MBJ_Sept05_2014

INSIDE — Good yield expected for state’s cotton crop, Page 3

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2014

September 5, 2014 • Vol. 36, No. 36 • $1 • 24 pages

Jacksonians {Section begins P 12}

» Program teams with employers to find work for job seekers.

The Lists {P 16,18} » Main Street Associations » Highest-paid occupations

Education {P 19} » New MC School of Law dean can turn visions into reality, says Wendy Scott columnist Martin Willoughby.

Restaurants {P 4} » Outback grand opening is Monday in Flowood.

What’s behind the plan?

Apartment zoning targets minorities, lawsuit says

By TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com

By the book » Land management guide took nearly 10 years to compile.

More, P 8

A federal lawsuit filed last Friday charges that Ridgeland’s bid to phase-out current apartment complexes seeks to rid the city of affordable housing occupied primarily by blacks and Hispanics.

The suit on behalf of the 260-unit

INSIDE: Apartments face deadlines, Page 2

Baymeadows Apartments is in response to an overhaul of the city’s zoning ordinance in February that designated five of the city’s rental complexes as non-conforming uses and nearly a dozen others as having too many units on too few acres. The five complexes face demolition

depending on the classification of non-conforming use they receive from the city, while owners of other complexes may have to demolish units to meet new density regulations.

The effort to zone the apartments out of existence has caused concern that people who

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

See

PLAN, Page 2

2 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 5, 2014

RIDGELAND REZONING LAWSUIT

Apartments face classification deadline » Complexes could get boost from recent Court of Appeals ruling

By TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com

Ridgeland has given the owners of its dozen-and-a-half apartment complexes until Sept. 6 to apply for classifications that will determine whether the complexes must be demolished or gain time to meet sweeping new zoning and building-density rules.

Some, such as the decades-old Baymeadows Apartment on Pine Knob Drive, may have to come down and its hundreds of residents displaced. Lawyers for the owners have sued in federal district court seeking to save the 260-unit complex.

Others, such as the 10-year-old Gables Apartments on William Boulevard, are hoping to buy time with the award of an “A” classification.

This would give the complex the same

PLAN

status it had before the Board of Aldermen adopted a new zoning ordinance in February.

Absent an “A” classification, the Gables could be forced to demolish enough units to comply with the new zoning law’s building density limits.

The Gables’ attorney, Ben Williams of the Jackson firm Watkins & Eager, said the Gables faces the cutback in units despite several approvals from the City of the 14.2 units an acre at which the complex and its 200-plus units were built. Approvals of the current density include a 1999 legal settlement, Williams said.

He said the city issued notices in 2001 and 2002 confirming that up to 17 units an acre could be built on the property based on its zoning.

The zoning ordinance adopted in February emphasizes, however, that no nonconforming property has a vested right to continue its current use.

“Nothing in this ordinance shall be construed to grant any owner or occu-

Continued from Page 1

work in the shops, restaurants and other businesses in town won’t have housing.

Ridgeland Development Director Alan Hart insists that won’t happen and said in an interview last week that the city will have plentiful housing for residents who hold jobs in the region. “The city has lots of workforce housing,” he said.

With the phase-out, zoning will allow new high-end apartments that are part of mixed-use developments, Hart said, but they won’t be “a traditional apartmentcomplex arrangement.”

Hart further insisted Ridgeland “is not running a program against” apartment complexes but is “simply enforcing an ordinance” and applying provisions against non-conforming uses “as adopted.”

The ordinance includes no provision for grandfathering long-held uses.

Hart went on to say the city of Ridgeland could not speak specifically to the lawsuit at this time.

The scope of the changes in land-use rules, according to the Baymeadows suit, violates the federal Fair Housing Act by pricing minorities out of the rental market and will result in “excluding African-Americans and Hispanics from living in Ridgeland.”

Exclusion is part of the city’s calculation, charge attorneys Sheldon Austin and

Special to the Mississippi Business Journal

See DEADLINE, Page 23

The Gables is hoping for a Class A designation, but could be forced to destroy units to conform to Ridgeland’s new apartment density limits.

William Drinkwater of the Jackson firm Brunini, Grantham, Grower & Hewes. In the 45-page suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi Northern Division, the attorneys claim a key city official in at least one private meeting described the removal of Baymeadows and other rental complexes as a way to exclude or decrease the number of so-called “undesirables” who reside in the city.

Kelly Simpkins, an attorney working with Ridgeland on the rezoning declined to comment on the lawsuit, noting “the city does not comment on ongoing litigation.”

Austin and Drinkwater ask for a declaratory judgment specifying that Ridgeland officials violated the due process rights of the Illinois company that owns Baymeadows, located in the southeastern part of the city at 110 Pine Knob Drive. The violation stems from the city’s refusal to let Baymeadows make repairs and renovations, including renovations designed to enhance the safety of residents.

Austin and Drinkwater say the city has put the owners in a Catch-22 by refusing to grant permits to comply with code violations discovered at Baymeadows while assessing fines for the violations.

At the heart of the suit is a claim that outlawing an apartment complex built in the early 1970s and annexed into the city in 1980 infringes on property rights granted by the Mississippi Constitution.

Enforcement of the rezoning will have a

“significant and oppressive” impact on the finances of owners BBC Baymeadows LLC, the suit says.

Baymeadows, the lawyers say, will “either be subject to demolitions in less than six months” or a “vague and arbitrary” amortization schedule at the end of which the apartments will no longer be allowed to exist.

In the meantime, “the certainty” that the rezoning will force demolition of Baymeadows has deprived it “of any present economic value that would be looked at as a marketable asset,” the suit claims.

In noting that hundreds of minority tenants face the prospect of a city-forced eviction, Austin and Drinkwater claimed Ridgeland excluded mobile home parks from the sweeping new zoning rules to avoid displacing white residents. “This was intentional,” the lawyers said. “Apartments have significantly more minorities than trailer parks.”

The suit alleges the rezoning and the decision to exclude grandfathering of apartment rentals as allowed uses grew out “closed door” meetings between city officials, developers, builders and real estate agents in the spring and summer of 2009.

In their version of events, Austin and Drinkwater say the scheme started as a plan to initiate the “Southeastern Ridgeland Development Project,” a plan that they say involved replacing Baymeadows and four other apartment complexes with “cottage” style single-family houses selling in the

$150,000-$200,000 range.

The redevelopment’s success rested on repurposing “private property at a below-market-cost,” the suit alleges, putting the amount of property involved at 160 acres.

The land-purchase plan for the Southeastern Ridgeland Development Project fizzled after developers failed to come up with enough money, Austin and Drinkwater say.

The new strategy: Initiate stringent code enforcement actions that make the properties too expensive to maintain, the Brunini Grantham lawyers say.

The city “hoped the aggressive code enforcement would devalue the properties to make them affordable for favored developers to purchase or drive the apartments out of business by imposing maintenance costs that owners could not afford.”

The code crackdown failed to get the results Ridgeland wanted, the suit says.

Next came an unsuccessful attempt in early 2013 to persuade legislators to allow the City to assess a penny sales tax for redevelopment, according to the suit.

A new tactic developed in 2014, the suit says: “The City refocused on a plan to obtain the properties by reforming its zoning ordinance and rezoning the area containing the targeted apartments.”

If successful, the Brunini lawyers say, Ridgeland could get the properties “and avoid paying the owners just compensation.”

September 5, 2014

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Good yield seen for cotton  Prices at nearly 3-year low as acreage planted increases 38 percent over last year Cotton is looking good across the state as bolls open and harvest nears, but increased cotton acreage planted across the country means lower prices on this year’s crop.

In its Aug. 24 report, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated 17 percent of Mississippi’s cotton is in excellent condition and 54 percent in good condition. Nearly all the rest is in fair condition, and that should lead to a good yield for the state.

Darrin Dodds, state cotton specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the crop needs good weather to finish strong. “I would like to see the warm weather continue for the next four weeks or so, and a good rainfall would not hurt matters in many areas where the crop is stressed,� Dodd said. “We started somewhat late, as we did in 2013, so warm weather this time of year will help mature the upper fruit on the plant.�

Despite the state’s delayed start, USDA estimated 94 percent of the cotton is setting bolls and 15 percent is already open. In recent years, 27 percent of the crop had open bolls by this point.

The open bolls give fields the snow-white look common in Mississippi in late summer. Dodds said fields are getting closer to defoliation, which aids harvest, but most have two to three weeks of maturation before reaching that point.

Insect pressure has been steady from plant bugs, worms and spider mites in places, but disease pressure has been limited.

The state has 400,000 acres of cotton, up 38 percent from what was planted in 2013. Cotton nationwide is up an estimated 9 percent over 2013 acreage.

Brian Williams, Extension agricultural economist, said this increased acreage has not helped prices. “South Delta cotton prices and October futures are around 65 cents per pound,� Williams said. “For comparison, a year ago they were 81 cents a pound.�

These prices are near three-year lows, a consequence of expected high production nationwide, Williams said.

John Michael Riley, Extension agricultural economist, said cotton prices suffered through much of summer, but have increased 2 to 3 cents since early August. “National yields are expected to be lower since producers are planning to harvest less productive acres in west Texas, given the improved weather in that region,� Riley said. “In terms of total production, we’re expecting an increase from last year.�

USDA is predicting yields of 1,130 pounds of cotton per acre. The state set a record of 1,229 pounds per acre in 2013. “Last year was the best cotton crop we’ve ever seen,� Dodds said. “I am not sure if we have quite that good a crop, but I do feel that we have a good crop in the field.�

Ernie Flint, a regional Extension agronomist, works with cotton in the hills area. He said cotton is in good condition, despite a wide range of maturity. “Cotton has really fruited well this year. There are exceptions, but not many,� Flint said. “In general, it has retained a lot of squares and is blooming out the top now.�

Kevin Hudson / MSU Ag Communications

Darrin Dodds, cotton specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, examines cotton in the ďŹ eld at the MSU R.R. Foil Plant Science Research Center in Starkville.

Defoliation should start in mid-September, and the area could use one more good rain to finish off the crop, he said. “A lot of people discount the fact that late rains can add quite a bit to the yield of cotton, even after it begins to open at the bottom of the plant,�

Flint said. “Rain can add up to 100 pounds of yield per acre, even after it’s almost ready to defoliate.� — Bonnie Coblentz MSU Ag Communications

WATKINS & EAGER Attorneys and Counselors at Law

Congratulates

C. Joyce Hall

American Bar Association’s Health Law Section Joyce Hall is a member of Watkins & Eager and serves as the Chair of the Firm’s Health Care Practice Group. In addition to Health Care law, Joyce practices in the areas of Public Finance and Commercial Lending. Joyce has been recognized as a Best Lawyer in Health Care Law by Best Lawyers in AmericaŽ and has been previously honored by the Mississippi Business Journal as one of Mississippi’s 50 Leading Business Women.

Watkins & Eager PLLC Located in the Historic Emporium Building 400 East Capitol Street • Jackson, Mississippi 39201

www.watkinseager.com

4 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 5, 2014

Outback dream realized in Flowood » Grand opening for modern-designed restaurant is Monday

Casual dining is economic indicator

By TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com

A victory at the polls in 2006 after a pair of defeats in Flowood liquor-by-thedrink referendums positioned Steven Grantham Jr. to carry out his late father’s plans for a second Outback Steakhouse in Metro Jackson.

Flowood finally would get an Outback restaurant where diners could enjoy their favorite spirits along with thick cut grilled steaks and the acclaimed bloomin’ onion.

Then came the worst economic slump in 70 years, a recession so deep that parking lots of casual dining restaurants around the country went from overflowing to nearly empty. Grantham waited out the lean times, seeing sales drop at his Outbacks in Jackson, Meridian, Tupelo, Hattiesburg, D’Iberville, Southaven and Cordova, Tenn., and Jackson, Tenn.

