MBJ_Sept12_2014

These are:

A. Rejects from a ‘Star Wars’ movie?

B. Chris McDaniel’s adding machines?

C. Equipment being used to rebuild I-55?

— Interstate update in Focus, Page 16

35

MBJ DOUBLE FOCUS

YEARS

1979

2014

Energy, Gas & Utilities

www.msbusiness.com

{Section begins P 21}

September 12, 2014 • Vol. 36, No. 37 • $1 • 32 pages

Business Marketplace set for Sept. 19

» CenterPoint consolidates

» New name and format; vendors will now be able to sell products at the MBJ’s 31st annual businessto-business networking event

Lists {P 24-25} » Electric Power Associations » Environmental Consulting Firms Trucking & Transportation

DERYLL STEGALL / The Mississippi Business Journal

{Section begins P 16}

» I-55 construction work around Jackson continues Lists {P 20} » Trucking Companies » Airports

logy EXPO formerly called the Mississippi Business & Techno

DETAILS PAGE 4

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

2 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 12 2014 xxxxx

Reopening history » The Oaks House Museum gets new life

BY WALLY NORTHWAY wally.northway@msbusiness.com

JACKSON — After closing for six months for renovations and a change in leadership, The Oaks House Museum in Jackson has reopened with a splash.

An open house was held Sept. 6 at The Oaks, which is located at 823 Jefferson Street in the Belhaven Heights neighborhood. The free event offered tours of The Oaks and gardens, live music by Joy and Bob Gates on the front porch and children's activities.

“We held the open house just to let people know we have reEliza Ellis Boyd opened,” said Beth Batton, who was named executive director of The Oaks in July. “It is Mississippi’s only urban farmstead, and one of only a handful in the Southeast.

That’s what makes The Oaks House Museum so unique.”

The Oaks, built in 1853, is a Mississippi Landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Also called the BoydMcGill House, the 19th-century urban

farmstead was home to James Hervey Boyd, mayor of Jackson for four terms in the 1840s and 1850s, his wife Eliza, their six children and numerous grandchildren.

The Oaks is one of few extant structures that survived the burning of Jackson in the Civil War, and three generations of the Boyd-McGill family lived in the house for more than 100 years.

In the first decade of its history, the fiveroom cottage was home to James Boyd and Eliza Ellis Boyd and their three sons

and three daughters. Some of the children were born in the house; some were married there.

In 1863, Civil War battles raged all around the house. There are family tales of Union soldiers and their horses on the property, and bullets grazing the house and puncturing a molasses barrel in the smokehouse. Boyd men and friends served the Confederacy, and James Boyd was a city alderman when Jackson fell to Union occupation.

Courtesy of The Oaks House Museum

In this 1890 photograph, Eliza Boyd stands with her daughter, Mary, and Mary’s husband, Richard McGill. The Oaks House Museum has referred to this photograph as it recreates and interprets the Victorian gardens and house.

James Boyd died in 1877. After the last of the sons and daughters left for adult pursuits in 1881, daughter Mary and her husband Richard F. McGill moved into the Boyd home to live with the widow Eliza Boyd.

The McGills made numerous repairs and additions to the house and grounds, incorporating some of the popular trappings of the later Victorian taste in decoration. And they had two children, a son and a daughter.

In 1885, Eliza Boyd deeded The Oaks property to daughter Mary McGill for her lifetime, then after that to Mary’s children.

Eliza Boyd lived in the house until 1902.

Richard McGill died four years later.

Mary Boyd McGill was the family matriarch until her death in 1939. The McGills’ son Richard moved to Memphis, but daughter Mary McGill, a single lady, lived in the house until 1960, when failing health caused her to retire to a nursing facility. In that year, title to the house passed from the Boyd descendants to The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State of Mississippi, the current owner.

Uncovering the history of the The Oaks House has gotten a boost from the University of Southern Mississippi. For several summers, Dr. Amy L. Young and students from the Department of Anthropolog y and Sociology at USM performed James Hervey Boyd archaeological and historical investigations at The Oaks. The field work uncovSee

THE OAKS, Page 14

Courtesy of The Oaks House Museum

Shown in it’s present state, The Oaks House Museum has seen extensive renovations, and has a new executive director.

September 12 2014

I

Mississippi Business Journal

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3

AGRICULTURE

More than two-thirds of state’s rice crop in good or excellent condition ACROSS MISSISSIPPI — Although most Mississippi rice growers battled frequent spring rains that delayed planting, hampered fertilization and challenged insect and disease management, early signs point toward a good harvest.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Crop Progress and Condition Report released Sept. 2 indicated that 58 percent of the state’s rice crop is in good condition and 28 percent is in excellent condition. Five percent is harvested.

Bobby Golden, Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station agronomist in Stoneville, said harvest is going well on the portion of the crop that is ready.

“Right now, we’re harvesting the acreage that was planted in the normal window,” Golden said. “The rain showers have slowed that a little, so we’re hoping the weather clears.”

The majority of the crop will be harvested later in September, and some fields will be ready as late as mid-October, Golden said.

The USDA’s most recent survey estimated growers planted 167,000 acres in 2014, up from 122,000 acres in 2013. Forecasted yields are around 7,000 pounds per acre.

“That averages out to about 156 bushels per acre, which is a nice state average,” Golden said. “We might have a little more than the USDA’s estimate if we get good weather, but it’s still very early in the harvesting process.”

Brian Williams, Extension agricultural economist, said the ongoing harvest is pushing rice prices down.

“Growing conditions were good this year, which is a double-edged sword,” Williams said. “On one hand, higher yields will hurt prices. But on the other hand, rice quality is expected to be very good, which leads to an increased demand for exports that can boost prices later.”

Louisiana rough rice is trading for $12.59 per hundredweight, about $2.50 per hundredweight less than in 2013. September rice futures are trading for $12.52, down about $2.30 from 2013.

Researchers constantly work to provide the state’s growers with the best recommendations for producing crops. Ed Redona, MAFES rice breeder at the MSU Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville, harvested his earliest-planted variety trial in Ruleville in late August, and said it showed

REGULATIONS

Deadline approaching to for elevator/escalator law JACKSON — The Mississippi Insurance Department is reminding Mississippians that the deadline for building owners and managers to have their elevators and escalators inspected under a new Mississippi law is rapidly approaching.

House Bill 817, which became effective July 1, 2013, requires a safety inspection by a certified elevator/escalator inspector licensed by the state of Mississippi before Jan. 1, 2015. (Companies that do maintenance on elevators cannot inspect the elevators. They must be inspected by a licensed thirdparty inspector not affiliated with the company doing the maintenance.)

outstanding yield performance for one variety.

“Overall, yields were high, ranging from 225 to 322 bushels per acre,” Redona said. “Among the topyielding entries was Rex, released by MSU in 2010, which had a yield of 285 bushels per acre.

“In 2013, Rex accounted for roughly 15 percent of the rice area in the state, which made it the most widely planted conventional pureline variety,” Redona said.

— Susan Collins-Smith / MSU Ag Communications

Rice in this Sunflower County field is nearing harvest on Sept. 3.

Mississippi rice producers had harvested just 5 percent of the crop as of Aug. 29, but early signs indicate a good harvest.

— Photo by MSU Ag Communications/Linda Breazeale

4 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 12 2014

MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS JOURNAL

Business Marketplace set for Sept. 19 » New name and format will allow vendors to sell products at MBJ’s 31st annual business-to-business networking event

By FRANK BROWN frank.brown@msbusiness.com

The state’s largest business-to-business networking event will unveil a new name and a new format when it opens for its 31st year next Friday at the Mississippi Trade Mart at the fairgrounds in Jackson.

The MBJ Business Marketplace — formerly the Mississippi Business & Technology EXPO — will now allow vendors to sell their wares on the showroom floor.

The event is sponsored by the Mississippi Business Journal and Comcast Business.

The Marketplace opens at 9:30 a.m., and closes at 4 p.m., when the Business After Hours event begins. The Marketplace is open to the public, and admission is free to adults with a business card.

“We’re excited about the changes, and we think the changes to the Business Marketplace will be better for both our

Want more?

What: MBJ Business Marketplace When: Sept. 19 Where: Mississippi Trade Mart, 1200 Mississippi St., Jackson, MS 39201.

Admission: The event is open to the public.

General admission is free with a business card.

For more information, call the Mississippi Business Journal at (601) 364-1000 or www.msbusiness.com/events/business-and-technolog y-expo/. Attendees should be 18-and-older.

No strollers please.

To participate: For specific information about booth registration as a vendor, or other specific event details, please contact Tami Jones, Advertising Director at (601) 364-1011 or tami.jones@msbusiness.com.

Congratulations We are pleased to announce that Elizabeth G. Hooper has become a shareholder in the firm’s Jackson office. Elizabeth practices in the following areas: • Hospital Law • Health Care Law • Certificates of Need & Licensure • General Business • Commercial Transactions

DERYLL STEGALL / The Mississippi Business Journal

The MBJ Business Marketplace promises to offer everything from exhibits to food and music — even free caricatures by editorial cartoonist Ricky Nobile on the Activity Aisle.

vendors and the Marketplace attendees,” said Alan Turner, publisher of the Mississippi Business Journal.

In addition to some vendors offering items for sale, other vendors will be giving away door prizes throughout the day. Also, the Activity Aisle returns for its second year, giving visitors a chance get advice from local experts from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Scheduled in this year’s Activity Aisle are flower arrangement demonstrations

by Green Oak Florist, handwriting analysis

by Ann Henderson, Dermatology consultations with Jo Ann Godsey; and caricatures for visitors drawn by editorial cartoonist Ricky Nobile.

After 4 p.m., the Marketplace kicks into Business After Hours mode until 6 p.m.

Music will be provided by Chris Gill and the Sole Shakers, and food samples will be provided by restaurants such as Mangia

Bene, Table 100, Provision 1908 and more.

The MBJ Business Marketplace will feature exhibits and vendors who will showcase products and services from Mississippi and nationwide. This year’s event will also feature a Health Care Heroes breakfast, and the Leaders in Finance luncheon.

A Cyber Café provided by Comcast will visitors’ on-site wireless needs.

The change to allow vendors to sell and showcase their business-to-business merchandise is a result of requests from vendors.

“In recent years, we’ve had numerous requests from businesses who want to offer specific products and services at this event, and after discussion, we thought this would be an excellent way to expand the event and make it more relevant to businesses and attendees alike,” Turner said.

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

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

MBJPERSPECTIVE September 12, 2014 • www.msbusiness.com • Page 6

OTHER VIEWS

PSC inquiry needs to conclude with full facts

Website: www.msbusiness.com September 12, 2014 Volume 36, Number 37

ALAN TURNER Publisher alan.turner@msbusiness.com • 364-1021 ROSS REILY Editor ross.reily@msbusiness.com • 364-1018 WALLY NORTHWAY Senior Writer wally.northway@msbusiness.com • 364-1016 FRANK BROWN Staff Writer/Special Projects frank.brown@msbusiness.com • 364-1022 TED CARTER Staff Writer ted.carter@msbusiness.com • 364-1017 LISA MONTI Contributing Writer mbj@msbusiness.com • 364-1018

M

ississippi’s Public Service Commission agreed Tuesday without dissent to begin a statewide investigation of electric power associations to determine if some or any of them need to refund excess reserve funds to customers, either in direct payments or rate reductions.

Northern District Commissioner Brandon Presley, D-Nettleton, initiated the inquiry push with a press release on Monday suggesting that a majority of the 25 power associations, owned as non-profits under law by their members, owe refunds or rate reductions because they have held on to excessive amounts of cash reserves.

Michael Callahan, CEO of the Electric Power Associations of Mississippi, has pledged to work with the commission to examine the issue.

The power associations, established under federal law, are private-corporations empowered to purchase electricity at wholesale prices and distribute it through their defined geographic areas. The EPAs in Northeast Mississippi purchase electricity wholesale from the Tennessee Valley Authority.

The first action should clarify any misunderstanding at official levels of the association and commission about what kinds of refunds or rate reductions are allowed under law, including the contract affiliations with various power generators like TVA and regional private-sector companies.

The power associations consisting of TVA counties are not under precisely the same kind of regulatory oversight from the commission as the non-TVA EPAs. The first report from the inquiry should be ready for presentation at the regular commission meeting in October,

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

Presley said Tuesday afternoon.

Presley’s request is not the first time reserves and assets held by the EPAs have been examined. Questions were asked statewide in 2009 after it was revealed that at last one EPA had invested in the Stanford Financial pyramid scam.

The amount and investments in 2009 held by the 10 EPAs in the region was approximately $32.2 million. The public needs to have accurate and clearly stated figures about the assets EPAs have.

Presley said cooperatives hold too much cash nationwide, pointing to a 2009 article that U.S. Rep Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., wrote for the Harvard Journal on Legislation.

Any inquiry should reflect Mississippi’s standing within the larger national context.

— Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

» WHAT YOU’RE READING

» THE OUTSIDE WORLD

Here are the most-read stories on msbusiness.com from September 3- September 9.

MELISSA KILLINGSWORTH Sr. Account Executive

melissa.harrison@msbusiness.com • 364-1030

1. Outback Steakhouse dream realized in Flowood

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

2. Apartment zoning in Ridgeland targets minorities, lawsuit says

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

3. Snyder youngest president in MAIFA history

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

5. New MC law dean has ability to turn vision into reality

4. Lori Newcomb, family join fight against ovarian cancer

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

» MBJ COMMENTS ONLINE

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

No material in this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written consent. Editorial and advertising material contained in this publication is derived from sources considered to be reliable, but the publication cannot guarantee their accuracy. Nothing contained herein should be construed as a solicitation for the sale or purchase of any securities.

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

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

Chudy an honest and upstanding guy

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

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

RE: “REVVING UP — Motorcars of Jackson is preparing to open its first-ever showroom on I-55” (By Wally Northway, Aug. 29) ... I purchased a Lexus SC430 from Motorcars of Jackson this spring. I live in Colorado and decided to fly into Jackson and drive the vehicle home.

You always have to wonder what you may be faced with when dealing long distance. Chip was kind enough to pick me up at the airport and get me checked into the Embassy Suites.

I knew on meeting Chip that he was a quality guy. The car was everything he promised and was ready to drive having been checked and serviced by the local Lexus dealership, again, thanks to Chip. I headed back to Colorado the next morning. I’d do a long distance deal with Chip again anytime.

— Richard Jolk, P.E. / Golden, CO

» CORRECTIONS

Newcomb making a difference

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

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

RE: “RAISING AWARENESS — Lori Newcomb, family join fight against ovarian cancer” (By Wally Northway, Aug. 29) ... Thank you for increasing awareness and funding more research for ovarian cancer. Together we will make a difference!

— Bethany Diamond / Founder Ovarian Cycle

Barbour on HBO not good RE: “Haley Barbour to appear on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher” (Sept. 9) ... Based on this, you can stick a fork in Haley – he’s done.

— Jeff Pittman

PERSPECTIVE

September 12, 2014 I Mississippi Business Journal

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» RICKY NOBILE » PERCOLATIN’ WITH BILL

Kudzu-like government thwarts cutbacks

I

»INSIDE MISSISSIPPI

Bryant offers tough love for the orphan

G

ov. Phil Bryant met last week with Mississippi’s Catholic, Episcopal and Methodist leaders to discuss the plight of “legal” refugee children seeking help and homes in our state. These seemingly well-meaning religious leaders urged Bryant not to block the resettling of immigrant children to potential homes in Mississippi.

Bryant said “no,” but made an even more important point to these leaders in the process: President Obama is out to destroy our state.

Bryant wrote an open-letter to President Obama back in July making it clear that, as governor, he planned to protect Mississippi from the president’s failed immigration policies.

And that his office would be monitoring “rumors about the

pians should take the time to read.

Our governor is a man of conviction and just may be proven right.

Many of these immigrant children have somehow been given “legal” status and the Obama Administration is now using our churches to transport and house them.

David Dallas In a recent radio interview about his decision to keep these refugee children out of our state, Bryant asked, “Can human trafficking be part of this? Is someone taking advantage of these children?”

