MBJ_Sept06_2019

INSIDE — Seraphim Solar target of lawsuits — Page 5

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MBJ FOCUS

YEARS

1979

CONSTRUCTION {Section begins P16}

» ‘Barndominiums’ can be a path to an affordable, safe home

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

www.msbusiness.com

2019

Aug. 24 - Sept. 6, 2019 • Vo. 41 No. 31 • 28 pages

What will a C-Note get you in Mississippi?

{Section begins P19} » Mississippi tops list for fastest-growing small and medium businesses on Amazon » Amazon sellers in Mississippi can reach customers around the country and overseas » D’Iberville woman turns hobby into business by selling on Amazon

{The List P21-22} » Trade Associations

REAL ESTATE {Section begins P00} » Being prepared helps when bidding for home in tight market

{The List P25}

» Tax Foundation study examines ‘real’ value of $100

» Commercial Developers

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2 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q Aug. 24 - Sept. 6, 2019

ECONIMICS

What will a C-Note get you in Mississippi?

How about over $16 extra

» Tax Foundation study examines “real” value of $100

By TED CARTER mbj@msbusiness.com Mississippians or visitors to Mississippi with $100 in their pockets are walking around with a $16.69 bonus.

But head over to Arkansas and you will lose more than a dollar of the bonus. In Alabama, you’ll lose even more of it.

If you stay in Mississippi, at least to shop and spend your money, you’ll be more than 16 percent richer.

So says a new research report from the nonpartisan Tax Foundation that looks at the “real” value of $100 in terms of purchasing power in each state. Mississippi’s $16.69 is tops nationally, followed by Arkansas’ $115.61 and Alabama’s $115.34.

The three states share struggling rural communities whose jobs have departed and vast stretches of poverty, especially in agricultural regions.

Those gloomy circumstances factor heavily in how much things cost. So, it seems Mississippians can help ease the gloom by spending at home and, in return, benefit from the “real” value of the goods

“If you have $50,000 in after-tax income in Mississippi, you would need after-tax earnings of $67,500 in New York just to afford the same overall standard of living.”

Tax Foundation

they buy.

The report’s three authors – Robert Bellafiore, Aida Vazquez Soto and Scott Eastman – suggest: “With different price levels in each state, the amounts (the $100) aren’t equivalent in purchasing power.”

The Tax Foundation researchers say it ultimately boils down to the same amount of cash buying you comparatively more in a low-price state like Mississippi than in a high-price state.

They found that regional price differences are strikingly large; real purchasing power is 35 percent greater in Mississippi than it is in New York. “In other words, by this measure, if you have $50,000 in after-tax income in Mississippi, you would need after-tax earnings of $67,500 in New York just to afford the same overall standard of living,” they said.

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis has been measuring this phenomenon for four years now; it recently published its data for prices in 2017. The Foundation report researchers say they used the data to reach the adjusted value of $100 to show how much it buys in each state.

Mississippi’s Number One ranking in the Tax Foundation report doesn’t surprise state economists, at least in one sense, said Corey Miller, economic analyst at the University Research Center, part of the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning.

Mississippi has topped or been tied for the top among the states since 2008, when the Bureau of Economic Analysis began calculating what is known as regional price parity, or RPP, Miller said in an email.

It’s largely about housing costs, according to Miller.

“The RPP calculation assigns weights to the values making up an individual’s total expenditures and in general housing costs represent a person’s largest single expenditure,” he said.

Miller said the harder truth of regional challenges is in play, and explained it this way: “… while achieving a given standard of living may require a smaller income in Mississippi than in, say, New York, proportionally fewer people in Mississippi have the ability to earn that smaller income.”

On the policy implications of regional price parity, Miller said he sees New York, San Francisco and metro Washington, D.C., as ground zeroes for a housing crisis that has left people unable to live “at least close to the same city where they work.”

Aug. 24 - Sept. 6, 2019

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Mississippi Business Journal

DINING

COURTS

Spanish Club restaurant opens

DINESH CHAWLA ARRESTED FOR THEFTS AT MEMPHIS AIRPORT

By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com

Okay, I get it that an old guy might not get something new and hip.

But when it’s not really new, I, an old guy, don’t totally get that.

That is the Sophomore Spanish Club, which is a hip in a way.

The décor of the latest restaurant in the District at Eastover has these ‘90s cultural highlights, references to sitcoms, such as “Saved by the Bell,” “Friends,” and Urkel of “Family Matters.” I really don’t get that the ‘90s are nostalgic.

Wasn’t that yesterday?

But I guess they are nostalgic, which is why the restaurant is so loud.

JACK WEAHTERLY/MBJ Our party of four arrived at about the peak evening hour. The Sophomore Spanish Club is open, loud and hip.

And, brother, it was loud.

It was like a school cafeteria. third, chicken fajitas. All fajitas are charcoaled.

And that’s even with the open, airy décor, which plays on The ratings were, correspondingly, good, okay and averthe patio and green space outside, which combine to act like age. a dish on the Tex-Mex menu.

Two ordered frozen margaritas. One ordered a second The loudest restaurant I’ve ever encountered was the one, so that speaks for itself. The other just one, but said it Red Door in Little Rock. The Spanish Club didn’t achieve was good. He finished with an IPA. My constant companion that decibel level – I almost checked my ears for bleeding at ordered a single chardonnay as usual. the Red Door, wondering if that was where the name came I had the Our Favorite margarita (same ingrediants as from – but owner Ray-Scott Miller might want to consider frozen version) and a Pacifico beer chaser. baffles.

The Spanish Club comes after another Tex-Mex, the We were there in the middle of the hard-opening week, so Cantina Laredo, closed in the space in February. The first the slow service was to be expected, I suppose.

Cantina Laredo we encountered was, again, in Little Rock, But I guess you could say we were saved by the queso. where we lived for about 12 years, our second time to reside It’s called “Don’t Call it Cheese Dip.” Okay, call it Very there.

Good Cheese Dip. The four of us agreed it was primo.

We were taken by the upscale, pricey restaurant. But DisThe small basket for the extra-thin, just-right tortilla trict at Eastover developers Breck Hines and Ted Duckchips played into the hands of the slow service. Too many worth weren’t. So they parted ways with the Dallas-based refill porfavor requests. chain restaurant in less than two years.

But the cocktails arrived, and helped to settle our nerves Hines said at the time the departure of Cantina Laredo and stoke our need to continue stuffing our pie holes (cuts was announced that “we’ve come to understand that indedown on the noise). pendent, local restaurant concepts are better for this market I ordered the chile relleno, which was plump and as big as and more closely aligned with our vision for The District at a man’s outstretched palm. With refried beans and spanish Eastover.” rice as sides, it was a satisfying entree.

Miller’s apparently successful Fine & Dandy across the Two of my three companions ordered shrimp fajitas, the green space is.

RETAIL

Walmart to stop selling handgun ammunition Walmart says it will discontinue the sale of handgun ammunition and also publicly request that customers refrain from openly carrying firearms in stores even where state laws allow it.

The announcement comes just days after a mass shooting claimed seven lives in Odessa, Texas and follows two other back-to-back shootings last month, one of them at a Walmart store.

The Bentonville, Arkansas-based discounter said Tuesday it will stop selling short-barrel and handgun ammunition, including .223 caliber and 5.56 caliber used in military style weapons, after it runs out of its current inventory. It will also discontinue handgun sales in Alaska, marking its complete exit from

handguns and allowing it to focus on hunting rifles and related ammunition only.

“We have a long heritage as a company of serving responsible hunters and sportsmen and women, and we’re going to continue doing so,” according to a memo by Walmart’s CEO Doug McMillon to be circulated to employees.

Walmart is further requesting that customers refrain from openly carrying firearms at its stores unless they are law enforcement officers. Last month, a gunman entered a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas and killed 22 people using an AK-style firearm that Walmart already bans the sale of. Texas became an open carry state in 2016, allowing people to openly carry firearms in public.

Walmart’s moves will reduce its market

share of ammunition from around 20 percent to a range of about 6 percent to 9 percent, according to Tuesday’s memo. About half of its more than 4,000 U.S. stores sell firearms.

The nation’s largest retailer has been facing increasing pressure to change its gun policies by gun control activists, employees and politicians after the El Paso shooting and a second unrelated shooting in Dayton, Ohio that killed nine people. A few days before that, two Walmart workers were killed by another worker at a store in Southaven, Mississippi.

— MBJ Staff & Wire Reports

Q

By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com Dinesh Chawla, chief executive officer of Chawla Hotels, was arrested AUG. 22 at the Memphis International Airport for allegedly stealing luggage.

Chawla, who with his brother, Suresh Chawla, operate a chain of hotels and motels in the Delta and are constructing a luxury hotel in Cleveland, an undertaking that until February was a joint venChawla ture with the Trump Organization.

The Trump brothers, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric, withdrew from the undertaking in February, saying that “harassment” from Democrats had led them to that decision, but praising the Chawlas.

The story of the arrest was broken by WREG, a CBS affiliate in Memphis.

Emails to the Chawla brothers did not elicit responses.

Chawla is scheduled to appear in the Shelby County General Sessions Court, Criminal Division on Sept. 30. His attorney, Gray Bartlett, of Memphis did not respond to a telephone call about the case.

The $20 million hotel and complex is scheduled to open in the fall.

The New York Times reported that security cameras at the airport showed Dinesh Chawla taking another passenger’s suitcase from the baggage carousel and putting it in his car.

“The airport police said they searched the car and discovered the suitcase and another piece of luggage that had been taken from the airport a month earlier,” The Times reported.

“Mr. Chawla was arrested when he returned to Memphis and . . . admitted to stealing the two bags and their contents, valued at about $4,000, according to a police affidavit.

“The records also said Mr. Chawla had confessed to stealing luggage ‘over a long period of time,’ but it provided no details of other thefts. “’Mr. Chawla told an officer ‘that he knows stealing luggage is wrong, but he does it for the thrill and excitement,’ the records said.”

In February, after the Trumps and Chawlas announced they were parting waS,, Dinesh told the Mississippi Business Journal that “we’re fine financially” and “on schedule to open this fall.”

The luxury hotel was to be the first in the Trump Scion chain, and three of the Chawlas’ 18 lodgings were to be converted into a new Trump chain called American Idea. The Trump Organization shelved both chains.

Of the Scion, now called the Lyric, the Trumps were to handle branding and management. The Chawlas invested the capital and qualified for a $6 million tax rebate upon completion and approval of the project.

The Times quoted Eric Trump in February, referring to “harassment” from Democrats, and saying: “We already have the greatest properties in the world and if we have to slow down our growth for the time being, we are happy to do it.

The Trump relations with the Chawlas began in 1988 when the brothers’ father, V.K. Chawla, reached out to Donald Trump Sr. for help starting a motel in Greenwood. Trump called the elder Chawla and suggested that he apply for a minority Small Business Administration loan, which he did successfully.

3

4 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q Aug. 24 - Sept. 6, 2019 ECONOMY

Courtesy of Visit Oxford/MBJ

Oxford Square.

Oxford homes getting top rental rates for Ole Miss football weekends » Hotel market inventory finally meeting demand

By TED CARTER mbj@msbusiness.com

Home is where the heart is, but it’s also where the money is for Oxford residents willing to rent out their pads on Ole Miss football weekends.

Accommodating the lodging needs of out-of-town game-goers is so popular, in fact, that the short-term rental Web-based operator Vrbo has designated the municipal home of the University of Mississippi Number Seven among its Top 10 U.S. college towns. Vrbo based the selection on average nightly rates and vacation rental demand.

The top spot went to South Bend, Ind., home of the University of Norte Dame, followed by Ann Arbor, Mich., home of the University of Michigan.

Tuscaloosa, Ala., home of the University of Alabama, received a third-place ranking.

Tuscaloosa was one of four Southeastern Conference towns to make the Top 10. It joined Oxford, Number Five Auburn, Ala., home of Auburn University, and Number 10 Fayetteville, Ark., home of the University of Arkansas, on the list.

Oxford at Number Seven is sandwiched

between Blacksburg, Va., home of Virginia Tech University, and College Station, Texas, home of Texas A&M University.

In terms of house money, Oxford vacation home rentals last season spiked to an average nightly rate of $675 during Ole Miss Ferris home game weekends, Vrbo reports. On those weekends, vacation rental demand increased by over 750 percent over non-football weekend rentals, according to Vrbo, a member of the Expedia Group and formerly HomeAway, a pioneer in Internet-based short-term vacation rentals.

Residents can rent out their dwellings for 14 nights a year before Lafayette County’s 2 percent bed tax kicks in.

Vrbo competitor Airbnb has listings for Oxford houses and condominiums ranging from the low $300s to around $650 nightly. “You’re checking out Lafayette County at a popular time,” a spokesman said in an email. He added that searches for Ole Miss home game weekends have increased 94 percent over the average searches over the

last year.

Airbnb, the spokesman said, “has a diversity of housing options available in Oxford for football fans. Football weekends are a great example of the economic opportunity Airbnb unlocks for hosts and neighborhoods in Lafayette County, in addition to giving guests the opportunity to stay, and experience new parts of the area,” he said.

Both of the short-term vacation rental brokers charge a fee, which they say is typically covered by the nightly rate.

The dwelling owner sets cleaning fees and security deposit amounts, said Nola Lu, spokeswoman for Vrbo.

Even with the cleaning fee, Lu said she thinks out-of-town visitors get “more bang for your buck” with the weekend home rentals than with conventional hotel lodging.

Vrbo helps the lister set a realistic rate based on rentals of similar properties in Oxford. “All homeowners who list have access to a lot of different tools,” Lu said.

“They can set a price competitively based on what the market looks like as far as supply and demand and what others are charging.”

Photo advice and help writing a description of the home are part of Vrbo’s service offerings, Lu noted.

Nick Mernard of the Tennessee-based

lodging research firm STR said he took one look at the spread sheet on hotel occupancy and rates for Oxford last football season and could tell the home games instantly. “Without matching up against the Rebels’ schedule, I think it’s pretty obvious which weekends were home games,” he said of 2018.

Last year’s 5-8 Ole Miss team hosted such cupcakes ss Southern Illinois, Kent State and Louisiana-Monroe as well as multiple National Championship winner Alabama, in addition to other SEC rivals Auburn, South Carolina and Mississippi State.

STR tracking for the Sept. 7-8 home game weekend with Southern Illinois brought hotel occupancy of 64.3 percent for the Friday and 78.9 percent for Saturday.