By 2010, sales rebounded to pre2007 levels, leading Grantham and his restaurant development and management company, J&R Restaurant Group, to return a Flowood Outback to their strategic planning.

The result: A 10:45 a.m. ribbon-cutting Monday for the $3 million, “Modern Australian” designed Flowood Outback, at 586 Park Way. “The numbers had to work before anything,” Grantham said last week.

The first step came with Flowood’s allowing of liquor by the drink, a move Grantham said made it viable for the J&R Group to look for a location in the fastgrowing Rankin County city. “Once the numbers worked to cover the fixed costs and long-term debt ... we could see the light at the end of the tunnel,” said Grantham, president of the restaurant group founded by his father, Steve W. Grantham Sr. A couple of years of flat sales followed the 2010 rebound but 5 percent revenue growth last year convinced Grantham it was go-time on the Flowood store.

Grantham could make the decision on his own because J&R is one of only three Outbreak franchisees in the country. The franchisees own a handful of stores while parent Bloomin’ Brands of Tampa, Fla., a publicly held company, owns more than 800 stores worldwide.

In fact, as Grantham broke ground in Flowood earlier this year, Bloomin’ Brands announced plans to close 22 under-performing Outbacks across the

By TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com

Photo courtesy of Steve Grantham Jr./Outback

Outback with a “Modern Australian” design opens Monday at 586 Park Way in Flowood.

United states. As recently as the second quarter, the Outback Steakhouse parent reported higher expenses and lower traffic at its restaurants.

Bloomin’ Brands, nonetheless, has reported revenue gains since it went public in 2012, helped by new restaurant openings, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Bloomin’ Brands also operates Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar and Roy’s.

Same store sales rose 0.6 percent in the second quarter at domestic restaurants while traffic was flat for the company’s four core brands, the WSJ reported.

The Outbacks J&R Restaurant Group operates have rung up a 2 percent increase in sales in 2014, according to Grantham.

J&R’s Outback on Interstate-55 North in Jackson had fiscal 2011 sales of $3 million. That won it a ranking of 81st in sales among the 800-plus Outbacks.

On a “pound-for-pound” basis, the Jackson Outback performs at a level comparable to Outbacks in very high density metro markets, Grantham said.

“You can make money at $3 million a year,” he said.

He projects first-year sales at the Flowood Outback to be $3.8-$4 million.

After the first year, he expects it to exceed $4 million in annual sales. The demographics and growth patterns, both commercial and residential, are the envy of cities across Mississippi and the rest of the South, Grantham noted.

“Once you go down Lakeland to Flowood you are not coming back,” said the 54-year-old Grantham, who has spent most of his life in the Jackson area.

“They have the schools, the churches…,” he said.

And City Hall “wants your business,” he

added.

The late Steve W. Grantham Sr. opened the Jackson Outback in December 1993, drawn by strong demographics reflected in the 75,000 to 100,000 households within the Northeast Jackson corridor.

“Now that demographic has moved again,” Grantham said. “Our next logical step was to go to Flowood.”

He said he will “watch what happens” in the next five to seven years before deciding whether to relocate the I-55 Outback a few miles to the north to Madison. “As long as it is making money I’m going to keep it open,” Grantham said. “When we have to start subsidizing it, we will re-evaluate.”

Grantham Sr. became one of the earliest Outback proprietors after making the acquaintance of Outback founders Tim Gannon, Bob Basham, and Chris Sullivan on a Dallas golf course. He opened nine Outback franchise restaurants in the Dallas Metroplex over the next few years before selling out to the founders and returning to Jackson in 1992 to lay plans for opening an Outback in the Capital City.

Basham, a former Bennigan’s executive, had watched customer excitement over the Irish-themed restaurant grow stale over time, according to Grantham. “He wanted a place where people could eat, drink and have a good time,” he said.

The challenge in opening the first Outback in Tampa in 1986 and following-up with more stores involved positioning Outback as a frequent dining destination instead of one visited only on special occasions, Grantham noted.

“I think they hit that spot,” he said of the founders. “It is not a special-occasion place and it far surpasses our competition, bar none.”

How’s an area’s economy doing?

Just check the traffic at casual dining restaurants such as Outback, Longhorn, Logan’s and Olive Garden.

J&R Restaurant Group’s sales at its eight Mississippi and Tennessee Outback Steakhouses dropped along with the economy from 2007-2009. By 2010, with a degree of life returning to the economy and job insecurity lifting, people began treating themselves to the quality-cut grilled steaks and bloomin’ onions the Australian-themed restaurants offer. J&R Group’s Outback sales rose along with the optimism.

By 2013, with the recovery in full stride, J&R’s Outbacks achieved 5 percent growth and have continued to grow through the first six months of this year, according to Steve Grantham Jr., president of the Jackson-based restaurant company.

The economy is as important as food preference for getting a customer to take a seat inside an Outback, he said. “The declining economy and unemployment and underemployment are factors in everyone’s disposable income amounts.”

Food quality and price can offer some offset to negative economic factors, he added.

While the Great Recession may have put large dents in sales totals for Mississippi’s casual dining establishments, it hardly thinned the herd. Numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that Mississippi’s casual dining restaurants, those typically defined as drinking and eating establishments, totaled 4,116 in 2007 and grew to 4,234 in 2008 and to 4,247 in 2009 – the worst years of the economic slump.

By 2010, they slid to 4,229 and grew to 4,304 and 4,367, respectively, the next two years, the BLS reported.

The restaurants operated more leanly in the early years of the recession, however, with employment dropping from 79,800 in 2008 to 77,700 by 2010. With the economic rebound of 2011, employment at casual dining establishments returned to close to preSee

See

OUTBACK, Page 5

INDICATOR, Page 5

September 5, 2014

OUTBACK

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Competition in the mid-range casualdining category includes Longhorn Steakhouse, Logan’s Steakhouse and for price some of the Darden restaurants such as Seasons 52.

Bloomin’ Brands noted the intensity of the competition in its 2013 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission: “The restaurant industry is highly competitive with a substantial number of restaurant operators that compete directly and indirectly with us in respect to price, service, location and food quality, and there are other well-established competitors with significant financial and other re-

INDICATOR

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recession levels, growing to 79,400.

At the close of 2012, the restaurants employed a 12-year high of 82,300.

“Where we are seeing growth is in the franchised national brands (multiple segments) and very small independent market,” Mike Cashion, executive director of the Mississippi Hospitality and Restaurant Association, said in an email.

Casual-dining establishments still have a load of challenges, Cashion noted. “We know the job situation is tenuous and as such so is the discretionary spending in general, In general, sales have been basically flat to up fractionally. In many cases it is more about profitability.”

Meanwhile, food prices keep rising, along with insurance, he noted.

National brands, Outback among them, in both the casual and fast-causal categories have a marketing advantage over the independents, Cashion said. “Look at the menu offerings: two for $20 meals, buy-one-entrée-take- another-home are two examples of price points that indies have a hard time competing with.”

In Mississippi, restaurant development is based largely on demographics. Developers fish where the fish are biting, Cashion said.

That gives them a critical mass to market toward and “provides the impetus to get guests through the door,” he added.

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sources. There is also active competition for management personnel, attractive suitable real estate sites, supplies and restaurant employees…. At an aggregate level, all major casual dining restaurants would be considered competitors of our concepts.”

But Bloomin’ Brands still holds an overall edge, the company said in the filing.

“We believe our principal strategies, which include but are not limited to, the use of high quality ingredients that are in line with our target pricing, the variety of our menu and concepts, the quality and consistency of our food and service, the use of various promotions and the selection of appropriate locations for our restaurants, allow us to effectively and efficiently compete in the restaurant industry.”

One type of guest getting more difficult to get through the door is the Millennial, a young adult USA Today says sees casual dining establishments as “uncool,” a perception the national newspaper says grew out of years of being dragged into such restaurants by their Baby-Boomer parents.

“Most Millennials would rather starve than be caught in any of those places,” Bob Goldin, executive VP of restaurant research firm Technomic, said in the USA Today report.

They are more drawn to the fast-casual restaurants. The proof, USA Today says, is in the growth of Chipotle and Panera, which Technomic reported grew at about twice the rate of the 500 largest casual dining chains such as Applebee’s and TGI Friday’s.

Considering their need for speed, one key to drawing Millennials is to “get them in and out” in 40 minutes, said Grantham, the J&R Restaurant Group president and Outback franchisee.

Take over 40 minutes and “you’ve lost them,” he said, and noted they prefer to eat at the bar or the booths in the bar.

“The Baby-Boomers still make dining out an experience,” he said, while Millennials will treat it more like a “necessity.”

One upside is that if a restaurateur impresses a Millennial with the quality of food and service, the Millennial is likely to send out an “OMG, This is Great!” on Instagram or Facebook.

That’s how word-of-mouth advertising works in the digital age.

2014 Winter-Reed Partnership Award Dinner Honoring Dr. Hank Bounds,

SOUTHERN AGCREDIT proudly welcomes 2 new members to the local Ridgeland Office.

A native of Jackson, MS, Andrew Ritter joined Southern AgCredit in May as a loan officer in the Ridgeland office.

While at Ole Miss, Andrew majored in Managerial Financed and was a member of the football team from 2009-2013 assuming the position of Kicker. He also served as a team captain for the Rebels during his senior season in 2013. Upon receiving his bachelor’s degree in December of 2012, he went on to get his MBA and graduated in May of 2014. Andrew and his wife, Haleigh (Huddleston), a former Rebelette at Ole Miss, were married this past June and are currently living in Jackson.

Kim Webb joins our team as the Customer Service Representative for the Ridgeland, MS branch. She brings with her 9 years of banking experience.

Kim’s husband Wil is the Vice president of Operations at Cal Maine Foods, Inc. Kim and Wil reside in Flora, MS where they are raising their children, Baylor and Emilee. Actively involved in the community, Kim is currently serving as President of the Flora Chamber of Commerce, and serves on many committees with Tri-County Academy and First Baptist Church of Flora.

PARTNER OF EDUCATION SPONSOR

Commissioner of Higher Education

Tuesday, Sept. 30 - 7 p.m. @ Jackson Convention Complex Dr. Hank Bounds' contributions to all levels of public education will be recognized during the Mississippi Association of Partners in Education's seventh tribute. The award was initially presented to and named for former Governor William Winter and Tupelo business leader Jack Reed Sr.

Mississippi Economic Council SUPPORTING SPONSOR

Tribute dinner will include a raffle of original artwork by Andrew Bucci. Raffle tickets are $20 each and available for purchase at www.mapie.org.

Individual tickets sales and sponsorship info – www.mapie.org | @mape_ms | #WinterReed The event benefits Mississippi Association of Partners in Education, a 501(c)(3) that has served as a statewide network of educators and community partners since 1984.

Part of the Farm Credit System

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

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Website: www.msbusiness.com September 5, 2014 Volume 36, Number 36

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 September 5, 2014 • www.msbusiness.com • Page 6

OUR VIEW

A

Federal judge upholds voters’ privacy rights

second court, this time a federal district judge, has denied demands from supporters of state Sen. Chris McDaniel that circuit clerks in Mississippi release unredacted voting records from the June 3 and June 24 Republican senatorial primary, which McDaniel lost in a close statewide vote to incumbent U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran.

The decision, released by U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas, a Texas judge named to hear the case when Mississippi federal judges recused themselves, follows an earlier, similar denial by the Mississippi Supreme Court, which refused to order birthdates released in

a lawsuit filed by McDaniel’s campaign.

The case decided by Atlas was filed by True the Vote, a Texas-based group involved in Tea Party politics.

Atlas ruled that neither poll books nor absentee ballot applications are subject to public disclosure under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, The Associated Press reported.

True the Vote claimed the federal law made birthdates from voter registration forms a part of public record.