Bryant’s clever and rhetorical questions would suggest these children are being used for political purposes, if not worse, by President Obama. They could be victims of some larger, more sinister trafficking effort with Catholic, Episcopal and Methodist church groups serving as a front. Thank God the Baptists are still clean.

In the same interview, Bryant went on to share his worries about the safety of these children and sounded awfully sincere in his desire to learn the health care conditions that exist with these children. Of course, he doesn’t want to know well enough to actually permit the children to

» Bryant’s clever and rhetorical questions would suggest these children are being used for political purposes, if not worse, by President Obama. They could be victims of some larger, more sinister trafficking effort with Catholic, Episcopal and Methodist church groups serving as a front.

Thank God the Baptists are still clean. transport and housing” of immigrants. His letter also accused the Obama Administration of conducting such actions “under the cloak of secrecy.” It’s a fascinating letter that all Mississip-

See DALLAS, Page 8

t’s budget time again for the Mississippi Legislature.

More money is needed to fund schools, community colleges, universities, highways, Medicaid, Corrections, public safety, mental health and so on.

Oh, and a tax cut, too.

Revenue growth can cover part, but not all. So, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee will, once again, painstakingly pick winners and losers from the vast array of agencies that make up state government.

Some will get more, some the same, and a few less. But none is likely to be zeroed out.

Bill Crawford Sigh.

Unsuccessful businesses get closed every day. Banks regularly merge and/or shut down unproductive operations. But not government. That’s because government behaves more like kudzu than business. Despite attempts to prune here and there, it just grows and grows.

Experts say long-term control of kudzu requires a process to kill or remove the kudzu “root crown” and all “rooting runners.”

That’s the Legislature’s dilemma. Every agency has a “root crown,” a powerful legislator, state official, or business group. All have “rooting runners.” Take on a university and you take on the alumni; take on the Cooperative Extension Service and you take on the county agents and their friendly farmers, foresters, tomato growers, and quilters; take on Medicaid and you take on poor folks, nursing homes, children of nursing home clients, and the medical community; take on tax breaks and incentives and you take on economic developers and local officials; take on schools and you take on parents, teachers, and their formidable allies.

Taking on agency root crowns and rooting runners is too dicey for most politicians.

In 1933 the Brookings Institution studied Mississippi, then, recommended it have 12 agencies. A study by Highsaw and Mullican in 1950, The Growth of State Administration in Mississippi, recommended 17 agencies. A group of business CEOs in 1971 recommended 32 agencies. Other studies have recommended closing or merging universities, school back shops, and so on to no avail.

In 1817 the state started with eight administrative agencies. By 1932 there were 80. Today, more than 140.

Removing kudzu root crowns and rooting runners requires endless discipline, aggressive controls, and multiple applications.

Reducing the size and cost of government will take the same.

History shows governors have attempted to provide more budget discipline than legislators. But, in 1955 the Legislature took over the newly formed Commission on Budget and Accounting chaired by the governor. And in 1984, due to the Allain lawsuit, they ousted the governor completely, creating the legislator-only Joint Legislative Budget Committee.

“Performance-based budgeting” is the lingo government leaders use today to describe how they intend to control spending.

But it’s the same ol’ same ol’… picking winners and losers, but eliminating nothing.

Where,ohwhere,aretherealchampionsofsmallergovernment?

Bill Crawford (crawfolk@gmail.com) is a syndicated columnist from Meridian.

7

PERSPECTIVE

8 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 12, 2014 »FROM THE GROUND UP WITH PHIL HARDWICK

Change — you must embrace change and learn to manage it

B

efore reading this column, complete the following sentence with the very first thing that comes to your mind: I never dreamed I'd see the day that …

Over the past 20 years or more I have opened many a presentation with that little exercise. It is fascinating to see how the responses have changed. When I first began asking the question the answers seem to most have to do with societal changes. Then a few years later it was the subject of technology that ruled the majority of the responses.

Nowadays, it seems that the answers are all over the place. If I had to categorize them I would say that more answers now are based on personal situations. Things like, “I never dreamed I would see the day that I would be leading my organization,” or that “I would be going back to school.”

The point of the exercise is to get people to begin thinking about change and how it affects our businesses, our nonbusiness organizations and even our personal lives. Indeed,

just disappeared one day. There was someplace known as the Home for Unwed Mothers. So from that perspective I never dreamed I would see the day that there would be middle schools that furnished day care to their students who brought their children to school. And of course, being a car guy I never dreamed that in my Phil Hardwick community I would see a Japanese auto manufacturing company headed by a CEO from Brazil who lives in Paris.

Thinking back on my high school days brings to mind the subject of shop. It was that place where the guys who were not going to go to college or did not know what they wanted to do in life learned to weld, carpenter and repair automobiles. Today it is not easy to find a high school with a shop class. One reason shop classes lost their appeal was the steep drop in factory jobs. The U.S. lost 6.1 million such jobs from 1997 to 2009. Only 644,000 have been added since, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It seems we are coming full circle. Instead of everyone needing to going to college we have workforce needs similar to those once taught in shop. Shipbuilders on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, for example, are paying over $20 per hour plus benefits for welders and related skills. I had a big internal smile recently when I was in the bookstore at Southwest Community College not long ago and saw a t-shirt that had “Southwest Welding” on the front. “Harvard Law” eat your heart out. By the way, Southwest has 18 training programs listed in the Career and Technical Education program. They range from residential carpentry to health information technology to Process Information Technology. “Shop Class Makes A Comeback” is the title of an article in the August 28, 2014 edition of BloombergBusinessWeek magazine. It points out that there

» Joel Barker says that in order for there to be fundamental change in an organization there must be chaos. Consider the above and other changes. Was there chaos? In many, if not most cases, the answer is yes. it is difficult to read a business magazine these days without there be an article or two on the subject of change and how to deal with it. The exercise is also a way to begin a discussion about perspective, that emotional, historical and environmental thing that influences each of us so much.

My own perspective is a good example. I graduated from high school in the days when cars were a big deal. Mustangs, Camaros and GTO's were the subject of discussion and of dreams. I also graduated in a year when social issues were a bit different than they are today. In my senior year of high school a girl in our school became pregnant. In the late 1960's when a female student became pregnant she sort of

DALLAS

Continued from Page 7

enter the state so we could all find out.

The press, of course, has only been reporting Bryant’s intransigence in regard to his conversation with Mississippi church leaders. No doubt the church leaders gave the standard “these-are-simply-innocentchildren” plea. In response, Bryant and his team probably laid out a clear and thorough presentation outlining how Obama is antiMississippi if not the outright anti-Christ.

And these children, merely pawns in his socialist gambit.

Bryant believes if he can just keep Obama’s immigrant-trafficking operation at bay, along with Obama-care and other Obama-ills, the State of Mississippi may finally have a chance to pull itself up by its boot straps. Then, we will become the No.

1 state in the plethora of categories where we remain woefully behind, if not on the very bottom.

Bryant, like Haley Barbour before him, has worked with other Republican governors, who also fear the Obama BoogieMan. Democrats, Tea Party, and independent political types may be more than a little disenchanted with Obama and his lack-luster-let-me-take-another-mulligan Presidency, but nobody can see the real evil that Obama represents like a Republican governor.

These governors have written countless open-letters to Obama. They insist that Obama seeks to take over our water supply, prevent state’s from choosing which homeapproved monopoly will provide their energy, and continue to over tax industry and corporations that provide employment.

Such issues will have an impact on jobs and

are 23 million “middle education” jobs that require only a high school education and that pay more than $35,000 per year. Also, there is $1.1 billion in federal funding for high school and college vocational education.

Technology has been, and is, one of the biggest drivers of change. Many experts say that technology took more people off the factory floor than China and Mexico. It would be hard to find a business that has not been affected by technology.

Even as I write this there are workers in my neighborhood replacing water meters with new ones that will communicate with receivers on telephone poles, etc. to provide remote meter reading. Many utility companies are replacing meters that were once read by hand to those that are read remotely. Changes in technology also allow my electric company to communicate with my mobile phone to let me know when there is an outage in my area and when service is expected to be restored.

It is estimated that the amount of technical information is doubling every two years. For student starting a four-year technical degree that means that some of what they learned the first year may be out-of-date by the third year.

And then there are the changes in culture and society. In 1966, Mississippi became the last state to legalize the sale of liquor. But it was done on a so-called local option basis so that cities could choose to allow sales of liquor. Most chose not to. Today many cities are changing laws to allow sale of liquor in order to lure restaurants and certain wine stores.

Speaking of changing laws, the Defense of Marriage Act and similar laws are being challenged. Likewise, consider the change in LGBT issues. To really see the impact of change in the world go online to YouTube.com and enter “Shift Happens” in the search box. There are several editions of this popular change presentation that will astound you.

Finally, Joel Barker says that in order for there to be fundamental change in an organization there must be chaos.

Consider the above and other changes. Was there chaos? In many, if not most cases, the answer is yes.

In short, if you are in business, you must embrace change and learn to manage it.

Phil Hardwick is a regular Mississippi Business Journal columnist and CEO of The Hardwick Company LLC, which provides strategic planning facilitation and leadership training services. His email is phil@philhardwick.com and he's on the web at www.philhardwick.com.

resources, and one can at least understand these battles with Obama, whether you agree with them politically or not.

However, for Bryant to come across quite publicly as being insensitive to the plight of “legal” refugees, particularly children, is unconscionable. Particularly, when done in such a condescending manner to those, who according to scripture, are charged to care for the orphan and the widow.

Bryant, no doubt a Biblical Literalist, may have pointed out the particular verse in the Book of James which actually reads: “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

Perhaps Bryant told the Zealots that he would gladly visit refugee children and maybe a few distressed widows after he finishes his term as governor. In the meantime,

he will fight on to keep Mississippi unstained by the world and our nation’s Muslim-sympathizing president.

The verse in James echoes the Jewish text in Deuteronomy about how God “executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for immigrants by giving them food and clothing.” The passage goes on to urge all of us to “show love for the immigrant.”

Bryant likely interprets this passages differently than today’s more liberal-minded clergy working for Camp Obama. The governor has a more nuanced view of how God executes justice for these immigrant children: tough love. Tough. » David Dallas is a political writer. He worked for former U.S. Sen. John Stennis and authored Barking Dawgs and A Gentleman from Mississippi.

September 12 2014

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Hancock Fabrics exec: ‘Expenses were a challenge’ BALDWYN — Hancock Fabrics Inc. has released financial results for its second quarter ended July 26 and the first half of fiscal 2014.

Net sales for the quarter were $59.3 million compared to $59.1 million for second quarter of last year, and comparable store sales increased 0.9 percent following a . percent decrease for the same period of the prior year, which represents a 260 basis point improvement.

Hancock posted a net loss for the quarter of $3.3 million, or $0.16 per basic share, compared to a net loss of $2.6 million, or $0.13 per basic share in the second quarter of fiscal 2013.

Net sales for the first half of fiscal 2014 were $122.3 million compared to $122.9 million in the first half of last year, and comparable store sales declined by 0.1.

Excluding the estimated weather impact from the first quarter of 2014, comparable store sales for the first half of 2014 would be a positive 1.40 percent.

Hancock saw a net loss of $3.8 million, or $0.18 per basic share, in the first half of fiscal 2014, compared to a net loss of $3.1 million, or $0.15 per basic share in the first half of fiscal 2013.

AUTOMOTIVE

GreenTech completes construction on plant TUNICA — GreenTech Automotive (GTA), a U.S. automotive manufacturer dedicated to developing and producing environmentally friendly, energyefficient vehicles, has completed construction on its new production facility in Tunica The facility is located at One GreenTech Drive in Robinsonville near the intersection of Old Mississippi Highway 304 and Buck Island Road. With construction on the new facility complete, GTA is making final preparations in the building’s interior and has started moving equipment from its pilot manufacturing facility in Horn Lake. The company expects to celebrate the facility’s grand opening and begin vehicle production there in the fourth quarter of 2014.

The Tunica facility will produce MyCar, a two-seat neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV) that produces zero emissions, provides segment-leading range per charge and can be recharged via a common 110V wall outlet, a 220V wall outlet or fast charging stations.

EDUCATION

Musgrove: More schools districts could join suit JACKSON — Former Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove said yesterday that about 30 more school districts are considering whether to join an education-funding lawsuit he filed against the state.

Fourteen districts, including Greenville and Hattiesburg, are already plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which seeks money to make up for budget shortfalls since 2010 because the Legislature has not fulfilled obligations of the Mississippi Adequate Education Program.

— from staff and MBJ wire services

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ENTERTAINMENT

Barbour to appear on HBO’s ‘Real Time with Bill Maher’ The news can be hard for viewers to take straight. Too confusing, too depressing, too wacky, too much.

That has made useful a breed of news presenters who soften the blow with wit and pungent insight on such programs as “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,” the soon-departing “Colbert Report” and the recently arrived “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver.”

Yet another mainstay on the laugh-whilestaying-current watch list: HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” which on Friday resumes its 12th season after leaving its viewers in the information lurch for its August break.

Maher will spring back into action with a onetwo punch. From his show’s Los Angeles home base, he travels to Washington, D.C., for a special live hour at 9 p.m. EDT from Sidney Harman Hall. His scheduled interview guests will be U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Jerry Seinfeld, and, as his round-table panelists, former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell.

As a bonus, Maher will announce the “winning loser” of his season-long “Flip a District” segment, a sly initiative soliciting viewers to nominate their favorite representatives to be voted out of office in November.

Then, as if all that weren’t Barbour enough, he will go straight into the evening’s Act II: Rushing several blocks west, he will show up at another venue, the Warner Theatre, for a live standup special aptly titled, “Bill Maher: Live From D.C.,” at 10 p.m.

On this, his 10th solo special for HBO, Maher is expected to cover such topics as the midterm elections, income inequality, the Republican psyche, why the Pope is an atheist and why tattoos are stupid.

And there likely will be other things, all dependent on the news. For Maher more than most in his business, comedy is a moving target. Saddling

ENERGY

EDUCATION

Callon Petroleum to sell shares to fund acquisition

Ole Miss makes ranking of most beautiful campuses in U.S.

NATCHEZ — Callon Petroleum Company is selling stock to pay for new oil and gas properties it plans to buy in the Permian Basin of west Texas.

The Natchez-based company will sell 12.5 million shares, giving the brokerages underwriting the sale the option to buy up to another 1.875 million shares.

At current prices, Callon could net more than $130 million from the stock sale. It also plans to borrow money to pay for the acquisitions, including a $213 million deal to buy rights to drill in 6,200 acres in the Permian Basin. The company says the acreage has 4 million barrels in proven reserves.

Callon says the acquisition has sites for more than 400 horizontal wells.

Callon also is buying 577 acres in a separate deal.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

EDA awards grant for road to Grammy Museum The U.S. Commerce Department is giving $1.25 million to the city of Cleveland to build an access road to the new Grammy Museum of Mississippi.

The money will also help upgrade infrastructure on the campus of Delta State University, which is hosting the museum.

The Commerce Department announced the grant from its Economic Development Administration this week.

The 28,000-square-foot museum is under construction on land that used to belong to Delta State’s golf course. It’s budgeted to cost $18 million and scheduled to open in fall 2015. Federal, state and local government funds, as well as private donations, are paying for it.

Cleveland Music Foundation President Lucy Janoush said organizers have been planning on the

a wild world for a comic ride is what he does. It’s a two-fold mission: being funny while making sense of goings-on.

“For me, I think it always has to be both,” he says, “or it’s neither. If I don’t do both, I got nothing.”

Sure, he indulges in the passing irresistible potshots (like a fat joke targeting New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie). But those are random dalliances. His sights typically are set on more substantial matters.

“Lindsay Lohan jokes?” he says with a chuckle. “Let everybody ELSE go there.”

Maher, 58, has been a busy standup since the late 1970s, and he scored as a TV host with “Politically Incorrect” (on Comedy Central, then ABC from 1993 to 2002) followed by “Real Time,” which premiered in 2003. That adds up to a lot of news alchemized into punchlines.