Revenue per available room the Friday before the game fell 10.3 percent compared to the same date a year ago, to $135.67. For the Saturday game day, RevPar rebounded to $164, a 10.8 percent increase over the same day a year ago, STR reports. RevPar, a performance metric used in the hotel industry, is calculated by multiplying a hotel’s average daily room rate by its occupancy rate.

By contrast to Southern Illinois, Alabama’s Sept. 15 visit nearly maxed out the Oxford hotel market, with 92.1 percent occupancy on the Friday before the game and 94.1 percent on game day. Those two days represented occupancy increases of 52 percent and 54 percent, respectively, over the same dates in 2017.

See TOP RENTAL, Page 5

ENERGY

Aug. 24 - Sept. 6, 2019

TOP RENTAL Continued from, Page 4

Seraphim Solar target of lawsuits

By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com

Seraphim Solar Manufacturing USA said in October 2018 that it was shutting down to retool and triple its production of photovoltaic panels at its Jackson plant.

At that time, the manufacturer told at least three installers that the panels would be delivered and the installers prepaid for them.

A company spokesman told Pv magazine in October 2018 that it expected to resume production two months later.

But the manufacturer did not deliver on contracts or reimburse prepayments, according to lawsuits filed against it.

Those three pending cases filed by the following installation companies are as follows: IGS Solar v. Seraphim Solar Manufacturing in the Ohio Southern District U.S. Court; Staten Solar Corp.; Staten Solar Corp., Mississippi Southern District U.S. Court, and Spotts Brothers Inc., Pennsylvania Middle District Court.

In another case, Nevada-based Seraphim Solar Holdings (SSH) sued Seraphim Solar Manufacturing and other companies in the California Northern District Court for using the name “Seraphim” in the Americas, claiming it had exclusive right to use that name in the Americas. SSH dropped the case, “without prejudice,” meaning it could be brought back up.

The Jackson plant at 3111 Lawson St. is apparently idle. A call to its number resulted in an “out of service” recording, as it has been for some time.

The plant was hailed as a $50 million, potentially 250-job project in July 2015. Employment stood at about 30 in February 2017.

RevPar figures show how profitable a weekend visit from Alabama can be. RevPar climbed to $384.51 for the Friday d $406 for the Saturday.

Auburn on Oct. 20 drew even stronger occupancy, with 94.4 percent of rooms filled on the Friday and 95.2 percent for the Saturday.

Are the likes of Vrbo and Airbnb cutting into bookings of Oxford’s slightly more than 1,000 hotel rooms?

STR analyst Jan Freitag said he has not seen evidence of this in Oxford, or elsewhere in the country. “Your mileage may vary,” Freitag cautioned in an interview. “But on the national level we have not observed that,” he added of vacation rentals pirating business from the commercial lodging sector.

He said he has seen some “wild swings” in occupancy but doesn’t have the data to tie occupancy falloff to short-term vacation rentals.

Meanwhile, nothing brightens up Oxford’s tourism-development tax ledger like Ole Miss football weekends, said Kinney Ferris, deputy director of Visit Oxford, the city’s visitor promotion arm.

“We do a lot of marketing to the away teams,” Ferris said. “They become ambassadors” for Oxford visits back in their hometowns, she added.

Big draw Alabama won’t visit this year. But, Ferris noted, “This year the Cal game is kind of shaping up to be one of our bigger ones. A lot of people (from the Cal fan base) are choosing

Harper, Rains, Knight & Company, P.A. is pleased to announce that Stephen Smith & Company, P.C. has joined our firm effective September 1, 2019.

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Mississippi Business Journal

Joseph A. “Joey” Katool, CPA

Matthew N. Farage, CPA, CISA, CITP, CGFM

J. Stephen Smith, CPA

Cecil M. “Bill” Felder, CPA, CISA

Thomas J. Wiygul, CPA, ABV

hrkcpa.com

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to have an experience in the Southeast. We’ve had a big spike in hotel reservations for that weekend.

Ole Miss hosts the University of California-Berkley on Sept. 21.

“The Texas A&M fan base travels well,” and they will come to Oxford on Oct. 19. “LSU is here in late November,” Ferris said. “I expect that will be a pretty good game.”

Ferris said she is unsure how big a bite Vrbo and Airbnb take out of Oxford’s commercial lodging market. “I think the hoteliers would say it certainly isn’t helping their business,” she said in an interview.

Some of the drop off could be from demand falling short of a supply that has increased by 550 new rooms in the past four years.

Here’s a breakdown on Oxford’s lodging inventory and the changes in the last few years: » Hotel Inventory before 2015: about 800 rooms; » 2015 — Graduate Oxford added (first boutique hotel) bringing room count to 925; » 2016 — Courtyard Marriott added, bringing room count to 1,050; » 2017 — Chancellor’s House (2nd boutique hotel) and Home2Suites (extended stay by the new Baptist Hospital) bring the room count to 1,177 » 2019 — Oxford will see the opening of Tru by Hilton and LaQuinta, which will add another 185 or so rooms, bringing the total to around 1,361.

With all these new rooms, said Ferris, “There’s no longer the standard answer of ‘no availability’ for home games.”

Harper, Rains, Knight & Company

Cecil W. Harper, CPA, Managing Director Frank J. Bradshaw, CPA

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MBJ PERSPECTIVE

Aug. 24 - Sept. 6, 2019 • www.msbusiness.com • Page 6

» OTHER VIEWS

Website: www.msbusiness.com Aug. 24 - Sept. 6, 2019 Volume 41, Number 31

Testing, certifying voting machines a necessity

ALAN TURNER Publisher alan.turner@msbusiness.com • 364-1021 TAMI JONES Associate Publisher tami.jones@msbusiness.com • 364-1011 ROSS REILY Editor ross.reily@msbusiness.com • 364-1018 FRANK BROWN List Researcher frank.brown@msbusiness.com • 364-1022

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» INSIDE MISSISSIPPI

BECKY GILLETTE Contributing Writer mbj@msbusiness.com • 364-1018

Reeves strong in rural counties; reaches out to Waller voters

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ast week’s primary runoff election brought to light concerns with voting technology, with two voting machines malfunctioning and being removed that day by county technicians, as cited by the Mississippi secretary of state’s office. While only 22 votes had been cast, even one or two issues during the Election Day process is cause for concern.

In Lafayette County, one machine registered a vote for Republican Tate Reeves, when the voter had pressed the touch screen checkbox for Republican Bill Waller Jr. The Mississippi secretary of state’s office confirmed two older touch screen models showed instances of “vote flipping,” where a vote is cast for one candidate, but the machine indicates the vote for another candidate.

Officials have stated that most likely the cause for these issues was incorrect calibration of the screens, which is not uncommon in older touch screen voting machines.

With the November general election only a couple months away and the presidential primary elections coming up in April, 2020, the need to be proactive rather than reactive in the voting process has never been more important.

Last week’s issues don’t suggest abandoning touch-screen voting, but it does mean that we need to recognize its limitations. The need for advance testing is important, as well as ensuring adequate standards are in place for testing and certifying them.

With more use of machines in today’s elections, the old paper ballot trail seems to be falling by the wayside. But, in a report released in July by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, among the election-related recommendations made were that states should “replace outdated and vulnerable voting systems with ‘at minimum … a voter-verified paper trail,’ and adopt statistically sound audits.”

Today we receive receipts for every transaction we make. If those are important, then why not one for our vote. The ballot receipt, printed after the ballot is cast, can help reassure voters that their vote was received and counted as intended in the election and can also be used in the after-election audit.

When our voting selections are not accurately recorded, whether by incorrect calibration or outdated systems, then our confidence in the democratic process is weakened and undermines our faith in the system.

Voters need to be reassured that their votes do count and in the way they intended, and not have doubts about election results. It is important that all checks and balances be in place to ensure voting equipment is reliable before the next election.

Public trust depends on it.

L

JACK WEATHERLY Staff Writer jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com • 364-1016

I

nteresting tidbits from the Republican primary runoff won by Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves by a 54 percent to 46 percent margin over former Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller: In 2015, the runoff vote total was 54 percent of the first primary total.

This year that percentage jumped to 87 percent .

The GOP runoff total of nearly 325,000 votes even topped the nearly 290,000 Democratic vote total in the first primary. Remember, the Republican first primary vote total of nearly 375,000 had topped Democratic primary turnout for the first time Tate Reeves retained nearly 97 percent of his 183,000 first primary vote in the runoff. Waller increased his 125,000 vote total by 120 percent (based on unofficial returns).

Waller once again beat Reeves in his home county, Rankin.

As expected, the real margin in the race came from rural counties. Of the big 12 counties that provide most Republican votes, Reeves carried

seven with Waller winning five. The net margin in those counties was 8,622 votes.

Reeves won 59 of the other 70 rural counties; Waller BILL CRAWFORD 11. That padded Reeves’ margin by another 19,150 votes.

Mississippi Today reported Reeves spent at least $6.2 million of his campaign war chest to get by Waller. In comparison, Waller raised and spent about $1.4 million. The newspaper estimated Reeves’ balance after the primary to be down to about $3 million.

During the waning days of the runoff a skirmish between former and more recent Republican Party chairmen erupted.

Former chairmen Jim Herring, Billy Powell, Mike Retzer, and Clarke Reed castigated more recent chairmen Joe Nosef, Arnie Hederman, and Brad White for promulgating a See CRAWFORD, Page 7

— The Daily Journal

Perspective

» RICKY NOBILE

Aug. 24 - Sept. 6, 2019

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Mississippi Business Journal

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CRAWFORD

Continued from, Page 6

letter that labeled Waller a Democrat. That’s “reckless and wrong,” said the former chairmen. Waller had been endorsed by party leaders and hailed as a conservative when running for the state supreme court.

In his victory speech Reeves moved to try to heal differences. “I am determined to bring this party together in November,” he said. “A lot of good people voted for him (Waller) today, and what I want to say is this: I heard you.”

In March, 31 hospitals located in 30 counties were identified to be at risk of closing. Waller made saving these hospitals a key issue in his campaign. But, Reeves carried 29 of those counties.

Still, Reeves felt the need to tell his victory audience, “If you believe in helping our rural hospitals and doing it in a smart and conservative way, then you need to join our team.”

Last October the Mississippi Office of State Aid Road Construction identified 17 counties with significant bridge closures due to structural deficiencies. Bill Waller made addressing road and bridge problems another key issue in his campaign. But Reeves carried all 17 of these counties.

Still, Reeves told his victory audience, “If you believe we need to fix our roads and keep our economy strong, hear me out.”

Addressing another Waller priority, he added, “If you believe we need to raise teacher pay and balance our budget, come with me,” then concluded, “let’s do it together.”

Reeves will need those Waller voters to join him in November to beat Attorney General Jim Hood, the Democratic nominee. » Bill Crawford (crawfolk@gmail.com) is a syndicated columnist from Meridian.

» UNDER THE CAPITOL DOME

Campaign ads bring cute kids and scary politicos

M

ississippians could get a reprieve from political advertising now that the rush of the party primaries is over.

Starting in about mid-October, though, people who are easily annoyed by political ads will have to keep their TV remotes handy.

Voters on Nov. 5 will choose a governor, other statewide and regional officials, state lawmakers and county officials, including sheriffs. Commercial breaks during newscasts and football games will be filled with 30-second vignettes of candidates with their loyal spouses, cute kids, and favorite hunting dogs. The cats, with scant political skills themselves, can rarely be bothered to turn to the camera on cue.

Political action committees and other interest groups will spend money to pick apart candidates’ records. Some commercials will be accurate, and some will include a grain of truth and a shovelful of manure.

Some commercials will show unattractive images of candidates caught with distorted mouths mid-sentence and will be enhanced by sinister music and montages of pot holes and broken bridges — or, worse yet, Washington politicians who are supposedly the allies of those seeking office in Mississippi, even if the local folks have never been in the same room with the national ones.

Mississippi, Louisiana, and Kentucky are the only states electing governors this year. Mississippi has the only race without an incumbent because Republican Gov. Phil Bryant is limited, by state law, to two terms.

The national governors’ groups for both major parties are treating this like a competitive race between fourthterm Attorney General Jim Hood, who won the Democratic nomination Aug. 6, and second-term Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, who won the Republican nomination in an Aug. 27 runoff.

Some commercials will be accurate, and some will include a grain of truth and a shovelful of manure.

Reeves has spent about $6 million from January through late August, according to campaign finance reports he filed before the runoff.

Because Hood didn’t have a runoff, his latest campaign finance reporting deadline was in late July. At that point, his year-to-date spending was about $1.1 million.

Both Reeves and Hood have already run feel-good ads about home lives, and the Republican Governors Association launched an anti-Hood ad as soon as he secured the Democratic nomination.

Mississippi has eight statewide offices, and five of them are guaranteed to switch hands after this election cycle.

The governorship is open because of term limits. With Reeves and Hood in the governor’s race, the offices of

lieutenant governor and attorney general will have new occupants.

Three-term Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann is the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor after easily defeating a little known candidate in the Aug. 6 primary. In November, he faces first-term state Rep. Jay Hughes, who was unopposed for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant Emily Wagster Pettus governor.

Two-term state Treasurer Lynn Fitch is the Republican nominee for attorney general, having won a party primary runoff Aug. 27. In November, she will face Democrat Jennifer Riley Collins, who, like Hughes, was unopposed for the nomination. Collins is a military veteran and former director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi. Either Collins or Fitch will be the first woman elected attorney general in Mississippi.

The treasurer’s race is between Republican David McRae, an investor who unsuccessfully challenged Fitch in the 2015 GOP primary, and Democrat Addie Lee Green, who has run unsuccessfully for other offices, including agriculture commissioner.

The secretary of state’s race is between Republican Sen. Michael Watson, who’s a three-term state senator, and Democrat Johnny DuPree, a former Hattiesburg mayor who lost to Bryant in the 2011 governor’s race.

The down-ticket races might attract some advertising dollars, but most of the money will be spent to build up or knock down Reeves and Hood in the governor’s race.

» Emily Wagster Pettus covers Capitol matters for the Mississippi Associated Press in Jackson.

Perspective

8 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q Aug. 24 - Sept. 6, 2019 » FROM THE GROUND UP

Making the most of your business negotiations hen negotiating, do you hold out for the best deal, or are you satisfied once you get most of what you want? When you are purchasing a product or service for your company, do you buy when something meets your company’s needs, or something that is the best? It probably depends on whether you are a maximizer or a satisficer?