Atlas ruled that disclosing voters’ birthdates “raises serious concerns” about privacy, particularly if dates were to be released with

full names and current addresses.

“Birthdates, when combined with other identifying information available in voter registration records, can be used to obtain – both legally and improperly – a host of other highly personal information about an individual, particularly in this day of computers with vast searching powers,” Atlas wrote.

In the earlier lawsuit that was decided by the Mississippi Supreme Court, Attorney General Jim Hood argued, for the state, that people with the same last name could be distinguished by the individual voter number See VIEWS, Page 7

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

» THE OUTSIDE WORLD

» ON POLITICS

Mississippi appeals political spending ruling

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JACKSON — The state of Mississippi is asking the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reverse a lower court ruling found part of a campaign finance law unconstitutional.

The New Orleans-based court is hearing arguments Tuesday.

A federal judge in 2013 found the law is unconstitutionally burdensome for people or groups that spend at least $200 to support or oppose a ballot initiative.

Opponents argue the $200 threshold is so low that it would be impossible for a group of people to run a quarter-page ad in their local newspaper without having to become a political committee.

Under Mississippi law, groups seeking to support or oppose statewide ballot measures must register as a political committee if they receive contributions of more than $200 or spend more than $200 during a calendar year.

— from staff and MBJ wire services

Under Mississippi law, groups seeking to support or oppose statewide ballot measures must register as a political committee if they receive contributions of more than $200 or spend more than $200 during a calendar year.

PERSPECTIVE

September 5, 2014 I Mississippi Business Journal

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» WHAT YOU’RE READING

» RICKY NOBILE

Here are the most-read stories on msbusiness.com from August 27 - September 3.

1. Flipping houses is popular, but not so much in Mississippi …

2. Motorcars of Jackson is preparing to open its first-ever showroom 3. R.J. Allen ranked as fastest-growing company in Mississippi 4. Circuit clerks question how to get records to McDaniel’s trial 5. PEDIGREE dog food recalled; might contain metal fragments

VIEWS

Continued from Page 6

each registered voter receives.

“Viewing or copying a voter’s date of birth is simply not necessary for any conceivable purpose in formulating an election challenge,” the attorney general’s argument before the Supreme Court stated.

The attorney general, like Atlas, said making that information available to the public is particularly dangerous because of the growing instances of identity theft.

The information prospective voters provide when registering is intended to qualify people to register and vote. It was not provided to casually and politically become a matter of public record.

The voter identification number, which is individually unique, is sufficient for every reasonable identity request.

»OUR ENERGY

Common sense energy policy can work for U.S.

I

f there’s one reason Washington should keep an eye on legislation south of the border, it’s so that Mexico doesn’t leave the U.S. in the dust when it comes to energy resource development. Yes, the U.S. is in the midst of its own energy boom, but neither oil and gas production nor global energy markets are confined to a single-country bubble.

The Wall Street Journal recently ran a story on new reforms that are gaining swift approval in Mexico’s Congress designed to bring huge investments in energy development.

It’s a stark reminder that it’s not just the United States that has new energy to offer the world; Mexico, Canada, Colombia, Venezuela and ( do we dare say) Russia does too.

There are, however, several common sense policy moves Washington can make to ensure that the U.S. remains a powerful player in global energy.

For starters, leaders in our nation’s capital can support optimal development of America’s vast shale energy resources. This means releasing more federal land for drilling, accelerating approval of permits for liquified natural gas (LNG) exports and lifting the out-dated ban on crude oil exports. If Washington will get out of the way, energy from shale will be a bigger boon for Americans providing jobs, abundant, affordable energy and energy security through less reliance on OPEC oil.

The U.S. Should encourage expansion of the only 24-7 electricity generation source with zero greenhouse gas emissions — nuclear energy. In blazing summer heat or polar vortex frigid winter cold, nuclear energy safely provides electricity 91% of the time which is the most reliable generation source. The much touted "All of the Above " energy mix must have nuclear play a key role.

President Obama should swiftly approve construction of

... it’s not just the United States that has new energy to offer the world; Mexico, Canada, Colombia, Venezuela and ( do we dare say) Russia does too. the Keystone XL pipeline. Politics should not prohibit approval of a pipeline that will not harm the environment, but will bring thousands of jobs for Americans while reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil.

It’s also time for Washington to expand exploration and production of our crude oil resources in the Gulf of Mexico.

For bureaucratic red tape to impede drilling in the Gulf of Mexico is poor policy. To be fair, credit is due for the Obama Administration’s decision in July approving oil exploration off the East Coast in the Atlantic Ocean.

Above all, this Administration should restrain its regulatory ambition. The Environmental Protection Agency’s recently proposed greenhouse gas (GHG) rules will eliminate jobs and drive up the cost of energy while having no beneficial impact on reducing GHG emissions unless all countries adopt the same rules.

About 40 percent of U.S. electricity today is fueled by

coal, which will be significantly reduced it these rules are implemented. Moreover, the shuttering of coal plants Glenn McCullough around the country will result in higher electricity costs here at home. Meanwhile, our coal will be exported to countries like China, Japan and India, where power plants lack the emissions reduction controls to reduce air and water pollution.

It’s a sad fact that several states have filed lawsuit against the EPA over these rules. If U.S. policy makers will step up to the plate to provide leadership implementing sound energy policy, America can become the world’s energy superpower.

The U.S. should capitalize on our immense shale energy resources, nuclear energy, coal with carbon capture and sequestration, responsible exploration and crude oil production, renewable energy where it’s economically viable, and approve the Keystone XL pipeline and LNG — crude oil export.

There are also technologies available today using residential water heaters as grid batteries which enhance the economics of wind and solar energy, add to grid stability and are energy efficient.

Implementing these steps will help make America the leader in abundant, affordable, reliable energy and a cleaner environment while providing thousands of careers at a pivotal time for our country.

Glenn McCullough Jr. is the former chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority and a past mayor of Tupelo. He is chairman of Advance Mississippi, a coalition advocating for sound energy policies that will benefit consumers, the environment and economy.

8 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 5, 2014

OUTDOORS

Managing by the book » Land management guide was nearly 10 years in the making

By WALLY NORTHWAY wally.northway@msbusiness.com Wildlife biologist Adam Rohnke had just relocated from New York to Mississippi to work for the Mississippi State University Extension Service when he was handed a project — put together a first-of-its-kind definitive guide for creating wildlife habitat in Mississippi.

"I was a rookie, had only been here about a month, and I said sure," remembered Rohnke, a senior extension associate with the Central Mississippi Research and Extension Center in Raymond. "I had no idea that it would take so long to complete."

This summer after nearly a decade of planning and work, University Press of Mississippi released "Fish and Wildlife Management: A Handbook for Mississippi Landowners." It represents the first-ever comprehensive guide for Magnolia State landowners looking to make their property more attractive to wildlife.

"The information in the book was available, but in smaller publications produced across numerous state and federal agencies," said Rohnke, a certified wildlife biologist who served as managing editor of the book. "Now, landowners can find all of that information in one book."

The 418-page "Fish and Wildlife Management: A Handbook for Mississippi Landowners" is a collection of in-depth discussions written by approximately 40 experts on topics related to wildlife and fisheries management in Mississippi. Encompassing 17 chapters and five appendixes, the fullcolor book offers more than 500 illustrations and 40-plus tables.

The idea for the book came from James Cummins, executive director of Wildlife Mississippi who co-edited the book with Rohnke and served as project manager. Over the years, Cummins had hunted and fished with his father-in-law, Arch Dalrymple of Amory, and their conversations often turned to land management and habitat conservation.

"Mr. Dalrymple felt that Mississippi needed a book to assist landowners with various methods of fish and wildlife management, written at a level that most landowners could understand," Cummins said.

The scope of the work was daunting, but Rohnke and Cummins did not have to start totally from scratch. When planning the book, they decided to use an Alabama publication on wildlife habitat management as their model, and rather than write the articles themselves, which would have taken even more time,

they decided to use contributing writers who were already experts in their chosen areas.

(Rohnke and Cummins) did a marvelous job of organizing all of the writers and material,” said Craig Gill, assistant director and editor-in-chief at University Press of Mississippi. “Conversations started between us in 2009, and we signed a contract in 2011.”

"Fish and Wildlife Management: A Handbook for Mississippi Landowners" covers the gamut of wildlife management.

Chapter 1, “Mississippi’s Natural Bounty,” offers an overview of the state’s natural resources and their economic impact as well as everyday life.

“Besides powering the economy, the natural resources of the state have shaped Mississippi’s culture through food, art, music and craft trades,” Rohnke wrote.

Subsequent chapters deal with soils, grasslands, agricultural landscapes, ponds, conservation planning and natural resource economics, invasive species, wetland ecology and streams and rivers. Whole chapters are devoted to habitat enhancement for white-tailed deer, turkey, waterfowl, small game and supplemental wildlife food plantings.

There is also a chapter devoted to backyard wildlife and habitat. It includes information on habitat basics, landscape design, developing a backyard wildlife habitat plan, popular backyard wildlife and more.

While the book is intended as a textbook/guide, "Fish and Wildlife Management: A Handbook for Mississippi Landowners" is surprisingly handsome. The book’s attractive cover and illustrations make it appropriate for the field as well as the coffee table.

“We have been very pleased with the early response to the book,” Gill said. “We have also released the entire work in an ebook format, and we are anxious to see how it is received, too.”

"Fish and Wildlife Management: A Handbook for Mississippi Landowners” was boosted by external funding from Wildlife Mississippi, the Dalrymple Family Foundation and Mississippi State University.

For more information or to order "Fish and Wildlife Management: A Handbook for Mississippi Landowners,” visit University Press of Mississippi at www.upress.state.ms.us.

Dove hunters excited about longer season

By WALLY NORTHWAY wally.northway@msbusiness.com

Migratory bird hunters have more to be excited about than the recent release of “Fish and Wildlife Management: A Handbook for Mississippi Landowners."

Nearly three whole weeks have been added to the dovehunting season, and a record number of waterfowl are expected to overwinter in Mississippi this year.

Dove hunters will enjoy more shooting time this year after officials added 20 days to the hunting season.

This year Mississippi hunters will enjoy a 90-day, 15-bird daily bag limit for mourning and white-winged doves.

The possession limit is 45 birds.

Hunters may also take the invasive Eurasian collareddove. Collareds may only be taken during the hunting season, but there is no bag limit.

Mississippi is divided into two zones to maximize hunting opportunities throughout the state. The North Dove Zone is defined as areas north of U.S. Highway 84 plus areas south of U.S. Highway 84 and west of Mississippi Highway 35.

Season dates for the North Zone are Sept. 1-21; Oct. 4Nov. 9; and Dec. 15- Jan. 15, 2015. Season dates for dove in the South Zones are Sept. 13-21; Oct. 4-Nov. 9; and Dec. 3-Jan. 15, 2015.

Waterfowl survey: State officials began this year on a sour note, though the news since then has all been positive.

The 2014 late January aerial waterfowl survey was cut short when the survey plane, ironically, collided with a bird. The plane could not be repaired in time to conduct the survey during the scheduled times, forcing its cancellation.

However, prior to the accident officials reported the largest waterfowl abundance on record for both December and early January since 2002.

Their observations were backed by the Mississippi Flyway Council, which is reporting more good news for this season. Just last month, the Council released a fall flight forecast of 49.2 million birds — an 8 percent growth in population from last year and 43 percent higher than the long-term average for North American waterfowl.

During the 2013 season, Mississippi hunters harvested approximately 3.12 birds per day and had a seasonal harvest rate of 20 birds per hunter, totaling roughly 300,000 ducks.

For the upcoming 2014 season, individual species numbers are promising, according to the Council.

