Ridgeland, MS 39157

650-830-5752

edgetheory.com

Find engine

FNC Inc.

1214 Office Park Dr., Oxford, MS 38655

662-236-2020

www.fncinc.com

Mortgage information technology

Howard Industries Inc.

3225 Pendorff Rd., Laurel, MS 39440-5820

601-425-3151

www.howard-ind.com

Computers; distribution & power products; medical technology solutions; lighting products/ballasts

Kopis Mobile

517 Liberty Road Suite D, Flowood, MS 39232

757-374-7567

www.kopismobile.com/

Designs and manufactures apps and app-enabled equipment for the Dept. of Defense, Law Enforcement and private security

Navagis

111 E Capitol St, Jackson, MS 39201

601-321-9632

www.navagis.com/

Integrated maps for utility companies to visualize critical information to manage costs and improve revenue and safety.

NetlinkVoice

1060 E County Line Road, Ridgeland, MS 39157

888-885-3399

www.netlinkvoice.com/

Business phone services

Nvision Solutions

21294 Johnson Road, Long Beach, MS 39560

228-242-0010

www.nvisionsolutions.com/

Software, geospatial, engineering

Pileum

190 East Capitol St., Suite 175, Jackson, MS 39201

601-352-2120

www.pileum.com/

Server/desktop virtualization; storage; IT security and forensics; cloud services; IT project management; data center design

Prominent Technologies

916 Avondale St, Jackson, MS 39216

601-427-1001

www.prominenttech.com/

Application development, hosting, consulting, idea engineering

Red Laser

1230 Raymond Rd, Jackson, MS 39204

601-965-0359

redlaser.net/

Management and technology consulting firm providing a range of system, organizational, and operational assistance.

Skyhawke Technologies (Skygolf)

274 Commerce Park Drive, Ridgeland, MS 39157

601-605-6100

www.skygolf.com/

Positioning systems and technology products for use on golf golf courses; rangefinders, online course management tools

Spread Networks

800 Woodlands Parkway, Suite 118, Ridgeland MS 39157 601-956-9834

spreadnetworks.com/

Telecommunications firm; diverse and secure fiber optic network, that allows data to run as close as possible to the speed of light.

Synergetics

501 Highway 12 West, Suite 100, Starkville, MS 39759

662-323-9484

www.synergeticsdcs.com

Educational resources; network infrastructure; data; IP telephony; installation; security; cabling; wireless; integration support.

Telephone Electronics Corp. (TEC)

236 E. Capitol St., Jackson, MS 39201

800-832-2515

www.tec.com

Telecommunications; business services and tools; residential service; digital TV programing; security services.

Think Webstore

655 Lake Harbour Dr #100, Ridgeland, MS 39157

601-856-2000

thinkwebstore.com/

Marketing and advertising, Website design development, social, search engine optimization, business identity.

Venture Technologies

860 Centré Street, Ridgeland, MS 39157-4501

601-956-5440

www.ventech.com/

Cloud services; network infrastructure; wireless networking; storage; virtualization; voice and IP communications; video conferencing; digital media and signage; interactive classrooms

Source: MBJ research with assistance from Innovate Mississippi. Please send questions and comments to Wally Northway at research@msbusiness.com.

October 31, 2014 • MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS JOURNAL • www.msbusiness.com

AN MBJ FOCUS:

ARCHITECTS & ENGINEERS

Building a career more quickly » Licensing changes could streamline and shorten path to gaining an architectural degree

By LISA MONTI mbj@msbusiness.com

New rules proposed by the board that develops programs for state licensing of architects aims to streamline internship requirements by eliminating elective hours from the equation. Ultimately the action could reduce the time it takes from graduation to becoming licensed by one third without compromising the profession’s emphasis on education, experience and examination, proponents say.

“We have talked about this for over a year at the board level and have researched the history of this program and its rationale,” said Mike Armstrong, CEO of The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB). “Given how the practice has evolved with technology and other advances, the board does not see the importance of the required elective hours.”

Reducing the elective hours won’t affect the core requirements for working with a licensed architect to gain experience, he said. “It’s to help people get through the program faster.”

The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards’ membership is made up of the architectural registration boards of all 50 states as well as those of Washing-

“From graduation to licensure takes more than seven years and that’s too long in today’s marketplace. It’s time for the architecture profession to join the 21st century.”

Mike Armstrong CEO, National Council of Architectural Registration Boards

ton, D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. NCARB assists its member registration boards in developing programs and tools to carry out their duties, and provides a certification program for individual architects to facilitate reciprocal licensing in other jurisdictions.

In Mississippi, the Mississippi State Board of Architecture is charged with issuing licenses and with regulating the practices of architecture, landscape architecture and certified interior design.

Executive Director Jenny Wilkinson said the state board “has been actively engaged with NCARB during the discussions that preceded these changes.” She said the board has confidence in the structure of

the IDP program.

“Combined with the rigorous education and examination requirements, one can rest assured that an individual obtaining an architectural license in Mississippi is qualified by education, experience and examination, and that the architect has proven that he has the knowledge and skills necessary to protect life, health and property when designing Mississippi’s built environment,” Wilkinson said.

The average intern takes more than five years to complete the current program, Armstrong said, plus more than two years to complete the Architect Registration Examination or ARE. “From graduation to licensure takes more than seven years and

that’s too long in today’s marketplace. It’s time for the architecture profession to join the 21st century.”

Currently interns are required to have 5,600 hours of experience, including 3,740 hours in specific architectural areas. The remaining 1,860 hours are electives. Under the proposed changes, the first phase will remove the elective hours leaving 3,740 in the core areas.

Combined with the time required to complete the ARE, the Board anticipates that the average intern will have five to six years of post-graduation experience prior to qualifying for initial licensure.

NCARB expects to put the first phase into place in June 2015 or before. The second phase is an overhaul of the intern program and the licensing exam due in late 2016. The new exam will reduce the number of divisions from seven to six, utilize more current graphic representation tools along with case studies, and align the six divisions with six phases of practice. The same six titles will also be applied to a realigned intern program, based on a “practice analysis” survey of the profession.