I first came across those terms in a book entitled The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz. He states that when it comes to making decisions, especially shopping decisions, a maximizer seeks to find the best product, service or whatever. The maximizer will wade through numerous choices until he or she finds the very best. A satisficer, on the other hand, will go ahead and make the purchase as soon as the satisficer’s standards and needs are met. The basic premise of the book is that the consumer of today has too many choices, causing maximizers to suffer stress because they are continually searching for the best even after making the purchase because they still wonder if they made the right decision. In many areas of our lives, the choices are almost limitless as evidenced by a trip to the cereal section of a super grocery store or by scanning the channels on a cable or satellite television.

The implications of this concept go well beyond shopping. Individuals, businesses and organizations have many choices to make. When those choices are great in number, the maximizer has a difficult time.

Let us first consider with the political world. How many times have you heard that the reason a politician lost a reelection bid is because he or she just could not or would not make a decision? Elected officials who are maximizers are probably going to be living stressful lives because they are constantly searching for the best decision, instead of the satisfactory decision.

And what about the board of directors or executive committee that is faced with multiple choices? If it is a

W

maximizer board, look for the decision to be put off or assigned to a committee. If it is a satisficer board, the decision will probably be made, and then the next order of business will be considered. Of course, most groups are heavily influenced by the leader of the group in this regard. A leader who is a satisficer will call for a vote once adequate choices are presented to the group.

One of the basic tenants of business success is that the business understand its customers. Successful businesses know when and whether their customers are maximizers or satisficers. I suspect that businesses that sell a lot of variations of the same product are selling mostly to maximizers. Computers manufacturers immediately come to mind. The maximizer customer is in heaven (or hell) when trying to make a decision about which computer to buy - or whether to even buy a computer. The business knows that in order to be successful it must offer its maximizer customer many choices.

One of the reasons given for Dell’s initial success was that it gave its customers an almost limitless combination of choices by letting the customer build his or her own computer.

Sometimes, however, companies obsess so much over what they think the customer wants instead of asking the customer what he or she wants. In that respect, it can be said that the business is a maximizer. Do you constantly agonize over what your customers want?

Are you selling to the maximizer or the satisficer? It depends on what business you’re in, of course. Also, some parts of a business or organization may be in the maximizer category while other parts may be of the satisficer variety. Investment companies, for example, might have one division for customers and clients who want to make their own choices about which investment to make and another division for customers and clients who do not even want to make a decision.

I’ll conclude with a personal example that reveals the

part of me that might have been a bit maximizing in the beginning. Once I was attempting to learn about the customer service experience at a company where I worked. In this case, customers had the choice to personally pay their bills in person at an local office, pay their bills using onPhil Hardwick line banking or having their bills automatically drafted from their checking accounts. To me, this was an easy decision. Why would anyone want to personally go to a counter to pay a bill when those other alternatives were available? It did not take me long to find out. I went to a local office and observed people coming in and paying bills. Quite a few paid in cash. That made quite a bit of sense. After all, not everybody has a checking account and a computer. But what about the others? I wanted to know, so I would approach customer after customer after the transaction and ask them why they chose to come to the office. One older lady just smiled at me and said, “because the clerk always asks me about by grandchildren.”

It was, as they say, an “aha” moment. I learned that for some customers the transaction is more than economic; it is an emotional transaction. The satisficer in me caused me to stop there. I had learned what I needed to know. The maximizer in me would have studied the issue forever to learn about every single customer and would obsess over the situation.

Understanding whether you, your organization and your customers are maximizers or satisficers can improve your life and your business.

» Phil Hardwick is a regular Mississippi Business Journal columnist. His email is phil@philhardwick. com.

Thank you, Mississippi.

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Newsmakers

10 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q Aug. 24 - Sept. 6, 2019

Cooley appointed to Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s board of New Orleans branch

directors to serve a three-year term after completing an unexpired term. The Board of Governors appoints three of the directors of the New Orleans Branch, and the Atlanta head office directors appoint four.

Toni D. Cooley, chief executive officer of Systems Electro Coating, Systems Automotive Interiors, Systems Consultants Associates, and Systems IT, has been appointed to the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s New Orleans Branch. Her term began July 25 and runs through Dec. 31, 2022.

Cooley has served in her current positions since 2016. She became an entrepreneur in 2001 as co-founder and president of Systems Electro Coating in 2001, then owner and president of Systems IT in 2002. In 2011 she founded and began serving as president of Systems Automotive Interiors, and became chief executive officer of Systems IT. Before becoming an entrepreneur, she served as president of Systems Consultants Associates beginning in 1994. Prior to that, she was an administrator at Turner Broadcasting Company from 1992 to 1994 and worked as a legislative assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1980s.

Cooley is a member of the boards of directors of Trustmark and Sanderson Farms. She is a former board member of Mississippi Today, the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation, Mississippi Home Corporation, MS State Board for Community and Junior Colleges, and Innovate Mississippi. Over the years she has been associated with the Center for Social Entrepreneurship, Southern Automotive Women’s Forum, Community Foundation, MS Automotive Manufacturers Association, Mississippi Chapter of the International Women’s Forum, YMCA, MS Economic Council, the MS Minority Contractors Association, Leadership Jackson, and Jackson Public Schools.

Cooley was awarded the Women of Distinction Award by the Girl Scout Council of Middle Mississippi.

Cooley earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Stephens College and a juris doctor degree from the University of Minnesota.

Cooley was appointed by the Atlanta Fed’s board of

Jackson County Chamber Hawkins Field airport manager ANCHOR Awards recipients Jackson Municipal Airport Authority (JMAA) has

Providence Medical Group – South Coast Physicians; Singing River Health System Foundation; South Mississippi Contract Procurement Center.

JMAA appoints Minor as

The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce presented its 11th annual ANCHOR Awards. One recipient was named from each of the four categories. This program was created to honor, reward, and celebrate the achievements of small businesses and nonprofit organizations in the community.

This year’s recipients: Small Business Category 1 (50 or Less Employees) -- Fletcher Construction Company, Inc. Small Business Category 2 (51 to 200 Employees) -- Chancellor, Inc. Rookie Business (1 to 3 Years in Business) -- BAZ Family Medical Clinic.

Nonprofit -- Dream Program, Inc. Other nomininees were: Small Business Category 1 (50 or Less Employees) -- AGJ Systems & Networks, Inc.; Coast Radio Group, Inc.; Dixie Glass Gulf Coast; Dronet Realty & Property Management, PLLC; Gibson Electric Motor Sales & Service, Inc.; Island Winds Title Company, LLC; Machado | Patano; Musaic Productions; Rovira Team Realty; South Mississippi Smiles; The Floor Trader Outlet.

Small Business Category 2 (51 to 200 Employees) -- Coldwell Banker Alfonso Realty; First Federal Savings & Loan; Gulf Coast Marine Supply; MCG Workforce Solutions, LLC; Zachry Industrial.

Rookie Business (1 to 3 Years in Business) -- A-B Advocate Group, LLC; June Christine LLC; Visualize, LLC. Nonprofit -- Boys & Girls Clubs of Jackson County; Gulf Coast Human Resource Association; Jackson County Small Business Incubator; Jackson-George Regional Library System; Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College – Jackson County Campus; Mississippi Gulf Coast YMCA; Pascagoula Adult Learning Center;

appointed Patrick “Pat” Minor as the new Hawkins Field Airport Manager.

Pat is a graduate of Jackson State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice. He furthered his education by obtaining a Masters of Public Administration degree from Belhaven University. He has well over 19 years of aviation experience in law enforcement, airport operations, aviation security, badging, and communication.

During his tenure with JMAA, he has served in numerous roles such as: • Police Officer, that included security checks and inspecting buildings, facilities, grounds and other areas including gates and fencing to prevent trespass and ensure airport security.

• Operations Coordinator, in which he performed daily report self-inspections of major areas, including runway, taxiway, ramps, aircraft, refueling facilities, paved areas, safety areas, marking and lighting, security fencing and wildlife activity specific to the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport (JAN).

• Airport Security Specialist and most recently Communications Supervisor, in which he was responsible for developing and maintaining all procedures related to departmental duties and responsibilities to remain in compliance with federal, state, and JMAA regulations, rules and other standards as they relate to security, public safety, and law enforcement response in the Airport Operations Center.

“JMAA’s focus is to revitalize Hawkins Field Airport to be a contributor to economic development in the City of Jackson and Hinds County. Part of implementing this vision included the hiring of a Hawkins Field

Airport Manager,” stated Darion Warren, JMAA Interim CEO. “Mr. Minor’s extensive background in airport operations and educational background are beneficial in effectively managing Hawkins Field Airport operations and successfully implementing its development strategy. We are excited about the opportunities ahead of us to make our ‘Crown Jewel,’ Hawkins Field Airport, “an airportof choice” with Mr. Minor leading the way.”

Charles Griffin named adviser for American Law Institute publication American Law Institute (ALI) has named Butler Snow attorney Charles E. Griffin an adviser for the institute’s newest publication, Restatement of the Law Third, Torts: Concluding Provisions.

Advisers are subject matter experts recommended to the ALI’s council by its reporters, director and deputy director. As Griffin an adviser, Griffin joins a group of more than 40 scholars and legal practitioners who have committed to reviewing drafts of the publication and providing input to reporters.

Torts: Concluding Provisions will cover a large and eclectic number of tort issues, including medical liability, vicarious liability, statutes of limitation, wrongful death and survival actions, among others. It will also cover topics not addressed in the previous edition and those that require updating since last publication.

The ALI is the leading independent organization in the United States producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize and improve the law. The organization publishes Restatements of the Law, Model Codes and Principles of Law, publications that are enormously influential in the courts and legislatures, as well as in legal scholarship and education.

Griffin also serves as an elected member of the ALI.

19 Bradley attorneys in Jackson listed in 2020 The Best Lawyers In America Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP has announced that 19 of the firm’s Jackson attorneys are included in the 2020 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, one of the most highly regarded attorney referral publications, which is now in its 26th year.

In addition, Best Lawyers named three of the firm’s Jackson attorneys as “Lawyers of the Year.” Firmwide, 252 attorneys at Bradley were listed by Best Lawyers.

“We are proud to have so many of our attorneys recognized once again by the Best Lawyers guide as among the top attorneys and practice leaders in the nation,” said Bradley Chairman of the Board and Managing Partner Jonathan M. Skeeters. “We commend our attorneys who all go above and beyond to deliver outstanding service and value to our clients across our many offices throughout the U.S.” Attorneys are selected for Best Lawyers through extensive surveys of leading lawyers who assess the legal abilities of their peers. Lawyers are not permitted to pay a fee to participate or be recognized. The 2020 edition is based on more than 7.8 million evalu-

ations and recognizes more than 60,000 attorneys in 145 practice areas.

In each metropolitan area, only a single attorney in each legal practice area is designated as the “Lawyer of the Year.” The Jackson attorneys selected

by Best Lawyers as “Lawyers of the Year” for 2020 (as well as their recognized practice areas) are: – Ralph B. Germany, Jr. was named Construction Law “Lawyer of the Year.”

– J. William Manuel was named Litigation – Environmental “Lawyer of the Year.” He also is listed for Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Labor and Employment, and Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants.

– Stephen L. Thomas was named Litigation – Intellectual Property “Lawyer of the Year.’ He also is listed for Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, and Product Liability Litigation – Defendants.

The other Jackson attorneys listed as 2020 Best Lawyers (as well as their recognized practice areas)

are: – Michael J. Bentley (Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Construction, Litigation – Land Use and Zoning) – Jeffrey R. Blackwood (Commercial Litigation) – Roy D. Campbell III (Litigation – Insurance, Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants) – David W. Clark (Commercial Litigation) – W. Rodney Clement (Corporate Law, Land Use and Zoning Law, Real Estate Law) – Margaret Oertling Cupples (Appellate Practice, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants) – W. Wayne Drinkwater (Appellate Practice, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants.)

– Jason Fortenberry (Commercial Litigation, Land Use and Zoning Law, Litigation – Real Estate) – Mary Clay W. Morgan (Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Labor and Employment, Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants), Product Liability

Litigation - Defendants) – Wendy R. Mullins (Business Organizations [including LLCs and Partnerships]) – Dinetia M. Newman (Health Care Law) – Alan W. Perry (Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Corporate Governance Law, Corporate Law, Litigation – Banking and Finance, Litigation – Real Estate) – William R. Purdy (Construction Law) – Alex Purvis (Insurance Law, Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants) – Joseph J. Stroble (Commercial Litigation, Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants) – Stephen M. Wilson (Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Corporate Law, Litigation and Controversy – Tax, Tax Law)

Newsmakers Matthews, Cutrer and Lindsay duo to lead Young CPA Network Shannon Adams, CPA and Sammy Gill, CPA of the Ridgeland-based accounting firm of Matthews, Cutrer and Lindsay began a year of board service with the Mississippi Society of CPAs Young CPA Network. For the coming year, Adams will be president.

Gill The Young CPA Network is a group designed to help young MSCPA members establish connections with other aspiring professionals, exchange ideas and grow in their careers.

Adams works as an audit manager at MCL and earned a bachelor’s degree with an emphasis in accounting from Delta State University. Now with over 10 years in public accounting ser- Adams vice, she has developed expertise in the areas of auditing and small business consulting. She has experience in working with nonprofit organizations. She previously represented MSCPA as their delegate for the Alabama Leadership Academy.

She is the treasurer on the Board of Directors of CASA Mississippi, Inc. and secretary of her local business networking group.

Gill is a senior auditor at the firm and earned her CPA license in 2017. She provides audit and attestation services with a primary focus on rural development, construction, nonprofit organizations and multi-family housing projects. She received bachelor and master’s degrees in accounting from the University of Southern Mississippi. She also is board secretary for the Mississippi Society of CPAs and on the local board of the National Association of Women in Construction.

Sawyer joins Grand Bank as new CFO Hattiesburg-based Grand Bank announces the appointment of Chris J. Sawyer as new Chief Financial Officer. Sawyer will oversee asset and liability management, investment portfolio management, corporate governance and product and project management.

Sawyer has over 25 years of Sawyer experience in the banking and financial industry. Since 2014 he served as co-owner and director of ZeroRPM, a leader in government, utilities, telecom and emergency response markets for idle mitigation. Prior to ZeroRPM, Sawyer served as President of Peoples Bank of Alabama, Central Region Financial Officer for Regions Bank in Birmingham, AL and the Internal Audit Department for First Alabama Bank in Birmingham, AL. “In addition to extensive banking knowledge and experience, Chris has a strong accounting, finance and analytical background and will truly be an asset to our team,” said Edward J. “Ed” Langton, CEO. “His experience will make a significant contribution to our growth and he will provide strong leadership as we move forward.”