Mallards, redheads, Northern shovelers, green-winged teal, blue-winged teal, gadwalls, American wigeons and canvasback ducks all show increases in population estimates above the long-term average. American black duck, scaup and pintail populations are all steady but are still below the long-term average population.

September 5, 2014

I

Mississippi Business Journal

I

9

TELECOM

Jackson joins C Spire high-speed movement Special to the Mississippi Business Journal

Jackson municipal leaders and C Spire executives announced an agreement Tuesday help Jackson become one of nation’s most technologically advanced cities by offering residents ultra-high speed 1 Gbps (Gigabit per second) Fiber to the Home broadband Internet access.

The Ridgeland-based telecommunications and technology services firm built relationships with nine other Mississippi cities last November to provide 100 times faster, next-generation Internet access and related digital HD TV, phone and home automation services. Jackson becomes the 10th and largest city to join the statewide initiative.

Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber said the agreement represents a historic opportunity for the city to become a hub for technology investment, generate new, high-paying jobs and provide a better quality of life for its 172,638 residents.

“It’s a new day in Jackson and we’re excited about partnering with C Spire to create a bright future for the people in this city,” Yarber said. “Gigabit infrastructure will address so many needs in our city from education and health care to business expansion while improving home values.”

Hu Meena, president and CEO of C Spire and a Jackson resident, said his company is on a mission to move Jackson and the Magnolia state from worst to first in national rankings for average Internet speeds and consumer access to super-fast broadband services. “A primary goal is to ensure Mississippi has easy access to fiber technology just as we are delivering on our goal of ensuring consumers and businesses in our state have access to the latest wireless technologies,” he said.

Online pre-registration is open for Jackson residents at cspire.com/fiberhome. Individuals will need to make a $10 refundable deposit and provide credit card information when they visit the website.

Initially, the website will feature a single large map showing Jackson city boundaries.

Later this month, the web page will be updated and show detailed, interactive maps of the city divided into fiberhoods showing what percentage of residents needed to preregister to turn an area “green” and qualify for build out of the service. All residents who pre-register now will be placed in their specific fiberhood at that time.

When it is updated, the Jackson site also will include progress bars for each fiberhood to help residents get a “real time” snapshot of their success in getting neighbors, friends and others who live nearby to pre-register for the service. Registration percentage goals for the city of Jackson vary between 35 and 45 percent.

Nine Mississippi cities, including

Batesville, Clinton, Corinth, Hattiesburg, Horn Lake, McComb, Quitman, Ridgeland and Starkville, were selected by C Spire last November for the technology after the company said it would use its extensive fiber optic infrastructure and spend millions of dollars to connect cities in the first phase.

Construction started in Ridgeland in May and has also been under way in areas of several other cities that have qualified for the service, including the entire town of Quitman.

For C Spire customers, the 1 Gbps Internet access will be available for $70 a month,

y

$90 a month for combined Internet and home phone, $130 for Internet and HD digital TV and $150 a month for the entire package of all three services. Non customers will be required to pay an additional $10 a month on all packages. Pricing for home automation services will be announced soon.

10 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 5, 2014 MISSISSIPPI MONEY

Passing on financial wisdom to your children

T

he time of year when children head back to school provides an excellent opportunity to evaluate what they are learning — and what we are teaching them. As parents and grandparents, we teach them to read and write, to wash the car and mow the lawn, to bait a hook and build a fire. We intentionally pass on to future generations the lessons we have learned about

life. Too frequently, though, we don’t take the time to talk to our children and grandchildren about financial wisdom and the lessons we have learned about making, growing, and protecting our money.

Financial topics often can be complex and confusing, so it is important to tailor the conversation to the child’s age and maturity level. For example, when a child is younger than 12, give him or her a

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piggy bank to encourage early savings. When the child accompanies you to the grocery store, prompt a conversation about budgeting and smart shopping.

When you tell your children stories about your life and the lessons you have learned, share with them your experiences regarding saving and buying. These formative years are the perfect time to instill in your children or grandchildren a curiosity about

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accomplishing their dreams, and developing a Mark Blackwell discipline of earning and saving will be critical for them to achieve those dreams in later years.

A child in the mid-teens is capable of tackling more complex concepts and practices regarding money.

This child may have a bank account and learn the responsibility of checks and debit cards, balancing a checkbook, and utilizing online accounts. A summer or part-time job can help the teenager appreciate the value of saving money and the hard work and discipline it takes to increase that account balance.

Teenagers can actively participate in the parents’ financial activities — paying bills, making charitable contributions, shifting funds among various accounts, projecting retirement balances and capabilities, completing tax returns, and even meeting with the family’s financial advisors. Ask the financial advisor to help explain how stocks, bonds and packaged products like mutual funds can provide superior longterm investment returns to meet major future financial needs. The practice of telling personal stories regarding savings and investments should continue throughout these years. Take the child along to buy a new or used car and work through the details of an auto loan to help them understand how interest payments, especially on depreciating assets like automobiles, compound the reduction in savings.

Explain how your home was bought and then help them understand the complexity of mortgage payments. Through these stories and practical lessons, young people will attain knowledge that will prepare them to achieve their own long-term financial, professional, and personal goals.

As a young adult headed off to college or to a first job, your child or grandchild should have a firm understanding of personal finance. In these years, a parent or grandparent can contribute by helping the young adults apply the lessons they earned in earlier years. As they review funding opportunities for college, engage them in a dialogue regarding the dangers of graduating with excessive student debt.

When they start earning a regular income, coach them through setting up and contributing to their own retirement plans and investment accounts. As the young adults buy their first car or home, remind them of the lessons about debt that you imparted previously. When they begin to discuss starting a family, address the use of life and disability insurance to provide financial protection to their spouse and children in the event of an accident. Continue to involve them in conversations with your advisors, and if needed, help them transition to their own independent relationships with advisors.

Communicating your experiences may help the young person navigate a quicker path to their own success and avoid many financial pitfalls along the way.

If you are intimidated by the responsibility of communicating the complexities of financial literacy, relax and know that you are not alone. In the state of Mississippi, there are two organizations that are augmenting your efforts with significant events this month. The Mississippi Council on See BLACKWELL, Page 11

September 5, 2014

Halliburton reaches $1B Gulf oil spill settlement NEW ORLEANS — Halliburton's agreement to pay more than $1 billion to settle numerous claims involving the 2010 BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill could be a way for the company and victims of the spill to avoid years of costly litigation — if all the pieces fall into place.

A federal judge still has to approve the settlement.

That same judge has rulings pending on the extent to which parties, including Halliburton, were negligent in the deadly explosion of the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig. Those rulings could affect plaintiffs' decisions on whether to participate in the settlement, which was announced Tuesday.

Pending action by the Supreme Court over interpretations of an earlier BP settlement with businesses also comes into play.

Joe Rice, of the law firm Motley Rice, which has been working for the plaintiffs, doesn't see those as major barriers to the settlement.

"They're not extremely complicated pieces," said Rice. "Whereas the litigation would be extremely complicated."

The settlement involves commercial or subsistence fishermen or hunters whose catches were affected by the spill, and businesses and property owners, including local government entities, who had property touched by the oil. They would be able to collect

BLACKWELL

I

Mississippi Business Journal

MEDIA

Nielson ratings: WAPT overtakes WLBT overall in newscasts

punitive damages from Halliburton through a fund to be administered by a court-appointed representative.

The agreement also would settle claims for a separate class of businesses and individuals who were deemed to have causes of action against Halliburton.

JACKSON — The Nielsen ratings for July are in, and WAPT has taken over at the top overall for newscasts.

The Nielsen ratings win compares all the weekday newscasts head-to-head including 57am, 5pm, 6pm and 10pm.

WAPT General Manger Stuart Kellogg says, “Our brand at 16 WAPT is The One To Watch. And this certainly validates that, especially after winning so

many time periods in May too.�

The record ratings in July mark a new high for a station that has grown steadily in recent years.

WAPT NEWS Director Ben Hart says, “It’s a team win. From the producers and photographers all the way to our main anchor team of Stephanie, Megan, David and Aslan, it’s a team effort. We’re very proud and very thankful to our viewers.� — from staff and MBJ wire services

— from staff and MBJ wire services

“KEEPING UP� MEANS YOU’RE NOT MOVING

FAST ENOUGH.

Continued from Page 10

Economic Education provides resources to teachers to facilitate education on economics, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship. They offer fun and practical resources to help schools engage our students with the long-term goal of developing future generations of Mississippians that are more financially and economically capable. On Sept. 25 they are bringing Dennis Lockhart, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve of Atlanta, as their guest speaker at the Eleventh Annual U.S. Senator Thad Cochran Forum on American Enterprise. If you would like to attend, you may find more information at MCEE’s website, www.mscee.org.

In addition, State Treasurer Lynn Fitch has partnered with MCEE and other companies and organizations in Mississippi to kick-off the Treasurer’s Education About Money (TEAM) initiative, which is deploying a modular, online financial literacy curriculum in our schools. The curriculum is provided

by EverFi, a private company that builds community coalitions to introduce their online training programs to students and adults. The curriculum provided by both MCEE and EverFi is robust and helpful, but the classroom and online resources cannot replace the wisdom and guidance of a parent or grandparent passed down throughout the formative pre-teen, teen, and early adult years.

Mark Blackwell is the Mississippi Area Executive for Regions Private Wealth Management. He can be reached at mark.blackwell@regions.com. Further resources for acquiring and passing on financial wisdom may be accessed at regions.com/advice.

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11

AN MBJ FOCUS: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMEN

JOBS for

Jacksonians

September 5, 2014 • MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS JOURNAL • www.msbusiness.com

PMENT

Program has found employment for more than 1,000 people since 2011, and continues to build through the partnerships and relationships we have developed,” he said.

All applicants are entered into a work registry database and screened according to education, skills and work experience.

“All qualified candidates are referred to an employer for consideration,” Barnett said.

Participants attend monthly job readiness workshops where they learn about leadership and professional development, resume writing, interview skills and navigating the Internet for job searches and online applications.

“Individuals that come through the program have myriad work experiences, from a PhD. level education to only a GED education,” Barnett said.

“Our focus is on participants pursuing jobs they are qualified for in order to be successful.”

Every week there is a recruiting session where a major company comes in to interview and possibly hire participants.

Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, the largest private employer in the

By LISA MONTI mbj@msbusiness.com

The city of Jackson created an initiative in 2011 to help residents in the metro area find jobs during the economic downturn.

The purpose of the Jobs for Jacksonians Program, which is free to participants, is to provide employment assistance and a single point of access to services to help job seekers enter or re-enter the workforce.

The program has placed more than 1,000 people in jobs since 2012, according to Jonathan Barnett, the program coordinator.

“Our program is open to the public and individuals who come from the surrounding metro area,” he said. The success so far, Barnett said, “encourages us to go the extra mile” for those looking to re-enter the workforce.

Barnett, a Jackson native, is a graduate of Morehouse College and worked in the financial sector before heading up Jobs for Jacksonians.

His goal is to place 1,000 people in jobs in a 12-month period.

“I believe that is an attainable goal

Courtesy Jonathan Barnett / Jobs for Jacksonians Coordinator

Job seekers attend the 2013 Jobs for Jacksonians Job Fair at Metrocenter mall in Jackson.

See

This year’s annual job fair is 9 a.m-3 p.m. Sept. 24 at Metrocenter mall.

Last year, more than 110 companies participated.

Job seekers can call the Jobs for Jacksonians hotline at 601-961-4JOB (4562) or go to the city’s website (www.jacksonms.gov) for more information.

JOBS, Page 15

14 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 5, 2014

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

» MISSISSIPPI PROFILE: JAY MCCARTHY

Former MDA employee returns as CFO

By LYNN LOFTIN mbj@msbusiness.com

With 30 years experience in finance, banking and economic development, Jay McCarthy is prepared for his new position

COMMUNITY FOUNDATION of

GREATER JACKSON

as chief financial officer for the Mississippi Development Authority. His experience has included previous stints with MDA along with work in the private sector.