The long road to becoming a licensed architect is rooted in the profession’s mission of protecting the public’s safety, Armstrong said. And while change has been slow to come to the programs, some updates can be found. One example is the license exam, which used to be given once or twice a year.

Now the test is computer based and can be taken at a test center at various times every week, with retesting wait times for failed portions reduced from six months to 60 days. Also in the past, students couldn’t start their internship until they got out of school. “Now you can start after you graduate from high school,” Armstrong said, “and you can reach back five years to partially credit older hours.”

Changes to the architecture profession are part of a national conversation about all traditional professions, Armstrong said, pointing to California’s new legislation to eliminate one year from medical education and ongoing debate regarding the value of the third year of law school. “The issue is ripe for discussion,” Armstrong said. “I think the trend is toward people taking less time to get a license without sacrificing necessary rigor.” NCARB has asked its member states to adopt the new intern requirements before June 30, 2015.

ARCHITECTS & ENGINEERS

October 31, 2014

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Making Jackson a better place Ann Somers of Byram is now a partner with the Jackson architect firm Cooke Douglass Farr Lemmons.

Courtesy of Cooke Douglass Farr Lemons

» Architect enjoys her career because of variety of projects and the people she meets

By LYNN LOFTON mbj@msbusiness.com

While growing up in Byram, Ann Somers loved putting thing together, such as puzzles, model cars and ships and fantasy Barbie kingdoms. That interest in building things led to a career in architecture, something she learned about as an eighth-grader.

“I knew that was what I wanted to do,” Somers recalls. “Up to that point I did not like school and was an average student.

Once I understood I needed to have a good grade point average to get into architecture school, I stepped it up and became a good student. The other thought with architecture was that I could branch into interior design or site design with an architecture degree.”

All of her first 12 years of school were spent in Byram where she graduated with around 30 class members; some were together all 12 years. She grew up in a rural home with plenty of pets and animals. Her grandparents lived next door, and Somers played outside all the time. “There were very few kids my age around so I entertained myself,” she said.

She remembers her father, who died when she was 10 years of age, as fun to be with and involving her in whatever he was doing, which was mainly farming and selling vegetables to local stores and restaurants. “My mother was a registered nurse who taught nursing most of her career and ended her career teaching hospital staff how to teach patients about their medical issues so they could stay well,” Somers said.

“She was very early in the wellness movement, a great role model for me and extremely supportive.”

After graduation from the Mississippi

State University School of Architecture, Somers, 56, spent time working in New York City and Savannah, Ga.; experiences she feels gave her a good background for returning to her home state to work in her profession. In 2003 she was chosen the Alumna of the Year for the MSU School of Architecture.

Now a partner in the Jackson firm of Cooke Douglass Farr Lemons, Somers enjoys the continual learning of being an architect. “It is never boring. Every project type has a learning curve, and building materials and systems are ever changing,” she says. “Plus there are new people you get to know with each new project.”

Although Somers has worked on many high-profile projects, she has difficulty choosing one single project of which she’s the most proud. “That’s a hard question because I love all our buildings. They’re a little like children I birthed into the world.

But to pick just one building, it would be the Mississippi Department of Archives and History building.”

As a dream project, Somers is currently thinking a lot about what makes the perfect retirement living situation. “I would love to design a retirement village where you can age gracefully and happily in place,” she said.

As a long time member of the Sierra Club, Somers is vitally interested in architecture that’s environmentally friendly and sees some changes coming to Mississippi in that regard. “Mississippi is getting better and it’s partially due to a national movement started through USGBC (United States Green Building Council) LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) to work toward sustainability and create healthier environments,” she said.

“The USGBC website is a great resource for project owners to see what is possible.

As owners are educated and excited by what is possible in building, greater changes will be made. In the meantime, architects, engineers and contractors are making a difference through smart design,

efficient systems design and construction waste reduction.”

When not working, Somers volunteers with Community Animal Rescue and Adoption, which she also serves as a board member, and Rankin County Animal Adoption foundation. “Metro Jackson has a terrible problem with unwanted pets,” she said. “The local government is euthanizing about 15,000 pets annually, which is 288 per week. We do not have a culture of

spaying and neutering our pets, so along with adoption promotion, I am involved with spay and neuter public education.”

She and husband Jim Somers, a landscape architect who recently retired, live in Jackson and have four dogs and a cat — “all of which are beautiful, sweet and perfect.”

The couple is committed to making Jackson a great place to live. “We help by promoting and participating in music, art, and community events,” she said.

Environmental Engineering, Industrial Hygiene & Safety

Mississippi Engineers Working for the Benefit of Our Clients & Our Environment.

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OLDEST ENGINEERING FIRMS

22 I Mississippi Business Journal I October 31, 2014 Firm

Address

Phone

Allen & Hoshall Cook Coggin Engineers Inc. Thompson Engineering Jordan, Kaiser & Sessions, LLC Cooke Douglass Farr Lemons Architects and Engineers, P.A. Terracon Consultants Inc. Brown, Mitchell & Alexander Inc. A. Garner Russell & Associates Compton Engineering Elliott & Britt Engineering, P.A. Spencer Engineers Inc. Precision Engineering Corporation Waggonner Engineering Inc. Pickering Firm Inc. Neel-Schaffer Inc. Burns Cooley Dennis Inc. Stantec Hazclean Environmental Consultants Inc. Dungan Engineering, P.A. IMS Engineers Engineering Solutions Inc. Mendrop Engineering Resources SOL Engineering Services, LLC