Sawyer graduated from Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in Finance and earned an MBA from Samford University.

He is married to Laurabeth Doty Sawyer and they have three daughters: Lauren, Hannah and Maddie.

Grand Bank, chartered in 1968, is a federal savings bank with a local stockholder base and home office located in Hattiesburg, with a branch in Petal, and offers a full array of bank products, services and loans.

T. Paul Mace joins Memorial Hospital at Gulfport Memorial Hospital at Gulfport hired T. Paul Mace, MD, FACS, in the practice of general surgery.

Mace joins Memorial with expertise in advanced General Surgery, Robotic Surgery, and Breast Surgery, including Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator (DIEP) Flap Breast Reconstruction. Since 2012, he has been the Mace market leader in Robotic Single Site Gallbladder Surgery, Robotic Hernia Repair, and Robotic Colon Surgery. He also provides leading edge Breast Cancer Surgery with Nipple Sparing Mastectomies and DIEP Flap (Tummy-Tuck flap) Reconstruction.

Mace is board certified in general surgery has more than 22 years of experience in the Gulfport market. He is a Fellow American College of Surgeons, a member of the American Breast Society, Mississippi Medical Association, Coast Counties Medical Society, Tulane Surgical Society and Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons.

4 Brunini attorneys on Benchmark Litigation 40 & Under Hot list Brunini has announced that Cody Bailey, Chris Fontan, Karen Howell and Taylor McNeel have been selected in Benchmark Litigation’s 40 & Under Hot List of 2019. This ambitious group is among the top young talent in their respective litigation communities in Mississippi and throughout the United States.

Benchmark Litigation’s goal is to find the best and brightest who stand out in their practices by focusing exclusively on litigation in the United States and Canada. Benchmark Litigation selects nominees through extensive interviews of the nation’s leading private practice lawyers and in-house counsel to identify the leading litigators in each jurisdiction.

New supervisor of shipbuilding Gulf Coast takes command The Navy command in charge of ship construction, repair and modernization efforts at private shipyards in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama changed hands Aug. 12.

Capt. Nathan A. Schneider relieved Capt. Brian D. Lawrence as Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair (SUPSHIP) Gulf Coast (SSGC) in a ceremony at the Ocean Springs Civic Center.

Aug. 24- Sept. 6, 2019

McNeel awarded NCARB President’s Medal for Distinguished Service The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards has awarded its highest honor to Jackson architect Richard McNeel, chief executive officer of JBHM Architecture, P.A. He is first Mississippi Architect to receive national honor for service to architecture.

McNeel is one of 12 national McNeel awardees this year and the first Mississippian to receive the President’s Medal for Distinguished Service — specifically for his commitment to architectural regulation and NCARB’s mission to protect the public’s health, safety, and welfare. The award recognizes individuals who have dedicated a large part of their careers, energy and wisdom to benefit the work of NCARB, the public and the profession.

A lifelong proponent of quality education, training and testing for architects, McNeel is an active member of NCARB. He chaired and helped develop the national architect’s exam for 13 years. He also serves Chair of the Architectural Advisory board of Mississippi State University’s School of Architecture. As a JBHM leader, his priorities include creating developmental opportunities for interns and devoting his time to mentor young professionals.

Brunini welcomes Alston Ludwig Alston Ludwig has joined Brunini, Grantham, Grower & Hewes, PLLC as an associate in one of the firms litigation departments. He is a business litigator who focuses his practice on the construction industry.

Alston is returning to Mississippi after living and practicing in Ludwig North Carolina.

In 2009, Ludwig received his Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi, graduating magna cum laude. Prior to attending law school, Alston graduated summa cum laude from Auburn University with a Bachelor of Arts in History.

Sam Kelly, Managing Partner of Brunini said “We are excited to welcome Alston to the Firm and are confident that he will be a great asset to our team.”

Mark Gilbert named chief medical officer in Gulfport Memorial Hospital in Gulfport has been named Mark A. Gilbert, MD, FACEP, as Chief Medical Officer. He recently served as Chief Medical Officer at Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital in Murphy, N.C. Gilbert is a graduate of the University of South Florida Gilbert College of Medicine in Tampa. He completed his internship in General Surgery at Jacksonville Health Education Program University Hospital, and his residency in Emergency

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Medicine at Orlando Regional Medical Center. Gilbert is board certified in Emergency Medicine.

The Chief Medical Officer is an administrative role providing physician support on operational and patient care matters. Dr. Gilbert will work in cooperation with the VP-Patient Care/Quality/Patient Satisfaction on performance improvement matters.

Origin Bank hires Farmer Origin Bank has announced that Sean Farmer has joined the company’s Mississippi team as a Treasury Management Officer.

Farmer has 28 years of banking experience specializing in the optimization of the movement of cash within a company to assist with maximizing corporate profFarmer its. In his position at Origin, he will work with business owners and managers to create operating efficiencies through automation and fraud prevention technologies.

“We are excited to have Sean join the Origin Bank team,” said Larry Ratzlaff, the bank’s Mississippi State President. “Sean has extensive knowledge and experience in assisting business owners with creating profit strategies within their financial structures. I look forward to seeing how he will strengthen client businesses and develop meaningful financial relationships for our company.”

Farmer has a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Purdue University. He is on the board of directors for FOCUS – Families Overcoming Challenges via Unified Services, and is a community volunteer for Habitat for Humanity and Stewpot. He is married with four children and attends Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church in Madison. He will maintain an office at the bank’s Highland Colony Financial Center at 1063 Highland Colony Parkway in Ridgeland.

Degenhart selected Employee of the Quarter Devon Degenhart has been selected as Hattiesburg Clinic’s Employee of the Second Quarter based on a brief, but impactful interaction with a patient in need.

Degenhart is a receptionist and patient account representative with Psychiatry – Lincoln Center. She has been an employDegenhart ee of Hattiesburg Clinic since 2017 and began working full-time at Psychiatry – Lincoln Center this year.

Degenhart was selected from nearly 70 nominations of clinic employees across various departments.

She was chosen based on a testimonial from a patient, who had a question about setting up an appointment.

Instead of Degenhart concluding the call, the woman said “She talked to me with kindness. She listened to me. That’s something that rarely happens anymore. I was heard.”.

Degenhart’s manager, Michelle McIlwain, said she felt her employee’s actions warranted recognition.

12 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q Aug. 24 - Sept. 6, 2019

Branning joins Reunion Jourdan Branning was named Membership Sales and Communication Manager for Reunion Golf & Country Club. She will work with Reunion Membership & Marketing Director Kelli Stabbs.

Branning previously was a tennis instructor at Reunion while working to receive her master’s Branning degree from Mississippi College in Sports Administration. Upon graduation, Branning returned to Mississippi College to pursue a career in the Athletic Department.

Baptist Golden Triangle welcomes Horsley Baptist Memorial Hospital – Golden Triangle welcomes new cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Stewart Horsley, MD to the medical staff. Horsley comes to Columbus from Baptist Heart – Baptist Health Systems in Jackson. He will be in practice at BMG Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at 255 Baptist Blvd., Suite 401, Columbus.

Originally from Auburn, Ala., Horsley is a graduate of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa and completed medical school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He completed both an internship and residency in general surgery at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Ga. followed by a fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery at Emory University Affiliated Hospitals/Carlyle Fraser Heart/Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta.

He is certified by the American Board of Surgery, the American Board of Thoracic Surgery and is a Diplomat in the National Board of Medical Examiners.

Dr. Horsley is a member of the both the American and Mississippi State Medical Associations, the Central Medical Society and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons.

He is also a clinical assistant professor at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.

Dr. Horsley and his wife Lisa have four children and in his free time he enjoys playing golf.

Jones College names Cook as Greene County director Jones College President, Dr. Jesse Smith and Workforce College Director, Jennifer Griffith named JC graduate, Alan Cook as the new, Greene County Center Director in Leakesville. The former Center Director, Richard Fleming retired July 1, and the Center’s Navigator and dual enrollment coordinator, Menyone Barrow has been the interim director.

Cook graduated from Greene County High School in 2001 and worked in various commercial, residential and industrial construction jobs. From 2008 until 2017, he worked for Universal Services in Leakesville and earned a general studies degree at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in 2003. Two years ago, Cook returned to Jones College to earn his Associate of Applied Science degree in Electrical Technology and has spent the last year as an instructor at MGCCC’s George County Center.

Being close to home with family is a benefit Cook said he is enjoying as the new Greene County Center Director. Additionally, he is looking forward to being involved with local school activities and seeing students succeed.

Curcio named Sr. Discipline Manager at Waggoner Waggoner Engineering, Inc. has hired Charles Curcio PE, CFM, to serve as Sr. Discipline Manager and Client Account Manager for the Civil / Hydrology & Hydraulics discipline area.

Curcio has almost 40 years of experience in the industry as a project engineer on a wide Curcio variety of civil engineering projects that include transportation, drainage, erosion control, stormwater, site design work, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling.

A Certified Floodplain Manager and licensed Professional Engineer in Mississippi, Texas, and Georgia, Curcio holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Mississippi State University.

Newsmakers Forrest General Hospital recognized by the Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency

Ledet joins Neel-Schaffer Neel-Schaffer, Inc., announced Glenn Ledet, Jr., PE, has joined the firm and will serve as Program Manager for Coastal Science and Engineering, working out of Neel-Schaffer’s Baton Rouge office.

Ledet will be responsible for regional and corporate business development and project imple- Ledet mentation of Coastal and Water Resources initiatives. Projects he will be responsible for include engineering, design and implementation of habitat restoration, marsh creation, shoreline protection, hydrologic restoration, and flood protection in Coastal Louisiana and other Gulf Coast states, from Texas to Florida and the East Coast to the Carolinas.

Ledet has 13 years of Coastal Engineering experience, including 10 with other consulting firms and three with Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, where he served two years as an Engineering Supervisor and one year as the Assistant Administrator of CPRA’s Operations Division.

He has extensive experience in program management and business development for a wide variety of Coastal projects and clients.

A Licensed Professional Engineer in Louisiana, Texas and North Carolina, Ledet holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering from Louisiana State University.

Galloway-Chandler-McKinney named a Best Practices agency For the seventh consecutive year, Galloway-Chandler-McKinney Insurance has been named a Best Practices agency, identifying the firm as a national industry leader.

Of the more than 20,000 independent agencies across the country, only 267 qualified as a Best Practices agency. The recognition comes from the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA) and Atlanta-based management consulting firm Reagan Consulting.

“We’re pleased to be acknowledged by our industry’s leading professional organization,” states Managing Member Brandt Galloway. “This honor recognizes that at every level, Galloway-Chandler-McKinney Insurance and its employees are committed

Courtesy of Forrest General

Left to right: Kevin Stump, chief executive officer, MORA; Gladys Wolff, MBAHA, Forrest General Hospital; Brad Pickering, CNP, Forrest General Hospital; and Brandon Brazzel, ICU Manager The Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency (MORA) recognized Forrest General Hospital at the 6th Annual Spero Awards on July 25, 2019 at the Hilton Jackson. The hospital was honoured as one of the hospital partners working with MORA to save lives and promote organ, eye and tissue donation.

“Forrest General Hospital’s staff always goes above and beyond to ensure that the families they serve are given the opportunity to make a decision in regards to donation. The awards presented to Forrest General Hospital are a true reflection of the dedication, the professionalism, and the heart of caring that is Forrest General Hospital and its staff.

The commitment and partnership between Forrest General Hospital and the Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency (MORA) continues to grow stronger due to the desire to help the citizens and communities in the Hattiesburg area,” said Joel Stevens, Hospital Development Coordinator/Board Certified Procurement Transplant Coordinator (CPTC) Forrest General received the following 2019 Spero Awards: to providing the best possible service and products for our clients. The fact that we’ve received the Best Practices designation seven years in a row speaks to the consistency of that commitment.”

IIABA and Reagan Consulting began analyzing the country’s leading agencies in 1993. Every third year, they select agencies for their study groups using an extensive ranking process that assesses 33 performance factors. Those chosen are each honored as a Best Practices agency. Galloway-Chandler-McKinney Insurance was nominated by multiple carriers and associations and qualified based on its operational excellence.

St. Dominic’s ranked in Top 100 for consumer loyalty St. Dominic Hospital has been ranked among the top 100 hospitals nationwide in the 2019 NRC Health Top 100 Consumer Loyalty List. This award recognizes

· Advanced Practice Nurse or Nurse Manager of the Year Brad Pickering, CNP, Forrest General Hospital · Physician Champion of the Year Dr. Edward Pellerano, Forrest General Hospital · Hospital Leadership of the Year Award Gladys Wolff, MBAHA, Forrest General Hospital · Most Supportive Organ & Tissue Hospital Adrian Murry, a local donor mom, was chosen again as Volunteer of the Year. MORA also recognized Forrest General for participation in the Hospitals for Hope campaign. Hospitals of Hope is an awareness campaign intended to increase registrations for organ, eye, and tissue donation.

A total of 14 Spero Awards were presented to individuals and organizations from areas throughout the state as well as one Special Recognition Spero Award. The word “Spero” (Spā-rō) is Latin for “hope.” The title was chosen to reflect the hope that organ and tissue donation brings to those in need of a lifesaving organ or a life improving tissue transplant.

hospitals across from the country that garner extraordinary loyalty from their patients. St. Dominic’s is the only hospital in Mississippi to be named to the list.

NRC Health conducts ongoing national surveys on consumer and patient insights into the quality of care they receive from local and regional health care providers. Winners of the Consumer Loyalty Award were selected based on results from NRC Health’s Market Insights Survey which measures the opinions and behaviors of over 310,000 consumers annually. Organizations that win the award score exceedingly well on seven different metrics of patient loyalty, including access, brand score, engagement, need, motivation, experience and Net Promoter Score (NPS).

For nearly four decades, NRC Health has helped health care organizations illuminate and improve the moments that matter most to patients, residents, physicians, nurses and staff. The Consumer Loyalty awards are the first and only loyalty-based hospital rankings in the U.S.

Newsmakers Memorial Hospital welcomes Michael Diaz Memorial Hospital at Gulfport welcomes Michael Diaz, MD, FACS, in the practice of plastic surgery. Diaz specializes in all cosmetic procedures.