As chief financial officer, he oversees MDA’s Financial Resources and Account-

ing and Finance Divisions. In that capacity he is responsible for coordinating statefunded incentives programs and developing customized incentives packages to recruit new industry to the state. He also assists existing businesses as they pursue

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2002

2006

2010

General News Matthew Coleman, The Daily Leader, Brookhaven, “Durr family tries to cope with tragedy”

General News Rachel Leifer, Hattiesburg American “Kennerd a great warrior”

General News Marquita Brown, The Clarion-Ledger “Teacher trouble”

Investigative Reporting Robin Fitzgerald, The Sun Herald “Jail nightmare”

Investigative Reporting Jason Patterson, Jamie Patterson The Yazoo Herald “Tornado rips through Yazoo”

Investigative Reporting Gary Perilloux, Bobby Harrison, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal “Medicine under fire”

2007 General News Emily LeCoz Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal “Ethics study - good intentions now conflict”

2011

Investigative Reporting Jerry Mitchell, The Clarion-Ledger “Buried Secrets”

Investigative Reporting Emily LeCoz, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, “Water workers alledge side jobs”

2008

2012

General News Chris Allen Baker, The Scott County Times “4 year old starved to death”

“General News Jimmie Gates, The Clarion-Ledger “3 plead guilty to hate crime”

General News John Surratt, The Mississippi Press “Mission Accomplished - Navy removes historic Tico from active warship”

Investigative Reporting Kenny Goode, The Banner Independent “County employee suspended - inmate worked on vehicle”

Investigative Reporting - Daily Jerry Mitchell, The Clarion-Ledger, “Gone”

Investigative Reporting Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal “Hispanics - New hope in new home”

2009

2003 General News Fredie Carmichael, Meridian Star “Anatomy of a nightmare - Tracing events of a tragic Tuesday” Investigative Reporting Nikki Maute, Scott Larson and Jon Broadbooks, Hattiesburg American “Slow Justice”

2004

2005 General News Anita Lee, The Sun Herald “They wouldn't budge”

General News Charlotte Graham, Laurel Leader-Call “Back to normal” Investigative Reporting Michael Newsome, The Sun Herald “MDOT road trip”

Investigative Reporting Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal “Tupelo's housing gaps”

General News Anita Lee, The Sun Herald “Aftermath of an accident”

Investigative Reporting - Weekly Dwayne Bremer, Sea Coast Echo “Gang related”

2013 General News Charlie Smith, Enterprise-Tocsin “Battered town hopes to rise” Investigative Reporting - Daily Jerry Mitchell, The Clarion-Ledger, “Gone” Investigative Reporting - Weekly Wyatt Emmerich, The Northside Sun “Kemper County Plant”

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growth opportunities and create jobs for Mississippians, and he has oversight of the agency’s budget. “My goal is to efficiently and effectively work with the agency’s resources to ensure we are providing the best incentives packages to companies so they will choose a Mississippi location or elect to expand their existing Mississippi location,” he said.

McCarthy recognizes the challenges he and MDA face. “Economic development is a very competitive sector with every state vying for new projects. MDA’s challenge is to be sure we are best utilizing the resources we are provided so we can remain competitive and continue creating jobs,” he said.

With his background, McCarthy feels he's up to that challenge. “My most recent position with the agency prior to returning was as the director of the Financial Resources Division. So I’m fortunate to have an in-depth understanding of MDA’s grants, loans and incentive programs and how they help Mississippi remain competitive as we work to attract and retain businesses,” he said. “I’ve also worked in research and project management with MDA, so I understand the various components that go into successful economic development and can apply that knowledge to my role as CFO.” MDA Executive Director Brent Christensen McCarthy said of McCarthy, “Jay has the experience, skills and knowledge needed to successfully serve as the chief financial officer of MDA. His familiarity with the agency’s broad range of grants, loans and incentives will be beneficial as we work to attract and retain business in Mississippi.”

Although McCarthy enjoyed his time working at Stephens Inc., which he says is a wonderful company, he missed the economic development sector and working on projects that help create jobs.

McCarthy has always had an interest in and a love of finance, leading to his career choice. “When I had an opportunity to start working in finance in the field of economic development, it opened new doors for me, including recruiting businesses to the state. Returning to MDA allows me to continue working in the field of finance while helping strengthen the state’s economy,” he said.

This economic developer grew up in Jackson, attended St. Joseph High School and earned a banking and finance degree from Ole Miss. He is also a graduate of the

For Good Forever

TM

See

MCCARTHY, Page 15

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT JOBS

Continued from Page 13

state, held a recruiting session in July and 100 people attended to learn about the company’s job openings.

“It was a great turnout and a great event,” said Fred Howell, manager of talent acquisition for Ingalls Shipbuilding.

“We were very pleased.”

Howell said he expects to get several hires from the program and will be looking for more from it.

Seafood R’evolution in Ridgeland hosting job fairs to hire staff Special to the MBJ

Seafood R’evolution will host job fairs in Ridgeland on Monday, Sept. 8 and Monday, Sept. 15 with the anticipation of filling between 130-150 positions. The events will be at Hyatt Place, 1016 Highland Colony Parkway, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Cooks, prep and wait staff, bartenders, hosts and hostesses and stewards are among the positions Seafood R’evolution will be interviewing to fill in preparation of its early November grand opening.

The upscale Seafood R’evolution, located in Renaissance at Colony Park, is an endeavor by chefs John Folse and Rick Tramonto and their developmental company, Home on the Range: Folse Tramonto Restaurant Development Company.

Persons interested in attending the job fairs may go to seafoodrevolution.com to download an application. Completed applications may be either returned to career@seafoodrevoluton.com or brought to either job fair. Applications will also be available at the job fairs.

MCCARTHY

Continued from Page 14

Economic Development Institute and is a member of the Mississippi Economic Development Council.

He says some friends and acquaintances might be surprised to learn that he likes to cook. “My wife loves throwing dinner parties, and it gives me an opportunity to cook and try out new recipes on our friends,” he said. “It’s also a great way for me to relax.”

Other ways he relaxes include traveling and watching sports – especially Ole Miss sports.

He’s also a history buff and enjoys a good round of golf when he gets a chance to play.

McCarthy and his wife, the former Donna Ashley of Brandon, have been married five years and have a 2-year-old daughter, Liza.

“We are planning to do another event at some point in the future,” he said.

Howell said Barnett reached out to Ingalls to participate in the recruiting program after he saw a similar career event that Ingalls was involved in.

“We do a lot of outreach across the state and he called and set up the event,” Howell said.

Other employers who have participated in the recruiting sessions include Autozone, Lowes and KLLM Transport Services.

Another way Jobs for Jacksonians helps

September 5, 2014

people looking for work is through its annual job fair, which has grown every year.

This year the job fair will be Sept. 24 at the Metro Center Mall in Jackson from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Barnett said last year 110 companies participated.

The Jobs for Jacksonians Program partners with various agencies and groups as well as private sector employers to increase job opportunities for qualified participants. Some of those involved include the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership of Mississippi, Governor’s Job Fair Net-

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work, Mississippi State Personnel Board, Capital Area Human Resource Association and Mississippi Association of Colleges and Employers.

“Without those affiliations it would be very difficult to make the program run as efficiently as it does,” Barnett said.

Barnett said he sees the program building on its success in the future. “I would say this program, as long as it is thriving, is here to stay,” said Barnett. “I’m proud of it and see it thriving and continuing to be highly successful.”

MAIN STREET ASSOCIATIONS

16 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 5, 2014 Community

Address

Phone

Website

Manager

Aberdeen Main Street Amory Main Street Baldwyn Main Street Chamber Batesville Main Street Association Bay-Waveland Main Street Association Biloxi Main Street Booneville & Prentiss County Main Street Association Canton Main Street Carthage Main Street Clinton Main Street Columbus Main Street Downtown Tupelo Main Street Association Greater Belhaven Neighborhood Association Gulfport Main Street Hernando Main Street Historic Hattiesburg Downtown Association Historic Hometown Houston Main Street Holly Springs Main Street Association Indianola Main Street Kosciusko Main Street Laurel Main Street Louisville/Noxapater Main Street Main Street Columbia Main Street Corinth Main Street Greenville Main Street Greenwood Inc. Main Street Macon Meridian Main Street Moss Point Main Street Natchez Main Street New Albany Main Street Association Ocean Springs Main Street Okolona Main Street Olive Branch Old Towne Association Pascagoula Main Street/City Hall Pass Christian Main Street Philadelphia Main Street Picayune Main Street Pontotoc County Main Street Association Port Gibson Main Street Ripley Main Street Association Senatobia Main Street Small Town Main Street Starkville Main Street/Greater Starkville Development Partnership Team Cleveland Main Street Tunica Main Street Vicksburg Main Street Water Valley Main Street West Point Main Street Woodville Main Street

124 W. Commerce St., Aberdeen, MS 39730 129 N. Main St., Ste. A, Amory, MS 38821 202 S. Second St., Baldwyn, MS 38824 150 A Public Square, Batesville, MS 38606 P.O. Box 3002, Bay St. Louis, MS 39521 P.O. Box 253, Biloxi, MS 39533 P.O. Box 932, Booneville, MS 38829 100 Depot Dr., Canton, MS 39046 214 W. Main St., Carthage, MS 39051 P.O. Box 156, Clinton, MS 39060 107 5th St. N., Columbus, MS 39701 108 S. Broadway St., Tupelo, MS 38804 954 Fortification St., Jackson, MS 39202 P.O. Box 1780, Gulfport, MS 39502 2440 Hwy. 51 S., Hernando, MS 38632 P.O. Box 150, Hattiesburg, MS 39403 P.O. Box 505, Houston, MS 38851 148 E. College Ave., Holly Springs, MS 38635 315 Main St., Indianola, MS 38751 101 N. Jackson St., Kosciusko, MS 39090 P.O. Box 1256, Laurel, MS 39441 P.O. Box 551, Louisville, MS 39339 P.O. Box 1342, Columbia, MS 39429 P.O. Box 393, Corinth, MS 38835 508 Washington Ave., Greenville, MS 38701 P.O. Box 8236, Greenwood, MS 38935-8236 P.O. Box 892, Macon, MS 39341 2120-A Main St., Meridian, MS 39302 P.O. Box 8275, Moss Point, MS 39562-2738 108 S. Commerce, Natchez, MS 39120 P.O. Box 125, New Albany, MS 38652 1000 Washington Ave., Ocean Springs, MS 39564 P.O. Box 446, Okolona, MS 38860 P.O. Box 219, Olive Branch, MS 38654 P.O. Drawer 908, Pascagoula, MS 39568 P.O. Box 403, Pass Christian, MS 29571 256 W. Beacon St., Philadelphia, MS 39350 P.O. Box 1656, Picayune, MS 39466 109 N. Main St., Pontotoc, MS 38863 P.O. Box 607, Port Gibson, MS 39150 205 E. Spring St., Ripley, MS 38663 135 N. Front St., Senatobia, MS 38668 1150 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, MS 39216