His material is highly perishable — both a bad thing and an advantage, he says.

“On the plane, I’m always working on my act,” he says.

— from staff and MBJ wire services

OXFORD — Best College Reviews, a ranking service for American colleges and universities, has released a list of the 100 most beautiful college campuses in America, and the University of Mississippi made the cut.

The 100 campuses were selected based entirely on aesthetics. The author placed particular emphasis on natural features such as green spaces, bodies of water, and arboretums as well as man made features, primarily notable architecture and look and feel of campuses as a holistic, cohesive whole. Higher education become more competitive every year, which brings higher amounts of stress to college students, and one way of mitigating that stress is attending school in a beautiful setting, whether that means bucolic, relaxing grounds or a vibrant, architecturally interesting campus.

Amy Bell, the article’s author, said, “Studying for a university degree can be made considerably more pleasant in captivating surroundings, and a beautiful backdrop may even help spur students on to bigger and better things. We created this list to show those considering their college options the wealth of attractive campuses across the U.S., with a view to ultimately inspiring those future students’ choices.”

The University of Mississippi was the only school in the state to make the ranking.

— from staff and MBJ wire services federal money as part of the $18 million budget.

“It fits in perfectly,” she said. “This will enable us to have the drive and the sidewalks and the infrastructure needs for the museum.”

There is also $6 million in money from the state of Mississippi.

Supporters hope the museum will attract tourists to Cleveland and bolster the region’s economy. The museum itself will have about 10 workers, in addition to student interns from Delta State.

But in their grant application, organizers estimated that the project will create 187 jobs and generate more than $14 million in private investment.

POLITICS

Mississippi high court sets McDaniel appeal JACKSON — The Mississippi Supreme Court will

hear oral arguments Oct. 2 as a candidate tries to revive a lawsuit that challenged his Republican primary loss to six-term Sen. Thad Cochran.

The high court released on Tuesday a schedule for the appeal by state Sen. Chris McDaniel.

Justices said they will handle the case quickly, as McDaniel requested.

Justices gave McDaniel's attorneys until Friday to file legal arguments in his appeal. They gave Cochran's attorneys a Sept. 24 deadline to file arguments. The McDaniel camp must file a response to Cochran's arguments by Sept. 26.

Judge Hollis McGehee dismissed McDaniel's lawsuit Aug. 29, saying McDaniel missed a 20-day deadline to challenge results of the June 24 runoff.

Certified results show Cochran won by 7,667 votes.

McDaniel, who is supported by tea party groups, claims the runoff was spoiled by voting irregularities.

— from staff and MBJ wire services

10 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 12 2014

SMALL BUSINESS

Community Bancshares still a top destination for borrowers seeking SBA loans

By TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com

Brandon-based Community Bancshares continues to run far ahead of other Mississippi banks in the amount of money loaned to businesses through the Small Business Administration.

Community Bancshares, the $2.5 billion parent of four separately chartered Community Bank companies based in Biloxi, Ellisville, Brandon and Amory, made slightly more than $47 million in SBA loans from Oct. 1 through Aug. 31.

The loans went to 80 businesses, according to the SBA Mississippi’s weekly “Show Me the Money” lender list.

Community Bancshares has led the pack since 2010, according to COO David Hughes. “We felt that the SBA was a real viable option for our customers and re- Hughes duced the risk for the bank” with its backing of 70 percent to 75 percent of the loan.

First Financial Bank, an El Dorado, Arkansas, banking company with branches in Carthage and Senatobia and a loan office in Magee, is the closest in dollar lending to Community Bank at $9.6 million. A loan to Philadelphia poultry company H&P Investments accounted for $1.9 million of the total, according to SBA reports.

BancorpSouth, a Tupelo regional bank, followed closely in dollar lending with nearly $7.7 million in SBA-supported loans to 25 businesses.

Community Bank is one of only a handful of » EDITOR’S NOTE: See next Mississippi banks the week’s MBJ for a rundown on SBA designates as “Pre- business lending in the $5 million ferred Lending Partners,” a classification that au- to $50 million range, thorizes the banks to approve SBA loans without the lengthy reviews required in sending the loans through SBA channels for approval.

“You know they know this stuff very well and can go ahead and approve them,” said Gary Reed, deputy director of SBA’s Mississippi District office in Jackson.

The Preferred Lending Partner status enables Community Bank to make SBA loans efficiently and timely, Hughes said.

“They don’t have to be sent off to the SBA servicing center. It gives us a competitive advantage.”

The SBA audits its Preferred Lending Partners every two to three years for compliance with SBA underwriting rules and other regulations.

“It’s a specialized type of lending,” Hughes noted. “We’ve put an expert team together here at our Brandon headquarters.”

Former SBA loan officer Ralph Hall heads the bank’s SBArelated lending.

The SBA has stepped up efforts to support loans to Mississippi’s poultry farm operators. Community Bank followed by setting up its own poultry lending department. “We have poultry lending specialists wherever that is a predominant business,” Hughes said. “They know how to deal with the farmers and the processors.”

Hughes said the default rate on its SBA loans is low and no serious problems have arisen from them over the years, a circumstance he attributes to thorough vetting of the borrower and his capacity to meet loan terms. “They must still meet good lending criteria,” he added, but noted SBA involvement does provide some flexibility on underwriting loans for start-ups and small business expansions.

A Q&A with the SBA (Q) Media reports and some surveys in the last six months say it seems business lending is resurgent in most parts of the country. Would you say that is true for Mississippi small business lending?

(A) Yes, there has been a resurgence for small business lending as a whole. Lending in Mississippi thus far this Fiscal Year (October 2013 through August 2014 ) reveals 382 loans were approved for small businesses totaling approximately $133 million dollars. For the same duration last fiscal year, 396 loans were approved totaling $130.7 million.

We’ve also secured 13 new lenders thus far this year.

(Q) How does today’s pace of activity at the SBA’s Mississippi offices compare to previous years?

(A) SBA-backed lending this fiscal year is on part to meet or exceed FY2013. Loan dollars to veterans, currently at $2.236 million, exceed the $2.22 million made through fiscal year 2013. Likewise, $60.23 million in loans to new businesses exceed the $59.6 million total number of loans made in FY 2013.

(Q) Is activity at near pre-recession levels?

(A) Yes. Overall, the pace of SBA loan-making is a healthy sign for the economy and the credit markets and is one of the foundations for ensuring the availability of financing to small businesses trying to establish themselves, grow and create new jobs.

(Q) Are rejections for SBA-backed loans up in light of the tougher underwriting rules of lenders?

(A) We’ve not found that to be true. Since SBA’s loan processing is nationally centralized, when a loan application is declined, the agency’s policy is to notify the local SBA office of such declines. We’ve received very few notices of such occurrences. In fact, we’ve only had one decline in the last twelve months.

(Q) Do you have some suggestions for business borrowers on improving their credit standing?

(A) There are a number of strategies available online at http://www.sba.gov/blogs. You may also contact SBA’s resource partners — the Mississippi SBDC, SCORE or the Women’s Business Center — via our website at www.sba.gov/ms under the “Counseling and Assistance” heading for one–on-one counseling regarding a variety of small business concerns. Those interested in attending SBA workshops or seminars can contact the Mississippi District Office in Jackson at (601) 965-4378 or Branch Office in Gulfport at (228) 863-4449.

The SBA guarantee “helps you look at the loan a little differently,” he said.

SBA loans are but one element of the commercial lending Community Bancshares does through the Community Banks.

“We have a very successful commercial lending” operation, Hughes said. It does a much larger volume of lending than the SBA division, he added.

Community Bancshares’ received about $54.6 million in low-cost capital in a 2010 U.S. Treasury Department allocation of Community Development Capital Initiative money.

The Treasury money, lent to the bank at 2 percent with an 8year payback, had to be targeted toward under-served areas of the state for residential and business lending.

“That gave us the additional capital to expand our lending when consumers and businesses needed loans,” Hughes said of See

COMMUNITY, Page 11

For SBA fixed-asset lending, think 504 » The loans can go up to $5.5 million and have 10-to-20-year fixed rates

By TED CARTER I STAFF WRITER ted.carter@msbusiness.com Mississippi’s small businesses looking to buy land, build a building, physically expand or buy new equipment often turn to the Small Business Administration’s 504 loans.

The fixed-asset loans offer fixed rates of from 10 to 20 years in amounts up to $5.5 million. They are administered through a pair of subsidiaries of the state’s regional planning entities: The Central Mississippi Development Co., an arm of the Central Mississippi Planning and Development District in Jackson, and Three Rivers Development Co., an arm of the Three Rivers Planning and Development District in Pontotoc.

As “Certified Development Companies” under the SBA’s 7A lending program, the two entities represent the SBA in participating in the business lending.

Unlike SBA small business lending, the agency’s 504 lending does not involve loan guarantees. What it does do, however, is provide 30 percent of the loan, with the borrower providing 20 percent and the private lender the remainder.

Banks gain comfort in making a loan for which half is covered either through equity from the borrower or money from the SBA. Further, the bank is first lien holder on the fixed assets the borrower is buying.

Mississippi’s 504 lending started in 1984 with the funding of a small barbecue restaurant in Vicksburg. In the years that followed, state officials had hoped to see the bulk of the lending go into the manufacturing sector where thousands of jobs could be created, according to Larry Anderson, the 504 loan officer at the Central Mississippi Development Co. At its inception, the 504 program — which the SBA called the 503 in the program’s early years — provided lending stability for small business borrowers by giving fixed rates for fixed terms ranging from 10 to 20 years.

The 504 loans still provide the fixed term and fixed rates.

“Usually the rate is better than the bank rate available,” Anderson said, but added banks have become eager enough to do new small commercial lending that they have lured away some borrowers who otherwise would have opted for 504 loans. “They are willing to go ahead and give a loan at 4 or 5 percent,” he said.

The result: Activity has been “kind of flat” for 504 lending, Anderson noted.

The SBA portion of Mississippi 405 loans totaled $7.9 million in 2007; $18 million in 2008, $12 million in 2009 and $7 million in 2010.

The total fell to $325,000 in 2011 before rebounding to $12.2 million in 2012. The total fell back to $3.3 million in 2013 and is at $6 million as the SBA nears the end of its fiscal year on Sept. 30, according to figures Anderson provided.

This year’s 405 lending from Anderson’s Central Mississippi Development Co. has included $3.2 million for a Hilton Garden Inn in Flowood; $810,00 for a Rieman Family Funeral Home in Ocean Springs; $810,000 for Sal & Mookie’s New York Pizza & Ice Cream Joint in Biloxi; and $719,000 for Madison Pre-School.

Three Rivers Development Co. 405 loans have included $4.1 million for Holiday Inn & Suites Hotel in Starkville; $1 million for Meridian plastics and resin manufacturer Solaplast LLC; and $369,000 for Domino’s Pizza of Southaven.

Meanwhile, Mississippi’s banks have taken to refinancing 405 See

504, Page 11

September 12 2014

504

Continued from Page 10

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CDC/504 Loan Program Eligibility To be considered for Certified Development Com-

loans made 10 years ago at rates above pany(CDC)/504 loan, applicants must meet these eligithose charged today. Banks see the 405 bility requirements: borrowers as “seasoned” candidates for refinancing; the borrowers see a chance to » Operate as a for-profit company lower debt costs, Anderson said. » Do business (or propose to) in the United States or its “A number of our loans from 2007 have possessions been paid off,” he said. » Has a tangible net worth less than $15 million and an The SBA funds its 504 loans through debentures it sells to investors across the average net income less than $5.0 million after taxes country, according to Anderson. for the preceding two years.

The loans are limited to fixed assets » Loans cannot be made to businesses engaged in such as land and buildings and speculation or investment in rental real estate. equipment with a usable life of at least 10 » Be an eligible type of business. While the vast majoryears, he said. ity of businesses are eligible for financial assistance Anderson gave this example of a loan from the SBA, some are not. Check this list of eligible for a $1 million bed-and-breakfast inn in Rankin County. “You have to come up with and ineligible types of businesses to see if your com20 percent as a down payment. The bank pany qualifies. comes in with 50 percent. They have first » Under the 504 Program, plan to use proceeds for an lien. The SBA guaranteed debenture approved purpose. CDC/504 loan proceeds may be would be 30 percent.” used for the financing of fixed assets like real estate or Typically, according to Anderson, the equipment. This list explains eligible and ineligible use bank is willing to provide some of the working capital since it has 50 percent of of proceeds. the loan already covered and has a stake » Not have funds available from other sources. SBA in the success of the business. does not extend financial assistance to businesses A key rule of 504 lending is that each when the financial strength of the individual owners or $50,000 of the 30 percent of the SBA the company itself is sufficient to provide all or part of loan contribution must produce one full the financing. Both business and personal financial retime job. While loans of up to $5.5 sources are reviewed as part of the eligibility criteria. If million to individual hotel projects are unlikely to produce jobs sufficient to these resources are found to be excessive, the business qualify for the loan amount, jobs created will be required to use those resources in lieu of part or through total lending to all 405 all of the requested loan proceeds. borrowers over a fiscal year are used to » Ability to repay the loan on time from the projected calculate eligibility, Anderson explained. operating cash flow of the business “This is why we look for companies » Good character. SBA obtains a "Statement of Perthat are going to hire a lot of people,” sonal History" from the principals of each applicant firm he said.

The process for borrowers who come in to determine if they have historically shown the willingprepared with a business plan is usually ness and ability to pay their debts and whether they pretty quick, according to Anderson. The have abided by the laws of their community lengthiest wait involves getting appraisals » Relevant management expertise completed, he said. » Feasible business plan Most of the borrowers are sent over from the banks they have approached for lending, he noted. “The banks have usually already done some initial underwriting.”

The loan package is sent to the SBA processing center in Sacramento, Calif., for further underwriting.

If all goes well there, the SBA issues a debenture and the bank is notified to do the initial construction loan. That is followed by a permanent loan for which the 504 program provides its 30 percent, Anderson said.

COMMUNITY

Continued from Page 10

the CDCI, an effort that was part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. The bank has already lent out its $54.6 million allocation, according to Hughes.

Mississippi banks received nearly $250 million of the $1 billion total the Treasury provided through the Community Development Capital Initiative.

Gluckstadt residents Jay and Andrea Criddle learned firsthand about the specialized nature of SBA loans when they sought a loan to start the Children’s Academy of Madison. They recently had their

5-year-old loan, now at $106,000, transferred to BankPlus.

The original bank took seven months to close the loan. “And to us that was unacceptable,” Andrea Criddle said. “We soon realized that it had nothing to do with the SBA but more to do with the bank that we used. They did not have an SBA specialist and had never closed an SBA loan before.

So they were running blind when it came to our loan” BankPlus has been “a totally different situation,” Criddle said. “The SBA specialist was very helpful and knowledgeable. She knew the ins and outs and we absolutely had an easy closing and transition to BankPlus.”

12 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 12 2014

CREATIVE ECONOMY WALLY NORTHWAY / The Mississippi Business Journal

A nurse by trade Beverly Anglin opened The Southern Needle as a sort of hybrid retail store/education center in a bid to resurrect a dying art and industry.

Stitch in time

» The Southern Needle looks to spark renaissance

BY WALLY NORTHWAY wally.northway@msbusiness.com

While Beverly Anglin is a risk-taker, she is not your typical entrepreneur.

Ask most small business owners about their goals, they usually will talk about revenues, profits, market share. Anglin, owner of The Southern Needle in the Trace Station Shopping Center in Ridgeland, talks little about any of those things. In fact, she has few goals but one very ambitious, overriding mission — to help spark a renaissance in the art of needlework.

To that end, she has created The Southern Needle, which serves as both a retail store and a knitting education center; where an inventory of new yarns, needles and accessories are mixed with handcrafted creations from the past and family heirlooms while leaving room for people to gather, learn and share.

"In all of Mississippi, there are only five yarn shops, and there is only one needlepoint shop," said Anglin, a nurse by trade who opened The Southern Needle about a year ago. "Now, that's sad."