Diaz completed his residency in general surgery and fellowship in plastic surgery at Louisiana State University. Diaz is board certified in general and plastic surgery and has more than 12 years of experience.

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FedEx gift supports University of Mississippi’s STEM Efforts

Diaz

Richardson named Clarke County Center director Jones College President Dr. Jesse Smith and Dean of Workforce College, Jennifer Griffith named JC graduate Reggie Richardson as the new Clarke County Center Director in Stonewall. The former Center Director, Jody Buchanan left to work at Mississippi State University.

Richardson The former baseball coach and entrepreneur graduated from Enterprise High School in 1995 and came to Jones College on a baseball scholarship, while also earning his associate’s degree. William Carey University recruited Richardson to play baseball for the Crusaders where he earned his bachelor’s degree. Before beginning his coaching career, Richardson played one year of independent baseball in the Texas-Louisiana League.

He began his coaching career at Jones in 2000, helping to recruit the state championship team in 2002. Richardson spent the next year coaching at Southeast Lauderdale High School before earning his master’s degree from the University of West Alabama, while also coaching at East Central Community College. Richardson spent the next couple of years coaching at Pearl River Community College before returning to JC in 2007 to coach through the 2011 season. During this time, Richardson help build the Bobcat baseball team which laid the foundation for a long winning history, and nationally ranked team.

In the 2011 season, the Bobcats were the national runner-up in the NJCAA Division 2 World Series.

In addition to coaching, Richardson and his wife, Blair who is a dental hygienist, saw a need in the community and built The Teepee Childcare and Pre-School Center in Ellisville in 2012. He managed the facility for three years before returning to his coaching career at William Carey University and helped the Crusaders to a third-place finish in the NAIA World Series in 2017.

Richardson said he realizes the county is still recovering from the closing of Burlington Industries in Stonewall. He hopes to help in that process as the Center Director.

The Richardson’s have two children, Cole, who is 13 and Jillian, who is 10.

Baker Donelson welcomes Charles Schaller Baker Donelson welcomes Charles R. Schaller to the Firm’s Environmental Group. Schaller joins them in the Baltimore office.

Courtesy of University of Mississippi

With a $250,000 gift to the University of Mississippi Science Building Fund, FedEx Corp. has honored Ole Miss alumnus Jim Barksdale upon his retirement as a longtime member of the global shipping company’s leadership team.

Barksdale served 13 years in various senior management positions at FedEx Express, including executive vice president and chief operating officer. He also provided leadership on the company’s board of directors for 19 years.

FedEx asked Barksdale to choose where to direct the gift at Ole Miss.

“I chose to devote my gift to the STEM Building Fund because I think it will be significant to further our STEM training at the university,” said Barksdale, a 1965 graduate of the UM School of Business Administration. “The future of the economic world depends upon having more graduates in science, technology, engineering and math, and I hope my gift will be in furtherance of those aims.”

Barksdale himself is an innovator credited with leading the development of package tracking computer systems for FedEx. Additionally, on the board, he served as the chair of the Information Technology Oversight Committee.

Since the launch of the university’s Tech Summit in 2016, Barksdale has played a key role in the annual event that brings together leaders from government, business, and higher education to explore trends in technology and to stimulate discussions about technology-related needs in industry and

Charles represents clients in federal and state courts, and handles permitting matters and enforcement actions before federal, state, and local administrative agencies in areas such as hazardous waste, water pollution, and land development. He also has extensive experience in securing regulatory authorizations for projects involving energy development, air emissions, wastewater discharges, solid waste, hazardous waste, endangered species, and tidal and non-tidal wetlands.

Memorial recognized by U.S. News & World Report Memorial Hospital at Gulfport has been recognized as Best Regional Hospital for Coastal Mississippi, as well as High Performing in abdominal aortic aneurism repair, heart failure, COPD and knee replacement for

education.

The new STEM building will be designed to enhance active or cooperative learning, which is a departure from students simply listening to a professor’s lecture. Students will spend class time in group work and discussions.

The former lecture materials will be delivered in modules that the students read on their laptops at their convenience. Faculty members will see quiz results and know what material students had difficulty with, enabling them to target those areas in the next classes.

The company’s gift reflects its own vision for the future, said Rose Jackson Flenorl, a UM alumna from Cordova, Tennessee, and manager of FedEx Global Citizenship.

Site work has been completed on the new building. Among factors driving plans is the crucial need on the state, regional and national level to increase graduates in STEM fields.

The 204,000-square-foot building, which will anchor the Science District in the heart of campus, has an estimated project cost of $160 million. Private support is being sought for the state-of-the-art facility, which will serve all Ole Miss students with active learning classrooms and labs.

2019-20 by U.S. News & World Report.

The annual Best Hospitals rankings and ratings, now in their 30th year, is designed to assist patients and their doctors in making informed decisions about where to receive care for challenging health conditions or for common elective procedures.

Starks named VP of National Association of Health Underwriters Jackson resident Eugene Starks was named Vice President of the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU) Board of Trustees at its 89th Annual Convention and Exhibition in San Diego.

Starks currently works as a Partner with Benefit Administration Services Ltd., an employee benefits TPA,

consulting, and brokerage firm based in Ridgeland, Mississippi. He is also a Partner and founding member of Acuity Group, an agency dedicated to providing comprehensive employee benefits solutions.

Starks served as President of the Jackson Association of Health Underwriters from 2010-11 and as President of the Mississippi Association of Health Underwriters from 2011-12. He was chairman of the Health Underwriters Political Action Committee from 2015-16 and Treasurer NAHU’s Board of Trustees this past year.

Starks is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi and the United States Chamber of Commerce Institute of Organization Management

Newsmakers

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PriorityOne Bank promotes Clark and Norton PriorityOne Bank has announced the promotions of Patsy Clark and Sarah Norton at the bank’s Hattiesburg branch. Clark will be serving as Branch Manager and Norton will be serving as Assistant Branch Manager.

Clard began her career in banking immediately following Clark graduation from Hattiesburg High School. She has over 25 years of experience in banking and has been with PriorityOne Bank since April of 2013. She has served in many areas of the bank, most recently, loan assistant.

Clark has also served her community in multiple leadership roles. She is a former member of ABWA, Hattiesburg- Norton ers in Paradise and has served on the Forrest County 4-H Advisory Board MSU Extension. Patsy has two children, Michael Clark and Jonee Clark Owens.

Norton holds an A.A from Pearl River Community College and a B.A from Southern Mississippi University. She has been with PriorityOne Bank since August 2012. She has served in many areas of the bank, most recently, Teller, Personal Banker and LBE. Norton and her husband, Michael, live in Hattiesburg.

Connie Whitt named Small Business Development Center state star Connie Whitt, director of the Mississippi Small Business Development Center locations at the University of Southern Mississippi and on the Gulf Coast, has been named the 2019 Mississippi state star.

State stars are chosen annually, one per state from among the Whitt employees of the SBDC. A state star is an exemplary performer, must make a significant contribution to his or her state SBDC and shows a strong commitment to small business.

Whitt was nominated by fellow MSBDC staff members for outstanding leadership of both centers and for her “service before self” philosophy.

With more than three decades of entrepreneurial experience, Whitt began working part time at MSBDC in 2010 as a counselor at the Gulf Coast office in Biloxi, where she is director. Last February, she was asked to also lead the USM center in Hattiesburg.

Whitt has more than risen to the challenge, and both south Mississippi centers are thriving under her guidance and leadership, Mitchell said. She has a heart for the underserved populations of south Mississippi and has been instrumental in developing specialized workshops to address these communities.

She partnered with a local nonprofit, the Mississip-

Courtney earns inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America Best Lawyers, the oldest and one of the most respected attorney ranking services, has selected Richard Courtney, Certified Elder Law Attorney, for inclusion in the 2020 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America for his work in Elder Law and Trust and Estates. These recognitions are based on independent evaluation of legal experience and peer review and recommendations.

Richard (“Rick”) Courtney has practiced law since 1978 and is a founding partner of the Jackson law firm of Frascogna Courtney, PLLC, where he chairs the Courtney Elder Law Associates planning group. His primary areas of practice are elder law, public benefits law (Medicaid, Medicare and SSI), personal asset protection and estate planning, trusts and trust administration, special needs planning for persons with disabilities, guardianships and conservatorships, nursing home and disability

pi Coalition for the Vietnamese-American Fisherfolk and Families, to help the Vietnamese community rebuild after Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill. This population is frequently unbanked, causing problems when disaster relief agencies need financial records to provide relief funds.

Whitt designed a workshop that brought the fishermen together with local bankers, provided one-on-one counseling and, when needed, a translator to help them set their businesses up correctly.

A member of the Choctaw-Apache tribe of Ebarb, Louisiana, Whitt is also a role model to other minority women entrepreneurs.

Whitt has helped many women of color complete the extensive paperwork process required to be certified as a minority to be eligible for Mississippi Development Authority funding. She also helped them get business plans together with financial projections to complete the process.

The MSBDC is an accredited member of America’s Small Business Development Centers and is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration through the University of Mississippi. The center’s administrative office is on the Ole Miss campus.

Millsaps College partners with MSU on dual degree program A new partnership between Millsaps College and the Bagley College of Engineering at Mississippi State University offers students the opportunity to earn degrees from both institutions in a range of academic disciplines. The partnership is outlined in a formal agreement recently signed by Dr. Robert Pearigen, president of Millsaps College, and Dr. Mark Keenum, president of Mississippi State University.

As outlined in the agreement, the program offers a new path by which students at Millsaps can complete a degree in math, physics, chemistry, biology, geology, or a related major, and an additional degree in engineering from Mississippi State in the minimum amount of time. Degrees can be earned at both the

rights, and probate administration. Rick is the first attorney in Mississippi designated a Certified Elder Law Attorney by the American Bar Association-accredited National Elder Law Foundation. He is a former Assistant Dean and Adjunct Professor of Law at Mississippi College School of Law and Adjunct Professor – Skills Fellow at University of Mississippi Law School of Law. Licensed to practice before all state and federal courts in Mississippi, Rick is a former Director and current Fellow of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA); Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel; and member and former President of the Trusts and Estates Section of the Mississippi State Bar and the Special Needs Alliance, Inc., a national organization of special needs planning attorneys. Mr. Courtney is the author of A Lawyer’s Guide to Working with Special Needs Clients published by the American Bar

undergraduate and graduate levels.

“We are proud to enter this new partnership with Mississippi State, and to offer our students a new pathway to earning degrees in the STEM fields,” said Pearigen. “This is a tremendous opportunity for students to combine the value of a smaller institution and its personalized, experience-driven education with the benefits found in a larger university and its strong reputation in engineering.”

Students who pursue the dual degree program can be admitted to both schools. The first two to three years would be spent at Millsaps completing coursework toward a bachelor of science degree, followed by matriculation to the Bagley College of Engineering to complete remaining courses required for an engineering degree. The program also supports graduate level work, combining a bachelor’s degree from Millsaps with a master of engineering or master of science degree from MSU. “Partnerships such as this are critical in providing students with important options,” Pearigen said. “We look forward to working with Mississippi State to produce a new generation of engineers, equipped with the vitally important skills of critical thinking combined with the sciences, who can enter the workforce ready to succeed.”

The agreement is effective immediately.

Dean and Dean adds Miley as Associate AIA Dean and Dean/Associates Architects, P.A., announced the addition of Nathan A. Miley as an Associate AIA. Miley joins the Jackson-based firm after recently graduated from Mississippi State University with a Bachelor of Architecture.

At MSU, Miley was involved in several campus groups including Miley the School of Architecture’s Studio Culture Committee. He earned the American Institute of Architects Mississippi Chapter’s Design

Association.

Rick and his wife, Ruthie, have adult twin daughters, one of whom has a disability. Rick has been active in community involvement as a Director of Mustard Seed, Inc., President and Director of the Cerebral Palsy Foundation of Mississippi, Inc., President of the Advisory Board of Hospice Ministries Inc., a director of the Heritage School for children with learning disabilities, member of the Occupational Therapy Council of Advisors for the Mississippi State Department of Health, and a member of the Alzheimer’s / Mississippi Chapter. He has written and spoken frequently to lawyers, health-care professionals, churches and community groups on elder law and estate planning subjects and topics of interest to senior adults, caregiver children and spouses, and families with special needs.

Merit Award for his work on a plan for the MSU Golf Course Storm Shelters Project. He was also the recipient of Mississippi State’s 2018 Epting/Mathews Co-op Student of the Year Award, an honor that recognizes academic excellence, workplace professionalism and leadership in organizations.

Community Bank hires Seale and Sessions Tracy Seale has been named Payroll/ Human Resources Assistant. A native of Flora, Mississippi, Seale recently served as a Teller and has been in banking for one year. In her new role, Seale will assist with HR and payroll related job functions and provide support to Community Bank staff members Seale system wide.

Seale is married to Jerry, together they have three children, Brooke, Zachary, and Mollie.

All are active members of First Baptist Church of Flora.

Kristi Sessions has joined Community Bank’s Human Resources Department as Vice President. A native of Brandon, Sessions has worked in Human Sessions Resources for twenty-four years, most recently serving as Director of Human Resources for Methodist Rehabilitation Center. In her new role, Sessions will be responsible for overseeing the Human Resources Department.

Sessions is a graduate of Old Dominion University in Virginia with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.

Sessions is the mother to two sons, Kaleb (20) and Cade (16). She attends Pinelake Church.

Newsmakers The Cirlot Agency promotes 3 Jackson employees The Cirlot Agency announced the promotion of three of its employees, all of whom joined the agency at its Jackson headquarters in 2015.

Lauren Hegwood has been promoted to Brand Manager. A former Public Relations Specialist, Hegwood has executed multiple public relations and marketing initiatives, and has managed integrated communications efforts for various clients. Hegwood continues responsibility for overseeing public relations efforts and media relations for the PGA TOUR Sanderson Farms Championship. As Brand Manager, Hegwood will specialize in increasing brand recognition, lead in the development and distribution of marketing materials, and work with regional and national media outlets to optimize client positioning.

E.B. Martin III has been promoted to Account Manager. Prior, as Social Media Manager, Martin developed and managed digital advertising, generated analytical data, and measured “big-picture” industry trends. In 2016, Martin played a crucial role in managing the award-winning “Better Me, Better Mississippi” campaign for the Mississippi Department of Human Services. As Account Manager, Martin will lead various business development initiatives, augment integrated communications tactics, and generate client growth strategies.