(662) 369-4864 (662) 256-8700 (662) 365-1050 (662) 563-3126 (228) 463-9222 (228) 435-6339 (662) 728-4130 (601) 859-5816 (601) 267-6764 (601) 924-5472 (662) 328-6305 (662) 841-6598 (601) 352-8850 (228) 575-7794 (662) 429-9055 (601) 583-4329 (662) 456-2321 (662) 252-2943 (662) 887-4454 (662) 289-2981 (601) 433-3255 (662) 773-8719 (601) 736-5034 (662) 287-1550 (662) 378-3121 (662) 453-7625 (662) 574-5680 (601) 693-7480 (228) 235-4700 (601) 446-6681 (662) 534.3438 (228) 875-4424 (662) 447-5913 (662) 893-0888 (228) 938-6604 (228) 452-3315 (601) 656-1000 (601) 799-3070 (662) 489-5042 (601) 437-4500 (662) 512-0226 (662) 562-8715 (601) 432-4512

www.aberdeenms.org www.amorymainstreetinc.com www.cityofbaldwyn.com www.batesvillemainstreet.com www.bwmainstreet.com www.mainstreetbiloxi.com www.boonevillemainstreet.org www.canton-mississippi.com/ www.carthagemainstreet.com www.mainstreetclintonms.com www.columbusmainstreet.com www.tupelomainstreet.com www.greaterbelhaven.com www.ci.gulfport.ms.us www.hernandoms.org www.downtownhattiesburg.com N/A N/A www.indianolamainstreet.com/blog www.kadcorp.com www.laurelmainstreet.com www.winstoncountyms.com N/A www.mainstreetcorinth.com www.mainstreetgreenville.com www.mainstreetgreenwood.com www.mainstreetmacon.org www.meridianmainstreet.com www.mosspointmainstreet.com www.natchez.ms.us www.newalbanymainstreet.com www.oceanspringschamber.com www.okolonams.org www.olivebrancholdtowne.com www.cityofpascagoula.com/main-street N/A www.neshobacounty.org/index.php www.picayunemainstreet.com www.pontotocchamber.com/contact www.portgibsonmainstreet.com www.mainstreet.ripley.ms www.tatecountyms.com www.msagmuseum.org

Ann Tackett Carol Knight Lori Tucker Colleen Clark Myrna Green Kay Miller Trudy Featherston Jordan Hillman Russell Baty Tara Lytal Barbara Bigelow Debbie Brangenberg Virgi Lindsay Lisa Bradley Susan Fernandez Walt Denton Joyce East Shanette Folsom Cherrie Lynn Britt Tonya Threet Judi Holifield Linda Skelton Shannon Ellis Taylor Coombs Betty Lynn Cameron Brantley Snipes Joe Shelton Karen Rooney TBA Scott Christian Vickie Duke Margaret Miller Perry Grubbs Dee Dee Erfurdt Rebecca Davis Lisa McCombs Tim Moore Reba Beebe Ellen Russell Kenneth Ross Libbi Bryant-Bennett Tim Climer Lise Foy

200 E. Main St., Starkville, MS 39759 P.O. Box 490, Cleveland, MS 38732 P.O. Box 2654, Tunica, MS 38676 1010 Levee St., Vicksburg, MS 39181 207 N. Main St., Water Valley, MS 38965 510 E. Broad St., West Point, MS 39773 P.O. Box 1546, Woodville, MS 39669

(662) 323-3322 (662) 843-2712 (662) 363-6611 (601) 634-4527 (662) 473-3796 (662) 494-5121 (601) 888-3998

www.starkville.org www.visitclevelandms.com www.tunicamainstreet.com www.downtownvicksburg.org www.watervalleymainstreet.com www.westpointms.org N/A

Jennifer Gregory Lisa Cooley Lynn Ryals Kim Hopkins Mickey Howley Lisa Klutts Polly Rosenblatt

Source: Mississippi Main Street Association. Please direct questions and comments to Wally Northway at research@msbusiness.com.

“Partnering with a bank that values flexibility, reliability and integrity was a real TURNING POINT for our business.”

Derek Starling Sr. & Willie A. O’Neal Jr.

SOL Engineering Services LLC - Jackson, MS

Get the whole story at regions.com/turningpoints

Friends since engineering school, Derek Starling Sr. and Willie A. O’Neal Jr. are the owners of SOL Engineering Services LLC, a company that has steadily expanded beyond its municipal and civil engineering roots. After facing the initial challenges of starting a business, Derek and Willie quickly realized the importance of having a reliable banking relationship and turned to Regions Banker LoRose Hunter.

LoRose delivers results for the business with reliability and integrity. While these business partners focus on navigating state and municipal contract bids and managing innovative projects, LoRose helps them aggressively pursue opportunities for growth. Derek and Willie are thankful to have found a banking partner who not only shares their values, but also their vision for moving forward. To see how we can help your business move forward when it’s at a turning point, turn to Regions.

Loans | Treasury Management | Can-Do Attitude © 2014 Regions Bank. All loans and lines subject to credit approval.

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Source: Mississippi Department of Employment Security. Please direct comments and questions to Wally Northway at research@msbusiness.com.

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September 5, 2014

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Mississippi Business Journal

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» MISSISSIPPI LEADERS by Martin Willoughby

Speaking vision New Mississippi College law dean has ability to turn vision into reality

O

ne of the most powerful things a leader can do is to speak vision into an organization and individuals.

President Woodrow Wilson once said, “You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.”

Vision lifts our sights. It helps us to reach for loftier goals and accomplish greater tasks. I often think about the verse from Proverbs “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

I find that organizations without vision are simply going through the motions. It is the ability to translate vision into action that truly distinguishes great leaders. Author Joel Barker noted, “Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.”

Wendy B. Scott, the new Dean of the Mississippi College School of Law, is one of those leaders with the ability to turn vision into reality. She experienced the power of vision first hand as a child growing up in Philadelphia, Penn., where her family settled after her father retired from the Army. As

Up Close With ... Wendy Scott Title: Dean of the Mississippi College School of Law and the Henry Vaughan Watkins & Shelby Watkins McRae Professor of Law Family: Married to Rev. Eddie Scott and mother of teenage son Christian First job: ”The summer before I went to college I worked in a doughnut shop behind the counter.”

Favorite books: Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez and Above All Things by Tanis Rideout Proudest moment as a leader: ”In my former job at North Carolina Central Law School, we were granted membership in the Association of American Law Schools which fulfilled a major goal for the institution.”

Hobbies: Reading; cooking

one of three daughters, she was heavily influenced by her mother who spoke vision into her life. Dean Scott shared, “From a young age my mother poured herself into me and my sisters and cast a vision for us that we should grow up and be successful professionals making a difference in the world. To this day, she continues to speak encouragement into my life.” Dean Scott has certainly lived up to her mother’s vision.

She went on to get her undergraduate de-

gree at Harvard and her law degree from New York University Law School.

With her academic credentials, Dean Scott could have pursued many career paths.

She chose the path less taken to follow her passions to make a difference. She worked for nine years in employment law helping those less fortunate. She worked at the Legal Action Center of the City of New York, as an associate at Vladeck, Waldman, Elias & Engelhard in New York City, and di-

“One of things I have learned as a leader is that the vision for an organization has to be a collective one.”

Wendy Scott.

Dean, Mississippi College School of Law

rected litigation as the associate counsel for the Center for Law and Social Justice, a community law office in Brooklyn, New York. During this time she began teaching law at Hunter Martin Willoughby College, Brooklyn Law School, and CUNY Law School and discovered how much she enjoyed working with students.

She decided to pursue teaching full time and served in administration and as a professor at Tulane and North Carolina Central School of Law before joining MCSOL. In her new role, Dean Scott is meeting with faculty individually to hear their vision for the Law School. She shared, “One of things I have learned as a leader is that the vision for an organization has to be a collective one.” She has a passion for excellence and is a firm believer in the power of the team.

Dean Scott noted, “My predecessor Dean Jim Rosenblatt built a great team, and I am fortunate to inherit such a talented group of leaders.” She believes in recognizing and rewarding successful teamwork and has emphasized that to the staff. For young leaders, she encourages them not to simply chase money, but to truly consider their dreams and passions and have the courage to pursue them.

Dean Scott brings a wealth of experience and a vision for making a difference to MCSOL, and I know that she will be a positive influence not only on the law students, but also the community and the state.

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.

Learning the realities of life after college

A

» My Salinger Year

By Joanna Rakoff Published by Alfred A. Knopf $25.95 hardback

ny reading, word-loving, literary-minded person will identify with Joanna Rakoff and her desire to immerseherselfintheliteraryworldofbooks,authors and publishing. And where to fulfill this dream? New York City, of course.

In the 1990s, Rakoff leaves graduate school and takes a job as a poorly paid assistant at a famous literary agency in the Big Apple. This is an agency that was stuck in a time warp; computers were eschewed and typewriters and dictaphones were in use. It was the '90s but this place was trying to live in the days of the Thin Man movies and steamship travel. The spirit of J.D. Salinger, the agency's most famous author, haunted the place and Rakoff.

She's touched by the large amount of fan mail that constantly arrives for Salinger and is never read or answered. Unaccustomed to using a typewriter, she soldiers on in an attempt to respond to the loyal Salinger

fans. Her only interaction with the author of The Catcher in the Rye is by telephone, and that's a challenge as he's become quite hard of hearing. There are no revelations about the elusive author, beyond what Rakoff gathers from tender fan letters. Still, there's something Salingeresque about her book because it's a vivid story of innocence lost (shades of Holden Caulfield).

When she's crafting heartfelt replies to Salinger’s letters, it's easy to understand her experience: the great ambitions and failures, the loves and losses, and Holden Caulfield’s

own favorite cause — a young person's never-ending battle against the phonies.

Rakoff chronicles her coming of age during her first adult job, including a relationship with an overbearing aspiring novelist and the realities of trying to make it in New York with its harsh financial repercussions. She makes sad grown-up compromises, spending less time writing and more time working to support her unemployed boyfriend. One night, she comes home to find her roommate sobbing, having eaten a pound of spaghetti, and realizes why the roommate is scared: ''No one — no mother, sister, roommate, professor, boyfriend, anyone — was there to monitor her habits and behaviors.... She woke up, went to work, came home, alone.'' That's the loneliness of life after college, perfectly explained.

- Lynn Lofton, mbj@msbusiness.com

NEWSMAKERS

20 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 5, 2014

HRC taps Hill

Claussen lands internship

The Human Rights Campaign has named Rob Hill as state director or HRC Mississippi. Hill will lead the organization’s Project One America effort across the state to bring equality to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.

Hill has served as a United Methodist pastor for the past 12 years. He most recently led Broadmeadow United Methodist Church in Jackson for nine years.

Hill has also served on various community boards aimed at helping youth programs, improving the Jackson community and providing resources for neighborhood revitalization.

Eley Guild Hardy Architects recently welcomed Taylor Claussen as an intern architect. A native of Hueytown, Ala., Claussen received a bachelor of architecture in 2014 from Mississippi State University.

While attending MSU, she was actively involved with the Sigma Chi Lambda sorority where she worked on projects for World Vision. During the summer 2013, Claussen worked to identify cotton mills in Mississippi and what the preservation options were for these buildings. Based on the research conducted, she was awarded first place in the MSU Undergraduate Research Symposium and the ARCC/King Medal For Excellence in Architectural and Environmental Research.

Taylor, the daughter of Herb and Jerri Keefer, is married to Matthew Claussen and currently resides in Mobile, Ala.

Wardlaw lands new title Van M. Wardlaw is the Tennessee Valley Authority’s new executive vice president of external relations. Wardlaw most recently served as senior vice president for customer resources.

He succeeds Executive Vice President Rob Manning, who will focus on leading TVA’s shared services until his retirement at the end of the year.

Wardlaw has more than 30 years of leadership experience in the planning, operating, commercial and customer sectors of the utility industry. In 2011, he was named senior vice president of customer resources. During his tenure with TVA, he has led the development of TVA’s most recent Integrated Resource Plan, was executive vice president of power supply and fuels and worked in the commercial sector as senior vice president for commercial operations and vice president of bulk power trading. He also held the positions of vice president of transmission and reliability in energy delivery and vice president of transmission operations and maintenance. In addition, he has served in various leadership roles in customer service, economic development and marketing.