For her, the mission of The Southern Needle is less about winning customers and more about converting souls to handcrafts. Anglin said she lives for those "ah-

ha" moments when people walk into her shop and "it shows on their face — what I call 'closet knitters.'"

"The Southern Needle grew out of my desire to have a yarn shop in this area that provides a warm, friendly atmosphere for folks to come gather for lessons, purchase good quality yarns and develop relationships out of the common bond of creativity," Anglin said. "I have a passion for knitting and crocheting, which I learned from my grandmother, and I feel an obligation to pass that passion on to others; to honor the culture and history of this art form and be a part of its renaissance."

While all of her talk about family, heritage and culture sounds distinctly Southern, Anglin is actually Canadian. It was there that she learned the finer points of needlework from her Norwegian grandmother, and it was there that she discovered her hands had talents beyond knitting.

"Growing up, I always had something in my hands. I was always trying to fix things, even wounded or sick animals," Anglin remembered. "I guess that's why I went into the health care field. No one in my family had a background in nursing."

After graduating from a Nightingale school, Anglin was practice nursing in Toronto in 1977 when she responded to an

among children. The second and fourth Thursday of every month is Open Door Night, where anyone can come for a couple of hours to knit, crochet or execute some other form of handcraft, share ideas and tips while developing new relationships.

The Southern Needle also offers custom-made pieces from scarves, shawls, cowls to doll clothing and Christmas ornaments as well as needlework repair and restoration.

"We are currently working on a 100year-old bed cover for a customer," Anglin said. "People are bringing in old pieces all the time that are damaged or need care. It's very rewarding restoring someone's family heirloom."

The store's hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Tuesday-Friday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturdays. The hours are limited by Anglin's schedule. She continues to work three days a week as a surgical nurse in Baptist Cancer Services and only has one volunteer, nonpaid helper at The Southern Needle. Now 62 and looking at retirement, Anglin said advertisement in the local newspaper for she looks forward to the time when she can nursing positions at Baptist Medical Cenbe at The Southern ter in Jackson. She Needle every day. originally had no inUp until now, Antention of staying in glin's marketing efMississippi, but weeks forts have been turned into months, through social media months turned into (Facebook, Pinterest years, and her roots in and Instagram) and the Magnolia State her website took firm hold when (www.thesouthernshe married a Missisneedle.com. She is sippi man. currently working Her passion for on her first mass needlework followed mailer, a postcard Anglin, and for more campaign, but it's than a decade she what could come dreamed of opening a from an ad in a local yarn shop in the high school newspagreater Jackson area. per that has Angln Then, she was apthe most excited. proached about space "This little 17-yearin the Trace Station old girl, a student at Shopping Center on Madison Central U.S. Highway 51 in High School, recently Ridgeland. Lacking ficame in the store nancing, Anglin literlooking to sell me an ally mortgaged her Beverly Anglin ad in the school's own future. newspaper," Anglin Owner, The Southern Needle "I didn't want to remembered. "When take out a business she walked in, I could loan, so I borrowed see it in her eyes. I the money from myself — I took the eqtold her I'd buy an ad, and I asked her if uity out of my house to open The Southern she knitted. She said she used to. With that, Needle," Anglin said with a grin.

I asked her if Madison Central had a knitToday in addition to yarns and needles, ting club. I told her I would support one, The Southern Needle offers classes for beand the club could meet after school in the ginners in knitting and crocheting, store once a week." Throwing her hands up, monthly "knit-alongs" that encourage new Anglin added, "And it's in the works! Isn't techniques while aiming to foster an apthat exciting?" preciation for needlework, particularly

“I have a passion for knitting and crocheting, which I learned from my grandmother...”

September 12 2014

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ENVIRONMENT

Court tosses challenge to Miss. Silicon’s clean air permit » Globe Metallurgical tardy in asking for review, Tishomingo Chancery judge rules

the plant is on schedule with work moving “full speed ahead.”

Completion is expected early in 2015.

Estimates are the plant will need to hire 200 workers. “We’ll probably start hiring after the first of the year… a couple of months before startup,” Tuten said.

Tuten said in a previous interview that only recently have efficiencies been made in manufacturing silicon metals to make a new U.S. plant financially worthwhile.

In addition to Global, Mississippi Silicon will be competing against lower-cost Chinese, Russian and Third World silicon

products whose makers face few of the environmental and other regulations to which U.S. operations must adhere.

However, Mississippi Silicon will be selling in a strong market, Tuten said in last week’s interview. “We’re seeing improved pricing. The market has gotten better.”

By TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com

An Alabama competitor to Mississippi Silicon, which is building a $200 million plant in Burnsville, came in too late with its challenge to an air quality permit for the plant, the Tishomingo County Chancery Court has ruled.

In an Aug. 29 summary judgment, Chancery Judge Michael Malski said Globe Metallurgical of Selma let too much time elapse between the state Permit Board’s Dec. 10 approval of a Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality clean air permit and its request for a review hearing.

Globe Metallurgical should have made the request within the statutorily-set 30-day window instead of waiting until Feb. 12, the court said.

Globe argued the 30-day clock should not have begun running until the Permit Board’s Jan. 14 approval of the minutes of the board’s Dec. 10 meeting.

Certain actions do require approval of a state board’s minutes to become official, said Mississippi Silicon attorney Keith W. Turner of Watkins & Eager in Jackson.

But the air quality permit approval is not among them, Turner said. The action is official, he said, “when the Permit Board accepts the permit from the DEQ staff.”

Globe did not challenge the validity of any parts of the permit.

Turner said Globe is taking action against its Mississippi competitor on several legal fronts, all of which he claims are aimed at keeping Mississippi Silicone from becoming the first new entry into the U.S. silicon manufacturing market since the mid 1970s.

“This is a continuous harassment of Mississippi Silicon,” Turner said.

Though some other U.S. manufacturers make silicon metal for their own use, Globe’s four U.S. plants are the only domestic producers for a commercial market, the Associated Press reports.

Globe is a business unit of Miami-based Globe Specialty.

Mississippi Silicon is building the Burnsville plant as a partner of Rima Holdings USA and investor group Clean Tech, LLC. Rima Holdings is a subsidiary of Brazil’s Rima Industrial S/A, a producer of a quarter of the world’s silicon.

Interviewed last Friday, Mississippi Silicon CEO David Tuten said construction of

formerly called the Mississippi Business & Technology EXPO

Friday I[fj$ '/j^ 9:30am - 6pm C_ii_ii_ff_ JhWZ[ CWhj @WYaied" CI

Come join us Music, food, business networking

~ WIN A CRUISE ~

For more MBJ Business Marketplace event details go to: http://msbusiness.com/events/business-and-technology-expo/

SPECIAL EVENTS Leaders in Finance Breakfast & Health Care Heroes Luncheon

14 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 12 2014

BANKING AND FINANCE

Bigger looks better for Mississippi’s banks

By TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com

Mississippi’s banks netted profits of $369 million in the second quarter, but the state’s small banks with less than $100 in assets continued a two-year decline in profits, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reports.

While banks above $100 million in assets earned nearly $100 million more over the same quarter last year, going from $266 million to $365 million, small community banks earned $1 million less in the second quarter compared to 2013’s second quarter. That followed a $1 million drop from $6 million to $5 in net income from the second quarter of 2013 to Q2 2013.

Asset declines continued for the small banks, as well. Mississippi banks of $100 in assets or less ended the second quarter of 2012 with assets of $1,4 billion. Asset totals dropped to $1.077 billion in Q2 the following year to $1.101 billion in the most recent quarter.

The declines bear out predictions from the state’s bankers in recent years that the smallest banks would struggle in the postDodd-Frank regulatory environment, with some either closing or being acquired by larger banks. Mississippi had 87 banks at the close of 2012’s second quarter. It ended this year’s second quarter with 84 banks.

Banks below $100 million accounted for the three institutions that disappeared from the ledger.

Nationally, community banks continue to show improved performance, according to the FDIC. “The rate of loan growth at community banks outpaced the industry, and net interest margins at community banks are trending up in contrast to the industry as a whole,” FDIC Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg said in releasing the second banking numbers at the end of August.

Mississippi’s larger banks showed a brighter picture at the quarter’s close, with year-to-date net income totaling $365 million, up more than a quarter from 2013’s $266 million, the FDIC report showed.

The $100-plus banks had net income of

THE OAKS

FED’S BEIGE BOOK NOTES MODERATE ECONOMIC GROWTH IN MISSISSIPPI’S 2 DISTRICTS

By TED CARTER ted.carter@msbusiness.com Federal Reserve banks in Atlanta and St. Louis, both of which have Mississippi jurisdictions, report modest gains in economic activity since mid July.

Reporting in the Federal Reserve’s Sept. 4 Beige Book, the Atlanta Fed said business optimism for 2014 exceeds actual gains to this point. “Regardless of the outlook, most firms continue to be optimistic and expect higher growth over the remainder of the year,” the Atlanta Fed reported.

The Atlanta Fed’s economic monitoring takes in the central and southern half of the state, while the St. Louis Fed surveys activity in the northern half. The various Federal Reserve banks survey businesses from all the main sectors in compiling assessments detailed in the Beige Book. The book is published several times yearly.

For the Atlanta region, retailers noted sales increased from their year-earlier levels and automobile sales continued an upward trend, the report said.

On the real estate front, the Atlanta Fed said brokers and builders reported sales of existing and new homes outpaced last year’s levels.

In Central Mississippi, builders have been challenged in finding materials and skilled workers to keep up with homebuilding demand, according to Curt Gabardi, president & CEO of Ridgeland-based Metropolitan Bank.

He said much of the residential building is focused on first-time homebuyers. “The $225,000 to $250,000 is a very strong market,” Gabardi said, and noted builders are selling the homes before starting construction.

He said residential builders in his bank’s Nashville, Tenn., market have had difficulty obtaining vacant land to meet the housing demand. “The good news for Metro Jackson is that the balance seems just about right, ” Gabardi said. “The balance of supply and absorption of unsold homes here is at a pretty healthy point.”

For commercial real estate, the Atlanta Fed reported improved demand and modest growth in construction.

By contrast, the St. Louis Fed said its region’s commercial and industrial real estate markets have been mixed, with weak demand in Louisville, Ky., for office space and increased demand in St. Louis. Memphis reported stable office vacancy and decreases in both industrial and retail vacancy rates.

Home sales decreased in the St. Louis Fed’s region, with Memphis reporting the highest decline at 6 percent.

Both the Atlanta and St. Louis districts reported modest employment growth, though the Atlanta Fed said businesses still mentioned difficulties in finding qualified workers. The shortage, the reported noted, seems to ne “both intensifying and broadening across skills and occupations.”

Most contacts continued to report “relatively stable” wage growth in the 2 percent to 3 percent range, the Atlanta noted.

For the St. Louis district, 60 percent of contacts reported that wages have stayed the same, while 31 percent reported a slight increase and 8 percent a slight decrease.

» In Central Mississippi, builders have been challenged in finding materials and skilled workers to keep up with homebuilding demand, according to Curt Gabardi, president & CEO of Ridgeland-based Metropolitan Bank.

Continued from Page 2

ered the footprints of the significant outbuildings and locations of the original Boyd household’s work activities — providing an understanding of the 19th-century urbanizing processes at a middle-class house and lot.

They identified the exact location of the original Boyd kitchen and its brick hearth. Typical to most 19th-century Southern home sites, the kitchen was behind and detached from the house — some distance away due to the fire hazard and heat of the daily work that took place in and

around the kitchen. This detached building was razed in the early 20th century.

From shards found at the site, many types of ceramics, porcelains and other materials used by the Boyd family in their daily work were discovered, giving an insight into where they grew vegetables and where they slaughtered animals for food.

“When most people think of historic Mississippi homes, they think of grand plantation homes that were built and served by slave labor,” Batton said. “I think most Mississippians can identify more with The Oaks. The family was middle class, and their home reflected that. I encourage

Asset declines continue for Mississippi’s small banks. $257 million at the end of the second quarter 2012.

Gruenberg reported a healthy overall outlook for banks nationally. “Net income was up, asset quality improved, and loan balances grew at their fastest pace since before the crisis,” he said.

“The number of problem banks is now 60 percent below the peak in 2011, and the number of bank failures continues to trend down,” he said, but noted revenue continues to be held back by narrow interest margins and lower mortgage-related income.

“And the interest rate environment has led institutions to reach for yield, thereby raising concerns about interest rate risk,” he said.

The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, a periodic survey of business and overall economic activity, said in a Sept. 4 report that bankers in the Fed’s Atlanta district reported they were “very well capitalized and had plenty of money to lend.”

Lender competition for commercial loans continued to be fierce in the Atlanta district, which takes in Central and Southern Mississippi, the Atlanta Fed reported.

The St. Louis Fed, whose district takes in Northern Mississippi, said overall banking activity remained unchanged since the last Beige Book on July 16. For commercial and industrial loans, credit standards eased slightly over the new reporting period.

“Creditworthiness of applicants improved modestly, demand was stronger and delinquencies were largely unchanged,” the St. Louis district reported.

school groups, clubs, community members and tourists to see it for themselves.”

Beginning Sept. 9, The Oaks will be open to the public for tours from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays and by appointment. Regular admission to The Oaks is $4.50 per adult, $4.00 per senior (age 65 or older) and $3.50 per child. There is a 10 percent discount for AAA members and a 20 percent discount for groups of 10 or more.

For more on The Oaks House Museum, visit www.theoakshousemuseum.org.

September 12 2014

I

Mississippi Business Journal

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15

»FROM THE PUBLISHER’S DESK

The good and bad news from the economic front

A

t a dinner hosted by Regions Bank on Wednesday, Sept. 3 at the Jackson Country Club, Regions Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Richard Moody was joined by Senior Vice President for Public Policy Chris Scribner to present some of their prognostications for both the state and national economic scene, and the political picture as it stacks up for the coming elections and beyond.

Moody painted a somewhat positive picture of the economic climate for the “next couple of years.” He sees con-

At the same time, however, he also suggested that it isn’t “the rate at which we are climbing out of the hole….but rather that the hole we have fallen into is so much deeper than it was in prior cycles.” He pointed out that “recent years have seen a significant increase in the share of those transitioning from unemployed to out of the labor force.”

On the whole, Moody sees “the fundamentals being better than they have in quite some time.” With that said, however, he admitted to being “surprised by the weakness in single family construction” and says that “we should have seen more improvement in that sector.”

As an economist, however, he also offered some “down the road” thoughts. He pointed out that in eight or 10 years, we’ll see the “full impact” of the baby boom retirement, with the inevitable massive increase in public spending on Social Security and Medicare. He foresees little chance that entitlement spending reforms will be enacted that can make a significant difference during the next two years, and failing those reforms, implied that the country will be in for some rough economic sledding a decade from now as “public spending spirals out of control.”

Scribner’s perspectives revolve around the political and

On the whole, Moody sees “the fundamentals being better than they have in quite some time. tinued but modest improvement in employment during the next couple of years, pointing out that “the probability of finding work has risen steadily across all durations of unemployment since early 2010.”

policy arena. While hedging his bets, he suggested that there is a “60% chance that the GOP will capture the Senate in the upcoming elecAlan Turner tions.” He then posed the question “does this matter?” and his answer was “probably not much, although we’re probably in for some interesting times during the next two years.”

One reason for concern is the growth of the “4th Branch” of government, that is, the “regulatory state.”

By this he refers to the growth of the federal bureaucracy which “governs with increasing autonomy and decreasing transparency.”

Among other comparisons, he pointed out that the present Congress passed just 138 laws, while Federal agencies passed over 2900 rules, of which 61 were classified as “major regulations.” He sees reason for concern in this trend, along with the fact that federal agencies during the past year were responsible for almost 10 times the number of “adjudicatory proceedings” as federal judges.

Perhaps the important take-away from the evening was that there are reasons for optimism in the short term, but also reasons for concern over the challenges that await our state and nation down the road.

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

LAW

NETWORKING

State’s Supreme Court to hear case involving tort damage cap

Madison County’s Creative Economy Council to host after-hours event The Madison County Creative Economy Council (MCCEC) will host a business after hours event on Thursday, Sept. 25 featuring music, exhibitors, refreshments and networking at the Farmer’s Table Cooking School at the Town of Livingston. The group’s goal is to build business-to-business relationships within Madison County, and it works to promote and celebrate Madison County’s Creative Economy.