Diane Dickard has been promoted to Video & Graphics Director for The Cirlot Agency. For the past four years, Dickard served as Graphic Designer, concepting and executing corporate logos, print ads, brochures, magazines, tradeshow displays and collateral, as well as interactive design elements. In her new role, Dickard will develop and produce motion graphics and videography for the Agency’s wide spectrum of clients.

Stafford, new officers elected to Mississippi Main Street board A new slate of executive officers has been elected to the Mississippi Main Street Association Board of Directors.

Kevin Stafford of Neel-Schaffer, Inc. in Columbus has been elected the MMSA Board President for 2019-2020.

Stafford joined Neel-Schaffer Stafford in 1999 and now serves as the firm’s North Mississippi manager, working out of the Columbus office. Stafford’s 20 years of experience includes engineering design and project management in grading and drainage, sewer, water, roadway, traffic, municipal, and civil site design.

Stafford is active in the Columbus community, currently serving as President of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Economic Development Council, and has served as President of the Columbus Air Force Base Community Council, President of the Columbus Main Street Association, Executive Board Member of the Columbus-Lowndes Development Link, President of the Columbus Planning Commission, Vice President of the Columbus Zoning Board of Adjustments and Appeals (ZBAA) and Columbus ZBAA of Development Codes, Executive Board Member of the United Way of Lowndes County, Member of the Columbus Rotary Club, Market Street Festival volunteer, and on

the Board of Trustees for the First United Methodist Church in Columbus. Stafford received his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Mississippi State University in 2001.

The newly-elected MMSA executive officers are: President Kevin Stafford, Neel-Schaffer, Inc. in Columbus; President-elect Steven B. Dick, Economic Development Manager for Mississippi Power in Gulfport; Treasurer Chris Chain, Owner of Renovations of Mississippi, Inc., and Past President Ed Gardner, Director of Business and Economic Development, Entergy Mississippi in Jackson.

Women’s Foundation of Mississippi announces 2019 Women of Vision The Women’s Foundation of Mississippi, a grant making and advocacy organization dedicated to funding programs that improve the lives of women and girls statewide, has announced its “Women of Vision” honors. They will be honored Oct. 21 a the Mississippi Museum of Art. Honorees are: Betsy Bradley – Betsy has served as Director of the Mississippi Museum of Art since 2001. Previously she served in the same role of the Mississippi Arts Commission. She has also taught English and literature at Millsaps College. Bradley has served on the boards of Americans for the Arts, the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, and the Southern Arts Federation.

Rita Brent – Rita Brent is a comedienne, musician, and military veteran based in Jackson, Mississippi. She was recognized by Thrillist as The Best Undiscovered Comedian in Mississippi, and tours as a feature act with her mentor, Rickey Smiley. Recently Rita proudly represented Mississippi as the headlining comedian at the historic Apollo Theater in New York.

Oleta Fitzgerald – Oleta Fitzgerald is the Director of the Children’s Defense Fund-Southern Region and a longtime community activist. She was appointed

by President Clinton to serve as White House Liaison and Executive Assistant to Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy. She serves on the boards of the Mississippi Low Income Childcare Initiative, Operation Shoestring, Excel by 5, and the Mississippi Head Start Association.

Holly Lange – Holly Lange serves as Executive Director for the Mississippi Book Festival. She has years of experience in event management, fundraising, volunteer coordination, and public relations. She has worked on unique, Mississippi projects such as the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and Mississippi History Museum, the B.B. King Museum, and the Crossroads Film Festival.

Breazeale earns public relations accreditation Jessica Breazeale of Wesson, Public Affairs Manager with Georgia-Pacific Monticello recently completed the Examination for Accreditation in Public Relations, entitling her to use the APR professional designation.

The announcement was made by the Universal Accreditation Breazeale Board (UAB), a consortium of nine professional communication organizations that directs this competency certification program.

Aug. 24- Sept. 6, 2019

Breazeale holds a master of science and bachelor of arts in public relations from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. She also holds an associate’s degree from Copiah-Lincoln Community College.

The Accreditation program aims to improve the practice of public relations by assessing competence in 60 areas of knowledge, skills and abilities associated with the profession.

Breazeale also serves on the Lincoln-County Rotary, Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Board, Executive Board for Red Bluff Gran Fondo, Communications Committee for Mississippi Forestry Association, Copiah-Lincoln Community College Foundation Board of Directors, Co-Lin Alumni Band Board, USM Dixie Darling Alumni Association, Public Relations Association of Mississippi (PRAM) and much more.

Mississippi Trucking Association Foundation awards 30 scholarships The Mississippi Trucking Association Foundation Scholarship Program awarded 30 scholarships to children of Mississippi Trucking Association member employees for the 2019 – 2020 school year.

Scholarships are offered through the Mississippi Trucking Association Foundation, the H. Dean Cotton Endowment, the John Fayard Endowment, the R. Gene Holmes Endowment, the G. Larry Kerr Endowment the Mike McLarty Endowment, and the Vernon G. Sawyer Endowment.

This year, MTA had 3 separate scholarship awards ceremonies. (Jackson, Hattiesburg, and Tupelo) Jackson-area recipients: Shelby Sterling of Brookhaven, Brendan McEwen of Brookhaven, Colton Meadows of Hazlehurst (H. Larry Kerr Endowment), Caleb Carpenter of Clinton, Jake Reynolds of Madison, Noah Allen of Brandon, Amethyst Lowe of Jackson (G. Larry Kerr Endowment), Benton Grubbs of Brandon, Parker Lee of Clinton, Julia McKinney of Brandon, Lennis Barlow of Madison, Cade Carpenter of Clinton, Ashley Eaves of Madison, Thomas Hulett of Florence, Aysia Warner of Jackson, Preston Middleton of Wesson (H. Dean Cotton Endowment), Tamiya Thomas of Crystal Springs (H. Dean Cotton Endowment), and Will Foreman of Brandon(Mike McLarty Endowment).

Hattiesburg-area recipents: Dennis Stevenson Jr. of Saucier, Austin Aultman of Seminary, Kara Forman of Liberty, Graham Evans of Wiggins (John Fayard Endowment), Hunter Dyess of Laurel and Carlie Passman of Jayess.

Tupelo-area recipents: Carlos Morales of Ripley (Mike McLarty Endowment), Chad Kinnision of Olive Branch, Kenley Stephens of Amory, Melanie Moore of Caledonia, Victoria Fox of Tupelo, and Samantha Kellum of West Point

Memorial Hospital at Gulfport receives award Memorial Hospital at Gulfport has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get with The Guidelines -- Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

Memorial earned the award by meeting specific

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quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a designated period.

Additionally, Memorial received the association’s Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite award for meeting quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke.

Anderson and Johns join Haddox Reid Brady Anderson and Brittany Johns joined the Jackson CPA firm of Haddox Reid Eubank Betts, PLLC. Anderson will work in the audit division, and Johns in the tax division.

A native of Purvis, Brady graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi, where he received his Bachelor of Accoun- Anderson tancy and Masters of Professional Accountancy. While attending USM, he was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and Beta Alpha Psi. He enjoys watching and playing most any competitive sport. He especially enjoys baseball and is an Atlanta Braves fan. He also enjoys traveling.

He recently participated in the British Studies Program through Johns USM where he was able to spend a month in the heart of London.

Johns graduated from Mississippi State University where she received her Bachelor of Accountancy and Masters Taxation. Brittany grew up in Hattiesburg and is the oldest of four children. She loves reading, teaching dance, and being involved in her church.

Clifton Thach joins Bank of Commerce

Bank of Commerce has announced the addition of Clifton Thach as executive vice president. Thach, a Greenwood-area native, noted that he already knew most of the staff at Bank of Commerce and understands how important relationships are to them.

Thach According to what he sees on a day-to-day basis, he says the culture at Bank of Commerce is personal, and he appreciates their focus on ag lending.

Thach holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi, a master’s degree from Delta State, and is a graduate of the School of Banking at LSU. He has served in leadership roles with United Way of Leflore County, Main Street Greenwood, and the Greenwood Leflore Chamber of Commerce. Also active in economic development and civic groups, he is a member of Delta Council and the Greenwood Rotary Club. He is married to the former Sarah Nell Walker, and they have three children who all attend First Presbyterian Church where Thach serves as an Elder.

Aug. 24 - Sept. 6, 2019 • MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS JOURNAL • www.msbusiness.com

AN MBJ FOCUS: Construction

‘Barndominiums’ can be a path to an affordable, safe home

By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com Maybe it isn’t such a bad thing, after all, to be raised in a barn. That is, if the barn has been converted to include comfortable living quarters. A cross between a barn and a condominium, “barndominiums” fans say there can be considerable advantages to this style of construction.

Barndominiums generally start out as a steel building that can be erected quickly and relatively inexpensively.

The lack of flammable materials such as wood framing can make it fire, termite and mold resistant. Insurance Berk might be less because the fire hazard is reduced. And, if properly sited, ventilated and insulated, it can be very energy efficient.

Construction costs can be less than with a conventional home.

Mississippi State University School of Architecture Professor Emeritus and Director Emeritus Michael A. Berk, AIA, said that whether barn condominiums can be a path to affordable housing depends upon how it is done.

“About 15 years ago when I was working on designing the GreenMobile (a healthful, well-designed mobile home), I came across a publication from a metal shed company, Butler Buildings, about making a house under the giant shed so the house would be protected from the sun and other elements. There are some really beautiful things that can be done. I was always intrigued about that.”

Advantages can include getting the shed up quickly and then being able to finish the interior out of the weather. Conventional houses are usually subjected to a lot of hostile conditions while under construction. The barndominium concept not only protects the building, but can make it more comfortable for workers and allow work to continue even during rain or snow.

Berk said an important consideration is siting the structure correctly so you can get good available light, and potentially some passive solar gain in the winter.

“If you are not careful with design and siting, you will have no benefit of solar gain that warms your house in the winter,” Berk said. “You forget that half of the season, you do want sun. If you are not careful, there will not be enough light in the house during winter. Also, the coldest days in the winter are usually when it is sunny and clear. That is when you need solar See BARNDOMINIUMS, Page 17

Courtesy of barndominiumlife.com

Barndominiums frequently begin as a metal buildings in which the house can be built out of the weather.

Courtesy of www.architecturelab.net

If sited correctly, the barndominium can lend itself to energy efficient treatments.

Construction

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BARNDOMINIUMS Continued from, Page 16

gain the most. That is when the sun can do a lot of work for you.”

If you have a narrow house on the southern side of the shed, that would help make sure your home space is getting access to exterior light and ventilation. The barn should be sited so the habitable space is on the south side with generous windows. The building should have an overhang generous enough to keep sun off in the summertime, but allow the sun in during the winter.

If you just open a window to the inside of a barn, there is not a lot of light. You could end up with a space that seems cavelike, and then have to use electric light versus having opening that brings in natural light. Berk said you can even consider windows to be paintings that let light in.

Since it isn’t that difficult to cut the metal and frame a window, you can even think out of the box, and perhaps have large windows at corner of the building.

“Don’t think of it as a window but an opening,” Berk said. “Where do I want to make that opening that will make that room a better experience? An opening makes a room feel bigger. It can even be situated so it also adds light to another room.”

If the metal building is properly positioned, it is also easy to add solar panels. That is particularly true for standing seam metal roofs. With or without panels, the shed roof can be used to collect rainwater. Berk said if the water is filtered, it can be used as potable water. Unfiltered, it is useful for things like watering the garden and washing the car.

“Collecting rainwater with those big generous sheds is really easy and the kits usually come with gutters, so would just need some storage tanks,” Berk said. “The

Courtesy of metalbuildinghomes.org

The metal building can be encased in wood, offering a traditional look.

rainwater can offset most of your domestic water use.”

Berk said no matter what kind of house you have, it makes sense to use metal roofs. Replacing dark shingles with metal can result is significantly less energy need for cooling. Metal is longer-lasting than shingles, more resistant to storm damage and, when light colored metal roofs are used, it can also help with climate change and local temperatures by reflecting heat back into the atmosphere.

That can help keep cities cooler, which is especially welcome during heat waves.

The U.S. Department of Energy promotes “Cool

Roofs” including any type of roofing material that is highly reflective. DOE says that standard or dark roofs can reach temperatures of 150°F or more in the summer sun.

A cool roof under the same conditions could stay more than 50°F cooler and save energy and money by using less air conditioning.

Another advantage of metal shed buildings is that they are easy to maintain. Painting the outside is rarely needed.

Some people make the barndominiums look more like a conventional home by adding wood or cement board siding and generous porches.

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July 2019 DeSoto 4.8

Mississippi 6.1 U.S. 4.0

18 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q Aug. 24 - Sept. 6, 2019

Tunica 6.7

Tate 6.3

MISSISSIPPI’S JULY UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES

UNITED STATES Labor Force Data Civilian Labor Force Unemployed Unemployment Rate Employed STATE OF MISSISSIPPI Unemployment Insurance Data •• Initial UI Claims Continued Claims Benefits Paid Weeks Paid First Payments Final Payments Average Weekly Benefit

July ‘19 164,941,000 6,556,000 4.0 158,385,000

June ‘19 1,299,000 77,900 6.0 1,221,100

June ‘19 164,120,000 6,292,000 3.8 157,828,000

July 2019 5,729 53,257 $8,508,913 41,600 3,463 421 $204.54

July ‘18 1,290,000 68,600 5.3 1,221,400

‘18 Avg. 1,275,700 60,700 4.8 1,215,000

Yalobusha 6.6

July 2018 5,566 57,445 $8,625,271 42,979 3,333 521 $200.69

Calhoun 6.0

Tishomingo 5.8

Leflore 8.2

Carroll 6.8

Montgomery 6.5

Humphreys 9.9 Sharkey 7.8

Holmes 12.2

Yazoo 7.7

Issaquena 12.0

Lowndes 6.3

Oktibbeha 6.8

Choctaw 5.5

Winston 6.9

Attala 6.8

Monroe 6.7

Clay 9.0

Webster 6.3

Washington 8.5

Itawamba 5.6

Chickasaw 6.8

Grenada 5.6

Sunflower 9.3

Lee 5.2

Pontotoc 4.9

Bolivar 8.7

Moving Avg.** 1,273,000 62,000 4.9 1,211,000

Lafayette 5.6

Quitman 9.5

Coahoma 8.3

Jan ‘18 ‘18 Avg. Moving Avg.** 163,734,000 162,075,000 162,775,000 6,730,000 6,314,000 6,123,000 4.1 3.9 3.8 157,004,000 155,761,000 156,652,000

June 2019 6,130 47,676 $6,019,904 29,575 3,062 340 $203.55

Alcorn 5.4

Tippah 5.9

Union 4.5

Tallahatchie 6.4

July ‘19 1,307,500 79,400 6.1 1,228,100

Benton 6.8

Prentiss 5.9

Panola 7.3

Labor force and employment security data STATE OF MISSISSIPPI Labor Force Data Civilian Labor Force Unemployed Unemployment Rate Employed

Marshall 6.5

Leake 6.0

Neshoba 6.2

Scott 5.0

Newton 6.2

Noxubee 8.6

Kemper 9.3

Madison 4.9 Warren 6.7 Rankin 4.2

Hinds 5.8

Claiborne 13.1 Jefferson 18.3 Adams 7.9

Franklin 7.8

Wilkinson 11.9

Amite 7.7

Lincoln 5.8

Pike 7.3

Covington Jones 5.3 6.0

Walthall 8.7

Marion 6.2

— Mississippi Department of Employment Security

10.0 - 18.3

6.8 - 9.9 10.0 - 18.3

Lamar 4.6

Pearl River 5.6

Hancock 5.9

Clarke 7.1

Wayne 7.0

Lawrence Jeff Davis 7.4 8.5

Unemployment Rates

** Average for most recent twelve months, including current month Rates •• Unemployment Insurance amounts presented in this section only represent regular UI benefits, federal program amounts areUnemployment not 4.2 4.9 included.