713 S. Pear Orchard Rd., #100, Ridgeland, MS 39157 P.O. Box 1526, Tupelo, MS 38802-1526 100 Business Park Dr., Ridgeland, MS 39157 279 Lower Woodville Rd., Natchez, MS 39120 3100 N. State St., #200, Jackson, MS 39216 859 S. Pear Orchard Rd., Ridgeland, MS 39157 521 34th St., Gulfport, MS 39507 520 33rd St., Gulfport, MS 39507 1706 Convent Ave., Pascagoula, MS 39567 823 N. Lamar Blvd., Oxford, MS 38655 2675 River Ridge Dr., Jackson, MS 39216 276 CR 101, Oxford, MS 38655 143 Lefleurs Sq., Jackson, MS 39211 2001 Airport Rd., Ste. 201, Flowood, MS 39232 125 S. Congress St., Jackson, MS 39201 551 Sunnybrook Rd., Ridgeland, MS 39157 200 N. Congress St., Jackson, MS 39201 160 Upton Dr, Jackson, MS 39209 1574 Hwy. 98 E., Columbia, MS 39429 126 E. Amite St., Jackson, MS 39201 1324 N, Veterans Blvd., Tupelo, MS 38804 854 Wilson Dr., Ste. A, Ridgeland, MS 39158 106 S. President St., #400, Jackson, MS 39201

Website

(601) 977-8993 (662) 842-7381 (601) 899-9252 (601) 442-3628 (601) 366-3110 (601) 956-4467 (601) 864-7612 (228) 863-0667 (228) 762-3970 (662) 234-1763 (601) 982-7766 (662) 234-8539 (601) 355-9526 (601) 956-3663 (601) (601) 948-3071 (601) 856-9911 (601) 354-0696 (601) 922-0766 (601) 731-2600 (601) 968-9194 (662) 840-9063 (601) 899-5158 (601) 961-1415

Date Founded

www.allenhoshall.com www.cookcoggin.com thompsonengineering.com www.jksllc.com www.cdfl.com www.terracon.com www.bmaengineers.com N/A www.comptonengineering.com www.elliottbritt.com www.spencerengineers.com www.pecorpms.com www.waggonnereng.com www.pickeringinc.com www.neel-schaffer.com www.bcdgeo.com www.stantec.com www.hazclean.com dunganeng.com imsengineers.com www.esi-ms.com N/A www.solengrs.com

1915 1946 1953 1954 1961 1965 1967 1969 1973 1973 1973 1976 1976 1981 1983 1985 1985 1990 1993 1996 1999 2001 2001

Note: Information for this list was provided by company representatives and other reliable sources. Please direct questions and comments to Wally Northway at research@msbusiness.com.

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NEWSMAKERS Belmes adds another title

Welander gets new titles

Trustmark has named Michael T. “Mike” Belmes as corporate finance officer at the corporate office in Jackson, where he serves as corporate planning analyst. Belmes, a native of Hilo, Hawaii, earned a bachelor of science in business administration with concentrations in accounting and finance from American University. His work experience includes merger and acquisition advisory Belmes at Barclays Capital.

Michelle Welander, a long-time nurse and leader at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, has been named chief nursing and clinical services officer of Batson Children’s Hospital and its statewide network of clinics, Children’s of Mississippi. She succeeds Terri Gillespie, who was named the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s chief nursing executive officer and chief nursing officer of the adult hospitals.

Welander joined the Medical Center as a staff nurse after earning her B.S.N. from Mississippi University for Women School of Nursing. Over the past 20 years, she has steadily worked her way up to her most recent position as director of children’s heart services and clinical director of children’s critical care. During that time, she also earned her M.S.N. in nursing and hospital administration summa cum laude and her D.N.P., both from the UMMC School of Nursing.

Welander is a member of several professional organizations, including the American College of Health Executives, the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, the American Nurses Association the American Organization of Nurse Executives and the Southeast Pediatric Cardiovascular Society.

McBride becomes trustee Charles (Chuck) McBride Jr. has joined the French Camp Academy board of trustees. He is employed with Telapex/CSpire in Ridgeland as senior vice presidentlegal and general counsel. McBride, a practicing lawyer for more than 20 years, also has a background in engineering, military service and business.

His professional and community affiliations include the Mississippi Bar, Federal Fifth Circuit Bar Association, Defense Research Institute, the Mississippi Defense Lawyers’ Association and the North Jackson Rotary Club. He is also on the Scouting Committee for Troop 18 of Boy Scouts of America and is an elder at Highlands Presbyterian Church in Ridgeland.

Smith joins staff Daniel H. Smith, MD, recently joined Hattiesburg Clinic Surgery. Smith received his graduate degree in biomedical engineering from Mississippi State University. He received his medical degree from the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, where he also served a general surgery residency. He served a general surgery internship at University of South Alabama Health System in Mobile, AlaSmith bama.

Smith is board certified in general surgery by the American Board of Surgery. He is a member of the American College of Surgeons.

Wilcox honored as ‘Rising Star’ James Wilcox, director for the Center of Economic and Entrepreneurship Education (CEEE) at the University of Southern Mississippi, has received the Rising Star Award at the 53rd Annual Financial Literacy and Economic Education Conference Awards dinner. Wilcox has served as the director for the CEEE in the College of Business since 2011. In addition to his partnership work with the Mississippi Council on Economic Education, he also leads the Southern Entrepreneurship Program (SEP).

The Community Development Society also recently honored Wilcox with the Donald W. Littrell New Professional Award.

Wilcox holds a bachelor of science in business administration (international business) and a master of science in economic development, both from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Firm chooses Cockroft Butler Snow Advisory Services, LLC (BSAS) has added Suzanne L. Cockroft as director in the firm’s Ridgeland office. She brings more than 14 years of experience in communications, business development, marketing and brand management. She most recently served Butler Snow LLP, the parent company of BSAS, in roles as diverse as digital creative and website development, project management, public relations and internal communications, business development and proposal and pricing strategies.

Throughout her career, Cockroft has developed and executed comprehensive marketing plans, including strategies related to digital, social and traditional media outlets. She has advised businesses in various stages from start-ups and early-stage companies on product and service launches to mature firms on market entry and penetration strategies.

Cockroft is a cum laude graduate of the University of Mississippi where she earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism with an emphasis in public relations. In 2012, she completed studies for a MBA and was graduated, magna cum laude, from Mississippi State University.

Bass promoted to shareholder Engineering Service has promoted Christopher S. Bass to shareholder of the firm. Bass has been a professional engineer with Engineering Service since 2004. He holds licenses in Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana and has experience and expertise in multiple phases of geotechnical, Phase I environmental site assessment, transportation, storm water management, water distribution, streets, land development and structural design.