“We want to encourage our businesses to do business with other local businesses whenever possible,” explains Jan Collins, executive director of the Madison County Business League.

Inspired by the Mississippi Creative Economy study (www.mscreativeeconomy.com) put together by the Mississippi Development Authority and the Mississippi Arts Commission, the Madison County Creative Economy Council was formed to help others understand Madison County’s creative economy as it exists

Special to the MBJ

The after-hours program will feature exhibits, food, music and more on Sept. 25.

today, helping the county to be better positioned to support and further develop this key sector. Governor Bryant has proclaimed 2014 as the year of the Creative Economy.

The Madison County Creative Economy Council is a convergence of organizations with a strong interest in seeking out and promoting all that is good in the County. The people and organizations that make up the Madison County Creative Economy Council include the Canton Chamber of Commerce Main Street Association, Canton Convention and Visitors Bureau & Film Office, Flora Area

Chamber of Commerce, Madison the City Chamber of Commerce, Madison County Business League, Madison County Chamber of Commerce, Madison County Economic Development Authority, Madison County Foundation, Ridgeland Chamber of Commerce, Ridgeland Tourism Commission, and Susan Marquez Consulting.

“It’s been an amazing collaboration by representatives of all these organizations,” said Collins.

For more information, www.madisoncountycreativeeconomy.com, call 601-8325592 or email collins.jan01@gmail.com.

— special to the MBJ

The Mississippi Supreme Court is being asked to overturn a state judge’s ruling that a legislatively imposed cap on how much juries can award in non-economic damages is unconstitutional.

Circuit Judge Charles Webster in Coahoma County issued the ruling in 2012 in a wrongful death lawsuit seeking damages in the death of a child in an apartment complex fire.

A Coahoma jury in 2011 returned a verdict for the plaintiffs that included $6 million in noneconomic damages.

State law limits awards for non-economic damages to $1 million. The cap applies to what a jury can award for such things as pain and suffering. The limits on damages were adopted

by Mississippi lawmakers after years of contentious wrangling over tort changes.

Webster, in his ruling, said the Mississippi Constitution guarantees every citizen a remedy for an injury done to his lands, goods, person and reputation with that remedy to be determined by a jury. He upheld the damage award and threw out the $1 million cap.

“The issue is not whether the limits imposed under the statute are reasonable. Rather, the issue is whether the Legislature has the authority to impose any limits, reasonable or not,” Webster wrote.

— from staff and MBJ wire services

AN MBJ FOCUS: TRUCKING & TRANSPOR

The wait continues . .

Several projects are underway in the Jackson metro area, but motorists will have to wait until well into 2015 before they can travel the improved roadways.

Some parts of the I-55 northbound in Hinds County are undergoing a dirt transfusion to remove Yazoo clay, while other areas of the stretch, such as as the Siwell Road exit in Byram, are almost ready to be re-opened.

Photos by Frank Brown/Sto

September 12, 2014 • MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS JOURNAL • www.msbusiness.com

PORTATION

...

Brown/Story by Lynn Lofton

I-55 construction work around Jackson is expected to stretch well into 2015 EVERAL PROJECTS are underway on Interstate 55 in the Jackson Metro area by the Mississippi Department of Transportation in an effort to keep traffic flowing smoothly in the growing region.

These projects, their approximate costs and estimated completion dates include the following: » Lakeland Drive improvements — approximately $1.7 million; estimated completion, November 2014. » Split-Diamond interchange, Madison — approximately $85.4 million; estimated completion, May 2015. » Gluckstadt Interchange — approximately $21.5 million; estimated completion, summer 2015. » McDowell Road to Byram interstate widening — approximately $100 million; estimated completion fourth quarter 2015.

“We would like to urge motorists to take extra precaution, slow down and watch out for workers on the roadway while driving through this work zone,” said MDOT Central District Commissioner Dick Hall. “We look forward to utilizing this roadway to further improve the safety of motorists throughout the area and look forward to completing this work safely while causing minimal traffic delays.”

The project nearest completion is work being done on Lakeland Drive where Hall says motorists competing for lanes in this

S

See

INTERSTATE, Page 19

Workers have labored for more than a year on I-55 under the hot Mississippi sun .

Debris from a bridge replacement lines the construction area next to the frontage road on I-55.

18 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 12, 2014

TRUCKING & TRANSPORTATION

81 and still dredging

Photos courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

The Dredge Jadwin is 274 feet long by 52 feet wide and four stories high. It can dig down 60 feet. The COE has a congressional mandate to maintain a 9-foot-deep, 300-foot-wide channel from the Port of St. Paul to Baton Rouge.

» Dredge Jadwin has been keeping channels of the Mighty Mississippi open since 1933

By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) affectionately refers to the Dredge Jadwin as “a River Heroine.” The machine known as a dustpan dredge built in 1933 is still in operation keeping the channels of the Mississippi River open for shipping.

The Mississippi River plays a critical role in the nation’s transportation system.

“It is the cheapest way to move commodities,” said Greg C. Raimondo, public affairs chief for the Vicksburg District COE. “The standard on the river is for a 15-barge tow. One 15-barge tow can carry same amount as 870 tractor-trailers. If you lined those up from nose to tail, it would be 11.5 miles long. You can only imagine what Highway 55 would look like with that much traffic on it.”

The river facilitates major economic development activity. In just the Port of Vicksburg alone, an estimated 4,000 jobs with an annual payroll of $80 million are sustained by the port that ships about 2.5 million tons per year.

Dustpan dredges are unique to the Mississippi River. The dredge has high velocity water jets in the suction heads that agitate and loosen the sediment. The head of the Dredge Jadwin looks like a gigantic shop vac with presser washers attached.

“The pressure washers loosen up the sand and sediment on the bottom, and the giant shop vac sucks it up and puts it through pumps to deposit in the center of the channel where it flows downstream,” Raimondo said. “At times, it uses a flexible outlet hose and may be used to create habitat or put in a disposal area.

More often than not, it is just discharged.

It is not that heavy of a material. Once you loosen it up, it become a slurry and moves downstream.”

The Dredge Jadwin is huge, 274 feet

Dredge Jadwin has high velocity water jets in the suction heads that agitate and loosen the sediment, then deposits it in the middle of the channel where it is washed downriver. .

long by 52 feet wide, and four stories high.

It has a draft of nine feet and can dig down 60 feet. The Jadwin has a crew of 47. Originally it was steam powered, but it was converted to diesel a few years back.

The COE has a congressional mandate to maintain a nine-foot-deep, 300-footwide channel from the Port of St. Paul all the way to Baton Rouge. Below Baton Rouge, they keep the same 300-foot-wide channel, but it is 45-feet deep. The ports of Baton Rouge and New Orleans are the most heavily used ports in the U.S. The upper reaches of the river from St.

Louis north consist of a lock and dam system with pools whose water level can be controlled. From St. Louis on down, it is an open river.

“That is why it is so much more difficult to maintain commerce here,” Raimondo said. “We can’t control the water levels.

During the drought in 2012, river traffic nearly came to a halt going from the upper Mississippi to the lower Mississippi.

Thieves’ Gap is the only spot on the Mississippi where we have a rock bottom. They are what we call tentacles or rock outcroppings. You can’t dredge. You can’t just suck

up rocks. We had to mechanically remove the rock with blasting and grinding.

Thieves Gap used to be a waterfall that 12,000 years ago was taller than Niagara Falls. It fell into the Gulf of Mexico in lower Missouri.”

Dredge Jadwin has proved its worth many times over, especially during periods of drought. In the 1988 drought, the Jadwin cleared the closed river channel at Greenville in four days at a cost of $170,000. If the 1,760 commercial barges had been forced to move their goods by highway, it would have formed a 1,500-mile convoy of 100,000 tractor-trailer rigs.

The Vicksburg District helps maintain the main channel of the river, as well as the ports of Rosedale, Greenville and Vicksburg on the Mississippi side of the river and Yellow Bend, Lake Providence, Madison Parish on the west side of the river.

Ports are silted in after flooding because sediment falls out in slack water.

The ports silted in pretty badly during the flood of 2011. One of the biggest concerns was having the funding to dredge to be able to reopen the ports after the flooding. Fortunately, Congress approved a supplement to do the necessary dredging.

“We are going to make sure the ports stay open for navigation,” Raimondo said. “If not the Dredge Jadwin, we may hire a commercial dredge to come in and help us out.”

Dredging is the most important tool to keep river commerce flowing, but it isn’t the only tool. In problem areas the COE uses “river training structures” like dikes and articulated concrete revetment mats in problem areas where bank erosion is a concern.

“The river is going to do what it is going to do,” Raimondo said. “We do our best to keep it in check, sustaining the mighty Mississippi. The combination of the revetment, the dikes and the dredging is how we are able to keep commerce going on the Mississippi River. It is an incredibly huge job.”

TRUCKING & TRANSPORTATION INTERSTATE

September 12, 2014

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Mississippi Business Journal

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Continued from Page 13

area have created an intersecting traffic pattern that causes congestion and wrecks on a regular basis. â&#x20AC;&#x153;By adding the new left turn lane and removing the northeast loop, motorists traveling on I-55 north will have a much safer means to get to the businesses and health services on Lakeland Drive just west of I-55.â&#x20AC;?

Hall says the project is on schedule to be finished in November. The additional westbound lane is from Cool Papa Bell to I-155.

Crews are also installing new signs and a new traffic signal. The next step will see the completion of the mill and overlay of Lakeland Drive and the ramp to Lakeland Drive from I-55 northbound. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The additional lane at the intersection will allow traffic to flow better through the intersection,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Additionally, emergency vehicles will have the right of way when using the intersection.â&#x20AC;?

In the rapidly growing Madison area, work is 75 percent complete on the split-diamond interchange. This project will reconstruct Interstate 55 from Old Agency Road to north of State Route 463. The interchange is between existing Madison Avenue and the proposed Colony Park Boulevard and adds two lanes to the interstate in each direction for a total of eight lanes. It also adds frontage roads to the interstate between Old Agency Interchange

FRANK BROWN / The Mississippi Business Journal

Orange barrels are common all along the I-55 route from Hinds County north to Madison County.

and Madison Avenue, widens Madison Avenue to five lanes and will build the new Colony Park Boulevard.

Gluckstadt in Madison County is also experiencing growth and increased traffic.

Upon completion this project will provide a six-lane bridge across I-55. Although the project will not be totally completed until next summer, MDOT has opened the new I-55 southbound entrance and exit ramps at the Gluckstadt interchange. â&#x20AC;&#x153;While crews continue to work on the new Gluckstadt interchange at I-55, we ask motorists to please slow down, use caution when travelling through the work zone and obey all posted signage,â&#x20AC;? Commissioner

Hall said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The next portion of the project will see the completion of the bridge deck, the alignment of Dees Drive and the construction of Gluckstadt Road on the east side of the bridge.â&#x20AC;?

The area south of the Jackson city limits is also experiencing rapid growth with increasing traffic southward to Byram. Once MDOTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s project is complete, there will be six lanes of I-55; three northbound and three southbound from McDowell Road to Byram. Yazoo Clay, which is notorious for shifting, is in parts of this project and causing problems. Crews are excavating and replacing up to five feet of the clay from underneath the roadway.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The exits throughout the project area will also be reconstructed to agree with the added lanes. This includes Siwell Road, Elton Road, Savannah Street, Daniel Lake Boulevard and McDowell Road,â&#x20AC;? Hall said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There will also be new retaining walls, interstate lighting, new signage and minor bridge work on Elton Road and McDowell Road to bring them to the new standards.â&#x20AC;?

The Savannah St. ramps are expected to be open by the end of October. The installation of the drainage structure in the northbound lanes of I-55 is approximately 65 percent complete. The entire northbound section of I-55 is expected to be complete by May 2015.

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20 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 12, 2014 Company Bigbee Transportation Inc. Circle M Inc. Cooper Truck Line Inc. Douglas Express Delivery Ergon Trucking Inc. EverGreen Industries Inc. Ferry Transportation Inc. G.B. “Boots” Smith Corporation Holmes Company of Jackson Howard Transportation Inc. J&B Services Inc. Jim Newsom Trucking Inc. Jowin Express Inc. KLLM Transport Services Inc. Knight Transportation Inc. MCH Transportation Company Miller Transporters Inc. On Site Fuel Service Inc. Royal Trucking Company Shippers Express Inc. Sojourner Trucking Inc. Total Transportation of Mississippi, LLC W.C. Fore Trucking Inc.

Address 40158 Lackey Rd., Aberdeen, MS 39730 803 Mississippi Highway 9, Eupora, MS 39744 415 S. Industrial Park Rd., Holly Springs, MS 38635 4225 Industrial Dr., Jackson, MS 39209 114 Vaughan Dr., Richland, MS 39218 202 Freedom Dr., Liberty, MS 39645 5 Thames Ave., Laurel, MS 39440 2501 Airport Dr., Laurel, MS 39440 535 Old Highway 49 N., Richland, MS 39218 107 Nehi Rd., Ellisville, MS 39437 8308 Mississippi Highway 6, Pontotoc, MS 38863 248 S Industrial Pkwy., Yazoo City, MS 39194 1498 Mississippi Highway 13, Columbia, MS 39429 135 Riverview Dr., Richland, MS 39218 9368 County Farm Rd., Gulfport, MS 39503 3180 Utica St., Jackson, MS 39209 5 500 U.S. Highway 80, Jackson, MS 39209 1089 Old Fannin Rd., Brandon, MS 39047 1323 N. Eshman Ave., West Point, MS 39773 1651 Kerr Dr., Jackson, MS 39204 26113 Mississippi Highway 27, Crystal Springs, MS 39059 125 Riverview Dr., Richland, MS 39218 14270 Creosote Rd., Gulfport, MS 39503

TRUCKING COMPANIES Phone

Website

Year Founded

(662) 369-4160 (662) 258-2281 (662) 252-5505 (601) 355-8995 (800) 824-2626 (601) 657-8783 (601) 425-5542 (601) 649-1220 (601) 939-5100 (601) 477-2080 (662) 844-1611 (662) 716-0103 (601) 736-0938 (601) 939-2545 (228) 539-6111 (601) 353-9382 (601) 922-8331 (601) 353-4142 (662) 494-1637 (601) 948-4251 (601) 892-4456 (601) 936-2104 (228) 863-1314

N/A 1985 N/A www.douglasdelivery.com www.ergontrucking.com www.evergreenindustriesinc.com www.ferrytrans.com www.bootssmith.net www.holmestruck.net www.howardtransportation.com www.jandbservices.com www.newsomtrucking.com www.jowinexpress.com www.kllm.com www.knighttrans.com www.mchtrans.com www.millert.com www.onsitefuelservice.com www.royaltruck.com www.shippersexpressinc.com www.sojournertrucking.com www.totalms.com N/A

N/A N/A N/A 1955 1994 N/A N/A 1954 1981 1983 1986 1979 1982 1963 1990 1986 1942 1986 1968 N/A N/A 1990 N/A

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

AIRPORTS Airport/Airlines

Address

Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport 9430 Jackie Cochran Dr., Baton Rouge, LA 70811 American Eagle, Delta, United, US Airways Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport 1 Airport Dr., Little Rock, AR 72202 Allegiant Air, American, Delta, Frontier, Southwest, United, US Airways Express Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport 5900 Messer Airport Hwy., Birmingham, AL 35212 US Airways, United, Delta, Southwest, American Golden Triangle Regional Airport 2080 Airport Rd., Columbus, MS 39701 Delta Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport 14035 Airport Rd., Gulfport, MS 39503 American, Delta, Sun Country, United, US Airways Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport 1002 Terminal Dr., Moselle, MS 39459 Silver Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers international Airport 100 International Dr., Jackson, MS 39208 Delta, US Airways, United, American Louis Armstrong New Orleans international Airport 900 Airline Dr., Kenner, LA 70062 American, Air Canada, Alaska, jetBlue, Delta, United, US Airways, Southwest Memphis international Airport 2491 Winchester Rd., Memphis, TN 38116 American, Delta, Southwest, United, US Airways Meridian Regional Airport 2811A Airport Blvd., Meridian, MS 39307 Silver, American Mid-Delta Regional Airport 166 5th St., Greenville, MS 38703 Silver Mobile Regional Airport 8400 Airport Blvd., Mobile, AL 36608 American, Delta, United, US Airways Tupelo Regional Airport 2704 W. Jackson St., Tupelo, MS 38801 Silver

Phone

Website

Year Founded

(225) 355-0333

www.flybtr.com

1941

(501) 372-3439

www.fly-lit.com

1917

(205) 595-0533

www.flybirmingham.com

1931

(662) 327-4422

www.gtra.com

1971

(228) 863-5951

www.flygpt.com

1977

(601) 545-3111

www.flypib.com

1967

(601) 939-5631

www.jmaa.com

1963

(504) 464-0831

www.flymsy.com

1946

(901) 922-8000

www.mscaa.com

1929

(601) 482-0364

www.meridianairport.com

1929

(662) 334-3121

www.greenvillems.org/citygovernment/airport

1941

800) 357-5373

www.mobairport.com

1947

(662) 841-6570

www.flytupelo.com

1950

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

September 12, 2014 • MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS JOURNAL • www.msbusiness.com

AN MBJ FOCUS:

ENERGY, GAS & UTILITIES

New home in Byram

Oil spill ruling could cost BP another $18B The Associated Press

FRANK BROWN / The Mississippi Business Journal

CenterPoint Energy’s new 10,000-square-foot district office is located at 300 Executive Park Boulevard in Byram.