4.2 - 4.9 Labor force amounts are produced in cooperation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

5.0 - 6.7 5.0 - 6.7 Note: Unless indicated state and county data presented are not seasonally adjusted.

6.8 - 9.9

Jasper 7.4

Smith 5.4

Simpson 5.6

Copiah 7.3

Lauderdale 6.3

Forrest 5.9

Perry 7.3

Stone 7.2

Harrison 5.5

Greene 8.5

George 8.0

Jackson 6.5

Source: Labor Market Data Publication Design: Labor Market Information Department, MDES

You, Your Health,

Your Life.

Aug. 24 - Sept. 6, 2019 • MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS JOURNAL • www.msbusiness.com

AN MBJ FOCUS: Economic Development

Mississippi tops list for fastest-growing small and medium businesses on Amazon

By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com

Studies estimate that online sales grew 18 percent in 2018, with sales through Amazon representing about 43-49 percent of all online sales. The trend to buy online is expected to continue to grow, which could be good news for businesses in Mississippi, which is the No. 1 state in the country when it comes to the fastest-growing small and medium businesses selling on Amazon.

“Online selling enables rural businesses to complement their offline sales in physical stores by reaching customers they wouldn’t otherwise have access to as easily,” said Nick Denissen, a vice president at Amazon. “Research shows that increased adoption of online tools and digital services could grow annual revenues of rural small businesses by 21 percent over the next three years and create 360,000 jobs in rural communities.”

According to a U.S. Chamber of Commerce study commissioned by Amazon, greater adoption of digital tools in rural America could add $140 billion to the U.S. economy by 2021. States in the South are expected to see the greatest benefit from increased online sales revenues.

Amazon seller David Ashley, president and See FASTEST-GROWING, Page 20

AMAZON SELLERS IN MISSISSIPPI CAN REACH CUSTOMERS AROUND THE COUNTRY AND OVERSEAS

By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com While accounting for close to 15 percent of the adult population and nearly three-quarters of the country’s land mass, rural-American accounts for only 3.7 percent of total gross revenues in the U.S. economy, said Amazon spokesperson Joel Sider.

But sellers with Amazon.com may actually have an advantage by being located in a rural area if costs for running the business such as rent and taxes are lower than in urban areas.

See REACH, Page 20

D’Iberville woman turns hobby into business by selling on Amazon

By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com Anna Childers, Apple Farm Creations, Handmade Home Decor & Personalized Gifts, D’Iberville, said the biggest advantage for her and her husband in selling on Amazon is the large customer base.

Anna Childers started the business in 2015 selling

handmade home decor such as hand-painted wood signs, wood shelves, coat racks, etc.

“I love making this kind of stuff, and really just had too much of it on hand and decided to try to sell a few pieces,” Childers said. “I was actually surprised when people wanted to buy my products that I had made. Initially I sold on eBay and then Etsy. In late 2015 I received an email from Amazon inviting me to apply to join their new Handmade program.”

Joe Sider

Unlike with eBay and Etsy, she had to provide Amazon with a lot documentation. She was asked to prove that her offerings were handmade. She provided pictures of her work space, which at the time was her dining room table and a saw set up on the back porch.

“I was subsequently accepted in early 2016 and I listed a few items on Amazon and just kind of forgot about it,” Childers said. “A few weeks later one of those items sold, then another and another. Within three to six months of joining Amazon Handmade, 75 percent of my business income was from Amazon. My hobby transformed into a business because of Amazon. I now sell on Amazon, Etsy, and I have my own website, www.applefarmcreations.com.”

See HOBBY, Page 20

Economic Development

20 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q Aug. 24 - Sept. 6, 2019

FASTEST-GROWING Continued from, Page 19

founder, Address America, Jackson, said there is no doubt that selling with Amazon is critical to the business, which provides large, ornamental, reflective signs to identify the addresses of homes and businesses.

“What is really big for us and anyone selling on Amazon is we can have a little business in Jackson and have the same exposure as a company in New York, L.A. or Chicago,” Ashley said. “We are all on a level playing field with Amazon. And lower costs in Jackson give us an advantage over businesses located in big cities.”

He found it was difficult to identify houses, especially in the winter when sun goes down early. When his father-in-law had an embolism, the ambulance bypassed the house several times unable to find the address.

“I knew I had to come up with an easier and faster system whether helping with pizza delivery or emergency services,” Ashley said. “It is especially important for emergency vehicles to be able to see clear markings to find you easily even if it is 3 a.m. and rainy.”

The business was located in Ridgeland for 13 years, and downsized after the recession in 2008-2009 harmed business. They moved to a small office in Jackson and offsite warehouses. They outsource components from businesses in Jackson, Grenada and companies outside of the state.

“We put the signs together and then have people in our office customize them,” Ashley said. “We cut out the numbers on reflective material and apply them to the sign. Then we assemble, box and ship them out. We ship to all of North America.”

Ashley said the advantages of selling on Amazon are

HOBBY Continued from, Page 19

She and her husband went from building their wood products outside, on the porch, the back yard, wherever she felt like setting up that day to now having two work areas — a stand-alone wood shop designated for making all of their wood products, and a studio inside their home for the other products added over the years, such as ceramic mugs, travel mugs, phone cases, license plates, garden flags and coasters.

“All of our products are completely made to order from my home in D’Iberville,” she said. “I know many handmade sellers that have been able to leave their full-time jobs and run their home-based business full time due to the success they have had on Amazon Handmade.”

Her advice to other small businesses (any small business, not just handmade), is to give Amazon a try.

“Amazon Handmade has been a game changer, not just for me, but for many handmade sellers that I know,’ Childers said. “Amazon provides exceptional customer service, which in turn makes consumers feel more comfortable purchasing from Amazon, and provides Amazon with a larger customer base than any other platform I have sold on. Therefore, more potential customers are seeing what I make and sell.”

She knows single mothers who have been able to stay at home with their children and support their family by selling on Amazon.

“I think what a lot of people don’t understand about Amazon is that, as a whole, Amazon is made up of primarily businesses like mine that are family owned and operated, with or without a brick and mortar storefront,” Childers said. “Small businesses appreciate every sale we get. Amazon Handmade is 100 percent made up of small businesses exactly like mine. So, when you buy some-

huge.

“We see that it is so much more efficient to promote on Amazon,” Ashley said. “Amazon has a reputation so customers are not concerned about any challenges. They know if they buy something through the Amazon marketplace, Amazon will stand behind it. Amazon won’t let a seller who is not honorable or respectable sell on Amazon because they will have to stand behind their products.

If a customer has an issue with a product, Amazon is going to make it right. Most of the benefit is tagging along on Amazon’s coattails to be able to sell so much easier. It is an easy system to set up and sell products. Potentially, a person could put listings up and have sales the same day.”

The customer rating system on Amazon is another valuable feature. Ashley said when he looks at product reviews, he usually won’t consider buying anything with less than 3.5 stars. And his company works hard to get top ratings from customers.

“Building your reputation is important,” Ashley said.

“We make sure the customer is always happy or they pay nothing. We will refund for any reason. Our obsession with customers is very important to our success.”

He said it is important to know the requirements for selling on Amazon including merchant-fulfilled Prime requirements that orders be delivered in two business days.

“Orders can come in as late at 2 p.m. in the afternoon and we guarantee they are shipped out the same day,” Ashley said. “We see that a large and growing number of customers are going with Prime. They like the fact they can get items shipped free after paying a fee to Amazon.

We see online shopping as a growing trend. A few years down the road, you are going to buy just about everything online.”

To learn more about small and medium-sized business-

REACH Continued from, Page 19

“Amazon does indeed help level the playing field for small companies in Mississippi,” Sider said. “Technology is boosting rural business revenues. Rural businesses say adoption of digital technologies are important for their future, with 55.2 percent of them agreeing that e-commerce helps them grow their customer base and a similar percentage (54.6 percent) confirming that online tools had a positive impact on their revenue in the past three years.”

Sider said digital tools and technology help purchasing and cut costs.

About a third of rural businesses say that online tools reduce purchasing costs of products and materials, with 22 percent purchasing at least 80 percent of their goods and services online.

“Online services help rural businesses reach customers out of state and overseas,” Sider said. “Almost 40 percent of these small business owners say that digital technology has allowed them to sell beyond their state and 16 percent of them confirm they are selling internationally due to their access to digital tools. Twenty-five percent sell their products using their own websites, 12.7 percent use a third-party online sales site, and 35.7 percent use online marketing, including social media.”

thing-on Amazon Handmade, you are helping a small business.”

Her situation is a little unique in that she already had worked from home prior to starting Apple Farm Creations. She has continued to do both jobs, but said there was no way she could have done Apple Farm Creations if she had to leave and go into an office for eight hours every day.

Courtesy of Address America

David Ashley

es selling in Amazon’s stores, visit: aboutamazon.com/ smallbusiness. For information about how to become a seller in Amazon’s stores, check out: services.amazon.com

Amazon invested about $15 million in Mississippi between 20102018. Amazon’s main investment in Mississippi is the Whole Foods Market in Jackson.

Sider said more than 7,500 authors, small- and medium-sized businesses, and developers in the state are growing their businesses using Amazon products and services. Most are sellers.

According to the Amazon small and medium business impact report done in May of this year, third-party gross physical merchandise sales — primarily composed of small and medium businesses selling in Amazon’s stores–surpassed $160 billion in 2018 and made up more than half of the units sold in Amazon’s stores.

In 2018, the number of the businesses eclipsing $1 million in sales in Amazon’s stores worldwide grew by 20 percent. On average in 2018, U.S.-based businesses sold more than 4,000 items per minute in Amazon’s stores and earned more than $90,000.

“In 2018, Amazon lent U.S.-based [small and medium businesses] more than $1 billion to build inventory and support their Amazon stores,” Sider said.

Recently Amazon announced a big batch of new tools for sellers, and also disclosed the company will spend $15 billion this year on tools, programs and infrastructure for sellers.

“I think as my business continues to grow, I may have to eventually choose, but for now this works well for me,” Childers said. “As Apple Farm Creations has grown, my husband has started taking over more responsibilities, which has been a tremendous help. It is just the two of us running the business--no other employees at this time-although I am thinking about adding one employee next year if we continue our growth rate.”

Economic Development

Aug. 24 - Sept. 6, 2019

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Mississippi Business Journal

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Aug. 24 - Sept. 6, 2019 • MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS JOURNAL • www.msbusiness.com

AN MBJ FOCUS: Real Estate

Being prepared helps when bidding for home in tight market

By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com In many metro areas of the state, the home-buying market is relatively competitive and is favoring sellers.

You might find the home of your dreams only to learn you aren’t the only person bidding on it. Particularly in cases like that, it behooves buyers to have financing lined up even before making an offer, said Mississippi Association of Realtors (MAR) President Adam Watkins, who is an agent with All-Star Team, Realtors, Hattiesburg.

“Do a personal financial assessment,” Watkins said.

“What makes sense financially? What are your goals?

Even if you have money to make a purchase, you need to provide proof of that to the seller. Don’t let a request for that catch you off guard.”

Most people are going to be financing the home purchase. So it is important to shop around for the best loan terms, and know how much home you can afford. You need information about how much payments will be and what loan terms you can expect.

Watkins said many people like to shop online for loan products. But in his experience, it is much better to find a lender who is in the local market where you are planning to purchase.

“You can interview several of those lenders or reach out to a Realtor experienced in that area who is able to provide suggestions for a lender,” he said. “They

will know which ones will are able to close on time and perform as expected. In general, we don’t see people getting better interest rates outside the market. Money is being loaned at essentially the same rate. When you make an offer with a seller and have a pre-approval or pre-qualification letter from a local lender who has a good reputation, it adds credibility to Watkins the buyer. That can translate in better terms or, if you are competing with another buyer, that might help you be successful.”

Watkins said there are a number of advantages to working with a Realtor who has knowledge of the markets, your budget, and how the loan closing process works.

“Select a Realtor you trust to guide Henley your through the purchase process,” Watkins said. “Create a relationship with the agent who is going to represent you, and partner with you to secure the best terms for property that meets your needs with the budget you have outlined. Realtors can help make you be realistic.”

Do not rush the process unnecessarily and be somewhat methodical in looking at homes, said MAR President-elect Keith Henley, owner, RE/MAX Elite,

Tupelo.

“Looking at too many homes in one day is usually information overload and allows frustration to set in, therefore making a very important decision difficult and unpleasant,” Henley said. “Once you’ve identified your ‘needs and wants’ in a new home, share these with your Realtor, let the professional go to work for you searching current listings, upcoming listings and canvassing unlisted properties for you to view.”

If it is your first home purchase, Henley recommends taking advantage of Mississippi’s new First Time Homebuyer Savings Account (https://firsthomems.org/). This account allows individuals/ couples to deposit up to $2,500/$5,000 per year into an interest-bearing savings/money market account.

Deposits and interest earned is tax deductible from state income tax. This money can be used for down payment and or closing costs.