Bass is a member of the National Society of Professional Engineers and the Mississippi Engineering Society for which he was also the recipient of the 2008 Mississippi Engineering Society Young Engineer of the Year.

He is a 1998 graduate of Mississippi State University with a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering. He and his wife, Janie, live in Brookhaven with their three children, Craig Bass, 10; Lydia Bass, 8; and Sylvia Bass, 7.

October 31, 2014

Nicholas replaces Lobrano The USA International Ballet Competition (USA IBC) board of directors has named Mona Nicholas the new executive director for the competition. Nicholas, who joined the USA IBC as deputy director in Lobrano March 2014, was selected by the board to provide for smooth transition in management with the retirement of longtime executive director, Sue Lobrano, and also will lead financial development.

Nicholas spent 22 years in account management with Siemens Healthcare and has lived in Jackson since earning her degree in business administration from Millsaps College. With a dance background that includes training, performing and teaching, she first attended the USA IBC while in college. Her love of dance and respect for the USA IBC’s importance to Jackson and Mississippi led her to become involved with the competition as a volunteer in 2010. In 2013, she became president of the Friends of the USA IBC as the volunteer group geared up fundraising for the 2014 event.

Nicholas and her husband, Chris, have two daughters and are parishioners of the Cathedral of Saint Peter the Apostle.

Extension, MAFES adds Broderick Shaun Broderick is a new horticulture research scientist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. Broderick, a native of Orem, Utah, is an assistant horticulture professor and researcher specializing in herbaceous perennials, shrubs and trees. He is stationed at the Truck Crops Branch Experiment Station in Crystal Springs.

Broderick Broderick earned an associate degree from Utah Valley University. He completed a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in genetics and biotechnology from Brigham Young University.

He conducted his master’s research on developing a Penstemon breeding program. He earned his doctorate in molecular genetics at Ohio State University.

While working as perennials specialist for seven years at Linden Nursery, one of Utah’s largest nurseries, Broderick wrote two sales guides with cultural information for all of the nursery’s trees, shrubs and perennials.

MSU chooses Woodall Meridian native Heather Richardson Woodall is the new senior coordinator in Mississippi State University-Meridian's Career Center. A 2008 West Lauderdale High School graduate, she is working from a downtown office in the Newberry Building, but also keeps office hours at the College Park campus off Highway 19 North.

Woodall is helping prepare students for the job-

I

Mississippi Business Journal

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search process, including resume development, mock interviews and cover letters, among other areas. She also is working with regional employers to identify their needs for interns, cooperative education participants and part-time student workers, as well as opportunities for MSU graduates and alumni.

Woodall holds a bachelor's degree in kinesiology and a master's in food science, nutrition and health promotion, both from MSU. She previously worked on the Starkville campus at the Longest Student Health Center, as well as at Meridian's Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center and, most recently, as a teacher at Russell Christian Academy.

Hospital elects officers Memorial Hospital at Gulfport has elected medical staff officers, and they will serve through 2016. Alton Dauterive, MD, was elected chief of staff. Dauterive is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons who was appointed to the medical staff of Memorial Hospital in July 1986.

He is a graduate of Tulane School of Medicine in New Orleans. He completed his internship and residency at Charity Hospital in New Orleans and his Fellowship in vascular surgery at LSU School Bosarge of Medicine. Dauterive served as vice-chief from 2012 to 2014.

Charles Slonaker, MD, was elected vice-chief. Slonaker is board certified in blood banking, clinical pathology and anatomic pathology. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis. He was Fellowship trained in blood banking at St. Luke's Episcopal in Dauterive Houston, Texas. Slonaker completed his pathology residency at St. Luke's Episcopal and the University of Tennessee College of Medicine. He has been practicing on the Gulf Coast for over 30 years. Slonaker served as secretary-treasurer from 2012 to 2014.

Joseph Bosarge, MD, was elected secretary-treasurer. He Slonaker was appointed to the medical staff in 2009. Bosarge is board certified in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine and critical care. He received his medical doctorate, Ph.D. and Fellowship training at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. Bosarge completed his internal medicine residency at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida.

Wilson returns to firm Jack Wilson has rejoined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, LLP’s Appellate Litigation Practice Group as a counsel in the Jackson office. Prior to rejoining the firm, Wilson served as chief counsel to Gov. Phil Bryant. He previously was an associate at the firm from 2009 to 2012.

Wilson represents clients in a broad range of appellate and litigation cases in state and federal trial and appellate courts throughout the country, including appeals before the United States Supreme Court.

He holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.Accy. from the University of Mississippi.

NEWSMAKERS

24 I Mississippi Business Journal I October 31, 2014

MUW chooses Alexander

Schilling, Haynes recognized

MSU recognizes Cotten

Rimmer joins staff

LeAnn Alexander of Starkville has been named director of campus recreation at Mississippi University for Women. As director of campus recreation, Alexander will oversee the Stark Recreation Center/Pohl Academic Building as well as be responsible for campus recreation event planning, facilities management, intramural sports and maintaining an emergency action plan for the recreation center. Since April, she has served as the interim director of campus recreation. Previously, she served as assistant director of campus recreation since July 2013.

Alexander graduated with a master of science degree from Mississippi State University in counselor education with an emphasis in student affairs in 2013.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in family studies from The W in 2011.

Two Mississippi State University Extension Service professionals were recently honored by the National Extension Association for Family and Consumer Sciences for their work in the early childhood field.

Jenna Schilling, Extension associate, and Natasha Haynes, Extension agent in family and consumer sciences, won the national Early Childhood Child Care Training Award for the TummySafe program, a food certification course for child care providers.

The award recognizes outstanding child care professional training that addresses the needs of children birth to eight years of age.

Memorial Physician Clinics welcomes David Trey Rimmer III, MD, in the practice of general surgery. Rimmer received his undergraduate degree from Northeast Louisiana University. He earned his medical doctorate from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, School of Medicine in Shreveport, Louisiana. He completed his residency in general surgery at LSU Health Sciences Rimmer Center in Shreveport.