» CenterPoint Energy consolidates 3 smaller offices into one

By LISA MONTI mbj@msbusiness.com

CenterPoint Energy employees are settling in after moving in July to the company’s new location at 300 Executive Park Boulevard in Byram.

The new building has 10,000 square feet of office space and 3,000 feet of warehouse space. There also is a training room and conference room for the staff ’s use.

“We consolidated the Brookhaven, Pearl and Ridgeland offices, closed those three and built the bigger district office in Byram,” said Rickey Cotton, district operations manager. The new location is more central, he said.

Byram Mayor Richard White called the move to his city “a great deal.”

The company plans an open house at the new location in mid-October.

Tina Lakey, the district director of CenterPoint Energy in Byram, said, “We want to be a part of the community, not just as a business but as good corporate citizens who work and live in the communities we serve. Employees are encouraged to volunteer in our communities, and it doesn’t take much to get them to do this - just ask. CenterPoint is fortunate to have awesome employees who want to give back. “

“We want to be a part of the community, not just as a business but as good corporate citizens who work and live in the communities we serve.”

Tina Lakey, district director, CenterPoint Energy, Byram In Mississippi, CenterPoint Energy provides natural gas to 123,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers from Oxford to the Coast.

“We haven’t changed what we do, we just changed where we do it from,” Cotton said.

He said the company and its predecessors have served natural gas customers in Mississippi since 1931. “We evolved from United Gas,” he said. The company was more recently named Entex. The name was changed to CenterPoint in 2002.

CenterPoint Energy Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas, is an energy delivery company providing electric transmission and distribution and natural gas distribution that has offices in 20 states. Its main businesses are electric transmission and distribution, natural gas distribution, interstate natural gas pipelines, field services, and competitive natural gas

sales and services.

CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 130 years. The company serves more than five million metered customers primarily in Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. Assets total nearly $19 billion and it has approximately 8,700 employees.

Last month the company’s secondquarter earnings report noted that it’s $1.4 billion annual capital investment program was on track and that it had continued robust customer growth.

The natural gas distribution segment reported operating income of $30 million for the quarter, compared to $25 million for 2013. The company said the higher revenue was due to “rate changes, colder than normal weather and increased economic activity across its footprint, including customer growth. “

NEW ORLEANS — BP could be looking at close to $18 billion in additional fines over the nation’s worst offshore oil spill after a federal judge ruled last week that the company acted with “gross negligence” in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier concluded that the London-based oil giant showed a “conscious disregard of known risks” during the drilling operation and bears most of the responsibility for the blowout that killed 11 rig workers and spewed millions of gallons of oil over three months.

In the next stage of the case, set to begin in January, the judge will decide precisely how much BP must pay.

Under the federal Clean Water Act, a polluter can be forced to pay a maximum of $1,100 in civil fines per barrel of spilled oil, or up to $4,300 per barrel if the company is found grossly negligent.

Barbier’s finding exposes BP to the much higher amount.

Even as the oil giant vowed to appeal, BP stock fell $2.82, or nearly 6 percent, to $44.89, reducing the company’s market value by almost $9 billion.

“Everybody talks about how big they are, but it’s staggering,” David Uhlmann, a University of Michigan law professor and former chief of the Justice Department’s environmental crimes section, said of the price tag for the spill.

BP previously agreed to pay a record $4 billion in criminal fines and penalties over the Deepwater Horizon disaster, plus more than $27 billion in cleanup costs and compensation to people and businesses harmed by the spill.

The company made $24 billion in profits last year but could be forced again to sell off some assets to cover the additional fines, analysts said.

Attorney General Eric Holder said Barbier’s ruling “will ensure that the company is held fully accountable for its recklessness” and will “serve as a strong See

SPILL, Page 22

22 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 12, 2014

SPILL

ENERGY, GAS & UTILITIES

Continued from Page 21

deterrent to anyone tempted to sacrifice safety and the environment in the pursuit of profit.â&#x20AC;?

Barbier held a non-jury trial last year to identify the blowoutâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s causes and apportion blame for the disaster, and yesterday he ruled that BP bears 67 percent of the responsibility, Swiss-based drilling rig owner Transocean, Ltd. 30 percent, and Houstonbased cement contractor Halliburton Energy Services 3 percent.

BP made â&#x20AC;&#x153;profit-driven decisionsâ&#x20AC;? during the drilling that led to the blowout, the judge concluded in his 153-page ruling. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These instances of negligence, taken together, evince an extreme deviation from the standard of care and a conscious disregard of known risks,â&#x20AC;? he wrote.

Among other things, the judge cited a misinterpreted safety test that should have warned the drilling crew that the well was in danger of blowing out.

In a statement, BP said the evidence did not meet the â&#x20AC;&#x153;very high barâ&#x20AC;? to prove gross negligence.

James Roy and Stephen Herman, who represented oil spill victims in the trial, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We hope that (the) judgment will bring some measure of closure to the families of the 11 men who tragically lost their lives, and to the thousands of people and busi-

JOHN FITZHUGH / The Associated Press ďŹ le photo

BP contract workers perform regular maintenance on containment booms in the Bay of St. Louis after a substance believed to be from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill appeared in the bay.

nesses still trying to recover from the spill.â&#x20AC;?

Government experts estimated 4.2 mil-

lion barrels, or 176 million gallons, spilled into the Gulf. BP urged the judge to use an

estimate of 2.45 million barrels, or nearly 103 million gallons, in calculating any Clean Water Act penalties. Barbier hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t ruled yet on how much oil spilled.

If he goes with the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s estimate, BP could be hit with close to $18 billion in fines.

The crude that gushed from the sea floor killed wildlife, stained beaches and polluted marshes. BP ultimately sealed the well after several methods failed.

BP pleaded guilty in 2013 to manslaughter in the rig workersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; deaths. Two BP supervisors aboard the rig are awaiting trial on federal manslaughter charges.

Darlene Kimball, who runs Kimballâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Seafood on the docks in Pass Christian, said she hopes yesterdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ruling, and the likelihood of huge penalties, will prompt all oil companies to pay more attention to safety. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sometimes something has to happen for people to realize, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want that to happen with our company. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s go back and look at how we are doing things,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? she said.

BP faces still another set of potential penalties, under the federal Oil Pollution Act of 1990. Uhlmann said those claims could cost BP more than $10 billion. He said those claims could be difficult to resolve because of varying assessments of how much damage was done to the environment. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We may not know for years how badly the Gulf of Mexico and its shorelines were damaged by the spill,â&#x20AC;? he said.

800-226-3224 www.fcci-group.com

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Electrical Distributor

800-844-1811 www.irby.com

POWER SYSTEMS, INC.

ELECTRIC POWER ASSOCIATIONS

24 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 12, 2014 EPA

Address

4-County Electric Power Association Alcorn County Electric Power Association Central Electric Power Association Coahoma Electric Power Association Coast Electric Power Association Delta Electric Power Association Dixie Electric Power Association East Mississippi Electric Power Association Magnolia Electric Power Association Monroe County Electric Power Association Natchez Trace Electric Power Association North East Mississippi Electric Power Association Northcentral Electric Power Association Pearl River Valley Electric Power Association Pontotoc Electric Power Association Prentiss County Electric Power Association Singing River Electric Power Association Southern Pine Electric Power Association Southwest Mississippi Electric Power Association Tallahatchie Valley Electric Power Association Tippah Electric Power Association Tishomingo County Electric Power Association Tombigbee Electric Power Association Twin County Electric Power Association Yazoo Valley Electric Power Association

Phone

5265 S. Frontage Rd., Columbus, MS 39701 1909 S. Tate St., Corinth, MS 38834 653 Holly Bush Rd., Brandon, MS 39047 340 Hopson St., Lyon, MS 38645 18020 Hwy. 603, Kiln, MS 39556 1700 Hwy. 82, Greenwood, MS 38930 1863 Hwy. 184, Laurel, MS 39443 P. O. Box 5517, Meridian, MS 39302 3012 Hwy. 98 E., McComb, MS 39648 601 N. Main St., Amory, MS 38821 555 E. Madison St., Houston, MS 38851 10 Private Rd. 2050, Oxford, MS 38655 4600 Northcentral Way, Olive Branch, MS 38654 1422 Hwy. 13 N., Columbia, MS 39429 12 S. Main St., Pontotoc, MS 38863 302 W. Church St., Booneville, MS 38829 11187 Old Hwy. 63 S., Lucedale, MS 39452 110 Risher St., Taylorsville MS 39168 18671 U.S. Hwy. 61, Lorman, MS 39096 250 Power Dr., Batesville, Mississippi 38606 109 Cooper St., Ripley, MS 38663 205 Constitution Dr., Iuka, MS 38852 P.O. DRAWER 1789, Tupelo, MS 38802 900 East Avenue N., Hollandale, MS 38748 P.O. Box 8, 2255 Gordon Ave., Yazoo City, MS 39194

Website

(662) 327-8900 (662) 287-4402 (601) 829-1201 (662) 624-8321 (228) 363-7000 (662)453-6352 (601) 425-2535 (601) 581-8600 (601) 684-4011 (662) 256-2962 (662) 456-3037 (662) 513-9597 (662) 895-2151 (601) 736-2666 (662) 489-3211 (662) 728-4433 (601) 947-4211 (601) 785-6511 (601) 437-3611 (662) 563.4742 (662) 837-8139 (662) 423-3646 (662) 842-7635 (662) 827-2262 (662) 746-4251

www.4county.org www.ace-power.com www.centralepa.com www.coahomaepa.com www.coastepa.com www.deltaepa.com www.dixieepa.com www.emepa.com www.magnoliaepa.com www.monroecountyelectric.com www.ntepa.com www.northeastpower.org www.northcentralepa.com www.prvepa.com www.pepa.com www.pcepa.com www.singingriver.com www.spepa.com www.southwestepa.com www.tvepa.com www.tippahepa.com www.tcepa.com www.tombigbeeelectric.com www.twincoepa.com www.yazoovalley.com

Information from this list was gathered from Electric Power Associations of Mississippi and individual electric power associations. Please direct questions and comments to Wally Northway at research@msbusiness.com.

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ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING FIRMS

September 12, 2014

I

Mississippi Business Journal

I

25

NEWSMAKERS

26 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 12, 2014

MSU taps Covington, Tucker Mississippi State University’s Center for Resolving Human-Wildlife Conflicts recently added two new staff members to address the growing challenge of controlling the state’s wild hog population. Mississippi State alumni Cliff Covington and Steven Tucker will coordinate and conduct educational workshops, field days and seminars with a primary focus on wild hog damage mitigation.

Covington has worked for the MSU Extension Service for 26 years as Extension agent and coordinator in Claiborne County, and as area livestock agent in southwest Mississippi. He is president of the Mississippi Wildlife Federation, the southwest district director of the Mississippi chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, and he serves on the board of directors of the Catch-A-Dream Foundation. Additionally, Covington founded the Mississippi branch of the Quality Deer Management Association and remains active with the organization.

Tucker has spent the last 12 years as the animal care facilities coordinator for the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture at MSU. He was responsible for the captive animal research facilities and conducted educational programs for more than 20,000 visitors. Tucker also traveled throughout the state delivering wildlife ecology educational programs to more than 40,000 elementary students and adult groups. He will continue to deliver educational programs in his new role with the university.

Covington and Tucker will work to inform residents about wild hogs, human-wildlife conflicts and invasive species throughout Mississippi. Covington, based out of the Central Mississippi Research and Extension Center in Raymond, will provide programming for south Mississippi residents and organizations. Tucker, based out of the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center in Verona, will provide programming for north Mississippi residents and organizations.

Clement receives recognition The Associated General Contractors of Mississippi has selected Cornel Clement of Dan Hensarling Inc. in Gulfport as the 2014 AGC Mississippi Outstanding Member of the Year. Clement has been active with the AGC of Mississippi for numerous years, and participates in all chapter activities. He has served on several committees, as chapter secretary treasurer, vice president and president, and currently sits on the chapter’s board of directors.

Firm adds King Jordan King recently joined the audit division of the CPA firm of Haddox Reid Eubank Betts, PLLC. He is a graduate of Mississippi College where he received his masters of business administration.

King

MC selects Ambrose Jonathan Ambrose has been appointed associate dean of students at Mississippi College. Ambrose completed a doctorate in urban higher education at Jackson State University. He also holds degrees from St. Peter's College in New Jersey and the University of Louisiana-Monroe.

Ambrose is a native of Amory.

BankPlus announces promotions, new-hires BankPlus has promoted Lindsay Akers Tomlinson to first vice president and director of analytics in the Marketing Department.

Tomlinson has over 11 years of experience in the banking industry, and has been a part of the BankPlus team since Boatner 2008. A native of Tupelo, Mississippi, Tomlinson received her bachelor’s degree in computer science from Millsaps College, and attended graduate school at Louisiana State University.

BankPlus has promoted Marc Porter to senior vice president and legal counsel in the Legal Department.

Barnett Porter has over 10 years of experience in the banking industry. He is a native of Portsmouth, Virginia, and is a graduate of Lynchburg College, Mississippi College School of Law and Georgetown University Law Center.

Since 2001, Porter has been an adjunct professor of law at Mississippi College School Duffy of Law teaching courses related to tax law, banking law, business planning, sales and leasing and secured lending.

Porter is involved with the Mississippi Association of Corporate Counsel, having served as one of their past presidents.

BankPlus promoted Leona Phillips to first vice Granger president and consumer loan analyst in the Credit Administration Department.

Phillips has been part of the BankPlus team since July 2005. She is a native of Helena, Georgia, and has graduated from the Mississippi School of Banking. Phillips has 35 years of experience in Hardy the banking industry. She was previously involved in the Exchange Club of Downtown Jackson and is an active member of Leadership Madison County. She and her husband, Greg, have two children, Jennifer and Cameron.

BankPlus has promoted John Granger to bank offiHawkins cer in the Byram Banking Center. Granger has over 10 years of experience in the banking industry. He is a native of Clinton, and has his bachelor and masters degree in busi-

ness administration from Mississippi College. He is an active member of the Byram Business Association. Granger and his wife, Mindy, are proud parents of two children, Jack and Julia.

BankPlus has promoted T. Houston John Pitts to vice president, senior commercial appraisal review and eval analyst in the Credit Administration Department. Pitts has been part of the BankPlus team since August 2005. He is a native of Vicksburg, and has been in the banking industry for eight years. After graduat- W. Bryan Houston ing from Mississippi State University, Pitts attended and graduated from the American Banker’s Association National Commercial Lending School. Pitts remains involved with his alma mater by serving on the Mississippi State University Alumni Association National Board of Directors.