Wardlaw is originally from Memphis and holds a B.S./B.A. in electrical engineering from Mississippi State University and a M.S./M.A. in business administration from the University of Mississippi. He has been designated a distinguished fellow of the Mississippi State University Bagley College of Engineering, is a registered professional engineer and is a certified power executive.

Stone elected president Dr. Harper Stone was elected president of the American Heart Association, Greater Southeast Affiliate board of directors. He is serving on the board during the association’s 2014-2015 fiscal year. Stone is board certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular disease.

He is currently affiliated with the Dr. Harper Stone Jackson Heart Clinic and serves as president of the Mississippi Healthcare Alliance (MHCA).

Prior to joining the GSA board in 2010, Stone was a board member for Hinds County American Heart Association. He also served as chairman of the Strategic Health Initiatives Committee of the GSA; chairman of American Heart Association Cardiac Arrest Program; and American Heart Association's National Mission Lifeline Advisory Working Group (2012 to present).

Terry Durham

Katherine Nelson

Chase Percer

Calvin Payne

Bob Ardary

Pickering adds 5 to staff Pickering Firm Inc. has added five new members to its staff. Terry Durham, PE, has joined the firm’s Memphis office as an electrical project engineer. Durham received his bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Memphis and has 25 years of experience.

Katherine Nelson has joined the firm’s Memphis office as an architectural intern. Nelson received her bachelor of fine arts degree in architecture from the University of Memphis.

Chase Percer has also joined the firm’s Memphis office as an architectural intern. Percer received his bachelor of fine arts degree in architecture from the University of Memphis.

Calvin Payne has joined the firm’s Flowood office as a senior inspector. Payne has 30 years of public service experience with the state of Mississippi, including the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

Bob Ardary, PE, has also joined the firm’s Flowood office as a project engineer. Ardary received his bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from Tennessee Technological University and has over 25 years of experience.

Sanderson named CFO

Smith merits promotion

Brown Bottling Group has appointed Jason Sanderson as chief financial officer. Sanderson comes to Brown from Cypress/Hawthorn Pharmaceuticals in Madison where he served as chief financial officer. Originally from Hattiesburg, he is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi and holds a bachelor of science degree in accounting. He is a certified public accountant and holds memberships in the Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of CPAs. Sanderson comes to Brown with over 20 years of accounting expertise having worked in both public practice with a national accounting firm as well as in the pharmaceutical and consumer goods sectors.

He is a former recipient of the USM Alumni Association Outstanding Service Award and has served on the USM Alumni Association board of directors.

Sanderson is active in the community, serving as a volunteer for the South Madison County Soccer Organization and the Madison-Ridgeland Youth Club. In addition to his volunteer work, Jason is a member of the Madison-Ridgeland Academy board of trustees.

Sanderson and his wife, Mary, reside in Ridgeland, and they have three children.

State Deputy Fire Coordinator Brad Smith has been promoted to state fire coordinator. Smith joined the Mississippi State Fire Marshal’s Office in November 2009 as the state deputy fire coordinator. Prior to joining the Fire Marshal’s Office, he served as the county fire coordinator and emergency management director for Chickasaw County for 20 years and was a member of the Houston Fire Department from 19832009. He currently serves as Mississippi’s representative to the National Volunteer Fire Council and the National Fire Information Council. He also serves on the boards of the Mississippi Burn Camp Foundation and the Mississippi Fire Fighter’s Association.

Smith has accumulated over 900 hours of training through the Mississippi State Fire Academy and is a graduate of the Mississippi Executive Fire Officer program.

He and his wife, Susan, reside in the metro area.

Hunt elected to board Todd Hunt, director of the BancorpSouth Arena in Tupelo, has been elected to a two-year term on the board of directors of the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM) as the sector director representing arenas. In this role he will serve as the voice of IAVM’s worldwide Todd Hunt arena members.

Hunt has served on the Arenas Committee of IAVM since 2007, holding the positions of vice chair (2009-10) and chair (2011-14). He also serves as an instructor at IAVM’s Venue Management School.

Tice adds Abrahams, Rabby Tice Engineering Inc. has hired Shaun Abrahams as project designer and Morgan Rabby as marketing specialist. Abrahams, a graduate of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, specializes in commercial architecture, structural, civil, mechanical, marine and electrical engineering, construction drawings, operations and project management and interior design.

Abrahams obtained an associate’s degree in engineering technology and design from Mississippi Gulf Coast’s Jefferson Davis Campus, and holds approximately 13 years of experience in architecture and engineering.

Rabby, a graduate of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and the University of South Alabama, specializes in public relations, marketing, organizational communication, journalism and design. Morgan obtained an associate’s degree in business from Mississippi Gulf Coast’s Perkinston Campus and a bachelor of arts degree in communication and public relations from the University of South Alabama.

Burnside made director J. Bryan Burnside, of Brandon, has been named director of imaging at Madison River Oaks Medical Center. Burnside is licensed by the Mississippi State Board of Health as a medical radiation technologist and has more than a decade of experience in the healthcare field.

Burnside’s work experience has allowed him to work in a variety of settings and provide care to a multitude of patients. He is passionate about his field and actively participates as a volunteer motivational speaker for the Hinds Nursing Allied Health Center.

Keenum tapped by FFAR Mississippi State University President Mark E. Keenum has been elected by his fellow directors as vice chairman of the 15-member board of the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research (FFAR).

Keenum was appointed to a three-year term on the FFAR board of directors by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas J. Vilsack.

Keenum is a graduate of MSU with degrees in agricultural economics, and he began his career at MSU as a faculty member with the Extension Service and the Department of Agricultural Economics, where his primary research and extension work focused on the marketing and economics of aquaculture, specialty crops and forestry. He went on to serve as chief of staff to U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran in Washington, D.C., and was Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture prior to returning home to Mississippi State.

TEC chooses Prestridge TEC has appointed Summer Prestridge as provisioning coordinator at in Jackson. Prestridge brings with her over 13 years of experience in the telecommunication industry.

She currently resides in Wesson with her two daughters, Lexi and Adalyn.

Summer Prestridge

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

NEWS MAKERS Extension experts honored The National Association of County Agricultural Agents recently recognized Mississippi State University Extension Service experts for their skill in connecting with clients. Gary Bachman, along with videographers Tim Allison and Brian Utley, are the national winners in the video presentation category.

Bachman also won first place in the feature story category. Bachman is an associate Extension and research professor of ornamental horticulture. He hosts the Southern Gardening TV and radio shows and writes a weekly column, also titled Southern Gardening.

Jane Parish is the national winner in the learning module category for the Mississippi Master Cattle Producer program, a 24-content-hour, comprehensive training in major beef cattle production topic areas.

Parish is an Extension and research professor specializing in beef cattle.

Wayne Porter’s quarterly newsletter, Green Flash, garnered first place in the individual newsletter category. Porter was also named a national finalist in the published photo and caption category. He is a regional horticulture Extension specialist.

Shaffer joins clinic’s staff Curtis J. Shaffer, OD, recently joined Hattiesburg Clinic Eye Associates as an optometrist. He received his preoptometry education at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg and his doctor of optometry at Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, Tenn.

Shaffer is a member of the Mississippi Air National Guard.

Curtis J. Shaffer

ASU taps Horne Derek Horne has been named Alcorn State University’s new intercollegiate athletic director. Horne previously served as director of athletics at Florida A&M. Prior to that post, he had a 15-year tenure at his alma mater, the University of Mississippi, in athletics administration.

As a student athlete at the Derek Horne University of Mississippi, Horne earned Academic All-Southeastern Conference accolades as a senior and led his squad as team captain.

ACEC/MS names officers The American Council of Engineering CompaniesMississippi has installed officers to the board of directors. Members of the 2014-2015 board include: president, Jimmy Nelson of Allen & Hoshall; president-elect, David Bowman of Neel-Schaffer Inc.; secretary/treasurer, Scott Burge of A. Garner Russell & Associates; past president, Jeff Dungan of Dungan Engineering, P.A.; national director, David Compton of Compton Engineering Inc.; and board members Carey Hardin of Clearwater Consultants Inc., Allen Scott of Engineering Service and Wayne Morrison of Williams, Clark and Morrison Inc.

September 5, 2014

MEC appoints officers The Mississippi Economic Council has named officers for the Public Education Forum of Mississippi and M.B. Swayze Foundation for 2014-15. Martha Cooke, vice president of special projects at School Book Supply Company, has been elected as chair of the Public Education Forum of Mississippi for 2014-2015. Cooke will follow in the footsteps of her father, James Campbell, a founding member and past chair of the Public Education Forum of Mississippi. She received her bachelor of business administration from Millsaps College. Cooke currently serves as vice president on the board of directors for MISSCO Corporation and is a member of the Alumni Council of Millsaps College. She has previously been a member Martha Cooke of Junior League of Jackson, has served on the board of directors for Junior Achievement, been a member of Stewpot board of directors, assisted with fundraising for the Mississippi Children’s Home Society, served as grade coordinator for St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, served on the Steering Committee for Mississippi Children’s Museum, been a co-chair of essay contests for Mississippi Children’s Museum and a been a member of the Millsaps Else School of Management Advisory Board.

C.D. Smith Jr., regional director for AT&T, Mississippi, has been elected as treasurer of the Public Education Forum of Mississippi for 2014-2015. Smith was appointed by Gov. Haley Barbour in 2008 to a 10-year term on the Mississippi Public Universities board of trustees. He is chair of the board of directors for The Sonny Montgomery Institute and a member of the board of directors for the State Games of Mississippi, the East Mississippi Business Development Corporation and the Meridian Community College Foundation. He also serves on the board of governors for the Mississippi Economic Council. Smith is a member of the Meridian Rotary Club and the Mississippi Air National Guard (retired). He is the recipient of the Liberty Bell Award from the Bar Association of Lauderdale County, the Service C.D. Smith Jr. to Mankind Award from the Mississippi District of Sertoma, the Citizen of the Year award from The Meridian Star and has been recognized with the 2012 MSU-Meridian Alumnus of the Year Award. Smith has a bachelor’s degree in business and industry and a master’s degree in business administration, both from Mississippi State University. He previously served on the national board of directors of the MSU Alumni Association. Smith is married to the former Linda Joyce Bishop and has three children: Cynthia, Drew and Danielle.

Rebecca Wiggs, a member at Watkins & Eager law firm, will resume her role as chair of MEC’s M.B. Swayze Foundation for 2014. Wiggs is admitted to the Mississippi Bar and the North Carolina Bar. Prior to joining Watkins & Eager, she was a law clerk to the Honorable Paul H. Roney, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Wiggs earned a bachelor’s in politics from Wake Forest University in 1979 and juris doctor from University of Virginia in 1985. She serves on the Mississippi State Bar Association Litigation Section Executive Committee and is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. She also serves on the Mississippi Economic Council board of directors, Blueprint Mississippi Steering Committee, is vice president of the American Judicature Society and is a founding member of the Wake Forest Rebecca Wiggs University Divinity School Board of Visitors. She is a 1995 graduate of Leadership Mississippi.

MEC welcomes Goza

Westerfield made director

Kenny Goza has joined the Mississippi Economic Council as project manager. His work experience includes 40 years in various positions with Entergy Mississippi. Goza has served as chairman of the Brookhaven/Lincoln County Mississippi Scholars as well as servKenny Goza ing as chairman of the Copiah Lincoln Community College Workforce Advisory Board. Currently, he serves on the board of directors for College Savings Plan, the Mississippi Department of Education Licensure and Certification and various other boards in Brookhaven/Lincoln County.

Goza currently resides in Brookhaven with his wife, Vickie. They have two sons and two daughters-inlaw: Gabe, married to Carey, and Ben, married to Kim. They also have four grandchildren: Kendall, Lleyton, Brielle and Beckett.

The Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) has appointed Rachel Westerfield to the position of director of the newly created Hydraulics Division. Westerfield was the state hydraulics engineer for MDOT’s Bridge Division prior to her appointment as the Hydraulics DiRachel Westerfield vision director.

Westerfield has worked at MDOT since 2003 and is a graduate of Mississippi State University with a bachelor of science degree in biological engineering (cum laude) and has her professional engineering license in civil engineering. She resides in Brandon with her husband, Scott.

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Mississippi Business Journal

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Franklin, Spreitler chosen Gov. Phil Bryant has named Johnny Franklin of Bolton and Danny Spreitler of Amory to fill unexpired terms of Mississippi's state Board of Education.

Franklin, 69, a former education adviser to Bryant and Gov. Haley Barbour, will fill the unexpired term of banker Hal Gage of Vicksburg representing the state's central Supreme Court district. That term runs through June 30, 2016.

Spreitler, 53, is the executive director of the Gilmore Foundation, a charity that has focused on expanding access to and improving instruction in prekindergarten classes in Monroe County. He will serve the remainder of the term of Simon Weir of Hernando, who recently resigned, representing the state's northern Supreme Court district. That term runs through June 30, 2021.

Both men will take their seats immediately but must be confirmed by the state Senate.

A full term for each of the nine members of the board is nine years. Five are appointed by the governor, including a teacher and school administrator. Two each are appointed by the lieutenant governor and speaker of the House.

Franklin will also remain as one of the five members of the state's Charter School Authorizer Board, which oversees charter school operations. Bryant spokeswoman Nicole Webb said there's "no legal reason" to bar Franklin from serving on both boards.

Webb said both Franklin and Spreitler will also remain on the state early childhood advisory council, which advises the Department of Human Services on coordinating education and child welfare efforts for children under age 5.

Franklin was a teacher, principal and administrator in Warren County and administrator in Clinton before becoming the first director of the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science in Columbus. From 1998-2001, he directed the Center for Educational Analysis for the Public Education Forum of Mississippi, a group sponsored by the Mississippi Economic Council. From 2003 to 2006, he was principal of New Summit School.

Spreitler is a Navy veteran and was CEO of Gilmore Memorial Hospital in Amory before becoming head of the Gilmore Foundation.

Ricks joins staff Baptist Memorial HospitalGolden Triangle recently welcomed new family practice physician Kevin Ricks, MD, to its medical staff. Ricks received his bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. He graduated from the St. Matthew’s University School of Kevin Ricks Medicine in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, and completed a residency in family medicine at the LSU Baton Rouge General Family Medicine Residency Program in 2011.

Originally from Independence. La., Ricks is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine.

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

22 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 5, 2014

» THE SPIN CYCLE

Approaches to leverage social media branding hen considering the best ways to approach social media branding for your company, organization or product, there are numerous strategies to make a splash in the digital domain. A recent conference about harnessing the power of social media hosted by Columbia Business School’s Center for Global Brand Leadership highlighted top social strategies to make your brand shine.

Here are five ways to position your brand in social media: » Brand Maintenance: With this reactive approach, brands play a limited role in social media just for the sake of having a presence. They monitor the social space and reply to those who mention them. This passive method is more the domain of brands late to adopt social media, as well as companies in highly regulated industries like healthcare and financial services. » Community Building: In this case the brand is involved in creating communities of like-minded customers or groups who share a passion for the category. The forums foster interaction between these brand ambassadors.

Harley Davidson exemplifies this activity, as it mobilizes its hardcore motorcycle enthusiast fan base. Tribeca Film Festival is another brand that keeps film buffs informed all year long. » Influencer Marketing: With this option, which Dragon jokingly nicknamed “professional stalking”, companies identify key influencers that impact their category or brand, then monitor and follow their social media activities and engage with them. It’s actually more flattering than the stalking term suggests. In fact, it is the M.O. of key social media platforms, namely LinkedIn and Twitter. » Thought Leadership: Here brands proactively create and share content to reinforce their reputations and minimize the impact of crises if they occur. This approach places companies in a favorable light by enhancing their credibility and expertise. Tech companies IBM and SAP have effectively employed this strategy by having a voice in pressing technology issues. » Big Splash: With this method, companies create programs designed to garner widespread attention and a spike in social connections. While many brands seek to be viral sensations, it’s far easier said than done. Examples here include companies who have mastered the art of creative social media, such as Virgin Atlantic Airways, as well as Oreo’s popular tweet during the Super Bowl.

W

Brands are increasingly turning toward Snapchat, with comScore reporting an increase of nearly 170 percent in the number of multiplatform unique visitors between June 2013 and June 2014 — from more than 10 million to nearly 27 million..

The content of these photo and video snaps as well as snap stories ranges from promotion deals to new-product announcements, behind-the-scenes campaign peeks and even brand stories, quizzes and trivia. Brands also don’t shy away from getting very visual and creative, thanks to the various fonts and filters that the platform offers, and the fact that pictures can also be used as a canvas and painted on.

As this newbie tries to harness this latest social sensation, here is a lowdown of how five brands and publishers are using Snapchat: » Taco Bell: One of the earliest kids on the block, Taco Bell took to the platform in May 2013 as a means to promote a new item on its menu: the beefy crunchy burrito.

From then on, it continued to evolve on the platform — even engaging in some real-time marketing by producing a four-minute video at the MTV Movie Awards this year to introduce another new item: the Spicy Chicken Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco. Taco Bell sends out individual snaps to its followers and churns out stories routinely; the Early adopter brands tapping into snapchat number of snaps in a story usually fluctuates. Last Friday, it even experimented with a Snapchat story in the form of Burger King is the latest brand to take a bite of a witty quiz titled “What Fast Food Restaurant Are You?”, Snapchat, seven months after rival McDonald’s joined the with a series of snaps following each other in order and platform. The fast food giant made the announcement in the last snap obviously being Taco Bell. a snappy promoted tweet last week, accompanied by an il» NPR: NPR has been on the platform since October lustration of the Snapchat mascot with a burger. last year, when it sent out its first snap celebrating the It is no surprise that brands are increasingly turning to- 75th birthday of the copy machine. Nowadays, it brings its ward Snapchat, with comScore reporting an increase of followers an offbeat fact from one of its reporters in a nearly 170 percent in the number of multiplatform short and fleeting 12-second video snap, sending one a day unique visitors between June 2013 and June 2014 — from on average. more than 10 million to nearly 27 million. The introduc» GrubHub: GrubHub joined the Snapchat brigade in tion last year of the stories feature, which lets users stitch August 2013, seeing an opportunity to continue its brand together a narrative of photos or videos that lasts 24 positioning as a hip option for food delivery. It prioritizes hours, and, most recently, the geo-tag feature has made it engagement and vouches for the personalized nature of all the more attractive. engaging with its users on Snapchat — often offering

Todd Smith them surprise deals. Recently, it even tried to recruit using the platform, asking potential interns to doodle back at it in May. On most other days, one can expect snaps of — surprise! — yummy food, which are sent out several times a day. This past weekend, it brought on board 25-year-old Snapchat artist Michael Platco on board again to “test a new feature,” during which he was shown getting stuck in the virtual world of GrubHub on Snapchat. » Audi: After Audi’s Super Bowl campaign with Huge on Snapchat was a huge success (pun-intended), it decided to stick with the platform. According to Huge, the campaign received 100,000 total views on Snapchat and generated 2,400 mentions on Twitter. Most recently, Audi has partnered with ABC Family’s popular show, “Pretty Little Liars.” As the show’s official social media sponsor, Audi snapchats not only exclusive bonus content from it, but also snippets of its stars in real time. Other times, Audi routinely comes up with fun stories, such as one last week featuring one of its snazzy car models, a JayZ song and a Brooklyn geo-tag. In general, it leverages Snapchat in some capacity once or twice a week, but the number of snaps varies depending on the initiative. It also engages with followers, sending them personal snaps. » Karmaloop: As one of the leading e-commerce brands, Karmaloop also launched its Snapchat account early — in July 2013. It made the announcement on its blog and other social feeds, and promised exclusive deals, besides behind-the-scenes looks and fresh product drops. It is known to routinely use the platform to send out racy pictures of its models flaunting its collection as well as funny and ephemeral sneak-peeks and selfies of its office and staff. It tends to send snaps out daily, mixing it up.

Tarnished Mic: Obama’s non-press conference on ISIS Here’s a bit of PR advice for President Obama – don’t hold a press conference to announce that you don’t have a plan, solution or strategy. But that’s exactly what the president did in addressing the simmering ISIS situation in the White House Briefing Room recently. His stunning admission that “we don’t have a strategy yet” – perhaps better than any other sentence in his tenure – encapsulates President Obama’s feckless foreign policy. His admission that “we don’t have a strategy yet” made the whole media briefing a non-affair. For that, Mr. President, you get a disconnected, Tarnished Mic. Each week, The Spin Cycle will bestow a Golden Mic Award to the person, group or company in the court of public opinion that best exemplifies the tenets of solid PR, marketing and advertising – and those who don’t.

Stay tuned – and step-up to the mic! And remember …

Amplify Your Brand!

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

September 5, 2014

I

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Swimming pool at the Gables, which hopes to gain a Class A rating from the City of Ridgeland.

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formerly called the Mississippi Busines

s & Technology EXPO

Floor plan subject to REVISIONS

pant a vested right to a nonconforming status, regardless of the type or class assigned to the nonconformity,” the ordinance states.

Even if an exception is granted, the property must “ultimately” be brought into compliance, the ordinance notes.

Attorney Williams is nonetheless optimistic some sort of accommodation for the Gables can be worked out with the city.

“The attorneys for the Gables and the City are engaged in constructive discussions,” he said last week.

Ridgeland’s new zoning ordinance, adopted to replace one enacted 14 years ago, sets four classifications for non-conforming rental apartments: » Categorical Class A Nonconformity; » Administrative Class A Nonconformity; » Class B Nonconformity; » Class C Nonconformity.

Williams said his interpretation of the 216-page zoning ordinance is that apartment complexes issued Class C designations must be demolished by February 2015. “Apartments receiving a ‘B’ Classification would have to be partially torn down over some time period determined by a complicated formula that isn’t easy to follow,” Williams noted.

He said he thinks the Gables is in a strong position to resist any order by the city to tear down units. Other complexes may have strong defenses as well, he added, citing property rights under both the U.S. and Mississippi Constitutions.

He noted they gained further strength through an Aug. 19 Mississippi Court of Appeals ruling against the city of Richland’s attempt to keep a mobile home park from allowing new tenants to move in after others move out.

The court concluded in Cleveland MHC vs. city of Richland that a nonconforming mobile home park’s filling of vacated lots amounted to an “extension” of the park’s grandfathered status and not an “expansion.”

The appeals court declared Richland’s actions “arbitrary, capricious and illegal” in reversing a 2013 ruling by Rankin Circuit Court Judge Huey Emfinger.

The ruling emphasized that whether mobile homes or apartments, Mississippi law recognizes that “continuation of a nonconforming use is a well-established substantial right.”

Said the appeals court: “There is no principled basis to distinguish lots in a mobile home park from apartments in an apartment complex, storage units in a self storage-rental business, or parking spaces or parking spaces in a parking garage. Any such structure in a nonconforming-use context could be faced with a municipality’s demand that apartments, storage units, or parking spaces not be refilled as tenants move out.

“This reflects a lack of understanding for the fundamental nature of things and a dis-

Mississippi Business Journal

regard for the surrounding facts and settled controlling principles. This deprives the property owner of his constitutional right to enjoy his property.”

Williams said the appeals court essentially told local governments that you can change the rules, but the property owner still has substantial rights.

“Anytime a governmental body wants to take away ‘substantive property rights’ it has a tough hill to climb,” he said. “In the case of the Gables, the city (of Ridgeland) has to climb a mountain during a blizzard.”

CY CA BER FE

Continued from Page 2

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