Rimmer is board certified in surgery.

Barbara Logan Smith has been named the next executive director of Teach For America–Mississippi.

Logan Smith, formerly the vice president of the Efficacy Institute, a national nonprofit focused on increasing academic achievement and character strength for all students, will formally enter the role in January.

Logan Smith, who began her professional career as a teacher in Milwaukee’s public schools, has 19 years of experience developing the leadership capacity of students, educators, administrators and business executives.

She is currently completing her Ph.D. in education and leadership at Cardinal Stritch University.

Quitman native William J. "Billy" Cotten has been honored as the Mississippi State University music department's 2014 alumnus of the year. Cotten now is in his 15th year on the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Also a faculty member at the Boston Conservatory, the Brookline resident previously directed the voice division at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

In addition to the Boston Opera and American Repertory theaters in Massachusetts, Cotten has performed with the Wolf Trap Opera Co., June Opera Festival of New Jersey, Augusta Opera, PepsiCo Summerfare and Boston Music Theatre Project. Additionally, he has been a soloist with Chorus Pro Musica, Banchetto Musicale, Emmanuel Music, Indian Hill Orchestra, Monadnock Music, New Hampshire Symphony, Nashua Symphony Choral, Dartmouth Handel and Hampshire Choral societies along with the Greater Merrimack Valley and Swanhurst chorales. Cotten, a tenor, took thirdplace honors in the Metropolitan Opera New England Regional Auditions and has served as a Tanglewood Music Center Fellow.

One of four generations in his family to have graduated from MSU, Cotten is an instrumental and vocal music education graduate who went on to complete a master's in vocal performance at the New England Conservatory.

Clinic welcomes Goebel

Corps chooses Arcement

Michael A. Goebel, MD, recently joined Hattiesburg Clinic Gastroenterology. Goebel earned his medical degree at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, Louisiana. He completed an internal medicine internship and residency at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston Salem, North Carolina and a gastroenterology fellowship at Ochsner Medical Goebel Center in New Orleans.

Goebel is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine. He is a fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology and a member of the American Gastroenterology Association, American Medical Association, American College of Physicians and the Louisiana State Medical Society.

The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers' Vicksburg District recently selected Brad Arcement as chief of its Dam and Levee Safety Production Center of Engineering and Construction Division's levee safety branch. Prior to this selection, Arcement served as lead geotechnical engineer for the Plaquemines Parish Project, as Mississippi Valley Division's geotechnical regional technical specialist, and as chief of the an- Arcement alytical section of Engineering and Construction Division's geotechnical branch. His previous work experience included working for private consulting firms in Mississippi for 11 years as a geotechnical engineer.

A native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Arcement earned his bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from Louisiana Tech University and a master's degree in civil engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a member of the National Society of Professional Engineers/Mississippi Engineering Society, American Society of Civil Engineers, Association of State Dam Safety Officials and Deep Foundation Institute, and is a registered professional engineer in the state of Mississippi.

He is married to his high school sweetheart, Roxanna Martinez, and they are the parents of one son.

Cole, Church earn medals Amber Cole and Jordan Church, both University of Southern Mississippi graduates, were recently honored as CPA Exam medalists during the annual Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants Convention. Cole received the Fred T. Neely Gold Medal Award from the MSCPA for achieving the highest grade on the 2014 examination while passing all subjects in one sitting. She is a certified public accountant licensed to practice in Mississippi. She earned her master Church of professional accountancy from Southern Miss and her BSBA in accounting from Louisiana State University. In recognition of her excellent academic performance, Cole received the Federation of Schools of Accountancy 2012 Student Achievement Award and the 2012-13 Frederick D. Kenamond Theory Award from Southern Cole Miss. She was also named as a University Medalist at Louisiana State University.

Cole currently serves as a faculty member for the Southern Miss College of Business, where she teaches principles of accounting. Before becoming an instructor in the College of Business, Cole gained practical experience in various areas of accounting, including tax and financial.

Church received the Silas M. Simmons Bronze Medal for achieving the third highest score on the CPA examination. Church attended Southern Miss where he graduated in 2011 with a bachelor of business administration with an emphasis in accounting. He continued his studies at Southern Miss where he earned his master of professional accountancy in 2012.

Church is currently employed by Piltz, Williams, LaRosa & Company in Biloxi. His areas of experience include tax return preparation for individuals, small businesses and not-for-profit entities; audits of notfor-profit entities; and compilation and review procedures for various entities.

Firm adds Hodges Brook Hodges has joined Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors as a client service representative and is in training to become a financial advisor. Hodges is based in Oxford, but will work with other Barnes Pettey branches, as well.

She joins the company after working with Dillard’s, Keep Mississippi Beautiful and Balance Fitness (coowner).

Logan Smith named executive director

Harriel named year’s best Shelby Harriel has been named Humanities Teacher of the Year at Pearl River Community College.

Although Harriel teaches algebra at PRCC, she holds a bachelor’s degree in history with a mathematics minor and a master’s degree in education with emphasis in math and history. She earned both degrees at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Harriel attended PRCC in 199294 and was named the Outstand- Harriel ing Humanities Student in 1993.

She played softball and was named All-State as a freshman and All-American as a sophomore. She currently competes in tennis leagues and earned a trip to Tucson, Ariz., for the 2012 national championships.

Harriel, who currently resides in the Sleepy Hollow community, taught math at Poplarville High school for 10 years before coming to PRCC in 2007.

Miller-Kidd honored for service Mississippi State Hospital recently honored employees with October anniversary dates for their years of service. LaShonda Miller-Kidd, of the Whitfield community, was recognized for providing 20 years of service to the hospital.

Kidd, a native of Louisville, is a psychologist in the hospital’s Psychology Department.

Clinic welcomes Webster Marilyn S. Webster, MD, recently joined Hattiesburg Clinic’s Hospital Care Service. Webster received her medical degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine in Oklahoma City. She served an internal medicine internship at the University of California in Irvine, California, and an internal medicine residency at St. Mary’s Hospital in San Francisco, California.

Webster is providing care at Webster Forrest General Hospital.