Phillips BankPlus has promoted Toni Houston to assistant vice president in the Jackson Banking Center. Houston has been part of the BankPlus team since December 2003.

A native of Brandon, Houston graduated from the University of Mississippi.

Houston has been in the banking industry for a total Pitts of 17 years. She is an active member of the community, currently involved with the Rotary Club of West Jackson as treasurer.

BankPlus has promoted Robert Hawkins to assistant vice president and credit analyst in the Credit Administration Department.

Hawkins has over 11 years of Porter experience in the banking industry. He is a native of Clinton, and is a graduate of Mississippi College.

Hawkins and his wife, Jessica, have one child, Amelia.

BankPlus has promoted Lee Hardy to assistant vice president in the Flora Banking Center. Hardy has over Roberts nine years of experience in the banking industry. Hardy is a native of Madison, and is a graduate of the Mississippi School of Banking. He and his wife, Callie, are have one

child, Rylee.

BankPlus has promoted Erin Duffy to bank officer in the Jackson Banking Center.

Duffy joined the BankPlus team in 2006. She is a native of Jackson, and has degrees from both the University of Southern Mis- Tomlinson sissippi and Belhaven University. Duffy’s civic involvement includes being a mentor to Distinguished Young Women of Hinds County, a CreditPlus trainer and a Young Life youth leader. She is anticipating her upcoming wedding to her fiancé, Marcus Ward.

BankPlus has hired Chris Ulrich Roberts as assistant vice president in the Madison Banking Center. Roberts brings over 10 years of experience in the banking industry to the BankPlus team. He is a native of Benton, and is active in the community. His community involvement includes Leadership Greater Jackson Graduate Class of 2013-2014, Canton Rotary Club president 2011-2012, MPB Between the Lions reader, Canton Chamber Golf Tournament sponsorship chairman and member of the Madison County Chamber Zip 39. Roberts and his wife, Lisa, have a daughter, Lucy.

BankPlus has hired Bruce Ulrich as assistant vice president and marketing communications manager in the Marketing Department. Ulrich has over eight years of experience in the banking industry. A native of Brandon, Ulrich received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Mississippi College. Ulrich spends most of his free time with his wife, Rebecca, and two children, Alan and Anne Marie. He also has a passion for photography, shooting anything from portraits to weddings and other events.

BankPlus has promoted Susan Barnett to bank officer and credit analyst in the Credit Administration Department. Barnett has been part of the BankPlus team for nearly 14 years. She is a native of Jackson, and is a graduate of Mississippi College. Barnett and her husband, Eddie, are proud parents of a daughter, Grace.

BankPlus has hired W. Bryan Houston as vice president and deposit operations manager in the Operations Department. Houston has over 20 years of experience in the banking industry. A native of Mississippi, Houston graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi. He and his wife, Kate, have three daughters, Shelly Crenshaw, Alyssa Houston and Rachel Houston DeBlanco.

BankPlus has promoted John Boatner to bank officer in the Madison Banking Center. Boatner has been a part of the BankPlus team for seven years, and has over 11 years experience in the banking industry. He is a native of Yazoo County, and is currently attending Belhaven University.

NEWSMAKERS

September 12, 2014

I

Mississippi Business Journal

I

27

Brandon re-elected as president

Museum hires Batton

NASA honors workers

Ramey adds Mardis, Romano

Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley has been re-elected as president of the Entergy Regional State Committee (E-RSC), a board consisting of utility regulators from Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana and the City of New Orleans with a mission of improving reliability and cost-savings within the Entergy electric system. Presley has served as president of the committee for the past year and was reelected to a second term at the committee's annual meeting in Jackson.

The Oaks House Museum has hired Beth Batton as executive director. Batton also is a part-time curator and research fellow at the Mississippi Museum of Art, where she has worked for nine years. At the Mississippi Museum of Art, she directed “Unburied Treasures,” that received a special achievement award from the Mississippi Humanities Council. Before her tenure at the Museum of Art, she was the arts-based community development director for the Mississippi Arts Commission.

A native of Port Gibson, Batton holds a B.A. in fine arts from the University of the South, Sewanee.

The NASA Honor Awards have been presented. In addition to presenting awards, Stennis Space Center Director Rick Gilbrech, a resident of Slidell, Louisiana, received NASA’s Equal Employment Opportunity Medal for outstanding leadership qualities in promoting diversity and inclusion at Stennis.

Three Stennis employees received NASA’s Exceptional Service Medal. The recipients are: Beth Bradley of Slidell, Louisiana, chief of the Center Management Support Division in the Stennis Office of Procurement; Wendy Houser of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, an attorney and mentor in the Stennis Office of the Chief Counsel; and Ronald Rigney of Poplarville, chief of the Propulsion Test Project Office in the Stennis Project Directorate.

Six Stennis employees received NASA’s Exceptional Achievement Medal. They are: Dinna Cottrell of Covington, Louisiana, acting deputy director for the Stennis Center Operations Directorate; Sallie Bilbo of Pearl River, Louisiana, public affairs specialist in the Stennis Office of Communications; Thomas Jacks of Mandeville, Louisiana, design lead on the B-2 Project Team at Stennis; Bryon Maynard of Slidell, Louisiana, B-2 Test Stand project team; Sonia Rushing of Escatawpa, contract specialist in the Stennis Office of Procurement; and Katrina Wright of Picayune, industrial hygiene manager.

William Turner of Bay St. Louis received NASA’s Exceptional Public Service Medal for his work as project manager for ISS Action Inc. on the Stennis Protective Services Contract.

Andrew Martin of Upper Arlington, Ohio, received NASA’s Exceptional Public Achievement Medal for his work as the lead structural design engineer on the B-2 Test Stand restoration project.

Four Stennis employees received NASA’s Early Career Achievement Medal. They are: Justin Junell of Slidell, Louisiana; Nicholas Nugent of Carriere, mechanical design lead for the B-2 Test Stand restoration and adaptation project; Michael Perotti of Slidell, Louisiana; and Rebecca Strecker of Slidell, Louisiana.

Two Stennis employees received the NASA Silver Achievement Medal. They are: Andrew Guymon of Diamondhead; and Steven Rathbun of Slidell, Louisiana.

The Ramey Agency recently welcomed Amy Mardis as senior account executive and Tania Romano as associate digital art director. Mardis is a native of Kosciusko, and attended Mississippi State University where she double-majored in political science and communication. She has over 10 years of marketing experience. Mardis previously worked at Ramey before moving to Nashville, Tennessee. In Nashville, she worked at various Mardis firms on accounts such as The Grand Ole Opry, Red Lobster and Wyndam Hotels and Resorts.

Most recently Mardis worked was the director of communications at BFAC.com.

Romano grew up in San Antonio, Texas, and graduated from the Design and Technology Academy. After graduation, she worked as a freelance graphic Romano designer for over 10 years developing interactive websites with her family. She has most recently worked at Ergon as a graphic designer here in Jackson. She is currently finishing her associate’s degree at Hinds Community College.

Mardis and Romano will be located at Ramey’s Jackson office in Fondren.

Dixon made Valley VP Joyce A. Dixon was recently appointed as vice president of business and finance by Mississippi Valley State University. Dixon, a Valley alumnus, has over 20 years of leadership experience in finance, where she has previously served as interim vice president of business and finance at Valley. During her tenure at MVSU, Dixon has served in leadership roles inDixon cluding director of accounting/comptroller and director of accounts payable. She has provided supervisory oversight for services and activities including accounts payable, cash disbursements, payroll, auxiliary services, student accounts and purchasing. Dixon has also been instrumental in the preparation of the annual budget, financial statements, and serves as a liaison with auditors and state agencies.

She received her bachelor's degree in business administration from Mississippi Valley State University and a master of business administration degree with a concentration in finance from Mississippi State University.

Cheema joins staff Interventional cardiologist Qasim M. Cheema, MD, has joined the active medical staff of Central Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. Cheema is board certified in cardiovascular disease and internal medicine. He is board eligible in interventional cardiology, nuclear cardiology and echocardiography.

After beginning at John Sealy Hospital in Galveston, Texas, Cheema completed his interventional cardiology fellowship at Methodist DeBakey Hospital in Houston. He completed his felCheema lowship in cardiovascular disease at St. Luke’s Medical Center and Aurora Sinai Medical Center, both in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Cheema completed his internal medicine residency at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center and the McGuire VA Hospital, both in Richmond, Virginia. Before completing his medical degree at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Cheema received his bachelor of arts degree in biological sciences from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where he finished summa cum laude.

Cheema is a member of the American Medical Association, the American College of Cardiology, the Wisconsin Medical Society and the American College of Physicians. He was awarded the American Federation of Medical Research Award and the Outstanding Third Year Ward Resident award in internal medicine.

Hospital welcomes Craddieth Edna D. Craddieth, of Jackson, has been named director of patient access at Madison River Oaks Medical Center. Craddieth has an extensive background in business administration and began her healthcare career when she joined Central Mississippi Medical Center in 1999. Over the last 15 years she has also worked at Natchez Community Hospital and most recently served as the revenue cycle manager for the Mississippi Shared Service Center.

Craddieth holds an associate’s degree in business management and also attended Mississippi College.

She was recognized in 2010 as Director of the Quarter and received the Accounting Award for three consecutive quarters. When not working, she enjoys spending time with friends and family.

Wolfe comes home Lynn Wolfe, P.E., has joined Neel-Schaffer Inc. as a senior project manager and will be based in the firm’s McComb office. A native of Oxford, Wolfe spent the last eight-plus years working in construction management for private firms in Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, Yemen and Kazakhstan.

In 2012, Wolfe was awarded the Meritorious Service Award from U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker for his service to the Department of State while managing the prison construction program in Afghanistan for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement.

Wolfe holds a bachelor of science in construction engineering from Mississippi State University.

Ward earns re-certification Board, officers chosen Dr. Ross Ward, a Southern Bone and Joint Specialists board-certified orthopaedic surgeon, was recently recertified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. Ward practiced in Laurel for 11 years before joining SBJ. He continues to see patients in SBJ’s Laurel location as well as SBJ’s Hattiesburg location.

Ward received his bachelor’s degree from Delta State University. He received his medical degree from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, and completed his residency Ward and internship at the University of Texas Southwestern.

Ward is a member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, American College of Sports Medicine and Mississippi Orthopedic Society.

The Southern Mississippi Alumni Association has installed its executive committee for the 2014-15 fiscal year, welcoming six appointed board members, who will serve a three-year term. New board members include Ember Ahua of Hattiesburg, Vicki Adkison of Moss Point, Mary Dayne Gregg of Hattiesburg, Lance LeFan of Hattiesburg, David Leiva of Hattiesburg, J. R. Robinson of Hattiesburg and Gene Smith of Petal.

Executive committee officers include: Angela Hilbun Collins (president), manager of the Southeast Mississippi Regional Office in Hattiesburg for the Mississippi Development Authority; Sean McGee (president elect), senior vice president and manager of BancorpSouth’s Premier Banking Department; Becky Montague (vice president), former faculty member at Jones County Junior College and author; Benny Waddle (past president), senior vice president of commercial lending for BancorpSouth; and Byron Jordan (Finance Committee chairman), executive vice president and community bank president for First State Bank.

Clinic adds Bickham Terri J. Bickham, CNP, recently joined Hattiesburg Clinic Dialysis as a nurse practitioner. She earned her bachelor of science in nursing through the University of Southern Mississippi and her master of science in nursing from Mississippi University for Women.

As a Hattiesburg Clinic Dialysis provider, Bickham will be providing services at Hattiesburg, Bay Springs, Collins, Columbia, Laurel, Pachuta, Picayune, Rich- Bickham ton, Silver Creek, Tylertown, Wiggins and Waynesboro dialysis units. She is certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.

EPIC selects Romero EPIC Pharmacies Inc. of Cockeysville, Maryland, has appointed Jay Romero, R.Ph., as CEO effective Jan. 1, 2015. Romero has had a long and successful career in independent pharmacy. He has been an independent pharmacy owner for more than 10 years and a practicing pharmacist for more than 20 years.

Romero currently serves on the EPIC Pharmacies board of directors and plays a key role in advocating for the interests of community pharmacy as chairman of the EPIC PharmPAC of Mississippi.

Romero joined the EPIC Pharmacies board of directors in 2012 as a licensed pharmacist and independent pharmacy owner. He is a member of the Mississippi Pharmacists Association, Mississippi Independent Pharmacies Association and National Community Pharmacists Association and a graduate of the University of Louisiana at Monroe School of Pharmacy.

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

28 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 12 2014 »EDUCATION

Schloegel, Jackson receive MGA Awards

BY ALAN TURNER alan.turner@msbusiness.com n Sept. 4, George Schloegel and Mary Jane Jackson were honored at a luncheon hosted by the Mississippi Geographic Alliance.

Schloegel, formerly CEO of Hancock Bank and Mayor of Gulfport, received the MGA Geographic Visionary Award, while Jackson was honored for her 30plus years in teaching and leadership in the field of geography education.

On hand for the event were Gov. Phil Bryant, former Gov. William Winter and many other government and business leaders. In their comments, both governors stressed the importance of geographic education to the Magnolia State, pointing out that Mississippi is one of the top states in the nation in terms of exports.

“Geography enables us to develop a broad world view, and we must educate our kids to be able to compete with people anywhere in the world,” Governor

O

importance of that, the better we’ll be.”

Carole Lynn Meadows, long a passionate advocate for quality education, served as the host chair for the event.

“The need for great geographic education is really a no-brainer,” she said after the event. “We really need to understand the people and cultures that we share this planet with.”

She believes education is the absolute key to improving Mississippi and providing a bright future, and she floated the idea that perhaps many of the nonprofit educational groups and institutions in the state should “band together” to look at how their efforts might be “ef-

“Geography enables us to develop a broad world view, and we must educate our kids to be able to compete with people anywhere in the world” — former Gov. William Winter Winter said.

In his remarks, Schloegel said that geography “is all about the world and what’s in it, and more importantly, how we relate to it.”

Schloegel related numerous success stories related to education, and how Mississippi students can compete effectively if given the educational tools and support.

He particularly points to the importance of the port facilities in Mississippi as “being one of our most important resources which relates to international trade.”

He also sees a move to “onshoring” as an important future economic plus for the state. “We truly do live in a global world, and the more we know and understand the

fectively consolidated.”

"This was an absolute honor for me," Jackson said. "What I want people to understand is that to know and to learn geography is to know and learn about the economy, history and current events of our world today. It is basic for us to teach children geography in school and to do it well."

For more about the mission and work of the Mississippi Geographic Alliance, visit www.mga.olemiss.edu , or contact Carley Lovorn at mclovorn@olemiss.edu.

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

For The Mississippi Business Journal

The Mississippi Geographic Alliance honored both Mary Jane Jackson (top) and George Schloeger (below) at the Sept. 4 luncheon.

September 12 2014

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» MISSISSIPPI LEADERS by Martin Willoughby

Following footprints Gilreath succeeds Buckner as state director of FCA

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reat achievements in life are never solo endeavors. Sometimes we forget that. We can be like the turtle on the fencepost. As the story goes, “If you’re walking along a fence and spot a turtle sitting atop a fencepost, you know it didn’t get there by itself.” True leaders have the humility to recognize the important role that other people have had in their lives. Sir Isaac Newton once said, “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” My interviewee this week, Josh Gilreath, is one of those leaders who has accomplished great things as a leader but humbly recognizes that he is standing on the shoulders of others who have developed him as a leader.

Gilreath is the new state director for Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) in Mississippi. Gilreath is following in the footsteps of Bill Buckner, who passed away in May of this year after a lengthy illness and leading the organization for 27 years.