While finding affordable housing can be a challenge. Henley said due to the strong economy, lower interest rates and a low inventory of homes on the market for sale, affordable housing isn’t as readily See PREPARED, Page 24

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REAL ESTATE • SINCE 1960

info@paynerealtyms.com 601.956.2020

Real Estate

24 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q Aug. 24 - Sept. 6, 2019

PREPARED Continued from, Page 23

available as before. Some communities are aware of this trend and have been taking steps to ensure that affordable housing options are available.

Lower interest rates mean people can afford more house. Henley said that from lower priced homes to â&#x20AC;&#x153;mega mcmansions,â&#x20AC;? low interest rates help everyone.

MAR Past President Karen Glass, a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Alfonso Realty of Gulfport, said purchasing a home is often the largest and most complex ďŹ nancial transaction a person ever makes. She said when purchasing a home, you will likely work with at least four experts who will help guide you: your real estate agent, the mortgage loan officer, a home inspector and a closing attorney.

While affordable housing is not plentiful, it can be found in many communities throughout the state. Glass said workforce conditions play a part in the cost and availability of housing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If the community is populated primarily by factory workers, teachers, city employees or other lower-paying job employees, there will be a big demand on affordable houses and they may be harder to ďŹ nd,â&#x20AC;? Glass said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;On the Coast, we have workers from a variety of industries at all wage levels, as well as investors and second home/resort buyers. Consequent-

ly, our housing needs range from low- to high-end homes.â&#x20AC;?

To purchase an affordable home requires the buyer to be patient and persistent. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There might be a lot of competition for one house and we have seen many houses listed that go into multiple offer situations due to the high demand for that price range,â&#x20AC;? Glass said.

Central Mississippi Realtors President Gary Parker, who is an agent with Better Homes Realty in Flowood, said whether you are single or married, it is important to make a list of those things you just cannot live without. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be tempted to go looking at home you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t afford, which can be frustrating and a waste of time. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Your Realtor can help you stay within your budget,â&#x20AC;? Parker said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a one-stepat-a-time process and a Realtor has the expertise to help you reach those goals your family or your mind has envisioned.

A Realtor adheres to a very strict code of ethics and laws. Unlike what most people think, a Realtor is there to protect the client and owes his or her ďŹ duciary responsibility to their client. Second, always have a licensed home inspector look at your Home to make sure your purchase is solid and everything is working properly. Also. check into a home warranty, which can save you big bucks if any future repairs are needed. Things happen and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just better to be prepared for the unknown.â&#x20AC;?

QUICK STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO BUYING A HOME Provided by Karen Glass, MAR Past President and real estate agent

1. Decide to buy a house.

2. Develop list of criteria for your house and your budget.

3. Look online for information about locations you might be interested in living.

4. Select a real estate agent.

5. Choose a lender and start working to get preapproved.

6. Work with real estate agent to select homes you wish to see and visit the homes.

7. Make an offer on home of your choice.

8. Have real estate agent negotiate on your behalf.

9. Go under contract.

10. Get the home inspected.

11. Lender orders an appraisal.

12. The closing takes place and you move in.

Pinpoint Commercial Real Estate is an innovative, client focused ďŹ rm that delivers value-added services creating long term value and a positive impact on the community.

Offering Services In: â&#x20AC;˘ Tenant Representation â&#x20AC;˘ Landlord Representation â&#x20AC;˘ Development â&#x20AC;˘ Acquisition/Disposition â&#x20AC;˘ Investment Services â&#x20AC;˘ Asset Management

For more information, please contact our office at 601.586.3220 or visit our website at www.pinpointcres.com

Real Estate

Aug. 24 - Sept. 6, 2019

Q

Mississippi Business Journal

Q

25

COMMERCIAL DEVELOPERS

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26 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q Aug. 24 - Sept. 6, 2019 MISSISSIPPI PROFILES

Pinpoint Commercial Real Estate » A father & son entrepreneurial venture

R

ecently, I had an opportunity to visit with Sam Cox, President of Pinpoint Commercial Real Estate, and learn about his firm. Sam and his father, Perry Cox, are partners in the venture, and Sam told me that they make a great team.

“We understand each other very well,” he said. “And that’s vital in any partnership.”

Sam grew up in Madison, attended St. Andrews and Jackson Prep, then majored in Geological Engineering at Ole Miss.

“My goal then was to build a career in the oil and gas,” he told me. “Unfortunately, just about the time I graduated, the bottom fell out of the oil business and jobs became very scarce.”

Rethinking his options, Sam enrolled at Millsaps and obtained his MBA there before deciding to work in commercial real estate. In April of this year, he and his father decided to form Pinpoint.

Like many folks I’ve known through

Oaks, representing a large chunk of commercial space.

“I’m also doing site selection work for a number of national franchise companies looking to place locaAlan Turner tions in the Jackson metro area”, he said.

“We’re also doing work for health care investors on a build to suit basis.”

The mission of the firm, as Sam explained it, is to become a market leader in the commercial real estate field, delivering high value services to their clients.

“We want to be the most trusted and admired commercial brokerage in the market,” Sam said. “We believe the way to do that is through building lasting relationships and superior service to every client we serve, whether large or small.”

I asked Sam how they view the current economic climate in the Jackson

PINPOINT COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE, LLC » Primary business: Full service commercial real estate brokerage, development, and management firm » Contact Information: 190 E. Capitol Street, Jackson, MS 39201 Phone (601) 586-3220 Email: sam@pinpointcres.com Website: pinpointcres.com

PERRY AND SAM COOK

the years in Mississippi, Sam readily took to the entrepreneurial path, and has had strong success in the initial stages of business development.

“My father had some great contacts, and we worked to expand those in building a portfolio of clients,” Sam said.

“We’re working hard to expand that portfolio.”

Among other positive trends, Pinpoint has scored a relationship with Hertz Investment Group, which has earned them the leasing rights for Regions Plaza, City Center, and River

headquarters for the new state lottery.

“That’s 16,000 square feet of commercial space at River Oaks”, he said.

“That will obviously bring a sizable number of jobs to Flowood and benefit the community.”

I asked him where he sees the business going in the coming 5 years.

“Well, we certainly expect to grow rapidly during that period,” he said. “We expect to build a strong client portfolio, and ultimately, to own income properties of our own that we’ll also manage. And I believe we’ll expand as a trusted site selection source for companies looking to

area and in Mississippi overall.

“This is a strong business environment,” he said. “We’re committed to doing all we can to assist in the revitalization of downtown Jackson, and I think we’re definitely seeing some progress in that regard,” pointing to the emerging residential market in downtown Jackson, among other positive factors.

At the same time, he said that “Madison is truly booming, along with other areas in the Jackson metro area”.

One of the achievements Sam is proud of is their work in securing the

relocate or expand in Mississippi.”

At this point in his career, it seems that Sam has been happily bitten by the entrepreneurial bug.

“It’s definitely a challenging process,” he told me. “There are great days and not so great days, but I know very well that if you don’t take the risk, you’ll never get the rewards.”

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

HEALTH Mississippi health officials urge awareness of severe pulmonary disease linked to vaping

The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) is partnering with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other states in alerting the public to severe lung disease associated with the use of e-cigarette products.

While there have been no cases reported in Mississippi, nationwide there have been 215 possible cases and one death reported –all reporting vaping or use of e-cigarette products before their illness. Many of the cases have reported vaping cannabis products, such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or CBD oils, although no single e-cigarette product or device has been consistently identified in all cases.

The symptoms of severe pulmonary disease seen in these cases include cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and fatigue.

Symptoms develop gradually over days to weeks.

“E-cigarettes contain many harmful and potentially harmful substances, including nicotine, and carry significant health risks,” said MSDH State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers.

If you are using e-cigarette products, monitor for symptoms. Seek medical attention if you develop symptoms and be sure to notify the doctor about your e-cigarette use.

Some e-cigarette products are used to deliver illicit substances which may be acquired from unknown or unauthorized sources. “Do not buy products off the street containing THC or other cannabinoids. Do not modify or add substances to e-cigarette products that are not intended by the manufacturer,” said Dr. Byers.

The MSDH is asking all healthcare providers in Mississippi to report any cases of severe pulmonary disease with no clear cause and a history of e-cigarette product use within the past 90 days.

The MSDH recommends that smokers who are attempting to quit cigarettes should use evidence-based treatments such as counseling or FDA-approved medications.

Stocks move higher as investors pivot after broad sell-off Stocks moved broadly higher on Wall Street Wednesday as investors pivoted to riskier holdings a day after taking shelter from the latest salvos in the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China.

Investors snapped up technology, industrial and bank stocks. Encouraging overseas developments helped paint a more stable economic picture, despite the ongoing trade war. Politicians in Britain are seeking a less chaotic exit from the European Union and political tensions in Hong Kong have eased.

Chipmakers, which have been at the mercy of trade war volatility, did much of the heavy lifting for the technology sector. Intel rose 2% and Nvidia rose 2.3%.

Apple rose 1.2%.

Banks rose broadly as bond yields climbed. JPMorgan Chase and PNC Financial both rose 1%. Higher bond yields allow banks to charge more interest on loans.

Industrial companies were also among the biggest gainers. Honeywell rose 1.9% and United Technologies rose 1.8%.

Investors moved away from safe-play holdings, such as utilities and consumer product makers, which lagged the market.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.49% from 1.46% late Tuesday.

— MBJ Staff & Wire Reports

Aug. 24 - Sept. 6, 2019

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Mississippi Business Journal

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27

THE SPIN CYCLE

Facebook taps journalists part 2

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acebook grabbed headlines last year when it cut its “trending topics” editorial team. Now, it’s back in editor hiring mode.

Recently, the social media leader announced plans to hire what it is describing as a “small team” of veteran journalists – likely 10 or fewer – to choose content that will be featured in a section of the news tab, a much-discussed product Facebook will begin testing on portions of its U.S. user base toward the end of October.

The journalists will help select the content that users see in a section of the news tab called Top News. Contents of the other sections of the news tab, which will focus on different topics relevant to each specific user, will be chosen algorithmically, Facebook said.

Unlike the independent contractors who worked on Facebook’s “trending topics” module or who moderate the contents of News Feed, these journalists will be fulltime Facebook employees, spread across the U.S. with one in London, according to Digiday.

While the team may get larger, it will be significantly smaller than the curation team that works on Apple News, which had a team of “roughly 30” former journalists stretched from Sydney to New York curating that app’s contents, according to The New York Times.

Facebook decided to add the team after numerous conversations with publishers.

Those conversations convinced Facebook that it needed to have human curators with news judgment selecting at least some of the news tab’s contents.

Defining the “right stories” will be challenging for Facebook. In 2016, the “trending topics” feature was plagued by scandal when a Gizmodo story revealed that the module’s contents, instead of being surfaced algorithmically, were regularly altered by a small team of independent contractors, who were frequently asked to suppress stories about conservative news, as well as news about Facebook itself.

After months of awkward pivoting,

apologies and intense scrutiny from conservative lawmakers, Facebook announced it was getting rid of the module last year.

The addition of human curators is the latest detail to emerge about the news feed.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this summer that Facebook intends to pay some publishers up to $3 million in licensing fees to include their content in the news feed.

Gmail rolls out better spell check Services like Grammarly have been trying to improve your email writing for a while, but now Google is taking initiative itself by bringing improved spell check capabilities and grammar suggestions to Gmail.

The company announced that G Suite users will soon notice inline suggestions, powered by machine learning, that appear as you type out an email. And Gmail will offer some autocorrect “common spelling mistakes” without your having to click anything or take any extra steps. Aside from misspellings, it’ll also detect mistaken verb tense.

From the composer’s perspective, the main benefit is that you’ll no longer have to manually click “check spelling” in the compose window for Gmail to analyze your email. Instead, red lines appear under misspellings and blue lines will be under what Gmail perceives to be grammatical errors.

These new options are all on by default and rolling out to G Suite users over the next few weeks. If you don’t want any assistance with spelling or grammar checks from Gmail, you can disable each of them individually in settings. You can turn off the as-you-type autocorrect and leave on grammar suggestions, for example.

It’s just a modest improvement to the built-in assistance that was already there – now easier and a little smarter. This AI-powered grammar checker has been making its way into Google Docs, and now it’s coming to Gmail.

Google notes that machine learning and, by extension, some of these suggestions

have the potential to “reflect human cognitive biases,” but the company says it’s “committed to making products that work well for everyone, and are actively researching unintended bias and mitigation strategies.”

Fast food giants cluck about chicken sandwiches Call it the battle of the chicken sandwiches!

Shortly after Popeyes launched its first nationwide chicken sandwich, the fastfood chain started a Twitter feud with chicken competitor Chick-fil-A. Chick-fil-A, responded with a new item of its own with its Mac & Cheese, tweeting: “Bun + Chicken + Pickles = all the (heart emoji) for the original.”

Popeyes retweeted the tweet and wrote “... y’all good?”

The Twitterverse was a flurry with some saying they preferred Popeyes’ new sandwich to Chick-fil-A’s, which is best known for its chicken sandwiches and has been voted as America’s favorite fast-food chain in surveys.

Then Wendy’s got into the action with this tweet: “Y’all out here fighting about which of these fools has the second best chicken sandwich.”

The great chicken sandwich social caper continues!

Cheesy Mic: Cheez-It & wine in a box?

This campaign takes the cheese!

For National Wine and Cheese Day, consumers could purchase a double sided box with a perfect summer pairing – Cheez-It crackers and red wine. The limited-edition boxes sold out in under an hour!

Cheez-It parent Kellogg wanted to highlight that the crackers are made with real cheese. The brand approached Edelman early last year to brainstorm how to convey this in a campaign.

From the beginning, wine was a leading contender. After social media research – which confirmed that people frequently discuss wine and cheese together and, even more tellingly, a small contingent of social media users were already pairing wine

with Cheez-Its – Kellogg opted for a wineCheez-It marriage.

The campaign was slated for this summer, and the product combined affordable boxed wine and affordable Todd Smith Cheez-Its for a solid seasonal campaign – a time for vacations, picnics, and casual outdoor eating.

The first step was selecting wine brand House Wine to supply the red wine component of the product. Next, Kellogg had to nail down distribution details to ensure that the dual-sided box met all the legal shipping requirements, which were fairly strict, given they contained alcohol.

Because Kellogg assumed the boxes would sell out quickly, it developed an additional element that would allow fans to participate at home. Together with House Wine, Kellogg curated custom wine pairings for various Cheez-It flavors, including white cheddar, hot and spicy and cheddar Jack.

The campaign was unveiled on July 23 and the product itself went on sale two days later.

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.

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