Croom made CEO Jon-Paul Croom is the new chief executive officer at Crossgates River Oaks Hospital. The Vicksburg native comes to Crossgates River Oaks with over 10 years of executive experience in the healthcare industry. Most recently, he served as chief operating officer for Central Mississippi Medical Center (CMMC), in Jackson.

Prior to joining CMMC, Croom held management positions at healthcare organizations located Croom in Georgia, Pennsylvania and Alabama.

Firm adds Alexander Brian T. Alexander has joined Biggs, Ingram & Solop, PLLC as an associate. Alexander represents clients primarily in matters of construction and insurance litigation.

He received his bachelor of business administration, with an emphasis in human resource management, from the University of Mississippi and J.D. from Mississippi College School of Law.

Alexander

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

Miller-Kidd

October 31 2014

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Mississippi Business Journal

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» MISSISSIPPI LEADERS by Martin Willoughby

Growing business Spurk uses creativity in leading Petal Pushers

I

believe that one of Mississippi’s real economic opportunities is the continued expansion of the creative economy.

The state has recognized this opportunity and has been studying and finding ways to encourage its growth. In a state commissioned report titled “Realizing the Economic Opportunity of Creativity in Mississippi,” it was noted, “Mississippi’s creative people, companies, and institutions, past and present, are a vital part of what defines the state. Their achievements and talents contribute to Mississippi’s distinct ambiance. But these same creative people, companies, and institutions collectively also add significant wealth to the state’s economy in ways that have been undercounted and under-recognized.” Many of these individuals are inspiring entrepreneurs who turn their creative skills and passions into thriving businesses. David Spurk, owner of Petal Pushers in Ridgeland, is one of those inspiring creative economy entrepreneurs.

Spurk is a native of Crystal Springs and from a young age knew he wanted to be in the floral business.He explained,“Ever since I was a child, I have spent countless hours growing things. Whenever I would get extra money as a kid, I would buy more material for planting it in the ground. It is

Up Close With ... David Spurk Title: Owner, Petal Pushers Favorite Books: The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck First Job: ”At the age of 12, I ran the concession stand at the local movie theater and cleaned offices. At 14, I was hired by the local florist and have been in this industry since.”

Proudest Moment as a Leader: ”Leading my high school band to all Superior and being appointed as a board member for Friends of Children's Hospital.”

Hobbies/Interests: “I have always been involved in the arts.. .and, am a collector. I love to cook as much as I love to eat, and I am an avid gardener.”

just who I was, and who I am.” He was hired by a local florist when he was 14 and that's when his career really began. By 17, he was designing on the panel for the annual state floral convention. He went on to work for a florist in Brookhaven while attending Copiah-Lincoln Community College where he also taught a continuing education class in floral design.

In 1983, Spurk moved to Jackson and

worked for a local wholesale florist that gave him additional insight into the floral industry. He also waited tables at night for a fine dining establishment. He noted, “Clients that I developed working at the restaurant later became clients of Petal Pushers when I opened in 1985 and remain clients to this day.” Spurk is passionate about his craft and shared, “I do what I do as a celebration of life. None of us will be here for long so I feel

“Ever since I was a child, I have spent countless hours growing things.”

David Spurk Petal Pushers

that we should try to make a positive impact on people’s lives while we can.” He is considered a master artisan in his field and not only provides floral designs but also develops and manages Martin Willoughby every aspect of events from customized event floor plans, to the catering, food presentation, and overall visual aesthetics.”

Spurk also uses his gifts and talents to help make a difference in the community.

He is an active member of the board of Friends of Children’s Hospital, which benefits Batson Children's Hospital. He noted, “I really love what I do and, and while it is rewarding in and of itself, it means the world to me that I can harness what I love to support Friends of Children's Hospital."

He has worked with the organization since 1999 when he began donating his time and artistry for fundraising events. He explained his passion for working with Friends, “The families who visit Batson Children's Hospital have such intense need, and some of them greatly need assistance to secure the health and healing of their child.

If I can support life by making a room come to life, then I will always be greatly fulfilled by that.” Learning about creative entrepreneurs who have the courage and drive to turn their dreams into reality always inspires me. I come away encouraged by Spurk’s commitment to excellence in his craft and his passion for helping children. I hope you will be, too.

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.

Malcolm Brooks book tells an authentic story of the West

P » Painted Horses

By Malcolm Brooks Published by Grove Press $26.00 hardback

ainted Horses is amazingly Malcolm Brooks' first book. While it's often fun to read about places we know, it can be more fun to read about places of which we know very little. The latter is true of the American West for me. I have almost no personal experience with the West but I find it fascinating — prairies, canyons, sagebrush, native American culture and artifacts, cowboys, horses, the beauty of Montana and more. It's interesting to enter that world through the pages of a good book. Brooks has all that and more in Painted Horses.

The time is the 1950s when America is flush with prosperity, expanding and building although memories of the recent world war are still clear. Catherine Lemay is a young archeologist sent to Montana by the Smithsonian Institution to comb a vast canyon for artifacts ahead of a massive dam project. She distinguished herself in London on projects amid the rubble following WW II. In the West she encounters a world far dif-

ferent from London and her New Jersey upbringing. Among the people she meets are horse wranglers, embittered whites and native Americans with one foot in the past and another in the future.

The most interesting person she meets is John H, a horse wrangler with an intuitive genius for breaking horses. If you admire the beauty of horses, you'll enjoy learning about these noble animals and their importance to the West. As a boy of 12, John H

ran away from a foster home in Maryland and rode trains to the West where he was befriended by a Basque sheep herder who left the old country for a better life in the new world. Most of all, John H is a painter who chronicles the vanishing wild West. He inspires Catherine to see beauty and grandeur in the West's stark landscape. He's a veteran of the U.S. Army's last mounted calvary campaign in the European war.

This debut novel is receiving warm praise as an authentic story about life in the West. Hopefully Brooks will write more.

I would like to ask him why he chose to make John H's friend, Jean Bakar, Basque. There are references to this language and culture. The hero even meets a Basque woman while serving in the Army in Europe. It's the kind of thing that will send you to the internet to find out more about these people and their struggle to survive. But then, shouldn't good books make us want to learn more?