Gilreath grew up in Amory and graduated from Mississippi State with a degree in biological engineering. He worked as a graduate assistant at Mississippi State under Coach Jackie Sherrill, and went on to join the coaching staff at Indiana University. His faith led him to leave coaching and join the FCA staff back at Mississippi State where he served for eight years before launching

Up Close With ... Josh Gilreath Title: State director, Fellowship of Christian Athletes Favorite Books: ”Nothing beats the Bible, but I love to read how and what God is saying to others. Mark Batterson’s book The Circle Maker has been great book that has caused me to have eyes that see with greater vision believing that nothing is impossible. Years ago Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman was a devotional that God used to walk with me through some tough valleys. Visioneering by Andy Stanley, and Hand Me Another Brick by Charles Swindoll are also great reads on leadership.”

First Job: ”In high school I worked on a farm for the owner of Amory Garment Corporation.”

Proudest Moment as a Leader: ”Speaking at Bill Buckner’s funeral. Out of all the people who could have shared, from the governor to famous business men or coaches, to be chosen by he and his family meant so much to me. Bill always believed in me.”

Hobbies/Interests: “I love spending time with my family; watching football, reading, jogging, and hunting.”

the Pinelake Church Starkville campus.

Shortly after Buckner’s funeral, the Mississippi FCA State Executive Board approached Gilreath about becoming Bill's successor. Gilreath shared, “Next to my dad, I can't think of anyone who has invested in my life more than Bill. The Board shared with me that they had several conversations with Bill, and it was his desire for me to follow him in the FCA ministry, should I sense

God leading me that way.”

Gilreath emphasized the impact his family has had on his life and development as a leader. He noted, “My dad was influential in me coming to Christ, and he always expected me to be my best. If I started something, he expected me to finish.” He also shared that his grandmother who worked until she was 83 modeled a strong work ethic as did his grandfather who also taught

“Next to my dad, I can’t think of anyone who has invested in my life more than Bill (Buckner).”

him that your word should always be your bond. Gilreath shared that one of the many things that Bill Buckner taught him as a leader is to have a personal “Board of Directors” for your life to Martin Willoughby challenge you and hold you accountable.

Gilreath credits his high school football coach Bobby Hall with teaching him to believe anything is possible, and former Mississippi State Coach Sylvester Croom with teaching him about integrity. He credits Pinelake Church Senior Pastor Chip Henderson with teaching him how to lead other leaders. Gilreath says that he learned how to have a sense of humor as a leader from his wife. He shared, “She is fun and loving. I can be too serious. She reminds me of the importance of having fun and having a sense of humor. We all need to laugh at ourselves.”

All of these influences and others have shaped Gilreath’s philosophy and character as a leader. He believes in leading with vision and emphasizes what could be and should be if you lead towards it. To help young leaders find their true passion and calling he challenges them to answer the question, “If money didn’t matter what would you do?”

Gilreath brings a wealth of his experience to his new position. I know that Gilreath and the 31 dedicated full time staff members of FCA Mississippi will continue to positively influence thousands of students and coaches every year around the state.

Martin Willoughby is a business consultant and regular contributing columnist for the Mississippi Business Journal. He serves as Chief Operating Officer of Butler Snow Advisory Services, LLC and can be reached at martin.willoughby@ butlersnow.com.

The compelling story of an American maverick fighting for fairness

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» Factory Man: How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local – and Helped Save an American Town

By Beth Macy Published by Published by Little, Brown and Company $28.00 hardback

y focusing on one American furniture magnate fighting to save his company, Beth Macy’s recently published Factory Man paints an effective picture of the broader industry, which has, overall, switched to importing furniture instead of making it stateside. She also highlights the difficult, ongoing implications for thousands of displaced workers, putting faces and names to facts and figures.

John D. Bassett III, a fiery, controversial, hard-charging thirdgeneration furniture factory owner in southern Virginia, takes center stage. He’s the great-grandson of the co-founder of Bassett Furniture. The first third of this can’t-put-down book reads like something from Faulkner, as Macy relates Bassett family history back to 1773 in Henry County, Virginia, replete with intrigue, double-crossing, and family squabbles.

John D. Bassett Sr. started Bassett Furniture in 1902 with his brother and brother-in-law. He would go on to help fund lots of other Virginia furniture manufacturers, including Stanley, Hooker, Vaughan, and Vaughan-Bassett.

John D. Bassett III was assumed by most everyone to be the heir-apparent to lead Bassett Furniture, but thanks to a fight with his then-CEO brother-in-law, he was forced out. He left to work for the competing (but still family-connected) Vaughan-Bassett.

His tenure at Vaughan-Bassett would put him face-to-face with a foe even more formidable than his brother-in-law: China.

Bassett, with assistance from U.S. anti-dumping trade laws, fought for recourse against what he perceived to be unfair competition. As a result, his factories remain open today, employing workers who make furniture here in the United States. (As does

Columbus, Mississippi-based Johnston/Tombigbee Furniture. Its owner, Reau Berry, is quoted several times in the book.)

This is an enormous feat, as this quote from the book shows: “Between 2001 and 2012, 63,300 American factories closed their doors and five million American factory jobs went away.

During that same time, China’s manufacturing base ballooned to the tune of 14.1 million new jobs.”

I won’t give all the details away here; this story is well worth reading on your own, and John D. Bassett III’s legendary antics have to be read to be believed.

Macy presents the facts as she finds them, while expressing skepticism over outsourcing’s benefits to society. We often hear about the economic effects (lower costs for consumer goods, for example), but the hard human reality of the situation is more nuanced. She shares the stories of many unemployed factory workers struggling to figure out what’s next. Reading these, it’s impossible not to sympathize with them and not to cheer for John D. Bassett III.

— LouAnn Lofton, mbj@msbusiness.com

30 I Mississippi Business Journal I September 12 2014 THE SPIN CYCLE

As the NFL kicks-off, here are top branding mistakes that could delay the game he NFL season has officially kicked-off, and hardly anything can sack the brand that has become the most successful sport across the land. However, the sport, like any entity, has its challenges, and it will be interesting to see how the league navigates serious pitfalls as it seeks to add luster to its golden image.

Despite myriad challenges that threaten to weaken the football juggernaut – from head injuries to the Redskins’ very name — brand experts doubt that at least in the short term, any of them will actually make a dent in this multi-billion dollar industry.

T

Here are some very real long-term problems facing the NFL as we jump into the 2014-15 season: 1. Concussions and player safety – Growing concerns about the innately violent nature of football and its long-term effects on players’ health have been an ongoing issue for the League. While the NFL has spent a lot of money and time researching the issue, it has also been accused by critics of hiding evidence of the correlation between footballplaying and brain problems.

Hunter Hillenmeyer, a former Chicago Bear who is also a major figure in the concussion-awareness movement, said that things have changed in the last few years.

“The attitude about a concussion, from the definition of what it is to how it’s diagnosed and treated has changed dramatically,” he said. “That’s great, but the NFL is in this PR nightmare where there is this need for constant spin doctorism.”

This summer, a judge granted preliminary approval of a deal where the NFL would compensate thousands of former NFL players who had head-injury-related claims. A $675 million cap was removed — the judge, Anita Brody, had previously asserted that the amount was too little.

2. Women – with 44.9 million women tuning in to the Super Bowl last year and research showing that 45 percent of its fans are

now female, the league is catering to that base. A new line of women’s NFL apparel for the first time actually resembles sports jerseys (and aren’t bedazzled, or pink), and got people Todd Smith like Condoleezza Rice and Jordin Sparks to model it. And a Marie Claire partnership will result in a revamped “Girl’s Guide” to football.

But the league still has a ways to go with women. One problem is the lack of female referees: There are only two female officials in the league’s development program. Another problem is more disturbing. When video surfaced of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice allegedly hitting his then-fiancée in Atlantic City, a debate was ignited over how the league handled the issue.

3. Misbehaving players – off-field incidents like Rice’s could, taken cumulatively, damage the NFL brand. The Cleveland Browns’ Josh Brown was arrested for driving while drunk this summer while already trying to appeal a one-year suspension from the league after he tested positive for marijuana. Last year there were more: the Patriots’ Aaron Hernandez was charged with the murder of his friend, Odin Lloyd, while the Browns’ Ausan Walcott was charged with attempted murder. Some think that the NFL needs to keep an eye out on their players even in the summer.

4. The Redskins – the league itself might be powerless to do anything about this, but the ongoing media furor over the Washington Redskins isn’t doing the team any favors. Pressure is mounting on the team to change its name, which is offensive to many both inside and outside the Native American community.

Seven Media Buzzwords We’ve Lost Forever In the wordsmithing and messaging business, we are constantly striving to rid our language of clichés like a skilled surgeon removing cancer from a patient. Even us longtime practitioners get caught-up in buzzword bingo and the clunky jargon of our digital society.

The catchphrases we use serve as a shared language – they’re how we signal our belonging to the tribe of branding peddlers. But when highly precise terms are misappropriated in an attempt to project a

false sense of authority, that’s when we lose meaning. Words should represent powerful surgical tools of our trade. But today, our industry is riddled with vagueness, engulfed by a fluffy cloud of confusion that presides over terms like native advertising and muddles the concept of digital until it’s rendered meaningless. We’ve lost precision in our language when we need it most.

Here are eight examples: 1. Disruption – it seems like every client brief of 2014 can’t be distributed until the words “disruption” or “disruptive” are liberally sprinkled throughout. What is a specific and helpful term to describe what happens when conventional boundaries are set aside has just become a pointless filler. It’s now a synonym for funky or new.

2. Responsive Design – A superb term used to accurately explain the process of something becoming automatically adjusted to fit every context has now become vapid verbiage for the modern and a bit special – a grim example of what happens when technological terms enter the domain of marketers.

3. Iterate – once iterate meant a design process where various elements would progress through sequential steps, to hone in on the optimal solution; now it means nothing beyond merely describing a stage in a process.

4. Reimagine – it should mean a specific philosophy based on breaking down the required outcomes, forgetting conventional wisdom and constructing an entirely new way of accomplishing goals. Today, reimagining has become a way to describe and assign a more positive connotation to a re-design. From a word that originally suggested unhindered transformation, it has morphed into the opposite: a formula for alluding to innovation without actually doing it.

5. Hacking – hacking has always been a quick, dirty and high creative fix for what time or budget didn’t allow. Now, whether it’s a “life hack,” “growth hacking” or “furniture hacking,” it just seems to refer to acting a bit techy and a bit creative.

6. Paradigm Shift – in the past, paradigms were evolutionary funnels. We had the era of vinyl, eight-track tapes, cassettes, compact discs, mini discs, then digital music.

Each became a set of criteria for which design was optimized. A paradigm shift was breaking outside of that evolutionary funnel, while now it merely means trying a different approach.

7. Synergy – An excellent term, suggesting how the interaction between elements in a

system produce an effect different from or greater than the sum of their individual parts. Now it’s most often used by marketers as filler in announcements about even the most rudimentary changes.

Melted Mic | How Low Can CeeLo Go? CeeLo Green – the artist formerly known as The Voice coach – tweeted a series of offensive and nonsensical views about rape and sexual consent recently, and The Spin Cycle will refrain from the inane details in a family newspaper. Suffice it to say, Green’s skewed and inaccurate definition of rape did not come from out of the blue. First, he was sentenced to three years of probation and 45 days of community service on drug-possession charges linked to a 2012 dinner. At that same dinner, he also reportedly gave a woman ecstasy. Amid the backlash, Green tweeted: “I sincerely apologize for my comments being taken so far out of context. I only intended on a healthy exchange to help heal those who love me from the pain I had already caused from this.” Talk about living in denial, with no grasp of his image meltdown and identity spinning out of control!

In what was probably his (or his lawyer’s) smartest move in, Green shut down his Twitter account. That may be a first step, but CeeLo has a long road to travel towards reputation repair.

Each week, The Spin Cycle will bestow a Golden Mic Award to the person, group or company in the court of public opinion that best exemplifies the tenets of solid PR, marketing and advertising – and those who don’t. Stay tuned – and step-up to the mic!

And remember … Amplify Your Brand!

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

SALES MOVES

September 12, 2014

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» JEFFREY GITOMER

Are you a social sales pacesetter?

Or are you losing business to one?

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ere are a few questions to get your social sales juices flowing:

Why are big companies interested in big data?

Why are formerly non-social companies suddenly scouring and analyzing social data?

Why is “mobile” the new “social?”

Why is “cloud” the new data room?

Often referred to as pacesetters, companies that have chosen to embrace and engage cloud, analytics, mobile, and social strategies are cleaning the clock of their competitors who have chosen the path of cautious resistance or even abstinence.

NOTE WELL: The real pacesetters are using all four strategies – not one or two.

PERSONAL NOTE: When I saw the statistic that 68% of Facebook usage is mobile, I realized the revolution was in full swing and those not playing hard would lose sales, loyalty, goodwill, reputation, and profit.

REALITIES: • Customers are smarter. You must be at least as smart.

• Customers are social. You must be at least as social.

• Customers are mobile. You must be at least

as mobile.

• The availability of online information about you AND your competition is instant.

• Customers expect an easy-to-buy process.

• Mobile is not an option – it’s an imperative.

• 24-7-365 is the new 9-5.

My good friend, Sandy Carter, is one of IBM’s General Managers, and their social selling evangelist.

Sandy fed me some support data from their recently published IBM’s 2014 Business Tech Trends Report.

The report reveals that previously emerging trends like Big Data and analytics, cloud, mobile, and social are now being implemented across corporate enterprise beyond just experimentation and wait-and-see.

The Tech Trends Report also found that the gaps in IT skills that used to exist within these core segments are starting to narrow as organizations are uncovering the skill sets needed to use these technologies to their full advantage.

THE SECRET: These big pacesetter corporations have discovered that by partnering with smaller, specialized companies they are able to obtain the critical skills they need to gain a competitive advantage – thus paving the way for innovation and increased market share. They also learned that total integration of all four pacesetter elements was their breakaway move.

BOTTOM LINE FOR FASTER SUCCESS:

Pacesetter organizations are now finding partners in a myriad of places including academia, start-ups, clients, citizen developers, and established specialized leaders. Pacesetter corporations that integrate cloud, analytics, mobile, and social technologies across their business are four to seven times more likely to use cloud to deliver social, mobile, big data, and analytics.

In short, pacesetters use technology for the competitive advantage and the results are more profitable business outcomes.

Here are a few concepts beyond buzzwords that will help you think about and understand why these strategies are being deployed and bringing amazing returns: 1. Cloud Strategies: Where can I store data and apps that are accessible on demand globally?

2. Social Strategies: How am I in touch with my customers to give them information and social proof, and how can they be in touch with me to tell me all is well?

3. Mobile Strategies: What are my customers using to communicate ideas, needs, and desires?

How are they accessing my information? How are they purchasing?

4. Analytics Strategies: Data helps make better and smarter decisions. Data shows the past, reveals the present, and helps predict trends in the future. An-

other word for analytics is profit. REALITY: An app without analytics is a washing machine without a motor or a car without gas. How is your EXISTING data being mined, analyzed, and used to target trends, analyze profits, and increase sales?

4.5 Partnering Strategies: How are you using SEO experts, app builders, bloggers, and social awareness companies – global outside experts – that can help you achieve amazing success in a fraction of the time (and cost) it would take to do it yourself?

YOUR BOTTOM LINE: Now is the time to get your social mojo working in your favor. The opportunity is ripe and the expertise you need is at your fingertips. Carter told me, “The companies we deal with that listen to us with ‘all ears’ and eagerly implement the pacesetter solutions quickly convert their investment to ‘all clicks’ as their social interactions skyrocket and sales quickly follow suit.”

How’s your conversion doing?

“Get involved and get more.” If you search the hashtag #IBMBTT you’ll be able to access pacesetter ideas and answers – and maybe add a few of your own.

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of “The Sales Bible”, “Customer Satisfaction is Worthless” “Customer Loyalty is Priceless”, “The Little Red Book of Selling”, “The Little Red Book of Sales Answers”, “The Little Black Book of Connections”, “The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude”, “The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way”, “The Little Platinum Book of ChaChing”, “The Little Teal Book of Trust”, “The Little Book of Leadership”, and “Social BOOM!” His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at salesman@gitomer.com.

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