— Lynn Lofton, mbj@msbusiness.com

26 I Mississippi Business Journal I October 31, 2014 THE SPIN CYCLE

Top PR tools to boost awareness, bolster brands I n our fast-paced, multi-media, plugged-in world, filled with competing messages online and off, it is increasingly important to tap into the best tools to help Todd Smith you navigate all the noise. In today’s world of online accessibility, here’s the digital toolbox for the next generation of brand building, thanks to PR Newser:

Contact Discovery 1. Journalisted. One of the easiest tools you may have never heard of, largely because it’s based in the UK, but it is something serious for those in a researching pinch. You know about HARO, which pushes for ideas. This pulls you toward people who have written about your client on a daily basis.

2. HARO — Help a reporter out — has emerged as the Google of incoming queries for PR practitioners. HARO is ubiquitous – or so we thought – but it still can be amazing how many newcomers don’t understand how great this Vocus-owned tool is. Thanks, Peter Shankman!

3. PitchRate. This free service connects journalists with topic experts – such as small business owners – for free media coverage.

PitchRate also is chock full of helpful (free) information that an average PR type can use on a daily basis. It even sponsors regular free “PR Happy Hour” conference calls.

4. MuckRack. Starting at $199 a month, this is a very nice networking tool to get to know your local reporters. Users will receive email notifications when journalists tweet or link to articles matching search terms – and how many times does the client find the hit before we share it? Outreach needs efficiency and this helps!

5. Media diplomat. This is part HARO, part MuckRack, all cool. It monitors their queries and your outreach. A matchmaker between journos and PR-os, of sorts. And to think this one started as a LinkedIn group and became so popular for networking that a website was born. Get in while it’s still incubating.

Writing Tools 6. Headline analyzer. Thanks to the growing demands of journalism and PR, especially in today’s social media world, headlines are more important than ever.

Want to see what kind of emotional value your headline creates? This tool helps you practice your call-to-action – and we can all use that.

7. Copyscape. If you are the agency blogger or copywriter, this is your new BFF. Is somebody stealing your content? This will let you know with just a few clicks for free.

8. AutoCrit. We get it. You want to write like Earnest Hemingway but it just doesn’t come out on paper that way. We all have writer’s block when everything reads the same, which is why this fun software will tell you when you are overusing superlatives, misusing syntax, and just writing really bad copy.

9. Zemanta. More and more, PR is taking over the ghostwriting for blogs. Clients love

agencies and professionals alike. However, if you want something that is metrics on Barry Bonds-like steroids, this is the one for you. Completely dynamic and interactive for a fee. And oh so worth it.

14. Twilert. When your small business or large corporations aren’t certain if Twitter will work for them, you may want to pull this tool out of the drawer. Imagine Google Alerts only for Twitter, and ‘boom’ there is

There are several listening tools to use, many of which are good for agencies and professionals alike. it if you are good at it. Now imagine blogging with a tool that helps suggest images, links, and articles to use as resources. Cool, right? That’s this thing. (Also, a WordPress, Blogger, Typepad, and Tumblr plug-in, for brand extension.)

10. Wordcounter. You ever get to writing graph after graph and then get the SEO person scratching their heads over your lack of synonym usage? This tool will let you know what’s up and how much you love a good keyword, followed by how much your team will love you (or hate you) for it.

Social Listening 11. Social mention. It’s not the most comprehensive device, but you get way more than what you want to pay (free). A generous sweep of blogs and microblogs that provides tone, resonance, video sharing, and share of voice. The numbers alone will surprise your client and make you look good.

12. Google insights. If you are searching for trends and the best time for someone to gain interest in your product (otherwise known as when to pay for online search), this is it. This will also tell you the best time to pitch.

13. Brandwatch. There are several listening tools to use, many of which are good for

a Twilert in your inbox. It helps for a nice buzz.

15. Addictomatic. This (in technology terms) is an oldie-but-a-goodie but it may be time to get re-acquainted. Do you know how your brand is represented on the many social platforms concurrently? This is your new shiny toy to figure that out.

Didn’t Know You Needed These 16. BS indicator. Yes, in demand of PR favorite’s game “Buzzword Bingo,” there is this – and it’s sublime. Want to know whether your prose contains too many cliches? Use this.

17. MSOutlook kit. Admit it: you spend business time Gramming, Facebooking, and Twittering. It’s Ok, we understand. That said, here’s a fake MS Outlook page to pull up when the ‘man’ or ‘woman’ walks in. Just pop it over and no one knows.

18. F.Lux. Ok, you strain your eyeballs all day at a white – like gazing into the sun – screen. It’s all you see and then when you drive home, those floaters show up in your vision. This download changes the glare depending on the time of day. Pretty sweet and keeps you alert.

19. The useless web. So, you have writer’s block, aren’t in your pitch mode, and Twit-

ter doesn’t sound interesting. You need something to pass the time but can’t find a timekill website. Let the Internet choose it for you, and what the Web picks will get you back in the creative zone.

20. Phone spell. Often, it’s a PR person’s gig to dream up a fancy URL, but what if you have a start-up who needs a catchy phone number. Odds are your client will not get 555-1234, so this cutesy tool helps you spell a word. Dial a smile.

Golden Mic | Ben Bradlee, Former Editor of The Washington Post Ben Bradlee, who presided over The Washington Post newsroom for 26 years and guided its transformation into one of the world’s leading newspapers, died recently at his Washington, D.C., home at the ripe old age of 93. From the moment he took over The Post newsroom in 1965, this wise sage sought to create an important newspaper that would go far beyond the traditional model of a metropolitan daily. He achieved that goal by combining compelling news stories based on aggressive reporting with engaging feature pieces of a kind previously associated with the best magazines. His charm and gift for leadership helped him hire and inspire a talented staff and eventually made him the most celebrated newspaper editor of his era. Even from this former Washington Times reporter, who duked it out daily with the 800-pound gorilla with Bradlee at the helm, I marveled at his tenacious, pioneering brand of journalism. The most compelling story of Bradlee’s tenure, almost certainly the one of greatest consequence, was Watergate, a political scandal touched off by The Post’s reporting that ended in the only resignation of a president in U.S. history – in addition to the Pentagon Papers. Bradlee gave the paper ambition. During his tenure, a paper that had previously won just four Pulitzer Prizes, only one of which was for reporting, won 17 more, including the Public Service award for the Watergate coverage. For elevating journalism – and the way we report news – for all generations, Bradlee takes the Golden 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 fullservice branding, PR, marketing and advertising firm with offices in Jackson. The firm — based in Nashville, Tenn. — is also affiliated with Mad Genius. Contact him at todd@deanesmithpartners.com, and follow him @spinsurgeon.

SALES MOVES

October 31, 2014

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Mississippi Business Journal

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27

» JEFFREY GITOMER

Beyond networking…all the way to new business

I’ve

been attending networking clubs and networking meetings for the better part of 25 years.

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a Business Networking International event with Chapter Lucky 62 in New York City as a guest. I wanted to give a short talk on networking strategies, but it seems as though the rules of the club forbade it. Respecting that, I attended anyway.

I didn’t really know what to expect since I had never been to a BNI networking meeting before, but I must say, whether they had selected me as a speaker or not, the meeting was exceptional. Very structured, but exceptional. And did I mention structured?

It began with a two-minute educational segment. I expected someone to get up, hem and haw, and give some weak tip. Instead, I listened to an amazing duet that turned their tip into a song!

The singsong tip got the meeting off to an incredible start – both in tempo and in tone. The message was so well constructed and completely customized that I am including it here for your educational pleasure.

Let me tell you something about your personality You're the only one with it, so let it shine brightly.

You may not be the only lawyer doctor broker cake decorator accountant in town, But you're the only one that's unique inside and out So let me tell you how To stand out from the crowd You gotta lead with your personality You gotta lead with your personality They have got to see individuality You gotta lead with your personality You may share a profession with a thousand other folks.

But what sets you apart is you make really lame jokes.

And that's ok, it just ads to your character, it makes you like-able

“The most important asset is our people.

You want to make parts others cannot make and you can only do that with people who are skilled or are better problem solvers, because you are constantly manufacturing new parts.”

Travis Green PFG Precision Optics

PFG

People do business with people they like, Especially if they like title!

So let me tell you how, To stand out from the crowd

The singer-songwriter, Antony Bitar, is a real estate salesman. If you think his song lyric is great, you should see his YouTube introduction of himself for his real estate business. This guy gets it.

The guitar player accompanying Antony, Adam Lomeo, was actually showcasing his talents to the group. Which, by the way, were flawlessly excellent.

Back to the meeting… After the introduction, a sheet of paper was passed to each attendee that contained everyone’s signature slogan. I was about to be exposed to one of the coolest, one-of-a-kind introduction routines I’ve ever seen. About 80 members are given 30 seconds each to give their introduction, and at the end, the entire group recites their tag line.

As you can imagine, some of them were classic. A woman photographer ended her commercial with “I shoot your family” and the group responded, “so you don’t have to.” And the Xerox salesperson said she had been copying since the 2nd grade when she copied off her buddy’s test paper - the audience howled.

I did get to give a short 1-minute talk - my host, Jennifer Gluckow, gave me her commercial spot, but I went over my 1 minute time limit and got dinged. Timing is everything.

After the 30-second commercials, two people got to give a 5-minute talk to give the members and their visitors a more in-depth look at their business and their ideal referral partners.

Before the meeting ended, members had the chance to thank each other for business, or at least the opportunities for business. And there was a lot of it.

Then a black book was passed around the room where members entered the dollar amount of their closed business from BNI referrals.

Continued from Page 18

clean room to keep particulates from soiling the precision coatings applied to surfaces of lenses and mirrors.

“I encourage our production employees to think of themselves as lab techs on ‘CSI’ because this work is so precise,” he said.

At any one time, there may be more than 100 different types of optical glasses in production and they all have different characteristics and properties. “When you manufacture those parts, they all behave differently and you have to understand those differences in hardness or softness,” he said.

There are five engineers on staff but the majority of the 68 employees are skilled trade laborers who are good at problem solving among other things, Green said. “You can learn the fundamental in months, but the skill level comes after years of doing this.

It takes people who pay attention, plan well and are meticulous about what they do.”

Employment is down slightly from a high of 86. “We had a record year in 2010 when our military business was the highest,” he said.

In 2011 PFG acquired Alpine Research

NOTE WELL: They’ve passed more than $4 million this year in referral business. WOW! This was one of the most serious, yet fun business groups, hell-bent on self-promotion and giving business. And did I mention structured?

Here are 4.5 things you can learn from this meeting: 1. You don’t always have to say your mesJeffrey Gitomer sage. Sometimes you can sing it, and it’s much more attractive and effective.

2. Creating group participation for individual commercials is both powerful and memorable. When 80 people say your tag line in unison, it creates a unity of group and memorability of message — especially if it’s funny.

3. Leads and networking groups don’t work unless there are plenty of leads and everyone is willing to give them. This group was just as interested in giving as they were in getting. Huge — especially in NYC. 4. The science of networking is getting more sophisticated. You have to be prepared, be willing to share, and be reputable.

4.5 Your creativity, style, and overall presence create attraction. Master all three elements.

I’ll be back in NYC in a few weeks. The BNI meeting is at the top of my list to attend. I’ll be bringing a few leads.

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.

Optics in Boulder, Colo., considered an industry leader in UV and laser optic coatings for commercial customers.

“The combination of the two companies is very complementary,” Green said. “They do very similar things for a different customer base.” The combined companies have almost $13 million in sales.

“The most important asset is our people,” Green said. “You want to make parts others

cannot make and you can only do that with people who are skilled or are better problem solvers, because you are constantly manufacturing new parts.”

That ability to be consistently innovative is reflected in PFG’s vision statement, which is “To consistently amaze our customers, to have people who truly enjoy what they do, and to have leadership who is committed to personal and corporate achievement.”

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